returned to Nazareth. (Matt. 2).

At twelve years of age Our Lord went to the Temple of Jerusalem to offer
sacrifice with His parents. (Luke 2:42). He afterwards returned to
Nazareth, and then for eighteen years--called His hidden life--we do not
hear anything of Him. Most likely He worked in the carpenter shop with
His foster-father, St. Joseph.

At the age of thirty (Luke 3:23), Our Lord began His public life; that
is, His preaching, miracles, etc. His public life lasted a little over
three years, and then He was put to death on the Cross.

*77 Q. Why did Christ live so long on earth?
A. Christ lived so long on earth to show us the way to Heaven by His
teaching and example.

Christ went through all the stages of life that each might have an
example. He was an infant: then a child; then a young man, and finally a
man. He did not become an old man to set an example to the old, because
if men follow His example in their youth and manhood they will be good
in old age. Youth is the all-important time to learn. If you want a tree
to grow straight, you must keep it straight while it is only a little
twig. You cannot straighten an old oak tree that has grown up crooked.
So you must be taught to do right in your youth, that you may do the
same when old. Of the hidden or private life of Our Lord we, as I have
said, know nothing, except that He was obedient to His parents; for He
wished to give an example also to those holy persons who lead a life
hidden from the world. Some books have given stories about what Our Lord
did in school, etc., but these stories are not true. The only true
things we know of Our Lord are those told in the Holy Scripture, or