Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety.” And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he said to them. He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

We do not always understand why things happen in life. Certainly Joseph and Mary didn’t understand why Jesus disappeared for three days. Imagine the emotions they went through during their search only to finally find Jesus in the temple. And then, when they discover him, he isn’t looking for them, but rather he is listening to, questioning, and answering the temple’s teachers. It is only natural for Mary to ask Jesus why he had put them through three days of anxiety. And yet, Jesus does not apologize. Instead, he asks her why they did not start their search in the temple. In a similar way, when we feel lost or anxious, we should take Jesus’ advice to his parents and turn to God first and trust that He will lead us where we need to go and show us what we need to do. Then like Mary, we will learn to treasure all these things in our hearts and come to believe that in the end even the most worrisome of situations will turn out for the best if we have faith in God.

Are there things going on in our lives that we don’t understand? How can we turn these over to God and learn to trust Him enough to lead us to the right place at the right time? Is our first reaction when we are in trouble to depend on ourselves or on God?

O Lord, remind us that it is in your house that we shall find what we are looking for.

Amen.