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THE SEVEN SUNDAYS OF SAINT JOSEPH (THE FIFTH SUNDAY) THE FIFTH SUNDAY JOYS AND SORROW - II III. Jesus lost and found at the Temple. In this final sorrow and joy we contemplate the time when Jesus was lost, and found in the Temple. The Mosaic Law obliged all the Jews who could do so to go on pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem during the three principal feast of Passover, and the Feast of Lights. This rule covered all Jews from their twelfth birthday. If a family lived more than a day’s journey from the Temple they need only make one pilgrimage a year. The Law said nothing about the participation of women in the journey, but it seems to have been customary that women accompanied their husbands. Mary and Joseph went every year to Jerusalem during Passover. When Jesus reached the age of twelve he traveled with his parents to the Temple. Families who came from distant villages typically traveled in groups. Jerusalem was about three or four days journey from Nazareth. The Passover celebration lasted for a week. At its close the family caravans would regroup outside the city walls and then begin their return home. The men often traveled in one section of the caravan, while the women would be regrouped in another. on the road would move about indiscriminately from one group to another. Husband and wife would normally meet together with their families for the evening meal. When Joseph and Mary accordingly rejoined each other, they realized immediately that Jesus was missing. At first they looked for him among the other caravan groups, but he was not to be found. No one had seen him during the return trip! Joseph and Mary spent the following day searching anxiously among their relatives and acquaintances. No one had any news! Mary and Joseph would have been totally beside themselves with anxiety. What could have possibly happened? That night before they returned to Jerusalem must have been agony for them. Very early next day they made haste back to Jerusalem. They looked for Jesus everywhere. Where was He? What had happened? They ask people. They described the . No one had any idea. They made their earnest search in a most memorable fashion: he with furrowed brow, she seemingly doubled over the sorrow. Thus they taught all of us how to behave whenever we have the misfortune to lose Jesus. Perhaps worst of all was the apparent silence of God, She, the Virgin, was the Father’s favourite . He Joseph, had been chosen to care for the two of them, and he too had experienced God’s intervention in human affairs. Through the angel he had been forewarned of the danger Jesus would run in Bethlehem. He had been urged to flee to Egypt. On moving to Judaea once more he was told to settle in Nazareth, to avoid possible evils. How, after two days of crying out to heaven, of incessant searching and with ever-mounting anxiety for the , could God remain deaf to his supplication and his suffering. There are times during the life when God seems silent. It may seem that we have lost him. In some instances, this happens through our own fault. In other cases, however, it is almost as if God has deliberately hidden himself so that we will try to find him. Jesus, may I never lose you again… We ought to repeat this simple prayer in the depths of our hearts. On the third day, when every possibility had been exhausted, suddenly they found Jesus. We san only imagine the wave of joy which must have swept over Mary and Joseph when they discovered him. They would have take the home between the two of them so as not to lose him again. If they did not actually fear losing him again, at least they wanted to make up for the three days they had lived without him. Jesus, may I never lose you again… We ask Saint Joseph to help us never to lose Jesus through sin. Nor do we want to lose sight of him through our human weakness. We ask St. Joseph to teach us how to look for Jesus with our whole heart if we should ever suffer the misfortune of losing him. in Conversation with God Daily Meditations Volume VI Special Feast January ‒ June 
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