Have you ever lost a child?
We had a major scare just a few months back. I’m not sure if I’ll ever share the story publicly. But I will say this, it makes meditating on the Fifth Joyful Mystery (Finding of Jesus in Temple) more intimate for me in a way that that I never imagined.
I’m drawn deeper into the possibility that I must fully embrace the cross, even if it is to lose one of my children as they seek the will of God. I can’t ever imagine being fully prepared for that moment (again) but I will pray for that grace and wisdom to know when to fully let go.
I seek the guidance of St. Joseph, Our Blessed Mother, holy men & women who share profound truth, and the saints.
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet is one of those holy men. He speaks to St. Joseph’s worry when Jesus was lost in the temple:
“Another strange trial. As if it were not enough for men to torment Joseph, Jesus Himself became his persecutor. He cleverly slipped through his fingers and remained lost for three days.
What have you done, faithful Joseph? What has become of the sacred treasure the heavenly Father entrusted to you? If you have not yet understood Joseph’s fatherhood, see his suffering now and understand that he is a father. His regret proves it, and Mary was right to say: “Your father and I have sought You with great sorrow.” O my Son, she said to the Savior, I do not fear to call him Your father here, and I know this does not injure the purity of Your birth. We are speaking of cares and worries; that is why I can say he is Your father: because his worries are truly paternal.
See with what suffering Jesus tries fidelity, and how He wishes to be only with those who suffer. He seeks out the strong and courageous souls who do not refuse to carry His cross, who do not blush to be the companions of His poverty and misery.”
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Pope Leo XIII offers us a glorious prayer, To thee, O Blessed Joseph:
To thee, O blessed Joseph, do we come in our tribulation, and having implored the help of thy most holy Spouse, we confidently invoke thy patronage also. Through that charity which bound thee to the immaculate Virgin Mother of God and through the paternal love with which thou embraced the Child Jesus, we humbly beg thee to graciously regard the inheritance which Jesus Christ has purchased by his Blood, and with thy power and strength to aid us in our necessities.
O most watchful Guardian of the Holy Family, defend the chosen children of Jesus Christ; O most loving father, ward off from us every contagion of error and corrupting influence; O our most mighty protector, be propitious to us and from heaven assist us in our struggle with the power of darkness; and, as once thou rescued the Child Jesus from deadly peril, so now protect God’s Holy Church from the snares of the enemy and from all adversity; shield, too, each one of us by thy constant protection, so that, supported by thy example and thy aid, we may be able to live piously, to die holy, and to obtain eternal happiness in heaven. Amen.
From the Raccolta #476 & Enchridion #6
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