The Life of Mary as Seen by the Mystics

by Raphael Brown

  “This is My Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

  After Jesus reached the age of twelve, the Holy Family made their yearly pilgrimage to the Temple and spent seven days with friends in Jerusalem. But this time, when Mary and Joseph left the city and were on their way back to Nazareth, the Child Jesus withdrew from them without their knowledge. Not far from the city gate He turned and hastened back through the streets. In His divine omniscience He foresaw all that was to happen, and He offered it up to His eternal Father for the benefit of souls.

  During the next three days, He spent part of His time begging and visiting the hospitals of the poor, consoling the sick and giving them the alms He had received. Secretly He restored bodily health to some and spiritual health to many.

  Then, joining some boys, He went to three schools, on each day to a different one. The questions and answers of the twelve-year-old Jesus surprised and irritated the teachers and priests of these schools so much that they decided on the third afternoon to have Him publicly tested in the Temple by their most famous experts, in order to embarrass and humiliate Him. For though they began by applauding the Boy’s knowledge, they soon felt a secret envy and jealousy.

  They all met accordingly in the great hall of the Temple, where our Lord often taught later on. It was a vast auditorium in which crowds of people circulated casually, making it hard to recognize as a place dedicated to the service of God. Jesus was seated in a large throne-like chair that He could not wholly fill. Around Him were grouped a number of aged Israelites dressed as priests. He had stepped into their midst with remarkable majesty and grace, and by His pleasing appearance He awakened in these learned men a desire to hear Him. They listened to Him very intently, but with growing fury.

  As, on the preceding days, Jesus in His replies had brought in analogies from nature and art, the scholars had taken care to call in some specialists skilled in the various branches of learning. When several of them began to ask Him questions relating to their fields, He told them that profane knowledge was not the proper subject for teaching in the Temple, but that He would nevertheless answer them, because such was the will of His Father. They did not understand that He was referring to His heavenly Father, and assumed that Joseph had told Him to show them how much He knew.

  In replying to their questions, our Lord spoke first about medicine, and the way He described the human body aroused the admiration of the foremost doctors. Then He took up several matters pertaining to astronomy, architecture, agriculture, geometry, mathematics, and law. He was so skillful in correlating these different subjects with the promises, prophecies, and mysteries of their religion, its ceremonies and sacrifices, that his listeners were astounded and embarrassed.

  Finally the discussion turned to the coming of the Messiah. Most of the Hebrew scholars maintained that He could not yet be due, because He was to come with kingly pomp and free His people by force from the Romans. But the Boy Jesus, by quoting the other prophecies concerning the rejection and death of the Messiah, proved that the Prophets had described His two different comings: first to redeem, and then to judge mankind. And by recalling that the people of Israel were now in that very servitude which was foretold as a sure sign of His coming, Jesus demonstrated that the Messiah must already be among them. He even reminded them of the visit of the three Magi, seeking the King of the Jews. Thus, while seeming to ask questions, Jesus taught with divine conviction.

  The scribes and scholars who heard Him refute their arguments were all at first dumbfounded and then furious with shame. They could not tolerate His teaching them things they did not know, or His explaining the mysteries of the Law better than they could.

  Meanwhile, during these three days, Mary and Joseph, their hearts filled with anxiety and self-reproach, had been searching in vain for Jesus among their relatives and friends. Although Mary knew that the time for her Son’s Passion had not yet come, still she feared that Archelaus the King might have taken Him prisoner and be mistreating Him. Also she wondered whether Jesus might have gone to live in the desert with John the Baptist. Throughout those three days she neither ate nor slept. Though she often spoke with the angels that always accompanied her, they were not allowed to tell her where they knew Jesus was, and in her humility and prudence she did not ask them.

  Since she did not know the cause of her loss, her anxiety was without measure, and yet she bore it with patience, resignation, and submission. Not for a moment did she lose her interior or exterior peace, or entertain a discouraging thought. And though her sorrow pierced her inmost heart, she never failed in reverence or ceased her prayers for the human race and for the grace of finding her Son.

  One of the women she questioned exclaimed: “That Child came to my door yesterday begging for alms, and I gave Him some—His grace and beauty touched my heart. I was moved to compassion at seeing such a lovely Child in poverty and need.”

  Later at the city hospital Mary was told of Jesus’ visits there. Then the thought occurred to her that since He was not with the poor, He was probably in the House of God and of prayer. Now the holy angels encouraged her and said:

  “Our Queen and our Lady, the hour of thy consolation is at hand. Soon thou wilt see the Light of thy eyes. Hasten thy footsteps and go to the Temple.”

  Just at this moment St. Joseph rejoined her, as they had been searching separately for a while. During all these three days he had suffered indescribable sorrow and affliction, hastening from one place to another. In fact he had been in serious danger of losing his life, if God had not strengthened him and if Mary had not consoled him and forced him to take some food and rest.

  Mary and Joseph arrived at the Temple and found Jesus just as He was finishing His last explanation. All the scholars rose in complete amazement and looked at each other, exclaiming: “What a prodigy of a boy!”

  Joseph humbly remained silent while Mary approached her Son and said with reverence and affection, before all those present:

  “Son, why hast Thou done so to us? Behold, Thy father and I have been seeking Thee sorrowing.”

  In a very serious tone of voice Jesus replied:

  “How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”

  Mary and Joseph did not understand what He said, first because just then they were overwhelmed with joy at finding Him, and secondly because they had not heard Him explaining the Messiah’s mission. Moreover, during all this time the soul of her Son had again been veiled from Mary’s eyes.

  For a moment it seemed as if several of the scholars who were so angry at Jesus might do Him some harm. But then the Holy Family quietly went out through the crowd which opened to let them pass. Soon they had left the city.

  When they were alone on the road, Mary knelt before her Son and asked His blessing. With loving tenderness the Boy Jesus raised her from the ground, comforted her, and revealed to her all that He had done in those three days. Later during the journey He also explained to her that the learned doctors had not recognized Him as the Messiah because they were inflated and arrogant in their own knowledge, and that their understanding was obscured by the darkness of their pride, for if they had had the humble and loving desire to see the truth, His reasoning would have sufficiently convinced them.

  “And His mother kept all these things carefully in her heart.”

  Our Lady said to Venerable Mother Mary of Agreda:

  “The Lord absented Himself from me in order that by seeking Him in sorrow and tears I might find Him again in joy and with abundant fruits for my soul. In my great love the uncertainty as to the cause of His withdrawal gave me no rest until I found Him.

  “In this I wish that thou imitate me, whether thou lose Him through thy own fault or by the disposition of His will. For to lose sight of God for the purpose of being tried in virtue and love is not the same as to lose sight of Him in punishment for sins committed.

  “So strong are the bonds of His Love that no one can burst them, except thy own free
will.”

  Jesus Found in the Temple

  XXII

  The Hidden Life in Nazareth

  hen the Boy Jesus returned to Nazareth with Mary and Joseph after the Finding in the Temple, a party was given in His honor by thirty-three of His young friends and relatives, who later became His disciples. The banquet table was decorated with wreaths made of ears of corn and vine foliage, and in front of each child were bunches of grapes and bread rolls. During the meal, young Jesus told His companions a beautiful story about a wedding at which water would be changed into wine and indifferent guests into faithful friends, and then about another kind of wedding at which wine would be changed into blood and bread into flesh as a living bond of love until the end of the world. At the time the boys did not understand what He meant. He also told His young cousin Nathanael that one day He would attend his wedding. Henceforth Jesus was the acknowledged leader of these boys, and He spent much time with them, sitting and talking with them or accompanying them on walks in the country, and all the time teaching them many practical lessons.

  As Jesus grew up, He helped St. Joseph more and more at his carpentry work, and when He reached the age of eighteen He became His foster father’s regular assistant, thus giving St. Joseph great pleasure and consolation.

  Jesus’ bed was a plain, wooden couch that Joseph had made for Him, and He used only one blanket and a small, woolen pillow made by Mary. Yet He would not even stretch out on this hard bed but rested sitting on it, and when His Mother spoke of getting Him a better bed, Jesus replied that the only couch on which He was to be stretched out would be His cross. Each evening Mary would kneel before her Son and ask His pardon for not having done all her duty in serving Him and for not having been sufficiently grateful for the blessings of the day. And each morning she likewise asked Him to order her to do what He wished during the day in His service.

  Jesus now began to show more gravity in His conduct and conversation with His parents. More and more they observed a certain divine power and majesty in His features, and they caressed Him less. Yet in His relations with them He remained humble and obedient and loving. However, as the time for His public ministry slowly approached, He became more recollected and devoted more time to prayer and meditation.

  Every day Jesus, His Mother, and Joseph prayed together in Mary’s plain and poorly furnished room, the holy room in which the Annunciation had taken place. They prayed aloud, standing with their arms crossed on their chests, in the light of a lamp. And frequently Mary and Joseph prayed silently together. Sometimes they knelt and sometimes each lay face down on the floor with arms extended like a cross. Occasionally when Jesus prayed for hardhearted sinners, Mary saw drops of blood appear on His face, which she would then wipe away with deep reverence and compassion. At other times she perceived Him resplendent with glory, as during the Transfiguration, and surrounded by adoring and chanting angels.

  Young Jesus continued to visit the poor and the sick in Nazareth and the neighboring villages, and while influencing for the good everyone whom He met, He secretly helped many persons both spiritually and physically.

  Throughout these years of His hidden life, Jesus spent much time teaching His Mother all that she must know and do later for His Church. Soon after the return from Jerusalem when He was twelve, the eternal Father said to Mary:

  “We have resolved to make you the closest image and likeness of My only-begotten Son. Be mindful therefore that a great preparation is required of you.”

  Henceforth Jesus instructed His Mother thoroughly in the new Law of His Gospel and all the mysteries and doctrines of the Catholic religion. Day after day He taught her the meaning and value of the sacraments and dogmas of the Church, and He described to her the whole history of His Church until the end of the world, together with all its saints and martyrs and doctors and prelates. He also showed her how to apply this knowledge in a practical way to her daily life, so that she might be well prepared to serve Him and His Mystical Body the Church as Divine Providence planned. Mary received these inspiring instructions with profound humility, reverence, gratitude, and fervent love, which reached a climax when Jesus explained to her the mysteries of the Holy Eucharist and the Mass. Then she exclaimed:

  “My Lord and life of my soul, shall I be so fortunate as to bear Thee once more within my body and soul?”

  And Jesus answered:

  “My beloved Mother, you shall receive Me many times in the Blessed Sacrament, and after My death and Ascension It will be your consolation, for I shall choose your sincere and loving heart as My most pleasing and delightful resting place.”

  From that hour Mary humbly and gratefully began to prepare herself in all her thoughts and actions for the time when she could receive Holy Communion, and she prayed fervently that all men might know and appreciate this greatest of all the Sacraments.

  By a special privilege granted to the Blessed Virgin by God, after she reached the age of thirty-three—during the hidden life in Nazareth, Jesus being then eighteen—her beautiful physical appearance and perfection remained unchanged during all the rest of her long life. She now strikingly resembled in features and complexion the unique beauty of Christ during His last years on earth, and the Lord allowed Mary to keep that perfection in order that His likeness might be preserved in her as long as she lived.

  Speaking of the Hidden Life, the Blessed Virgin told St. Bridget of Sweden:

  “As the Gospel says, my Son was subject to His parents, and He acted like other children until He grew up. Nothing unclean ever touched Him, nor was the least disorder ever seen in His hair. When He grew older, He was constantly in prayer. His features and His words were so wonderful and so pleasing that many persons when in trouble used to say: ‘Let us go to Mary’s Son—He will console us!’ As He grew in age, He worked with His hands, and He talked with us so inspiringly about God that we were continually filled with indescribable joy. And when we were in fear, in poverty, and in trouble, He did not produce gold and silver for us, but urged us to be patient, and we were marvelously protected. What we needed was sometimes given to us by compassionate and devout persons, and sometimes came from our work, so that we had what we needed to live on, but nothing superfluous, for we sought only to serve God. At home, with friends who visited us, He talked familiarly about the Law of God and its meanings and types. He also openly disputed with learned men, so that they were astonished and used to say, ‘Joseph’s Son instructs the Scribes—there is a great spirit in Him!’

  “He was also so obedient that when Joseph said to Him: ‘Do this’ or ‘Do that,’ He did it at once, for He concealed the power of His Divinity in such a way that it could only be perceived by myself and at times by Joseph. Very often we saw Him surrounded by a wonderful light and heard angels’ voices singing over Him. We also observed that unclean spirits, which could not be cast out by official exorcists, fled at the sight of my Son’s presence. Keep this always in your memory, My Daughter, and offer sincere thanks to God that He chose to reveal His Childhood to others through you.”

  XXIII

  The Death of St. Joseph

  t this time, although he was not very old, St. Joseph was worn out in strength and health, after twenty years of hard work for his family, and the Lord now ordained that he was to spend his last eight years of life in illness and suffering, in order to increase his sanctity through the practice of patience and resignation. Mary therefore lovingly persuaded him to give up his work, which Jesus had been helping him to perform, often miraculously making it easier for him.

  Now Mary gladly volunteered to support the family, as she had done in Egypt, by spinning and weaving linen and wool, with the help of a good and loyal woman friend. Consequently she often spent the greater part of the night at work, although Jesus sometimes enabled her to accomplish a great deal in a short time.

  During his last years St. Joseph suffered a series of fevers, violent headaches, and a very painful rheumatism, which made him weak and helpless. As Mary observed how
he bore all his sufferings with humble patience and supernatural love, her affection and admiration for him increased every day, and she joyfully labored for his support and comfort. His greatest consolation was that she should prepare and serve his meals herself, and she often made special efforts to get him choice foods. She would often take off his shoes for him and support him with her arms and console him with kind and inspiring words.

  During his last three years Joseph’s illness grew worse, and Mary nursed him day and night. Several times she begged the Lord to let her take over her husband’s suffering, and when his pains were keenest she obtained her Son’s permission to command them to cease for a while. She also ordered her angels to console St. Joseph, which they did by appearing to him in beautiful human forms and speaking to him about God or by singing heavenly hymns for him.

  All this time Jesus also helped and encouraged His beloved foster father, whenever He was not engaged in His intensive preparation for His public ministry.

  Realizing one day that the hour of St. Joseph’s death was very near, Mary went to her Son and said to Him: