She treasured all these things in her heart
Luke 2:41-51. Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. June 17, 2023
Luke tells us that Mary and Joseph, following a family tradition, were annually going on a pilgrimage to God’s sanctuary (Luke 2:41) and that during that pilgrimage, Jesus was twelve years old. But, some are puzzled and wonder where St. Luke got this story and other stories related to Jesus’ childhood. In his introduction to the Gospel, the Evangelist writes that he based his accounts on the reports of eyewitnesses (Luke 1:2). Pope Benedict XVI wrote that the childhood stories of Jesus had to be based on family traditions. Mary, who “treasured up all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51), shared them with the Evangelist, and he recorded them for us in his Gospel.
Although today’s Gospel is included in the joyful mysteries of the Rosary, there is a shadow of the cross over it. The parents of Jesus left Jerusalem without him and found Him after three days (Luke 2:46). Jesus' answer - "Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's affairs?" (Luke 2:49) - resembles His answer to the two disciples of Emmaus: "Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” (Luke 24:26). The parents of Jesus did not understand His answer, and neither the disciples of Jesus understood His talk about the cross (Mk 9:32; Luke 9:44-45). Only when the risen Christ opens our minds, we can understand the Scriptures (Luke 24:45).
"Your father (Joseph) and I have been looking for you anxiously" (Luke 2:48). Jesus' answer addresses two problems present in Mary's complaint. "Why were you looking for me?". We should know where to find Jesus - in the sanctuary. For St. Augustine, we are this sanctuary (see 1 Cor 6:19). Christ is within, but we are not within. Instead, we are in the external world, attracted by the beautiful things that God created but unable to find God. "Didn't you know that I must be in my Father's affairs?" (Luke 2:49). Jesus' foster father was looking for him anxiously, but His real Father demanded His full dedication. The Greek verb "must" is also used in Jesus' talks of His passion: "the Son of Man must suffer many things" (Mk 8:31, see also Luke 24:46).
Today’s Gospel ends with a statement that Mary, the mother of Jesus, “treasured up all these things in her heart” (Luke 2:51). In Mary pondering “all these words in her heart”, we find an invitation to prayer with the Scriptures. We are called to bring Christ to the world, but to make it possible, the Word of God must live in our hearts. Let us then read, ponder, and keep the Word of God in our hearts, always remembering the statement of St. Jerome that “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ" (Saint Jerome).