9781644135945

The Christmas Cycle
Vigil of Epiphany
Tomorrow we celebrate the feast of Epiphany, the solemn entrance of the King and Lord into
His kingdom, the Church, and into the hearts of men. The heart of each individual soul is
rightfully His domain, and there He must rule. Herod, the enemy who sought His life, is dead
(Gospel), and now the way is clear.
“While all things were in quiet silence, and the night was in the midst of her course, Thy
almighty Word, O Lord, came down from heaven, from Thy royal throne” (Introit). God
works His wonders in silence and in secret. Peace and silence must characterize the Church
as a whole and each soul as a member of the Church. Our eyes, our tongues, our inclinations,
our impulses and passions, must all be subject to rest, quiet, and peace; only then can
the divine King enter into His kingdom. This was the manner in which the Word of God
came into the world from His royal throne in heaven. When He came, He chose a place
far from the noise and bustle of the restless city of Jerusalem, which at that time was filled
with strangers. In silence and in peace the Spirit of the Lord had overshadowed the Virgin
Mary, who had been freed from all disorderly passions and impulses. “And His place is in
peace, and His abode in Sion” (Ps 75:3).
“The Lord hath reigned, He is clothed with beauty; the Lord is clothed with strength, and
hath girded Himself ” (Introit psalm). Even in the abandoned stable, in the poverty and secrecy
of His birth, even in the helplessness and weakness of His childhood, Christ is King, the strong
one. His strength He will manifest when He sets forth to redeem men. Hopelessly lost in the
mire of sin and exhausted by the struggle with the prince of this world, men will be victorious
by virtue of the strength of this divine child. So strong is He that He will raise us up to be the
children of God and heirs of the kingdom of heaven. We embrace Him now in His poverty, in
His obedience, and in His weakness. This submission to His apparent weakness will make us
strong. “But the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the wise;
and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that He may confound the strong” (1 Cor
1:27). “For when I am weak, then I am powerful” (2 Cor 12:10).
The vigil of Epiphany is a day of holy silence and of great expectation. God works His marvels
in silence and in peace. “When Herod was dead, behold an angel of the Lord appeared in sleep
to Joseph in Egypt, saying: Arise, and take the child and His mother, and go into the land of
Israel, for they are dead who sought the life of the child. Who arose and took the child and
His mother, and came into the land of Israel” (Gospel). In the silence of the night St. Joseph
received the joyful news that he and the child and His mother could now return to their home;
their sojourn in Egypt was over. In silence and in watching the Christian soul is prepared for
the communications and the enlightenment of God. In silence the soul is strong and disposed
to accept the will of God without murmuring and without question. “Who arose and took the
child and His mother, and came into the land of Israel.” How different is the attitude of the soul
that is worldly, restless, and inquisitive.
Our whole Christian life is, in a sense, a vigil. In seclusion and prayer, in detachment from
the world and its pleasures, the Christian should await the appearance of the Lord at the hour
of death. In the middle of the night, when we least expect Him, He will appear to lead us home
to the eternal marriage feast in heaven. Happy are those souls who, like the wise virgins, are
97