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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260728
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260729
DTSTAMP:20260726T115142Z
CREATED:20260726T115142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260726T115142Z
UID:15290-1785196800-1785283199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “On Contemplating God” by \nWILLIAM OF ST THIERRY \n◊◊◊ \nMay all unrighteousness take its departure from my soul\, that I may love \nthe Lord my God with all my heart\, and with all my soul\, and with all my \nstrength! Let all jealousy depart from me\, lest I should love anything along with \nyou that I do not love for your sake\, true Lord and only Love! For when I love \nanything for your sake\, I love not it\, but you for whose sake I love that which I \nlove. For you truly only are the Lord. To be ruled by you is for us salvation. For \nus to serve you is nothing else but to be saved by you! \nNow how is it we are saved by you\, O Lord\, from whom salvation comes \nand whose blessing is upon your people\, if it is not in receiving from you the gift \nof loving you and being loved by you? That\, Lord\, is why you willed that the Son \nof your right hand\, the Man whom you made strong for your own self\, should be \ncalled Jesus\, that is to say\, Savior\, for he will save his people from their sins. \nThere is no other in whom is salvation except him who taught us to love himself \nwhen he first loved us\, even to death on the cross. By loving and holding us so \ndear he stirred us up to love himself\, who first had loved us to the end. This is the \nrighteousness of the sons of men: “Love me\, for I love you.” \nOne seldom meets a person who can say: “I love you\, in order that you \nmay love me!” But\, as the servant of your love proclaims and preaches\, you who \nfirst loved us did this\, precisely this. You first loved us so that we might love you. \nAnd that was not because you needed to be loved by us\, but because we could \nnot be what you created us to be\, except by loving you. \nHaving then in many ways and on various occasions spoken to the fathers \nby the prophets\, now in these last days you have spoken to us in the Son\, your \nWord\, by whom the heavens were established\, and all the power of them by the \nbreath of his mouth. For you to speak thus in your Son was an open declaration\, \na “setting in the sun” as it were\, of how much and in what sort of way you loved \nus\, in that you spared not your own Son\, but delivered him up for us all. Yes\, and \nhe himself loved us and gave himself for us. \nThis\, Lord\, is your word to us\, this is your all-powerful message: he who\, \nwhile all things kept silence (that is\, were in the depths of error)\, came from the \nroyal throne\, the stern opponent of error and the gentle apostle of love. And \neverything he did and everything he said on earth\, even the insults\, the spitting\, \nthe buffeting\, the cross and the grave\, all that was nothing but yourself speaking \nin the Son\, appealing to us by your love and stirring up our love for you… \nSitting upon your throne and judging righteous judgment\, you judge the \nrighteousness that you yourself have made. Thus will every mouth be shut\, and \nthe whole world be made subject to God\, when you have pity on him on whom \nyou will have pity\, and extend mercy to him to whom you will be merciful. We \ncould not with justice have been saved\, had we not loved you\, nor could we have \nloved you\, save by your gift. You willed\, therefore\, that we should love you. So\, \nLord\, as the Apostle of your love tells us\, and as we ourselves have said before\, \nyou “first loved us”; and you love all your lovers first.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-452/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260729
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260730
DTSTAMP:20260726T115354Z
CREATED:20260726T115354Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260726T115354Z
UID:15292-1785283200-1785369599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Martha\, Mary & Lazarus
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX \n◊◊◊ \nHe who is our life hastens to a tomb to lead out of the tomb someone four \ndays dead. He seeks Lazarus so he might be sought and found by him. In this is \ncharity\, not that we loved him\, but that he first loved us. Come then\, Lord\, seek \nhim whom you love\, that you may make him love and seek you. Ask where they \nhave laid him\, for he lies captive\, bound\, and burdened… \nBut what of this: Lord\, he now stinks\, for it is the fourth day? Maybe \nsomeone doesn’t immediately get the meaning of this stinking and of these four \ndays. I think the first day is the day of fear. By its brilliance in our hearts we die \nto sin and\, as it were\, are buried in our conscience. The second day\, if I am not \nmistaken\, is spent in strife. It is usually true that in the first stages of \nconversion\, temptation to bad habits rises up more fiercely\, and the fiery darts \nof the devil cannot easily be extinguished. The third seems to be one of grief\, \nwhen a person looks back upon his life in bitterness of soul and does not so \nmuch work for a change of direction in the future as bewail a lamentable past. \nAre you surprised that I call these days? But such as these are destined for \nthe grave\, days of mist and darkness\, days of grief and bitterness. There follows \na day of shame\, not unlike the other three\, when the pitiful soul is covered in \ndreadful confusion while it looks unceasingly at its sins\, considering their \nnature and magnitude\, and under the gaze of the heart it keeps mulling over the \ndisgraceful images of its sins. A soul of this kind doesn’t dissemble but judges; it \npiles up everything… \nTherefore\, Lazarus\, come forth. Deep calls to deep\, the deep of light and \npity\, the deep of misery and darkness. His goodness is greater than your \niniquity\, and where there is abundance of sin\, he gives abundance of grace. \nLazarus\, come forth\, he says. And if he were to speak more openly\, he would say \n“How long will the darkness of your conscience hold you back? How long will \nyou weep in your bed with a heavy heart? Come forth\, advance\, breathe freely of \nthe light of my pity…” \nThe prophet sings more plainly in the Psalms about this raising of \nLazarus\, you will not leave my soul in hell\, because…the consciousness of a \nguilty mind is an imprisoning hell. You will not leave your holy one – not a \nholiness that is his own\, obviously\, but yours\, the one you yourself make holy – \nto see corruption. Indeed the fourth day is near to corruption\, for he began to \nstink. \nHe was approaching complete decay and entering the abyss of evil where \nthe impious reviles. But when the powerful voice comes and he is brought back \nto life by it\, he gives thanks\, saying\, you have shown me the path of life\, you \nhave filled me with joy in your presence. You have called me to contemplate it; \nyou have led my soul out of the depths while my spirit within me was troubled \nby seeing the dreadful face of my conscience. He called with a loud voice\, says \nthe gospel\, Lazarus\, come forth: in a loud voice surely filled not so much with \nsound as with piety and great strength.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-martha-mary-lazarus-5/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260730
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260731
DTSTAMP:20260726T115515Z
CREATED:20260726T115515Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260726T115515Z
UID:15294-1785369600-1785455999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST JOHN HENRY NEWMAN \n◊◊◊ \nPersons are aware from the mere force of the doctrines of which the \ngospel consists\, that they ought to be variously affected\, and deeply and \nintensely too\, in consequence of them. The doctrines of original and actual sin\, \nof Christ’s divinity and atonement\, and of holy baptism\, are so vast\, that no one \ncan realize them without very complicated and profound feelings. Natural \nreason tells us this\, and that if we simply and genuinely believe the doctrines\, we \nmust have these feelings; and we profess to believe the doctrines absolutely\, and \ntherefore we profess the correspondent feelings. But in truth we perhaps do not \nreally believe them absolutely…and therefore our profession of feeling outruns \nthe real inward existence of feeling\, or we become unreal. Let us never lose sight \nof two truths\, – that we ought to have our hearts penetrated with the love of \nChrist and full of self-renunciation; but if they be not\, professing that they are \ndoes not make them so. \nAnother still more common form of the same fault\, yet without any \ndefinite pretense or effort\, is the mode in which people speak of the shortness \nand vanity of life\, the certainty of death\, and the joys of heaven. They have \ncommonplaces in their mouths\, which they bring forth upon occasions for the \ngood of others\, or to console them\, or as a proper and becoming mark of \nattention towards them. Thus they speak to clergymen in a professedly serious \nway\, making remarks true and sound\, and in themselves deep\, yet unmeaning \nin their mouths; or they give advice to children and young men; or perhaps in \nlow spirits or sickness they are led to speak in a religious strain as if it was \nspontaneous. \nOr when they fall into sin\, they speak of being frail\, of the deceitfulness of \nthe human heart\, of God’s mercy\, and so on: – all of these great words\, heaven\, \nhell\, judgment\, mercy\, repentance\, works\, the world that now is\, the world to \ncome\, being little more than “lifeless sounds\, whether of pipe or harp\,” in their \nmouths and ears\, as the “very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice and \ncan play well on an instrument\,” – as the properties of conversation\, or the \ncivilities of good breeding. \nI am speaking of the conduct of the world at large\, called Christian; but \nwhat has been said applies\, and necessarily\, to the case of a number of well- \ndisposed or even religious men. I mean\, that before we come to know the \nrealities of human life\, it is not wonderful that our view of religion should be \nunreal. Young people who have never known sorrow or anxiety\, or the sacrifices \nwhich conscientiousness involves\, want commonly that depth and seriousness \nof character\, which sorrow only and anxiety and self-sacrifice can give. \nI do not notice this as a fault\, but as a plain fact\, which may often be seen\, \nand which it is well to bear in mind. This is the legitimate use of this world\, to \nmake us seek for another. It does its part when it repels us and disgusts us and \ndrives us elsewhere. Experience of it gives experience of that which is its \nantidote\, in the case of religious minds; and we become real in our view of what \nis spiritual by the contact of things temporal and earthly.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-453/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260731
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260801
DTSTAMP:20260726T115707Z
CREATED:20260726T115707Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260726T115707Z
UID:15296-1785456000-1785542399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Ignatius of Loyola
DESCRIPTION:A reading from the Papal Bull of Pope Paul III\, \nAPPROVING THE JESUIT ORDER \n◊◊◊ \nOf Late we have learned that our beloved sons Ignatius of Loyola\, Peter \nFaber\, James Laynez\, Francis Xavier\, Claude le Jay [and others]\, priests\, \nmasters of arts\, and graduates of the University of Paris\, and students of some \nyears’ standing in theology\, inspired\, as they piously believe\, by the Holy Spirit\, \nassembled together and forming an association\, forsook the allurements of the \nage to dedicate their lives to the perpetual service of our Lord Jesus Christ and \nof ourselves and our successors\, the Roman pontiffs. \nNow for many years they have labored nobly in the vineyard of the Lord\, \npublicly preaching the word of God under a tentative license\, privately \nexhorting the faithful to a good and blessed life and stimulating them to holy \nthoughts\, assisting in hospitals\, instructing the young and ignorant in the truths \nessential for the development of a Christian\, and performing all these offices of \ncharity and acts for the consolation of souls with great approbation in whatever \nlands they have visited. \nThen\, gathering in this beautiful city and remaining within its confines in \norder to complete and preserve the union of their society in Christ\, they have \ndrawn up a rule of life in accordance with the principles which they have learned \nby experience will promote their desired ends\, and in conformity with \nevangelical precepts and the canonical sanctions of the fathers. The tenor of the \naforesaid rule is as follows: \nHe who desires to fight for God under the banner of the cross in our society — \nwhich we wish to distinguish by the name of Jesus – and to serve God alone and \nthe Roman pontiff\, his vicar on earth\, after a solemn vow of perpetual chastity\, \nshall set this thought before his mind\, that he is a part of a society founded for \nthe special purpose of providing for the advancement of souls in Christian life \nand doctrine and for the propagation of the faith through public preaching and \nthe ministry of the word of God\, spiritual exercises and deeds of charity\, and in \nparticular through the training of the young and ignorant in Christianity and \nthrough the spiritual consolation of the faithful of Christ in hearing confessions; \nand he shall take care to keep first God and next the purpose of this organization \nalways before his eyes.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-ignatius-of-loyola-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260801
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260802
DTSTAMP:20260726T120218Z
CREATED:20260726T120218Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260726T120218Z
UID:15301-1785542400-1785628799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Alphonsus Ligouri
DESCRIPTION:A reading by Jean Delumeau on \nST ALPHONSUS LIGOURI \n◊◊◊ \nAlphonsus’ destiny was not an ordinary one. Born into the Neapolitan \nnobility [in 1696]\, the son of a military man\, a highly gifted student who was \ndrawn to music\, painting\, drawing\, and architecture\, he became a lawyer at \nsixteen. Naples admired this brilliant young man…who mingled with the finest \nintellects of the city. The Neapolitans were surprised when he became a priest \nagainst the will of his authoritarian father\, and utterly amazed when they \ndiscovered him in the poorest neighborhoods\, preaching to the illiterate in \nremarkable evening sermons. \nOne day\, to the surprise of nearly everyone\, he fled from Naples on a \ndonkey to consecrate his life to preaching missions in the most abandoned rural \nareas. But it was difficult to found a new religious congregation [since] there \nwere already too many secular and regular priests and too many convents in this \npoor and badly administered country. He had to return to Naples far more often \nthan he wanted to plead as a lawyer for the survival of his fragile institution\, [the \nRedemptorists]. Badly shaved or unshaven\, he argued endlessly\, in his patched \ncassock\, with government ministers who respected him and considered him a \nsaint but who did not always give in to him. \n[Once established in the rural areas\, he found] that country-people\, and \nparticularly those from the most backward regions\, were under-Christianized\, \n[and he] decided to devote [his] life to them and forbade [his] disciples to \npreach in the big cities. [He] did not neglect even the most modest hamlets and \neliminated all embellishments and complexities from [his] preaching. [He] \ninsisted more on catechism than on eloquence and aimed at simplicity with \nsimple people. This was the reason for [his] popularity. \nAlphonsus’ originality lay in the fact that he was a musician\, having \nfrequented as a boy the Oratorians in Naples who preserved and developed the \nmusical tradition started by Saint Philip Neri… \nTwo tragic paradoxes marked the last thirty-five years of his life. He had \nsworn to himself that he would not become a bishop\, but he had to accept the \nnomination on direct orders from Rome\, where echoes of his saintliness had \nspread. Having finally succeeded in resigning from the bishopric for health \nreasons\, he had hoped to end his days peacefully among his [religious] “sons”. \nBy the time of his death [in 1787\, at 91 years of age]\, he had been excluded\, \ntogether with his Neapolitan brothers\, from the Congregation he had founded. \nRome recognized only the Redemptorists of the Papal States and excluded from \nthe Congregation those who continued to live and work further south. \nIt was not easy to be a saint\, not easy to cut oneself off from a brilliant \nsocial milieu\, or to go against a father’s will\, or to argue inch-by-inch with \nChurch and State. Above all it was not easy to fight against oneself as Alphonsus \ndid\, for he was by nature quick-tempered and strong-willed. He was very hard \non himself\, but his spiritual message to others was one of trust\, hope and \nmoderation. He was tormented by scruples but he tried to preserve others from \nthem. He gained self-mastery through fasting\, mortification\, work\, and lack of \nsleep\, so that he was generally seen by others as having a “heavenly face…gentle\, \njoyful\, and kind.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-alphonsus-ligouri-5/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260802
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260803
DTSTAMP:20260802T110803Z
CREATED:20260802T110803Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260802T110803Z
UID:15318-1785628800-1785715199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n18th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nAugust 2 – 8\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n2\nMon\n3\nTue\n4\nWed\n5\nThu\n6\nFri\n7\nSat\n8\n\n\nOffice\n18th Sunday\nWeekday\nSt John Vianney\nWeekday\nTransfiguration of the Lord\nSt Cajetan\nSt Dominic\n\n\nVigils\n1 Mac 4:26-61\n1 Mac 5:1-23\n1 Mac 5:24-44\n1 Mac 5:45-68\n2 Cor 3:7-4:6\n1 Mac 6:1-17\n1 Mac 6:18-41\n\n\nLauds\nJoel 1:1-8\nJoel 1:9-12\nJoel 1:13-20\nJoel 2:1-6\nSir 48:1-11\nJoel 2:7-11\nJoel 2:12-17\n\n\nMass\n112\n407\n408\n409\n614\n411\n412\n\n\n1st\nIsa 55:1-3\nJer 28:1-17\nJer 30:1-2\, 12-15\, 18-22\nJer 31:1-7\nDan 7:9-10\, 13-14\nNah 2:1\, 3; 3:1-3\, 6-7\nHab 1:12-2:4\n\n\n2nd\nRom 8:35\, 37-39\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 14:13-21\nMatt 14:22-36\nMatt 15:1-2\, 10-14\nMatt 15:21-28\nMatt 17:1-9\nMatt 16:24-28\nMatt 17:14-20\n\n\nVespers\n2 Timothy 1:1-8\n2 Tim 1:9-18\n2 Tim 2:1-7\n2 Tim 2:8-13\n1 Jn 5:9-12\n2 Tim 2:14-19\n2 Tim 2:20-26
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-162/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260802
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260803
DTSTAMP:20260802T110938Z
CREATED:20260802T110938Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260802T110938Z
UID:15320-1785628800-1785715199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 18th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST EPHREM THE SYRIAN \n◊◊◊ \nOur Lord in a desert place changed a few loaves into many\, and at Cana \nturned water into wine. Thus before the time came to give men and women his \nown body and blood to feed on\, he accustomed their palates to his bread and \nwine\, giving them a taste of transitory bread and wine to teach them to delight in \nhis life-giving body and blood. He gave them things of little value for nothing to \nmake them understand that his supreme gift would be given yet more freely. He \ngave them for nothing what they would have bought from him\, what in fact they \nwanted to buy to teach them that he asked them for no payment. When it was \nnot permitted them to give him the price of bread and wine\, which they could \nhave done\, they certainly could not pay him for his body and blood. \nMoreover\, as well as giving freely he lovingly cajoled us\, offering us these \nsmall things without charge to attract us and cause us to go and receive \nsomething greater and beyond all price. He awakened our desire by things \npleasing to the palate in order to draw us to that which gives life to the soul. He \ngave a sweet taste to the wine he created to show how great is the treasure \nhidden in his life-giving blood. \nConsider how his creative power penetrates everything. Our Lord took a \nlittle bread\, and in the twinkling of an eye multiplied it. Work that would take us \nten months to accomplish he did with his ten fingers in a moment. His hands \nwere as earth beneath the bread and his voice was as thunder above it. The \nmovement of his lips acted as dew\, the breath of his mouth as sunlight\, and in a \nbrief moment he accomplished what normally takes much time. Thus the \nshortage was forgotten\, many loaves came from few as in the first blessing: Be \nfruitful and multiply and fill the earth. \nThe Lord also showed to those to whom he gave his precepts the power of \nhis holy word\, and how swiftly he would reward those who accepted it. \nNevertheless\, he did not increase the number of loaves as much as he could have \ndone\, but only enough to satisfy those who were to eat them. His power was not \nthe measure of his miracle\, but the people’s hunger. Had his miracle been \nmeasured by his power it would have been a victory beyond all measure. \nMeasured by the hunger of thousands\, there was a surplus of twelve baskets full. \nHumans who practice any craft always fall short of their customer’s desires – \nthey are unable to meet their requirements; but what God does goes beyond \nanyone’s desire. The Lord said: Gather up what remains so that nothing is \nwasted because he wanted to be sure they would not think they had seen a \nvision. When the fragments had been kept for a day or two they would believe \nthat the Lord had really done this\, and they had not just imagined it.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-18th-sunday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260803
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260804
DTSTAMP:20260802T111137Z
CREATED:20260802T111137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260802T111137Z
UID:15322-1785715200-1785801599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from the encyclical “Ut Unum Sint” by \nPOPE ST JOHN PAUL II \n◊◊◊ \nThe Catholic Church affirms that during the two thousand years of her \nhistory she has been preserved in unity\, with all the means with which God \nwishes to endow His Church\, and this despite the often grave crises which have \nshaken her\, the infidelity of some of her ministers\, and the faults into which her \nmembers daily fall. The Catholic Church knows that\, by virtue of the strength \nwhich comes to her from the spirit\, the weaknesses\, mediocrity\, sins and at \ntimes the betrayals of some of her children cannot destroy what God has \nbestowed on her as part of his plan of grace. \nMoreover\, “the powers of death shall not prevail against it”. Even so\, the \nCatholic Church does not forget that many among her members cause God’s \nplan to be discernible only with difficulty. Speaking of the lack of unity among \nChristians\, the Decree on Ecumenism does not ignore the fact that “people of \nboth sides were to blame”\, and acknowledge that responsibility cannot be \nattributed only to the “other side”. By God’s grace\, however\, neither what \nbelongs to the structure of the Church of Christ nor that communion which still \nexists with the other Churches and Ecclesial Communities has been destroyed. \nIndeed the elements of sanctification and truth present in the other \nChristian Communities\, in a degree which varies from one to the other\, \nconstitute the objective basis of the communion\, albeit imperfect\, which exists \nbetween them and the Catholic Church. \nTo the extent that these elements are found in other Christian \nCommunities\, the one Church of Christ is effectively present in them. For this \nreason the Second Vatican Council speaks of a certain\, though imperfect \ncommunion… The Catholic Church “recognizes that in many ways she is linked” \nwith these Communities by a true union in the spirit… \nFor there are many who honor Sacred scripture\, taking it as a norm of \nbelief and of action\, and who show a true religious zeal. They lovingly believe in \nGod the Father almighty and in Christ\, Son of God and Savior. They are \nconsecrated by Baptism\, through which they are united with Christ. They also \nrecognize and receive other sacraments within their own Churches or Ecclesial \nCommunities. Many of them rejoice in the episcopate\, celebrate the Holy \nEucharist\, and cultivate devotion toward the Virgin Mother of God. They also \nshare with us in prayer and other spiritual benefits. \nLikewise we can say that in some real way they are joined with us in the \nHoly spirit\, for to them also He gives His gifts and graces\, and is thereby \noperative among them with his sanctifying power. Some indeed he has \nstrengthened to the extent of shedding their blood. In all of Christ’s disciples the \nspirit arouses the desire to be peacefully united\, in the manner determined by \nChrist\, as one flock under one shepherd… \nAll of these elements bear within themselves a tendency toward unity\, \nhaving their fullness in that unity. Ecumenism is directed precisely to making \nthe partial communion existing between Christians grow toward full \ncommunion in truth and charity.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-454/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260804
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260805
DTSTAMP:20260802T111258Z
CREATED:20260802T111258Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260802T111258Z
UID:15324-1785801600-1785887999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St John Vianney
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST JOHN VIANNEY \n◊◊◊ \nMy dear brethren\, not only is prayer very efficacious\, but\, even more\, it is \nof the utmost necessity for overcoming the enemies of our salvation. Look at all \nthe saints: they were not content with watching and fighting to overcome the \nenemies of their salvation and with keeping well away from all that could offer \ntemptation to them. They passed their whole lives in prayer\, not only the day\, \nbut very often the whole night. Yes\, my dear children\, we will watch over \nourselves and all the motions of our hearts in vain\, in vain will we avoid \ntemptation if we do not pray; if we do not have continual recourse to prayer\, all \nour other ways will be of no use at all to us and we shall be overcome. We can see \nplainly that in the world there are a great many occasions when we cannot run \naway; for example\, a child cannot run away from the society of his parents \nbecause of their bad example. But he can pray\, and his prayer will sustain him. \nEven supposing that we could run away from people who give us bad \nexample\, we cannot run away from ourselves\, who are our biggest enemy. If our \nLord does not watch over our preservation\, all of our efforts will come to \nnothing. No\, my [brethren]\, we shall not find any sinner who may be converted \nwho has not recourse to prayer\, not one who will persevere without having very \ngreat recourse to prayer\, and we shall never find a Christian damned whose \ndownfall did not commence with a lack of prayer. We can see too haw much the \nDevil fears those who pray\, since there is no moment of the day when he tempts \nus more than at prayer. He does everything he possibly can to prevent us from \npraying. When the Devil wants to make someone lose his soul\, he starts out by \ninspiring in him a profound distaste for prayer. However good a Christian he \nmay be\, if the Devil succeeds in making him either say his prayers badly or \nneglect them altogether\, he is certain to have him for himself. \nIf you wish to understand this even better\, consider [the times] when you \nhave been unable to resist whatever temptations [are] put in your way\, and [the \ntime] when you have left the door of your hearts open to the four winds—is it not \nsince you began to get careless with your prayers\, or have been saying them \nfrom habit\, by routine only\, or just to get rid of them\, and not to please God? \nYes\, my dear brethren\, from the moment that we neglect them\, we move with \nbig steps towards Hell: we shall never return to God if we do not have recourse \nto prayer. Yes\, my [brethren]\, with a prayer well said\, we can command Heaven \nand earth\, and all will obey us.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-john-vianney-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260805
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260806
DTSTAMP:20260802T111409Z
CREATED:20260802T111409Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260802T111409Z
UID:15326-1785888000-1785974399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nHANS URS VON BALTHASAR \n◊◊◊ \nThe Church lives in an incomprehensible place between earth and \nheaven\, between death and eternal life\, between the old world that is passing \naway and the new and incorruptible world. The Christian has died with Christ in \nbaptism but has also (as St Paul assures him) risen up with Christ and ascended \nwith him into heaven\, and he lives in time on the basis of eternal life and \noriented toward eternal life. As he follows Christ\, he goes toward suffering and \ndeath\, and yet he lives out of the real power of the risen Christ. \nThus Christian existence embraces the span between penitence and \nfeast. We are reminded of this by the Church year with its seasons of Advent and \nLent and yet with its unbroken succession of feasts great and small. This \nsequence gives us a symbol of something that\, on a deeper level\, is a mutual \ncompenetration\, a third paradox of our Christian existence. But just as heaven is \nvictorious over earth\, and resurrection over death\, so for the Christian must \neven penitence\, suffering\, and death be lived out of a disposition of the \ncelebration of a feast: the feast of the wedding of God with his redeemed world. \nIt is well known that the solemnities of the Old Testament all grew out of \nthanksgiving feasts for harvest. Where the earth bears fruit and holds feast\, man \nholds a feast with it in thankfulness… Everywhere the joy at harvest shimmers \nthrough the Mazzoth feast of unleavened bread\, the Pentecost feast of the \nfirstfruits of the wheat harvest\, and the feast of booths in the plucking of fruit \nand grapes\, when people slept in booths in the open fields and beside the \nvineyard: and perhaps no one even today can celebrate a religious feast with \nsuch a natural joy and cheerfulness as the Jews. \nThere are prayers\, but there are also songs and dances as a means of \ngiving thanks to God. Has this cheerfulness remained anywhere on the faces of \nthe Christians who celebrate a feast? It is true that the mystery that they \ncelebrate lies on a deeper level – but is it not also greater? Ought not the joy too \nbe a much deeper joy? What are religious harvest thanksgiving festivals\, even \nindeed when they are concerned with the rescuing of Israel\, compared with the \nunforeseeable harvest of bread and wine in the New and eternal Covenant? The \nwhole earth is now bread and wine. Must not the genuinely human joy be \npermitted to break through at this point? Would not a song by thousands of \nvoices…be the expression of what the Apostle says: “Rejoice in the Lord always; \nagain I say rejoice…” \nIt is not a worldly enthusiasm that we are to draw forth from the feast but \na strength that comes from the insight into the essence of God’s love. And it is \nnot herself that the Church celebrates; she is not enthusiastic about herself but \nonly about her Head and Lord. It is not the emotional atmosphere that is \nimportant but the matter itself. And this is God\, who becomes man among us in \norder to die for us… \nThe object of our celebration is Jesus Christ in his love that goes until the \nend\, in his power to lay down his life and to take it up again\, in his creative might \nto make the gift of himself to us in the forms of bread and wine\, in order to be \ninconceivably one with humanity.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-455/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260806
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260807
DTSTAMP:20260802T111556Z
CREATED:20260802T111556Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260802T111556Z
UID:15328-1785974400-1786060799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Transfiguration of the Lord
DESCRIPTION:A reading from the last “Angelus” message of \nPOPE ST PAUL VI \n◊◊◊ \nThe Transfiguration of Our Lord\, recalled by the liturgy of today’s \nsolemnity throws a dazzling light on our daily life\, and makes us turn our mind \nto the immortal destiny which that fact foreshadows. On Mount Tabor\, Christ \nreveals for a few moments the splendor of his dignity\, and he manifests himself \nto chosen witnesses as he really is\, the Son of God\, “the glory of God and the \nvery stamp of his nature”. But it also shows the transcendent destiny of our \nhuman nature\, which he assumed in order to save us\, and which is destined – \nbecause redeemed by his sacrifice of irrevocable love – to participate in the \nfullness of life\, “in the inheritance of the saints in light”. \nThat body\, which is transfigured before the astonished eyes of the \napostles\, is the body of Christ our brother\, but it is also our body called to glory. \nThat light\, which bathes it\, is and also will be our share of inheritance and of \nsplendor. We are called to share such great glory because we are “partakers of \nthe divine nature”. And incomparable destiny awaits us if we honor our \nChristian vocation\, if we live a life that is logically consistent in word and deed \nwith the commitments that our baptism imposes on us…
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-transfiguration-of-the-lord-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260807
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260808
DTSTAMP:20260802T111728Z
CREATED:20260802T111728Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260802T111728Z
UID:15330-1786060800-1786147199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Cajetan
DESCRIPTION:A reading from Butler’s Lives of the Saints \nST CAJETAN \n◊◊◊ \nSt Cajetan was son of Caspar\, Count of Thiene\, of the nobility of Vicenza\, \nwhere he was born in 1480. Two years later his father was killed\, fighting for the \nVenetians against King Ferdinand of Naples. Cajetan went for four years to \nPadua University\, where he distinguished himself in theology\, and took the \ndegree of doctor in civil and canon law in 1504. He then returned to his native \ntown\, of which he was made senator. In pursuance of his resolve to serve God as \na priest he received the tonsure. In 1506 he went to Rome. Soon after his arrival \nPope Julius II conferred on him the office of protonotary… On the death of \nJulius Cajetan refused his successor’s request to continue in that office\, and \ndevoted three years to preparing himself for the priesthood. He was ordained in \n1516\, being thirty-three years old\, and returned to Vicenza in 1518. \nCajetan had re-founded a confraternity in Rome called “The Oratory of \nthe Divine Love”\, which was an association of zealous and devout clerics who \ndevoted themselves to labor with all their power to promote God’s honor and \nthe welfare of souls… but consisted only of men in the lowest station of life. This \ncircumstance gave great offense to his friends\, who thought it a reflection on the \nhonor of his family. He persisted\, however\, and sought out the sick and the poor \nthroughout the whole town\, served them and cared for those who suffered from \nthe most loathsome diseases in the hospital of the incurables. He founded a \nsimilar oratory at Verona and then went in 1520 to Venice where he took up his \nlodgings in the new hospital of that city… He introduced exposition of the \nBlessed Sacrament in that city\, as well as continuing the promotion of frequent \ncommunion. \nThe state of Christendom at this time shocked and distressed Cajetan\, and \nin 1523 he went back to Rome to confer with his friends of the Oratory of Divine \nLove. They agreed that little could be done other than by reviving in the clergy \nthe spirit and zeal of those holy pastors who first planted the faith\, and a plan \nwas formed for instituting an order of regular clergy upon the model of the lives \nof the Apostles. The first associates of Cajetan were John Peter Caraffa\, who \nlater became pope under the name of Paul IV. The institute was approved by \nClement VII\, and Caraffa was chosen as the first provost general. From the \nname of his episcopal see of Theatensis these clerks regular came to be \ndistinguished from others as Theatines… \nIn 1527\, when it still numbered only a dozen members\, the army of \nEmperor Charles V sacked Rome. The Theatines house was demolished and the \nmembers had to escape to Venice. Cajetan was sent to Verona\, where both the \nclergy and the laity were opposing the reformation of discipline\, which their \nbishop was endeavoring to introduce among them. A general improvement was \nthe fruit of his example\, preaching and labors. \nWorn out with trying to appease civil strife in Naples\, and disappointed at \nthe suspension of the Council of Trent\, from which he hoped so much for the \nChurch’s good\, Cajetan had to take to his bed in the summer of 1547. The end \ncame on Sunday\, August 7. Many miracles wrought by his intercession were \napproved at Rome after rigorous scrutiny\, and he was canonized in 1671.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-cajetan-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260808
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260809
DTSTAMP:20260802T111833Z
CREATED:20260802T111833Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260802T111833Z
UID:15332-1786147200-1786233599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Dominic
DESCRIPTION:A reading on the prayer of \nST DOMINIC \n◊◊◊ \nThe holy father Dominic also had another beautiful way of praying\, full of \ndevotion and grace. After the canonical Hours and the grace which is said in \ncommon after meals\, the father would go off quickly on his own to a cell or \nsomewhere\, sober and alert and anointed with a spirit of devotion which he had \ndrawn from the divine words which had been sung in choir or during the meal; \nthere he would sit down to read or pray\, recollecting himself in himself and \nfixing himself in the presence of God. \nSitting there quietly he would open some book before him\, arming \nhimself first with the sign of the cross\, and then he would read. And he would be \nmoved in his mind as delightfully as if he heard the Lord speaking to him. As the \nPsalm says\, “I will hear what the Lord God is saying in me.” It was as if he were \narguing with a friend; at one moment he would appear to be feeling impatient\, \nnodding his head energetically\, then he would seem to be listening quietly\, then \nyou would see him disputing and struggling\, and laughing and weeping all at \nonce\, fixing his gaze\, submitting\, then again speaking quietly and beating his \nbreast. \nIf anyone was inquisitive enough to want to spy on him secretly\, he would \nfind that the holy father Dominic was like Moses\, who went into the innermost \ndesert and saw the burning bush and the Lord speaking and calling to him to \nhumble himself. The man of God had a prophetic way of passing quickly from \nreading to prayer and from meditation to contemplation. \nWhen he was reading like this on his own\, he used to venerate the book \nand bow to it and sometimes kiss it\, particularly if it was a book of the gospels or \nif he was reading the words which Christ had spoken with his own lips. And \nsometimes he used to hide his face and turn it aside\, or he would bury his face in \nhis hands and hide it a little in his scapular. And then he would also become \nanxious and full of yearning\, and he would also rise a little\, respectfully\, and \nbow as if he were thanking some very special person for favors he has bestowed. \nThen\, quite refreshed and at peace in himself\, he would continue reading his \nbook.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-dominic-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260809
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260810
DTSTAMP:20260809T104458Z
CREATED:20260809T104458Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T104458Z
UID:15345-1786233600-1786319999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading-19th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST AUGUSTINE \n◊◊◊ \nThe gospel tells us how Christ the Lord walked upon the waters of the sea\, \nand how the apostle Peter did the same until fear made him falter and lose \nconfidence. Then he began to sink and emerged from the water only after \ncalling on the Lord with renewed faith. \nNow we must regard the sea as a symbol of the present world\, and the \napostle Peter as a symbol of the one and only Church. For Peter\, who ranked \nfirst among the apostles and was always the most ready to declare his love for \nChrist\, often acted as a spokesman for them all. For instance\, when the Lord \nJesus asked who people thought he was and the other disciples had cited various \nopinions\, it was Peter who responded to the Lord’s further question\, But who do \nyou say that I am? With the affirmation: You are the Christ\, the Son of the \nliving God. One replied for all because all were united. \nWhen we consider Peter as a representative member of the Church we \nshould distinguish between what was due to God’s action in him and what was \nattributable to himself. Then we ourselves shall not falter\, then we shall be \nfounded upon the rock and remain firm and unmoved in the face of the wind\, \nrain\, and floods\, which are the trials and temptations of this present world. \nLook at Peter\, who in this episode is an image of ourselves; at the moment he is \nall confidence\, at the next all uncertainty and doubt; now he professes faith in \nthe immortal One\, now he fears for his life. \nLord\, if it is you\, bid me come to you upon the water. When the Lord \nsaid: “Come”\, Peter climbed out of the boat and began to walk on the water. \nThis is what he could do through the power of the Lord; what by himself? \nRealizing how violently the wind was blowing\, he lost his nerve and as he \nbegan to sink he called out: “Lord\, I am drowning\, save me. When he counted \non the Lord’s help it enabled him to walk on the water; when human frailty \nmade him falter he turned once more to the Lord\, who immediately stretched \nout his hand to help him\, raised him up as he was sinking\, and rebuked him for \nhis lack of faith. \nThink\, then\, of this world as a sea\, whipped up to tempestuous heights by \nviolent winds. A person’s own private tempest will be his or her unruly desires. \nIf you love God you will have the power to walk upon the waters\, and all the \nworld’s swell and turmoil will remain beneath your feet. But if you love the \nworld it will surely engulf you\, for it always devours its lovers\, never sustains \nthem. If you feel your foot slipping beneath you\, if you become a prey to doubt or \nrealize that you are losing control\, if\, in a word\, you begin to sink\, say: Lord\, I \nam drowning\, save me! Only he who for your sake died in your fallen nature \ncan save you from a death inherent in that fallen nature.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-19th-sunday-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260809
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260810
DTSTAMP:20260809T104303Z
CREATED:20260809T104303Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T104303Z
UID:15343-1786233600-1786319999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n19th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nAugust9 – 15\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n9\nMon\n10\nTue\n11\nWed\n12\nThu\n13\nFri\n14\nSat\n15\n\n\nOffice\n19th Sunday\nSt Lawrence\nSt Clare\nOffice for the Dead\nWeekday\nSt Maximilian Kolbe\nAssumption of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\n1 Mac 6:42-63\nExodus 18:13-26\n1 Mac 7:1-25\n1 Mac 7:26-50\n1 Mac 8:1-16\n1 Mac 8: 17-32\nSir 24:1-16\n\n\nLauds\nJoel 2:18-22\nTobit 4:5-11\nJoel 2:23-27\nJoel 3:1-5\nJoel 4:1-8\nJoel 4: 9-16\n1 Chron 15:1-4\, 14-16\, 25-28; 16:1-2;\n\n\nMass\n115\n618\n414\n415\n416\n417\n622\n\n\n1st\n1 Kgs 19:9a\, 11-13a\n2 Cor 9:6-10\nEzek 2:8-3:4\nEzek 9:1-7; 10:18-22\nEzek 12:1-12\nEzek 16:1-15\, 60\, 63\nRev 11:19a; 12:1-6a; 10ab\n\n\n2nd\nRom 9:1-5\n\n\n\n\n\n1 Cor 15:20-27\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 14:22-33\nJohn 12:24-26\nMatt 18:1-5\, 10\, 12-14\nMatt 18:15-20\nMatt 18:21-19:1\nMatt 19:3-12\nLuke 1:39-56\n\n\nVespers\n2 Tim 3:1-9\nRev 6:7-11\n2 Tim 3:10-17\n2 Tim 4:1-8\n2 Tim 4:9-15\nEph 2:1-10\nRom 8:28-39
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-163/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260810
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260811
DTSTAMP:20260809T104610Z
CREATED:20260809T104610Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T104610Z
UID:15348-1786320000-1786406399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Lawrence
DESCRIPTION:A reading by St Augustine on the feast of \nST LAWRENCE \n◊◊◊ \nThe Roman Church commends to us today the anniversary of the triumph \nof St Lawrence. For on this day he trod the furious pagan world underfoot and \nflung aside its allurements\, and so gained victory over Satan’s attack on his \nfaith. As you have often heard\, Lawrence was a deacon of the Church at Rome. \nThere he ministered the sacred blood of Christ; there for the sake of Christ’s \nname he poured out his own blood. \nSt John the Apostle was evidently teaching us about the mystery of the \nLord’s supper when he wrote: Just as Christ laid down his life for us\, so we \nought to lay down our lives for the brethren. My brethren\, Lawrence \nunderstood this and\, understanding\, he acted on it. Just as he had partaken of a \ngift of self at the table of the Lord\, so he prepared to offer such a gift. In his life he \nloved Christ; in his death he followed in his footsteps. \nWe too must imitate Christ if we truly love him. We shall not be able to \nrender better return on that love than by modeling our lives on his. Christ \nsuffered for us\, leaving us an example\, that we should follow in his steps. In \nsaying this\, the Apostle Peter seems to have understood that Christ suffered \nonly for those who follow in his steps\, in the sense that Christ’s passion is of no \navail to those who do not. The holy martyrs followed Christ even to the shedding \nof their life’s blood\, even to reproducing the very likeness of his passion. They \nfollowed him\, but not they alone. It is not true that the bridge was broken after \nthe martyrs crossed; nor is it true that after they had drunk from it\, the fountain \nof eternal life dried up. \nI tell you again and again…that in the Lord’s garden are to be found not \nonly the roses of his martyrs. In it there are also the lilies of the virgins\, the ivy of \nwedded couples\, and the violets of widows. On no account may any class of \npeople despair\, thinking that Christ has not called them. Christ suffered for all. \nWhat the Scriptures say of him is true: He desires all to be saved and to come to \nknowledge of the truth. \nLet us understand\, then\, how a Christian must follow Christ even though \nhe does not shed his blood for him\, and his faith is not called upon to undergo \nthe great test of the martyr’s sufferings. The apostle Paul says of Christ our Lord: \nThough he was in the form of God he did not consider equality with God a prize \nto be clung to. How unrivaled his majesty! But he emptied himself\, taking on \nthe form of a slave\, made in human likeness\, and presenting himself in human \nform. How deep his humility! \nChrist humbled himself. Christian\, that is what you must make your own. \nChrist became obedient. How is it that you are proud? When this humbling \nexperience was completed and death itself lay conquered\, Christ ascended into \nheaven. Let us follow him there\, for we hear Paul saying: If you have been \nraised with Christ\, you must lift your thoughts on high\, where Christ now sits \nat the right hand of God.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-lawrence-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260811
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260812
DTSTAMP:20260809T104718Z
CREATED:20260809T104718Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T104718Z
UID:15350-1786406400-1786492799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Clare
DESCRIPTION:A reading from The Life and Writing of \nST CLARE \n◊◊◊ \nAmong the many graces which we have received and continue daily to \nreceive from the liberality of the Father of mercies\, and for which we must give \ndeepest thanks to our glorious God\, our vocation holds first place. Indeed\, \nbecause it is the more perfect and the greater among these graces\, so much the \nmore does it claim our gratitude. Therefore the Apostle says: “Know your \nvocation”. \nThe Son of God became for us the Way; and that Way our Blessed Father \nFrancis\, His true lover and imitator\, has shown and taught us by word and \nexample. For when the Saint as yet had neither Friars nor companions and\, \nshortly after his conversion\, was repairing the Church of San Damiano and \nthere\, filled completely with divine consolation\, was led to abandon the world \nwholly and forever\, in great joy and in the illumination of the Holy Spirit he \nprophesied concerning us what the Lord later fulfilled. For at that time he \nmounted the wall of the church and cried with a loud voice… “Come and help me \nin building the Monastery of San Damiano; for here will dwell Ladies whose \ngood name and holy life will glorify our Heavenly Father throughout His holy \nChurch.” \nIn this therefore we can behold the great kindness of God toward us\, who \nof the abundance of His mercy and love deigned to speak thus through His Saint \nof our vocation and election. And it was not of us alone that our most blessed \nFather prophesied these things\, but of all others likewise who were to enter the \nholy calling to which God has called us. With what solicitude\, therefore\, and \nfervor of mind and body must we not observe the commandments of God and of \nour Father\, that with the help of God we may return to Him with increase the \ntalent He has given us! For the Lord has placed us as an example and mirror not \nonly for other men\, but also for our Sisters whom God has called to our way of \nlife\, that they in turn should be a mirror and an example to those living in the \nworld. \nSince therefore the Lord has called us to such heights of holiness that in u \ns our other Sisters may behold themselves who are to be an example to mankind \n\, we are truly bound to bless the Lord and praise Him and to be strengthened in \nHim more and more to do good. Wherefore if we live according to the pattern \ngiven us\, we shall leave others a noble example and after life’s short labor gain \nthe prize of eternal happiness.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-clare-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260812
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260813
DTSTAMP:20260809T104824Z
CREATED:20260809T104824Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T104824Z
UID:15352-1786492800-1786579199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nFR KARL RAHNER \n◊◊◊ \nThe real miracle of Christ’s death resides precisely in this: death\, which \ncan be experienced only as the advent of emptiness\, as the dead-end of sin\, as \nthe darkness of eternal night (especially since the supernatural order is the real \norder in which there should be no death)\, and which could be suffered\, even by \nChrist himself\, only as a state of being abandoned by God\, now\, through being \nembraced by the obedient “yes” of the Son\, while losing nothing of the horror of \ndivine abandonment native to death\, is transformed into something completely \ndifferent: into the advent of God in the midst of that empty loneliness\, into the \nmanifestation of a complete\, obedient surrender of the whole person to the Holy \nGod at the very moment when the person seems lost and far removed from God. \nThrough the fact of Christ’s death\, the justifying grace of God illustrates \nand confirms something which previously was not shown but was hidden from \nus\, namely\, that at the very moment in which sin reaches the fullest measure of \nits power\, the grace of God increases in its power to conquer sin. And through \nthe death of Christ\, when he surrendered himself to this innermost part of the \nworld (hell)\, this grace became ours. What he really accomplished in his death\, \nand what his death really is\, may be stated thus: his death\, as an act of grace\, \nhelped to offer to God the “flesh of sin” – which death really is – transforming it \ninto a flesh of grace; so that we now can\, through his grace\, belong to God and to \nChrist in death\, despite the fact that death\, in itself\, means remoteness from \nGod. \nThese considerations may make it possible to understand just what the \nChristian\, in death\, achieves through the grace of Christ (in the death which \ntranspires throughout one’s life); the person experiences life falling into the \nemptiness and powerlessness of death as remoteness from God\, as the \nbitterness of guilt (one’s own and that of the human race)\, while believing in the \nmercy of God\, hoping for life in God and yet loving this God so far removed from \none’s self. This Faith\, Hope and Charity are not\, however\, mere feelings \naccompanying the brutal reality of death\, lasting only until death really occurs\, \npersisting powerlessly beside the hard reality which is death. They are\, rather\, \nbecause transformed by grace\, the true reality which transforms death but \nwhich\, in order that faith should be preserved\, transforms it in such a way that \ndeath is still encountered as the wages of sin. \nThe trinity of Faith\, Hope and Charity makes death itself the highest act of \nbelieving\, hoping\, loving\, the very death which seems to be absolute darkness\, \ndespair\, coldness itself. These three fundamental powers of Christian existence \n(together with grace\, of which they are the personal realization)\, entering death\, \ntransform it into an act of resigning obedience: faith in darkness\, hope against \nhope\, love of God who appears only as Lord and as inexorable justice. In so far \nas these fundamental acts become constituents of death as a human act\, death \nitself is changed; the dreadful falling into the hands of the living God\, which \ndeath must appear as a manifestation of sin\, becomes in reality: “Into thy hands \nI commend my spirit.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-28/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260813
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260814
DTSTAMP:20260809T104927Z
CREATED:20260809T104927Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T104927Z
UID:15354-1786579200-1786665599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nFR KARL RAHNER \n◊◊◊ \nWe are all the work that God the Father has begun in his grace through \nChrist Jesus in the Holy Ghost. He has begun the good work in us\, we have not. \nBut he has begun it through our freedom\, and it is always questionable\, as it \nwere – it is always the one great all-embracing question\, comprehending time \nand eternity – whether the work that has been begun will be brought to \ncompletion. And when the Apostle asks this question\, when he asks whether \nwhat he has begun with words and tears\, with penance\, anguish\, and all the \npower of his apostolic work and suffering\, will really be brought to completion \nor whether it will run down and atrophy – when he asks whether these people \nwho have now made a start will one day enter the glory of divine light as children \nof the light\, asks with fear and trembling because no one is certain of his \nsalvation – then he lifts up his eyes to God\, his heart is filled with confidence\, \nand he says: I am sure that God\, who has begun this work\, will bring it to \ncompletion. \nAnd we too may say this\, frail and helpless as we are\, we whose \nChristianity is always running down and atrophying\, we whom the stream of \ndaily life is always threatening to swallow up\, extinguishing whatever light and \npower\, life and glory\, has begun to emerge in our Christianity. Instead of \nstudying ourselves we ought to say: God who has begun this work – and it is not \nwe who have begun it\, not we in our weakness\, even in our freedom – God\, in the \nglorious power of grace\, will bring it to completion. And that is our bold \nassurance\, our splendid sovereign confidence. \nSt Paul says: It is right for me to feel thus about you all\, because\, he says – \nand here something entirely personal and genuinely human comes into the \npower and grandeur of God’s work – because I hold you in my heart\, for you are \nall partakers with me of grace\, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and \nconfirmation of the gospel.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-456/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260814
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260815
DTSTAMP:20260809T105039Z
CREATED:20260809T105039Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T105039Z
UID:15356-1786665600-1786751999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Maximilian Kolbe
DESCRIPTION:A reading from Pope St John Paul II on the martyrdom of \nST MAXIMILIAN KOLBE \n◊◊◊ \nThe figure of Maximilian [Kolbe] remains as a testimony of the age and \nbelongs to the “signs of the times.” This difficult and tragic epoch\, stigmatized \nby horrible debasement of human dignity\, has brought about at Oswiecim the \nbirth of its salvific sign. Love has shown itself more powerful than death\, more \npowerful than anti-human systems. Love for the person has achieved its victory \nthere where hatred and scorn for human beings seemed to triumph. In this \nvictory of love…the victory of Golgotha presented itself in a particular way. \nMany saw the death of their prison companion not as still another defeat for \nhuman beings\, but a saving sign – the sign of our time\, of our age. \nThe Church is rereading the meaning of such signs. It is in this that its \nlink with the history of humanity\, of peoples and of nations\, consists. Yesterday \nshe reread to the very end the meaning of the sign…that Maximilian Kolbe \nestablished by his martyr’s death. The Church has reread this sign with \nprofound veneration and emotion in proclaiming the holiness of the Martyr of \nOswiecim. The Saints are in history in order to establish permanent points of \nreference as a background for the future of humankind and the world. That \nwhich shows through in them is lasting and unfailing. It bears witness to \neternity. From this testimony we always draw a renewed awareness of our \nvocation and renewed assurance of all that awaits us. This is the direction in \nwhich the Saints guide the Church and humanity. \nAmong these spiritual guides we include today St Maximilian\, our fellow \ncountryman. In him the man of our times discovers a wonderful “synthesis” of \nthe sufferings and the hopes of our age. But in this synthesis there is also a \nprophetic warning. It is a cry addressed to all\, to society\, to humanity\, to the \nsystems responsible for our life and our societies. This modern-day Saint has \ncome forth from the very center of human beings humiliated by human beings\, \nof the humiliation of one’s dignity\, of cruelty and of slaughter. This Saint cries \nout therefore with all the synthesis of his martyrdom for a consistent respect for \nthe rights of all and also of nations since in fact he is the son of a nation whose \nrights have been terribly violated.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-maximilian-kolbe-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260815
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260816
DTSTAMP:20260809T105145Z
CREATED:20260809T105145Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260809T105145Z
UID:15358-1786752000-1786838399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Assumption of the BVM
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST AELRED OF RIEVAULX \n◊◊◊ \nAmong all those who are Christ’s\, she who tastes his goodness more \nintimately and more delicately is of greater excellence\, more blessed\, and more \nattractive. She is to him not only a creature\, a handmaid\, a friend\, and a \ndaughter\, but also a mother. So\, then it is only right that we welcome her feast \nwith greater delight and gladness. But today even more we should rejoice with \nher because today her joy was completely fulfilled. Great was her joy when the \nangel greeted her. Great was her joy when she felt the coming of the Holy Spirit\, \nwhen that marvelous fusion of the Son of God with her flesh took place in her \nwomb\, so that he\, one and the same\, was the Son of God and her Son. Great was \nher joy when she held such a Son in her arms\, when she listened to his words\, \nwhen she saw his miracles. And because her sorrow was so great at the Passion\, \nshe took wondrous joy again in his resurrection and greater still at his \nascension. But all these joys were surpassed by the joy which she receives today. \nUp to this day…Mary\, the blessed Mother of God\, knew her dearest Son in \nthe flesh. Although she fastened all her desires and all her love there\, where he \nwas\, after her dearest Son and Lord ascended into heaven\, so long as she \nremained in this corruptible flesh\, what she had seen of him in the flesh could \nnot fade from her memory. For his deeds and words were always coming to her \nmind and above all there lingered in her heart the features of his exquisite face. \nToday\, however\, she passed from this world and went up to the heavenly \nkingdom. There she began to contemplate his brightness\, power\, and divinity\, \nand her joy and her longing were fulfilled. So with good reason could she say: “I \nhave found him whom my soul loves”. She holds him and she does not let him \ngo… Today she has found him whom her soul loves\, she has found him in spirit\, \nshe loves him in spirit\, she holds him in spirit and therefore she will never again \nlose him… \nToday the Blessed Virgin went up into heaven and went round the whole \nof that heavenly city in the full natural vigor of her mind. Today she entered that \nheavenly court. She saw the white robes of the virgins\, the ruddy crowns of the \nmartyrs\, the thrones of the apostles\, and in the midst of them she found her Son \nreigning. Ascending higher than the very highest of the saints\, she has arrived at \nsuch knowledge of the divinity that she then glories in having found him for the \nfirst time… She holds him in the embraces of an utterly perfect love and she can \nnever lose him because she can never love him any less. \nLet us lift up our hearts therefore…to Our Lady\, our Advocate. Let us \nreflect on how much hope we have in her. Just as she surpasses every creature in \nexcellence\, so also she is more merciful and kinder than any creature. Let us \nthen confidently entreat her who can by her excellence assist us and by her \nmercy chooses to do so\, that she may implore her Son for us so that as he \ndeigned to be born of her for us\, he may through her deign to have mercy on us.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-assumption-of-the-bvm-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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