For full seven years, God is said to have been a stranger in the land of Egypt, when the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Take the young Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead which sought the young Child’s life. And he took the
E young Child and His mother, and returned into the land of Israel.”1 On his arrival, he discovered that Archelaus, the son of Herod, reigned there, and he feared to go on. And through a second admonition from the angel, he retired into Galilee, to the city of Nazareth. His return was about the Feast of the Epiphany; according to the Martyrology it was on the second day.
Here again you see, for I have touched on this before, how the Lord gives His consolations and revelations piecemeal, and not all at once according to the fulness of our desires. You may notice this from two circumstances. First, because the revelation came not openly, but in a dream. Secondly, because, not on one occasion but on two, the angel instructed him as to where he was to go. According to an old commentary, God did this, because our certainty is increased by the repetition of the vision. But whether this be so or not, we ought to esteem highly every the least revelation, and be thankful for it, knowing that He always disposes all things in the way He sees to be best for us.
But now let us gather in our thoughts upon the return of our Lord, and give our whole attention to it, for it is a subject most suitable for devout meditation. Return, then, in spirit to Egypt for the sake of visiting the Child Jesus ; perhaps you will find Him out-of-doors, in company with other children. Depict Him as a child, running up to you, for He is affable, kindly, and courteous. But you, fall on your knees, and kiss His Feet, and take Him up into your arms, and rest awhile with Him. Perhaps He will say to you, “We have permission to return to our country, and tomorrow we have to leave this place ; you have come at a good time for you can join us on our homeward journey.” To which quickly respond, that you will be over-joyed to do so, that you wish to follow Him wheresoever He goes, and that your delight is in His society. I have already allowed that such points as these may seem puerile to some, yet frequent meditation upon them will yield much fruit, and prepare the way for higher things. Afterwards, you can imagine that He will lead you to His mother, who will honour you with a courteous reception. Pay her and her holy and aged spouse the attention which is due, and rest with them.
On the following morning, when they are ready to depart, you will see some charitable matrons, and also men, come to accompany them beyond the gates of the city, on account of their peaceful and pious mode of life whilst among them. For it may be they had spoken beforehand to their neighbours of their departure for some days ; for it was not fitting that they should leave unexpectedly, and as it were by stealth — a mode of departure which they had adopted when they came into Egypt ; but then they had a reason for it, for the life of the Child was in danger. And now they are setting out; Joseph goes before with the men, and the Blessed Virgin follows at some distance with the matrons. Take, then, in spirit the Child by the hand, and go with Him before His mother, for she will not suffer Him out of her sight. When they had passed the gate, Joseph would no longer permit them to accompany him ; when perhaps one of them who was rich, taking pity on their poverty, called the Child Jesus to him and gave Him something for their journey. The Child, though ashamed, accepted it ; we can imagine Him for the love of poverty holding out His Hand, and bashfully taking the money and returning thanks for it ; and then others begin to give Him something also, the matrons calling Him and doing the same. His mother, too, was no less abashed, yet she also humbly acknowledged the gifts. Do you then compassionate them, for He it is whose is “the earth and the fulness thereof,”2 who made choice of so rigorous a poverty and such narrow circumstances, for Himself, His mother, and His foster-father. How brightly does their poverty shine in all its holiness ! How does it draw us to the love and practice of it ! At last, having returned thanks to the company, they wish them good-bye, and pursue their journey.
But how will the Child Jesus bear the fatigue of this journey, being yet of tender age ? It will be a greater trial than the journey when He came into Egypt For then He was so little that He was easily carried, but now He is too big to be carried, and too little to walk. It may have been that some good neighbours gave or lent an ass for Him to ride on. O beautiful and delicate Youth, King of Heaven and earth, what labours didst Thou undergo for us, even in Thy earliest years ! Well hath the prophet said in Thy person, “I am poor, and in labours from my youth.”3 Great indeed are the privations, incessant the toil, and countless the bodily hardships, Thou didst assume for our sakes ! Thou seemest to have hated Thyself out of love for us. Surely this one labour, on which we are now meditating, should have sufficed to redeem us. Take up, then, the Boy Jesus, and in spirit put Him on the ass, conduct Him trustily, and when He wants to dismount, receive Him joyfully into your arms, and hold Him a little while, at least till His mother comes up, who may be imagined to walk a little more slowly and evenly. Then the Child will go to her, and the reception of Him will be to her a great repose. On they go, and through the desert by which they came, they pass; during this journey often excite compassion for them, for they have but little rest See them, how fatigued they are, and worn out with toil both by day and night When they reached the confines of the desert, there they may have met John the Baptist, who had already begun to lead a penitential life, though said to be free from sin. It is thought that the place on the banks of Jordan where John baptized, is that over which the children of Israel passed, when they came from Egypt through this very desert ; and that nigh to that place in this desert John did penance. It is quite possible, if this were the case, that the Boy Jesus, when He passed that way on His return, might find him there. Meditate, then, on the joy which would surely accompany such a meeting, and see them remaining for a while with the Baptist, partaking of his rough food, and, after the sweetness of spiritual refreshment, bidding him adieu. And you, at meeting and parting, show respect for the Saint, in spirit embracing his feet, seeking his blessing, and striving to imitate him; for great is that child and very wonderful, even from his cradle. He was the first hermit, the founder and model of all who choose the Religious Life. He was most pure, a very great preacher, more than a prophet, and a glorious martyr. Then the travellers crossed Jordan, and called at the house of Elizabeth, where there was great joy and mutual congratulations. Then it was that Joseph, on hearing that Archelaus, the son of Herod, reigned in Judaea, was filled with fear; and being warned by an Angel in a dream, withdrew to Galilee, to the city of Nazareth.
Behold, we have brought back the Child Jesus from Egypt, and upon His return, the sisters and other relatives and friends of the Blessed Virgin all ran to visit them. But they remained in Nazareth, and lived a life of poverty. From this time to the twelfth year of His age, nothing is recorded of the Child Jesus. There is a tradition, however, and it is not improbable, that the fountain is still there out of which He used to draw water for His mother. For the lowly Lord, perhaps, did services of this kind for her, for she had no other to serve her. Here, too, you can imagine that S. John the Evangelist came with his mother, she being the Blessed Virgin’s sister, and he being about five years old. For it is reported of him that he died sixty-seven years after our Lord’s Passion, in the ninety-eighth year of his age ; and, therefore, at the time of Christ’s Passion, when our Lord was thirty-three or a little more, S. John was thirty-oneS. John, then, would be about five, when our Lord was seven years old on His return from Egypt Behold, then, the children standing together and conversing, as our Lord may enable you. For this was that disciple whom afterwards Jesus loved, with the love of friendship.
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