The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
Who is this mystery joyful for? It has never made much sense to me as a Joyful Mystery. It isn't joyful for Mary or Joseph. Relief would be a more accurate description of their state. It isn't joyful for Jesus. He seems to be slightly indignant. It isn't joyful for the teachers of the law. They seem to express amusement more than anything else. And as a reader I don't really experience joy at this moment because I know that this moment is a complete inversion of what is to come in about 20 years. Why is this a joyful mystery? Perhaps the reason comes clear when we understand that joy is what follows from the love of charity. St. Thomas teaches us that to have perfect joy is to be united with the beloved. Here now we begin to see why this mystery is one of joy. Jesus is caritas incarnate. The teachers of the law have the source of the law before them and are filled with joy. Mary and Joseph have found the child Jesus and now, once again, rejoice in His presence. And Jesus, residing in His Father's House finds Himself filled with the joy that only He can know as the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. If this boy where anyone but Love Incarnate then my first inclinations would be true. Yet, as I remember that Jesus is Love I am turned from blindness to sight and my heart is made new. Lord, allow me to never forget that you are Love and the source of all love. Allow me to approach your Blessed person in my iniquity so that I may come to know the true Joy that is Yours to give.
From here on out I will be covering two mysteries a day so that I can accommodate the timetable for my friends charity. Thus tomorrow I will reflect upon both the first Sorrowful Mystery and the first Glorious Mystery.
No comments:
Post a Comment