Tempus Quadragesimae

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Friday, 21 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Lord contained within the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that desire, jealousy and ambition, among other things can really be very dangerous and harmful for us as they can easily mislead us all into the path towards our downfall and destruction. We must always remind ourselves that worldly desires, attachments and ambitions of all sorts would only lead to division and from there on to suffering, and ultimately into sin and therefore destruction. The examples highlighted in our Scripture passages today served to remind us about these facts so that we will not go further in our erroneous ways and repent from all of our sins, returning back to the Lord with contrite hearts, seeking His forgiveness and mercy.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of Genesis, we heard of the story of the time when the sons of Jacob or also known as Israel, struggled among themselves because of the favour which Jacob gave to one of his sons, Joseph, one of his youngest sons, born of his beloved wife, Rachel. For the context of this event, we must first understand the dynamics of Jacob’s life and family relationships, which began when he went into self-exile away from his homeland in Canaan after he had taken away the blessings meant for his elder brother Esau. He went to the land of his relative Laban in Mesopotamia, and while labouring for him, gained two of Laban’s daughters as wife, the elder daughter Leah and the younger one, Rachel. Jacob loved Rachel and only wanted to marry her, but had to take Leah as wife as well.

As a result, when they and their servants bore children to Jacob, eventually it was inevitable that Jacob treasured the sons born to him by Rachel more than the other sons. In addition, if we read on more in the Scriptures, Rachel died while giving birth to Joseph’s younger brother Benjamin, which is yet another reason why Jacob treated Joseph with such favour as described in our first reading today. However, just as we have also heard there, this naturally brought about resentment from the other sons of Jacob, who saw their brother’s special treatment with jealousy and even disgust. This was exacerbated by the dreams which Joseph had received, which he shared with his brothers, which were actually premonitions of what would happen in the future, foreseeing the moment when everyone including his parents, would bow before Joseph, in his later role as the Regent of Egypt.

This eventually led to them plotting their own brother’s demise, even thinking of killing him. Fortunately, Reuben, the eldest son of Jacob managed to dissuade them from such an act, and instead, they sold Joseph off to Midianite slavers who eventually brought Joseph to Egypt, while they lied to their father saying that Joseph had been killed by wild animals. Joseph had to struggle in his early years in Egypt, enduring slavery and then prison, before rising up to the position of the Regent of Egypt by God’s guidance and grace. And as mentioned, he would eventually be reunited with his brothers and family after many years, and they forgave one another their mistakes and faults. This is truly a reminder for all of us as Christians not to do the same injustice and mistreatment to our fellow brothers and sisters ourselves.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the parable told by the Lord Jesus to His disciples from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist regarding the evil tenants in a land that refused to pay and obey their dues, the fees that they were supposed to give to the landowner as part of their rent and obligations. This led to the master or landowner to send his servants to collect the rents from those tenants and to remind them to fulfil their obligations, only for those evil and wicked tenants to mistreat the servants sent by the landowner, persecuting and even killing them. And we heard how last of all, the landowner or master sent his own son to the field, thinking that those tenants would at least respect his son, which ended up with the evil tenants plotting and causing the death of the landowner’s son, with the wicked intention of desiring the ownership of the lands that they had been renting.

This parable was in fact a representation of the people of God of the time of the Lord Jesus and previously, such as during the time of the prophet Jeremiah mentioned earlier on. Those evil and wicked tenants refer to the people of God themselves, with the lands they had rented on being a representation of this world that we are all living in. Meanwhile, the master or the landowner is a representation of the Lord Himself, the Lord of the world and all Creation, and those servants that were sent to the tenants to remind them represent the prophets and the messengers that God had sent to His people. And of course the son of the master represents the Son of God Himself, the Lord and Saviour of all, Whom had been sent into this world, and then later on was rejected and condemned to death by those who refused to believe in Him, much as how those wicked tenants treated the master’s son.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is how our desires for worldly things, riches, possessions and other sorts of ambitions can lead us into the slippery slope of sin and disobedience against God, corrupting us and turning us away from God’s grace and love into the path towards our downfall. We must not allow ourselves to be easily taken in by our ambitions and desires such as what the sons of Jacob had exhibited, and which the evil and wicked tenants in the parable of the Lord had shown us. As Christians all of us should resist the temptations of worldly glory and desires, all the obstacles keeping us away from the Lord and His righteous path. We should resist all the false pleasures offered and provided by the evil ones seeking our downfall and destruction, and strive to be good role models in our own lives, in how we live up to our faith each day, putting God at the centre of our lives and existence, and not our own pride, ego and desires for glory and worldly pleasures.

May all of us continue to draw ever closer to God and to His most generous mercy as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, so that by our commitment to live our daily lives in the manner that is acceptable to God, obeying His Law and commandments, all of these would be helpful in leading us closer to the Lord’s salvation, allowing us to throw away the yoke of sin and evil, and with contrite and sorrowful hearts, fully realising the depth and gravity of our sins, we may enter into God’s rich embrace of mercy and love, and be healed from all of our predicaments and corruptions of sin. May God be with us always, and may He empower each one of us with His love and grace, that we may give Him our very best and commit ourselves wholeheartedly to Him, now and always. Amen.

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Friday, 21 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Matthew 21 : 33-43, 45-46

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Listen to another example : There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a fence around it, dug a hole for the winepress, built a watchtower, leased the vineyard to tenants, and then went to a distant country.”

“When harvest time came, the landowner sent his servants to the tenants to collect his share of the harvest. But the tenants seized his servants, beat one, killed another and stoned a third. Again the owner sent more servants, but they were treated in the same way.”

“Finally, he sent his son, thinking, ‘They will respect my son.’ But when the tenants saw the son, they thought, ‘This is the one who is to inherit the vineyard. Let us kill him, and his inheritance will be ours.’ So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard and killed him.”

“Now, what will the owner of the vineyard do with the tenants when he comes?” They said to him, “He will bring those evil men to an evil end, and lease the vineyard to others, who will pay him in due time.” And Jesus replied, “Have you never read what the Scriptures say? The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and we marvel at it.”

“Therefore I say to you : the kingdom of heaven will be taken from you, and given to a people who will yield a harvest.”

When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard these parables, they realised that Jesus was referring to them. They would have arrested Him, but they were afraid of the crowd, who regarded Him as a Prophet.

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Friday, 21 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 104 : 16-17, 18-19, 20-21

Then the Lord sent a famine and ruined the crop that sustained the land; He sent a man ahead of them, Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

His feet in shackles, his neck in irons till what he foretold came to pass, and the Lord’s word proved him true.

The king sent for him, set him free, the ruler of the peoples released him. He put him in charge of his household and made him ruler of all his possessions.

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Friday, 21 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Genesis 37 : 3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28

Now Israel loved Joseph more than any of his other children, for he was the son of his old age and he had a coat with long sleeves made for him. His brothers who saw that their father loved him more than he loved them, hated him and could no longer speak to him in a friendly way.

His brothers had gone to pasture their father’s flock at Shechem, and Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are pasturing the flock at Shechem.” So Joseph went off after his brothers and found them at Dothan. They saw him in the distance and before he reached them, they plotted to kill him.

They said to one another, “Here comes the specialist in dreams! Now is the time! Let us kill him and throw him into a well. We will say a wild animal devoured him. Then we will see what his dreams were all about!” But Reuben heard this and tried to save him from their hands saying, “Let us not kill him; shed no blood! Throw him in this well in the wilderness, but do him no violence.” This he said to save him from them and take him back to his father.

So as soon as Joseph arrived, they stripped him of his long-sleeved coat that he wore and then took him and threw him in the well, now the well was empty, without water. They were sitting for a meal when they looked up and saw a caravan of Ishmaelites coming from Gilead, their camels laden with spices, balm and myrrh, which they were taking down to Egypt.

Judah then said to his brothers, “What do we gain by killing our brother and hiding his blood? Come! We will sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him, for he is our brother and our own flesh!” His brothers agreed to this. So when the Midianite merchants came along they pulled Joseph up and lifted him out of the well. For twenty pieces of silver they sold Joseph to the Midianites, who took him with them to Egypt.

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Thursday, 20 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Sacred Scriptures, we are all reminded that trusting in the Lord, following His Law and commandments, all these are far more important and crucial than following the ways of the world. In particular, during this penitential time and season of Lent, we must remember to be careful of the temptations of sin which may lead us astray in the path of our journey towards God. We must always be vigilant of the efforts of those who seek our destruction and downfall, so that we do not end up falling into those temptations and lose our path towards the Lord. We must not let the comforts, pleasures and all the good things in this world around us to lead us into destruction, and we should be good role models of our faith, devoting our time and effort to lead others to God by our charity, love and kindness towards everyone around us.

In our first reading today, taken from the Book of the prophet Jeremiah, we heard of the words of the Lord to His people in the kingdom of Judah in which He chided, rebuked and warned against all those people who have abandoned His ways, refused to believe in Him and to put their trust in Him. This was brought against many among the people of Judah who had abandoned the path of the Lord, persecuted the prophets and messengers that God had sent to remind and help them, including that of Jeremiah himself. Those people chose to trust in the ways and means of the world rather than to trust in God and in His Providence, and hence, God warned them that they would all perish and be destroyed if they kept on putting their trust in the world.

For the context, at that time, during the time of the ministry of the prophet Jeremiah, the people of the kingdom of Judah had ignored the Lord and His prophets in many occasions, and as mentioned, persecuted those who had been sent to guide and help them like Jeremiah himself. False prophets and servants of God were aplenty, as those who sought to subvert the people to their own agenda and ideas clashed with Jeremiah on the course of action for the king and the people to follow. Jeremiah warned the people of God of their sins and how their disobedience would lead to their destruction, the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple of God, which all would be destroyed and razed by the Babylonians just as the other prophets had also prophesied before. For all of these, Jeremiah was hated and despised, and labelled as a traitor and fearmonger.

On the other hand, the false prophets and messengers convinced the king and the nobles of the kingdom of Judah, as well as the people to side with the powers of the world at the time, either to submit to the King of Babylon, or as what the more common political agenda of the time dictated, to side with the Pharaoh and King of Egypt instead, using the power and protection of the Egyptian army and nation to balance the power of the Babylonians. Essentially, it was this action which the Lord warned His people about, that they trusted in the powers, means and providence of the world rather than to trust in Him. All of their plots and works would eventually be laid bare, and they would be meaningless and useless, and would in fact bring the people and the kingdom to their doom, as the prophet Jeremiah had prophesied and tried to warn them all.

The Lord at the same time also reassured His people that those who have held on to their faith in Him and remained righteous and just in their ways would be blessed and saved. God’s wrath and anger are reserved indeed only on those who constantly and repeatedly refused to listen to Him or obey Him. But ultimately, He loves all of His beloved people, His children, all those whom He had chosen to be His own. He wanted all of them to walk in the path of righteousness, to be holy, good and just, to be worthy of Him just as He has always intended. However, it was our disobedience and refusal to obey Him and His Law, our errors and mistakes, all of which had led to us ending up on this path towards damnation and destruction, in which case, God still wants to rescue us all from this path.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the story of the parable of Lazarus and the rich man told by the Lord Jesus to His disciples in the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist. In that well-known parable, we heard of the story of how Lazarus, a very poor man and beggar, was sitting daily at the side of the door of a rich man’s house or mansion, and while he was there begging for food, the rich man, who hosted parties and celebrations on daily basis, did not even give him anything from this table, from all the excesses of his celebrations, and Lazarus could only hope that some of the scraps of the bread and food from the rich man’s table could be his sustenance, but no one would give even those to him. And we heard how eventually both Lazarus and the rich man passed away.

In that parable, we heard how the actions of the rich man, his ignorance of the plight and sufferings of Lazarus led to him being cast into Hell for his lack of empathy and love for his fellow men, while Lazarus received his right rewards and was raised to the bosom of Abraham in Heaven, to enjoy forever the happiness and joy that he had been lacking in life. Through this example and story, the Lord wanted to let us all, His disciples and followers, know that as Christians, all of us must not be ignorant of the plight and sufferings of the poor and those others who are in need of help around us. We are reminded that should we follow the path of the rich man, then we may end up in the same fate as him, where an eternity of regret and suffering awaits us.

This is also an important reminder for us that just as we continue to progress through this time and season of Lent, we do not just keep ourselves away from the corruption of sins that may lead us into the damnation of Hell, but we must also remind ourselves not to commit the sin of omission. What is the sin of omission exactly, brothers and sisters in Christ? It refers to the sin that is caused by our own conscious neglect of our duties and responsibilities as Christians, where we could have done something for the benefit of those others present around us, but we have chosen not to do so, just as the rich man had consciously ignored the poor beggar Lazarus, while he could have stepped in to help and take care of Lazarus with the excessive wealth that he had. He had chosen not to do so, and hence, committed the sin of omission that led him down into Hell.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore strive to be more generous in loving and sharing our blessings with one another during this time and period of Lent. One of the important practices commonly practiced this Lent is that of almsgiving, which we should do willingly and generously, so that we may be able to help those who may not be as fortunate as us in life. But let us remember not to give because we want to be rewarded or to be praised for doing so. Instead, let us all give generously from our heart and out of the sincere desire to care for the less fortunate brethren around us. May God be with us always and may He continue to give us His guidance in life, so that we do not depend so much on worldly things but on Him and His Providence instead, and be generous in sharing our blessings with one another. Amen.

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Thursday, 20 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 16 : 19-31

At that time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Once there was a rich man who dressed in purple and fine linen and feasted every day. At his gate lay Lazarus, a poor man covered with sores, who longed to eat just the scraps falling from the rich man’s table. Even dogs used to come and lick his sores.”

“It happened that the poor man died, and Angels carried him to take his place with Abraham. The rich man also died, and was buried. From hell where he was in torment, the rich man looked up and saw Abraham afar off, and with him Lazarus at rest. He called out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me, and send Lazarus, with the tip of his finger dipped in water, to cool my tongue, for I suffer so much in this fire.'”

“Abraham replied, ‘My son, remember that in your lifetime you were well-off, while the lot of Lazarus was misfortune. Now he is in comfort, and you are in agony. But that is not all. Between your place and ours a great chasm has been fixed, so that no one can cross over from here to you, or from your side to us.'”

“The rich man implored once more, ‘Then I beg you, Father Abraham, to send Lazarus to my father’s house, where my five brothers live, let him warn them, so that they may not end up in this place of torment.’ Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'”

“But the rich man said, ‘No, Father Abraham; but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, they will not be convinced, even if someone rises from the dead.'”

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Thursday, 20 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 1 : 1-2, 3, 4 and 6

Blessed is the one who does not go where the wicked gather, or stand in the way of sinners, or sit where the scoffers sit! Instead, he finds delight in the law of the Lord and meditates day and night on His commandments.

He is like a tree beside a brook producing its fruit in due season, its leaves never withering. Everything he does is a success.

But it is different with the wicked. They are like chaff driven away by the wind. For the Lord knows the way of the righteous but cuts off the way of the wicked.

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Thursday, 20 March 2025 : 2nd Week of Lent (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Jeremiah 17 : 5-10

This is what YHVH says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings and depends on a mortal for his life, while his heart is drawn away from YHVH! He is like a bunch of thistles in dry land, in parched desert places, in a salt land where no one lives and who never finds happiness.”

“Blessed is the man who puts his trust in YHVH and whose confidence is in Him! He is like a tree planted by the water, sending out its roots towards the stream. He has no fear when the heat comes, his leaves are always green; the year of drought is no problem and he can always bear fruit.”

“Most deceitful is the heart. What is there within man, who can understand him? I, YHVH, search the heart and penetrate the mind. I reward each one according to his ways and the fruit of his deeds.”

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Wednesday, 19 March 2025 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : White

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today the Church marks the occasion of the Solemnity of St. Joseph, the Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary, as the husband of the Mother of God, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. St. Joseph therefore is the foster-father and legal guardian of the Lord, Who was born into his family. St. Joseph is the Protector and titular head of the Holy Family centred on Jesus, the Son of God and Saviour of all. On this day we honour this great figure of the story of our salvation, the one who has devoted himself thoroughly to the mission that has been entrusted to him, in protecting and guiding the Son of God which has been put in his guardianship. St. Joseph was this great example and role model for his foster and legal Son, and his righteousness and actions are themselves examples for us to follow.

In our first reading today, we heard from the second Book of the prophet Samuel in which the Lord told David, the then King of Israel, through His prophet Nathan regarding His response about the plan that King David had in wanting to build a great Temple and House of God in Jerusalem. The Lord told David that it would not be him that build the Temple and House for the Lord, but his son, the next king, King Solomon, who eventually built this great edifice and House of God. But more importantly in the same words of the Lord through the prophet Nathan, God assured David that He would bless him and his house forever, and his house would reign forever on the Throne of Israel. While this was seen immediately as the Lord’s promise of blessings for David’s son, Solomon, who would be the king after him, but it was in fact also the premonition of what God would do through David’s House.

This is because the kingdom that David and his son Solomon ruled in great glory did not in fact last long after their passing, and the kingdom of Israelites split into two barely moments after King Solomon passed away. And the descendants of David and Solomon were eventually bereft of kingship as the kingdom of Judah, on which throne the heirs of David ruled for another few hundred years, was destroyed and conquered by the Babylonians. But the descendants of King David remained and existed, and after many more generations, eventually it came to St. Joseph himself, who was the senior and rightful heir of David by descent. While keeping a low profile and was relatively unknown by the people of God at that time, by the legal rights and rules of the Law, it is right and just that St. Joseph was indeed the one to continue David’s legacy, and from him to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

And therefore this passage from the Book of the prophet Samuel is highlighted today for us because it provides us with the link between what God had promised to David, His servant, and its fulfilment in Jesus Christ, the Son and Heir of David through His foster and legal father, St. Joseph. Jesus our Lord is the perfect fulfilment of God’s promises and assurances for His people, and this was shown to us through the Gospel passage today taken from the Gospel according to St. Matthew the Apostle and Evangelist, which detailed to us the genealogy of Our Lord from that of the House of David. Thus, it was not without basis that the Lord Jesus came bearing forth the Good News of God’s salvation, as it was His right heritage as the Heir of David, the One Whom God has promised to both David himself and to the people of Israel, as the One to fulfil all of the prophecies that He had sent through His many prophets and messengers.

And St. Joseph was a great role model indeed as a father and guide for the young Messiah, dedicating himself thoroughly to the role which had been entrusted to him. He obeyed the Lord when He told him through his Angels and the dream he had received, taking Mary as his wife, guiding and protecting her as they made their way to Bethlehem for the census of the Roman Emperor Augustus, and then after the Child has been born, he led the Holy Family to safety when the life of the Holy Child was in danger due to the actions of King Herod. He patiently guided and protected both Mary, his wife and the child Jesus, taking shelter in Egypt during the dangerous times, and then leading them back to Nazareth where he stayed, and brought up the Child faithfully and taught Him well all that he knew of the world, the Law and the ways of the Lord.

Through these actions and great faith, righteousness and virtues that St. Joseph have shown us, we are reminded of the words of the Apostle St. Paul in our second reading today, taken from the Epistle that he had written and intended for the Church and the faithful people of God in Rome. In that Epistle, St. Paul spoke of how Abraham had received righteousness and blessings, and also the assurance for his descendants through the Covenant that God had made with him, not because of his obedience to the Law of God, but more due to the faith and true love and commitment that he had in the Lord. And since the Lord knew this faith and great love that Abraham had for him, this is why He blessed him and his descendants. This was the same as well for St. Joseph, our great Patron whom we celebrate today. His righteousness, virtue and faith in the Lord is a major reason why we commemorate and honour him such, even more than the fact that he is the foster-father of Our Lord and Saviour.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore look upon the great faith, virtue and obedience shown by St. Joseph, his great perseverance and commitment to the missions entrusted to him by the Lord as great inspiration and model for all of us to follow in our own lives. Each and every one of us should not allow ourselves to be easily swayed by worldly temptations or fears, or any kind of worldly distractions from keeping us away from God. We have often fallen into those temptations and as a result, we became distracted, separated and distanced away from our Lord and His grace. And this is why the examples and inspiration shown by St. Joseph, his righteousness and love for those whom he had been entrusted with, his Spouse Mary, the Mother of God, and his foster-Son, our Lord Himself, in the Holy Family should be good examples to all of us, in our own families and among ourselves.

Let us all continue to walk in the path which the Lord has shown and taught us, and following the good role model and examples of St. Joseph, Holy Patron, the foster-father of Our Lord and Saviour, the Spouse of Mary, the Blessed ever Virgin Mother of God, let us all be ever more faithful and committed to be good and worthy Christians, as those whom God had called and chosen from this world to be His own beloved and holy people. Let us all be good example and role models ourselves to our fellow brothers and sisters around us. We are all called to be devoted to the Lord, to be righteous and just in all of our ways and actions, our every moments in life, and be the worthy bearers of God’s truth, now and always. May our Lenten observance continue to bear good and rich fruits, and may we draw ever closer to God. Amen.

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Wednesday, 19 March 2025 : Solemnity of St. Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : White

Matthew 1 : 16, 18-21, 24a

Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus Who is called the Christ – the Messiah.

This is how Jesus Christ was born : Mary His mother had been given to Joseph in marriage, but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.

While he was pondering over this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a Son. You shall call Him ‘Jesus’ for He will save His people from their sins.”

When Joseph woke up, he did what the Angel of the Lord had told him to do.

Alternative reading

Luke 2 : 41-51a

Every year the parents of Jesus went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover, as was customary. And when Jesus was twelve years old, He went up with them, according to the custom of this feast. After the festival was over, they returned, but the Boy Jesus remained in Jerusalem, and His parents did not know it.

They thought He was in the company, and after walking the whole day they looked for Him among their relatives and friends. As they did not find Him, they went back to Jerusalem searching for Him, and on the third day they found Him in the Temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. And all the people were amazed at His understanding and His answers.

His parents were very surprised when they saw Him, and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You done this to us? Your father and I were very worried while searching for You.” Then He said to them, “Why were you looking for Me? Did you not know that I must be in My Father’s house?” But they did not understand this answer.

Jesus went down with them, returning to Nazareth, and He continued to be subject to them.