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When Mary and
Joseph had fulfilled all the prescriptions of
the law of
the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of
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| Gospelthink: My early life was a normal earthly life, growing and learning. Am I allowing the Lord to help me grow in holiness? | ||||
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"Seventeen
and we got a dream to have a family, a house and everything in between.
And then, suddenly we turned twenty-three. Now we got pressure for
taking our life more seriously. We got our dead-end jobs and got bills
to pay, have old friends and know our enemies. Now I'm thinking back to when I was young. back to the day
when I was falling in love. Run away now."
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How would Jesus have lived in
his earlier years? The Scriptures do not tell us very much about his
time
when he was growing up early in his life. No doubt his living was the
same as the other young people
of his time--learning to love and obey, how to pray in the Synagogue,
how to act, why to act a
particular way, and what he could do in the future. According to Luke
the Evangelist, Jesus prepared in a special way because as he tells
us, Jesus was "filled with wisdom and the favor of God was upon him."
Jesus was no doubt studying what kind of future he might have and
realizing what was needed.
Such a thought should go through the mind of every young person as they grow up and grow older. However, some young people find themselves moving too quickly. The song "Eastside" speaks of that. At a young age after they felt the love for each other, they wanted to express it right away. But they seem to understand that that was not what should have happened, and they waited until a little later, although you are not completely sure from the song whether they waited like they said. We feel love early on, of course, because God has created man and woman with those feelings. Often the feelings are so strong that the couple wants to begin their life together at an early age. Most counselors who "specialize" in love of young people say that this is a mistake because our love is simply not mature enough to make the difficult decisions of a permanent love commitment. In the song, the man sings that age "twenty-three" was the time that they finally began to think about how to prepare for a permanent statement to another. If we interpret "twenty-three" to be a time after the initial working out of the feelings of love, it presents a good lesson for every young person in our world. Jesus had wisdom as he discovered what his future should be. It is a virtue that every young person should desire. |
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| PRAYER Good and
gracious God, You have created us with a desire for the feeling of
love in our lives. Thank you for the gift, and help us respect the
people that we will love in a special way later in life. Be with us, we
pray.
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+++++
GUIDE
FOR CLASSROOM PRESENTATION AND PERSONAL ENRICHMENT
Theme: When we are young, we must spend time thinking about how we are to live later in life. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS: 1. What does the song "Eastside" teach young people? 2. In your opinion, what is the best time to make a permanent commitment? 3. Most scholars contend that Jesus did nothing "miraculous" when he was young. Do you agree with that assessment? Why or why not? 4. Why do many young people not wait until they are older in order to express themselves physically? 5. In general, why does the Church maintain that premarital sex is wrong? 6. What virtues should a Christian young person develop as he/she matures? |
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©2007
Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America |
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