Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary: Reflection on Luke 2:41-51

Finding Jesus in Silence: Homily for the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – Luke 2:41-51

Praise be to Jesus Christ 

A young man once visited an old, wise nun. With frustration in his voice, he said, “Why doesn’t God speak to me? I pray, I cry, I shout… but I hear nothing.”

The nun simply smiled and began pouring him a cup of tea. She kept pouring until the tea overflowed. “ Stop,” the man cried, “It’s spilling over.”

She looked up and said gently, “Your heart is like this cup, too full of noise, anger, and complaints. God is speaking, but silence is the only language the heart understands. “Then she added softly, “When the mouth is quiet, the soul begins to hear.”

This is exactly what we see in Mary. Her heart didn’t demand answers. It didn’t panic when things were unclear. It quietly held on to what it didn’t yet understand. That is the beauty of the Immaculate Heart: a heart that listens, trusts, remembers… and never turns bitter.

In today’s Gospel, Mary and Joseph realise  that Jesus is missing. They don’t give in to despair. They don’t sit and cry. They get up and search, painfully, anxiously, but with hope. That is what we must do. If we’ve lost Jesus somewhere in our lives, in our homes, in our relationships, in our vocation, let us begin the search again. He never hides from a heart that longs for Him.

And when they finally find Him in the Temple, Jesus doesn’t say, “I’m sorry.” He says something mysterious: “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”

Mary and Joseph didn’t understand. But notice what Mary does, she doesn’t argue, she doesn’t question. She simply keeps everything in her heart. She listens more than she speaks. That’s the grace of her Immaculate Heart, a heart that carries mystery with faith, not frustration.

Today, many of our homes are filled with noise. Husbands question wives. Wives complain about husbands. Children argue. In religious life too, we often hear more grumbling than prayer. But Mary shows us another way. Silence is not weakness, but it is wisdom. Silence is not giving up, but  it is strength.

We don’t have to understand why suffering comes. We don’t always need answers. We are not called to understand everything — we are called to trust. That’s what Mary did. Even in the dark, she trusted.

Saint Teresa of Ávila once said, “God alone suffices.” That is the secret of the Immaculate Heart. When Mary found Jesus, she didn’t ask Him for details. She didn’t need to know everything. She just held His words in her heart… and trusted.

So today, let’s ask ourselves: Have we lost Jesus in the busyness of life? Have we lost Him in our worries or our routines? If yes, then like Mary and Joseph, let us rise and search for Him again. And when we find Him, let us hold Him,  not only in our thoughts, but in the quiet, trusting place of our hearts.

O Mary, teach us to seek Jesus in our day today lives,  even in silence.

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