Learn by Topic: pursuit

In today’s Gospel (Luke 2:41-52) , the 12-year old Jesus’ response to Mary and Joseph when they find Him in the Temple after 3 days is: “Why were you looking for Me?” (Luke 2:49).

Christ’s question should cause each of us to reflect on our own spiritual life:

• Am I looking for Jesus? – For many Catholics, the answer is “not so much.”  Many are distracted by the world, often preferring to pursue the world to the point of sin, rather than pursuing Christ.
• If not, have I considered the cost of my indifference to Christ? – Being indifferent, or casual, in our faith has some pretty crappy consequences: falling deeper and deeper into sin, forgoing the peace and joy that Christ promises to each of us in our lives today, shunning the communion of community of other Catholic brothers and sisters, spiritual starvation from missing the Eucharist and the very real possibility of eternal separation from Christ and the eternal roasting in the fires of Hell.
• If so, why am I looking for Jesus? – What is it that we are seeking from Christ?  Peace? Joy? The relief of suffering?  All these are valid by-products of drawing closer to Jesus, for they are good, but they are not the most holy reasons.  St. Augustine makes it clear:  we must pursue Christ, loving Him for His own sake, not for the “goodies” that Christ can offer.
• Am I looking for Jesus to the best of my ability? – If you lost your child  like the Blessed Mother and Joseph, you would certainly drop everything, never tiring in your pursuit of your child until you had found him/her.  Most of us don’t look that hard for Christ.  But we should.

For 2013, make a commitment to look for Jesus Christ with growing urgency, drawing closer to Him through the great blessings of your Catholic faith.