The Flight Into Egypt

We know that some time later, Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt with the baby Jesus to protect Him from Herod's rage against the little children.

Mary shares with us her thoughts about the events of the exile at Locutions.org.

March 31, 2012 

300. An Exile of Protection 

Mary 

“We must leave this place”.  Joseph’s eyes, usually so peaceful, were filled with fear.  “The child is in danger.  We must go”.  So, we set out on yet another journey, even farther away than our beloved Nazareth, into a strange land and among a foreign people.  Yet, how much I already knew of this nation called Egypt. 

Joseph in Egypt 

Another Joseph had also gone there, sold into slavery by his brothers, yet destined to be lifted high by the plans of God (which are always so difficult for the human mind to grasp).  I would go to an Egypt from which God had called our forefathers.  He worked great signs and wonders to call them forth.  I would cross the desert which they crossed, the desert in which God formed them into a nation as they lived forty years, waiting to enter the Promised Land. 

God’s Plan 

These were my thoughts as Joseph and I made the journey, carrying the Savior of Israel.  God was forming us by this exile.  We had to believe.  So much we did not know.  What was God’s plan for us?  He seemingly tells us one thing and then events move us away.  “This child is set for the rise and the fall if many in Israel”, God said to us through Simeon.  But now, we are exiled from Israel and the child will grow up in a foreign culture.  “He will rule over the house of Jacob forever” said the angel, Gabriel.  Yet, Jacob only came to Egypt at the very end of his life. 

As we fled into Egypt, the events were confusing, but in my heart a voice spoke.  I recognized the voice of the Father, “I will call my Son out of Egypt” he said, “just as I called my people.  There will be new life and he will bring about a new people.  Go in faith.  Stay there until I call you back.  When you return, I will lead you back to Nazareth.  From there, he will be called a Nazarene”.

Remember for later that Mary heard the voice of God the Father calming her and instructing her about the future.  Like Mary, so many of us live in exile in our lives.  Our sin has separated us from God, but God wants us back, and Mary joins with us in our Sorrow, as this exile was one of the 7 Sorrows of Mary in the life of Jesus.

So, Mary speaks to the exiled of us, and the exiled parts of all of us:

Are You in Exile? 

It all happened, just as the Father said it would.  O reader, if at this moment you think that events have taken you far away, believe that the Father will bring you back.  He arranges everything to protect the divine life in your soul.  Do not despair and, especially, do not lose faith.  I am with you in your exile.  I know what it means to be sent away, to be uprooted.  Do not forget.  You are never uprooted from my Immaculate Heart.  As I took Jesus, years later, back to Nazareth, so I promise to carry you back to where you will flourish.  I can do that if you remain by faith in my arms. 

Comment:  In her exile, Mary trusted God and will help all those who are also exiled in any way.

Here is the reading and meditation on the Second Sorrow from http://www.themostholyrosary.com/

2. The flight into Egypt: "And after they (the wise men) were departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep to Joseph, saying: 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. Who arose and took the child and His mother by night, and retired into Egypt: and He was there until the death of Herod." – Matt. II, 13-14. 

Meditation: Consider the sharp sorrow which Mary felt when, St. Joseph being warned by an angel, she had to flee by night in order to preserve her beloved Child from the slaughter decreed by Herod. What anguish was hers, in leaving Judea, lest she should be overtaken by the soldiers of the cruel king! How great her privations in that long journey! What sufferings she bore in that land of exile, what sorrow amid that people given to idolatry! But consider how often you have renewed that bitter grief of Mary, when your sins have caused her Son to flee from your heart.