Jesus was twelve years old and Joseph and I, as custom dictates, wished to take Him to Jerusalem for the Passover. We went and we were filled with joy to worship God with His people. After the days of Passover were done, Joseph and I went back to Nazareth in the caravan of family members and friends that we came in. Joseph went with the men and I with the women. The children were either with their fathers or mothers. Both of us thought that Jesus was with the other. When evening came, Joseph and I came together and we did not find Jesus neither among our relatives nor among our friends. So we decided to go back to Jerusalem to look for Him. My heart was torn in two: the sufferings predicted by Simeon were already starting. "What happened to my Son?" I questioned. It took us two days to go back to Jerusalem and on the third day we found my Son in the temple. He was among a group of elders, rabbis, and He was reading the Law with them. They were discussing the Law of Moses: He astonished the elders who marveled at His insight to the Law. As I was hearing Him, there was an amount of joy: joy to hear my Son teaching. God was giving me a taste of what my Son would be doing during His earthly ministry. I ran up to Him and said, "My Son, why did You do such a thing? Your father and I with so much sorrow have been looking for You." Jesus looked at me with Love and yet with conviction and He said to me, "But why were you looking for Me? Did you not know I should be about My Father's business." At first, I could not understand such a response: and yet I did. My Son was aware of His vocation: He had to fulfill what He was created for. He was created for God: He was created to obey His Father in all things. I watched Him grow into maturity: I watched Him love and His love was only a reflection of the Father's love.
My children, do not cling to anyone that you love. Everyone has a mission, especially your children that God has given to you. Pray for religious vocations. Pray for vocations to the priesthood. Pray that Christian families will be obedient to the Father. Pray for the unity and the strengthening of all Christian families that they will truly bring the Kingdom of the Father to this earth.