BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey - ECPv6.15.20//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20240310T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20241103T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250108
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250109
DTSTAMP:20260427T144957
CREATED:20250103T210548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250103T210548Z
UID:12998-1736294400-1736380799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:TAKING GOD ON HIS OWN TERMS \nBy Fr Edward Leen4 \n◊◊◊ \nEverybody knows that the call of the Magi typifies the vocation of the \nGentiles to the Church of God. But to penetrate more deeply into this mystery \nand to read therein an experience common to a multitude of souls demands a \ndeeper understanding of God’s way of manifesting himself to his creatures\, and \na keener discernment of his action in human souls. God is a hidden God\, and \nmust be so for us. He manifests himself obscurely. God does not hide himself \nfrom us purposely or to make approach to him more difficult. He desires \nrevelation of himself to us\, and approach to him on our part. God in his \napproach to us but tempters his brilliancy to accommodate it to our weak and \ndiseased spiritual vision. He\, as it were\, takes care not to hurt our soul’s sight. \nBut he aims at revelation through dimmed radiance. The incarnation\, which is \nthe utmost concealment of the Godhead that there is\, or that can be — except \nthat of the Eucharist alone — is the greatest revelation of God. \nThat we are dull of perception is certainly not due to the mode in which \nGod reveals himself\, but must be traceable to our fault. It is the poor quality of \nour faith that is responsible for this dullness. We do not take God on his own \nconditions. We are always given to imposing ours on him. We have a tendency \nto decide for ourselves what shall be the sensible exterior vesture of God’s \nmessage. We clothe that message with a garment woven of our own ideas and \nimaginings\, and we reject the material selected by God himself for his \nrevelation. \nNot so the wise men. They took God on his own terms. We choose a \ncertain mode for his manifestation\, and they acknowledged him as God in the \nlowliness of the guise in which he appeared. They looked on a babe and they said \nGod. Their faith was superb. That the three wise men were able to discern in the \nform of a helpless babe\, lying in an earthly Mother’s frail arms\, under a \nmiserable roof\, the king of kings\, the great redeemer of the human race that had \nbeen spoken of in prophecy for centuries before\, was a truly marvelous thing. It \nis a proof that they must have been men of very pure lives and to a large extent \nimmune from the corruption of the world in which they lived. Gifted with great \nscience\, as their name implies\, they must have had clear and docile and simple \nminds\, minds eager to acquire the truth and ready to submit to it\, no matter how \nmuch it might conflict with the traditions and prejudices of their race. \nThe wonderful faith of these men passes all belief. Their appearance in the \npages of Saint Matthew is like a sudden burst of glorious sunshine\, breaking in a \nflood of glory\, through a sky wrapped in a mantle of somber grey. And the star \nwent before them\, until it came and stood over where the child was; and seeing \nthe star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And entering into the house \nthey found the child with Mary his Mother. Their long quest had come to an \nend. As they saw the humble roof under which the child was\, and as they \nperceived the lowly simple conditions of his parents\, were they taken aback? \nHad they any misgivings? Were they harassed by any doubts? Were they \nexpected to discern in this humble babe an object of their kingly homage? It was \nthe supreme test to which they were put\, and their magnificent faith triumphed \nover all appearances. Their hearts responded loyally to the touch of grace\, for \nthey were unprejudiced and ready to concede to God whatever form he should \nchoose for his manifestation. \n  \n4 In the Likeness of Christ\, pp. 56-68; reprinted in Meditations on the Sunday Gospels: Year A; introduced and edited by John \nE. Rotelle\, Hyde Park\, NY: New City Press\, 1995\, pp. 32-33.9 \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-252/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR