Fifth Joyful Mystery— The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple

A child raised in the time of Christ was considered an adult at the age of 12. That meant that a boy, now a young man had completed his initial education and was ready to accept responsibility for his faith. His parents and family nurtured this faith in their ordinary family life in their home.

We can easily imagine Joseph and Mary teaching Jesus to read and write, teaching him to love and respect scripture according to the traditions of God’s chosen people. We can imagine Jesus growing in love, wisdom, and understanding from these interactions with God the Father, his earthly parents, friends, and family. Can you see Jesus trying his best so that he would honor his father and mother? Can you see Mary and Joseph trying their best to guide Jesus until he was ready? 

“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. (Luke 2:48-50) 

Jesus explained why he stayed behind in the temple, but Mary and Joseph did not understand. One of the most challenging things in this life is that we often have to act even when we do not fully understand. Parenting is not for the faint of heart. It is a journey filled with great joy but also deep sorrow. It stretches our hearts beyond what we think is humanly possible.

Our fears and limitations bring us down to our knees. We can see ourselves asking with Mary, “Son, why have you done this to us?” 

Now that our children are all adults, it is interesting to see what they remember. Sometimes they will say, “mom always said,” or explain their version of a shared memory, and we are always amazed at what they say. It is like getting a glimpse of the building blocks of their character and seeing our influence on them. Sometimes we like what we see; other times, we have to trust that God will work it all out for good in His loving hands. 

As parents, it is not easy to let go. We always want to be there for our children, to protect and guide them, for that has been our mission for the whole of our child’s life, but there comes a time when we have to let them go, for they also have their own life missions, ones they have to pursue. Just like Mary, there will be times when we will have to be humble and have faith and trust. We will also have to keep many things in our hearts.    

He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. (Luke 2:51) 

Ivonne and Rick Hernandez met in college and graduated from the Computer Engineering program at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayaguez. They now live in Florida and have three sons. They are Lay Associates of the Blessed Sacrament and co-founders of Elisheba House, a non-profit Catholic media apostolate. Ivonne is the author of The Rosary: Eucharistic Meditations. They each write individually for various publications, including the Elisheba Blog, CatholicMom, Shalom Tidings, and the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament’s Daily Eucharistic Reflection.

You can find more about their ministry and their writing at Elisheba House.