SEVEN DOLORS OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY
The Third Dolor – Of the Loss of Jesus in the Temple
The Apostle Saint James says 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.” Our Lord having, then, given us the Blessed Virgin Mary as a model of perfection, it was necessary that she should be laden with sorrows, that in her we might admire heroic patience, and endeavour to imitate it. The sorrow which we have this day to consider was one of the greatest that Mary had to endure in her life, the loss of her Son in the temple. He who is born blind feels but little the privation of the light of day; but he who has once enjoyed it, and loses it by becoming blind, indeed suffers much. Thus it is also with those unhappy souls who, blinded by the mire of this world, have but little knowledge of God, they suffer but little at not finding Him; but, on the other hand, he who, illumined by celestial light, has become worthy to find by love the sweet presence of the supreme good, O God, how bitterly does he grieve when he finds himself deprived of it! Hence, let us see how much Mary must have suffered from this third sword of sorrow which pierced her heart, when, having lost her Jesus in Jerusalem for three days, she was deprived of His most sweet presence, accustomed as she was constantly to enjoy it.
St. Luke relates, in the second chapter of his Gospel, that the Blessed Virgin, with her spouse St. Joseph, and Jesus, was accustomed every year at the paschal solemnity to visit the temple. When her Son was twelve years of age, she went as usual, and Jesus remained in Jerusalem. Mary did not at once perceive it, thinking He was in company with others. When she reached Nazareth, she inquired for her Son; but not finding Him, she immediately returned to Jerusalem to seek for Him, and only found Him after three days. Now let us imagine what anxiety this afflicted Mother must have experienced in those three days during which she was seeking everywhere for her Son, and inquiring for Him with the spouse in the Canticles: “Have you seen him whom my soul loveth?” But she could have no tidings of Him. O, with how far greater tenderness must Mary, overcome by fatigue, and having not yet 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 no longer know what to do to find Him; but where shall I go without my treasure?’ Weeping continually, with how much truth did she repeat with David, during those three days, “My tears have been my bread day and night, whilst it is said to me daily: Where is thy God?” Wherefore Pelbart, with reason, says, that ‘during those nights the afflicted Mary did not sleep; she was constantly weeping, and entreating God that He would enable her to find her Son.’ Frequently, during that time, according to St. Bernard, she addressed her Son in the words of the spouse in the Canticles: “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.
There are some who assert, and not without reason, that this dolor was not only one of the greatest, but the greatest and most painful of all. For, in the first place, Mary, in her other dolours, had Jesus with her: she suffered when Saint Simeon prophesied to her in the temple; she suffered in the flight into Egypt; but still in company with Jesus; but in this dolour she suffered far from Jesus, not knowing where He was: ” And the light of my eyes itself is not with me.” Thus weeping she then said, ‘Ah, the light of my eyes, my dear Jesus, is no longer with me; He is far from me, and I know not whither He is gone.’ Origen says that through the love which this holy Mother bore her Son, ‘she suffered more in this loss of Jesus than any martyr ever suffered in the separation of his soul from his body.’ Ah, too long indeed were those three days for Mary; they seemed three ages; they were all bitterness, for there was none to comfort her. And who can ever comfort me, she said with Jeremias, who can console me, since He who alone could do so is far from me and therefore my eyes can never weep enough: “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, and see not the light of heaven?”
In the second place, Mary, in all her other sorrows, well understood their cause the redemption of the world, the Divine will; but in this she knew not the cause of the absence of her Son. ‘The sorrowful Mother,’ says Lanspergius, ‘was grieved at the absence of Jesus, because, in her humility, she considered herself unworthy to remain longer with or to attend upon Him on earth, and have the charge of so great a treasure.’ ‘And who knows,’ perhaps she thought within herself ‘maybe I have not served Him as I ought; perhaps I have been guilty of some negligence, for which He has left me.’ ‘They sought Him,’ says Origen, ‘lest perchance He had entirely left them.’ It is certain that, to a soul which loves God, there can be no greater pain than the fear of having displeased Him. Therefore in this sorrow alone did Mary complain, lovingly expostulating with Jesus, after she had found Him: “Son, why hast Thou done so to us? Thy father and I have sought Thee sorrowing.” By these words she had no idea of reproving Jesus, as heretics blasphemously assert, but only meant to express to Him the grief proceeding from the great love she bore Him, which she had experienced during His absence: ‘It was not a rebuke,’ says Denis the Carthusian, ‘but a loving complaint.’ In fine, this sword so cruelly pierced the heart of the most holy Virgin, that the blessed Benvenuta, desiring one day to share the holy Mother’s pain in this dolour, and entreating her for this favour, Mary appeared to her with the Infant Jesus in her arms; but while Benvenuta was enjoying the sight of this most beautiful child, in a moment she was deprived of it. So great was her grief, that she had recourse to Mary, entreating her to mitigate it, that it might not cause her death. In three days the holy Virgin again appeared, and said: ‘Know, my daughter that thy sorrow is only a small part of that which I endured when I lost my Son.’
This sorrow of Mary ought, in the first place, to serve as a consolation to those souls who are desolate, and no longer enjoy, as they once enjoyed, the sweet presence of their Lord. They may weep, but they should weep in peace, as Mary wept the absence of her Son; and let them take courage, and not fear that on this account they have lost the Divine favour; for God Himself assured Saint Teresa, that ‘no one is lost without knowing it; and that no one is deceived without wishing to be deceived.’ If our Lord withdraws Himself from the sight of a soul which loves Him, He does not, therefore, depart from the heart; He often conceals Himself from a soul, that she may seek Him with a more ardent desire and greater love. But whoever wishes to find Jesus, must seek Him, not amidst delights and the pleasures of the world, but amidst crosses and mortifications, as Mary sought Him: “we sought Thee sorrowing,” as Mary said to her Son. `I learn, then, from Mary,’ says Origen, ‘to seek Jesus.’
Moreover, in this world she would seek no other good than Jesus. Job was not unhappy when he lost all that he possessed on earth; riches, children, health, and honours, and even descended from a throne to a dunghill; but because he had God with him, ho was even then happy. Saint Augustine says, ‘he had lost what God had given him but he still had God Himself.” Truly miserable and unhappy are those souls which have lost God. If Mary wept the absence of her Son for three days, how should sinners weep, who have lost divine grace, and to whom God says: “You are not my people, and I will not be yours.” For this is the effect of sin; it separates the soul from God: “Your iniquities have divided between you and your God.” Hence, if sinners possess all the riches of the earth, but have lost God, all, even in this world, becomes vanity and affliction to them, as Solomon confessed: “Behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.” But the greatest misfortune of these poor blind souls is, as St. Augustine observes, 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 when they lose their God, who is the supreme good, they eat, drink, and repose.’
PRAYER
O Blessed Virgin, why dost thou afflict thyself, seeking for thy lost Son ? Is it that thou knowest not where He is? Knowest thou not that He is in thy heart? Art thou ignorant that He feeds amongst lilies? Thou thyself hast said it: “My Beloved to me, and I to Him, who feedeth among the lilies.” These, thy thoughts and affections, which are all humble, pure, and holy, are all lilies which invite thy Divine Spouse to dwell in thee. Ah, Mary, dost thou sigh after Jesus, thou who lovest none but Jesus? Leave sighs to me, and to so many sinners who love Him not, and who have lost Him by offending Him. My most amiable Mother, if through my fault thy Son is not yet returned to my soul, do thou obtain for me that I may find Him. I well know that He is found by those who seek Him: “The Lord is good to the soul that seeketh Him.” But do thou make me seek Him as I ought. Thou art the gate through which all find Jesus; through thee I also hope to find Him. Amen.
St. Alphonsus Liguori
The Search for Child Jesus
When Jesus was twelve, they journeyed to Jerusalem to have Jesus presented in the Temple again. But this was also another sorrow for our Blessed Mother. We cannot conceive of the most tender love, pure love, which Mary possessed in her heart for Jesus, the Son of God. Her pure heart sought only the Will of God, so Her consternation must have been great when she realized, with Joseph, that young Jesus was not in the caravan which was returning to Nazareth. With what haste must they have turned around, frantically returning to Jerusalem. It would be comparable for someone from a tiny rural town today to have their child lost in the midst of a city like Lost Angeles, Chicago, or New York, to name a few metropolises. Where do you look? To whom do you go? What do you say? They searched everywhere for Jesus, the Son of God, and couldn’t find Him. Imagine what many of the people might have remarked. “How could you be so negligent as to lose your son? Serves you right for being neglectful. You’ll probably never find him now. It’s the way of life here in Jerusalem. He could have been sold by now. Better go back home and count Him as gone, because you’re not going to find Him.” Or, “sorry, but we don’t know and we can’t help you. We’ve got our own problems, if you don’t mind.”
Sound familiar? We may say the same things today, to many who seek our help. “Don’t bother me, I’ve got enough to worry about without your troubles on my mind.” Aren’t we glad Our Lady doesn’t treat us that way when we ask her intercession? She could have then and few would have been upset with a mother fearing the worst. But Mary and Joseph didn’t give up. They trusted…and their faith was rewarded after three grueling days of searching. Note here the three days as a precursor of the time Jesus would lie in the tomb after His Death on the Cross before His glorious Resurrection.
We can visualize Joseph and Mary entering the temple area. They were people of deep faith, of deep prayer. The temple was the House of God, and they sought to beseech God to help them in their search. Through trusting in the Holy Ghost, they found Him. Imagine their wonder at finding Jesus in the temple, surrounded by the scribes and elders of the Jewish people. These people were asking this Boy of twelve questions concerning Sacred Scripture, and the Boy was answering with a wisdom that astounded these learned men. Jesus didn’t look a bit concerned that He was busy teaching the leaders of the temple. Perhaps He didn’t notice His Mother and St. Joseph at once. Did Mary and Joseph have to wedge their way through the throng of people surrounding Jesus, as Mary would have to do many years later when Her Divine Son was being taken to Calvary to die for the sins of all mankind? A mixture of joy, relief, thanksgiving to Almighty God, and yes even a bit of angxt and righteous anger must have flooded their souls to have found the Son of God safe and sound, teaching in the temple. But when Mary, ever so gentle, asked Her Divine Son, “Why hast Thou done so to us? Did Thee not knoweth we were searching for Thee?” Jesus responded, “Didst thou not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
In that one statement Christ was announcing, though subtly to all the nation, that soon He would begin the real work for which His Father had sent Him, to bring the new law of Love, to radically alter the old law of Moses, bringing it to fulfillment in ending the Old and beginning the New. Mary understood what her Son meant, though Sacred Scripture does not say this outright, only that she kept all these things in her heart and pondered upon them. This only points out all the more the virtue Mary possessed of silence. Her Son was the Messiah, the Only-Begotten Son of God and she knew from the moment of the Archangel Gabriel announcement to her that she was chosen as the Tabernacle to carry the Living God, to be the instrument by which “the Word was made flesh.” She knew interiorly that He was destined to lead a life of great sorrow in great poverty, before He was to rise from the dead as a sign to all the world that He had triumphed over sin and death.
Having made this statement to His Mother, Jesus calmly took the hands of Joseph and Mary, and returned with them to Nazareth, where He remained obedient to them in every way. Then Holy Writ falls silent upon the life of Jesus after this, and does not pick up again until He is thirty years of age and embarks upon His public ministry. By this time we know from the Gospels that His beloved foster-father, His protector and earthly teacher, St. Joseph is dead. Mary is a widow, and now she must face the fulfillment of Simeon’s prophecy without the physical presence of her earthly guardian. And the sorrows yet to come for her were unprecedented in the history of mankind until that time, and will remain so until the Heavenly Father commands: “Time is no more.”
Meditation and Prayer for the Third Sorrow that pierced Mary’s Immaculate Heart
When Jesus is twelve, He is taken to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover. On the return journey Joseph and Mary find at the end of the first day that Jesus is not with them. Racked with anxiety, they search for Him. Nobody in the streets, not even the beggars, can tell them where He is. Not till the third day do they find Him, in the Temple.
V: O God, come to my assistance;
R: O Lord, make haste to help me
V: Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
R: As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
I grieve for thee, O Mary most sorrowful, in those anxieties which tried thy troubled heart at the lost of thy dear Jesus. Dear Mother, by thy heart so full of anguish, obtain for me the virtue of chastity and the gift of knowledge.
Hail Mary
Source: Daily Catholic
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Novena for Most Holy Name of Mary – Day 8
O Holy Child Mary of the royal house of David, Queen of the angels, Mother of grace and love, I greet thee with all my heart. Obtain for me the grace to love the Lord faithfully during all the days of my life. Obtain for me, too, a great devotion to thee, who art the first creature of God’s love.
Ave Maria
Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
O heavenly Child Mary, who like a pure dove was born immaculate and beautiful, true prodigy of the wisdom of God, my soul rejoices in thee. Oh! Do help me to preserve the angelic virtue of purity at the cost of any sacrifice.
Ave Maria
Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Hail, lovely and holy Child, spiritual garden of delight, where, on the day of the Incarnation, the tree of life was planted, assist me to avoid the poisonous fruit of vanity and pleasures of the world. Help me to engraft into my soul the thoughts, feelings, and virtues of thy divine Son.
Ave Maria
Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Hail, admirable Child Mary, Mystical Rose, closed garden, open only to the heavenly Spouse. O Lily of paradise, make me love the humble and hidden life; let the heavenly Spouse find the gate of my heart always open to the loving calls of His graces and inspiration.
Ave Maria
Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Holy Child Mary, mystical dawn, gate of Heaven, thou art my trust and hope. O powerful advocate, from thy cradle stretch out thy hand, support me on the path of life. Make me serve God with ardor and constancy until death and so reach an eternity with thee.
Ave Maria
Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.
Blessed Child Mary, destined to be the Mother of God and our loving Mother, by the heavenly graces thou hast lavished upon us, mercifully listen to my supplications. In the needs which press upon me from every side and especially in my present tribulation, I place all my trust in thee.
O holy Child, by the privileges granted to thee alone and by the merits which thou hast acquired, show that the source of spiritual favors and the continuous benefits which thou dispense are inexhaustible, because thy power with the Heart of God is unlimited.
Deign through the immense profusion of graces with which the Most High has enriched thee from the first moment of thy Immaculate Conception, grant me, O Celestial Child, my petition, and I shall eternally praise the goodness of thy Immaculate Heart.
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