The Hidden Life

1. It is well to remember, that the Hidden Life of Jesus lasted on, beyond the thirty years of Nazareth;
2. That the Gospels do but give us a glimpse of the Public Life, as St John tells us;
3. That of all the aspects of His Life, Jesus has preserved this one for all time, in the hiddenness of the Blessed Sacrament.

I.   The world looks at it and condemns it:

1. It is a waste of time: Life is so short, there is so much to be done
2. It is a waste of talent and energy:  did not Our Lord Himself say that  the city on a hill cannot be hid ?  That talents must be put to best account ?  That we should let our light shine before men ?
3. It is a waste of good example: how much more might Christ have done had He followed the advice of His ‘brethren’: ‘Go up to Jerusalem that men may see.’

II.   Jesus looks at it with other eyes:

1. Waste of time ?  No time is wasted which is spent upon ‘my Father’s business’.
2. Waste of talent and energy ? Yet could He say: ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how have I longed to gather thee . . . and thou wouldst not’.
3. Waste of example ?  Yet could He say : ‘I have given you an example’; and what example has profited mankind more than the example of the Hidden Life ?

III.   We look at it and see the fruits:

1. Growth in wisdom :  the Hidden Life gives deeper knowledge and understanding.
2. Growth in age : the Hidden Life gives deeper experience and maturity.
3. Growth in grace :
(1) before God, giving the fruit of prayer,
(2) before man, giving love, and power to do good.

The Illuminative Way,   Alban Goodier S.J.