An Apologetical Explanation of the

Hidden Life of Christ

What can we learn from the “Hidden Life” of Christ?

[Jesus] went down to them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them; and his mother kept all these things in her heart…. And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature, and in favor with God and man.  (Lk 2:51-52)

On the sabbath [Jesus] began to teach in the synagogue; and many who heard him were astonished, saying … “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?”  (Mk 6:2-3)

Christ’s earthly life between his infancy and the age of thirty years were spent in virtual anonymity, leaving an example for us of how we can sanctify our everyday lives.

The Gospels speak eloquently of many things that Christ said and did during his public ministry, but even his years of obscurity—his so-called “hidden years,” of which the Gospels are virtually silent—speak volumes for us.  Aside from the story of his being found in the Temple at the age of twelve after having gone missing from his family, the years between his infancy and his public ministry, a span of nearly thirty years, remains shrouded in mystery except for this:  he remained obedient to his parents, and he “grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Lk 2:51-52).  But in this obedience he was already preparing for and beginning his mission to redeem humanity from sin.  (Cf. CCC 514, 532, 534)

In his Hidden Life, Christ provides a model for our own everyday lives as faithful Christians.  In his youth, he was obedient to his parents, an obedience and submission that would culminate in his submission to the will of the Father on the Cross (cf. Lk 22:42), which atoned for our own disobedience (cf. Rom 5:19).  In all things he sought and acquired wisdom and maintained communion with the Father while serving as a model for his fellow men and women.

The Hidden Life of Christ suggests that he lived in humility, attending to his family and professional duties as he worked his trade as a carpenter while also giving proper time and attention to a life of prayer and contemplation.  In like manner, we are called to carry on the responsibilities of our lives, mindful always of our duty and opportunity to sanctify our family and our daily activities humbly and faithfully.  (Cf. CCC 517, 533, 1115)

The Catechism addresses this question in paragraph 532.

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