Gospel of the Sunday (Lk 2:42–52)
And when He had become twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. But when the days were completed and they were returning, the Child Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it. Supposing Him to be in the company, they went a day’s journey, and sought Him among their kinsfolk and acquaintances. And not finding Him, they returned to Jerusalem in search of Him. After three days they found Him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and His answers. They were amazed at the sight. And His mother said to Him: My Child, why hast Thou done this to us? Behold, Thy father and I have sought Thee in sorrow. And He said to them: Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house? But they did not understand the word which He spoke to them. And He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. And His mother kept all these things in her heart. And Jesus advanced in wisdom and age, and in favour with God and men.
The Feast of the Holy Family
The Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is a relatively recent feast in the liturgical calendar. It was established for the whole Church by Pope Benedict XV by decree of 26 October 1921, in order to set forth once more the household of Nazareth as the example and norm of Christian family life.
Since the domestic community, which forms the foundation of human society, is especially in our own time being gravely undermined, the Pope judged it fitting to place before the faithful the most holy example of the household of Nazareth as the norm for every Christian family. Therefore, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph is celebrated throughout the Church on the Sunday within the octave of Epiphany.
SERMON of Saint Augustine on the Gospel
The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Wisdom of God, willed to be found as a child in the midst of the teachers. Not because He had anything to learn that He did not already know, but to show us how we must seek wisdom. For He was the Word, and yet He listened; He was the Teacher, and yet He asked questions. He listened to them and questioned them, not in order to receive instruction, but in order to give instruction by His questions. And all who heard Him were astonished at His understanding and His answers. They saw a child, but they heard wisdom; they saw weakness, but they encountered power.
His parents sought Him and did not find Him where they expected. They sought Him among relatives and acquaintances and did not find Him. So also do you seek Christ in vain when you seek Him according to human expectation. They found Him in the temple. There you must seek Him: in the things of His Father, in Holy Scripture, in the house of God, in prayer.
And when His mother said to Him, “Son, why hast Thou done this to us?” He answered, “Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” By this He taught that He is not only the son of Mary, but first the Son of God. He did not abandon her, but He set order in love: He showed who comes before whom. And yet, after saying this, He went down with them to Nazareth and was subject to them. O great humility! He to whom angels are subject was subject to men.
Mary did not understand this word at once. And yet she kept all these things in her heart. She did not seek to understand by demanding, but by preserving. So also, brethren, when you hear something from God that you do not yet understand, do not be impatient. Keep it in your heart. For faith comes before understanding, and he who believes will one day understand.
Thus Jesus grew in wisdom, in age, and in grace before God and men. He did not grow as God, for God does not grow, but as man. And He willed to grow, so that you might not refuse to grow. Follow Him, therefore, first in humility, then in obedience, and finally in wisdom. For he who grows with Him shall also be glorified with Him.