After the meeting in the Temple, Jesus returns to Galilee with Mary and Joseph. “He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.” (Lk 2:51) It is among the few pieces of information which we have of his hidden life -- that Jesus obeyed them.
St Augustine comments-- ‘Christ, to whom the universe is subject, was subject to them.’ To obey His Father, Jesus subjected himself to those who, in his earthly life, were invested with authority, his parents.
Our Lady must have reflected very often about Jesus’ obedience, which was extremely refined and very natural. St Luke tells us that “His Mother kept in her heart the memory of all this” (2:51). The whole life of Jesus was an act of obedience to the will of the Father-- “What I do is always what pleases Him.” (Jn 8:29)
Jesus teaches that obedience to the will of God, shown in myriad ways, should be what nourishes and gives meaning to our lives. Without obedience there is no growth in interior life, nor true development of the human person. Obedience “far from lowering the dignity of the human person, leads it to maturity by extending the freedom of the sons of God” (Second Vatican Council, “Perfectae caritatis”, 14).
Obedience is a virtue which makes us very pleasing to God. Through the mouth of Samuel the prophet, he said to Saul: “The Lord loves obedience better than any sacrifice.” (1 Sam 15:22) And St Gregory the Great comments: “Rightly is obedience set before sacrifice, because through obedience we offer up our own will.” (“Morals”, 14) Through obedience we give our selves to God.
Many graces and fruits accompany obedience. The ten lepers are cured by obeying the words of Our Lord: “'Go and show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were made clean.” (Lk 17:14) The same thing happened to that blind man on whose eyes Jesus put clay. He said to him, “Go and wash in the pool of Siloe” (a word which means sent out). So he went and washed there; and came back with his sight restored.(Jn 9:6-7)
“Obedience makes our actions and our sufferings meritorious in such a way that the latter, which could seem futile, can become very useful. One of the marvels performed by Our Lord is having made what was useless, like suffering, become so advantageous. He has glorified suffering through obedience and love. Obedience is great and heroic when one is ready to face death and ignominy in order to fulfil it.” (R Garrigou-Lagrange, “The 3 Ages of the Interior Life”, VII)
“To carry out the will of the Father, Christ inaugurated the kingdom of heaven on earth and revealed to us his mystery. By his obedience he brought about our Redemption.” (Second Vatican Council, “Lumen Gentium”, 3)
“He lowered his own dignity, accepted an obedience which brought him to death on a Cross.” (Phil, 2:8)
St Teresa said: “Once the Lord told me that I was not obeying unless I was determined to suffer. I must fix my eyes on all that he had suffered and I should find everything easy.” (St Teresa of Avila, “Life”, 26)
If we come very close to Our Lady we will learn prompt, joyful and effective obedience.
“Following her example of obedience to God, we can learn how to serve with refinement, without being slavish. In Mary we don’t find the slightest trace of the attitude of the foolish virgins who obey, but thoughtlessly. Our Lady listens attentively to what God wants, ponders what she doesn’t fully understand and asks about what she doesn’t know. Then she gives herself completely to doing the divine Will.” (St Josemaria Escrivá, “Christ is passing by”, 173)
Ref: cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 1:361-6
Cheerfulness
God created man in a world which overflowed with goodness. (cf Prov 8:30-31) But evil came into the world with sin and became embedded in human nature. True joy, which is always united to goodness, came to earth fully on the day Our Lady gave her consent and the Son of God took flesh in her womb.
Conceived without original sin, a profound joy already reigned within her. At her loving response to God’s plans she became the cause of new happiness in the world. This is because Jesus Christ came to us through her.
Christ the ‘full joy’ of the Father, of the angels and of men, is in whom God is well pleased. (cf Mt 3:17) Mary’s mission, then and now, is to give Jesus, her Son, to us. This is why we call Our Lady -- ‘Cause of our joy’.
True joy lasts despite all contradiction and pain. It is what those who encounter God in all sorts of circumstances enjoy; they find joy to follow Him. It is the same spirit of joy that the downhearted disciples know again when they recognize Jesus.(cf Lk 24:13-35)
Mary possesses Jesus fully; her joy is the greatest any human heart can contain. “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my saviour.” (Lk 1:46-7)
Joy is the immediate consequence of a certain fulness of life which consists of knowledge and love. (cf St Thomas, “Summa Theologiae”, II-II, 28, 4 et seq) Through his infinite mercy, God has made us his children in Jesus Christ, and sharers in his nature, which is exactly that fulness: infinite knowledge, immense love.
We cannot achieve any greater joy than that based on being children of God through grace. Your hearts will rejoice, Our Lord promised at the Last Supper, “and no one will take your joy from you” (cf Jn, 16:22). The closer we are to God, the greater our share in his love and in his life.
The more we grow in divine filiation, the greater and more appreciable will our joy be. Do I usually behave cheerfully? When disappointments occur, do I easily lose my cheerfulness? Do I often give in to gloomy thoughts?
Ref: cf F Fernandez, op cit, 3:92-4
Naturalness -- “Blessed are you for believing”, said Elizabeth to our Mother. Union with God, supernatural virtue, always brings with it the attractive practice of human virtues: Mary brought joy to her cousin’s home, because she brought Christ. (St Josemaria Escrivá, Furrow, 566)
Memorial: Our Lady of Chatillon sur Seine [France]. St. Bernard had great devotion to this image, on account of a miracle which it wrought in his favor. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; http://www.bethlehemobserver.com)
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