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Illustration: The finding of Jesus in the Temple by William Holman Hunt (1860)
Pope Francis’ Angelus Reflection for The Holy Family of Nazareth
St. Peter’s Square Sunday, 29 December 2024
Sunday Gospel (Lk 2:41-52)
Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the Passover. And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom; and when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem.
His parents did not know it, but supposing him to be in the company they went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances; and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, seeking him. After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions; and all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.
And when they saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so?
Behold, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” And he said to them, “How is it that you sought me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”[a]And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to them. And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.
Dear brothers and sisters,
“Let us entrust ourselves to the Virgin Mary and ask for the gift of listening for our families”
Today we celebrate the Holy Family of Nazareth. The Gospel tells of when the twelve-year-old Jesus, at the end of his annual pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was lost by Mary and Joseph, who found him later in the Temple arguing with the doctors (Lk 2:41-52 above). The evangelist Luke reveals the state of mind of Mary who asks Jesus: ‘Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I, distressed, were looking for you’ (v. 48). Jesus answers her: ‘Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must attend to the things of my Father?’ (v. 49).
It is an almost habitual experience of a family that alternates between quiet moments and dramatic ones. It sounds like the story of a family crisis, a modern-day crisis, of a difficult teenager and two parents who cannot understand him.
Let us stop and look at this family. Do you know why the Family of Nazareth is a model?
Because it is a family that dialogues, that listens to each other, that talks.
Dialogue is an important element for a family!
A family that does not communicate cannot be a happy family.
It is beautiful when a mother does not begin with a reproach, but with a question.
Mary does not accuse or judge but tries to understand how to welcome this Son who is so different through listening. Despite this effort, the Gospel says that Mary and Joseph ‘did not understand what he had said to them’ (v. 50), showing that in the family it is more important to listen than to understand.
To listen is to give importance to the other, to recognize his or her right to exist and think for themselves. Children need this. Think well, you parents, listen children need!
A privileged time for dialogue and listening in the family is mealtimes.
It is good to be together at the table and talk.
This can solve many problems, and above all unites the generations: children talking to their parents, grandchildren talking to their grandparents…
Never remain closed in on yourself or, worse still, with your head on your mobile phone.
This does not go… never, never this.
Talk, listen to each other, this is the dialogue that is good for you and that makes you grow!
The Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph is holy.
Yet we have seen that even Jesus’ parents did not always understand.
We can reflect on this and let us not be surprised if it happens to us sometimes in the family that we do not understand each other.
When it happens to us, let us ask ourselves: have we listened to each other?
Do we deal with problems by listening to each other, or do we close ourselves off in muteness, sometimes in resentment, in pride?
Do we take time for dialogue? What we can learn from the Holy Family today is mutual listening.
Let us entrust ourselves to the Virgin Mary and ask for the gift of listening for our families.
