Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Lectionary: 17
A Reading for the Gospel according to Luke
LK 2:41-52
Each year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the feast
of Passover,
and when he was twelve years old,
they went up according to festival custom.
After they had completed its days, as they were returning,
the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem,
but his parents did not know it.
Thinking that he was in the caravan,
they journeyed for a day
and looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances,
but not finding him,
they returned to Jerusalem to look for him.
After three days they found him in the temple,
sitting in the midst of the teachers,
listening to them and asking them questions,
and all who heard him were astounded
at his understanding and his answers.
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.
And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age and favor
before God and man.
Salesian Sunday Reflection
Feast of the Holy Family
In today’s Gospel we experience Jesus telling Mary and Joseph that He must be in his ‘Father’s house’, yet he remains obedient to his parents. St. Francis de Sales notes:
God draws us by special attractions. If the attraction comes from God, it leads you to ‘loving obedience’. In doing God’s will, ‘loving obedience’ undertakes a command lovingly, no matter how difficult it may be. We desire that God take all our affections and actions, and shape them. This road will surely lead you to reap a harvest of blessings.
In the Scriptures, Jesus tells us often that He came not to do His own will but the will of His Father. During His mortal life, Jesus also lovingly obeyed His parents and others. Our Savior now asks of us to imitate the loving obedience that He rendered, not only to the Divine good will, but also to His earthly parents. Joseph and Mary received great joy because they helped Him, and remained constantly in His presence.
What causes us to be inconstant and changeable in our moods to love and serve God? It is the diversity of our desires. Constant mood swings come from our inordinate desires. Holy love has only one desire: to love and serve God, who desires we have a tranquil spirit, and experience in this world a slight foretaste of eternal joy.
Evenness of mind and heart is the most necessary virtue for the stability of moods that leads to holiness. One way to achieve evenness and stability of moods in our lives is to have a daily routine of mental prayer and other activities that sustain our well being: eating, sleeping, and exercise. Be faithful to God’s wishes and commands, as the bees do with their queen. Then you will live firm and unwavering in your resolution to love God’s will as Jesus did: constantly, courageously, hardily, and ardently.
