Today, July 7, is the First Saturday of the Month. The First Saturday Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary was first mentioned by Our Lady of Fatima on July 13, 1917. After showing the three children a vision of hell she said, "You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace... I shall come to ask for... the Communion of reparation on the first Saturdays..." The First Saturday devotion is as follows:
It consists in going to Confession, receiving Communion, reciting five decades of the Rosary and meditating for a quarter of an hour on the mysteries of the Rosary on the first Saturday of five consecutive months. The Confession may be made during the eight days preceding or following the first Saturday of each month, provided that Holy Communion be received in the state of grace. Should one forget to form the intention of making reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, it may be formed at the next Confession, occasion to go to confession being taken at the first opportunity.
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| The Holy Family - Jesus, Mary and Joseph |
As is my practice, I am sharing my meditation on a mystery of the Rosary here. Today I have chosen the Fifth Joyful Mystery - The Finding of Jesus in the Temple after three days. In the devotion of the
Seven Sorrows of Mary, the third sorrow is called
The Loss of Jesus in the Temple. It is the same incident looked at from two different perspectives. How can the same incident be both joyful and sorrowful?
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Angel appearing to
Joseph in a dream |
We need to go back to the birth of our Lord into the Holy Family. Jesus was born under very difficult circumstances. Mary became pregnant before she and Joseph were officially married, so there was the taint that she had become pregnant outside of marriage, an offense punishable by stoning. Joseph even considered putting her away in order to protect her because he knew he was not the father of her child. But an angel appeared to him in a dream to assure him that Mary had conceived without sin, the angel saying: "Joseph, son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which
is conceived in her, is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name JESUS. For he
shall save his people from their sins. " (Mt. 1:20-21) Joseph now realized that he had been given a very special responsibility and he took this calling with all seriousness. He knew he must now protect Mary and her child with his life.
When it came time for the birth of the Christ child, Mary and Joseph once more found themselves in a very difficult situation. They were in Bethlehem because a census had been called, but now, with Mary about to give birth, they had no place to stay. They were finally directed to a dirty smelly stable filled with animals and all the dirt and refuse that comes with animals. There, the King of the Universe, the Creator, was born with nothing more than swaddling clothes with which to be wrapped in. This is hardly what Joseph and Mary had in mind for this precious child.
Shortly after this, as the Jewish custom was, they presented Jesus in the temple, the custom being to give the first born to God and then redeem him back. There they met Simeon, the holy old man who had been promised by God he would not die until he had seen the Saviour. Simeon immediately recognized our Lord and said: "Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace; Because my eyes have
seen thy salvation." (Luke 2:29-30) But that is not all he said. He told the Blessed Mother: "And thy own soul a sword shall pierce, that, out of many hearts, thoughts may be
revealed." (Luke 2:35). Mary and Joseph could only wonder what these words meant. What was that sword that would pierce the Blessed Mother's heart?
I'm sure the next major incident made Joseph and Mary wonder if this was the sword predicted by Simeon. King Herod, the King of Judah, decided the Christ Child was a threat to him, and proceeded to search for him to kill him. Once again, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream to warn him of the impending danger to the child, and told Joseph to flee to Egypt for safety. Neither Joseph nor Mary had any ties to Egypt, no family there, and it is highly doubtful either of them had ever been in Egypt before. They were forced to leave everyone and everything that was familiar. But they obeyed without complaint or murmur, and took their precious responsibility out of harm's way. But how they must have suffered when they knew that other children were killed in an attempt to kill their own child.
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Joseph and Mary fleeing into Egypt with the
young Christ Child |
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| Mary in deep sorrow |
Fast forward twelve years. Joseph and Mary have since returned to Judah and have gone to Jerusalem for the Passover, as was their custom. They had complete trust in the child Jesus as he had always perfectly obeyed them. They were no doubt traveling with family and friends, so they didn't worry if they didn't see the child every moment, being assured that he was in safe hands. But after one day, when they had left Jerusalem, they realized that they had lost him. No one they questioned had seen the Christ Child or had any idea where he was. They also knew there were those who wished to kill this precious Child, adding to their anxiety. Any parent would be in complete panic if he lost his child, but with the experiences Mary and Joseph had, their panic was even worse. Mary was beyond being consoled, fearing that this was the sword prophesied by Simeon. They hurriedly retraced their steps back to Jerusalem, frantically searching for their precious Child, and no doubt were in deep prayer. But there was no angel this time assuring them of the Child's safety They were getting no answers from above or below concerning the whereabouts of the Child. They felt they had been derelict in their God-given responsibility to protect the Child, this precious Gift sent to save mankind. They most probably felt that the abandonment they were experiencing was their just punishment for not looking after the Christ Child. The sorrow they felt is beyond our ability to comprehend.
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| Mary questioning Jesus |
Finally after three long days, they came to the temple in Jerusalem, and there they saw Jesus among the scribes and pharisees, talking with them and asking them questions, astounding these learned men with his wisdom and knowledge. Joseph and Mary felt at once an awesome sense of relief and joy, but also puzzlement as to why this usually obedient Child would have let them go through such anxiety. And Mary said: "Son, why hast thou done so to us? behold thy father and I have sought thee
sorrowing." (Lk 2:48) Jesus answered her with almost a rebuke: "How is it that you sought me? did you not know, that I must be about my father's
business?" (Lk. 2:49) We are told in the next verse, Luke 2:50, that "they understood not the word that he spoke unto them."
We too, like Joseph and Mary here, often do not understand why God acts in our lives as he does. Why does he allow us to suffer, often with seemingly no explanation, and if and when He does give us an answer, we still don't understand. But like Joseph and Mary, we need to realize that it is not given to us to understand everything that happens to us. Our Lord is about his Father's business, which is the salvation of mankind. Like Joseph and Mary, we must accept on faith and childlike trust the events in our lives and realize we are involved in something much bigger than ourselves. Joseph and Mary thought they had lost the child Jesus, but he had never left them. When we feel lost and abandoned by God, as these two holy people did, let us realize that Christ, in fact, will never abandon us, never leave us, all appearances to the contrary, and to find Him, we must merely look to where He is "about his Father's business."
This mystery of the Rosary has another lesson for us as well, and that is, our Blessed Mother understands how we also can feel abandoned and that we have somehow lost Christ. Although she was closer to Jesus than anyone in history has ever been, she still had much sorrow and pain in her life. In fact, her sorrow started at the time she was told by Simeon that a sword would pierce her heart, and it became deeper and more profound as her Child grew, right up to her sharing Christ's Passion on the Cross. We should always reach out to our Mother of Sorrows, knowing that she has a better understanding of our pain and feelings of loss than even we ourselves do. And she wants to comfort us just as any mother wants to comfort her children.
Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.
