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From: Isaiah 61:9-11

The herald of good tidings (continued)

[9] Their descendants shall be known among the nations,
and their offspring in the midst of the peoples;
all who see them shall acknowledge them,
that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

[10] I will greatly rejoice in the Lord,
my soul shall exult in my God;
for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation,
he has covered me with the robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
[11] For as the earth brings forth its shoots,
and as a garden causes what is sown in it to spring up,
so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise
to spring forth before all the nations.

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Commentary:

1-11. Into the air of great joy reflected in the previous hymn, the prophet inserts
this very important oracle about the new messenger (vv. 1-3). The rest of the
chapter is made up of three stanzas that celebrate the wonders of the holy city.
These can be seen in profound, spiritual renewal (vv. 4-7), perfect fulfillment of
the promises made to the ancient patriarchs (vv. 8-9), and joy-in-worship, com-
parable to that of a bridegroom and bride, or that of the farmer on seeing a rich
harvest (vv. 10-11).

The remarkable events and features of the city point to the time of the End, the
time of the Lord’s definitive, salvific intervention. In this context, these new things
are ultimate and definitive. Because in the New Testament the Church is called
“God’s buildingÃ¢Â€Â (1 Cor 3:9), erected on the foundation of the apostles (1 Cor 3:
11), Christian tradition has seen the new, glorious Jerusalem as a symbol of the
Church that makes its way through this world and will be made manifest at the
end of time (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 756-757).

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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: Luke 2:41-51

The Finding in the Temple

[41] Now his (Jesus’) parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the
Passover. [42] And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to
custom; [43] and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy
Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, [44] but sup-
posing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought
him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; [45] and when they did not find
him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. [46] And after three days they
found him in the temple sitting among the teachers, listening to them and as-
king them questions; [47] and all who heard him were amazed at his under-
standing and his answers. [48] And when they saw him they were astonished;
and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your
father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” [49] And he said to them,
“How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s
house ?” [50] And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them.

The Hidden Life of Jesus at Nazareth

[51] And he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to
them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart.

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Commentary:

41. Only St Luke (2:41-50) reports the event of the Child Jesus being lost and
then found in the temple, which we contemplate in the “Fifth Joyful Mystery” of
the Rosary.

Only males aged twelve and upwards were required to make this journey. Naza-
reth is about 100 km (60 miles) from Jerusalem as the crow flies, but the hilly
nature of the country would have made it a trip of 140 km.

43-44. On pilgrimages to Jerusalem, the Jews used to go in two groups—one of
men, the other of women. Children could go with either group. This explains how
they could go a day’s journey before they discovered the Child was missing when
the families regrouped to camp.

“Mary is crying. In vain you and I have run from group to group, from caravan to
caravan. No one has seen him. Joseph, after fruitless attempts to keep from cry-
ing, cries too ... And you ... And I. ‘Being a common little fellow, I cry my eyes
out and wail to heaven and earth ..., to make up for the times when I lost him
through my own fault and did not cry” (St. J. Escriva, “Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joy-
ful Mystery).

45. The concern which Mary and Joseph show in looking for the Child should
encourage us always to seek Jesus out, particularly if we lose him through sin.

“Jesus, may I never lose you again.... Now you and I are united in misfortune
and grief, as were united in sin. And from the depths of our being comes sighs
of heartfelt sorrow and burning phrases which the pen cannot and should not
record” (”Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joyful Mystery).

46-47. The Child Jesus must have been in the courtyard of the temple, which was
where the teachers usually taught. Listeners used to sit at their feet, now and a-
gain asking questions and responding to them. This was what Jesus did, but his
questions and answers attracted the teachers’ attention, he was so wise and well-
informed.

48. Ever since the Annunciation our Lady had known that the Child Jesus was
God. This faith was the basis of her generous fidelity throughout her life—but there
was no reason why it should include detailed knowledge of all the sacrifices God
would ask of her, nor of how Christ would go about his mission of redemption:
that was something she would discover as time went by, contemplating her Son’s
life.

49. Christ’s reply is a form of explanation. His words—his first words to be recor-
ded in the Gospel—clearly show his divine Sonship; and they also show his deter-
mination to fulfill the will of his Eternal Father. “He does not upbraid them — Mary
and Joseph — for searching for their son, but he raises the eyes of their souls to
appreciate what he owes him whose Eternal Son he is” (St Bede, “In Lucae Evan-
gelium Expositio, in loc.”). Jesus teaches us that over and above any human au-
thority, even that of our parents, there is the primary duty to do the will of God.
“And once we are consoled by the joy of finding Jesus — three days he was gone!
— debating with the teachers of Israel (Lk 2:46), you and I shall be left deeply im-
pressed by the duty to leave our home and family to serve our heavenly Father”
(St. J. Escriva, “Holy Rosary”, Fifth Joyful Mystery”). See note on Mt 10:34-37.

50. We must remember that Jesus knew in detail the whole course his earthly
life would take from his conception onwards (cf. note on Lk 2:52). This is shown
by what he says in reply to his parents. Mary and Joseph realized that his reply
contained a deeper meaning which they did not grasp. They grew to understand
it as the life of their Child unfolded. Mary’s and Joseph’s faith and their reverence
towards the Child led them not to ask any further questions but to reflect on Je-
sus’ words and behavior in this instance, as they had done so on other occa-
sions.

51. The Gospel sums up Jesus’ life in Nazareth in just three words: “erat subdtus
illis”, he was obedient to them. “Jesus obeys, and he obeys Joseph and Mary.
God has come to the world to obey, and to obey creatures. Admittedly they were
very perfect creatures—Holy Mary, our mother, greater than whom God alone; and
that most chaste man Joseph. But they are only creatures, and yet Jesus, who
is God, obeyed them. We have to love God so as to love his will and desire to re-
spond to his calls. They come to us through the duties of our ordinary life — du-
ties of state, profession, work, family, social life, our own and other people’s diffi-
culties, friendship, eagerness to do what is right and just” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ
Is Passing By”, 17).

Jesus lived like any other inhabitant of Nazareth, working at the same trade as St
Joseph and earning his living by the sweat of his brow. “His hidden years are not
without significance, nor were they simply a preparation for the years which were
to come after—those of his public life. Since 1928 I have understood clearly that
God wants our Lord’s whole life to be an example for Christians. I saw this with
special reference to his hidden life, the years he spent working side by side with
ordinary men. Our Lord wants many people to ratify their vocation during years
of quiet, unspectacular living. Obeying God’s will always means leaving our sel-
fishness behind, but there is no reason why it should entail cutting ourselves off
from the normal life of ordinary people who share the same status, work and so-
cial position with us.

“I dream—and the dream has come true—of multitudes of God’s children, sanctify-
ing themselves as ordinary citizens, sharing the ambitions and endeavors of their
colleagues and friends. I want to shout to them about this divine truth: If you are
there in the middle of ordinary life, it doesn’t mean Christ has forgotten about you
or hasn’t called you. He has invited you to stay among the activities and concerns
of the world. He wants you to know that your human vocation, your profession,
your talents, are not omitted from his divine plans. He has sanctified them and
made them a most acceptable offering to his Father” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is
Passing By”, 20).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.