LIFE AT NAZARETH
4. Obscurity and Silence.
In the presence of God go now deeper into the value of obscurity and silence. At the sight of Jesus and Mary embracing obscurity you should long for naught else.
The devil wants to put your merits on show that some thief might rob them, that the merit may evaporate. An uncorked phial of perfume loses its scent.
The imprudent man who ostentatiously displays his jewels will soon have them stolen. Everybody tries to hide his money; nobody makes public the amount he has in the bank account. Why, therefore, should we not be equally reticent with things of spiritual value?
To work in silence, unseen and unknown, doing good without receiving any appreciation, any gratitude, is rather hard. It costs dear. To feel isolated, misunderstood, under-rated, ignored, is painful to our human nature. True, but go to Nazareth. See Jesus, solitary, silent, obscure; a life which was only interrupted by His period of preaching and is now continued in the Holy Eucharist. Look at Mary and ask Her for a share in the hidden charms which this hidden life offers to such souls as are enamored of it. Souls who want to live for God and alone with God try to hide themselves from the eyes of men.
[Excerpted from 'MARIAN MEDITATIONS' Book by Rev. Dr. Ildefonso R. Villar, Salesian Philippine Province, Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur]
4. Obscurity and Silence.
In the presence of God go now deeper into the value of obscurity and silence. At the sight of Jesus and Mary embracing obscurity you should long for naught else.
The devil wants to put your merits on show that some thief might rob them, that the merit may evaporate. An uncorked phial of perfume loses its scent.
The imprudent man who ostentatiously displays his jewels will soon have them stolen. Everybody tries to hide his money; nobody makes public the amount he has in the bank account. Why, therefore, should we not be equally reticent with things of spiritual value?
To work in silence, unseen and unknown, doing good without receiving any appreciation, any gratitude, is rather hard. It costs dear. To feel isolated, misunderstood, under-rated, ignored, is painful to our human nature. True, but go to Nazareth. See Jesus, solitary, silent, obscure; a life which was only interrupted by His period of preaching and is now continued in the Holy Eucharist. Look at Mary and ask Her for a share in the hidden charms which this hidden life offers to such souls as are enamored of it. Souls who want to live for God and alone with God try to hide themselves from the eyes of men.
[Excerpted from 'MARIAN MEDITATIONS' Book by Rev. Dr. Ildefonso R. Villar, Salesian Philippine Province, Nihil Obstat; Imprimatur]
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