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Translation
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What the Fathers say
Eastern Fathers
Cyril of Alexandria
Here then first He makes more open mention of Him Who is truly His Father, and lays bare His own divinity: for when the holy Virgin said, Child, why hast Thou so done unto us? then at once shewing Himself to transcend the measure of human things, and teaching her that she had been made the handmaid of the dispensation in giving birth to the flesh, but that He by nature and in truth was God, and the Son of the Father That is in heaven, He says, Did ye not know that I must be at My Father's? …
Theophylact of Ohrid
Why then were they seeking Him? Did they suppose that He, as a child, had gotten lost or gone astray? Away with such a thought! For it could not have occurred either to the most wise Mary, who had received countless revelations about Him, or to Joseph, to whom it had also been revealed that He was of the Holy Spirit. Rather, they were seeking Him lest He had somehow fallen behind them, lest He had somehow left them. And when they found Him, see how He answers them! …
Ancient Greek Expositor
This is the first demonstration of the wisdom and power of the Child Jesus. For as to what are called thea acts of His childhood, we can not but suppose them to be the work not only of a childish but even of a devilish mind and perverse will, attempting to revile those things which are contained in the Gospel and the sacred prophecies. …
Western Saints
Ambrose of Milan
There are two generations in Christ, one from His Father, the other from His mother; the Father's more divine, the mother's that which has come down for our use and advantage.
Bede
Clearly the abode in the hearts of the elect of the holy Trinity, the nature of whose divinity is one and indivisible, cannot be disparate. Therefore, when he was sitting in the temple, the Lord said, "I must be about my Father's business," and this is a declaration of his power and glory which are co-eternal with God the Father's. However, when he returned to Nazareth, he was subject to his parents, and this is an indication of his true humanity as well as an example of humility. …
Bonaventure
And note that he responds to the question humbly and wisely: whence it is added: And he said to them: Why is it that you sought me? As if I were absent, when I was present to you: Jeremiah 23: "I fill heaven and earth"; and this showed that he was the Son of the eternal Father. Whence he adds: Did you not know that I must be about the things that are my Father's? …
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