My visit to a cousin out of state overlapped with her day to mind her infant grandchild. While we were out shopping, she examined some clothing and asked me to mind the child who was in a stroller. A smart item also caught my eye so I picked it up and brought it over to my cousin for her opinion on its worth. I thought she might say, “Oh, that’s a good deal” or “Oh, that’s really a bargain.” But the first and only word from her mouth was, “The baby!” I had of course left the child unattended a few feet away overcome by thoughts of a bargain. My cousin’s maternal instinct dismissed any commercial interest and she immediately thought of the child. Few burdens would be greater for a parent or a grandparent than a lost child!
Imagine then Mary and Joseph, the parents of Jesus Christ, who searched three days for their lost son in the festival crowded city of Jerusalem. Was he with relatives or friends or strangers? Had he eaten? Was he harmed? Was he alive? The Nazarene parents in this strange capital city must have been frantic. Happily the fraught mom and dad found their son in the capital city’s Temple, discussing matters of the Jewish law with the priests and rabbis assembled there. Totally non-pulsed, Jesus said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house (Lk.2:49)?” So, Mary and Joseph’s sad experience has one important lesson for all humanity: “If you want to find Jesus, look for him in church!”
It is clearly no accident that St. Luke who narrates the tale of the youthful Christ lost to his parents but discovered in Judaism’s most hallowed spot is the same author who informs his readers about Jesus lost, again for three days and again near Jerusalem, only to be rediscovered by two discouraged disciples during Christianity’s most sacred experiences, the reading of Scripture and the breaking of Bread. St. Luke notes, “And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them. With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight. Then they said to each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he spoke to us on the way and opened the scriptures to us?” Then the two recounted what had taken place on the way and how he was made known to them in the breaking of the bread.” St. Luke’s message could not be clearer. “If you want to find Jesus, go to church!” Or better still, “If you want to find Jesus, go to Mass!”
The reading of Scripture and the breaking of Bread are the very heart and soul of Catholic religious life! In God’s Word and in Christ’s Body, a believer may find Jesus Christ once again no matter how intense the loss of the Savior might appear. Certainly all of the Church’s sacramental life introduces or re-introduces the believer to the Master. The sacrament of Penance especially is instituted to heal old wounds and strengthen weak knees fortifying a repentant follower to seek greater intimacy with Christ. Pious devotions, too, like the Rosary, the psalms, and visits to the Blessed Sacrament offer encouragement to all who are intent on a more familiar relationship with Christ. Our bishops this past year have greatly encouraged intimacy between the earnest disciple and Christ truly Present in the Church’s tabernacles, truly exposed during Benediction and truly received at Holy Communion.
The communal experience of Christ during Mass, however, is where and when Jesus is most effectively present and powerful. As the Second Vatican Council taught early on, “For the liturgy, through which the work of our redemption is accomplished, most of all in the divine sacrifice of the Eucharist, is the outstanding means whereby the faithful may express in their lives, and manifest to others, the mystery of Christ and the real nature of the true Church.” Yes, alertly and devotedly participating in the Mass – appreciating the readings and intent on the Eucharistic sacrifice – is indeed the outstanding means to re-connect with Christ week after week and to allow Christ to direct one’s life in the week ahead.
Mary and Joseph re-connected with Jesus while he was discussing the weighty matters of the Jewish law at the Temple. The Emmaus disciples re-connected with Jesus while pondering Scripture and breaking bread, a clear reference to the Mass. The contemporary Catholic as well will re-discover or more deeply discover Jesus in the celebration of the Eucharist, where Christ is truly present through his Word and in his Holy Body and Precious Blood.
