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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250109
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CREATED:20250103T210702Z
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UID:13000-1736380800-1736467199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:GOD’S DISCRETION IN \nREVEALING HIMSELF \nBy Réné Voillaume \n◊◊◊ \nJesus appears in the world without giving any warning of his coming and \nwithout making known to any neighbor who he is. Had he come into the world \nin his house at Nazareth\, all his relatives would have made an event of his birth \nwith the neighbors and the other inhabitants of the town. He would have been \nheralded and celebrated. He would thus have allowed himself to behave well \nenough like a true little Nazarene\, but he would have been confiscated\, as it \nwere\, by his earthly family and his earthly country. Quite to the contrary\, he \nelects to be born away from home\, on a journey\, amid an anonymous crowd; in \nthis way\, he would really belong to everybody\, and could come quietly and \ndiscreetly\, with no tumult and excitement. \nGod\, if he had so wished\, could naturally have made all sorts of efforts to \nspread the news abroad. And if any proof were needed of this\, one could point to \nhis having mobilized the angels but contented himself with bringing a few poor \nshepherds to the manger. It is also clear from this that he could easily have \nbrought the whole of Jerusalem and all the just among the Israelites with pure \nand upright hearts\, worshipers of God and living in expectancy of the Messiah. \nAnd there were in fact many of them\, all true friends of his\, in the country of \nJudea and Galilee! \nBut it is obvious that God did not wish to impose his Son: people must \ncome to him by seeking and discovering him. Even the shepherds and the Wise \nMen\, though warned personally\, had to search for him with the help of a sign \nwhich\, rather than leading them easily and directly to the manger\, was little \nmore than a suggestion to send them on their way. The shepherds must have \ngone to many houses and stables before they found the right babe wrapped in \nswaddling clothes. \nAs for the Magi\, they had to show some initiative in order to discover\, by \nthe normal means at their disposal\, the birthplace of the young king of Israel. \nJesus was infinitely discreet; he simply waited\, and such a way of appearing \ncould have made us somewhat impatient\, had it not been proved for centuries \nback that people have found in this very discretion a true sign of God. That sign \nof weakness\, which draws people in spite of themselves\, makes them surrender \nand acknowledge themselves outdone\, without Jesus ever having forced himself \nupon them in any way other than a certain presence — a presence that waits\, and \ninvites\, and demonstrates God’s heaven in a humble manner which gives hope \nand humility\, peace and love — just how\, one does not really know! God is a \nmaster who knows how to go about speaking to us with the use of the things of \nthe earth — these various beings\, both animate and inanimate — and the events \nof human history.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-253/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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