Luke 2:51
"He went down with them and came to Nazareth , and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart."
In today's Gospel, we see Mary and Joseph frantically searching for Jesus. They have traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover, and now they are on their way home, but to their horror Jesus has been left behind. What parent can't relate? I remember the look on my own mother's face one time when she found me after I had wandered away in Publix once when I was 4 or 5. It's beautiful that Luke gives us this rare view into the life of the Holy Family, because it makes them more approachable.
This was key for me as I developed a relationship with Mary. Because I didn't get introduced to our Blessed Mother until I was an adult, it took a while for me to be truly comfortable with Mary. Having been raised Protestant, a relationship with Mary was foreign. Even after I became Catholic, the statues and paintings and saints' stories all made her seem plastic, far-off, unapproachable.
She is anything but. She is a mother. She is our mother. And she holds us in her Immaculate Heart the same way that our earthly mothers, our stepmothers, our grandmothers hold us in theirs. And so today, we call on her Immaculate Heart. We call on our Mother for intercession, for guidance, for grace. We approach her, for she is eminently approachable.
What do I want to say to Mary today?
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!
Get to know our writers! Today's reflection was written by:
Fr. Kyle Bell
Did You Know...
Fr. Kyle Bell is from Tampa, Florida. He was raised in the United Methodist Church and became a Catholic in 2007. He holds degrees from Florida State University, The Franciscan University of Steubenville, St. John Vianney College Seminary, and St Vincent de Paul Regional Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood in 2018, and serves as Parochial Vicar at St. Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church in Tarpon Springs.
