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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260119
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260120
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260118T131938Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260118T131938Z
UID:14523-1768780800-1768867199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE WHOLE BODY \nAS ONE BEING \nFrom a sermon by St John Henry Newman \n◊◊◊ \nThat all Christians are one\, in our Lord’s eyes is plain\, from various parts \nof the New Testament. In his mediatorial prayer for them to the Almighty \nFather\, before His Passion\, He expressed His purpose that they should be one. \nSt Paul\, in like manner\, writing to the Corinthians\, says\, “As the body is one\, and \nhas many members\, and all the members of that one body\, being many\, are one \nbody\, so also is Christ… Now you are the Body of Christ\, and members in \nparticular.” To the Ephesians\, he says\, “There is one Body\, and one Spirit\, even \nas you are called in one hope of your calling: one Lord\, one faith\, one baptism\, \none God and Father of all.” \nAnd\, further\, it is to this one Body\, regarded as one\, that the special \nprivileges of the Gospel are given. It is not that this person receives the blessing\, \nand that one\, but one and all\, the whole body\, as one being\, one new spiritual \nreality\, with one accord\, seeks and gains it. The Holy Church throughout the \nworld\, “the Bride\, the Lamb’s wife\,” is one\, not many\, and the elect souls are all \nelected in her\, not in isolation. For instance: “He is our peace who has made \nboth (Jews and Gentiles) one\, to make in himself one new humanity.” \nIn the same epistle\, it is said\, that all nations are “fellow-heirs\, and of the \nsame body and fellow-partakers of Hid promise in Christ;” and that we must \n“one and all come\,” or converge\, “in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge \nof the Son of God\, unto a perfect creation\, unto the measure of the stature of the \nfullness of Christ;” that as “the husband is the head of the wife\,” so “Christ is the \nHead of the Church\,” having “loved her and given Himself for her\, that He \nmight sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word.” \nThese are a few out of many passages which connect Gospel privileges \nwith the circumstance or condition of unity in those who receive them; the \nimage of Christ and token of their acceptance being stamped upon them then\, at \nthat moment\, when they are considered as one; so that henceforth the whole \nmultitude\, no longer viewed as mere individuals\, become portions or members \nof the indivisible Body of Christ Mystical\, so knit together in Him by Divine \nGrace\, that all have what He has\, and each has what all have. \nThe same great truth is taught us in such texts as speak of all Christians \nforming one spiritual building\, of which the Jewish Temple was the type. They \nare temples one by one\, simply as being portions of that one Temple which is the \nChurch. “You are built up\,” says St Peter\, “a spiritual house\, a holy priesthood\, \nto offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” Hence the word \n“edification”\, which properly means this building up of all Christians in one\, has \ncome to stand for individual improvement; for it is by being incorporated into \nthe one Body\, that we have the promise of life; by becoming members of Christ\, \nwe have the gift of His Spirit.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-390/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260120
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260121
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260118T132105Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260118T132105Z
UID:14525-1768867200-1768953599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Blessed Cyprian Tansi
DESCRIPTION:A reading from the homily of Pope St John Paul II \nat the Beatification of Blessed Cyprian Tansi \n◊◊◊ \nThe life and witness of Father Tansi is an inspiration to everyone in the \nNigeria that he loved so much. He was first of all a man of God; his long hours \nbefore the Blessed Sacrament filled his heart with generous and courageous \nlove. Those who knew him testify to his great love of God. Everyone who met \nhim was touched by his personal goodness. \nHe was then a man of the people: he always put others before himself\, and \nwas especially attentive to the pastoral needs of families. He took great care to \nprepare couples well for Holy Matrimony and preached the importance of \nchastity. He tried in every way to promote the dignity of women. In a special \nway\, the education of young people was precious to him. Even when he was sent \nby Bishop Heerey to the Cistercian Abbey of Mount Saint Bernard in England to \npursue his monastic vocation\, with the hope of bringing the contemplative life \nback to Africa\, he did not forget his own people. He did not fail to offer prayers \nand sacrifices for their continuing sanctification. \nFather Tansi knew that there is something of the Prodigal Son in every \nhuman being. He knew that all men and women are tempted to separate \nthemselves from God in order to lead their own independent and selfish \nexistence. He knew that they are then disappointed by the emptiness of the \nillusion which had fascinated them\, and that they eventually find in the depths \nof their heart the road leading back to the Father’s house. \nHe encouraged people to confess their sins and receive God’s forgiveness \nin the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He implored them to forgive one another as \nGod forgives us\, and hand on the gift of the reconciliation\, making it a reality at \nevery level of Nigerian life. Father Tansi tried to imitate the father in the \nparable: he was always available for those searching for reconciliation. He \nspread the joy of restored communion with God. He inspired people to welcome \nthe peace of Christ\, and encouraged them to nourish the life of grace with the \nword of God and with Holy Communion… \nBlessed Cyprian Michael Tansi is a prime example of the fruits of holiness \nwhich have grown and matured in the Church in Nigeria since the Gospel was \nfirst preached in this land. He received the gift of faith through the efforts of the \nmissionaries\, and taking the Christian way of life as his own he made it truly \nAfrican and Nigerian. So too the Nigerians of today — young and old alike — are \ncalled to reap the spiritual fruits which have been planted among them and are \nnow ready for the harvest… Father Tansi’s witness to the Gospel and to \nChristian charity is a spiritual gift which this local Church now offers to the \nUniversal Church… \nWe must be convinced that each of us\, according to our particular state in \nlife\, is called to do no less than what Father Tansi did. Having been reconciled \nwith God\, we must be instruments of reconciliation\, treating all men and \nwomen as brothers and sisters\, called to membership in the one family of God…
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-blessed-cyprian-tansi-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260121
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260122
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260118T132235Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260118T132235Z
UID:14527-1768953600-1769039999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Agnes
DESCRIPTION:THE LOVE OF \nCHRISTIAN UNITY \nFrom a sermon by St Leo the Great \n◊◊◊ \nI rejoice\, dearly beloved\, in the pious affection of your devotion\, and I give \nthanks to God that I see in you the love of Christian unity… For though the \nuniversal Church is ordered in varying degrees\, so the whole is made up from \nthe diverse members of the sanctified Body\, we are all\, nevertheless\, as the \nApostle says\, one in Christ; and no one is separated by office from another\, so \nthat even the least among us is related to the head. \nTherefore\, Beloved\, in its unity of faith and baptism\, our society is \nundivided\, and its dignity is the dignity of all its members; according to the \nwords of the blessed Peter\, spoken by his own consecrated voice: Be you as \nliving stones built up\, a spiritual house\, a holy priesthood\, to offer up spiritual \nsacrifices\, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And a little later: You are a \nchosen generation\, a kingly priesthood\, a holy nation\, a purchased people. \nFor all who are born again in Christ\, the sign of the Cross makes kings\, \nand the anointing of the Holy Spirit consecrates priests; so that apart from the \nspecial service of our ministry\, let all spiritual and reasoning Christians know \nthat they are of royal birth\, and sharers of the priestly office. For what is so \nkingly as the soul that is subject to God\, and the ruler of its own body? And what \nis so priestly as to dedicate to the Lord a pure conscience\, and to offer him on the \naltar of our hearts the unstained gift of our love?
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-agnes-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260122
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260123
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260118T132356Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260118T132356Z
UID:14529-1769040000-1769126399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE INCOMPARABLE VALUE \nOF EVERY HUMAN PERSON \nFrom the encyclical “The Gospel of Life” by Pope St John Paul II \n◊◊◊ \nThe human person is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the \ndimensions of earthly existence\, because it consists in sharing the very life of \nGod. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the \ninestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. In a special way \nbelievers in Christ must defend and promote this right\, aware as they are of the \nwonderful truth recalled by the Second Vatican Council: “By his incarnation the \nSon of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being”. This \nsaving event reveals to humanity not only the boundless love of God who “so \nloved the world that he gave his only Son”\, but also the incomparable value of \nevery human person. \nThe Church acknowledges this value with ever new wonder. She feels \ncalled to proclaim to the people of all times this Gospel\, the source of invincible \nhope and true joy for every period of history. The Gospel of God’s love for \nhumans\, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a \nsingle and indivisible Gospel. \nToday this proclamation is especially pressing because of the \nextraordinary gravity of threats to the life of individuals and peoples\, especially \nwhere life is weak and defenseless. In addition to the ancient scourges of \npoverty\, hunger and disease\, violence and war\, new threats are emerging on an \nalarmingly vast scale… \nThe end result of this is tragic; not only is the fact of the destruction of so \nmany human lives still to be born or in their final stage extremely grave and \ndisturbing\, but no less grave and disturbing is the fact that conscience itself\, \ndarkened as it were by such widespread conditioning\, is finding it increasingly \ndifficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic value of \nhuman life. \nThe present encyclical…is therefore meant to be a precise and vigorous \nreaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability\, and at the same \ntime a pressing appeal to each and every person\, in the name of God\, respect\, \nprotect\, love and serve life\, every human life! Only in this direction will you \nfind justice\, development\, true freedom\, peace and happiness.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-391/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260123
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260124
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260118T132517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260118T132517Z
UID:14531-1769126400-1769212799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:TO CALL ONESELF A CHRISTIAN \nby St Gregory of Nyssa \n◊◊◊ \nThey say that a certain showman in the city of Alexandria\, having trained \na monkey to dance with some grace\, and having dressed him in a dancer’s mask \nand a costume suitable for the occasion\, and having surrounded him with a \nchorus\, gained fame by the monkey’s twisting himself in time with the music \nand concealing his nature in every way by what he was doing and appeared to \nbe. While the audience was enthralled by the novelty of the spectacle\, one of the \nclever persons present\, by means of a trick\, showed those watching the \nperformance that the dancer was a monkey. \nWhen everyone was crying out and applauding the gesticulations of the \nmonkey\, who was moving rhythmically with the music\, they say that he threw \nonto the dancing place some of the sweetmeats which arouse the greediness of \nsuch animals; whereupon the monkey\, without a moment’s delay\, when he saw \nthe almonds scattered in front of the chorus\, forgetting the dancing and \napplause and the elaborate costume\, ran after them and grabbed what he found \nin the palms of his hands. \nAnd in order that the mask would not get in the way of his mouth\, he \nenergetically thrust aside the disguise with his nails and immediately evoked a \nlaugh from the spectators in place of the praise and admiration\, as he emerged \nugly and ridiculous from the shreds of the mask. Thereupon\, just as the \nassumed form was not sufficient for that creature to be considered a man\, once \nhis nature was disclosed\, in the incident of the almonds\, so those individuals not \ntruly shaping their own natures by faith will easily be disclosed in the toils of the \ndevil as being something other than what they are called. For\, instead of a fig or \nan almond or some such thing\, vanity and love of honor and love of gain and \nlove of pleasure\, and whatever else the evil assembly of the devil places before \ngreedy men instead of sweetmeats\, easily bring to light the ape-like souls who\, \nthrough pretense and imitation\, play the role of the Christian and then remove \nthe mask of moderation or meekness or some other virtue in a moment of \npersonal crisis. \nIt is necessary\, therefore\, for us to understand what the name “Christian” \nmeans\, for then\, perhaps we will become what the term implies and not be \nshown up by the one who perceives what is hidden\, namely\, that we have \ndisguised ourselves by mere assent\, and by the pretense of the name alone when \nwe are actually something contrary to what we appear to be.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-392/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260124
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260125
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260118T132628Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260118T132628Z
UID:14533-1769212800-1769299199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Francis de Sales
DESCRIPTION:A DELICATE SENSE \nOF GOD’S PRESENCE \nBy St Francis de Sales \n◊◊◊ \nThe soul thus inwardly recollected in God or in God’s presence is at times \nrendered so sweetly attentive to the goodness of its beloved as to think that its \nattention is not actually attention\, so simply and so delicately is it exercised. It \nis like certain rivers which flow so calmly and smoothly that those who look at \nthem or sail on them seem neither to see nor to feel any motion\, since they see \nno waves or currents whatever. This loving repose of the soul is called the \n“prayer of quiet” by the holy virgin Teresa of Jesus\, and is scarcely different \nfrom that which she calls “the sleep of the powers\,” at least if I understand her \nproperly. \nIndeed\, even men in love are at times content with being near or within \nsight of the one they love without actually speaking to her and without thinking \nespecially either of her or of her perfections. They seem to be pleased and \nsatisfied with enjoying this dear presence\, not by any consideration they give it \nbut by a certain calm and repose their spirit finds in it… \nSometimes this repose goes so deep in its tranquility that the whole soul \nand all its powers remain as if sunk in sleep. They make no movement or action \nwhatsoever\, except the will alone and even it does no more than receive the joy \nand contentment that it receives but enjoys it insensibly. It does not think of \nitself but of him whose presence gives it such pleasure. It is like what often \nhappens when we drop off unaware into a light sleep. We only half hear what \nour friends are saying around us\, or feel their caresses almost imperceptibly \nwithout feeling that we feel. \nNevertheless\, the soul enjoying in this sweet repose such a delicate sense \nof God’s presence\, even though it does not have perception of such enjoyment\, \nstill shows clearly how precious to it and how worthy of love is this happiness. \nFor when anyone tries to deprive the soul of it or something turns it from it\, then \nthat poor soul complains\, cries out\, even weeps at times. It is like a little child \nawakened before it has slept enough; by the pain it feels on being awakened \nclearly shows the pleasure it had in sleep. For this reason the heavenly shepherd \nadjures the daughters of Sion\, “by the roes and harts of the fields\,” not to cause \nthe beloved to awaken up until she pleases\, that is\, to let her awaken by herself. \nA soul thus at peace in its God would not change that repose for all the world’s \ngreatest goods.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-francis-de-sales-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260125
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260126
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260124T214609Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260124T214609Z
UID:14535-1769299200-1769385599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n3rd Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nJanuary 25 – 31\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n25\nMon\n26\nTue\n27\nWed\n28\nThu\n29\nFri\n30\nSat\n31\n\n\nOffice\n3rd Sunday\nSS Robert\, Alberic\, & Stephen\nSs Timothy & Titus\nSt Thomas Aquinas\nWeekday\nOffice for Vocations\nSt John Bosco\n\n\nVigils\nJudg 9:42-57\nLev 26:3-13\nJudg 10:6-18\nJudg 11:1-11\nJudg 11:12-28\nJudg 11:29-40\nJudg 13:1-25\n\n\nLauds\nAmos 5:16-20\nEzek 34:23-31\nAmos 5:21-27\nAmos 6:1-7\nAmos 6:8-14\nAmos 7:1-6\nAmos 7:7-9\n\n\nMass\n67\n606\, 322\, 815.8\n520\, 318\n319\n320\n321\n322\n\n\n1st\nIsa 8:23b-9:3\nSir 44:1\,10-15\n2 Tim 1:1-8\n2 Sam 7:4-17\n2 Sam 7:18-19\, 24-29\n2 Sam 11:1-4a\, 5-10a\, 13-17\n2 Sam 12:1-7a\, 10-17\n\n\n2nd\n1 Cor 1:10-13\, 17\nHeb 11:1-2\, 8-16\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 4:12-23\nMark 10:24b-30\nMark 3:31-35\nMark 4:1-20\nMark 4:21-25\nMark 4:26-34\nMark 4:35-41\n\n\nVespers\n1 Jn 4:13-21\n2 Cor 4:7-18\nCol 1:9-14\nCol 1:15-23\nCol 1:24-29\nCol 2:1-8\nCol 2:9-15
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-142/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260125
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260126
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260124T214749Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260124T214749Z
UID:14537-1769299200-1769385599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 3r Sunday
DESCRIPTION:THE LIGHT OF CHRIST \nFrom a commentary by John Justus of Landsberg \n◊◊◊ \nThe people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Everyone \nknows that we were all born in darkness\, and once lived in darkness. But now \nthat the Sun of Righteousness has risen for us\, let us see that we no longer \nremain in darkness. \nChrist came to enlighten those who lived in darkness\, overshadowed by \ndeath\, and to guide their feet into the way of peace. Do you ask what darkness? \nWhatever is present in our intellect\, in our will\, or in our memory that is not \nGod\, or which has not its source in God; that is to say\, whatever in us is not for \nGod’s sake\, is a barrier between God and the soul – it is darkness. \nIn himself Christ brought us light which would enable us to see our sins\, \nand hate our darkness. His freely chosen poverty\, when there was no place for \nhim in the inn\, is for us a light by which we can now learn that the poor in spirit\, \nto whom the kingdom of heaven belongs\, are blessed. \nThe love with which Christ offered himself to instruct us\, and to endure \nfor us injuries\, ostracism\, persecution\, lashes\, and death upon a cross; the love \nfinally which made him pray for those who crucified him – that love is for us a \nlight by which we may learn to love our enemies. \nThe humility with which he emptied himself\, taking the nature of a slave \n\, and with which he scorned the glory of the world\, and willed to be born\, not in a \npalace but in a stable\, and to die ignominiously on a gibbet – that humility is for \nus a light showing us what a detestable crime it is for clay\, that is to say\, for poor \nweak creatures\, to be proud\, to exalt themselves\, or to refuse submission\, when \nthe infinite God was humbled\, despised\, and subject to human beings. \nThe meekness with which Christ endured hunger\, thirst\, cold\, harsh \nwords\, lashes\, and wounds\, when he was led like a sheep to the slaughter\, and \nlike a lamb before his shearer opened not his mouth – that meekness is for us a \nlight. By it we see how useless it is to be angry\, how useless to threaten. By it we \naccept our own suffering\, and do not serve Christ merely from routine. By it we \nlearn how much is required of us\, and that when suffering comes our way we \nshould bewail our sins in silent submission\, since he endured affliction with \nsuch patience and long-suffering\, not for his own sins\, but for ours. \nReflect then\, beloved\, on all the virtues which Christ taught us by his \nexample\, which he recommends by his counsel\, and which he enables us to \nimitate by the assistance of his grace.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-3r-sunday/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260126
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260127
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260124T214920Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260124T214920Z
UID:14539-1769385600-1769471999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Robert\, Alberic & Stephen
DESCRIPTION:THE BEGINNINGS OF THE \nCISTERCIAN ORDER \nA reading from the “Exordium Parvum” \n◊◊◊ \nWe Cistercians\, the first founders of this Church\, in this document hereby \nrelate to our successors how this Monastery and its way of life took its beginning \naccording to the Laws of Holy Mother the Church; by what authority it began\, \nand also by what persons and at what times; so that by the telling of the plain \nand unadulterated truth\, they may be moved to a deep love for this Monastery \nand for the observance of the Holy Rule of St Benedict which was begun in it by \nus through the Grace of God; and that they might pray for us who have borne the \nheat and the burden of the day without losing courage; that they might labor \nwith great fervor in the straight and narrow way which the Rule describes\, even \nunto complete union with God\, when\, having shed the garments of this flesh\, \nthey might happily rest in eternal peace. \nIn the year 1098\, Robert of blessed memory\, the first Abbot of the Church \nof Molesme founded in the Diocese of Langre\, together with some of the \nbrethren from the same Monastery\, came to the venerable Hugh\, who was at \nthat time the Legate of the Holy See and the Archbishop of the Church of Lyons\, \nstating that they desired to live their life under the guidance of the Holy Rule of \nFather Benedict\, and that in order that they might follow out these designs with \ngreater freedom and security\, they earnestly entreated him that he would bless \nand endorse their project with his Apostolic Authority. The Legate was happily \npleased with their desire\, and he laid the foundation of their beginnings by his \nLetter. \nAfter these affairs\, Robert and those who sided with him returned to \nMolesme and chose from that community of brethren those who wished to \nassociate with themselves\, brothers who had made their vows according to the \nRule; so that between those who had spoken to the Legate at Lyons and those \nwho had been chosen from the Monastery\, there were twenty-one monks. \nAccompanied by such a troop\, they made their way in all haste to the desert \nwhich was called Citeaux… Because of the thickness of the woods and \nundergrowth\, it was very rarely visited by people and it was inhabited by \nnothing but wild animals. \nWhen they arrived there\, the men of God immediately conceived a great \nand holy reverence for the place\, for the more contemptible and inaccessible it \nwas to the people of the world\, the more they considered it fit for their life. This \nwas the very reason for which they had come there. Far away and hidden by the \ndensity of trees and undergrowth\, they began to construct a monastery there \nwith the help of the Bishop of Chalons-sur-Saone and the consent of the one \nwho owned the property. \nFor these men\, while they were still at Molesme\, inspired by the grace of \nGod\, had frequently spoken among themselves about the transgressions of the \nRule of Blessed Benedict\, Father of Monks. They had lamented and grown sad \nin spirit\, seeing that both they and the rest of the monks who had promised by \ntheir Solemn Profession that they would observe this Rule\, kept that promise to \na very small degree. On account of this\, by the authority of the Holy See\, they \ncame to this solitude in order that they might fulfill their profession by the \nobservance of the Holy Rule.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-robert-alberic-stephen-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260127
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260128
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260124T215044Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260124T215044Z
UID:14541-1769472000-1769558399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Timothy & Titus
DESCRIPTION:THE VIRTUE OF ST TIMOTHY \nFrom a sermon by St John Henry Newman \n◊◊◊ \n“Drink no longer water\, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and \nfor your other infirmities”. This is a remarkable verse\, because it accidentally tells \nus so much. It is addressed to Timothy\, St Paul’s companion\, the first Bishop of \nEphesus. Of Timothy we know very little\, except that he did minister to St Paul\, \nand hence we might have inferred that he was a man of very saintly character; but \nwe know little or nothing of him\, except that he had been from a child a careful \nreader of Scripture… \nTimothy…had so read the Old Testament\, and had so heard from St Paul the \nNew\, that he was a true follower of the Apostle\, as the Apostle was of Christ. St Paul \naccordingly calls him “my own son”\, or “my true son in the faith”. And elsewhere \nhe says to the Philippians that he has “no man like-minded to Timothy\, who would \nnaturally” or truly “care for their state”… St Paul does not expressly tell us that he \nwas a man of mortified habits; but he reveals the fact indirectly by cautioning him \nagainst an excess of mortification. “Drink no longer water\,” he says\, “but use a little \nwine.” It should be observed that wine\, in the southern countries\, is the ordinary \nbeverage; it is nothing strong or costly. Yet even from such as this\, Timothy was in \nthe habit of abstaining\, and restricting himself to water; and\, as the Apostle \nthought\, imprudently\, to the increase of his “frequent infirmities.” \nThere is something very striking in this accidental mention of the private \nways of this Apostolic Bishop. We know indeed from history the doctrine and the \nlife of the great saints\, who lived some time after the Apostles’ age; but we are \nnaturally anxious to know something more of the Apostles themselves and their \nassociates. We say\, “Oh that we could speak to St Paul – that we could see him in his \ndaily walk\, and hear his…teaching! – that we could ask him what he meant by this \nexpression in his Epistles\, or what he thought of this or the other doctrine.” This is \nnot given to us. God might give us greater light than He does; but it is His gracious \nwill to give us the less. \nYet perhaps much more has been given us in Scripture\, as it has come to us\, \nthan we think\, if our eyes were enlightened to discern it there. Such\, for instance\, is \nthis text; it is a sudden revelation\, a glimpse of the personal character of Apostolic \nChristians; it is a hint which we may follow out. For no one will deny that a very \ngreat deal of doctrine\, and a very great deal of precept\, goes with such a fact as this: \nnamely\, that this holy man\, without impiously disparaging God’s creation\, and \nthanklessly rejecting God’s gifts\, yet\, on the whole\, lived a life of abstinence… \nSuch were the holy men of old. How far are we below them! Alas for our easy \nsensual life\, our cowardice\, our sloth! Is this the way by which the kingdom of God \nis won?
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-timothy-titus-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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CREATED:20260124T215216Z
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UID:14543-1769558400-1769644799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Thomas Aquinas
DESCRIPTION:GATHER YOURSELF IN WISDOM \nFrom a commentary by St Thomas Aquinas \n◊◊◊ \n[In the book of Ecclesiasticus it says] “Run ahead into your house and \ngather yourself there and play there and pursue your thoughts.” \nThe advantage which the study of wisdom has is that it is to a greater \ndegree self-sufficient in pursuing its business. When we are engaged in outward \nactivities we need many things to help us\, but in the contemplation of wisdom \nwe work all the more effectively\, the more we dwell alone with ourselves. \nSo…the wise Man calls us back to ourselves: “Run ahead into your own \nhouse\, \n” that is\, be anxious to return from external things to your own mind\, \nbefore anything else gets hold of it and any other anxiety distracts it. That is why \nit says in Wisdom\, “I will enter my house and rest with her”… \nThe first requirement\, then for the contemplation of wisdom is that we \nshould take complete possession of our minds before anything else does\, so that \nwe can fill the whole house with the contemplation of wisdom. But it is also \nnecessary that we ourselves should be fully present there\, concentrating in such \na way that our aim is not diverted to other matters. Accordingly the text goes on\, \n“And gather yourself there\, \n” that is\, draw together your whole intention. And \nwhen our interior house is entirely emptied like this and we are fully present \nthere in our intention\, the text tells us what we should do; “And play there. \n” \nThere are two features of play which make it appropriate to compare the \ncontemplation of wisdom to playing. First\, we enjoy playing\, and there is the \ngreatest enjoyment of all to be had in the contemplation of wisdom. As Wisdom \nsays in Ecclesiasticus\, “My spirit is sweeter than honey.” \nSecondly\, playing has no purpose beyond itself; what we do in play is done \nfor its own sake. And the same applies to the pleasure of wisdom. If we are \nenjoying thinking about the things we long for or the things we are proposing to \ndo\, this kind of enjoyment looks beyond itself to something else which we are \neager to attain. \nIf we fail to attain it or if there is a delay in attaining it\, our pleasure is \nmingled with a proportionate distress… But the contemplation of wisdom \ncontains within itself the cause of its own enjoyment\, and so it is not exposed to \nthe kind of anxiety that goes with waiting for something which we lack… “Her \ncompany is without bitterness” (the company of wisdom)… “and there is no \nboredom in living with her.” \nIt is for this reason that divine Wisdom compares her enjoyment to \nplaying… “I enjoyed myself every single day\, playing before him\,” each “single \nday” meaning the consideration of some different truth. So… “Pursue your \nthoughts\,” the thoughts… by means of which we obtain knowledge of the truth.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-thomas-aquinas-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
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UID:14545-1769644800-1769731199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE CHURCH OF THE CRUCIFIED \nBy Fr Hugo Rahner \n◊◊◊ \nPrecisely in weakness the Church of the crucified is the very essence of \nGod’s force of grace\, the sacramentally humble symbol of the irresistibly \nvictorious love of the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The weak Church is the \njoy of our faith. Not only despite her weakness\, but rather because she is weak. \nThis is no theological dialectic that would release us from the responsibility of \nconstantly attempting anew to perfect the power of the Church’s witness\, her \nholiness\, even her glory that can be dramatized here on earth. \nHowever\, our faith in the Church remains pure\, resilient\, filled with \nunshatterable joy in the victory of Our Lord\, only if we perceive that the power \nand dominion of God\, which is totally different in nature from anything else in \nour experience\, chooses to show itself most often in earthly impotence and \ndespicability – as long as we in the midst of the Church celebrate the death of \nOur Lord\, until Christ returns as the Messiah of glory. Christ\, once and for all\, \ndied beyond the barricades of human comprehensibility\, and therefore the \nChurch must bear his disgrace. \nAlas\, this is so difficult for us here below to comprehend. Our eyes are \nveiled\, and our hearts are still as dull as those of the journeying disciples of \nEmmaus. They recognized the Lord only after the breaking of bread. Then\, \nhowever\, their hearts burned. It is the same with us. May faith assist the failure \nof the senses. This also holds true for the mystery of the Church. It is the same \nfor her as it was for Our Lord: In sacrifice has he conquered\, in the breaking of \nbread he inflamed joy\, in the fact that he was killed has he driven out the prince \nof this world. Therefore we recognize him and his Church only in the breaking of \nbread\, in the breaking of our believing hearts. \nAnd from his broken Church we discover with the quiet delight of tested\, \nsuffered\, disappointed and wise faith: Here is the Lord. Here is his Church\, the \nholy\, the catholic. Then our hearts also burn. Then we know: She is still on the \ndesert path\, but this leads into the promised land. She is still on the way of the \ncross to death’s place of skulls\, but only so will the Pasch come\, and this means \nthe transition to the eternal… \nLook about in this world – everywhere there is desert\, aimless wandering\, \nthirst that cannot be quenched\, strangers who no longer know home. But in this \ndesert you see a thornbush burst into flames\, and you hear the divine words: “The \nplace where you stand is holy ground”. This is a type\, a model of the holy Church. \nShe is a wretched\, prickly shrub in the desert\, but even now she bursts into flames \nwith heavenly fire. Here we stand: we believe in this Church of weak brambles and \ntremendous fire. She is our trial of faith and our love’s joy.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-393/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260130
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UID:14547-1769731200-1769817599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
DESCRIPTION:THE WORK OF TWO WILLS \nFrom “No Man is an Island” by Thomas Merton \n◊◊◊ \nEach of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in \nHis life and His Kingdom. Each one of us is called to a special place in the \nKingdom. If we find that place\, we will be happy. If we do not find it\, we can \nnever be completely happy. For each one of us\, there is only one thing necessary: \nto fulfill our own destiny\, according to God’s will\, to be what God wants us to be. \nIn any case\, our destiny is the work of two wills\, not one. It is hopeless to \ntry to settle the problem of vocation outside the context of friendship and love. \nGod loves us more than we love ourselves\, as if we were Himself. He loves us \nmoreover with our own wills\, with our own decisions. \nIn planning the course of our lives\, we must remember the importance \nand the dignity of our own freedom. For our freedom is a gift God has given us in \norder that He may be able to love us more perfectly\, and be loved by us more \nperfectly in return. Perfectly confident of being loved by God\, the soul that loves \nHim dares to make a choice of its own\, knowing that its own choice will be \nacceptable to love. \nEvery person has a vocation to be someone: but he must understand \nclearly that in order to fulfill this vocation he can only be one person: himself. \nWe must be ourselves by being Christ. A person only lives fully when he knows \ntruth and loves what he knows and acts according to what he loves. In this way \nhe becomes the truth that he loves. So we “become” Christ by knowledge and by \nlove. \nIn order to be what we are meant to be\, we must know Christ\, and love \nHim\, and do what He did. Our destiny is in our own hands since God has placed \nit there\, and given us the grace to do the impossible. It remains for us to take up \ncourageously and without hesitation the work He has given us\, which is the task \nof living our own life as Christ would live it in us. \nOur vocation is precisely this: to bear witness to the truth of Christ by \nlaying down our lives at His bidding. Our Father in heaven has called us each to \nthe place in which He can best satisfy His infinite desire to do us good. His \ninscrutable choice of the office or state of life or particular function to which we \nare called is not to be judged by the intrinsic merit of those offices and states but \nonly by the hidden love of God. My vocation is the one I love\, not because I think \nit is the best vocation in the Church\, but because it is the one God has willed for \nme. My vocation is at once my will and His. He chose it for me when His \ninscrutable knowledge of my choice moved me to choose it for myself. \n  \n6 No Man is An Island – Thomas Merton – Harcourt Brace Publishers – New York – 1955 – pg 131f.13 \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-vocations-26/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260124T215628Z
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UID:14549-1769817600-1769903999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St John Bosco
DESCRIPTION:GENTLE AND HUMBLE OF HEART \nFrom a letter by St John Bosco \n◊◊◊ \nMy sons\, in my long experience very often I had to be convinced of this \ngreat truth. It is easier to become angry than to restrain oneself\, and to threaten \na boy than to persuade him. Yes\, indeed\, it is more fitting to be persistent in \npunishing our own impatience and pride than to correct the boys. We must be \nfirm but kind\, and be patient with them. \nSee that no one finds you motivated by impetuosity or willfulness. It is \ndifficult to keep calm when administering punishment\, but this must be done if \nwe are to keep ourselves from showing off our authority or spilling out our \nanger. \nLet us regard those boys over whom we have some authority as our own \nsons. Let us place ourselves in their service. Let us be ashamed to assume an \nattitude of superiority. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of \nserving them better. \nThis was the method that Jesus used with the apostles. He put up with their \nignorance and roughness and even their infidelity. He treated sinners with a \nkindness and affection that caused some to be shocked\, others to be scandalized\, \nand still others to hope for God’s mercy. And so he bade us to be gentle and humble \nof heart.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-john-bosco-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260201
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260202
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260201T212410Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260201T212410Z
UID:14562-1769904000-1769990399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n4th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nFebruary 1 – 7\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n1\nMon\n2\nTue\n3\nWed\n4\nThu\n5\nFri\n6\nSat\n7\n\n\nOffice\n4th Sunday\nPresentation of the Lord\nWeekday\nOffice for the Dead\nSt Agatha\nSt Paul Miki & Comp\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nJudg 14:1-20\nExod 13:1-16\nJudg 15:1-20\nJudg 16:1-22\nJudg 16:23-31\nJudg 17:1-13\nJudg 18:1-11\n\n\nLauds\nAmos 7:10-17\n1 Sam 1:20-28\nAmos 8:1-8\nAmos 8:9-14\nAmos 9:1-6\nAmos 9:7-10\nAmos 9:11-15\n\n\nMass\n70\n524\n324\n325\n326\n327\n328\n\n\n1st\nZeph 2:3; 3:12-13\nMal 3:1-4\n2 Sam 18:9-10\, 14b\, 24-25a\, 30-19:3\n2 Sam 24:2\, 9-17\n1 Kgs 2:1-4\, 10-12\nSir 47:2-11\n1 Kgs 3:4-13\n\n\n2nd\n1 Cor 1:26-31\nHeb 2:14-18\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 5:1-12a\nLuke 2:22-40\nMark 5:21-43\nMark 6:1-6\nMark 6:7-13\nMark 6:14-29\nMark 6:30-34\n\n\nVespers\nCol 2:16-23\nRom 12:1-5\nCol 3:1-11\nCol 3:12-17\nCol 3:18-4:1\nCol 4:2-9\nCol 4:10-18
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-143/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260201T212533Z
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UID:14564-1769904000-1769990399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 4th Sunday ORD
DESCRIPTION:BLESSED ARE \nTHE POOR IN SPIRIT \nFrom a commentary by Symeon the New Theologian \n◊◊◊ \nWhen holy Scripture is being read we should look at ourselves as though \nin a mirror and consider our state of soul. Let me explain what I mean. We hear \nthe Lord saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit\, for theirs is the kingdom of \nheaven. This must make us always examine and test ourselves whenever we \nsuffer humiliation\, whenever we are insulted\, dishonored\, and treated with \ncontempt\, to see whether or not we possess the virtue of humility. A person who \nhas it bears everything without feeling hurt or taking offense. His heart is not \nwounded by anything that happens to him. \nIf he is slightly wounded he is not completely upset; on the contrary\, \nbecause of that heart wound\, simply for having been slightly pained instead of \naccepting what happened with joy\, he is distressed and thinks himself \ndespicable\, he grieves and weeps. Withdrawing into the inner chamber of his \nsoul or his cell\, he falls down before God and confesses to him as though he had \ncompletely forfeited eternal life. \nThen again we hear: Blessed are those who mourn. Notice that the Lord \ndoes not say those who have mourned\, but those who continually mourn. \nConcerning this too\, then\, we must examine ourselves to see whether we mourn \nevery day\, for if we have been made humble by repentance\, obviously we shall \nnot pass a single day or night without tears\, without mourning\, and without \ncompunction. \nAnd again: Blessed are the gentle. Can anyone who mourns every day \ncontinue to live in a state of anger and not become gentle? Just as water \nextinguishes a blazing fire\, so mourning and tears extinguish anger in the soul \nso completely that a person who had long been given over to it sees his irascible \ndisposition transformed into perfect serenity. \nAgain we hear: Blessed are the merciful. Who\, then\, are the merciful? \nThose who give away their possessions or who feed the poor? No. Then who \nare they? Those who have become poor for the sake of him who became poor for \nour sake\, those who have nothing to give\, but who in a spiritual way are always \nmindful of the poor\, the widows\, the orphans\, and the sick. Seeing them \nfrequently\, they have compassion on them and shed burning tears over them. \nSuch was Job\, who said: I wept over every infirmity. When they have anything \nthey cheerfully give alms to them\, as well as ungrudgingly reminding all of how \nthey can save their souls\, thus obeying the one who said: What I learned with \npure intention I pass on without grudging. These are the ones the Lord calls \nblessed\, the ones who are truly merciful\, for such mercy is like a step by which \nthey ascend to attain perfect purity of heart. \nIn virtue of this God then proclaims the pure of heart blessed\, saying: \nBlessed are the pure of heart\, for they shall see God. The purified soul sees God \nin everything and is reconciled to him. Peace is established between God our \ncreator and the soul\, his erstwhile enemy\, and it is then called blessed by God for \nbeing a peacemaker: Blessed are the peacemakers\, he says\, for they shall be \ncalled children of God.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-4th-sunday-ord-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260201T212639Z
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UID:14566-1769990400-1770076799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Presentation of the Lord
DESCRIPTION:COME TO THE TEMPLE \nFrom a commentary by Origen \n◊◊◊ \nLet us reflect on the way everything was prearranged for Simeon to \nembrace the Son of God. In the first place\, he had been given a revelation by the \nHoly Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Anointed. \nThen\, he did not enter the temple by chance or routine\, but he came there under \nthe prompting of the Spirit of God\, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are \nchildren of God. \nIf you too wish to embrace Jesus and enfold him in your arms\, strive with \nall your might to follow the guidance of the Spirit and come to God’s temple. \nNow\, at this moment you are standing in the temple of the Lord Jesus\, which is \nhis Church\, the temple built of living stones. When your life and conduct are \nreally worthy of the name of Church\, you are standing in the Lord’s temple. \nIf\, led by the Spirit\, you come to the temple\, you will find the child Jesus\, \nyou will lift him up in your arms and say: Now\, Lord\, you let your servant go in \npeace as you promised. Notice at once that peace is joined to death and \ndismissal\, for Simeon does not say only that he wishes to go\, but adds that he \nwished to go in peace. This is the same promise as was made to blessed \nAbraham: You shall go to your ancestors in peace when you have reached a \nripe old age. \nWho dies in peace? Only the person who has the peace of God which \nsurpasses all understanding\, and which guards the heart of its possessor. Who \ndeparts from this world in peace? Only the person who understands that God \nwas reconciling the world to himself in Christ\, and who\, being in no way at \nenmity with God or opposed to him\, has acquired complete peace and concord \nthrough good works\, and so is allowed like Abraham to go in peace and join the \nholy patriarchs. \nBut why speak of the patriarchs? Shall I not rather go on to speak about \nJesus\, the prince and lord of the patriarchs\, about whom Saint Paul says: It is \nbetter to die and be with Christ? That person possesses Jesus who dares to say: \nIt is no longer I who live – it is Christ who lives in me. \nAnd so\, as we stand in the temple and hold the Son of God and embrace \nhim\, let us pray to almighty God and to the child Jesus that we may be found \nworthy of discharge and departure to better things\, for we long to speak with \nJesus and embrace him. To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-presentation-of-the-lord-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260203
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260204
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260201T212740Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260201T212740Z
UID:14568-1770076800-1770163199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE \nFrom a commentary by St Augustine \n◊◊◊ \nJacob the Patriarch set a stone under his head and while he slept he saw \nthe heavens open and a ladder stretching from heaven to earth\, and angels \nascending and descending. After seeing this\, he woke up\, anointed the stone\, \nand departed. In this stone he understood Christ\, that is why he anointed it. And \nthis was done symbolically\, and then he left. For he did not anoint the stone\, and \nkeep going back there to worship\, and to offer sacrifices there. \nWhat happened was this: expression was given to a mystery. Take a look \nat the stone: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief \ncornerstone. And it is because Christ is the head of man that the stone is placed \nat the head. Take note of this great symbol: the stone is Christ. A living stone\, \nsays Peter\, rejected by mankind\, but chosen by God. And the stone is at the \nhead\, because Christ is the head of the man. And the stone is anointed because \nthe name Christ derives from anointing. \nAnd as Christ unfolds this picture\, a ladder is seen\, from earth to heaven\, \nor from heaven to earth\, and angels ascending and descending. What this is all \nabout we shall see better when we have look at the Lord’s words in the Gospel. \nYou know that Jacob himself is Israel. When the Lord saw Nathaniel in the \nGospel\, he said: Behold\, here is a true Israelite\, in whom there is no guile. This is \nthe sort of language that was used about Jacob himself: And Jacob was free from \nguile and he lived at home. The Lord called Nathaniel an Israelite in whom there \nwas no guile because of Jacob. \nAnd Nathaniel said: How do you know me? And the Lord said: When you \nwere beneath the fig tree I saw you. This means\, when you were within the \nJewish people and under the Law\, which covered over that people with a bodily \nshadow\, that is where I saw you. And Nathaniel made his confession and said: \nYou are the Son of God\, you are the king of Israel. And the Lord said: It is \nbecause I saw you under the fig tree that you have believed. You shall see things \ngreater than these. He is speaking with Israel\, with Jacob\, with the one who \nplaced a stone under his head. \nWhat greater things? The fact that already that stone is by the head: Truly \nI tell you\, you shall see the heavens open\, and the angels of God ascending and \ndescending on the Son of Man. Let God’s angels ascend and descend on that \nladder. Let this happen in the Church. God’s angels are heralds of the truth\, let \nthem ascend and see: In the beginning was the Word\, and the Word was with \nGod\, and God was the Word. Let the angels descend and see that\, The Word \nbecame flesh and dwelt among us.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-394/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260204
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260205
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260201T212845Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260201T212845Z
UID:14570-1770163200-1770249599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:SILENCE\, POVERTY\, AND DEATH \nBy Thomas Merton \n◊◊◊ \nIf\, at the moment of our death\, death comes to us as an unwelcome \nstranger\, it will be because Christ also has always been to us an unwelcome \nstranger. For when death comes\, Christ comes also\, bringing us the everlasting \nlife which he has bought for us by his own death. Those who love true life\, \ntherefore\, frequently think about their death. Their life is full of a silence that is \nan anticipated victory over death. Silence\, indeed\, makes death our servant and \neven our friend. Thoughts and prayers that grow up out of the silent thought of \ndeath are like trees growing where there is water. They are strong thoughts\, that \novercome the fear of misfortune because they have overcome passion and \ndesire. They turn the face of our soul\, in constant desire\, toward the face of \nChrist. \nA whole lifetime of silence is ordered to a final utterance; by this I do not \nmean that we must all contrive to die with pious speeches on our lips. It is not \nnecessary that our last words should have some special or dramatic significance \nworthy of being written down. Every good death\, every death that hands us over \nfrom the uncertainties of this world to the unfailing peace and silence of the love \nof Christ\, is itself an utterance and a conclusion. It says\, either in words or \nwithout them\, that it is good for life to come to its appointed end\, for the body to \nreturn to dust and for the spirit to ascend to the Father\, through the mercy of \nour Lord\, Jesus Christ. \nA silent death may speak with more eloquent peace than a death \npunctuated by vivid expressions. A lonely death\, a tragic death\, may yet have \nmore to say of the peace and mercy of Christ than many another comfortable \ndeath. \nFor the eloquence of death is the eloquence of human poverty coming face \nto face with the riches of divine mercy. The more we are aware that our poverty \nis supremely great\, the greater will be the meaning of our death: and the greater \nits poverty. For the saints are those who wanted to be poorest in life\, and who\, \nabove all else\, exulted in the supreme poverty of death.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-25/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260206
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260201T212944Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260201T212944Z
UID:14572-1770249600-1770335999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Agatha
DESCRIPTION:ST AGATHA \nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints \n◊◊◊ \nSt Agatha has retained her place in the Universal Calendar following the \nreforms of 1969\, even though nothing that can be called historical fact is known \nof her life. There is\, however\, good evidence of an early cult\, with many versions \nof her legend recorded in both Greek and Latin\, the Greek being the earlier\, with \nthe Latin dating from the sixth century. This means that however fictitious the \ndetails of her Acts\, she cannot be dismissed as a mere fiction altogether. Her \nActs\, though\, are more of an indication of the type of woman held up for \nveneration as a saint in the early centuries than anything else. \nShe is described as a wealthy woman who had dedicated her virginity to \nChrist. This\, then\, rather than her life\, is the most precious thing she has to \noffer. Her birthplace is assigned to either Palermo or Catania in Sicily\, and she is \nsaid to have died at Catania\, which has the stronger historical claim to be her \nbirthplace. Among those who try to take the precious gift she has vowed to \nChrist from her is a consul named Quintianus. He used the imperial edict \nagainst Christians to have her brought before him\, then placed in a brothel run \nby a woman with the appropriate name of “Aphrodisia” and her assistants\, \nreferred to as her daughters. All tricks\, assaults and threats to make her yield \nher virginity fail\, and so she stands as an example of “virginity as a sacred power\, \na concrete realization within this world of the divine spirit”. \nQuintianus then handed her over to be tortured\, and her Acts dwell on the \ntortures inflicted on her\, culminating in the cutting off of her breasts\, which \nwere placed on a platter. Perhaps because further details of her tortures involve \nher being rolled over live coals\, she is invoked against fire in general. This may\, \nthough\, be an extension of her protection against eruptions from Mount Etna\,11 \nbecause she is associated with Sicily\, and her legend states that after her death a \nflow of lava from Mount Etna was miraculously diverted by her silken veil held \nup on a staff. This is last recorded as happening in the 1840s\, and her veil is still \ncarried in solemn procession on her feast day in Catania. By extension she \nprotects against earthquakes everywhere. \nShe is also patron saint of bell-founders. The association is ancient and \ncertain\, but the reason has not been determined. It may be that it derives from \nher protection against volcanic eruptions and fire\, as bells were rung to warn of \nboth. Another explanation given is that the molten metal involved in casting \nbells suggests the flow of molten lava. Her breasts also brought a more \nappropriate patronage\, as she is invoked against diseases of the breast. Her \nbreasts on a dish were often mistaken for loaves in the Middle ages\, from which \narose the custom of blessing bread on a dish at her altar on her feast day… \nWhatever the facts behind her legend\, Agatha remains one of the best- \nloved and most invoked saints in the Christian devotional life.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-agatha-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260206
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260207
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260201T213115Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260201T213115Z
UID:14574-1770336000-1770422399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Paul Miki & Companions
DESCRIPTION:THE MARTYRDOM OF ST PAUL MIKI \nAND HIS COMPANIONS \nBy a contemporary writer \n◊◊◊ \nThe crosses were set in place. Fr Pasio and Fr Rodriguez took turns \nencouraging the victims. Their steadfast behavior was wonderful to see. The \nFather Bursar stood motionless\, his eyes turned heavenward. Brother Martin \ngave thanks to God’s goodness by singing psalms. Again and again he repeated: \n“Into your hands\, Lord\, I entrust my life.” Brother Francis Branco also thanked \nGod in a loud voice. Brother Gonsalvo in a very loud voice kept saying the Our \nFather and Hail Mary. \nOur brother\, Paul Miki\, saw himself now standing in the noblest pulpit he \nhad ever filled. To his “congregation” he began by proclaiming himself a \nJapanese and a Jesuit. He was dying for the Gospel he preached. He gave thanks \nto God for this wonderful blessing and he ended his “sermon” with these words: \n“As I come to this supreme moment of my life\, I am sure none of you would \nsuppose I want to deceive you. And so I tell you plainly: there is no way to be \nsaved except the Christian way. My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies \nand all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who \nhave sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians \nthemselves.” \nThen he looked at his comrades and began to encourage them in their \nfinal struggle. Joy glowed in all their faces\, and in Louis’ most of all. When a \nChristian in the crowd cried out to him that he would soon be in heaven\, his \nhands\, his whole body strained upward with such joy that every eye was fixed on \nhim. \nAnthony\, hanging at Louis’ side\, looked toward heaven and called upon \nthe holy names – “Jesus\, Mary!” He began to sing a psalm: “praise the Lord\, you \nchildren!”… Others kept repeating “Jesus\, Mary!” Their faces were serene. Some \nof them even took to urging the people standing by to live worthy Christian lives. \nIn these and other ways they showed their readiness to die. \nThen\, according to Japanese custom\, the four executioners began to \nunsheathe their spears. At this dreadful sight\, all the Christians cried out\, \n“Jesus\, Mary!” And the storm of anguished weeping then rose to batter the very \nskies. The executioners killed them one by one. One thrust of the spear\, then a \nsecond blow. It was over in a very short time.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-paul-miki-companions-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260208
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260201T213232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260201T213232Z
UID:14576-1770422400-1770508799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of the BVM
DESCRIPTION:THE PRAISES OF \nTHE BLESSED VIRGIN \nFrom a sermon by Amadeus of Lausanne \n◊◊◊ \nSince we have\, at the bidding of God\, embarked upon the praises of the \nBlessed Virgin\, it remains for us to complete her praise from the bottom of our \nheart and with dutiful voice. Let us gaze upon her glory and\, entering the depth \nof so great a light\, let us with swelling heart and unspeakable joy hasten through \nthe vivid brightness of the paths\, saying with Solomon\, ‘Her paths are lovely and \nall her ways are peaceful’. What if\, as the same prophet says\, ‘the path of the just\, \nas a shining light\, goes forth and grows into the perfect day’? Who will be able to \nexpress the light and brightness of her paths? Yet we shall try to explain in part \nthe progress and additions of her paths so that she may be perceived as glorious \nin her steps and be proclaimed in each of them. \nFor she possessed progress clearly marked and distinct growth\, so that \nshe advanced according to the fairest order of Charity and\, going forward from \nvirtue to virtue\, she saw the God of gods in Sion\, being changed from glory to \nglory as by the Spirit of the Lord. \nFirstly\, therefore\, she was deemed worthy to be adorned with the beauty \nof all the virtues. Secondly she was united to the Holy Spirit in a bond of \nwedlock. Thirdly\, she was found the Mother of the Savior. Fourthly\, a sword \npierced her soul and by the flesh taken of her flesh the ruin of the lost world is \nrestored. Fifthly\, she rejoices in her Son arising and ascending above the heaven \nof heavens to the right hand of the Father. Sixthly\, she is caught up from this \nworld and as the Lord hastens to meet her she is places above the denizens of \nheaven. Seventh\, she will be completed when the fullness of the Gentiles shall \nhave entered and all Israel shall be saved. For beyond what it is right to be said \nor believed\, she rejoices in the general salvation of the elect\, knowing that it was \nfor them that the Son of God took flesh from her. Therefore she will then be \nfulfilled\, God providing a better thing\, lest without us she should not be made \nperfect.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-the-bvm-9/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260209
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260208T000942Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T001237Z
UID:14582-1770508800-1770595199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 5th Sunday ORD
DESCRIPTION:LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE \nBEFORE ALL \nFrom a commentary by St John Chrysostom \n◊◊◊ \nWe who have once for all clothed ourselves in Christ\, and been made worthy \nto have him dwelling within us\, may show everyone\, if we choose\, simply by the \nstrict discipline of our life and without saying a word\, the power of him who dwells \nin us. Therefore Christ said: Let your light so shine before all\, that people may see \nyour good works and praise your Father in heaven. This is a light that reaches not \nonly the bodily senses\, but illuminates also the beholder’s mind and soul. It \ndisperses the darkness of evil\, and invites those who encounter it to let their own \nlight shine forth\, and to follow the example of virtue. \nLet your light shine before all\, Christ said; and he used the words before all \nadvisedly. He meant\, “Let your light be so bright that it illuminates not only \nyourself\, but shines also before those needing its help.” As the light our senses \nperceive puts darkness to flight\, and enables those traveling along a road \nperceptible to the senses to follow a straight course\, so also the spiritual light which \nshines from blameless conduct illuminates those who cannot see clearly how to live \na virtuous life\, because their spiritual eyesight has been blurred by the darkness of \nerror. It purifies their inward vision\, leads them to live upright lives\, and makes \nthem walk henceforth in the path of virtue. \nThat people may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven. \nChrist means: Let your virtue\, the perfection of your life\, and the performance of \ngood works inspire those who see you to praise the common Master of us all. \nAnd so I beg each of you to strive to live so perfectly that the Lord may be \npraised by all who see you. By the perfection of your lives attract to yourselves the \ngrace of the Spirit\, so that the Lord of all creation may be glorified\, and so that we \nmay all be found worthy of the kingdom of heaven by the grace\, mercy\, and \ngoodness of God’s only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ\, to whom with the \nFather and the Holy Spirit be glory\, might\, and honor now and for ever and for \nendless ages. Amen.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-5th-sunday-ord-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260209
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260208T000748Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T000748Z
UID:14580-1770508800-1770595199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n5th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nFebruary 8 -14\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n8\nMon\n9\nTue\n10\nWed\n11\nThu\n12\nFri\n13\nSat\n14\n\n\nOffice\n5th Sunday\nWeekday\nSt Scholastica\nSt Benedict of Aniane\nBl Humbleline\nWeekday\nSS Cyril & Methodius\n\n\nVigils\nJudg 18:13-31\nJudg 19:1-21\nJudg 19:20-30\nJudg 20:1-19\nJudg 20:20-48\nJudg 21:1-25\nRuth 1:1-22\n\n\nLauds\nHabakkuk 1:1-4\nHab 1:5-11\nHab 1:12-17\nHab 2:1-4\nHab 2:5-8\nHab 2:9-14\nHab 2:15-20\n\n\nMass\n73\n329\n330\n331\n332\n333\n334\n\n\n1st\nIsa 58:7-10\n1 Kgs 8:1-7\, 9-13\n1 Kgs 8:22-23\, 27-30\n1 Kgs 10:1-10\n1 Kgs 11:4-13\n1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19\n1 Kgs 12:26-32; 13:33-34\n\n\n2nd\n1 Cor 2:1-5\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 5:13-16\nMark 6:53-56\nMark 7:1-13\nMark 7:14-23\nMark 7:24-30\nMark 7:31-37\nMark 8:1-10\n\n\nVespers\n1 Thess 1:1-10\n1 Thess 2:1-8\n1 Thess 2:9-12\n1 Thess 2:13-16\n1 Thess 2:17-3:5\n1 Thess 3:6-13\n1 Thess 4:1-12
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-144/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260209
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260210
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260208T001137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T001137Z
UID:14584-1770595200-1770681599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:EVERYTHING WILL BEGIN AGAIN \nBy Marie Noël \n◊◊◊ \nThe way of all humanity traces a circle…. \nThe path that we took when we came naked into the world and which we \nclimbed from year to year until we came to the middle of our life — on that same \npath we will go down again to return\, naked\, to the place of departure. \nLittle by little we grew\, and raised our stature above the earth; little by \nlittle we will shrink and become bent down towards the earth. \nLittle by little we opened our senses\, hearing\, sight and all the others\, like \nwindows in the morning; little by little\, one after the other\, we will close them \nagain like windows in the evening. \nLittle by little\, every day\, we stored up all kinds of knowledge in our \nmemory; they will daily escape from our memory a little later on. \nA little later\, day by day\, our arms became strong\, our hands skilled\, our \ntongues able\, and rich in words; our arms will become weak\, our hands clumsy\, \nour tongues poor and stammering\, day by day\, a little later on. \nOne day\, we learned to speak; one day\, we will not be able to speak. One \nday we came down from our mother’s arms and walked by ourself; one day we \nwill stop walking by ourself and will lean on [another’s] arm. \nOne day we had not yet left our cradle and a woman took us up from time \nto time to nurse us and change our clothes; one day we will not leave our bed \nagain and a [another] will come from time to time to wash us and give us drinks. \nOne day\, for the first time\, we opened our eyes and saw; one day\, for the \nlast time\, we will shut our eyes and see no more. \nOne day\, for the first time\, we inhaled the air of this world and were born; \none day\, for the last time\, we will exhale the air of this world and die. \nOne day\, before all these days\, we spent long months in the darkness of \nour mother to form our bones and flesh and compose our bodies; one day\, after \nall these days\, we will spend long months in the darkness of the earth to \ndecompose our bodies and unmake our flesh and bones. \nOne day\, before all these days\, we came out of our father as a little seed of \nlife; one day\, after all these days\, we will re-enter the Father of fathers to be \nbegotten anew in eternal life. \nAnd everything\, in a new Being\, will begin again.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-395/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260210
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260211
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260208T001354Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T001354Z
UID:14586-1770681600-1770767999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Scholastica
DESCRIPTION:THE LIFE OF \nST SCHOLASTICA \nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints \n◊◊◊ \nSt Scholastica\, who was St Benedict’s sister\, traditionally his twin\, \nconsecrated herself to God from her earliest years\, as we learn from St Gregory. \nIt is not known where she lived\, whether at home or in a community\, but after \nher brother had moved to Monte Cassino\, she settled at Plombariola in that \nsame neighborhood\, probably founding and ruling a nunnery about five miles to \nthe south of St Benedict’s monastery. St Gregory tells us that St Benedict \ngoverned the nuns as well as the monks\, and it seems clear that St Scholastica \nmust have been their Abbess\, under his direction. She used to visit her brother \nonce a year and\, since she was not allowed to enter his monastery\, he used to go \nwith some monks to meet her at a house a little way off. They spent these visits \nin praising God and in conferring together on spiritual matters. \nSt Gregory gives a remarkable description of the last of these visits. After \nthey had passed the day as usual they sat down in the evening to have supper. \nWhen it was finished\, Scholastica\, possibly foreseeing that it would be their last \nvisit in this world\, begged her brother to delay his return till the next day that \nthey might spend the time discoursing of the joys of Heaven. Benedict\, who was \nunwilling to transgress his rule\, told her that he could not pass a night away \nfrom the monastery. \nWhen Scholastica found that she could not move him\, she laid her head \nupon her hands which were clasped together on the table and besought God to \ninterpose on her behalf. Her prayer was scarcely ended when there arose such a \nviolent storm of rain that St Benedict and his companions were unable to set \nfoot outside the door. He exclaimed\, “God forgive you sister; what have you \ndone?” Whereupon she answered\, “I asked a favor of you and you refused it. I \nasked it of God\, and He has granted it.” Benedict was therefore forced to comply \nwith her request\, and they spent the night talking about holy things. The next \nmorning they parted\, and three days later St Benedict saw the soul of his sister \nrising to heaven like a dove.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-scholastica-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260211
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260212
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260208T001640Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T001640Z
UID:14588-1770768000-1770854399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Benedict of Aniane
DESCRIPTION:ST BENEDICT OF ANIANE \nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints \n◊◊◊ \nBenedict was the son of Aigulf of Maguelone and served King Pepin and \nhis son\, Charlemagne\, as cupbearer. At the age of twenty he made a resolution \nto seek the kingdom of God with his whole heart. He took part in the campaign \nin Lombardy\, but\, after having been nearly drowned in the river Tesino\, near \nPavia\, in endeavoring to save his brother\, he made a vow to quit the world \nentirely. \nUpon his return to Languedoc he was confirmed in this determination by \nthe advice of a hermit called Widmar\, and he went to the abbey of Saint-Seine\, \nfifteen miles from Dijon\, where he was admitted as a monk. He spent two and a \nhalf years here learning the monastic life and bringing himself under control by \nsevere austerities. Not satisfied with observing the rule of St Benedict\, he \npracticed those other points of perfection which he found prescribed in the \nRules of St Pachomius and St Basil. When the abbot died\, the brethren were \ndisposed to elect him to fill the post\, but he was unwilling to accept the charge \nbecause he knew that the monks were opposed to anything in the shape of \nsystematic reform. \nBenedict accordingly quitted Saint-Seine and\, returning to Languedoc\, \nbuilt a small hermitage beside the brook Aniane upon his own estate. Here he \nlived for some years in self-imposed destitution\, praying continually that God \nwould teach him to do His will. Some solitaries\, of whom the holy man Widmar \nwas one\, placed themselves under his direction\, and they earned their livelihood \nby manual labour\, living on bread and water except on Sundays and great \nfestivals when they added a little wine or milk if it was given them in alms. The \nsuperior worked with them in the fields and sometimes spent his time in \ncopying books. When the number of his disciples increased\, Benedict left to \nbuild a monastery in a more spacious place. \nIn a short time he had many religious under his direction\, and at the same \ntime exercised a general inspection over all the monasteries of Provence\, \nLanguedoc and Gascony\, becoming eventually the director and overseer of all \nthe monasteries in the empire; he reformed many with little or no opposition. \nIn order to have him close at hand\, the Emperor Louis the Pious obliged \nBenedict to dwell first at the abbey of Maurmünster in Alsace and then\, as he \nwanted him yet nearer\, he built a monastery upon the Inde\, later known as \nCornelimünster\, near Aachen\, the residence of the emperor and court. Benedict \nlived in the monastery yet continued to help in the restoration of monastic \nobservance throughout France and Germany. He was the chief instrument in \ndrawing up the canons for the reformation of monks at the council of Aachen in \n817\, and presided in the same year over the assembly of abbots to enforce the \nrestoration of discipline… \nThis great restorer of monasticism in the West\, worn out by \nmortifications and fatigues\, suffered much from continual sickness in the latter \npart of his days. He died at Inde with great tranquility in 821\, being then \nseventy one years of age.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-benedict-of-aniane/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260213
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260208T001859Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T001859Z
UID:14590-1770854400-1770940799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Blessed Humbleline
DESCRIPTION:BLESSED HUMBELINE \nFrom the Life of St Bernard \n◊◊◊ \nFrom earliest childhood Humbeline and Bernard had been drawn together \nby a special bond of affection and sympathy… After her marriage\, forgetful of her \nmother’s example and exhortations\, she began to follow the fashions of the world. \nIn 1117 she came to Clairvaux surrounded with all the splendor of dress and \nattendants that unlimited wealth could bestow\, thinking\, so it seems\, that she was \ndoing her brother honor. Her brother Andrew\, the porter\, in announcing her \narrival\, did not omit to describe to his Abbot the pomp and ceremony that attended \nher. \nIt grieved Bernard to hear that his beloved sister had become a worshiper at \nthe shrine of vanity. He refused to see her himself\, nor would he allow any of his \nbrothers to see her\, but told Andrew to tell her…that with these worldly ornaments \nshe was making herself the devil’s instrument for the ruin of immortal souls. \nAndrew delivered the message\, adding on his own: “Why so much solicitude to \nembellish a body destined for worms and rottenness\, while the soul that now \nanimates it is burning in everlasting flames?” \nHumbeline burst into tears\, crying out: “I deserve it all because I am a \nsinner. Yet it is for such as I that Christ suffered on the Cross. Indeed it is because of \nmy sinfulness that I seek counsel and encouragement from the saints. If my brother \nBernard\, who is the servant of God\, despises my body\, let him at least have pity on \nmy soul. Let him come; let him command; and whatever he thinks proper to enjoin \nI am prepared to carry out.” There was no resisting such an appeal. Bernard and \nhis brothers hastened to meet her and to confirm her in these good dispositions. \nIt was the holy Abbot’s desire that she should enter religion; but as this was \nunlawful without her husband’s consent\, he recommended her to live as much as \npossible like a recluse in the world\, shunning ostentation and all kinds of vanity\, \nand devoting herself\, after her mother’s example\, to the service of God and the \npoor. She promised to do so. \nFive years later\, in 1122\, having obtained after much resistance her \nhusband’s consent\, she left the world altogether and entered the convent of Jully \nwhere Elizabeth\, her sister-in-law\, was superioress. When the latter went forth \nabout 1130 to found a new convent in the neighborhood of Dijon\, Humbeline was \nappointed to succeed her. Under her direction the house flourished greatly; the \nnoblest ladies of the land sought admission in such numbers that she was forced to \nmake about a dozen new foundations. She rivaled Bernard himself in her love of \nthe Cross. Of food and sleep she allowed herself much less than the minimum \nwhich nature demands; her clothes were the meanest she could find\, and it was her \nhappiness to be employed in the humblest occupations. When her nuns begged her \nto be more careful of her health\, which seemed in danger of breaking down under \nsuch austere practices\, she replied: “For you\, my dear sisters\, whose lives have been \nconsecrated to the service of God\, this is an excellent counsel. But for me\, who have \nlived so long amidst worldly vanities\, no kind of penance can be excessive.”… \nHer last hours were consoled by the presence of three of her brothers\, \nBernard\, Andrew and Nivard… When about to breathe her last she looked with a \nradiant smile at Bernard and said: “Oh\, how happy I am to have followed your \ncounsel and consecrated myself to God! And what a beautiful reward I expect to \nreceive for the love I have entertained for you in this life!”… With these words\, she \ngave up her spirit.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-blessed-humbleline/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260213
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260214
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260208T002100Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T002100Z
UID:14592-1770940800-1771027199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:CONCERNING FOUR WAYS \nOF LOVE \nBy St Bernard of Clairvaux \n◊◊◊ \nThere are two loves\, carnal and spiritual\, from which four ways of loving \nare derived: to love the flesh carnally\, love the spirit carnally\, love the flesh \nspiritually\, and love the spirit spiritually. A certain progress and ascent from \nthe lower to the higher occurs in these. For God was made flesh in order for \nhuman beings to make progress\, so that humans (who had only known how to \nlove the flesh carnally) could also love God spiritually. By speaking and keeping \ncompany with human beings\, God made himself first loved carnally by them. \nMoreover\, when he was willing to lay down his life for his friends\, they \nwere already loving the spirit\, but still in a carnal way. So even Peter responded \nthus to Christ when he spoke about his passion: Far be it from you! Look out \nfor yourself! But when they recognized that through the same passion the \nmystery of redemption takes place\, then in that passion they were already loving \nthe flesh spiritually. When\, however\, he rises again and ascends\, they love the \nspirit spiritually\, and joyfully they sing: And if we have known Christ \naccording to the flesh\, now we know him so no longer. \nWe also love our flesh carnally when we carry out its desires; the spirit \ncarnally with weeping\, sighing and grieving in prayer; the flesh with good deeds\, \nwe watch over it with discretion. [We love] the spirit spiritually when out of \ncharity we postpone even our spiritual pursuits for fraternal benefit.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-396/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260214
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260215
DTSTAMP:20260403T145701
CREATED:20260208T002234Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260208T002234Z
UID:14594-1771027200-1771113599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Cyril & Methodius
DESCRIPTION:SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS \nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints \n◊◊◊ \nIn 862 there arrived in Constantinople an ambassador charged by \nRostislav\, prince of Moravia\, to ask if the emperor would send him missionaries \ncapable of teaching his people in their own language. Photius\, now patriarch of \nConstantinople\, decided that Cyril and Methodius were most suitable for the \nwork; they were learned men\, who knew Slavonic. \nIn 863 the two brothers set out with a number of assistants and came to \nthe court of Rostislav. The new missionaries made free use of the vernacular in \ntheir preaching and ministrations\, and this made immediate appeal to the local \npeople. To the German clergy this was objectionable\, and their opposition was \nstrengthened when the Emperor Louis forced Rostislav to take an oath of fealty \nto him. The Byzantine missionaries\, armed with their pericopes from the \nScriptures and liturgical hymns in Slavonic\, pursued their way with much \nsuccess\, but were soon handicapped by their lack of a bishop to ordain more \npriests. The German prelate\, the bishop of Passau\, would not do it\, and Cyril \ntherefore determined to seek help elsewhere\, presumably from Constantinople \nwhence he came. \nOn their way the brothers arrived in Venice. It was at a bad moment. \nPhotius at Constantinople had incurred excommunication; the proteges of the \nEastern emperor and their liturgical use of a new tongue were vehemently \ncriticized. They came to Rome bringing with them alleged relics of Pope St \nClement\, which St Cyril had recovered when in the Crimea on his way back from \nthe Khazars. Adrian II warmly welcomed the bearers of so great a gift. He \nexamined their cause\, and he gave judgment: Cyril and Methodius were to \nreceived episcopal consecration\, their neophytes were to be ordained\, and the \nuse of the liturgy in Slavonic was approved. \nWhile still in Rome Cyril died\, on February 14\, 869. He was buried with \ngreat pomp in the church of San Clemente on the Coelian\, where the relics of St \nClement had been enshrined. St Methodius now took up his brother’s \nleadership. Having been consecrated bishop he returned\, bearing a letter from \nthe Holy See recommending him as a man of “exact understanding and \northodoxy”. Kosel\, prince of Pannonia\, asked that the ancient archdiocese of \nSirmium (now Mitrovitsa) be revived. Methodius was made metropolitan and \nthe boundaries of his charge extended to the borders of Bulgaria.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-cyril-methodius/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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