REFLECTION: The Flight Into Egypt, by Josemaria Escriva

From Friends of God

Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Rise, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there till I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” And he rose and took the child and his mother by night, and departed to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet, “Out of Egypt have I called my son.” (Matthew 2:13-15)

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The charity of Mary brought about the birth of the faithful into the church, who are members of that head of which she is effectively the mother according to the flesh. Mary teaches us as a mother does, and, being a mother, she does so quietly. We need to have a sensitivity of soul, a touch of refinement, in order to understand what she is showing us, by what she does more than by what she promises.

She teaches us to have faith. Blessed art thou for thy believing, were the words of greeting uttered by her cousin Elizabeth when Our Lady went up into the hill country to visit her. Mary’s act of faith had been a wonderful one, Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done unto me according to thy word. When her son was born she contemplated the greatness of God on Earth: a choir of angels was present, and not only the shepherds, but also important men of this world came to adore the child. Afterwards, however, the Holy Family had to flee to Egypt, to escape Herod’s murderous intent. Then, silence; thirty long years of simple, ordinary life, just like that of any other home in a small village in Galilee.

In a few brief words, the Holy Gospel points the way for us to understand our Mother’s example: Mary treasured up all these sayings, and reflected on them in her heart. Let us try to imitate her, talking to our Lord, conversing like two people in love about everything that happens to us, even the most insignificant incidents. Nor should we forget that we have to weigh them, consider their value, and see them with the eyes of faith, in order to discover the will of God.

If our faith is weak, we should turn to Mary. Saint John tells us that it was because of the miracle at the marriage feast at Cana, which Christ performed at his mother’s request, that his disciples learned to believe in him. Our Mother is always interceding with her son so that he may attend to our needs and show himself to us in such a way that we can cry out, You are the Son of God.

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