Page:Meditations For Every Day In The Year.djvu/143

 II. The anxious  parents  could  not  find  their  Son  among His kindred  or  acquaintance. Hence you  are  to  infer that you  ought  to  divest  yourself  of  all  inordinate  affection for  your  kindred,  country,  and  friends  if  you  desire to enjoy  the  company  of  your  Jesus. St. Bernard  justly inquires: "How  shall  I  find  you,  my  good  Jesus,  among my  own  kindred,  when  you  could  not  be  found  among your  own?"

III. He was  not  to  be  found  either  in  the  more  agreeable, or  more  honorable,  or  more  frequented  walks  of life. Nor did  the  spouse  in  the  Canticle  find  her  beloved  in "  the  bed"  of  ease  and  pleasure,  nor  in  the  "  broad  ways"  of distraction,  dissipation,  and  forgetfulness  of  God. Christ was found  at  last  in  the  temple,  among  the  Doctors. Seek your  Lord,  then,  in  His  church,  by  fervent  prayer, and, though  you  do  not  immediately  find  Him,  persevere in the  search;  for,  as  the  Wise  Man  observes,  "  Wisdom is  easily  seen  by  those  that  love  her,  and  is  found  by them  that  seek  her." (Wis. vi.  13.)

I. "  And  it  came  to  pass,  that  after  three  days  they found  Him  in  the  temple." (Luke ii.  46.)  Imagine what joy  the  holy  Virgin  felt  when  she  at  last  discovered her Son  in  the  temple. We seldom  know  how  to  appreciate a  blessing  until  we  have  lost  it;  and  when  we  regain it,  our  joy  is  complete. This is  the  case  in  worldly blessings; let  it  be  so  in  those  which  are  of  a  spiritual and more  elevated  nature. When you  have  regained  the grace of  God  after  having  lost  it  by  sin,  pour  out  your whole soul  in  thanksgiving,  and  cautiously  avoid  the danger of  a  similar  loss.