THE unspeakable joy which Mary and Joseph experienced after the birth
of Jesus was of short duration.
The Angel of the Lord came again to visit Joseph in sleep, and said to
him, 'Arise, and take the Child and His Mother and fly into Egypt, and
be there until I shall tell thee, for it will come to pass that Herod
will seek the Child to destroy Him.'
See how the heavenly messenger treats Mary and Joseph, precisely as if
they were true Religious! How many pretexts might they not have found
to be dispensed from obeying? Could we not wait till to-morrow? might
they have said. What provisions have we for so long and tedious a
journey? Who knows what we may have to suffer from the Egyptians, the
declared enemies of the Israelites? Who will give us shelter in that
country? These and a thousand other excuses would have been made by us
had we been in their place. But perfect models as they were of
submission and of confidence, they set out without delay, certain that
God would provide for all their necessities. And so it proved, for
they found lodging and food, either by means of the trade exercised by
St. Joseph, or by the alms bestowed upon them.
That we may not lose even one of the many instructions given us in
this touching mystery, let us consider first that Our Lord, the
Eternal Wisdom, does not Himself take the charge of His Family. Being
perfect God and perfect Man, He already possessed the use of reason,
and from the first instant of His Conception He could have made known
to Joseph and to His Blessed Mother all that was to happen to them.
However, God the Father had conferred upon the Angel Gabriel the care
of the Holy Family, and therefore Our Lord would take no part in it.
The Angel commands and is obeyed most faithfully, although he was
inferior to Jesus and also to Mary, who, as Mother of God, was endowed
with greater graces and perfections than all the celestial spirits.
But this is not all. Observe the order that reigns in this Holy
Family. Who can doubt that Our Lady was superior to St. Joseph in
discretion, as well as in all the other qualities required for good
government? And, nevertheless, the Angel does not inform her of all
that is to be done, but he informs her Spouse, St. Joseph. It might
appear strange that he addresses himself to him rather than to Mary,
the Mistress of the house, who carries the Treasure of the Eternal
Father. Had she not every reason to be offended at this proceeding of
the Angel, who seemed thus to ignore her? She could undoubtedly have
said to her Spouse, 'Why should I go into Egypt, when neither my Son
nor the Angel have made it known to me?' But Our Lady is silent, and
obeys with all simplicity, without being in the least concerned that
the Angel had only spoken to St. Joseph. She knew well that all had
been ordained by God; she does not even inquire the reason, but the
knowledge that such is the Will of God is sufficient to secure her
prompt submission. It is thus God acts towards men--to teach them holy
and loving submission. A merely human mind does not wish to yield and
to adore the secret mysteries of God and of His Most Holy Will until
it is able to ascertain _the why and the wherefore of this and that_.
A thousand reasons are brought forward as of greater discernment or
experience, and so on; but they only cause disquiet, ill-temper, and
complaints. From the time we begin to criticise everything disturbs
us. Let us be satisfied to know what God wants of us, and let this
suffice. But (some will say) who can assure us that such is the Will
of God? This shows that our hearts would prefer that God should
manifest everything directly to us by means of secret inspirations, or
that He should send an Angel to announce to us His Will. And yet he
did not thus reveal it even to Our Lady, but wished her to come to the
knowledge of it through St. Joseph, to whom she was subject, as to her
superior. Our self-love would like to be instructed sometimes by God
Himself by means of ecstasies, visions, etc. We indulge ourselves in
follies such as these that we may not be subject to the common and
ordinary path of subjection to our rules and our superiors. Let it
suffice for us to know that God wills our obedience without reflecting
on the mental capacities of those who command us, and we shall
accustom ourselves to walk with all simplicity in the happy road of
holy and tranquil humility, which will render us pleasing to God. O!
how many wonderful examples of obedience to the Will of God did not
this glorious Virgin leave us during her whole life, and, above all,
in her flight into Egypt! Whither, O glorious Virgin, do you direct
your steps with that little Infant in your arms? I am going into
Egypt, she replies. But why do you go there? Because it is the Will of
God. For how long? As long as it pleases God. When will you return?
When He shall command me to do so. But when you return will your heart
be more happy than at present? O no, certainly not. And why? Because I
fulfil the Will of God equally in going, in remaining there, and in
returning. When you return, will you go into your own country? She
replies, I know no country but the accomplishment of the Will of my
God in everything.
O admirable example of obedience! Let us, in imitation of the Blessed
Virgin, endeavour to submit to authority at all times and in every
circumstance, whether it be pleasing to us or not. Let us go with all
simplicity even as far as Egypt--that is, into the midst of enemies--
because God Who sends us there will know how to protect us, and
assuredly we shall not perish. On the contrary, if we remain in Israel
with our enemy, self-will, it will certainly be the destruction of us.
In imitation of Mary and Joseph, let us answer the suggestions of the
enemy of our soul when he urges us to disobedience in these words:
_Deus providebit_--'God will provide.' O my God! happy we if we could
accustom ourselves to answer our heart always thus when it becomes
anxious, and thus banish all solicitude and trouble. Great indeed is
the confidence which God asks of us in His Paternal care and
Providence; but why do we refuse it to Him when we know that no one
has ever been deceived in Him, but, on the contrary, has always reaped
therefrom the most copious fruits? And was not this the promise which
Our Saviour made to His Apostles when He urged them to this loving
confidence? 'Your Father in heaven knoweth that ye have need of these
things.'