JESUS MATURES AS MAN
“And so the child grew and came to his strength,
full of wisdom;
and
the grace of God rested upon him.
And so Jesus advanced in wisdom [and stature] with the years,
and in
favor both with God and with men.’ (Lk 2:39-40,52)
A SACRIFICE UNBLEMISHED AND PERFECT
“For eighteen uneventful years …
every
mean and lowly task was part of the Father’s business. …
One wonders why this long preparation
for
such a brief ministry of three years.
The reason might very well be that he waited
until
the human nature which he had assumed
had
grown in age to full perfection,
that
he might then offer the perfect sacrifice to his heavenly Father.
The farmer waits until the wheat is ripe
before
cutting it and subjecting it to the mill.
So he would wait
until
his human nature had reached its most perfect proportions
and
its peak of loveliness,
before surrendering it
to the
hammer of the crucifiers
and
the sickle of those who would cut down
the
Living Bread of Heaven.
The newborn lamb was never offered in sacrifice,
nor is
the first blush of the rose cut to pay tribute to a friend.
Each thing has its hour of perfection.
Since he was the Lamb that could set the hour for his own cutting,
he
waited patiently, humbly, and obediently,
while
he grew in age and grace and wisdom before God and man.
Then he would say: ‘This is your hour.’
Thus the choicest wheat and the reddest wine
would
become the worthiest elements of sacrifice.”
(F Sheen, Life of Christ)
LEARNING IN THE SCHOOL OF NAZARETH
“The hidden life at Nazareth allows everyone
to
enter into fellowship with Jesus
by the
most ordinary events of daily life:
‘The home of Nazareth is the school where we begin to understand
the
life of Jesus—the school of the Gospel.
First, then, a lesson of silence.
May esteem for silence,
that
admirable and indispensable condition of mind,
revive
in us. …
A lesson on family life. …
A lesson of work ….’ (Paul VI)”
(CCC 533)
WHAT MATURITY IS
“A mature person is not one who can take care of himself,
but
one who can take care of others.” (J Stenson)
Human maturity “manifests itself above all,
in a
certain emotional stability,
in the
capacity for taking well-weighed decisions,
and in
the upright way of judging events and people.”
(Vatican II, Optatam Totius)
Human maturity leads to serenity,
“a layman’s way of describing one of the
results
of
fortitude, temperance, justice, prudence.” (St Josemaría)
IF
“If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs
and blaming it on you; [PATIENCE AND STAMINA]
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance
for their doubting too; [REALISTIC & OBJECTIVE]
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, [PATIENCE]
Or be lied about,
don't deal in lies;
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look
too good, nor talk too wise;
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master;
If you can
think--and not make thoughts your aim; [REALISTIC & OBJECTIVE]
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two
imposters just the same; [HUMILITY]
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves
to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build
'em up with worn-out tools; [PERSEVERANCE]
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one
turn of pitch and toss; [COURAGE & BOLDNESS]
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a
word about your loss; [PERSEVERANCE]
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn
long after they are gone, [STAMINA]
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them:
"Hold on!" [WILL POWER]
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with
Kings--nor lose the common touch, [SOCIABILITY]
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count
with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
with
sixty seconds' worth of distance run, [GOOD USE OF TIME]
Yours is the earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
(Rudyard Kipling)
OTHER IMPORTANT VIRTUES
Good manners, politeness, courtesy. (“Please”, “May I…”, “Care for
some…”)
Gratefulness.
Tactfulness.
Thoughtfulness.
Considerateness.
Kindness.
PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE
“We have to try to assure that
in all
fields of intellectual activity there are upright people,
people
with a true Christian conscience,
who
are consistent with their lives,
who
can use the weapons of knowledge
in the
service of humanity and of the Church.”
(St Josemaría, The Forge, 636)
BE THE BEST OF WHATEVER YOU ARE
If you
can't be a pine on the top of the hill,
Be a scrub in the
valley-but be
The best little scrub by
the side of the rill;
Be a bush if you can't be a
tree.
If you can't be a bush be a bit of the grass,
And some highway happier make;
If you can't be a muskie then just be a bass-
But the liveliest bass in the lake!
We can't all be captains, we've got to be crew,
There's something for all of us here,
There's big work to do, and there's lesser to do,
And the task you must do is the near.
If you can't be a highway then just be a trail,
If you can't be the sun be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail-
Be the best of whatever you are!
(Douglas Malloch)
CHARITY ABOVE ALL THINGS
“In order that the desired fruit may be derived from this apostolate
and
zeal for teaching
(and
that Christ may be formed in all),
it must be remembered, Venerable Brethren,
that no means is more efficacious than charity,
for ‘the Lord is not in the earthquake.’
It is utter folly to think that one can draw souls to God by bitter
zeal.
On the contrary, more harm than good is accomplished
by
harshly taunting men with their faults
and
bitterly reproving them for their vices.
Even though the Apostle counseled Timothy
to
‘reprove, entreat, rebuke’ he took pains to add
‘with
all patience’ (II Tim 4:2)
Christ has left us many clear examples of this. …
What gentleness was shown by the Divine master!
What tenderness, what compassion, towards all kinds of misery!”
(St Pope Pius X, Encyclical E Supremi Apostolatus, October 1903)
Joseph and Mary,
train
me and bring me up as you trained and brought Jesus up.
Jesus, teach me how to be truly human!
C:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents\RETREAT\crt_12HiddenLife&Maturity.rtf
Revised 24 March 2005