Some Thoughts About the Hidden Life of Christ and Our Work - Part 2
Last time we talked a bit about the "hidden life" of Jesus Christ - those years before He began His public life, growing up and working in Nazareth. Our focus was on specific events during our day where we might reasonably and profitably ask ourselves, "What would Our Lord do?" Today we connect our own hidden life with that of Our Blessed Lord.
Yes, we too have a hidden life. The traditional term used by spiritual writers is the "interior life." We've talked about it many times. (HERE for a simple explanation of the interior life; HERE for what happens when we don't develop our interior life.) At work, our interior life sort of "goes on" inside us, (ideally all the time) even as we interact in a practical and productive way with our work throughout the day.
With this in mind, spend a few minutes with these these words of Bishop John Hedley, O.S.B. (1837-1915). He explains how Our Lord's hidden life serves as an example, a kind of gold standard for our own interior life. The words that immediately grabbed my attention when I first read were: "Hitherto I have aimed at many things- the satisfaction of my vanity, of my flesh, of my ambition, of those about me! Hitherto my best actions have been tainted and spoilt by earthly, human, carnal and degrading motives!"
Bishop Hedley pulls no punches here. Such powerful words cut right through me. These weren't "attention getting" headlines to draw me into what he was saying. They were the unvarnished truth about at least one individual - me - whose thoughts, words, and actions reflect a fallen human nature. Of course, if you're a practicing Catholic who understands the truths of your Holy Faith, you'll immediately grasp the antidote provided. I present the good Bishops words so that you'll both grasp and apply the antidote:
Yes, we too have a hidden life. The traditional term used by spiritual writers is the "interior life." We've talked about it many times. (HERE for a simple explanation of the interior life; HERE for what happens when we don't develop our interior life.) At work, our interior life sort of "goes on" inside us, (ideally all the time) even as we interact in a practical and productive way with our work throughout the day.
With this in mind, spend a few minutes with these these words of Bishop John Hedley, O.S.B. (1837-1915). He explains how Our Lord's hidden life serves as an example, a kind of gold standard for our own interior life. The words that immediately grabbed my attention when I first read were: "Hitherto I have aimed at many things- the satisfaction of my vanity, of my flesh, of my ambition, of those about me! Hitherto my best actions have been tainted and spoilt by earthly, human, carnal and degrading motives!"
Bishop Hedley pulls no punches here. Such powerful words cut right through me. These weren't "attention getting" headlines to draw me into what he was saying. They were the unvarnished truth about at least one individual - me - whose thoughts, words, and actions reflect a fallen human nature. Of course, if you're a practicing Catholic who understands the truths of your Holy Faith, you'll immediately grasp the antidote provided. I present the good Bishops words so that you'll both grasp and apply the antidote:
“For the Hidden Life itself consists in that which is the only end, the only act, the only state, for which the soul was created; that is to say, the loving worship of its God. This is essential perfection – the more or less continuous and intense exercise of the act of charity. This it is which sanctifies, and which also leads to success. This act is what occupied the Sacred Heart of Jesus all these years. … Contemplate, one by one, the characteristics of His life at Nazareth. Observe the simplicity of His view – God alone. O my Savior, give me grace to aim at God alone! Hitherto I have aimed at many things – the satisfaction of my vanity, of my flesh, of my ambition, of those about me! Hitherto my best actions have been tainted and spoilt by earthly, human, carnal and degrading motives! All this I now turn away from. Do Thou pierce my heart and penetrate it with the one grand purpose of my creation – the will to live for my God! Then observe His Holy Indifference. The Everlasting Word handles the tools of the workmen, and shapes mean material into humble articles of use! Give me, O light of my life, the grace to take up what is low as heartily as what is dignified, and what is flattering as simply as what is humbling, and to see Thee beneath it all, and Thee alone! Last, His continuous and intense elevation of the Heart. Oh! Foolish and mistaken this heart of mine! I fatigue my brain, my fancy, my tongue, my limbs – and all the time, one thing is really necessary – to worship, to love, to offer up, to accept, to beg forgiveness! My Jesus, give me Thy Spirit! O Jesus of Nazareth, obscure, silent, and suffering, I detest all that is contrary to that Spirit of Thine. I detest unnecessary talk, which empties my spirit! I detest that coveting, that clinging, that having and holding, which binds me down to the earth! I detest the vanity of esteem and success! I long and pray that my life may be hidden with Thee in God!”Last time we said we'd present words for us to chew on. These are mighty, meaty words! Spend a few minutes re-reading them, maybe meditate a bit on them. Even come back to them again so that they really sink in. If you, like me, struggle to see God in all things, to live only for Him; if you understand that "one thing is really necessary - to worship, to live, to offer up, to accept, to beg forgiveness," you'll treasure these words.
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