Originally published at Ignatian Spirituality
This post is based on Week Four of An Ignatian Prayer Adventure.
Parenthood: there is no greater joy or desperation. A parent is fully responsible, yet fully out of control. All of us know how easily a toddler can bring the most eloquent and intelligent to their knees. As a vocation, a calling from God, parenthood requires a sacrifice of self and a lifetime of love. Like any vocation, sometimes we seek it, and sometimes it is thrust upon us.
Mary and Joseph were among those who had parenthood thrust upon them. What desperation that must have sparked! This week in our Ignatian Prayer Adventure, we have been with Mary and Joseph on their desperate journey to Egypt to escape Herod’s slaughter of the innocents. Years later, returning home after the feast of Passover, even with the support of an entire caravan of family, Mary and Joseph could not ensure the security of their child. (Luke 2:41–52)
In Ignatian prayer, I sit in the desperation of Mary and Joseph as they search three days for Jesus. Three days. This is not just a foretelling of the wait after the Crucifixion. It is the reality of a lifelong Holy Saturday of
