Gospel: Luke 2:41-52
Jesus’ parents used to go every year to Jerusalem for the Passover festivities. When the child turned twelve, they went up as usual, but the child Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, without their knowing. Believing he was in the caravan, they traveled a day’s journey; then they looked for him among their relatives and acquaintances, and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him: “Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been searching for you, filled with anxiety.” He replied to them: “Why were you searching for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother kept all these things in her heart. Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and men.

Fruit: To unite myself spiritually with Christ during Eucharistic adoration.

Guidelines for reflection
How many of us have also lost the child Jesus and walk through life filled with anxiety, but the sad part is that sometimes we don’t even realize we have lost him and try to fill the void of not having Jesus with a thousand things that, far from making us happy, leave us lost inside.

1. Where to find him?
We can always find Him in the temple, in that small box called the Tabernacle. Let’s not look for Him in the things the world offers us. Jesus is in the silence of the Tabernacle, where He always waits, and there He continues to leave us amazed with the answers He gives to all our doubts. There, in silence and contemplation, which are a true conquest because they are not reached overnight, but require much walking, as Mary and Joseph did, who, through perseverance, recovered Jesus and took Him home.

2. Jesus’ responses
This Gospel also tells us that Jesus’ responses are sometimes difficult to understand; to comprehend them, like Mary, we must keep them in our hearts. Once we deepen our understanding, over time we realize that the Lord never errs in what He allows in our lives. God’s responses are not usually instant but reveal His plan step by step, like building a structure brick by brick. And God often manifests His will not amid the noise the world offers but in the silence of His temple, in the silence of our conscience, and in the silence of prayer. How much we need to learn from Mary’s silence, who kept all these things in her heart!

Purpose: I will visit Jesus in the Tabernacle and seek to listen to Him in the silence of contemplation. I will especially pray today for my family and for the family to always be the bearer of values in society.