Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey

Vigils Reading - Louisville Cathedral
2025-10-03
ON THE DEDICATION OF A CHURCH
By St Bernard of Clairvaux
◊◊◊
Today we celebrate another glorious feast: it is the feast of the Lord’s
house, of God’s temple, of the city of the eternal King, of Christ’s bride. Let us
ask ourselves what this house of God, this temple, this city, and this bride can
be. With awe and reverence I say: It is we ourselves. I say it is we ourselves, but
in the heart of God; it is we ourselves, but by his grace and not by any merits of
our own. We humans must beware of appropriating what belongs to God, of
taking the glory to ourselves; otherwise, if we exalt ourselves, he will humble us
and bring us down to our proper level.
On the other hand, a humble acknowledgment of our maladies will arouse
his compassion. Indeed, this is enough to make God feed us in our hunger like a
well-to-do father. So, under his protection we shall have bread in abundance
and thus become his house in which life-giving food is never lacking.
Bear in mind also that he describes his house as a house of prayer, and
that holiness befits this house; then the purity of self-restraint will accompany
the tears of repentance, and what is already God’s house will become his temple
as well. Be holy, says the Lord, because I am holy. And the Apostle says: Do you
not realize that your bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit and the Holy
Spirit dwells in you?
But is even holiness enough? According to the Apostle, peace too is
necessary, for he says: Strive to be at peace with everyone, and to achieve the
holiness without which no one can see God. It is peace that makes brothers
dwell together in unity and builds for our king, the true king of peace, a new city
also called Jerusalem, which means “vision of peace.”
But how can so great a king become a bridegroom, and a city a bride? This
is possible to love alone, which is as strong as death, and can do anything. Can it
not easily lift her up, when it has already brought him down?
And so, if the abundance of our food shows us to be the house of a great
Father, if holiness shows us to be God’s temple, if the sharing of a common life
shows us to be the city of the great king, and if love shows us to be the bride of
the immortal bridegroom, then we can surely say without hesitation that today’s
feast is our feast. Nor should you be surprised that such a feast is celebrated here
on earth; it is, after all, being celebrated in heaven too! For if as Truth says, so it
must be true, there is joy in heaven and even among God’s angels over a single
sinner repenting, then the joy there today must be many times greater at so
many sinners repenting. Let us then share the rejoicing of the angels, let us
share the joy of God, and let us keep today’s feast with thanksgiving, for the fact
that it is our own should make us all the more willing to celebrate it.

Vigils Reading - St Francis
2025-10-04
ST FRANCIS AND THE PEASANT
From “The Little Flowers of St Francis”
◊◊◊
The next morning, as his companions knew that…St Francis was too weak
to be able to continue the journey on foot, they went up to a poor local peasant
and asked him, for the love of God to lend his donkey for their Father, Brother
Francis, who could not travel on foot. Hearing Brother Francis mentioned, the
man asked them: “Are you the friars of that Brother Francis of Assisi about
whom people say so much good?”
The friars answered, “Yes,” and that it was really for him that they were
asking for the donkey.
Then with great devotion and care this good man saddled the donkey and
led it to St Francis, and with great reverence helped him get into the saddle.
Then they continued their journey, the peasant walking with them behind
his donkey. And after they had gone awhile, he said to St Francis: “tell me, are
you Brother Francis of Assisi?”
St Francis answered that he was.
“Well then,” said the peasant, “try to be as good as everyone thinks you
are, because many people have great faith in you, so I urge you: never let there
be anything in you different from what they expect of you.”
When St Francis heard these words, he did not mind being admonished
by a peasant, and he did not say to himself, as many proud fellows who wear the
cowl nowadays would say, “Who is this brute who admonishes me?” But he15
immediately got off the donkey and threw himself on his knees before the
farmer and humbly kissed his feet, thanking him for having deigned to
admonish him so charitably.
Then his companions and the peasant very devoutly helped him to his feet
and sat him on the donkey again. And they traveled on.
And when they had climbed about halfway up the mountain, because the
summer heat was very great and the path was long and steep, the peasant began
to suffer intensely from thirst, and he called ahead to St Francis: “I am dying of
thirst. If I don’t have something to drink, I’ll suffocate in a minute!”
So St Francis immediately got off the donkey and began to pray. And he
remained kneeling on the ground, raising his hands toward heaven, until he
knew by revelation that God had granted his prayer. Then he said to the
peasant, “run quickly to that rock, and their you’ll find running water which
Christ in his mercy has just caused to flow from the rock.”
The man ran to the place which St Francis had shown him, and found a
very fine spring that had been made to flow through the hard rock by the power
of St Francis’ prayer. And he drank all he wanted and felt better.

Skema
2025-10-05
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
27th Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (C), Weekdays (I)
October 5 – 11, 2025

Sun
5
Mon
6
Tue
7
Wed
8
Thu
9
Fri
10
Sat
11

Office
27th Sunday
St Bruno
Our Lady of the Rosary
Office for the Dead
Weekday
Weekday
St John XXIII

Vigils
Sir 35:15-26
Sir 36:1-22
Judith 15:8-16:2, 11-16
Sir 36:23-31
Sir 37:1-15
Sir 37:16-31
Sir 38:1-23

Lauds
Hag 2:10-14
Hag 2:15-19
Sir 39:12-22
Hag 2:20-23
Zechariah 1:1-6
Zech 1:7-13
Zech 1:14-17

Mass
141
461
462
463
464
465
466

1st
Habb 1:2-3; 2:2-4
Jonah 1:1-2:2, 11
Jonah 3:1-10
Jonah 4:1-11
Mal 3:13-20b
Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2
Joel 4:12-21

2nd
2 Tim 1:6-8, 13-14

Gospel
Luke 17:5-10
Luke 10:25-37
Luke 10:38-42
Luke 11:1-4
Luke 11:5-13
Luke 11:15-26
Luke 11:27-28

Vespers
2 Tim 2:1-7
2 Tim 2:8-13
Acts 1:12-14
2 Tim 2:14-19
2 Tim 2:20-26
2 Tim 3:1-9
2 Tim 3:10-17

Vigils Reading - 27th Sunday
2025-10-05
WATCH AND PRAY
From a commentary by St Augustine
◊◊◊
Reading the holy gospel nourishes in us the habit of prayer, builds up our
faith, and disposes us to trust in the Lord rather than in ourselves. What more
powerful motive to prayer could be proposed to us than the parable of the unjust
judge? An unprincipled man, without fear of God or regard for other people,
that judge nevertheless ended by granting the widow’s petition. No kindly
sentiment moved him to do so; he was rather worn down by her pestering. Now
if a man can grant a request even when it is odious to him to be asked, how can
we be refused by the one who urges us to ask?
Having persuaded us, therefore, by a comparison of opposites that we
ought always to pray and never lose heart, the Lord goes on to put the
question: Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, do you think he will find
faith on earth? Where there is no faith, there is no prayer. Who would pray for
something he did not believe in? So when the blessed apostle exhorts us to pray
he begins by declaring: Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved;
but to show that faith is the source of prayer and the stream will not flow if its
springs are dried up, he continues: But can people call upon him in whom they
do not believe?
We must believe, then, in order to pray; and we must ask God that the
faith enabling us to pray may not fail. Faith gives rise to prayer, and this prayer
obtains an increase of faith. Faith, I say, gives rise to prayer, and is in turn
strengthened by prayer. It was to guard against their faith failing in times of
temptation that the Lord told his disciples: Watch and pray that you may not
enter into temptation…
What does it mean to enter into temptation? It means to turn one’s back
on faith. Temptation grows stronger in proportion as faith weakens, and
becomes weaker in proportion as faith grows strong. To convince you, beloved,
that he was speaking of the weakening and loss of faith when he told his
disciples to watch and pray that they might not enter into temptation, the Lord
said in this same passage of the gospel: This night Satan has demanded to sift
you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, Peter, that your faith may not fail.
Is the protector to pray, while the person in danger has no need to do so?
But in asking whether the Son of Man would find faith on earth at his
coming, the Lord was speaking of perfect faith. That kind of faith is indeed
hardly to be found on earth. Look at God’s Church: it is full of people. Who
would come here if faith were non-existent? But who would not move
mountains if that faith were present in full measure? Mark the apostles: they
would never have left everything they possessed and spurned worldly ambition
to follow the Lord unless their faith had been great; and yet that faith of theirs
could not have been perfect, otherwise they would not have asked the Lord to
increase it.

Vigils Reading - St Bruno
2025-10-06
ST BRUNO
FOUNDER OF THE CARTHUSIANS
From Butler’s Lives of the Saints
◊◊◊
Bruno came of a good family and was born at Cologne about the year
1020. While still young he left home to finish his education at the cathedral
school of Rheims… In 1056 he was invited to return to his school as professor of
grammar and theology. He taught in the school of Rheims for eighteen years…
However Bruno had decided to abandon the active…life precisely at a
time when the church of Rheims was ready to choose him as archbishop.
He…renounced whatever held him in the world, and persuaded some of his
friends to accompany him into solitude. They first put themselves under the
direction of St Robert, abbot of Molesmes (who afterwards founded Citeaux),
and lived in a hermitage at Seche-Fontaine near by. In this solitude Bruno and
his companions deliberated what it was best for them to do. He decided to apply
to St Hugh, bishop of Grenoble…
St Bruno and his six companions arrived at Grenoble about midsummer
in 1084, and begged from St Hugh some place where they might serve God,
remote from worldly affairs… Hugh…assigned them to the desert of Chartreuse,
promising his utmost assistance to establish them there. Bruno and his
companions immediately built an oratory there, and small cells at a little
distance from the other, like the ancient lauras of Palestine. Such was the origin
of the order of the Carthusians, which took its name from this desert of
Chartreuse…
St Hugh became so great an admirer of Bruno that he took him for his
spiritual father and often went from Grenoble to the Chartreuse to enjoy his
conversation and improve himself by his advice and example. But his fame went
beyond Grenoble and reached the ears of Eudes de Chatillon, his former pupil
and now Pope Urban II… The Pope sent him an order to come to Rome that he
might assist him by his counsels in the governance of the Church. Bruno could
scarcely have met with a more severe trial of his obedience or made a greater
sacrifice. Nevertheless he set out in 1090…
Bruno…had permission to occupy a hermitage among the ruins of the
baths of Diocletian, where he would be close at hand when required by the pope.
Soon Pope Urban pressed him to accept the archbishopric of Reggio in Calabria,
but Bruno excused himself with great earnestness, and redoubled his requests
to live in solitude. Urban consented at length that he might retire to a wilderness
in Calabria where he would be at hand…
In 1099 Landuin, whom Bruno had appointed as Prior of the Chartreuse,
went to Calabria to consult Bruno about the form of living which he had
instituted, for the monks were desirous not to depart from the spirit and rule of
their master. Bruno wrote them a letter full of tender charity and the spirit of
God. In it he instructed them in all practices of solitary life, solved the
difficulties which they proposed to him, comforted them in their troubles, and
encouraged them in perseverance.
His last sickness came upon him towards the end of September 1101… He
resigned his soul to God on Sunday, October 6, 1101. St Bruno has never been
formally canonized, the Carthusians being averse to all occasions of publicity.
But in 1514 they obtained permission from Pope Leo X to keep his feast, and in
1674 Clement X extended it to the whole western Church.

Vigils Reading - Our Lady of the Rosary
2025-10-07
THE PRAYER OF MARY
From the Apostolic Letter of Pope John Paul II on the rosary
◊◊◊
The Rosary of the Virgin Mary, which gradually took form in the second
millenium under the guidance of the Spirit of God… still remains, at the dawn of
this third millenium, a prayer of great significance, destined to bring forth a
harvest of holiness. It…has lost none of the freshness of its beginnings and feels
drawn by the Spirit of God to set out into the deep…in order once more to
proclaim, and even to cry out, before the world that Jesus Christ is Lord and
Savior, the way, and the truth and the life, the goal of human history and the
point on which the desires of history and civilization turn.
The Rosary, though clearly Marian in character, is at heart a
Christocentric prayer. In the sobriety of its elements, it has all the depth of the
Gospel message in its entirety, of which it can be said to be a compendium. It is
an echo of the prayer of Mary, her perennial Magnificat for the work of the
redemptive Incarnation that began in her virginal womb. With the Rosary, the
Christian people sit at the school of Mary and are led to contemplate the beauty
of the face of Christ and to experience the depths of his love. Through the Rosary
the faithful receive abundant grace, as though from the very hands of the
mother of the Redeemer…
The contemplation of Christ has an incomparable model in Mary. In a
unique way, the face of the Son belongs to Mary. It was in her womb that Christ
was formed, receiving from her a human resemblance that points to an even
greater spiritual closeness. No one has ever devoted themselves to the
contemplation of the face of Christ as faithfully as Mary. The eyes of her heart
already turned to Him at the Annunciation, when she conceived him by the
power of the Holy Spirit.
Mary lived with her eyes fixed on Christ, treasuring His every word: She
kept all these things, pondering them in her heart. The memories of Jesus…were
always with her, leading her to reflect on the various moments of her life at her
Son’s side. In a way those memories were to be the rosary that she recited
uninterruptedly throughout her earthly life.
Even now, amid the joyful songs of the heavenly Jerusalem, the reasons
for her thanksgiving and praise remain unchanged. They inspire her maternal
concern for the pilgrim Church, in which she continues to relate her personal
account of the Gospel. Mary constantly sets before the faithful the mysteries of
her Son, with the desire that the contemplation of those mysteries will release
all their saving power. In the recitation of the Rosary, the Christian community
enters into contact with the memories and the contemplative gaze of Mary.

Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
2025-10-08
THE NEWNESS OF LIFE
From “The Mystery of Time” by Fr Jean Mouroux
◊◊◊
Christ died to deliver us from the condemnation to eternal death and from
the fear which enslaves the sinner. He has conquered death, the child of sin,
because he has conquered sin itself. He has undergone death to destroy it. He
has overcome this radical contradiction by elevating us to a participation in his
risen life, in “life eternal.” Death has not yet been completely eradicated, but it
has been completely transformed. Christ has delivered us all to the Cross
because He, the Head of mankind, the Center of the redeemed universe, the
Savior, “bore us all in Himself” during his sacrifice. Thus “if one died for all, then
all were dead”, and all are saved from the satanical power of death. It is love, not
damnation, which envelops us and restores us to God. It envelops us as
individuals; as members of the human race; and as members of the Church…
It’s infinite blessing affects our personal life at baptism, where with Christ
we “are dead to sin, but alive to God”. The power of the Risen Christ dwells in us
that “we may walk in the newness of life,” that each day we may cast sin farther
away and crown our lives with the divine agape. The life of Christians in time is
a paradoxical one. They are dead to sin, yet must die to it each day; they live in
God, and must live for him each day; they are the battleground of an
eschatological struggle in which Christ the Conqueror faces the vanquished
devil, that he may triumph once again in the freedom of a regenerated heart. By
immersing himself ever more deeply into baptism and Christ, the Christian
grows with Christ and brings about his victory even in death.
Insofar as he lives in Christ, the Christian is totally enveloped by Christ
both before and after death. Before death, Christ is the life-giving, saving Lord.
After death, he calls, judges, purifies, and transfigures the life he has given. Here
below, he communicates the seed of immortality, especially in the Eucharist. Up
above, He will be the source of glory which will transform our soul and our body.
The Eternal One is present before and after death. So at our death Christ is
present as the Savior who protects Christians from the last assault of the evil
one, revives their flagging spirits, and leads them from the time of testing to
their eternal reward.
Christ is the Mediator through whom and in whom every Christian
experiences death. Externally, death still seems to be a terrible process of
annihilation. But internally it is the mysterious maturation of the new creature
in Jesus Christ. “This is the will of my Father who sent me: that every one who
sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise them on
the last day”. “I am the bread of life. This is the bread that came down from
heaven so that one may eat it and not die”.

Vigils Reading
2025-10-09
A COMMUNITY OF PARDON
From “Seasons of Celebration” by Thomas Merton
◊◊◊
Let us remember especially that the Church is a community of pardon. All
who have entered the common life of the body of Christ have done so by the way
of pardon. And they remain in the Body of Christ only through pardon, through
the mystery of Christ: not only of Christ, as Head, but also of Christ in His
members.
The mercy and pardon of Christ must be continually at work in all the
members and through all the members of the Mystical Body. This is what makes
the Church truly a Mother: she gives life by gentleness, understanding, love and
pardon. She forgives sins, that is to say she heals separations. Sin is separation
from God, and from those who love God. Sin is a cutting off from life. It is a
spiritual death and pardon is the restoration of life.
The Spirit by which the Church lives is the Spirit of love, of unity. Unity
can be preserved or restored only by understanding, acceptance and pardon.
The Church is a body of people who know they are forgiven and who forgive
repeatedly because they are themselves forgiven repeatedly.
The Church is then not so much a body of people who are pure and never
offend, but of those who, in their weakness and frailty, frequently err and
offend, but who have received from God the power to forgive one another in His
name. They possess the Holy Spirit and they can give the Holy Spirit in some
sense, to one another. The Holy Spirit Himself moves them to do this, and acts
in them, to save others.
We, then, who form one body in Christ, share with one another the
message of Christ’s divine truth, we share His word, we share His worship, we
share His love, we share His Spirit.
In building a community of pardon which is the temple of God, we have to
recognize that no one of us is complete, self-sufficient, perfectly holy in himself.
No one can rest in one’s own virtues and interior life. We do not live for
ourselves alone. To live for oneself alone is to die. We grow and flourish in our
own lives in so far as we live for others and through others. What we ourselves
lack God has given them. They must complete us where we are deficient.
Often the good that is given us by God is given us only to be shared with
another. If God sees that we will not pardon and will not be open, that we will
not share, then the good is not given us. But to the one in whom there is the
greatest readiness to share with all, most is given. The greatest of gifts then is
this openness, this love, this readiness to accept and to pardon and to share with
others, in the Spirit of Christ. If we are open we will not only offer pardon, but
will not disdain to seek it and recognize our own desperate need of it.

Vigils Reading
2025-10-10
ONE IN CHRIST
From a sermon by St Leo the Great
◊◊◊
I rejoice, dearly beloved, in the pious affection of your devotion, and I give
thanks to God that I see in you the love of Christian unity. For your very
presence here testifies that you understand that the annual return of this day is
a matter for common rejoicing; and that in celebrating the annual festival of the
Shepherd, you are honouring the whole flock.
For though the universal Church is ordered in varying degrees, so the
whole is made up from the diverse members of the sanctified Body, we are all, n
evertheless, as the Apostle says, one in Christ; and no one is separated by office
from another, so that even the least among us is related to the head.
Therefore, Beloved, in its unity of faith and baptism, our society is
undivided, and its dignity is the dignity of all its members; according to the
words of the blessed Peter, spoken by his own consecrated voice: Be you as
living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And a little later: You are a
chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people.
For all who are born again in Christ, the sign of the Cross makes kings,
and the anointing of the Holy Spirit consecrates priests; so that apart from the
special service of our ministry, let all spiritual and reasoning Christians know
that they are of royal birth, and sharers of the priestly office.
For what is so kingly as the soul that is subject to God, and the ruler of its
own body? And what is so priestly as to dedicate to the Lord a pure conscience,
and to offer him on the altar of our hearts the unstained gift of our love? And
since by God’s grace this has been given to us all, it is for you a devout and
praiseworthy thing to rejoice on the day of our coronation as though the honour
were your own.

Vigils Reading - St Pope John XXIII
2025-10-11
THE SPIRITUAL TESTAMENT
AND LAST WISHES
of St Pope John XXIII
◊◊◊
On the point of presenting myself before the One and Triune Lord who
created me, redeemed me, chose me to be his priest and bishop, and covered me
with unending graces, I entrust my poor soul to His mercy; I humbly ask pardon
for my sins and deficiencies. I offer Him the little good, although petty and
imperfect, that with His aid I have succeeded in doing, for His glory, for the
service of Holy Church, for the edification of my brethren, begging Him finally
to receive me, like a good and kind Father, with His Saints into eternal
happiness.
I profess once again with all my heart my entire Christian and Catholic
faith, my adherence and subjection to the Holy Apostolic and Roman Church,
and my complete devotion and obedience to her August Head, the Supreme
Pontiff, whom it was my great honor to represent for long years in various
regions of the East and West, who at the end chose me to come to Venice as
Cardinal and Patriarch, and whom I have always followed with sincere
affection, aside from and above any dignity conferred upon me.
The sense of my own littleness and nothingness has always been my good
companion, keeping me humble and calm, and making me employ myself to the
best of my ability in a constant exercise of obedience and charity for souls and
for the interests of the Kingdom of Jesus, my Lord and my all. To Him be all
glory; for me and for my merit, His mercy.
7The Encyclicals and Other Messages of John XXIII – TPS Press – Washington DC – 1964 – pg 465.15
I ask pardon of those whom I have unwittingly offended, of all to whom I
have not been a source of edification. I feel that I have nothing to forgive anyone,
for all who have known and dealt with me – including those who have offended
me, scorned me, held me in bad esteem (with good reason, for that matter), or
have been a source of affliction for me – I regard solely as brothers and
benefactors, to whom I am grateful and for whom I pray and always will pray.
Born poor, but of honorable and humble people, I am particularly happy
to die poor, having given away, in accord with the various demands and
circumstances of my simple and modest life, for the benefit of the poor and of
Holy Church that had nurtured me, all that came into my hands – which was
little enough as a matter of fact – during the years of my priesthood and
episcopacy. Outward appearances of ease and comfort often veiled hidden
thorns of distressing poverty and kept me from giving with all the largess I
would have liked. I thank God for this grace of poverty which I vowed in my
youth, poverty of spirit as a priest of the Sacred Heart, and real poverty…
As I face death, I recall each and every one – those who preceded me in
taking the final step, those who will survive me and who will follow me. May
they pray for me. I will repay them from Purgatory or from Paradise, where I
hope to be received. I repeat it once again, not because of my merits, but because
of the mercy of the Lord. At the moment for saying farewell, or better still,
arrivederci, I once more remind everyone of what counts most in life: blessed
Jesus Christ, His Holy Church, His Gospel; and in the Gospel, above all, the
Pater noster in the spirit and heart of Jesus and the Gospel, the truth and
goodness, the goodness meek and kind, active and patient, victorious and
unbowed.

Skema
2025-10-12
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
28th Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (C), Weekdays (I)
October 12 – 18, 2025

Sun
12
Mon
13
Tue
14
Wed
15
Thu
16
Fri
17
Sat
18

Office
28th Sunday
Weekday
Weekday
St Teresa of Avila
St Hedwig
St Ignatius of Antioch
St Luke

Vigils
Sir 38:24-34
Sir 39:1-16
Sir 39:17-35
Sir 40:1-17
Sir 40:18-30
Sir 41:1-13
Ezek 1:1-14

Lauds
Zech 2:1-9
Zech 2:10-17
Zech 3:1-7
Zech 3:8-4:5
Zech 4:6-10a
Zech 4:10b-5:4
Isa 52:7-10

Mass
144
467
468
469
470
471
661

1st
2 Kgs 5:14-17
Rom 1:1-7
Rom 1:16-25
Rom 2:1-11
Rom 3:21-30
Rom 4:1-8
2 Tim 4:10-17b

2nd
2 Tim 2:8-13

Gospel
Luke 17:11-19
Luke 11:29-32
Luke 11:37-41
Luke 11:42-46
Luke 11:47-54
Luke 12:1-7
Luke 10:1-9

Vespers
2 Tim 4:1-8
2 Tim 4:9-22
Titus 1:1-9
Titus 1:10-16
Titus 2:11-15
Titus 3:1-8a
Titus 3:8b-15

Vigils Reading - 28th Sunday
2025-10-12
THE CRY OF THE HEART
From a commentary by Bruno of Segni
◊◊◊
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus passed through the border between
Samaria and Galilee, and when he entered one of the villages ten lepers came to
meet him. What do these ten lepers stand for if not the sum total of all sinners?
When Christ the Lord came not all men and women were leprous in body, but in
soul they were, and to have a soul full of leprosy is much worse than to have a
leprous body.
But let us see what happened next. Standing a long way off they called out
to him: “Jesus, Master. Take pity on us.” They stood a long way off because no
one in their condition dared come too close. We stand a long way off too while
we continue in sin. To be restored to health and cured of the leprosy of sin, we
also must cry out: “Jesus, Master, take pity on us.” That cry, however, must
come not from our lips but from our heart, for the cry of the heart is louder: it
pierces the heavens, rising up to the very throne of God.
When Jesus saw the lepers he told them to go and show themselves to the
priests. God has only to look at people to be filled with compassion. He pitied
these lepers as soon as he saw them, and sent them to the priests not to be
cleansed by them, but to be pronounced clean.
And as soon as they went they were cleansed. Let all sinners listen to this
and try to understand it. It is easy for the Lord to forgive sins. Sinners have often
been forgiven before they come to a priest. In fact their repentance and healing
occur simultaneously: at the very moment of their conversion they pass from
death to life. Let them understand, however, what this conversion means, let
them understand the Lord’s words: Return to me with all your heart, with
fasting, weeping and mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.
To be really converted one must be converted inwardly, in one’s heart, for a
humbled contrite heart God will not spurn.
One of them, when he saw that he was cured, went back again, praising
God at the top of his voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him.
Now this man was a Samaritan. He stands for all those who, after their
cleansing by the waters of baptism or healing by the sacrament of penance,
renounce the devil and take Christ as their model, following him with praise,
adoration and thanksgiving, and nevermore abandoning his service.
And Jesus said to him: “Stand up and go on your way. Your faith has saved
you.” Great therefore is the power of faith. Without it, as the Apostle says, it is
impossible to please God. Abraham believed God and because of this God
regarded him as righteous. Faith saves, faith justifies, faith heals both body and
soul.

Vigils Reading
2025-10-13
THE ONE TRUE VISION
OF CHRISTIAN FAITH
From a sermon by St John Henry Newman
◊◊◊
However much a duty it is to undergo excitements when they are sent
upon us, it is plainly unchristian, a manifest foolishness and sin, to seek out any
such, whether secular or religious. Hence gaming is so great an offense; as being
a presumptuous creation on our part of a serious, if not an overpowering
temptation to fix the heart upon an object of this world. Hence, the mischief of
many amusements, of (what is called) the fashion of the day; which are devised
for the very purpose of taking up the thoughts, and making time pass easy.
Quite contrary is the Christian temper, which is in its perfect and peculiar
enjoyment when engaged in that ordinary, unvaried course of duties which God
assigns, and which the world calls dull and tiresome. To get up day after day to
the same employments, and to feel happy in them, is the great lesson of the
Gospel; and, when, exemplified in those who are alive to the temptation of being
busy, it implies a heart weaned from the love of this world. True, illness of body,
as well as restlessness of mind, may occasionally render such a life a burden. It
is true also that indolence, self-indulgence, timidity and other similar bad
habits, may adopt it by preference, as a pretext for neglecting more active
duties.
Men and women of energetic minds and talents for action are called to a
life of trouble; they are the compensations and antagonists of the world’s evils.
Still let them never forget their place – they are persons of war, and we war that
we may obtain peace. They are but persons of war, honored indeed by God’s
choice, and, in spite of all momentary excitements, resting in the depth of their
hearts upon the One true Vision of Christian faith…amid the unostentatious
duties of ordinary life.
“Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; but
one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen that good part which shall not be
taken away from her.” Such is our Lord’s judgment, showing that our true
happiness consists in being at leisure to serve God without excitements. For this
gift we especially pray in one of our Collects: “Grant, O Lord, that the course of
this world may be so peaceably ordered by your governance, that your Church
may joyfully serve you in all godly quietness.”

Vigils Reading
2025-10-14
THE SAFEGUARD OF CHARITY
From “The Mirror of Charity” by St Aelred of Rievaulx
◊◊◊
I think it advisable for us who are called monks to take into account and
examine more closely the force of our rule… Does <St Benedict> not declare
that the reason for his institution is the preservation of charity and the
correction of vices?
Why do you throw the Rule up to me, <another fellow> says. Have charity
and do what you want. Let us eat and drink, then, not because tomorrow we die,
but because we are full of charity.
Of charity, I ask, or vanity?
Well, you reply, if someone has charity, is he not fulfilling the Rule?
How many holy canons, holy priests, holy bishops, and also holy couples
sense that they possess charity, but are very aware that they have not promised
profession and do not keep the rule for monks? If, however, we are speaking
about those who have made profession of the Rule itself, what is being said is
true—if, that is, he understands what he is talking about.
Why then, you say, do you obligate me by the authority of the Rule to
these harsh practices?
If you have charity it is not necessary for you to be forced to fulfill the
promises which your lips have uttered. If you scorn fulfilling the things you
promised by putting your signature to them and calling on God and his saints as
your witnesses, you can be very sure you do not have charity. For do you love
someone you mock? If anyone does other than he has promised, he said, let him
know that he will be condemned by the God whom he mocks. What then? Do we
condemn the dispensations granted in the Rule by our fathers, or those granted
today? On the contrary, we allege that they can reasonably be granted because
they arise from the precepts of a man, but not of God. But it is not within the
prerogative of any man that he change or diminish any of the divine precepts.
We must carefully ward against letting a dispensation—a modification or
variation—become in any way destruction. Since the reason for the institution
itself is the safeguard of charity and the correction of vices, the dispensation will
obviously be reasonable if it furthers this purpose. If, on the other hand, vices
are fostered by the dispensation more than by the institution, charity is violated.
Even if it may do no harm in itself, the dispensation is surely not without
danger.

Vigils Reading - St Teresa of Avila
2025-10-15
ST TERESA’S CHILDHOOD
From the autobiography of St Teresa of Avila
◊◊◊
To have had virtuous and God-fearing parents along with the graces the
Lord granted me should have been enough for me to have led a good life, if I had
not been so wretched. My father was fond of reading good books, and thus he
also had books in Spanish for his children to read. These good books together
with the care my mother took to have us pray and be devoted to our Lady and to
some of the saints began to awaken in me…to the practice of virtue. And they
themselves possessed many.
We were in all three sisters and nine brothers. All resembling their
parents in being virtuous, through the goodness of God, with the exception of
myself – although I was the most loved of my father. And it seemed that he was
right – before I began to offend God. For I am ashamed when I recall the good
inclinations the Lord gave me and how poorly I knew how to profit by them.
My brothers and sisters did not in any hold me back from the service of
God. I had one brother about my age. We used to get together to read the lives
of the saints… When I considered the martyrdoms the saints suffered for God, it
seemed to me that the price they paid for going to enjoy God was very cheap, and
I greatly desired to die in the same way. I did not want this on account of the
love I felt for God but to get to enjoy very quickly the wonderful things I read
there were in heaven. And my brother and I discussed together the means we
should take to achieve this. We agreed to go off to the land of the Moors and beg
them, out of love for God, to cut off our heads there.
Having parents seemed to us the greatest obstacle. We were terrified in
what we read about the suffering and the glory that was to last forever. We spent
a lot of time talking about this and took delight in often repeating: forever and
ever and ever. As I said this over and over, the Lord was pleased to impress
upon me in childhood the way of truth.
When I saw it was impossible to go where I would be killed for God, we
made plans to be hermits. And in the garden that we had in our house, we tried
as we could to make hermitages piling up little stones which afterwards would
quickly fall down again. And so in nothing could we find a remedy for our
desire. It gives me devotion now to see how God gave me so early what I lost
through my own fault.
I gave what alms I could, but that was little. I sought out solitude to pray
my devotions, and they were many, especially the rosary, to which my mother
was very devoted; and she made us devoted to it too. When I played with other
girls I enjoyed it when we pretended we were nuns in a monastery, and it
seemed to me that I desired to be one, although not as much as I desired the
other things I mentioned.

Vigils Reading - St Hedwig
2025-10-16
ST HEDWIG OF SILESIA
From Butler’s Lives of the Saints
◊◊◊
Hedwig was born in Bavaria about the year 1174, the daughter of
Berthold, count of Andechs. When she was only twelve she was married to
Henry, duke of Silesia. Together they founded a large number of religious
houses, the best known of which was a convent for Cistercian nuns at Trebnitz,
near Breslau in modern Poland, the first convent for women in Silesia. These
foundations helped both to develop the religious life of the people and to spread
a common German culture throughout their lands. They also established
hospitals and a house for lepers.
Their seventh and last child was born in 1209, and Hedwig persuaded her
husband to take a mutual vow of chastity. They lived apart, with Hedwig taking
up residence close to the nunnery at Trebnitz, and often sharing the austere life
of the nuns. She recommended fasting to those who wanted to live holier lives,
saying that it could “master concupiscence, lift up the soul, confirm it in the
paths of virtue, and prepare a fine reward for the Christian”.
Much of the rest of Hedwig’s life was spent in trying to keep peace
between her warring sons Henry and Conrad and in attempts to make peace
between her husband and his enemies. When Henry died in 1238, she
comforted those who mourned him with the words, “Would you oppose the will
of God? Our lives are his; our will is whatever he is pleased to ordain, whether
our own death or that of our friends.” She took the habit at Trebnitz but did not
take any religious vows, remaining free to administer her property for the good
of the poor. We are told that she took great care to instruct the uneducated in
their religion, on one occasion having an old woman share a room with her so
that they could go through the Our Father together whenever there was a free
moment. After ten weeks of patient teaching, the old woman could repeat and
understand the prayer.
When her son Henry II was killed in 1240 fighting the Tartar invaders,
Hegwig knew of his death three days before a messenger arrived from the
battlefield. Other miracles were attributed to her; she cured a blind man, for
example, and had the gift of prophecy, foretelling her own death in October
1243. She was canonized in 1267, and her feast was extended to the Western
Church in 1706.

Vigils Reading - St Ignatius of Antioch
2025-10-17
GOD’S WHEAT
From the Letter of St Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans
◊◊◊
I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for
God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely
kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am
God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become God’s pure
bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a
sacrificial victim for God.
No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any
way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth.
He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our
sakes is my one desire. The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my
brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me
stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world.
Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on
my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating
the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I
wish. You will sympathize with me because you will know what urges me on.
The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine
my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show
yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as
long as you love this world. Do not harbor envious thoughts.
And supposing I should see you, if then I beg you to intervene on my
behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you.
For though I am alive as I write to you, still my real desire is to die. My love for
this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing.
Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the
Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this
world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the
seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, which is love that cannot perish.
I am no longer willing to live a merely human life, and you can bring about
my wish if you will. Please, then, do me this favor, so that you in turn may meet
with equal kindness. Put briefly, this is my request: believe what I am saying to
you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth.
Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken.
Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man
would, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer, I
take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed, I can only think that you
wish me harm.

Vigils Reading - St Luke
2025-10-18
ST LUKE THE EVANGELIST
By Servant of God Marie-Joseph Lagrange
◊◊◊
A custom had grown up among the Greeks of dedicating literary works to
some distinguished personage, a custom followed by Jewish writers. Luke
addresses his little book to Theophilus, a certain Christian distinguished by the
title of ‘Excellent,” but otherwise unknown to us. A few years later Josephus, as
a Jew writing on things Jewish for Roman readers, thought it advisable to insist
at some length on his impartiality. But Luke, following the example of Polybius,
thought that his impartiality might be taken for granted, and considered it
enough to point out that his aim was to show for his noble friend’s benefit the
solid truth of what he had been taught. He thus confesses that his purpose is (to
use the current term) apologetic…
Now only too often apologists have a bad name. They are accused of being
like certain lawyers, not over-nice in their choice of an argument so long as it
gets home: of being ready, for instance, to use even bad arguments on people of
little discernment likely to be convinced by them. But Luke aspires to be an
historian worthy of the name and to convince people who are well able to judge.
And, moreover, the very nobility of the cause which it is a writer’s ambition to
serve puts upon him the obligation of making use only of such facts as are
beyond dispute. This means that he must have recourse to none but
unimpeachable witnesses. And this, indeed, is what Luke professes to do.
Ever since he was first associated with the preaching of the gospel, he had
made it his business to get at the facts. This was all the more easy for him,
inasmuch as he was, owing to his apostolic work, in constant touch with the very
people who had been eyewitnesses from the beginning – with the Apostles, that
is, and the first disciples.
Now these Apostles and disciples preached first of all among the Jews
who had just condemned Jesus on false testimony; their own witness, they
claimed, was true. Could they, then, have put forward anything untrue without
being at once contradicted by fiercely hostile opponents? People sitting round
the fireside at night are content to listen even to the most fanciful of stories if
only they are interesting… But the disciples of Jesus were hardy enough to carry
on a work which the leaders of the nation had condemned as subversive of the
religion of their fathers. There was one temptation to which the disciples might
have seemed in danger of succumbing, from a desire to make their message
more acceptable: the temptation, namely, to modify certain features, to portray
Jesus as submissive to the Law, deferential to the rabbis, respectful towards the
priests.
But, far from yielding to it, they gave a faithful account of the very words
and deeds for which He had been condemned, and thereby showed themselves
absolutely trustworthy. It was precisely this fidelity to the facts which caused
their testimony to be instantly punished with imprisonment. Luke had been
present more than once when this same testimony had been received with
furious outbursts of hatred, though the facts no one had dared to deny. So he
was sure of the truth of the story he was about to tell once more. For he was not
the first to tell it: those facts, which had proved for so many the source of a new
life, had been related by many before him. He mentions no names, however.
Tradition gives those of St Matthew and St Mark; scholars conjecture others.

Skema
2025-10-19
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
29th Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (C), Weekdays (I)
October 19 – 25, 2025

Sun
19
Mon
20
Tue
21
Wed
22
Thu
23
Fri
24
Sat
25

Office
29th Sunday
Weekday
Weekday
St John Paul II
Office for Vocations
Weekday
Memorial of the BVM

Vigils
Sir 41:14-22
Sir 42:1-14
Sir 42:15-25
Sir 43:1-18
Sir 43:19-33
Sir 51:1-12
Sir 51:13-30

Lauds
Zech 5:5-11
Zech 6:1-8
Zech 6:9-15
Zech 7:1-7
Zech 7:8-14
Zech 8:1-6
Zech 8:7-11

Mass
147
473
474
475
476
477
478

1st
Exod 17:8-13
Rom 4:20-25
Rom 5:12, 15b, 17-19, 20b-21
Rom 6:12-18
Rom 6:19-23
Rom 7:18-25a
Rom 8:1-11

2nd
2 Tim 3:14-4:2

Gospel
Luke 18:1-8
Luke 12:13-21
Luke 12:35-38
Luke 12:39-48
Luke 12:49-53
Luke 12:54-59
Luke 13:1-9

Vespers
Jas 1:1-11
Jas 1:12-18
Jas 1:19-27
Jas 2:1-13
Jas 2:14-17
Jas 2:18-26
Jas 3:1-5a

Vigils Reading - 29th Sunday
2025-10-19
THANKSGIVING AND PRAYER
From a commentary by St Gregory of Nyssa
◊◊◊
The divine Word teaches us how to pray, explaining to disciples worthy of
him, and eagerly longing for knowledge of prayer, what word to use to gain a
hearing from God.
Those who fail to unite themselves to God through prayer cut themselves
off from God, so the first thing we have to learn from the Word is that we need to
pray continually and not lose heart. Prayer brings us close to God, and when we
are close to God we are far from the Enemy. Prayer safeguards chastity, controls
anger, and restrains arrogance. It is the seal of virginity, the assurance of
marital fidelity, the shield of travelers, the protection of sleepers, the
encouragement of those who keep vigil, the cause of the farmer’s good harvest
and of the sailor’s safety. Therefore I think that even if we spent the whole of our
lives in communion with God through thanksgiving and prayer, we should still
be as far from adequately repaying our benefactor as we should have been had
we not even desired to repay him.
Time has three divisions, past, present and future. In all three we
experience the Lord’s kindly dealings with us. If you consider the present, you
live in him; if you consider the future, your hope of obtaining what you look
forward to is in him; if you consider the past, you would not have existed had
you not been created by him. Your birth is his kindly gift to you, and after birth
his kindness toward you continued, since as the apostle says, you live and move
in him. On this same kindness depend all your hopes for the future. Only over
the present have you any control. Therefore, even if you give thanks to God
unceasingly throughout your life, you will hardly meet the measure of your debt
for present blessings, and as for those of the past and future, you will never find
a way of repaying what you owe.
And yet we, who are so far from being capable of showing due gratitude,
do not even give thanks to the best of our ability. We fail to set aside, I do not say
the whole day, but even the smallest portion of the day, to be spent with God.
Who restored to its original beauty that divine image in me that was
blurred by sin? Who draws me back to the blessedness I knew before I was
driven out of paradise, deprived of the tree of life, and submerged in the abyss of
worldliness? As scripture says, There is no one who understands. If we realize
these things we would give thanks continually, endlessly, throughout the whole
of our lives.

Vigils Reading
2025-10-20
THE PRECEPTS OF THE RULE
From “The Mirror of Charity” by St Aelred of Rievaulx
◊◊◊
Speaking about things having to do with charity, humility, patience, and
other virtues…what Christian is not obligated to these precepts? Does Benedict
recommend one kind of charity in his Rule and Augustine another in his? Does
not each recommend that charity which Christ recommends in the law and the
Gospel?
We can ask the same thing about the other virtues. Who in his right mind,
in exhorting others to virtue will say that these precepts are his and not rather
those of Christ? What difference will there be then among the precepts of the
different Rules? Surely, how to eat, dress, work, read, keep vigil, sing psalms,
correct and be corrected, and other things like this, because they are found to be
different in the different rules. Consequently, things said to be especially
characteristic of Basil or Augustine or Benedict are not imposed on all
Christians by gospel authority, but are simply proposed to them. To those who
profess these rules, however, they are no longer simply proposed, but they are
also imposed on them.
If these are not the things, what are? Obviously, everything they put into
their rules about charity, humility, and the other virtues, they recommend not
as their own precepts, but as the Lord’s. They invite not only monks but all
Christians to follow them, not as being their own (for who would believe them?),
but as being Christ’s. If obedience according to the Rule of Saint Benedict means
obeying the precepts of his Rule, and if the precepts of his Rule consist of the
things we have enumerated, how can anyone who does not keep them keep the
essential character of the monastic profession, since that obedience we profess
is the essential character of monastic profession?
He will perhaps say what certainly ought to be said: that we also profess
the first two according to the Rule, and he will affirm that it is not in stability of
place or obedience that diversity among the rules lies—since these same things
are binding on monks, clerics, canons, and bishops—but solely in conversion of
life. Is not one and the same obligation to stability incumbent upon all? Would
anyone be so presumptuous as to transfer from one place to another without the
consent of his superior?
Furthermore, if we do profess conversion of life, not according to the Rule
but simply in an indeterminate way, those who are called penitents in the
Church do the same, as do those who flee the shipwreck of fornication for the
port of marriage. Who among them does not promise conversion of life? Hence
for some diversity to be found among the diverse types of conversion of life
which are professed according to the diverse rules, there is nothing to which we
may have recourse except those traits which constitute the diversity…

Vigils Reading
2025-10-21
CHRISTIAN UNITY
From the Encyclical “Ut Unum Sint” by Pope St John Paul II
◊◊◊
The Second Vatican Council exhorts “all Christ’s faithful to remember
that the more they strive to live according to the Gospel, the more they are
fostering and even practicing Christian unity. For they can achieve depth and
ease in strengthening mutual brotherhood to the degree that they enjoy
profound communion with the Father, the Word and the Holy Spirit. “This
change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the
unity of Christians should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical
movement, and can rightly be called ‘spiritual ecumenism’.”
We proceed along the road leading to the conversion of hearts guided by
love which is directed to God and, at the same time, to all our brothers and
sisters, including those not in full communion with us. Love gives rise to the
desire for unity, even in those who have never been aware of the need for it. Love
builds communion between individuals and between Communities. If we love
one another, we strive to deepen our communion and make it perfect. Love is
given to God as the perfect source of communion – the unity of Father, Son and
Holy Spirit – that we may draw from that source the strength to build
communion between individuals and Communities or to reestablish it between
Christians still divided. Love is the great undercurrent which gives life and adds
vigor to the movement toward unity.
This love finds its most complete expression in common prayer. When
brothers and sisters who are not in perfect communion with one another come
together to pray, the Second Vatican Council defines their prayer as the soul of
the whole ecumenical movement. This prayer is “a very effective means of
petitioning for the grace of unity”, “a genuine expression of ties which even now
bind Catholics to their separated brethren. Even when prayer is not specifically
offered for Christian unity, but for other intentions such as peace, it actually
becomes an expression and confirmation of unity. The common prayer of
Christians is an invitation to Christ himself to visit the community of those who
call upon him: “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the
midst of them.”
Along the ecumenical path to unity, pride of place certainly belongs to
common prayer; the prayerful union of those who gather together around Christ
himself. If Christians, despite their divisions, can grow ever more united in
common prayer around Christ, they will grow in the awareness of how little
divides them in comparison to what unites them. Fellowship in prayer leads
people to look at the Church and Christianity in a new way. It must not be
forgotten in fact that the Lord prayed to the Father that his disciples might be
one, so that their unity might bear witness to his mission and that the world
would believe that the Father had sent him. “Ecumenical prayer” is at the
service of the Christian mission and its credibility. It must be especially present
in the life of the Church and in every activity aimed at fostering Christian unity.

Vigils Reading - St John Paul II
2025-10-22
THE ONE SAVIOR OF ALL
From the Encyclical “Redemptoris Missio” by Pope St John Paul II
◊◊◊
The redemption event brings salvation to all, “for each one is included in
the mystery of the redemption and with each one Christ has united himself
forever through this mystery.” It is only in faith that the Church’s mission can be
understood and only in faith that it finds its basis.
If we go back to the beginnings of the Church, we find a clear affirmation
that Christ is the one Savior of all, the only one able to reveal God and lead to
God. In reply to the Jewish religious authorities who question the apostles
about the healing of the lame man, Peter says: “There is no other name under
heaven given men by which we must be saved”. This statement, which was made
to the Sanhedrin, has a universal value, since for all people – Jews and Gentiles
alike – salvation can only come from Jesus Christ.
The universality of this salvation in Christ is asserted throughout the New
Testament. St Paul acknowledges the risen Christ as the Lord. He writes:
“Although there may be so-called gods in heaven or on earth – as indeed there
are many ‘gods’ and many ‘lords’ – yet for us there is only one God, the Father,
from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ,
through whom are all things and through whom we exist”. One God and one
Lord are asserted by way of contrast to the multitude of “gods” and “lords”
commonly accepted. Paul reacts against the polytheism of the religious
environment of his time and emphasizes what is characteristic of the Christian
faith: belief in one God and one Lord sent by God.
In the Gospel of St John, this salvific universality of Christ embraces all
the aspects of his mission of grace, truth and revelation: the Word is “the true
light that enlightens every person”. And again: “no one has ever seen God; the
only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known”. God’s
revelation becomes definitive and complete through his only-begotten Son: “In
many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets; but in
these last days he has spoken to us by a Son, whom he appointed heir of all
things, through whom he created the world”.
In this definitive Word of his revelation, God has made himself known in
the fullest possible way. He revealed to mankind who he is. This definitive self-
revelation of God is the fundamental reason why the Church is missionary by
her very nature. She cannot do otherwise than proclaim the Gospel, that is, the
fullness of the truth which God has enabled us to know about himself…
No one, therefore, can enter into communion with God except through
Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit. Christ’s one, universal mediation, far
from being an obstacle on the journey toward God, is the way established by
God himself… It is precisely this uniqueness of Christ which gives him an
absolute and universal significance, whereby, while belonging to history, he
remains history’s center and goal: “…the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the
last, the beginning and the end.”

Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
2025-10-23
THE CALL OF THE APOSTLES
By Fr Romano Guardini
◊◊◊
What are “Apostles” really? Frankly; the impression we get from the New
Testament hardly permits us to claim that these men were great or ingenious in
the worldly sense. It is difficult even to count them “great religious
personalities,” if by this we mean bearers of inherent spiritual talents. John and
Paul were probably exceptions, but we only risk misunderstanding them both
by overstating this. On the whole, we do “Apostles” no service by considering
them great religious personalities. This attitude is usually the beginning of
unbelief. Personal importance, spiritual creativeness, dynamic faith are not
decisive in their lives. What counts is that Jesus Christ has called them, pressed
his seal upon them, and sent them forth.
“You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and have appointed you
that you should go and bear fruit”. Apostles then are those who are sent. It is
not they who speak, but Christ in them.
In his first Corinthian [letter] Paul distinguishes nicely between the
instructions of “the Lord” and what he, Paul, has to say. The Lord’s words are
commands; his own, suggestions. Each apostle is filled with Christ, saturated
with thought of Christ; the Lord, whom they represent, is the substance of their
life. What they teach is not what they have learned from personal “experience”
or “revelation,” it is God’s word, uttered upon God’s command: “Go, therefore,
and make disciples of all nations teaching them to observe all that I have
commanded you”. To this end alone have the apostles been called, and their
very limitations seem an added protection to the truth they bear.
When Jesus says: “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that
you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed
them to little ones”, it is an outburst of jubilation over the unutterable mystery
of God’s love and creative glory. Spiritually, the apostles are seldom more than
“little ones;” [and it is] precisely this [that] guarantees the purity of their role as
messenger.
To be nothing in oneself, everything in Christ; to be obliged to contain
such tremendous contents in so small a vessel; to be a constant herald with no
life of one’s own; to forego once and forever the happy unity of blood and heart
and spirit in all one does and is—something of the trials of such an existence
dawns on us when we read the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians, of that
Paul who experienced so deeply the simultaneous greatness and
questionableness of apostledom: “For I think God has set forth us the apostles
last of all, as men doomed to death, seeing that we have been made a spectacle
to the world, and to angels, and to men.”

Vigils Reading
2025-10-24
THE TRUE NATURE
OF THE CHURCH
From “Life and Holiness” by Thomas Merton
◊◊◊
We must not regard the Church purely as an institution or an
organization. She is certainly visible and clearly recognizable in her teachings,
her government, and her worship. These are the external lineaments through
which we may see the interior radiance of her soul. This soul is not merely
human, it is divine. It is the Holy Spirit itself. The Church, like Christ, lives and
acts in a manner at once human and divine. Certainly there is imperfection in
the human members of Christ, but their imperfection is inseparably united to
his perfection, sustained by his power, and purified by his holiness, as long as
they remain in living union with him by faith and love.
Through these members of his the Almighty Redeemer infallibly
sanctifies, guides, and instructs us, and he uses us also to express his love for
them. Hence the true nature of the Church is that of a body in which all the
members “bear one another’s burdens” and act as instruments of divine
providence in regard to one another. Those are most sanctified who enter most
fully into the life-giving Communion of Saints who dwell in Christ. Their joy is to
taste the pure streams of that river of life whose waters gladden the whole City of
God.
Our perfection is therefore not just an individual affair, it is also a
question of growth in Christ, deepening of our contact with him in and through
the Church… This means, of course, a closer union with our brethren in Christ, a
closer and more fruitful integration with them in the living, growing spiritual
organism of the Mystical Body.
This does not mean that spiritual perfection is a matter of social
conformism. The mere fact of becoming a well working cog in an efficient
religious machine will never make anyone into a saint if he does not seek God
interiorly in the sanctuary of his own soul.
For example, the common life of religious, regulated by traditional
observances and blessed by the authority of the Church, is obviously a most
precious means of sanctification. It is, for the religious, one of the essentials of
his state. But it is still only a framework. As such, it has its purpose. It must be
used. But the scaffolding must not be mistaken for the actual building. The real
building of the Church is a union of hearts in love, sacrifice, and self-
transcendence. The strength of this building depends on the extent to which the
Holy Spirit gains possession of each person’s heart, not on the extent to which
our exterior conduct is organized and disciplined by an expedient system.
Human social life inevitably requires a certain order, and those who love
their brother and sister in Christ will generously sacrifice themselves to
preserve this order. But…the most important, the most real, and lasting work of
the Christian is accomplished in the depths of his own soul. It cannot be seen by
anyone, even by himself. It is…the interior, anguished, almost desperately
solitary act by which we affirm our total subjection to God…

Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
2025-10-25
THE HUMILITY OF
GOD’S HANDMAIDEN
By St Bernard of Clairvaux
◊◊◊
You can be saved without virginity; without humility you cannot be.
Humility which deplores the loss of virginity can still find favor. Yet I dare say
that without humility not even Mary’s virginity would have been acceptable.
The Lord says, “Upon whom shall my Spirit rest, if not upon him that is humble
and contrite in spirit?” On the humble, he says, not on the virgin. Had Mary not
been humble, then the Holy Spirit would not have rested upon her. Had he not
rested upon her, she would not have become pregnant. How indeed could she
have conceived by him without him?
It seems evident then that she conceived by the Holy Spirit because, as she
herself said, God “regarded the humility of his handmaiden” rather than her
virginity. And even if it was because of her virginity that she found favor, she
conceived nevertheless on account of her humility. Thus there is no doubt that
her virginity was found pleasing because her humility made it so.
What have you to say to that, haughty virgin? Mary, making no account of
her virginity, was happy in her humility. Yet you, heedless of humility, preen
yourself on your virginity? “God has regarded the humility of his handmaiden,”
she says. Who is she? A holy virgin, if ever there was one! A sober virgin, a
devout virgin. Would you be more chaste than she? More devout? Do you fancy
that your modesty is so much more pleasing than Mary’s chastity that you on
your own can do without the humility she needed to find favor with God? If so,
to the extent that you are more worthy of respect because you have received a
singular gift of chastity, you do yourself more harm, because you tarnish its
beauty by the adulteration of pride.
It is better for you not to be a virgin than to be puffed up over your
virginity. Not everyone is a virgin, but there are still fewer who join humility to
virginity. So if you can do no more than admire Mary’s virginity, try to imitate
her humility and for you this will be enough. But if you are both a virgin and
humble, then whoever you are, you are great.

Skema 30th Week in Ordinary Time
2025-10-26
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
30th Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (C), Weekdays (I)
Oct. 26 – Nov. 1, 2025

Sun
26
Mon
27
Tue
28
Wed
29
Thu
30
Fri
31
Sat
1

Office
30th Sunday
Weekday
SS Simon & Jude
Weekday
Weekday
Weekday
All Saints

Vigils
Daniel 1:1-21
Daniel 2:1-25
1 Cor 4:1-16
Daniel 2:26-49
Daniel 3:1-23
Daniel 3:24-45
Rev 5:1-14

Lauds
Zech 8:12-17
Zech 8:18-23
Jerm 3:11-18
Zech 9: 1-7
Zech 9:8-10
Zech 9:11-17
Sir 44:1-15

Mass
150
479
666
481
482
483
667

1st
Sir 35:12-14, 16-18
Rom 8:12-17
Eph 2:19-22
Rom 8:26-30
Rom 8:31b-39
Rom 9:1-5
Rev 7:2-4, 9-14

2nd
2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18

1 Jn 3:1-3

Gospel
Luke 18:9-14
Luke 13:10-17
Luke 6:12-16
Luke 13:22-30
Luke 13:31-35
Luke 14:1-6
Matt 5:1-12a

Vespers
Jas 3:5b-12
Jas 3:13-18
Jude 17-21
Jas 4:1-4
Jas 4:5-12
Heb 11:32-12:2
Rev 19:5-9

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
2025-10-26
THE TAX COLLECTOR
AND THE PHARISEE
From a commentary by St Gregory Palamas1
◊◊◊
The spiritual champion of evil is full of resources for its furtherance. It has often happened that as soon as the foundations of virtue have been laid in a soul, he has begun to undermine them with despair and lack of faith. Often too, when the walls of the house of virtue were being built, he has assaulted them by means of inertia and indolence. Even when the house has been roofed over with good works, he has used arrogance and presumption to destroy it.
Nevertheless, stand firm and do not be afraid, for anyone zealous in doing good is even more resourceful. In resisting evil, virtue has the greater power, since it receives heavenly assistance from him who can do all things. And who confirms all virtue’s lovers in goodness. Consequently, virtue not only remains unmoved by the manifold wicked wiles of the adversary, but even has the power to raise up and restore those sunk in the depths of evil, and easily to lead them back to God through repentance and humility…
The tax collector, in spite of his profession and of having lived in the depths of sin, joins the ranks of those living upright lives through a single prayer, and that a short one, he is relieved of his burden of sin, he is lifted up, he rises above all evil, and is admitted to the company of the righteous, justified by the impartial judge himself. The Pharisee, on the other hand, is condemned by his prayer in spite of being a Pharisee, and in his own eyes a person of importance. Because his “righteousness” is false and his indolence extreme, every syllable he utters provokes God’s anger.
But why does humility raise us to the heights of holiness, and self-conceit plunges us into the abyss of sin? It is because when we have a high regard of ourselves, and that in the presence of God, He quite reasonably abandons us, since we think we have no need of His assistance. But when we regard ourselves as nothing and therefore look to heaven for mercy, it is not unreasonable that we should obtain God’s compassion, help and grace. For, as Scripture says: “The Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
“This man went away justified, and not the other”, says the Lord; “because all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted”. For since the devil is pride itself, and arrogance his own particular vice, this sin conquers and drags down with itself every human virtue tinged with it. Similarly, humility before God is the virtue of the good angels, and it conquers every human vice to which a sinner has fallen prey.
Humility is the chariot in which the ascent to God is made upon the clouds that are to carry up to Him those destined to be with God for endless ages, according to the apostle’s prophecy: “We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we always be with the Lord.” For humility is like a cloud. Produced by repentance, it draws streams of tears from the eyes, makes unworthy people worthy, and raises up and presents to God those freely justified by reason of their right dispositions
1 Journey with the Fathers – New City Press – 1984 – pg 128.

Vigils Weekday
2025-10-27
THE ENJOYMENT OF GOD
From “The Golden Epistle” by William of St Thierry 2
◊◊◊
To “seek the face of God” is to seek knowledge of him face to face, as Jacob saw him. It is of this knowledge the Apostle says: “Then I shall know as I am known; now we see in a confused reflection in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face, we shall see him as he is.” Always to seek God in this life by keeping the hands unstained and the heart clean is that piety which, as Job says, “is the worship of God.” The man who lacks it “has received his soul in vain,” that is to say, lives to no purpose or does not live at all, since he does not live the life to live which he received his soul.
This piety is the continual remembrance of God, an unceasing effort of the mind to know him, an unwearied concern of the affections o love him, so that, I will not say every day, but every hour finds the servant of God occupied in the labor of ascesis and the effort to make progress, or in the sweetness of experience and the joy of fruition. This is the piety concerning which the Apostle exhorts his beloved disciple in the words: “Train yourself to grow up in piety; for training the body avails but little, while piety is all-availing, since it promises well both for this life and for the next.
The habit you wear promises not only the outward form of piety but its substance, in all things and before all things, and that is what your vocation demands. For, as the apostle says again, there are some who exhibit the outward form of religion although they are strangers to its meaning.
If anyone among you does not possess this in his heart, display it in his life, practice it in his cell, he is to be called not a solitary but a man who is alone, and his cell is not a cell for him but a prison in which he is walled. For truly to be alone is not to have God with one. Truly to be walled in is not to be at liberty in God. Solitude and being walled in are words that denote wretchedness, whereas the cell should never involve being walled in by necessity but rather be the dwelling-place of peace, an inner chamber with closed door, a place not of concealment but of retreat.
The man who has God with him is never less alone than when he is alone. It is then he has undisturbed fruition of his joy. It is then he is his own master and is free to enjoy God in himself and himself in God. It is then that in the light of truth and the serenity of a clean heart a pure soul stands revealed to itself without effort, and the memory enlivened by God freely pours itself out in itself. Then either the mind is enlightened and the will enjoys its good or human frailty freely weeps over its shortcomings.
Accordingly as your vocation demands, dwelling in heaven rather than in cells, you have shut out the world, whole and entire, from yourselves and shut up yourselves, whole and entire, with God. For the cell (cella) and heaven (coelum) are akin to one another: the resemblance between the words is borne out by the devotion they both involve. For both appear to be derived from celare, to hide, and the same thing is hidden in cells as in heaven, the same occupation characterizes both the one and the other. What is this? Leisure devoted to God, the enjoyment of God.
2
The Golden Epistle – William of St Thierry – Cistercian Fathers Series #12 – Cistercian Publications – Kalamazoo, MI – 1971 – pg.

Weekday Vigils
2025-10-27
THE ENJOYMENT OF GOD
From “The Golden Epistle” by William of St Thierry 2
◊◊◊
To “seek the face of God” is to seek knowledge of him face to face, as Jacob saw him. It is of this knowledge the Apostle says: “Then I shall know as I am known; now we see in a confused reflection in a mirror, but then we shall see face to face, we shall see him as he is.” Always to seek God in this life by keeping the hands unstained and the heart clean is that piety which, as Job says, “is the worship of God.” The man who lacks it “has received his soul in vain,” that is to say, lives to no purpose or does not live at all, since he does not live the life to live which he received his soul.
This piety is the continual remembrance of God, an unceasing effort of the mind to know him, an unwearied concern of the affections to love him, so that, I will not say every day, but every hour finds the servant of God occupied in the labor of ascesis and the effort to make progress, or in the sweetness of experience and the joy of fruition. This is the piety concerning which the Apostle exhorts his beloved disciple in the words: “Train yourself to grow up in piety; for training the body avails but little, while piety is all-availing, since it promises well both for this life and for the next.
The habit you wear promises not only the outward form of piety but its substance, in all things and before all things, and that is what your vocation demands. For, as the apostle says again, there are some who exhibit the outward form of religion although they are strangers to its meaning.
If anyone among you does not possess this in his heart, display it in his life, practice it in his cell, he is to be called not a solitary but a man who is alone, and his cell is not a cell for him but a prison in which he is walled. For truly to be alone is not to have God with one. Truly to be walled in is not to be at liberty in God. Solitude and being walled in are words that denote wretchedness, whereas the cell should never involve being walled in by necessity but rather be the dwelling-place of peace, an inner chamber with closed door, a place not of concealment but of retreat.
The man who has God with him is never less alone than when he is alone. It is then he has undisturbed fruition of his joy. It is then he is his own master and is free to enjoy God in himself and himself in God. It is then that in the light of truth and the serenity of a clean heart a pure soul stands revealed to itself without effort, and the memory enlivened by God freely pours itself out in itself. Then either the mind is enlightened and the will enjoys its good or human frailty freely weeps over its shortcomings.
Accordingly as your vocation demands, dwelling in heaven rather than in cells, you have shut out the world, whole and entire, from yourselves and shut up yourselves, whole and entire, with God. For the cell (cella) and heaven (coelum) are akin to one another: the resemblance between the words is borne out by the devotion they both involve. For both appear to be derived from celare, to hide, and the same thing is hidden in cells as in heaven, the same occupation characterizes both the one and the other. What is this? Leisure devoted to God, the enjoyment of God.
2
The Golden Epistle – William of St Thierry – Cistercian Fathers Series #12 – Cistercian Publications – Kalamazoo, MI – 1971 – pg.
