The hidden life of Jesus

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The hidden life of Jesus
LA TOUR, Georges de Christ in the Carpenter's
Shop 1645 Oil on canvas, 137 x 101 cm Musée du
Louvre, Paris

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Compendium of the Catechism

• 104. What does the hidden life of Jesus in
  Nazareth teach us?
• 533-534564
• In the course of his hidden life in Nazareth
  Jesus stayed in the silence of an ordinary
  existence. This allows us to enter into
  fellowship with him in the holiness to be found
  in a daily life marked by prayer, simplicity,
  work and family love. His obedience to Mary and
  to Joseph, his foster father, is an image of his
  filial obedience to the Father. Mary and Joseph
  accepted with faith the mystery of Jesus even
  though they did not always understand it.

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Introduction

• When we recite the Creed, we profess with utmost
  clarity the mysteries of Our Lord Jesus. But
  nothing is said explicitly about Jesus' hidden or
  public life. The Gospels, on their part, pay
  attention, although briefly, to the mysteries of
  Jesus childhood and hidden life, and develop at
  great length His public life, emphasising what
  Jesus did and taught.
• We, as Christians, should imitate the whole life
  of Jesus. We need, therefore, to get acquainted
  with the whole of that life with the thirty
  years Jesus spent in Bethlehem, Egypt and
  Nazareth with the three years He devoted to
  preach the Kingdom of God.

VERONESE, Paolo Jesus among the Doctors in the
Temple 1558 Oil on canvas, 236 x 430 cm Museo del
Prado, Madrid
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Main ideas
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1. The life of Jesus, a continuous lesson

• The life of Our Lord Jesus Christ was a
  continuous lesson
• His self-effacement,
• His obedience,
• His work, His miracles,
• His love for people,
• His predilection for the poor and the
  little-ones,
• the unrestricted acceptance of His immolation on
  the cross for the salvation of the world.

BEUCKELAER, Joachim Christ in the House of Martha
and Mary 1565 Oil on oak, 113 x 163 cm Musées
Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
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2. The birth of Jesus in Bethlehem

• Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judah God sent
  His Son, born as a man, begotten in Marys
  virginal womb, to redeem all of us.
• He was born in a humble stable, within a poor
  family.
• These are lessons of meekness, poverty,
  simplicity, that all Christians must learn and
  follow.

CORREGGIO Nativity (Holy Night) 1528-30 Oil on
canvas, 256,5 x 188 cm Gemäldegalerie, Dresden
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3. The great event of Christmas

• In those days a decree went out from Caesar
  Augustus that all the world should be enrolled
  (). And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from
  the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of
  David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was
  of the house and lineage of David, to be enrolled
  with Mary, His betrothed, who was with child. And
  while they were there, the time came for her to
  be delivered. And she gave birth to His
  first-born son and wrapped him in swaddling
  clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there
  was no place for them in the inn (Luke 21-7).

FRANCESCO DI GIORGIO MARTINI Nativity c.
1470 Panel, 52 x 57 cm
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4. The mysteries of Jesus childhood

• The great events or mysteries of Jesus childhood
  are
• The Circumcision it was a ceremony prefiguring
  Baptism.
• The Epiphany or manifestation of Jesus as the
  Messiah of Israel, revealed by the worshipping of
  the Magi.
• The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple. Mary,
  being a virgin and free of any blemish of sin,
  was not compelled, but chose to submit herself
  wholly to the law of God.
• The flight into Egypt and the massacre of the
  Innocents.

BATONI, Pompeo Madonna and Child c. 1742 Oil on
canvas Galleria Borghese, Rome
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5. Jesus hidden life

• Jesus spent the greater part of His days as the
  immense majority of people do He led a common
  and apparently unimportant life, that of a worker
  and a law-abiding and religious man, a
  small-villager existence in social intercourse
  with relatives, friends and acquaintances.
• Only the incident of Jesus being lost and found
  in the Temple when He was twelve-years-old breaks
  the apparent monotony of Jesus hidden life,
  otherwise so full of meaning and teachings.

MURILLO, Bartolomé Esteban The Holy Family with a
Bird 1650 Oil on canvas, 144 x 188 cm Museo del
Prado, Madrid
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6. The role of St. Joseph

• Although God was His Father, Jesus Christ wished
  that someone could act as His father on earth.
• Joseph, virginal spouse of Mary and legal father
  to Jesus, acted as husband towards her and as
  father to the Son of God.
• Working as an artisan in the small town of
  Nazareth, he earned a living for the Virgin and
  Jesus, cared for them, and taught Jesus His job.

GRECO, El St Joseph and the Christ
Child 1597-99 Oil on canvas, 289 x 147 cm Capilla
de San José, Toledo
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7. Sanctifying ordinary work

• Following the example of Jesus Christ and also
  that of the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph,
  Christians should seek holiness in the daily
  endeavours of their ordinary work.
• To sanctify ourselves with our own job means to
  search, to find and to love God in the things we
  do, and so to serve others.
• The life of ordinary Christians can be summarized
  saying that they must sanctify their own work,
  sanctify themselves with their own work, and
  sanctify others through their professional work.

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8. It is crucial to become friends with the Holy
Family

• Jesus, Mary and Joseph made up the admirable
  family of Nazareth, that we call the Holy Family.
• If we accompany Joseph, Mary and Jesus, and see
  how they related to one another, we can learn to
  imitate their virtues, and desire to follow the
  example they set for us.

BATONI, Pompeo Holy Family 1777 Oil on canvas,
226 x 149,5 cm The Hermitage, St. Petersburg
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Resolutions for Christian life
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Resolutions to move forward

• Read what is said in the Gospels about the hidden
  life of Jesus and make it the object of attentive
  reflection.
• Consider if you take advantage of your
  family life, and of the hours you devote to study
  and work, to live nearer to God, as Jesus did
  that is, to lead a holy life.
• Gain the friendship of St. Joseph as the Head of
  the Holy Family, and imitate the virtues he
  practiced at home in Nazareth.