5th Joyful Mystery: Finding of Jesus in the Temple

By Ivonne Hernandez

St Peter Julian Eymard´s Words:

 “Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament is His own Light, His own means of being known, just as the sun is itself its own proof. To make Himself known, He has only to show Himself. We need not resort to reasoning to understand that; a child does not have to discourse with itself to recognize its parents. Our Lord manifests Himself through the reality of His presence as parents do. … He speaks only one word, but a word that rings in our very hearts: "It is I! . . ." And we sense His presence, we believe in it more firmly than if we were to see Him with our eyes.”[1]    

​MEDITATION:

The mystery of the Finding of Jesus in the Temple speaks to us of devotion. Devotion keeps us coming back to the practices we know will bring us closer to God, even when we feel we have lost Him. When Mary and Joseph lost sight of Jesus they were filled with anxiety and worry. We too lose sight of Jesus in our lives. Often, we let ourselves get carried away by the cares of life, and when we look back, we realize Jesus is not with us anymore. We think He is lost, that He left us, but it is we who are lost. It is we who turned our eyes towards something else. It is at those times that devotion to the Blessed Sacrament will be our saving grace.

It is in the reality of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament that we will find ourselves. Only through that light of Truth we will be able to see our hearts the way God sees us. As we contemplate Jesus in His own light, He will reveal ourselves to us. He will reveal the areas that are distracting us from following Him. We will be able to see our nothingness, and not be afraid, since He is veiled in nothingness Himself. He will draw us to Himself and speak to our hearts. We will find ourselves in Him, because He is the Way.

Mary and Joseph eventually found Jesus in the Temple. After they found Him, they brought Him home and He stayed with them. Jesus wants to remain with us always. We must do everything in our power to remain in His presence. “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4) We need the Eucharist, our daily bread. St Peter Julian calls love for the Most Blessed Sacrament, the “mother and queen of all other devotions and the sunlight of piety.”[2] This devotion will be our sustenance for the road. When our hearts are filled with fear and anxiety because we can’t see Jesus, we need but to turn our eyes towards Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament. St Peter Julian tells us that “our Lord sees as far as your home; He listens to you from His tabernacle. He can see us from Heaven; why could He not see us from the Sacred Host? Adore Him from where you are; you will make a good adoration of love, and our Lord will understand your desire.”[3] Let us then turn our eyes towards Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament, and listen as he whispers in our hearts, “It is I!”

​SEND:

​As you meditate on the mystery of the Finding of Jesus in the Temple, ask Our Lady to give you the grace to increase your devotion to The Most Blessed Sacrament.

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Next: 1st Sorrowful Mystery: The Agony in the Garden

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[1] Eymard, The Real Presence, p.191   
[2] Eymard, The Real Presence, p.315
[3] Eymard, The Real Presence, p.319