Jesus came into the world to give life to the human race by His death; to convert the world by His divine teaching to knowledge of the truth; and to the worship and love of God. He had only thirty-three years to accomplish this mission.
He had no time to lose. We should expect Him to work soonest, as sent by God, the teacher of the human race. But no! The mystery is until thirty years of age, he remained unknown to the entire world, living in the obscure workshop of a carpenter!
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp66-8
Jesus, a Model of obedience in His hidden life
‘He was subject to them.’ In these words the Holy Spirit has willed how our Saviour’s life, till his thirtieth year, should be known for future ages.
Jesus cared only for obedience, a proof of his humility, the mystery of his hidden life; and how he wished to teach us. Without humility we cannot please God; without obedience we cannot claim to be humble.
Jesus has chosen to be the living model of obedience. ‘He was subject to them.’ Who? ‘The God of heaven and earth, who created man.’ To whom? ‘To Mary and to Joseph, two holy creatures, but nevertheless simple creatures, the work of His hands.’ In what? ‘In all things.’ How did he obey? ‘Promptly, entirely, constantly, lovingly, and with perfect grace.’
Imagine Jesus saying -- ‘I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also.’ The exterior actions of men spring from some interior principle. What motivated the Child Jesus’ beautiful and perfect obedience? Fear? Interest or hope of reward? What had the Ruler of the Universe to fear or hope from men?
What, then, was his motive? No other than his Father’s will as manifested through His representatives, Mary and Joseph. Jesus did not obey creatures, but His Father, God in the persons of Mary and Joseph.
Here is the idea of supernatural obedience -- springing from this principle of faith: that the invisible God wills to be represented by a visible representative; that he wills to govern men by other men invested with his authority, and of whom is written-- “He that hears you, hears Me; and he that despises you, despises Me” (Lk 10:16).
To obey from this principle is great, noble, meritorious. By this perfect obedience, the Child Jesus enhanced the merit of his smallest actions in the eyes of his Father.
Ref: Cf “Practical Meditations” by a Father of the Society of Jesus, 1964, pp70-72
From the Cross of Christ: The Example of Obedience
“He humbled himself, obediently accepting even death, death on a cross!” (Phil 2:8) He humbled himself; he made himself obedient. These words seem out of date today, when there is a systematic opposition to obedience which is presented as a humiliation of one’s personality, a defeat of the intelligence and of the will, an abdication of one’s human dignity. Autonomy, revolt, rebellion, are preached instead.
But it is certainly Jesus who gave us ‘the example of obedience’ even unto death on the cross. All saints have passed through a test of obedience, sometimes even heroic. As did Mary Most Holy, as did St Joseph, who but obeyed the voice of God calling them to a sublime mission indeed but also to a disconcerting and mysterious one!
Why must we obey? First of all, because obedience is necessary in the general framework of Providence -- God did not create us by chance but for a clear and distinct purpose: his everlasting glory and our happiness.
All those who have responsibility over us ought, in God’s name, to help us to reach the goal willed by the Creator. Moreover, exterior obedience teaches us to obey the inner law of conscience, that is, God’s will expressed in the moral law.
And how should we obey? With love and holy courage, well knowing that obedience is almost always difficult. It demands commitment; sometimes even heroic effort.
We must look at Jesus Crucified! We must also obey with confidence, convinced that God’s grace is never lacking. The soul is then flooded with immense inner joy. The effort of obedience is repaid with continual inner peace.
Ref: Cf Pope John Paul II, “Prayers and Devotions”, 1994, pp266-7
Doctrinal formation: Essential to our interior life
Mankind was in darkness until Jesus was born and a light shone on earth. During the past weeks we have considered how Christ’s brightness shone on Mary and Joseph, on the shepherds, and the Magi. He continues to brighten men’s lives. At Nazareth he has shown that ordinary life can and should be sanctified.
Our Lord calls each one of us to be “the light of the world” (Mt 5:14); not kept hidden. “We are lamps which have been lit with the light of truth.” (St Augustine, “Commentary on St John’s Gospel”, 23, 3)
Our knowledge of Christ’s doctrine, the truth, should be appropriate to the circumstances of education, age, responsibility for young people; and environments and society in which we move.
Thus, we must strive to acquire a deep knowledge of this doctrine to be our life’s guiding light and if we are to teach it. We should know very precisely the duties of justice in our line of work; and of the demands made by charity, which exceed even the demands of justice.
We should be constantly alert to the good we can do and ought to be doing equally aware of the evil that could result from a manner of behaving, and avoid it. At times we need to seek advice to be a responsible and good Christian, at the same time a good citizen.
We must sanctify ourselves ‘in and through our work’ with a firm grasp of the principles of professional ethics and apply them although our criteria may be difficult in practice.
Let us turn to Our Lady. We ask her for the fortitude and simplicity to live like the first Christians in the middle of the world without being worldly, and to be the light of Christ within our profession and environment.
Ref: Cf F Fernandez, “In Conversation with God”, 3:99, 103-4
‘Holy Mary our Hope, Seat of Wisdom. Pray for us.’
THE SEVEN SUNDAYS DEVOTION TO ST. JOSEPH -- Honors the seven joys and seven sorrows of St Joseph. (Ref: “Handbook of Prayers”, Fr Charles Belmonte and Fr James Socias [Eds], 1988, pp321-3)
“What must Joseph have been, how grace must have worked through him, that he should be able to fulfill this task of the human upbringing of the Son of God.
“For Jesus must have resembled Joseph: in his way of working, in the features of his character, in his way of speaking. Jesus’ realism, his eye for detail, the way he sat at table and broke bread, his preference for using everyday situations to give doctrine -- all this reflects his childhood and the influence of Joseph.
“It’s not possible to ignore this sublime mystery: Jesus who is man, who speaks with the accent of a particular district of Israel, who resembles a carpenter called Joseph, is the Son of God.”
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivà, “In Joseph’s Workshop” in “Christ is passing by”, 40
The first sorrow and joy of St Joseph
His sorrow when he decided to leave the Blessed Virgin; his joy when the angel told him the mystery of the Incarnation, that Mary’s child is the Son of God and is the awaited Messiah.
“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him 'Jesus', because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.” (Mt 1:20-21)
“The Gospels give us a picture of Joseph as a remarkably sound man who was in no way frightened or shy of life. On the contrary, he faced up to problems, dealt with difficult situations and showed responsibility and initiative in whatever he was asked to do.”
Ref: St Josemaria Escrivà, “In Joseph’s Workshop” in “Christ is passing by”, 40
Our Lady of the Rose, at Lucca, in Italy. Three roses were found in the month of January, in the arms of this image, according to a Latin chronicle. (“Catholic Gems or Treasures of the Church” Historical Calendar; www.bethlehemobserver.com)
Our Lady of the Rose. Lucci / Lucca, Italy. ... ["Three roses were found in month of January, in the arms of this image, according to a Latin chronicle. (CaesarFranciotte, Historia Lucensis)"]; (www.marylinks.org/Mary-Calendar.htm)
Our Lady of the Rose (Lucci, Italy). (maryfest.htm / www.starharbor.com/santiago/m_feasts.html)
Our Lady of the Rose, Lucca, Italy. (www/divinewill.org/feastsofourlady.html); (www.iskandar.com/ourlady/ourladyfeasts.html)
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