Of the Loss of Jesus in the Temple
by Saint Alphonsus Liguori
The Apostle Saint James says that our perfection
consists in the Virtue of
Patience. "And
patience hath a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing."
Our Lord having, then, given us the blessed Virgin Mary as a model of
perfection,
it was necessary that she should
be
laden with sorrows, that in her we might admire heroic
patience, and endeavor to imitate
it. The sorrow which we have
this day to consider was one of the greatest that Mary
had to endure in her life, the loss of her Son
in the temple. He who is born blind feels but little the privation of the
light of day; but he who has once enjoyed it, and
loses it by becoming blind, indeed suffers much. Thus it is also with those unhappy souls who,
blinded by the mire of this world, have but little knowledge of God,
they suffer but little at not
finding Him; but, on the other hand, he who,
illumined by celestial light, has become
worthy to find by love the
sweet presence of
the supreme good, O God,
how bitterly does he
grieve
when he finds himself deprived of it! Hence,
let us see how much Mary must have suffered from this third sword of sorrow which
pierced her heart,
when, having lost her Jesus
in Jerusalem for three days,
she
was
deprived
of
His most sweet presence,
accustomed as she was constantly
to
enjoy it.
Saint Luke relates, in the second chapter of his
Gospel,
that the Blessed Virgin, with her spouse Saint Joseph, and Jesus, was accustomed every year at the paschal
solemnity to visit the temple. When her
Son was twelve years of age,
she went as usual, and Jesus
remained in Jerusalem. Mary
did not at once perceive it, thinking He was
in company with others. When she reached Nazareth,
she
inquired for her Son;
but not finding Him,
she
immediately returned to Jerusalem
to seek for Him, and only found Him
after three days. Now let us imagine what anxiety this afflicted
Mother must have experienced in those three days during which she
was seeking everywhere for her Son, and inquiring for Him
with the spouse in the Canticles: "Have
you seen Him Whom my soul loveth?" But she
could have no tidings of Him. O, with how
far greater tenderness must Mary, overcome
by fatigue, and having not yet found her
beloved Son, have repeated those words of Ruben,
concerning his brother Joseph: "The boy
doth not appear; and whither shall I go?" "My Jesus doth not appear, and I no longer know what to do to find Him;
but where shall I go without my Treasure?" Weeping continually, with how
much truth did she repeat with David,
during those three days, "My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me
daily: Where is thy God?" Wherefore Pelbart, with
reason, says, that "during those nights the afflicted Mary
did not sleep; she was constantly weeping, and entreating God that He would enable her to
find her Son." Frequently, during that time, according to Saint
Bernard, she addressed her Son
in the words of the spouse in the Canticles: "Show
me where Thou feedest, where Thou liest in the mid-day, lest I begin to wander."
My Son,
tell me where Thou
art, that I may no longer wander, seeking Thee in vain.
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Young Jesus among the Doctors
in the Temple -
by VERONESE, Paolo -
from Museo del Prado, Madrid |
There are some who assert, and not without reason, that this dolor
was not only one of the greatest, but the greatest and most
painful of all. For, in the first place, Mary,
in her other dolors,
had Jesus with her:
she
suffered
when Saint Simeon prophesied to her
in the temple; she suffered in the flight into Egypt;
but still in company with Jesus;
but in this dolor she
suffered far from Jesus, not knowing where He
was: "And the light of my eyes itself is not with me."
Thus weeping she
then said, "Ah, the light of my eyes, my dear Jesus, is no
longer with me; He is far from me, and I know not whither He is gone."
Origen
says that through the love which this holy Mother
bore her Son,
"she suffered more in this loss of Jesus than any martyr
ever suffered in the separation of his soul from his body." Ah, too long
indeed were those three days for Mary; they seemed three ages;
they were all bitterness, for there was none
to comfort her. And who can ever comfort me, she
said with Jeremiah, who can console me,
since He Who alone could do so is far from me and therefore my
eyes can never weep enough: "Therefore do I weep, and my
eyes run down with water: because the Comforter . . . is far from me."
And with Tobias she
repeated, "What manner of joy shall be to me who sit in
darkness, and see not the light of heaven?"
In the second place, Mary, in all her
other sorrows, well understood
their cause,
the redemption of the world, the Divine will; but in this she
knew not the cause of the absence of her Son. "The sorrowful
Mother," says Lanspergius, "was
grieved at the absence of Jesus, because, in her humility, she considered herself unworthy
to remain longer with or to attend upon Him on earth, and have the charge of so great a
treasure." "And who knows,"
perhaps she thought within herself "maybe I
have not served Him as I ought; perhaps I have been guilty of some negligence, for which
He has left me." "They sought Him,"
says Origen, "lest perchance He had
entirely left them." It is certain that, to a soul
which loves God,
there can be no greater pain than the
fear
of having displeased Him.
Therefore in this sorrow alone did Mary complain, lovingly expostulating with Jesus, after she
had found Him: "Son,
why hast Thou done so to us? Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing."
By these words she had no idea of reproving Jesus, as heretics
blasphemously
assert, but only meant to express to Him
the grief proceeding from the great love she
bore Him, which she had experienced during His
absence: "It was not a rebuke," says Denis
the Carthusian, "but a loving complaint."
In fine', this sword so cruelly
pierced the heart of the most
holy Virgin, that the blessed Benvenuta, desiring one day
to share the holy Mother's pain in this dolor,
and entreating her for this favor, Mary appeared to her with the Infant Jesus in her
arms; but while Benvenuta was enjoying the sight of this most
beautiful
child, in a moment she was deprived of it. So great was her
grief, that she had recourse to Mary, entreating her
to mitigate it, that it might not cause her death.
In three days the holy
Virgin again appeared, and said: "Know, my
daughter, that thy sorrow is only a small part of that which I endured when I lost my Son."
This sorrow of Mary
ought, in the first place, to serve as a
consolation to those souls
who are desolate, and no longer enjoy, as
they once enjoyed, the sweet presence of their Lord.
They may weep, but they should weep in
peace, as Mary
wept the absence of her Son; and let them take courage, and not fear that
on this account they have lost the Divine favor;
for God Himself assured Saint Teresa,
that "no one is lost without knowing it; and that no one is
deceived without wishing to be deceived." If our Lord
withdraws Himself from the sight of a soul which
loves
Him, He does not,
therefore, depart from the heart; He often conceals Himself
from a soul, that she
may seek Him with a more ardent desire and
greater love. But whoever wishes to find Jesus, must seek Him,
not amidst delights and the pleasures of the world, but amidst crosses
and mortifications, as Mary
sought Him: "we
sought Thee sorrowing," as Mary
said to her Son.
"I learn, then, from Mary," says Origen,
"to seek Jesus."
Moreover, in this world she would seek no
other good than Jesus.
Job was not unhappy
when he lost all that he possessed on earth; riches, children,
health, and honors, and even descended from a throne
to a dunghill; but because he had God
with him, he was even then happy. Saint Augustine says, "he had lost what God had given him, but he still had God Himself."
Truly miserable and unhappy
are those souls which have
lost God. If Mary
wept the absence of her Son for three days,
how should sinners
weep,
who have lost divine grace, and to whom God says: "You are
not my people, and I will not be yours." For this is the effect of sin; it
separates the soul
from God: "Your
iniquities have divided between you and your God." Hence, if sinners possess all the riches of the earth, but
have lost God, all, even in this world,
becomes vanity and
affliction to them, as Solomon
confessed: "Behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit."
But the greatest misfortune of these poor blind souls
is, as Saint Augustine observes, that "if
they lose an ox, they do not fail to go in search of it; if they lose a sheep, they use
all diligence to find it; if they lose a beast of burden, they cannot rest; but when they
lose their God, Who is the supreme good, they eat, drink, and repose."
Example
In the Annual Letters of the Society of Jesus, it is
related that in India a young man was leaving his room with the intention
of committing a sin, when he heard a voice saying: "Stop!
where art thou going?" He turned round, and saw an image in relief,
representing our Lady of Sorrows,
who,
drawing out the sword which was in her breast, said: "Take
this dagger and pierce my heart, rather than wound my Son by committing such a sin."
On hearing these words, the youth prostrated himself on the ground, and bursting into
tears, with deep sorrow, asked and obtained pardon from God
and our Blessed Lady.
Prayer
O Blessed Virgin,
why dost thou afflict thyself, seeking for thy lost Son ?
Is it that thou knowest not where He is?
Knowest thou not that He is in thy heart?
Art thou ignorant that He feeds amongst lilies?
Thou thyself hast said it: "My Beloved to me, and I to Him, Who feedeth among the
lilies."
These, thy thoughts and affections, which are all humble, pure, and holy,
are all lilies which invite thy Divine Spouse to dwell in thee.
Ah, Mary, dost thou sigh after Jesus,
thou who lovest none but Jesus?
Leave sighs to me, and to so many sinners who love Him not,
and who have lost Him by offending Him.
My most amiable Mother,
if through my fault thy Son is not yet returned to my soul,
do thou obtain for me that I may find Him.
I well know that He is found by those who seek
Him:
"The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh Him."
But do thou make me seek Him as I ought.
Thou art the gate through which all find Jesus;
through thee I also hope to find Him.
Amen.
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