Look for Him

Look for Him

Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Proclaim the word; be persistent whether it is convenient or inconvenient; convince, reprimand, encourage through all patience and teaching. For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths. But you, be self-possessed in all circumstances; put up with hardship; perform the work of an evangelist; fulfill your ministry. 2 Timothy 4:2-5

“…[N]ot finding him, they returned to Jerusalem to look for 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 astounded at his understanding and his answers. When his parents saw him, they were astonished, and his mother said to him, "Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been looking for you with great anxiety." And he said to them, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's house?" Luke 2:45-49

Piety

Reunited, and it feels so good

Reunited 'cause we understoodThere's one perfect fitAnd, sugar, this one is itWe both are so excited 'cause we're reunited, hey, hey.
Peaches and Herb – Reunited

Songwriters: Dino Fekaris / Frederick J. Perren

Reunited lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Study

St. Paul expresses the gravity of the obligation incumbent on Timothy (AND on you and me) to preach the word in the solemn commission in the First Reading.  Paul’s letter to Timothy calls on his friend to exhibit patience, courage, constancy, and endurance despite whatever he/we might face in the world (the opposition, hostility, indifference, and defection of many to whom he has preached the truth). 

In every way, the solemn charge to Timothy is almost equal to the task that Mary faced as Jesus' mother. In her actions, we see a model for our response to life.  As a mother of a precocious teenager, Mary might have been quite angry with Jesus.  After all, he wandered off without so much as a word to either his mother or father.  When they were reunited, Jesus did not seem at all concerned with the worry and emotional trauma that Mary and Joseph went through.  Jesus appeared to react in a somewhat matter-of-fact way: “Why did you look in all those other places?  Surely you could have figured out where I would be faster?”

The lesson in the Finding in the Temple is so essential that the Joyful Mysteries of the First Decade of the Rosary forever embed it in our faith experience.  Despite the anxiety-producing separation, reunion with Jesus brings joy back to Mary’s life.

If my mother found me riding my bike to the beach when I should have been home cutting the grass or out playing baseball or basketball with my friends when I should have been at my after-school job, I would have been read the “riot act.”  Grounded for a week?  Loss of car privileges?   How could Mary, in her heart of hearts, be angry with her son for being at the temple? 

Ever since her willing acceptance of the solemn charge to become the Mother of God, Mary has accepted those responsibilities with patience, courage, constancy, and endurance despite whatever she might face in the world now or in the future.

The word that comes to mind in her situation is "consolation." Mary gets some measure of comfort when she is reunited WITH Jesus in the temple and realizes how right her son’s response is.  The verb “console” is passed down to us from the Latin roots “consolari.”  “Con” means with. Without Jesus in her life, Mary is anxious and worried.  With him, she is at ease. “Solari” means soothe.  Finding Jesus alleviates Mary’s anxiety.

Action

Growing up in an Italian family we had a unique word for anxiety.  That word was "agita."  Although you might think that the closest English translation is agitation, a more accurate origin is from the Italian word acido, meaning "heartburn" or "acid," from Latin acidus.  When you had a feeling of “agita,” you stomach would churn, and you would be anxious about many things.

The usage started in Italian-American families around New York City and surrounding regions.  I was born on Staten Island and grew up in New Jersey, so I was exposed to "agita" (the word and the feeling) earlier that people in other parts of the country where the word became more widespread in the mid-90s.

What gives you agita/anxiety?  Did your bank account get hit for a double mortgage payment causing you to bounce other checks?  Is a payment or some other income that you were expecting late?  Money or want of money might be the root of all evil.  However, it also is the root of much (half?) of our anxiety.  Relationships are probably the root of the other half. 

Who is not moved by those heart-lifting scenes that play out of surprise reunions between members of the military deployed for long periods of time with their spouses and children?  Sometimes the surprise takes place at a sporting event, a classroom, or some other public assembly.  The joy on their faces when the reunion occurs cures all anxiety and agita!

Is it time to seek our Jesus and reencounter his friendship that will help you overcome whatever gives you anxiety in this life?