Jesus was not born and raised in a bubble. He had a mother who showed him manners and proper eating habits and how to act and interact with others… He was obedient to her, as he was disobedient by not telling Mary and Joseph that he was staying behind in the Temple when they went up to Jerusalem together. And when, on that occasion, he was questioned and indirectly reprimanded by Mary, Scripture says that Jesus then “went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them. His mother treasured all these things in her heart. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years, and in divine and human favor” (Luke 2:51–52). What depths of meditation are here when we open our minds and imaginations to the mystery of the hidden lives of Mary and her son, Jesus, of how they related to one another, and of how they lived together in Nazareth. What spiritual energy is contained and released for us in the images and scenes we create or receive in the silence of prayerful meditation.
— from the book Nourishing Love: A Franciscan Celebration of Mary
by Murray Bodo, OFM
