Conformity to the External Life of Jesus
In various circumstances of the day, before beginning any work … we must imagine seeing our Lord Jesus Christ [as acting] in everything … We must remember that God-Man is our example, model and practical rule in the totality of our life. (OOCC, III, pp. 36-37)
For St. Vincent Pallotti, one important aspect of a person’s imitation of Jesus is achieving conformity to the external life of Jesus. It consists of knowing how Jesus performed his everyday human activities and doing likewise. In other words, a person performs his actions in a way similar to that of Jesus. Thus, in imitating the external life of Jesus, a person must become aware of the various activities Jesus performed, understand the particular manner in which he performed them and do likewise. Hence, in imitating the external life of Jesus, a person imitates the diligence with which Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God, the purity of intention that marked Jesus’ acceptance of the will of the Father, the humility with which Jesus submitted himself to the baptism of John the Baptist, the fervor with which he offered his prayer to the Father at his agony, his prudence in replying to the Scribes and Pharisees, the patience with which he accepted his sufferings and the gentleness with which he treated the woman caught in adultery. Conformity to the external life of Jesus in this manner is not a mere duplication of the actions of Jesus. Each person would do this in his own unique way. Though a person is not able to imitate Jesus’ actions in the manner in which Jesus acted, he must do his best in conforming himself to Jesus and leave the rest to Jesus to accomplish in his life.
Does my imitation of Jesus involve external conformity to the life of Jesus? Does the manner in which Jesus performed his actions inspire me to act likewise? Do I conform myself to Jesus’ external actions in my own unique way? Am I discouraged when I fail to conform to the external actions of Jesus?
The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, and self-control. Against such there is no law. (Gal. 5: 22 – 23)