4) The Loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple. (Luke 2:43-45)
Today it's brief and simple.
We should not be concerned if we perceive that we have lost the Lord. We cannot HAVE the Lord in the first place. He is not ours to lose. We can have the consolation of feeling his presence, of discerning his loving care. Or not.
Before I learned of Mother Teresa's desolation, I already knew of other great saints, clear windows through which the light of God passed, whose closeness to our Lord was chiefly felt in a desire to cry out "Why have you forsaken me?" So desolation, though painful, is not a disaster, however much it feels like one.
The disaster would be if the Lord lost us. If you fear THAT disaster, you know what to do. Pray HARD. Remember who he is. Read Psalm 77 and see how the cosmic Lord, the Lord whose advent stirs up tempest and earthquake and pierces through the deep -- THAT Lord, who he sees us and treats us a sheep to be gently led.
Sometimes I had to upend my sheep and trim their hooves. They hated it. They utterly loathe having their lower limbs held. But I did it so they wouldn't get lame.
He will, from time to time, upend us. We won't like it. But he never ceases his care.
Mary and Joseph thought they had lost IHS. Okay. But he never lost them.
O RADIANT DAWN
December 21
Symbols: Sun with Rays
Come, and shine on those seated in darkness, and in the shadow of death.
O Dawn, splendor of eternal light, and sun of justice, come, and shine on those seated in darkness, and in the shadow of death.
O Oriens, splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae: veni, et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
Just as the natural sun gives light and life to all upon whom its rays fall, so Christ, the Rising Dawn, dispels darkness and brings eternal life and light.
Recommended Readings: Malachias 4:2-6