Hidden Holiness

Fr Collin would frequently remind us that Mary is only spoken of four times in the scriptures - so hidden - and yet holy and effective. Nazareth became a symbol not just of a place but an interior space of the heart. Mary and Joseph and Jesus’ home which can also be present in the home of our hearts; humbly and quietly being faithful to the little hidden tasks of our lives with love. It becomes a key idea in marist spirituality - being hidden and unknown.

A popular Marist Book called ‘A Marian Consciousness’ offers some thoughtful ideas on the Marist Way of looking at and living life.

Hidden and Unknown — The Gift of Nazareth

'When God speaks to a soul, He says much in few words,' Colin said. 'For instance, that phrase: hidden and unknown in the world.' Of all the Marist symbols, this is the most beloved and the most countercultural. In a world — and sometimes a Church — obsessed with visibility, platforms and influence, the Marist way proposes a different beauty: do immense good, and be content to go unnoticed.

This is not shyness canonised, and it is certainly not withdrawal from the world. Colin intended Marists to be fully engaged — preaching, teaching, serving, going to the ends of the earth — but in a particular style: gentle, unassuming, promoting others rather than themselves, seeking 'not to have people speak of us.' Like Mary, named only four times in the Gospel, the hidden ones often do the deepest good.

Its companion symbol is Nazareth: the ordinary home where God lived an obscure human life for thirty years. For Colin, Nazareth was not a retreat from action but a place to be entered — an interior room of silence, simplicity, humility and attentiveness from which all activity flows. His own practice was disarmingly simple: 'I put myself in the centre of the house of Nazareth, and from there I see all that I have to do.'

Here the split between prayer and action, contemplation and busyness, is quietly healed. You do not have to choose between loving God in silence and serving people in the world. Enter Nazareth first; then go out. The hidden life is not the opposite of a fruitful life — it is its secret source, for Mary and for you.

Marist Reflection Question

How much of what I do is quietly shadowed by the desire to be noticed and affirmed? What would I still do if no one ever knew?

Marist Practice for Daily Life

Do one genuinely good thing each day this week — a kindness, a help, a gift — in complete secrecy, telling no one. Let it be between you, Mary, and God alone.

The Three No’s

Think Judge Feel and Act