3rd Sorrow of Mary: The Loss of Jesus in Jerusalem

"My heart is restless until it rests in You"

Luke 2:41-52

(Our Father...)

When we become immersed in the world, as Mary and Joseph were immersed in the caravan traveling back to Nazareth from Jerusalem, it is easy to lose sight of Jesus. What a terrible loss!

              (1st Hail Mary...)

Mary and Joseph lost Jesus, but Jesus was not lost, since He was in His Father's house, sharing His understanding and wisdom with the teachers. Even when we temporarily lose sight of Jesus, as long as we do not fall out of grace through unconfessed mortal sin, He remains in His Father's house in the little heaven of our soul. Thanks be to God!

              (2nd Hail Mary...)

When His Mother and His Foster Father Joseph found Him in the temple, His Mother said, "Son, why have You treated us so? Behold, Your father and I have been looking for You anxiously." When we are faced with loss, we sometimes ask God the same question: "Why have You treated me so?" In this world we will never have full understanding of our suffering, but, if we "keep all of these things in our heart," maybe we will receive a glint of understanding about the meaning of our suffering.

                               (3rd Hail Mary...)

Jesus answered: "How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?" Blessed Mother, did you sometimes forget that Jesus was God's Son before He was Incarnated as yours? Was His Incarnation at that time still a mystery to you, as it is to us at this time?

                                 (4th Hail Mary...)

"The Boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem." The name "Jerusalem" means "city of peace." Jesus' Heart drew Him to His Father's house, where He experiences His deepest peace. St. Augustine said, "My heart is restless until it rests in You." Mary's heart was anxious until she was reunited with her Son. In our world of so many wars, so much violence, God is the Peace we have lost.

                             (5th Hail Mary...)

Jesus is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life," and He is also a Mystery. The teachers in the temple were amazed at His understanding and His answers. His Mother and His Foster Father Joseph were astonished that, at the age of twelve, He was already teaching the teachers. They didn't understand why He acted the way He did. "Did you not know that I must be in My Father's house?" His bond, His Union with God His Father was too compelling to resist. Even to His Mother He was in many ways a Mystery.

                             (6th Hail Mary...)

Jesus was obedient to God His Father for those three days in the temple, and when it was time for Him to leave the temple, "He went down with them and came to Nazareth," His earthly home, and was obedient to His Mother and St. Joseph as He grew into manhood. Jesus teaches us to be obedient in all things: first and foremost to God Our Father, and also to all with God-given authority over us on this earth.

                                 (7th Hail Mary...)