Episode 2291: Seeking Jesus Mary's Journey of Faith and Sorrow with Sharon

Welcome back to CR and I am once again fortunate to have Sharon leading and me riding shot gun. I truly do like having different voices on this podcast.
But before we get started let’s say the prayer of the Sacred Heart before the month of June ends. Sharon can you recite the prayer?

Walt: Welcome back to Catholic Reboot where we delve into the profound moments of our faith through the eyes of the saints and scripture.
Today, we are reflecting on a significant episode from the Gospel of Luke, where Mary seeks Jesus lost in Jerusalem. This story not only highlights Mary's deep faith but also foreshadows the sorrow she would experience during Jesus' Passion.
We'll also be exploring a poignant prayer that ties Mary's sorrow during this event to the greater sorrow she endured during the Passion and how we, too, can find grace in our own moments of uncertainty.
Sharon: Before we begin, I’d like to begin w an excerpt from the book The Glories of Mary by St Alphonsus de Ligori if that’s ok with you, Walt?:
Its another beautiful analogy that will set the stage for this 3rd sorrow.
ST. JAMES the Apostle has said, that our perfection consists in the virtue of patience. “And patience hath a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire, failing in nothing.” The Lord having then given us the Virgin Mary as an example of perfection, it was necessary that she should be laden with sorrows, that in her we might admire and imitate her heroic patience. The dolor that we are this day to consider is one of the greatest which our divine mother Buffered during her life, namely, the loss of her Son in the temple. He who is born blind is little sensible of the pain of being deprived of the light of day; but to him who has once had sight and enjoyed the light, it is a great sorrow to find himself deprived of it by blindness. And thus it is with those unhappy souls who, being blinded by the mire of this earth, have but little knowledge of God, and therefore scarcely feel pain at not finding him. On the contrary, the man who, illuminated with celestial light, has been made worthy to find by love the sweet presence of the highest good, oh God, how he mourns when he finds himself deprived of it!

Sharon: Let's begin by reading the scripture from Luke 2:41-51. Walt would you mind doing the heavy lifting of reading the scripture passage?
Walt: [Reading Luke 2:41-51] "Every year Jesus' parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. When he was twelve years old, they went up to the festival, according to the custom. After the festival was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, 'Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you.' 'Why were you searching for me?' he asked. 'Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?' But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart."
Sharon: Let’s think about this for a minute before we dive in. First, they were full of excitement going to the yearly Passover? This passage is rich with meaning and emotion. Mary and Joseph, in their human frailty, experienced the anguish of losing their child. How many of us have experienced the temporary loss of a child…in a store, an amusement park. And, when we find them, what guilt we feel for our neglect. This moment is a profound reminder of Mary's deep humanity and her exceptional faith.
Mary's response to finding Jesus in the temple is a testament to her humility and her deep acceptance of God's will, even when it was difficult to understand. She pondered these things in her heart, a heart already beginning to be pierced by the swords of sorrow foretold by Simeon. In the joyful mysteries, Bead 7 we read: Contemplate the journey back to Nazareth, as the Holy Family ponders the significance of this event. In Bead 8: Imagine the conversations between Mary, Joseph, and Jesus, as they seek to comprehend the unfolding of God's plan. And, in Bead 9: Meditate on the growth and maturation of Jesus, as He embraces His identity as the Son of God. I think that says it all, Walt?
Let me share an excerpt from the book:
Now let us imagine what distress that afflicted mother must have experienced in those three days in which she was searching everywhere for her Son, with the spouse as described in the Canticles : “Have you seen him whom my soul loveth?” But she could hear no tidings of him. Oh, with how much greater tenderness must Mary, overcome with fatigue, and yet not having found her beloved Son, have repeated those words of Ruben, concerning his brother Joseph: The boy doth not appear, and whither shall I go? My Jesus doth not appear, and I know not what to do that I may find him; but where shall I go without my treasure? Weeping continually, she repeated during these three days with David: “My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily, Where is thy God ?
Wherefore Pelbart (philosopher and essayist) with reason says, that during those nights the afflicted mother had no rest, but wept and prayed without ceasing to God, that he would enable her to find her Son.
And, according to St. Bernard, often during that time did she repeat to her Son himself the words of the spouse: “Show me where thou feedest, where thou liest in the mid-day, lest I begin to wander. My Son, tell me where thou art, that I may no longer wander, seeking thee in vain. IS that not beautiful? Does it not paint a picture?
Walt: It's important to consider how this moment foreshadows the greater sorrow Mary would experience during the Passion. The three days of searching for Jesus mirror the three days Jesus lay in the tomb. Let's reflect on the prayer inspired by this event.
Walt: Do you mind if I recite a prayer in this spirit? "O Mother of Sorrows, what grief filled your heart as you and Joseph searched desperately for Jesus when you could not find Him among your relatives and friends returning home from Jerusalem. When your Son replied that He must be about His Father’s business, you accepted that He had begun the mission that would lead to His sacrificial death. The sorrow of those three days of separation prepared you for the three days of suffering you endured while His body lay lifeless in the tomb. Through this bitter sword of sorrow obtain for us the grace to accept the ways of Divine Providence even when we do not understand them."
Sharon: Isn’t this the prayer we lead into the 7 Sorrows with? This prayer beautifully connects Mary's sorrow during the loss of Jesus in Jerusalem with her ultimate sorrow at the foot of the Cross. It highlights her strength and her unwavering faith in Divine Providence.
Walt: St. Thomas Aquinas often emphasized the importance of accepting God's will, even when it is beyond our understanding. This prayer calls us to seek that same grace, to trust in God's plan, and to find peace in our own moments of uncertainty.
Sharon: St. Augustine also teaches us about the value of suffering in bringing us closer to God. Mary's sorrows were not in vain; they prepared her for the ultimate act of faith and love, standing by her Son as He fulfilled His mission.
And, again, another excerpt that I summarized:
Now, many great writers assert, and not without reason I might add, that this dolor was not only one of the greatest, but that it was the greatest and most painful of all.
Firstly, Mary in her other dolors had Jesus with her; she suffered when Simeon spoke the prophecy in the temple; she suffered in the flight to Egypt, but she had Jesus with her ; but in this dolor she suffered a separation from Jesus, and not knowing where he was: “And the light of my eyes itself is not with me.” Thus, with tears, she then exclaimed: Ah, the light of my eyes, my dear Jesus, is no more with me; he is far from me, I know not where he is!
Origen, who was considered the most important theologian and Bible scholar of the early Greek Church (185-253) says, that though the love which this holy mother bore her Son, she suffered more at this loss of Jesus than any martyr ever suffered at death. Ah, how long: were these three days for Mary! they appeared three ages. Very bitter days, for there was none to comfort her. And who, she exclaimed, who can console me if he who could console me is far from me? and therefore my eyes are not satisfied with weeping : “Therefore do I weep, and my eyes run down with water, because the comforter is far from me.” And with Tobias she repeated: “What manner of joy shall be to me who sit in darkness.
Secondly. Mary well understood the cause and end of the other dolors, namely, the redemption of the world, the divine will ; but in this she did not know the cause of the absence of her Son. The sorrowful mother was grieved to find Jesus withdrawn from her, for her humility, says Lanspergius (who was a monk ascetical writer from 1489-1539, he was a Carthusian spiritual writer) made her consider herself unworthy to remain with him any longer, and attend upon him on earth, and have the care of such a treasure. And perhaps, she may have thought within herself, I have not served him as I ought. Perhaps I have been guilty of some neglect, and therefore he has left me. They sought him, lest he perchance had left them, as Origen has said: Certainly there is no greater grief for a soul that loves God than the fear of having displeased him. And therefore Mary never complained in any other sorrow but this, lovingly expostulating with Jesus after she found him : “Son, why hast thou done so to us? Thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing.”! By these words she did not wish to reprove Jesus, as the heretics blasphemously assert, but only to make known to him the grief she had experienced during his absence from her, on account of the love she bore him.
It was not a rebuke, says blessed Denis the Carthusian, but a loving complaint.
Finally, this sword so cruelly pierced the heart of the Virgin, that the blessed Benvenuta, desiring one day to share the pain of the holy mother in this dolor, and praying her to obtain for her this grace, Mary appeared to her with the infant Jesus in her arms; but while Benvenuta was enjoying the sight of that most beautiful child, in one moment she was deprived of it. So great was her sorrow that she had recourse to Mary, to implore her pity that it should not make her die of grief. The holy Virgin appeared to her again three days after, and said to her: “Now learn, oh my daughter, that thy sorrow is but a small part of that which I suffered when I lost my Son.”

Walt: As we meditate on this scripture and prayer, let us ask for the grace to trust in God's plan, even when it is difficult to see His hand at work. Mary's example teaches us that true faith requires humility and a willingness to embrace the unknown.
Look at Job, was he unhappy when he lost all that he possessed on earth; riches, children, health, and honors, and even descended from a throne to a dunghill; but because he had God with him, even then he was happy.
St. Augustine, speaking of him(Job), says: He had lost all that God had given him, but he had God himself: Unhappy and truly wretched are those souls who have lost God. If Mary wept for the absence of her Son for three days, how ought sinners to weep who have lost divine grace, to whom God says: “You are not my people, and I will not be yours.” Sin does this, namely, it separates the soul from God: “Your iniquities have divided between you and your God.” Hence, if even sinners possess all the goods of earth and have lost God, everything on earth becomes vanity and affliction to them, as Solomon confessed: Behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.”
Or, as St. Augustine says: The greatest misfortune of these poor blind souls is, that if they lose an ox, they do not fail to go in search of it; if they lose a sheep, they use all diligence to find it; if they lose a beast of burden, they cannot rest?, but they lose the highest good, which is God, and yet they eat and drink, and take their rest.

Walt, I found this illustration . Do you mind if I share?

In the Annual Letters of the Society of Jesus, in India, there was a young man who was just leaving his apartment in order to commit sin, heard a voice saying: “Stop, where are you going ? He turned round and saw an image, of the sorrowful Mary, who drew out the sword which was in her breast, and said to him: “Take this dagger and pierce my heart rather than wound my Son with this sin.” At the sound of these words the youth prostrated himself on the ground, and with deep contrition, bursting into tears, he asked and obtained from God and the Virgin pardon of his sin.

Conclusion
Walt: Thank you for joining us on today episode as we've delved into the profound faith of Mary and her example of trusting in Divine Providence.
Walt: We hope this reflection inspires you to seek God's will in your own life, especially in moments of uncertainty and sorrow. Remember, just as Mary found Jesus in the temple, we too can find Him when we seek Him with a faithful heart.
Sharon: Until next time, may you walk in faith and trust in God's unfathomable love. God bless.

Walt: God bless. Now go out and Convert somebody! Today!
Prayer:
O blessed Virgin, why art thou afflicted, seeking thy lost Son? Is it because thou dost not know where He is? But dost thou not know that He is in thy heart? Dost thou not see that He is feeding among the lilies? Thou thyself hast said it: “My beloved to me and I to Him who feedeth among the lilies.” These, thy humble, pure, and holy thoughts and affections, are all lilies, that invite the divine spouse to dwell with thee. O Mary, dost thou sigh after Jesus, thou who lovest none but Jesus? Leave sighing to me and so many other sinners who do not love Him, and who have lost Him by offending Him. My most amiable Mother, if through my fault thy Son hast not yet returned to my soul, wilt thou obtain for me that I may find Him. I know well that He allows himself to be found by all who seek Him: The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh him: Make me to seek Him as I ought to seek