BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey - ECPv6.15.18//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/New_York BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20250309T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20251102T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20260308T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20261101T060000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT DTSTART:20270314T070000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0400 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:EST DTSTART:20271107T060000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260223 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260224 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260222T103220Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T103220Z UID:14635-1771804800-1771891199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:A COMMON SHARING OF \nCHRIST’S CROSS \nFrom a sermon by St Leo the Great \n◊◊◊ \nAmong all the Christian solemnities the Paschal Mystery holds chief \nplace\, dearly beloved; for this the practices of the whole preceding year prepare \nus to worthily and rightly celebrate it. But earnest devotion is required of us \nespecially in these days which are close to this most sublime mystery of the \ndivine mercy. So it was right that the holy Apostles\, inspired by the Holy Spirit\, \nshould ordain that during these days we are to observe severer fasts\, so that we \nalso\, by a common sharing of Christ’s Cross\, might suffer a little of what He \nendured for us\, as the Apostle says: “If we suffer with him\, we shall also be \nglorified with him”. For where there is a sharing of the passion of the Lord\, \nthere is a sure and certain expectation of our promised happiness. \nThere is no one\, dearly beloved\, to whom\, because of the state of times\, \nthis fellowship of glory is denied\, as though the tranquility of peace gave us no \nopportunity for the practice of heroic virtue! For the Apostle foretold that “all \nwho live godly lives in Christ Jesus\, shall suffer persecutions”. So where people \nlive in Christ there shall be no lack of trials or persecutions. The Lord Himself \nsays to us: “Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me\, is not worthy of \nme”. Nor should we doubt that these words were directed not only to the \ndisciples of Christ\, but also to all the faithful who are all taught unto salvation. \nAnd as at all times we must live worthily\, so at all times we must bear the \nCross\, which for each one is rightly called his or her own\, for it is borne by each \none in his own way and measure. Iniquity does not dwell in peace with virtue; \ndrunkenness hates sobriety; falsehood has nothing in common with \ntruthfulness. And this division awakens such enduring conflicts that though it \nmay outwardly seem to subside\, yet never does it cease from disturbing the \ninmost soul of the just of heart\, so that it is indeed true that “all who will live \ngodly in Christ Jesus\, shall suffer persecutions”; and true as well that all this life \nis a warfare. Let each faithful soul\, learning from his own experiences\, arm \nhimself with the Cross of Christ\, that he may be found worthy of Christ. \nSo now I wish to awaken your devotion in regard to what this holy season \nrequires of us: that you beautify your holy and salutary fasting with works of \npiety. And since we are especially to labor for the pardon of our sins\, you can be \nassured of the unfailing divine mercy if you likewise in your dealings with others \nchange every offense into pardon… \nFor no matter how great the offenses between one person and another… \nwe share a common nature; so that with what mercy we judge another\, we shall \nobtain mercy from God. For “blessed are the merciful\, for they shall obtain \nmercy” from God. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-398/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260224 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260225 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260222T103340Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T103340Z UID:14637-1771891200-1771977599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:THE RAYS SHINING \nFROM THE THORNS \nFrom a commentary by St Gregory of Nyssa \n◊◊◊ \nLet us\, like Moses\, live a solitary life\, no longer entangled with adversaries \nor mediating between them. Let us live among those of like mind who are fed by \nus\, while all the movements of our soul are led by reason like sheep by their \nshepherd. Then\, as we are living at peace\, the truth will shine upon us and its \nradiance will illuminate the eyes of our soul. \nNow this truth is God. Once in an ineffable and mysterious vision it \nmanifested itself to Moses\, and it is not without significance for us that the \nflame from which the soul of the Prophet was illuminated was kindled from a \nthorn-bush. \nIf truth is God and if it is also light – two of the sublime and sacred \nepithets by which the Gospel describes the God who manifested himself to us in \nthe flesh – it follows that a virtuous life will lead us to a knowledge of that light \nwhich descended to the level of our human nature. It is not from some luminary \nset among the stars that it sheds its radiance\, which might then be thought to \nhave a material origin\, but from a bush on the earth\, although it outshines the \nstars of heaven. \nThis also symbolizes the mystery of the Virgin\, from whom came the \ndivine light that shone upon the world without damaging the bush from which it \nemanated or allowing the virgin shoot to wither. This light teaches us what we \nmust do to stand in the rays of the true light\, and that it is impossible with our \nfeet in shackles to run toward the mountain where the light of truth appears. We \nhave first to free the feet of our soul from the covering of dead skins in which our \nnature was clad in the beginning when it disobeyed God’s will and was left \nnaked. \nTo know that which is\, we must purify our minds of assumptions \nregarding things which are not. In my opinion the definition of truth is an \nunerring comprehension of that which is. He who is immutable\, who does not \nincrease or diminish\, who is subject to no change for better or worse\, but is \nperfectly self-sufficient; he who alone is desirable\, in whom all else participates \nwithout causing in him any diminution\, he indeed is that which truly is\, and to \ncomprehend him is to know the truth. \nIt is he whom Moses approached and whom today all approach who like \nMoses free themselves from their earthly coverings and look toward the light \ncoming from the bramble bush\, at the ray shining on us from the thorns\, which \nstand for the flesh\, for as the Gospel says\, that ray is the real light and the truth. \nThen such people will also be able to help others find salvation. They will be \ncapable of destroying the forces of evil and of restoring those enslaved by them \nto liberty. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-399/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260225 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260226 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260222T103501Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T103501Z UID:14639-1771977600-1772063999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:A PHYSICIAN OF SOULS \nFrom the Philokalia of Origen \n◊◊◊ \nNearly all readers of the Book of Exodus\, both believers and unbelievers\, \nare disturbed at the frequently occurring words\, The Lord hardened the heart \nof Pharaoh\, and\, I will harden the heart of Pharaoh. For among many other \ncauses of men’s disbelief we must include this: that things unworthy of God are \nspoken about God; and it is unworthy of God to bring about the hardening of \nany man’s heart so that he may disobey the will of him who hardens. \nFor readers who are convinced that there is no other God but the \nCreator think that God arbitrarily has mercy on whom he will have mercy\, \nand hardens whom he will\, when there is no reason why this should be so. \nOthers\, better advised than these\, say they look upon Scripture as \ncontaining many secrets\, and do not on that account turn aside from the \nsound faith. One of the secrets they hold to be the true account of this \nportion of Scripture. Others\, alleging that there is a God other than the \nCreator\, will have him to be just but not good\, very foolishly and impiously \ngoing the length of severing righteousness from goodness. \nFor ourselves\, we are convinced\, as we study the sacred Scriptures and \ncontemplate creation with its evidence of orderly design\, that things visible and \ninvisible\, things temporal and things eternal\, come from God the Creator\, who \nis the same with the Father of our Lord and Saviour\, the good and just and wise \nGod. In handling the Scriptures we strive to keep that steadily in view\, begging \nGod our Saviour to show us all things pertaining to a good and just and wise \nGod\, for we suppose that the things we speak of cannot be regarded\, at least \nby intelligent beings\, as the result of chance\, but that we must ask ourselves \nwhether they are consistent with his goodness and justice and wisdom… \nThe Word of God is a physician of souls and uses the most diverse \nmethods of healing the sick. Some of these methods of healing give pain and \ntorment to those who are under treatment\, some act speedily and some slowly. \nThe whole of inspired Scripture abounds in proofs of each of these statements. \nThe God who designed souls knows all their different constitutions\, and\, \nbecause he is an expert in the art of healing\, it is for him alone to say what is \nbest to be done for each\, and when. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-400/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260226 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260227 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260222T103628Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T103628Z UID:14641-1772064000-1772150399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:THE BOND OF LOVE \nFrom a sermon by St Leo the Great \n◊◊◊ \nAmong all the days which Christian devotion holds honorable in many \nways\, there is none more excellent than the Paschal Feast\, through which the \ndignity of all the solemnities in the Church of God is consecrated. Even the very \nbirth of our Lord from a human mother is credited to this mystery\, for there was \nno other reason for the Son of God to be born than that he could be fixed to a \ncross. Our mortal flesh was taken up in the womb of a Virgin\, and in this mortal \nflesh the unfolding of his Passion was accomplished. Thus the mercy of God \nfulfilled a plan too deep for words: Christ’s humanity became for us a sacrifice of \nredemption\, the destruction of sin\, and the firstfruits of resurrection to eternal \nlife. \nWhen we consider what the entire world owes to our Lord’s Cross\, we \nrealize our need to prepare for the celebration of Easter by a fast of forty days if \nwe are to take part worthily in these sacred mysteries. It is not only the highest \nbishops or the priests of the second order\, nor the ministers who administer the \nsacraments alone\, but the whole body of the Church and the entire company of \nthe faithful who must be purified\, so that in the Temple of God\, whose \nfoundation is its Founder himself\, every stone may be beautiful and all parts \nradiant. \nIf it is reasonable to embellish a king’s palace or governor’s residence with \nevery ornamental art\, so that the greater a person’s importance the more \nsplendid his dwelling\, what zeal ought to be expended in building the House of \nGod himself\, and how distinguished should be its furnishing! No doubt such a \ntask can be neither undertaken nor completed without the architect; \nnevertheless the builder of the house has given it the power to grow in stature \nthrough its own efforts. In the building of this Temple living and intelligent \nmaterials are being used\, which of their own free will assemble themselves into \na single structure at the prompting of the Spirit of grace. There was a time when \nthey neither loved God nor sought him; but he loved and sought them so that \nthey might begin to love and seek him in return. This is what the blessed apostle \nJohn speaks of when he says: Let us love God\, for he first loved us. \nSince therefore the entire company of the faithful and each believer in \nparticular form one and the same Temple of God\, there must be the same \nperfection in each individual as there is in the whole; for even if all are not \nalike in beauty nor is there equal merit in such a diversity of membership\, yet \nthe bond of love ensures communion of beauty among them all. While those \nwho are united in holy love may not all have received the same gifts of grace\, \nthey rejoice nonetheless in their mutual blessings. Nothing that they love can \nbe wanting to them\, for they become rich in their own increase when they \nrejoice in another’s progress. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-401/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260227 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260228 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260222T103732Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T103732Z UID:14643-1772150400-1772236799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:A FORESHADOW OF \nTHE GRACE TO COME \nFrom the treatise on the Holy Spirit by St Basil the Great \n◊◊◊ \nThe type manifests things to come by imitating them\, foreshadowing \nfuture events in order to make them understood. For example\, Adam was a \ntype of the One who was to come\, the rock was a type of Christ\, and the water \nthat flowed from the rock was a type of the life-giving power of the Word\, for the \nLord said: If anyone is thirsty\, let him come to me and drink. The manna \ntypified the living bread that came down from heaven and the serpent fixed to \nthe pole typified the saving Passion consummated upon the Cross\, which is why \nall who looked at it were saved. \nSimilarly\, the reason the story is told of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt \nis that they prefigure those who are saved by baptism. The firstborn of the \nIsraelites were saved in the same way as are the bodies of the baptized\, since \ngrace was given to those marked by the blood. For the blood of the lamb was a \nsymbol of the first man who was created and who of necessity still exists in us\, \ntransmitted through succeeding generations until the end of the world. \nThe sea and the cloud had the immediate effect of producing faith because \nof the amazement they aroused\, but in relation to the future they were types \nforeshadowing the grace to come. Who is wise enough to understand these \nthings\, to understand how the sea is a type of baptism because it separated the \nIsraelites from Pharaoh just as baptism separates us from the tyranny of the \ndevil? \nIn its waters the sea destroyed the enemy and in baptism is slain our \nenmity with God. From those waters the people emerged unharmed\, and we \nemerge from the waters of baptism as though we had died and come to life \nagain\, saved by the grace of him who called us. As for the cloud\, that \nforeshadowed the gift of the Spirit\, who cools the heat of the passions by the \nmortification of our body. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-402/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260228 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260301 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260222T103839Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260222T103839Z UID:14645-1772236800-1772323199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:OUR PART IN THE PASSOVER \nFrom a homily by St Gregory Nazianzen \n◊◊◊ \nWe are soon going to share in the Passover\, and although we still do so \nonly in a symbolic way\, the symbolism already has more clarity than it \npossessed in former times\, because under the law\, the Passover was\, if I may \ndare to say so\, only a symbol of a symbol. Before long\, however\, when the Word \ndrinks the new wine with us in the kingdom of his Father\, we shall be keeping \nthe Passover in a yet more perfect way and with deeper understanding. He will \nthen reveal to us and make clear what he has so far only partially disclosed. For \nthis wine\, so familiar to us now\, is eternally new. It is for us to learn what this \ndrinking is\, and for him to teach us. He has to communicate this knowledge to \nhis disciples\, because teaching is food\, even for the teacher. \nSo let us take our part in the Passover prescribed by the law\, not in a literal \nway\, but according to the teaching of the Gospel; not in an imperfect way\, but \nperfectly; not only for a time\, but eternally. Let us regard as our home the \nheavenly Jerusalem\, not the earthly one\, the city glorified by angels\, not the one \nlaid waste by armies. We are not required to sacrifice young bulls or rams\, \nbeasts with horns and hoofs that are more dead than alive and devoid of feeling; \nbut instead let us join the choirs of angels in offering God upon his heavenly \naltar a sacrifice of praise. \nWe must now pass through the first veil and approach the second\, turning \nour eyes toward the Holy of Holies. I will say more: we must sacrifice ourselves \nto God each day and in everything we do\, accepting all that happens to us for the \nsake of the Word\, imitating his passion by our sufferings\, and honoring his \nblood by shedding our own. We must be ready to be crucified. \nIf you are a Simon of Cyrene\, take up your cross and follow Christ. If you \nare crucified beside him like one of the thieves\, now\, like the good thief\, \nacknowledge your God. For your sake\, and because of your sin\, Christ himself \nwas regarded as a sinner; for his sake\, therefore\, you must cease to sin. Worship \nhim who hung on the cross because of you\, even if you are hanging there \nyourself. Derive some benefit from the very shame; purchase salvation with \nyour death. Enter paradise with Jesus\, and discover how far you have fallen. \nContemplate the glories there\, and leave the other scoffing thief to die outside in \nhis blasphemy. \nIf you are a Joseph of Arimathea\, go to the one who ordered his \ncrucifixion\, and ask for Christ’s body. Make your own the expiation for the \nsins of the whole world. If you are a Nicodemus\, like the man who worshiped \nGod by night\, bring spices and prepare Christ’s body for burial. If you are one \nof the Mary’s or Salome or Joanna\, weep in the early morning. Be the first to \nsee the stone rolled back\, and even the angels perhaps\, and Jesus himself. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-403/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260301 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260302 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260301T122159Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T122159Z UID:14656-1772323200-1772409599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Skema DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n2nd Week of Lent\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nMarch 1 – 7\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n1\nMon\n2\nTue\n3\nWed\n4\nThu\n5\nFri\n6\nSat\n7\n\n\nOffice\n2nd Sunday of Lent\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\n\n\nVigils\nExod 9:1-12\nExod 9:13-35\nExod 10:1-20\nExod 10:21-11:10\nExod 12:1-20\nExod 12:21-36\nExod 12:37-51\n\n\nLauds\nDeut 6:10-15\nDeut 6:16-19\nDeut 6:20-25\nDeut 7:1-6\nDeut 7:7-11\nDeut 7:12-15\nDeut 7:16-21\n\n\nMass\n25\n230\n231\n232\n233\n234\n235\n\n\n1st\nGen 12:1-4a\nDan 9:4b-10\nIsa 1:10\, 16-20\nJer 18:18-20\nJer 17:5-10\nGen 37:3-4\, 12-13a\, 17b-28a\nMic 7:14-15\, 18-20\n\n\n2nd\n2 Tim 1:8b-10\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 17:1-9\nLuke 6:36-38\nMatt 23:1-12\nMatt 20:17-28\nLuke 16:19-31\nMatt 21:33-43\, 45-46\nLuke 15:1-3\, 11-32\n\n\nVespers\nHeb 6:1-8\nHeb 6:13-20\nHeb 7:17-28\nHeb 8:1-6\nHeb 8:7-13\nHeb 9:1-10\nHeb 9:11-14 URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-147/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260301 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260302 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260301T122531Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T122531Z UID:14658-1772323200-1772409599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 2nd Sunday of Lent DESCRIPTION:THE JUST SHALL SHINE \nLIKE THE SUN \nFrom a commentary by St Leo the Great \n◊◊◊ \nIn the presence of chosen witnesses\, the Lord unveils his glory\, investing \nwith such splendor that bodily appearance which he shares with the rest of the \nhuman race that his face shines like the sun and his clothes become white as \nsnow. \nThe primary purpose of this transfiguration was to remove the scandal of \nthe cross from the hearts of Christ’s disciples; the greatness of his hidden glory \nwas revealed to them to prevent their faith being shaken by the self-abasement \nof the suffering he was voluntarily to undergo. In his foresight\, however\, he was \nalso laying the foundations of the Church’s hope\, teaching the whole body of \nChrist the nature of the change it is to receive\, and schooling his members to \nlook forward to a share of the glory which had already shone forth in their head. \nThe Lord had told them of this when he spoke of his coming in majesty: \nThen shall the just shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The blessed \napostle Paul bears witness to the same thing: I consider that the sufferings of \nthis present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed \nin us. And again: You have died\, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. \nWhen Christ who is your life appears\, then you will appear with him in glory. \nStill further instruction was to come from the transfiguration to fortify the \napostles and perfect their understanding. Moses and Elijah\, representing the \nlaw and the prophets. appeared in conversation with the Lord. Thus through the \npresence of these five men the saying was fulfilled: On the evidence of two or \nthree witnesses every word shall stand. What could be more firmly established \nthan that the Word in whose proclamation the trumpets of Old and New \nTestaments sound in unison\, and the writings of ancient witnesses are in perfect \naccord with the teaching of the gospel? The pages of both covenants agree with \none another. He who had been promised beforehand by mysteriously veiled \nsigns was now revealed clearly and distinctly in the radiance of his glory\, as St \nJohn says: The Law was given by Moses\, but grace and truth have come \nthrough Jesus Christ. In Christ what was promised by prophetic figures and \nwhat was signified by legal precepts are alike fulfilled\, for by his presence he \nteaches the truth of the prophecies\, and by grace he makes it possible for us to \nobey the commandments. \nMay we all therefore be confirmed in our faith through the preaching of \nthe holy Gospel\, and let no one be ashamed of the cross by which Christ has \nredeemed the world. None of us must be afraid to suffer for the sake of justice or \ndoubt the fulfillment of the prophecies\, for it is through toil that we come to rest \nand through death that we pass to life. If we continue in the acknowledgment \nand love of Christ who took upon himself all the weakness of our lowly nature\, \nwhat he conquered we too shall conquer\, and the promise he gave us we shall \nreceive. So then\, whether it is to encourage us to obey his commands or to \nendure hardships\, let the Father’s voice always be ringing in our ears and telling \nus: This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; Listen to him. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-2nd-sunday-of-lent-2/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260302 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260303 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260301T122643Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T122643Z UID:14660-1772409600-1772495999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:FROM THE WEST TO THE EAST \nFrom the catechesis of St Cyril of Jerusalem \n◊◊◊ \nI long ago desired\, true born and dearly beloved children of the Church\, to \nspeak to you concerning these spiritual and heavenly mysteries in which you \ncame to participate. Knowing well that seeing is far more persuasive than \nhearing\, I waited until now with the hope of finding you more open to the \ninfluence of my words from the actions you experience. Thus I might take and \nlead you to the brighter and more fragrant meadow of this present paradise\, \nespecially as you have been made fit to receive the more sacred mysteries and \nhave been counted worthy of divine and life-giving baptism. \nOn that evening of your baptism you entered into the outer hall of the \nBaptistry\, and there facing toward the west you heard the command to stretch \nforth your hand\, and as in the presence of Satan\, you renounced him. This figure \nis found in ancient history. For when Pharaoh\, that most cruel and ruthless \ntyrant\, oppressed the free and royal people of the Hebrews\, God sent Moses to \nbring them out of the evil grip of the Egyptians. Then the doorposts were \nanointed with the blood of the lamb that the destroyer might flee from the \nhouses which had the sign of the blood. And the Hebrew people were \nmarvelously delivered. The enemy\, however\, after their rescue\, pursued them\, \nand saw the sea wondrously parted for them. Nevertheless he went on\, \nfollowing in their footsteps and was all at once overwhelmed and engulfed in the \nRed Sea. \nNow turn from the ancient to the recent\, from the figure to the reality. \nThere\, we have Moses sent from God to Egypt; here\, Christ sent by his Father \ninto the world. There\, that Moses might lead forth an oppressed people out of \nEgypt; here\, that Christ might rescue mankind who is overwhelmed with sins. \nThere\, the blood of a lamb was the spell against the destroyer; here\, the blood of \nthe unblemished Lamb Jesus Christ is made the charm to scare evil spirits. \nThere\, the tyrant pursued even to the sea that ancient people; and in like \nmanner this daring and shameless spirit\, the author of evil\, followed you\, even \nto the very streams of salvation. The tyrant of old was drowned in the sea; and \nthis present one disappears in the saving water. \nWhat then did each of you standing up say? ‘I renounce Satan’\, meaning ‘I \nfear your power no longer\, for Christ has overthrown it\, having partaken with \nme of flesh and blood\, that through these he might by death destroy death that I \nmight not for ever be subject to bondage. I renounce you\, you crafty and most \nsubtle serpent. I renounce you\, plotter as you are\, who under the guise of \nfriendship brought about disobedience and the apostasy of our first parents. I \nrenounce you\, Satan\, the source of all wickedness.’ \nWhen you renounced Satan\, utterly breaking all covenants with him\, that \nancient connection with hell\, there is opened to you the paradise of God\, which \nhe planted toward the east\, where for his transgression our first father was \nexiled. Symbolic of this was your turning from the west to the east\, the place of \nlight. Then you were told to say: I believe in the Father\, and in the Son\, and in \nthe Holy Spirit\, and in one baptism of repentance. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-404/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260303 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260304 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260301T122745Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T122745Z UID:14662-1772496000-1772582399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:THE FOOD OF THE SPIRIT \nFrom a commentary by St Cyril of Alexandria \n◊◊◊ \nWe shall think of the manna as a figure foreshadowing the teaching and \nthe spiritual gifts of Christ. These also are from heaven\, and have nothing \nearthly about them. They produce no physical nausea\, and are real food not only \nof men but of angels as well. \nIn his own person the Son has revealed the Father to us\, and through the \nSon we have come to believe the teaching about the holy and consubstantial \nTrinity\, and have been well and truly guided into all the paths of virtue. The \northodox and unadulterated knowledge of these things is the food of the spirit. \nTo the people of old the manna was given at dawn\, as the light began to \nshine\, because the wealth of Christ’s teaching would be distributed so to speak \nby daylight The day has dawned upon us who believe\, as Scripture says; the \nmorning star has risen in all our hearts\, and the Sun of Righteousness\, Christ\, \nthe giver of spiritual manna\, has appeared. \nFrom his own words to the Jews we can be certain that Christ himself is \nthe true manna\, and the material manna was but an image: Your ancestors ate \nmanna in the desert and they died. This is the bread that comes down from \nheaven so that anyone who eats it may never die. I am the living bread come \ndown from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. The bread I shall \ngive is my flesh which I shall give for the life of the world. \nOur Lord Jesus Christ nourishes us for eternal life both by his commands\, \nwhich teach us how to live holy lives\, and by the Eucharist. In himself\, therefore\, \nhe is truly the divine\, life-giving manna. Anyone who eats it will be exempt from \ncorruption and will escape death\, unlike those who ate the material manna. The \ntype had no power to save\, but was merely an imitation of the reality. \nGod sent down manna like rain from above\, and ordered everyone to \ngather as much as necessary\, those who shared a tent gathering together if they \nwished. Gather it\, each of you\, he said\, with those who share your tent. Let \nnone of it be left over till the morning. That is to say\, we must fill ourselves \nwith the divine teaching of the Gospel. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-405/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260304 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260305 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260301T122846Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T122846Z UID:14664-1772582400-1772668799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:THE LIFTING UP \nOF HIS HANDS \nFrom a sermon by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nWe read in the Old Testament that\, after the people of Israel left Egypt \nwith Moses at their head\, the Amalekites\, a savage race\, came and did battle \nagainst them. Moses sent an army against them\, while he himself went up on to \na mountain to pray for them and raised his hands to the Lord. And it came to \npass that while he kept his hands raised\, the people of Israel were triumphant \nbut whenever he lowered his hands Amalek started to win. Why was it\, do you \nthink\, that the raising of his hands possessed such grace? Without doubt God \nusually takes more account of the attachments of the mind than of the postures \nof the body. \nWhy was it then? Did his prayer have no effect before God unless he raised \nhis hands? That lifting up of his hands had such an effect that their enemies \ncould not withstand the Israelites. The reason why this lifting up of hands had \nsuch force was that it signified the raising of the hands of him who said in the \npsalm\, The lifting up of my hands is like an evening sacrifice. For\, when evening \nhad already come upon the world\, his sweetest hands were stretched out on the \nCross and there was offered up that evening sacrifice that took away the sins of \nthe whole world. \nSo that raising of Moses’ hands signified the Passion of our Lord Jesus \nChrist who went up on to a mountain to pray because he ascended into heaven \nto plead our cause with the Father. There he lifts up his hands so that Amalek – \nthat is\, the devil – will not be able to vanquish us. For there he appears in God’s \nsight on our behalf and represents to him the Passion that he underwent for us. \nAs for us\, brothers\, as long as we are in this wretched life which is a trial \nupon earth\, as long as our fight is against the principalities and powers\, \nagainst the rulers of the dark things of the world\, against the spiritual \nforces of evil in the heavens\, we need to have our Lord lifting up his hands \nwithin us – that is to say\, the remembrance of his Passion should be continually \npresent in our minds. We can be quite sure\, my brothers\, that as long as the \nmemory of his Passion is in our heart\, as long as our hope is directed to where C \nhrist is pleading our cause at the right hand of the Father\, the spiritual \nAmalek – that is\, the devil – will not be able to vanquish us. \nAnd therefore\, my brothers\, let us see that this attachment\, this \nremembrance\, does not through some negligence on our part grow lukewarm in \nus. For then we shall immediately grow faint and our enemy will gain the upper \nhand and cause us distress. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-406/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260305 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260306 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260301T123152Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T123152Z UID:14666-1772668800-1772755199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:HUMILITY AND PATIENCE \nFrom “The Institutes” of John Cassian \n◊◊◊ \nWhoever seeks to be received into the discipline of the cenobium is never \nadmitted until\, by lying outside for ten days or more\, he has given an indication \nof his perseverance and desire\, as well as of his humility and patience. \nWhen a person has been admitted\, has been tested in the perseverance \nabout which we have spoken\, and has put aside his own garments and been \nclothed in the monastic habit\, he is not permitted to join the community of the \nbrothers immediately but is assigned to an elder who dwells not very far from \nthe entrance of the monastery and is responsible for being hospitable to trav- \nellers and strangers. And when he has served for a full year there and has \nwithout any complaining waited upon travellers\, having in this way been \nexposed to his first training in humility and patience\, and he is about to be \nadmitted from this to the community of the brothers\, he is given over to another \nelder who is responsible for ten younger men\, who have been entrusted to him \nby the Abba… \nThe chief concern and instruction of this man\, whereby the young man \nwho was brought to him may be able to ascend even to the loftiest heights of \nperfection\, will be\, first of all\, to teach him to conquer his desires. In order to \nexercise him assiduously and diligently in this respect\, he will purposely see to it \nthat he always demands of him things that he would consider repulsive. For\, \ntaught by numerous experiences\, they declare that a monk\, and especially the \nyounger men\, cannot restrain their yearning for pleasure unless they have first \nlearned to mortify their desires through obedience. And so they assert that \nsomeone who has not first learned to overcome his desires can never extinguish \nanger or sadness or the spirit of fornication\, nor can he maintain true humility \nof heart or unbroken unity with his brothers or a solid and enduring peace\, nor \ncan he even stay in the cenobium for any length of time. \nWith these institutes\, then\, as with the rudiments of the alphabet\, they \ninitiate those whom they strive to direct toward perfection. In this way they \ndiscern clearly whether they are grounded in a humility that is deceptive and \nimaginary or in one that is real. In order to be able to arrive easily at this\, they \nare then taught never\, through a hurtful shame\, to hide any of the wanton \nthoughts in their hearts but to reveal them to their elder as soon as they surface\, \nnor to judge them in accordance with their own discretion but to credit them \nwith badness or goodness as the elder’s examination discloses and makes clear. \nThus the clever foe is never able to get the better of a young man when he \nsees that he is protected not by his own but by his elder’s discretion. Indeed\, the \ndevil in all his slyness will not be able to deceive or cast down a young man \nunless he induces him\, either by haughtiness or by embarrassment\, to cover up \nhis thoughts. For they declare that it is an invariable and clear sign that a \nthought is from the devil if we are ashamed to disclose it to an elder. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-407/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260306 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260307 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260301T123316Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T123316Z UID:14668-1772755200-1772841599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:THE LUMINOUS DARKNESS \nFrom “The Life of Moses” by St Gregory of Nyssa \n◊◊◊ \nMoses entered into the darkness and there he saw God. What does this \nsignify? This present account seems in a way to contradict that of the first \ntheophany. Then God appeared in light\, but now he appears in darkness. Yet we \nmust not imagine this to be at variance with our normal experience of spiritual \ncontemplation. By this statement the text teaches us that religious knowledge is \nfirst experienced as light. All that is seen to be opposed to religion is darkness\, \nand darkness vanishes when we receive the light. \nBut the more the mind advances and by ever increasing and more perfect \napplication attains an intellectual comprehension of realities and approaches \ncontemplation\, the more clearly it sees that the divine nature is invisible. \nHaving left behind all appearances\, not only those perceived by the senses but \nalso those the intellect seems to see\, it plunges ever deeper within itself\, until by \nspiritual effort it penetrates to the invisible and the unknowable\, and there it \nsees God. \nThis is the true knowledge of what is sought; this is the seeing that \nconsists in not seeing\, because that which is sought transcends all knowledge\, \nbeing separated on all sides by incomprehensibility as by a kind of darkness. \nThis is why John the contemplative\, who had penetrated this luminous \ndarkness\, said that no one had ever seen God\, declaring by this negation that the \ndivine essence is beyond the reach not only of men but of every rational nature \nas well. \nAnd so\, when Moses had advanced in knowledge he declared that he saw \nGod in the darkness\, or in other words that he recognized that the Divinity is \nessentially that which transcends all knowledge and which no mind can \napprehend. The text says: Moses entered into the darkness where God was. \nWhat God? He who has made the darkness his covering\, as David declared\, \nwho had himself been initiated into the divine mysteries in that same sanctuary. \nWhen Moses arrived there\, he was taught by word what he had formerly learned \nfrom darkness\, so that\, I think\, the doctrine on this matter may be made more \nfirm for us by the witness of the divine voice. The divine word at the beginning \nforbade that the Divine be likened to any of the things known by men\, since \nevery concept which comes from some comprehensible image constitutes an \nidol of God and does not proclaim God. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-408/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260307 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260308 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260301T123419Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260301T123419Z UID:14670-1772841600-1772927999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:LOVE GOD AND NEIGHBOUR \nFrom a sermon by St Augustine of Hippo \n◊◊◊ \nMake it up with your adversary while he is with you on the road. This life \nis called a road\, along which everybody travels. And this adversary does not go \naway. But who is this adversary? This adversary is not the devil\, for Scripture \nwould never urge you to come to an agreement with the devil. So who is this \nadversary? It is the word of God. Why is it your adversary? Because it \ncommands things against the grain which you do not do. It tells you: Your God \nis one; worship one God. \nWhat you want is to put away the one God who is like the lawful husband \nof your soul and go fornicating\, and what is much more serious\, not openly \ndeserting and repudiating him as apostates do\, but remaining in your husband’s \nhouse and letting in adulterers. That is\, as if you were a Christian you do not \nleave the Church but you consult astrologers or sorcerers. \nYou are told\, Do not take the name of the Lord your God in vain and you \nare told to observe the Sabbath in a spiritual way\, in hope of the future rest \nwhich the Lord has promised you. Whoever does whatever he can for the sake of \nthat future rest\, even though what he is doing seems toilsome\, nonetheless he \nalready has the Sabbath in hope\, though he does not yet have it in fact. But as for \nyou\, the reason you want to rest is in order to work\, whereas you ought to be \nworking in order to rest. \nYou are told\, Honour your father and your mother. You heap insults on \nyour parents\, which you certainly do not want to endure from your children. \nYou are told\, You shall not kill. But you want to kill your enemy; and the only \nreason you do not do it is that you are afraid of the human judge. Do you not \nrealize that God is the witness of your thoughts? The man you want dead is alive\, \nbut God holds you to be a murderer in your heart. \nYou were singing earlier on: O God\, I will sing you a new song\, on a harp \nof ten strings I will play to you. Now I am strumming these ten strings. You see\, \nthe decalogue of the Law has ten commandments. These ten commandments \nare arranged in such a way that three refer to God and seven refer to men. \nCommandments on three strings refer to God. But to the other commandment\, \nthat is\, the love of neighbour\, seven strings refer to how people should live \ntogether. This series of seven\, like seven strings\, begins with the honouring of \nparents: Honour your father and your mother… Let us join these to those three \nthat refer to love of God\, if we wish to sing the new song to the harp of the ten \nstrings. \nThe ten commandments are reducible to those two commandments\, that \nwe should love God and our neighbour\, and these two to the one we are looking \nfor: What you do not want done to you\, do not do to another. There the ten are \ncontained\, and there also are contained the two. Sing to the harp of ten strings\, \nsing a new song\, and come to an agreement with the word of God\, while it is with \nyou on the road. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-409/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260308 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260309 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260308T030739Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260308T030739Z UID:14676-1772928000-1773014399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Skema Third Week of Lent DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n3rd Week of Lent\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nMarch 8 – 14\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n8\nMon\n9\nTue\n10\nWed\n11\nThu\n12\nFri\n13\nSat\n14\n\n\nOffice\n3rd Sunday of Lent\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\n\n\nVigils\nExod 13:1-16\nExod 13:17-14:9\nExod 14:10-31\nExod 15:1-21\nExod 15:22-16:15\nExod 16:16-35\nExod 17:1-16\n\n\nLauds\nDeut 8:1-6\nDeut 8:7-14\nDeut 9:1-6\nDeut 9:7-13\nDeut 9:15-21\nDeut 9:22-29\nDeut 10:12-22\n\n\nMass\n28\n237\n238\n239\n240\n241\n242\n\n\n1st\nExod 17:3-7\n2 Kgs 5:1-15a\nDan 3:25\, 34-43\nDeut 4:1\, 5-9\nJer 7:23-28\nHos 14:2-10\nHos 6:1-6\n\n\n2nd\nRom 5:1-2\, 5-8\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nJohn 4:5-42\nLuke 4:24-30\nMatt 18:21-35\nMatt 5:17-19\nLuke 11:14-23\nMark 12:28b-34\nLuke 18:9-14\n\n\nVespers\nHeb 9:15-22\nHeb 9:23-28\nHeb 10:1-10\nHeb 10:11-18\nHeb 10:19-25\nHeb 10:26-31\nHeb 10:32-39 URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-third-week-of-lent/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260308 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260309 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260308T031449Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260308T031449Z UID:14678-1772928000-1773014399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Third Sunday of Lent DESCRIPTION:POWER TOGETHER\nWITH WEAKNESS\nFrom a commentary by St Augustine 1\n◊◊◊\nWearied by his journey\, Jesus sat down beside a well. It was about the sixth hour. Already divine mysteries begin. Not for nothing is Jesus wearied; nor for nothing does the Power of God suffer fatigue. Not for nothing does he who refreshes the weary endure weariness. Not for nothing is he wearied\, whose absence makes us weary\, whose presence gives us strength.\nJesus is tired\, tired out by his journey. He sits down. On the edge of a well he seats himself. It is midday\, and he sits there exhausted. All these details have meaning. They are meant to signify something. They capture our attention\, persuading us to knock and investigate further. We have Christ’s own exhortation to do so\, for he said: Knock\, and it will be opened to you. May he\, then\, open up the meaning of this text to us as well as to you. \nIt was for your sake that Jesus was wearied by his journey. In Jesus we encounter divine power together with weakness. He is strong and weak at one and the same time: strong\, because in the beginning was the Word\, and the Word was with God\, and the Word was God\, present with God from the beginning. Would you know how strong the Word of God is? All things were made through him\, and apart from him nothing came into being. The whole universe was made without effort. Could any greater power exist than the power of one who was able effortlessly to construct the entire universe? \nAnd would you know him in his weakness? The Word was made flesh\, and lived among us. The power of Christ created you; the weakness of Christ recreated you. Christ’s power caused what did not exist to come into being; Christ’s weakness saved existing things from destruction. In his might he fashioned us; in his weakness he came in search of us. \nJesus\, then\, is weak\, tired out after his journey. Now that journey of his\, undertaken for our sake\, was his incarnation. How could he otherwise journey when he is present everywhere\, and absent from nowhere? To what place or from what place could he travel? In only one way could he come to us\, and that was by assuming our visible human flesh. Since then he condescended to come to us in that way\, and to appear in the condition of a servant by taking to himself a human nature\, that assumption of our nature was his journey. \nThe fatigue caused by his journey\, therefore\, was the weariness Jesus experienced in our human nature. In his human body he was weak\, but you must not be weak. You must be strong in his weakness\, for there is more power in divine weakness than in human strength. \n1\nJourney with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY – 1992 – pg 40. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/third-sunday-of-lent/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260309 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260310 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260308T031848Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260308T031848Z UID:14680-1773014400-1773100799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Weekday in Third Week in Lent DESCRIPTION:THE BLOOD OF CHRIST \nFrom “A Treatise Upon the Passion” by St Thomas More 2\n◊◊◊\nIn the twenty-fourth chapter of Exodus it is related that Moses\, in confirmation of the old Law\, put half the blood of the sacrifice into a cup\, and the other half he shed upon the altar. And\, after the book of the Law had been read\, he sprinkled the blood upon the people and said unto them: This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in all these words. And so was the Old Testament ratified and confirmed with blood. \nAnd in like manner was the New Testament confirmed with blood\, saving that\, in order to declare the greater excellence of the New Testament brought by the Son of God\, above the Old Testament brought by the prophet Moses\, whereas the Old Testament was ratified with the blood of a brute beast\, the New Testament was ratified with the blood of a rational man\, and of that man who was also God\, that is to say\, with the blessed blood of our holy Saviour himself. And that self-same blood did our Lord here give unto his apostles in this blessed sacrament\, as he plainly declared himself\, saying: This is my blood of the New Testament\, or: This is the chalice of the New Testament in my blood which shall be shed for you and for many for the remission of sins.\nWhen our Lord said this\, he declared therein the efficacy of the New Testament above the old\, in that the old Law in the blood of beasts could only promise the remission of sin that was to come later. For as Saint Paul says: It was impossible that sin should be taken away by the blood of brute beasts. \nBut the new Law with the blood of Christ does perform the thing that the old Law promised\, that is\, the remission of sin And therefore our Saviour said: This is the chalice of the New Testament in my blood – that is\, to be confirmed in my blood – which shall be shed for the remission of sins. \nHis words also declared the wonderful excellence of this new blessed sacrament above the sacrifice of the paschal lamb\, in these words: For you and for many. For in these words our Saviour spoke\, says Saint Chrysostom\, as though he meant to say: The blood of the paschal Lamb was shed only for the first-born among the children of Israel\, but this blood of mine shall be shed for the remission of the sin of all the whole world. \n2\nSt Thomas More\, A Treatise upon the Passion\, 4.1; from Word in Season II\, 1st ed. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/weekday-in-third-week-in-lent/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260310 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260311 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260308T032318Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260308T032318Z UID:14682-1773100800-1773187199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Tuesday in Third Week in Lent DESCRIPTION:GOD MADE VISIBLE\nIN THE FLESH \nBy St John of Damascus 3\n◊◊◊\nGod\, the best physician of souls\, prohibits from making images those who are still infants and ill with a diseased inclination to idolatry\, those who are apt to venerate idols as gods. For it is impossible to make an image of God who is incorporeal\, invisible\, and with neither shape nor circumscription; how can what cannot be seen be depicted? That they did venerate idols as gods\, listen to what Scripture says in Exodus\, when Moses went up on to Mount Sinai and was there for some time\, waiting to receive the Law from God\, the senseless people rose up against the servant of God\, Aaron\, saying\, Make us gods to go before us; as for this man\, Moses\, we do not know what has become of him. \nI know what the One who cannot lie said: The Lord your God is one Lord\, and you shall not make any carved likeness\, of anything in heaven or on the earth\, and all who venerate carved images shall be put to shame. I venerate one God\, one divinity but also I worship a trinity of persons\, God the Father and God the Son incarnate and God the Holy Spirit. I do not offer three venerations\, but one\, not to each of the persons separately\, but I offer one veneration to the three persons together as one God. I do not venerate the creation instead of the creator\, but I venerate the Creator\, created for my sake\, who came down to his creation that he might glorify my nature and bring about communion with the divine nature. \nI venerate together with the King and God the purple robe of his body\, not as a garment\, nor as a fourth person (God forbid!)\, but as unchangeably equal to God and the source of anointing. For the nature of the flesh did not become divinity\, but as the Word became flesh immutably\, remaining what it was\, so also the flesh became the Word without losing what it was… Therefore I am emboldened to depict the invisible God\, not as invisible\, but as he became visible for our sake\, by participation in flesh and blood. I do not depict the invisible divinity\, I depict God made visible in the flesh… \nWe\, who\, passing beyond childhood to reach maturity\, are no longer under a custodian\, have received the habit of discrimination from God and know what can be depicted and what cannot be delineated in an image. For it is now clear that you cannot depict the invisible God. When you see the bodiless become human for your sake\, then you may accomplish the figure of a human form; then you may depict him on a board and set up to view the One who has accepted to be seen. \nDepict his ineffable descent\, his birth from the Virgin\, his being baptized in the Jordan\, his transfiguration on Tabor\, what he endured to secure our freedom from passion\, the miracles which are symbols of his divine nature and activity accomplished through the activity of the flesh\, the saving tomb of the Saviour\, the resurrection\, the ascent into heaven. Depict all these in words and in colors\, in books and on tablets. \n3\nSt John of Damascus\, On the Divine Images III. 4\, 6\, 8; (1996) tr. Andrew Louth. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/tuesday-in-third-week-in-lent/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260311 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260312 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260308T033155Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260308T034938Z UID:14685-1773187200-1773273599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Wednesday in Third Week in Lent DESCRIPTION:THE LIGHT OF CHRIST\nFrom a commentary by St Ambrose 4\n◊◊◊\nLet your face shine on your servant\, and teach me your precepts. The Lord enlightens his saints and makes his light shine in the hearts of the just. This means that when you see wisdom in anyone you can be sure that the glory of God has come down and flooded that person’s mind with the light of understanding and knowledge of divine truth. With Moses\, however\, it was different: God’s glory affected his body also\, causing his face to shine. Indeed\, his countenance was so transfigured that the were afraid to look at him\, and he was obliged to cover his face with a veil so that should not be alarmed at the sight of it. \nNow the face of Moses represents the splendor of the Law; yet this splendor is not to be found in the written letter but in the Law’s spiritual interpretation. As long as Moses lived\, he wore a veil over his face whenever he spoke… But after his death Jesus\, or Joshua\, the son of Nun\, spoke to the elders and the people without a veil. When he did so no one was afraid\, even though God had spoken to Joshua as well as to Moses\, assuring him that he would be with him just as he had been with Moses and would make him resplendent also. \nJoshua’s glory\, however\, would be seen in his deeds rather than in his face. By this the Holy Spirit signified that when Jesus\, the true Joshua\, came\, he would lift the veil from the heart of anyone who turned to him in willingness to listen\, and that person would then see his true Saviour with unveiled face. \nSo it was that\, through the coming of his Son\, God the almighty Father made his light shine into the hearts of the Gentiles\, bringing them to see his glory in the face of Christ Jesus. This is clearly stated in the Apostle’s letter\, where we find the following written: The God who commanded light to shine out of darkness has made his light shine in our hearts\, to enlighten us with the knowledge of God’s glory shining in the face of Christ Jesus. \nAnd so when David says to the Lord Jesus: Let your face shine upon your servant\, he is expressing his longing to see the face of Christ\, so that his mind may be capable of enlightenment. These words can be taken as referring to the incarnation\, for as the Lord himself declared: Many prophets and righteous men have desired to have this vision. David was not asking for what had been denied to Moses\, namely that he might see the face of the incorporeal God with his bodily eyes… There was nothing wrong\, therefore\, in David’s desire to see the face of the Virgin’s Son who was to come; he desired it in order that God’s light might shine in his heart\, as it shone in the hearts of the disciples who said: Were not our hearts burning within us when he opened up the Scriptures to us? \n4\nSt Ambrose\, On Psalm 118 17:26-29 (CSEL 62:390-392); from Word in Season II\, 1st ed. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/wednesday-in-third-week-in-lent/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260312 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260313 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260308T033636Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260308T033636Z UID:14687-1773273600-1773359999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Thursday in Third Week in Lent DESCRIPTION:THE POWER OF\nCHRISTIAN PRAYER\nFrom the treatise “On Prayer” by Tertullian 5\n◊◊◊\nPrayer is the spiritual offering that has replaced the ancient sacrifices. What good do I receive from the multiplicity of your sacrifices?\, asks God. I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams\, and I do not want the fat of lambs and the blood of bulls and goats. Who has asked for these from your hands? What God has asked for\, we learn from the Gospel: The hour will come\, it says\, when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. God is spirit\, and so he looks for worshipers who are like himself. \nWe are the true worshipers and the true priests. Praying in spirit we offer prayer to God as a sacrifice. Prayer is an appropriate and an acceptable sacrifice to God. It is the offering he has asked for and the offering he expects. We must make this offering with our whole heart. We must fatten it on faith\, prepare it by truth\, keep it unblemished by innocence\, spotless by chastity\, and we must crown it with love. We must escort it to the altar of God in a procession of good works to the sound of psalms and hymns. Then it will gain for us all that we ask of God. What can God refuse to prayer offered in spirit and in truth\, when he himself asks for such prayer? How many proofs of its efficacy we read about\, hear of\, and believe! \nOf old prayer brought deliverance from fire and beasts and hunger even before it received its pattern from Christ. How much greater then is the power of Christian prayer! It does not bring an angel of comfort to the heart of a fiery furnace\, or shut the mouths of lions\, or transport to the hungry food from the fields. The grace it wins does not remove all sense of pain\, but it does endow those who suffer with the capacity to endure and the faith to know what the Lord will give those who suffer for the name of God. \nIn the past prayer caused plagues\, routed armies\, withheld the blessing of rain. Now the prayer of good people turns aside the anger of God\, keeps vigil for their enemies\, pleads for their persecutors. If prayer once had the power to call down fire from heaven\, is it any wonder that it can call down from heaven the waters of grace? Prayer is the one thing that can conquer God. But Christ has willed that it should work no evil: all the power he has given it is for good. \nAll the angels pray. Every creature prays. Cattle and wild beasts pray and bend the knee. As they come from their barns and caves they look up to heaven and call out\, lifting up their spirit in their own fashion. The birds too rise and lift themselves up to heaven: they open out their wings\, instead of hands\, in the form of a cross\, and give voice to what seems to be a prayer. \nWhat more need be said about the duty of prayer? Even the Lord himself prayed. To him be honour and power for ever and ever. Amen. \n5 \nTertullian\, De oratione 28-29 (CCL 1:273-274); from Word in Season II\, 1st ed. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/thursday-in-third-week-in-lent/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260313 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260314 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260308T034237Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260308T034237Z UID:14689-1773360000-1773446399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Friday in Third Week in Lent DESCRIPTION:THE MYSTERY OF\nTHE TABERNACLE\nFrom “The Life of Moses” by St Gregory of Nyssa 6\n◊◊◊\nWhat then is that tabernacle not made with hands which was shown to Moses on the mountain and to which he was commanded to look as to an archetype so that he might reproduce it in a handmade structure? God said\, See that you make them according to the pattern shown you on the mountain. Of what things not made with hands are these an imitation? And what benefit does the material imitation of those things Moses saw there convey to those who look at it? \nTaking a hint from what has been said by Paul\, who partially uncovered the mystery of these things\, we say that Moses was earlier instructed by a type in the mystery of the tabernacle which encompasses the universe. This tabernacle would be Christ who is the power and the wisdom of God\, who in his own nature was not made with hands\, yet capable of being made when it became necessary for this tabernacle to be erected among us. Thus\, the same tabernacle is in a way both unfashioned and fashioned\, uncreated in pre-existence but created in having received this material composition. This one is the Only Begotten God\, who encompasses everything in himself but who also pitched his own tabernacle among us. \nWhenever the prophet looks to the tabernacle above\, he sees the heavenly realities through these symbols. But if one should look at the tabernacle below\, since in many places the Church also is called Christ by Paul\, he would see the Church. In this tabernacle both the sacrifice of praise and the incense of prayer are seen offered continually at morning and evening. The great David allows us to perceive these things when he directs the incense of his prayer in an odor of sweetness to God\, performing his sacrifice through the lifting up of his hands… \nIf the interior\, which is called the Holy of Holies\, is not accessible to the multitude\, let us not think that this is at variance with the sequence of what has been perceived. For the truth of reality is truly a holy thing\, a holy of holies\, and is incomprehensible and inaccessible to the multitude. Since it is set in the secret and ineffable areas of the tabernacle of mystery\, the apprehension of the realities above comprehension should not be meddled with; one should rather believe that they do exist and that they remain in the secret and ineffable areas of the Intelligence. \n6 St Gregory of Nyssa\, The Life of Moses 170\, 173-175\, 184-188; CWS (1978) tr.Malherbe & F erguson. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/friday-in-third-week-in-lent/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260314 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260315 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260308T034856Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260308T035032Z UID:14691-1773446400-1773532799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Saturday in the Third Week in Lent DESCRIPTION:HIDDEN BY HIS HOLY FLESH\nFrom a commentary by St Cyril of Alexandria 7\n◊◊◊\nEmmanuel\, God-with-us\, is presented in figure and image when Scripture says: And you will place the ark of the testimony in the tabernacle and cover it with the veil. For in the preceding account the Word was described to us as in the whole tabernacle; for it was the house in which God dwelt\, namely\, the holy body of Christ. But despite that\, the ark gives us the same meaning in detail. For it was made of acacia wood\, for you to perceive his incorruptibility. It was entirely overlaid with pure gold\, as it is written\, both inside and outside. For everything in him\, both divine and human\, is precious and splendid; and in everything he is pre-eminent\, as Paul says… \nSo the ark was made of acacia wood and overlaid with gold\, and had the divine Law put into it as a symbol of the indwelling Word of God united to a holy body. For the Word of God was also the Law\, even\, if not in human form\, as the Son is. But it is covered with the veil. \nIt was much the same with God the Word made man\, the covering of his own body obscured to the many. He\, too\, was hidden by his holy flesh as by a veil. Some of the Jews\, therefore\, failing to recognize his divine majesty\, sometimes tried to stone him to death\, accusing him of claiming to be God\, when he was a man. Others again did not hesitate to say: Is this not Jesus\, the son of Joseph\, whose father and mother we know? How\, then\, can he say: ‘I have come down from heaven.’ \nSo the laying of a veil on the ark tells us symbolically that Jesus would not be recognized by the many. Then even the ark itself was a symbol of him. So it was even he who went before the Israelites in the desert\, taking the place of God at that time; for it was he who led the people. The psalmist is also a witness to this\, saying: When you went before your people\, O God\, when you crossed the desert\, the earth shook and the heavens\, too\, poured down rain. For the ark being always in front clearly means that God leads the way. \nFor Christ is one\, but is understood in many and various ways: he is the tabernacle\, because of the veil of flesh; he is the ark\, containing the divine Law\, as he is the Word of God the Father; he is the table\, as life and nourishment; the lampstand\, as intellectual and spiritual light; he is the altar of sacrifice\, as the fragrant odor in sanctity; and the altar of offerings\, as an offering for the life of the world. Thus all things in life are sanctified\, for Christ is entirely holy\, in whatever way he is understood. \n7 St Cyril of Alexandria\, On John IV.4 (PG 73:620-621\, 625); from Word in Season II\, 2nd ed URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/saturday-in-the-third-week-in-lent/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260315 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260316 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260314T234305Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260314T234305Z UID:14701-1773532800-1773619199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Skema DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n4th Week of Lent\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nMarch 15 – 21\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n15\nMon\n16\nTue\n17\nWed\n18\nThu\n19\nFri\n20\nSat\n21\n\n\nOffice\n4th Sunday of Lent\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nSt Joseph\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\n\n\nVigils\nExod 18:1-27\nExod 19:1-15\nExod 19:16-25\nExod 20:1-21\nHeb 11:1-16\nExod 24:1-18\nExod 25:1-22\n\n\nLauds\nDeut 11:1-7\nDeut 11:8-12\nDeut 11:13-17\nDeut 11:18-25\nGen 45:4-8\nDeut 26:16-19\nDeut 27:1-10\n\n\nMass\n31\n244\n245\n246\n543\n248\n249\n\n\n1st\n1 Sam 16:1b\, 6-7\, 10-13a\nIsa 65:17-21\nEzek 47:1-9\, 12\nIsa 49:8-15\n2 Sam 7:4-5a\, 12-14a\, 16\nWis 2:1a\, 12-22\nJer 11:18-20\n\n\n2nd\nEph 5:8-14\n\n\n\nRom 4:13\, 16-18\, 22\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nJohn 9:1-41\nJohn 4:43-54\nJohn 5:1-3a\, 5-16\nJohn 5:17-30\nMatt 1:16\, 18-21\, 24a\nJohn 7:1-2\, 10\, 25-30\nJohn 7:40-53\n\n\nVespers\nHeb 11:1-7\nHeb 11:8-16\nHeb 11:17-22\nEph 3:14-21\nJames 1:22-27\nHeb 12:1-6\nHeb 12:7-13 URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-148/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260315 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260316 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260314T234446Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260314T234446Z UID:14703-1773532800-1773619199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 4th Sunday of Lent DESCRIPTION:COME TO CHRIST \nFrom a commentary by St Ambrose \n◊◊◊ \nYou have heard that story in the gospel where we are told that the Lord \nJesus\, as he was passing by\, caught sight of a man who had been blind from \nbirth. Since the Lord did not overlook him\, neither ought we to overlook the \nstory of a man whom the Lord considered worthy of his attention. In particular \nwe should notice the fact that he had been blind from birth. This is an important \npoint. \nThere is\, indeed\, a kind of blindness\, usually brought on by serious illness\, \nwhich obscures one’s vision\, but which can be cured\, given time; and there is \nanother sort of blindness\, caused by cataract\, that can be remedied by a \nsurgeon; he can remove the cause and so the blindness is dispelled. Draw your \nown conclusion: this man\, who was actually born blind\, was not cured by \nsurgical skill\, but by the power of God. \nWhen nature is defective the Creator\, who is the author of nature\, has the \npower to restore it. That is why Jesus also said: As long as I am in the world\, I \nam the light of the world\, meaning: all who are blind are able to see\, so long as I \nam the light they are looking for. Come\, then\, and receive the light\, so that you \nmay be able to see. \nWhat is he trying to tell us\, he who brought human beings back to life\, \nwho restored them to health by a word of command\, who said to a corpse\, Come \nout! And Lazarus came out from the tomb; who said to a paralytic\, Arise and \npick up your stretcher\, and the sick man rose and picked up the very bed on \nwhich he used to be carried as a helpless cripple? Again\, I ask you\, what is he \ntrying to convey to us by spitting on the ground\, mixing his spittle with clay and \nputting it on the eyes of a blind man\, saying: Go and wash yourself in the pool of \nSiloam (a name that means “sent”)? What is the meaning of the Lord’s action in \nthis? Surely one of great significance\, since the person whom Jesus touches \nreceives more than just his sight. \nIn one instant we see both the power of his divinity and the strength of his \nholiness. As the divine light\, he touched this man and enlightened him; as a \npriest\, by an action symbolizing baptism he wrought in him his work of \nredemption. The only reason for his mixing clay with the spittle and smearing it \non the eyes of the blind man was to remind you that he who restored the man to \nhealth by anointing his eyes with clay is the very one who fashioned the first \nman out of clay\, and that this clay that is our flesh can receive the light of eternal \nlife through the sacrament of baptism. \nYou\, too\, should come to Siloam\, that is\, to him who was sent by the \nFather (as he says in the gospel\, My teaching is not my own\, it comes from him \nwho sent me). Let Christ wash you and you will then see. Come and be baptized\, \nit is time; come quickly\, and you too will be able to say\, I was blind\, and now I \ncan see\, and as the blind man said when his eyes began to receive the light\, The \nnight is almost over and the day is at hand. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-4th-sunday-of-lent-3/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260316 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260317 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260314T234553Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260314T234553Z UID:14705-1773619200-1773705599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:THE ACCURSED ONE \nWEARS THE WREATH \nFrom “The Letter of Barnabas” \n◊◊◊ \nBear in mind\, O children of joy\, that there is not a single thing which the \nLord in his goodness has not made clear to us beforehand\, so that we may know \nto whom all our thanks and praises are due. Though the Son of God was the \ndivine Lord\, and the future Judge of living and dead alike\, yet nevertheless he \nsuffered\, in order that his affliction might win life for us. \nNotice the directions he gave. Take a couple of goats\, unblemished and \nwell-matched; bring them for an offering\, and let the priest take one of them \nfor a burnt offering. And what are they to do with the other? The other\, he \ndeclares\, is accursed. (Now see how plainly the type of Jesus appears.) Spit on \nit\, all of you; thrust your goads into it\, wreathe its head with scarlet wool\, and \nso let it be driven out into the desert. \nThis is done\, and the servant leads the animal into the desert\, where he \ntakes off the wool and leaves it there… Now what does that signify? Notice that \nthe first goat is for the altar\, and the other is accursed; and that it is the accursed \none that wears the wreath. That is because they shall see him on That Day clad to \nthe ankles in his red woollen robe\, and will say\, ‘Is not this he whom we once \ncrucified\, and mocked and pierced and spat upon? Yes\, this is the man who told \nus that he was the son of God.’ \nBut how will he resemble the goat? The point of there being two similar \ngoats\, both of them fair and alike\, is that when they see him coming on the Day\, \nthey are going to be struck with terror at the manifest parallel between him and \nthe goat. In this ordinance\, then\, you are to see typified the future sufferings of \nJesus… \nMen whose sins had come to a head were to bring a heifer for an offering\, \nand slay it and burn it. Then\, after gathering up the ashes and putting them into \nbasins of water\, young children were to tie scarlet wool on branches of wood \n(here again\, you see\, we have the scarlet wool and the type of the Cross)\, \ntogether with sprigs of hyssop; and with these the people were to be sprinkled\, \nman by man\, by the youngsters\, to cleanse them from their sins. See how clearly \nhe is speaking to you here! The calf is Jesus\, and the sinners who offer it are \nthose who dragged him to the slaughter. Why was the wool put on living wood? \nBecause the royal realm of Jesus is founded on a Tree\, and they who hope in him \nshall have eternal life. To ourselves it is plain enough that these were the true \nreasons for doing things in this way; but to them it was all dark\, because their \nears were deaf to the voice of the Lord. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-410/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260317 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260318 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260314T234657Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260314T234657Z UID:14707-1773705600-1773791999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:GUARDING OUR CONSCIENCE \nFrom the writing of St Dorotheus of Gaza \n◊◊◊ \nWhen God created man\, he implanted in us something of his own divinity\, \nin the way of a more ardent disposition\, with a shining spark of reason to \nilluminate our minds and teach us the difference between good and evil. This is \ncalled conscience\, which is the natural law. It was by submitting to this law\, that \nis\, to the conscience\, that the patriarchs and all the faithful in the days before the \nwritten Law were well-pleasing to God. But since conscience was clogged and \ntrampled on by humanity in general through successive sins\, we needed the \nwritten Law\, we needed the holy Prophets\, and we needed the coming of our \nLord Jesus Christ to uncover and awaken it\, and to bring the buried spark back \nto life through the observance of his holy commands. \nSo it is now up to us either to keep it buried\, or to allow it to shine in us and \nilluminate us if we obey it. For when our conscience tells us to do something and \nwe ignore it\, and it speaks again and we still do nothing but trample on it\, we \nfinally bury it\, and it can no longer speak clearly to us because of the weight \npressing on it. \nLet us take the greatest care\, then\, brothers\, to guard our conscience as \nlong as we live in this world\, and not allow it to convict us of any wrongdoing\, \nnor despise it even in the smallest matters for any reason at all. For\, as you \nknow\, from scorning such small and supposedly unimportant things we are led \nto despise even great things. Both living a good life and living a life of sin grow \nfrom small beginnings\, to end in either great good or great evil. \nThen we must guard our conscience in relation to God\, in relation to our \nneighbour and in relation to material things. In relation to God\, so as not to \ndespise his commands\, even if no one sees us or expects anything of us. We \nguard our conscience for God in secret\, for instance\, when we do not neglect \nprayers and\, when our mind is inflamed with passion\, we agree to calm down \nand relax; and\, when we see our neighbour talking or doing anything\, we refrain \nfrom suspecting and condemning him for appearing to be up to no good. \nGuarding our conscience in relation to our neighbour means to do \nnothing at all which we know will distress or frighten our neighbour\, either by \ndeed\, word\, gesture or look. For\, as I have often told you before\, even a gesture \ncan upset a neighbour\, and so can a look. \nGuarding our conscience in relation to material things means not to \nmisuse anything\, nor let anything be wasted or left lying about\, but if we see \nanything lying about not to ignore it\, even if it is something quite unimportant\, \nbut pick it up and return it to its right place; it also means not to neglect our \nclothes. Equally with food: you can satisfy your needs with a small amount of \nvegetables or lentils\, or a few olives; but to refuse to do so\, and to insist on \nhaving either pleasanter or more expensive food – all such things are against \nconscience. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-411/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260318 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260319 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260314T234759Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260314T234759Z UID:14709-1773792000-1773878399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:GROUNDED IN THE FAITH \nFrom a homily by Origen \n◊◊◊ \nThe omnipotent God\, who lays down for men the contest of observing his \nLaw in this world\, lists what ought to be done and not done\, announces suitably \nat the end of the book of Leviticus where each individual observance is \nestablished\, what reward he who fulfills them bears and what punishment he \nwho does not observe them undergoes. \nBut if the Law…is not spiritual but carnal\, there is no doubt that he grants \ncarnally observed blessings also to those who observe them carnally. But if\, as it \nseems to the Apostle Paul\, the Law is spiritual then it must be observed \nspiritually and there is a spiritual reward of the blessings for which they hope… \nSo that what we say may not be doubted\, let us hear the voice of the Apostle Paul \nhimself writing about spiritual blessings to the Ephesians: Blessed be the God \nand Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who blessed us in Christ with every \nspiritual blessing in heaven. \nAnd you will eat your bread in abundance. I do not take that to be a \nphysical blessing\, as if he who keeps the Law of God obtains this ordinary bread \nin abundance. Why? Do not the impious and wicked eat bread not only in \nabundance but even in delight? Therefore\, if we turn our attention more to him \nwho said\, I am the living bread which descended from heaven\, and whoever \neats this bread will live forever\, and if we consider that he who said this was \nthe Word by which souls are nourished\, then we will understand about \nwhich bread it was said\, And you will eat your bread in abundance. In \nProverbs\, Solomon also proclaims similar things about the just man when \nhe says\, When the just man eats\, he will fill his soul; but the souls of the \nimpious will be in extreme poverty. \nIf you take it according to the literal sense\, it appears false. For the \nsouls of the impious take food with eagerness and strive after satiety; but \nthe just meanwhile are hungry. Paul was just and he said\, Up to this hour \nwe are hungry\, and thirsty\, and naked\, and we are beaten with fists. But \nif you consider how the just man always and without interruption eats \nfrom the living bread and fills his soul with the heavenly food which is the \nWord of God and his Wisdom\, you will find how the just man eats his \nbread in abundance from the blessing of God. \nAnd you will dwell secure upon your land. The unjust man is never \nsecure but is always moved and wavers and is carried about by every wind of \ndoctrine. But the just man who keeps the Law of God dwells secure upon his \nland. For his understanding is made firm by saying to God\, Confirm me\, O \nLord\, in your words. Therefore\, he lives upon his land grounded in the faith \nbecause his building is not placed upon sand\, and his root is not ‘upon a rock’\, \nbut indeed his house was founded upon the earth\, but his plant took root in the \ndepth of the earth\, that is\, in the interior of his soul. Therefore\, it is rightly said \nto a soul of this kind in the blessings\, You will dwell secure upon your land; and \nI will give peace upon your land. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-412/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260319 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260320 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260314T234909Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260314T234909Z UID:14711-1773878400-1773964799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Joseph DESCRIPTION:EVERYTHING HE DID \nWAS DONE FOR GOD \nFrom a sermon by Jacques Benigne Bossuet \n◊◊◊ \nAmong all the various vocations\, I have noticed in Scripture two which \nseem complete opposites: the first is that of the apostles; the second that of St. \nJoseph. Jesus was revealed both to the apostles and to St Joseph\, but for very \ndifferent reasons. He was revealed to the apostles so that they could proclaim \nhim to the whole world. He was revealed to Joseph so that he could remain \nsilent and conceal him. \nThe apostles were lights to make Jesus Christ visible to the whole world. \nJoseph was a veil to hide him\, and under this veil of mystery were hidden for us \nthe virginity of Mary and the greatness of the Savior. So we read in Scripture \nthat when people wished to belittle him they would say: Is he not Joseph’s son? \nFor the apostles then\, Jesus was a Word to be proclaimed. Preach the message \nof this gospel. For Joseph\, however\, Jesus was an unspoken word which was not \nto be revealed. \nSee what the result is. The holy apostles proclaimed the word so loudly \nthat their word was re-echoed in the heavens\, and St Paul dared to say that the \nheavenly powers learned the counsels of the divine Wisdom through the \nChurch. On the other hand\, when Joseph heard the marvels of Jesus Christ \nspoke of\, he listened\, wondered\, and kept silence. \nWhat is the meaning of this difference? Is God at odds with Himself in \nsuch contrasting vocations? No\, you must not think so. All this diversity is \nmeant to teach God’s children the important truth that the whole of Christian \nperfection lies simply in submission. He who glorified the apostles by conferring \non them the honorable duty of preaching\, glorified Saint Joseph also by giving \nhim the humble duty of keeping silent. We should learn from this that true \nChristian glory lies not in employments that win public acclaim\, but in doing \nGod’s will. \nIf everyone cannot have the honor of preaching Jesus Christ\, everyone \ncan have the honor of obeying him\, and that is the glory of Saint Joseph\, the \ntrustworthy honor of Christians. So do not ask me what Saint Joseph did in his \nhidden life. I cannot possibly tell you. I can only reply the words of the Psalmist: \nBut what has the just man done? Usually the lives of sinners attract more \nattention than those of good people because it is excitement and passion which \nmake a stir in the world. The sinners have drawn the bow\, says David\, they \nhave let fly at the righteous\, destroyed\, overthrown – he speaks only of worldly \npeople – for they have destroyed what you have made. He goes on. But what \nhas the just man done? He means that he has done nothing. Indeed he has done \nnothing for people to see\, because everything he did was done for God. \nThat is the way Saint Joseph lived. He saw Jesus Christ and remained \nsilent; he had experience of him but spoke no word. He did not share his glory \nwith others\, but was satisfied with God alone. He fulfilled his vocation because\, \njust as the apostles were the ministers appointed to make Jesus Christ known\, \nso Joseph was his minister and companion in his hidden life. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-joseph-2/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260320 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260321 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260314T235009Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260314T235009Z UID:14713-1773964800-1774051199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:WHEREVER CHRIST LEADS \nBy St Cyril of Alexandria \n◊◊◊ \nThe glory of Christ filled the true Tabernacle\, which is the Church\, from \nthe very moment it was set up on earth. This\, surely\, is what is signified by the \ncloud that covered the first Tabernacle. Christ has filled the Church with his \nglory\, and now like a fire\, he shines forth to give light to those who live in the \ndarkness of ignorance and error. He shades and protects those already \nenlightened by the dawn of his day in their hearts. He refreshes them with the \nheavenly dew of his consolations sent down from above through the Spirit. This \nis what we should understand by the saying that by night he appeared in the \nform of fire\, and by day in the form of cloud. \nThose who were as yet uninstructed in the teaching of Christ required \nspiritual enlightenment to bring them to a knowledge of God; but the more \nadvanced\, whose minds had been illumined by faith\, were in need of protection \nfrom the scorching heat of the day\, and of courage to bear the burdens of this \npresent life. For all who desire to live a godly life in Christ will suffer \npersecution. \nWhenever the cloud moved forward\, the Tabernacle went with it; when \nthe cloud settled\, the Tabernacle came to rest with it and the Israelites broke \ntheir journey. Now the meaning of this for us is that wherever Christ leads\, the \nChurch\, the holy multitude of believers\, follows him. The faithful are never \nseparated from the Saviour who calls them to himself. We may not be able to \nfind any special meaning in the constant halts and new departures throughout \nour spiritual journey under Christ’s guidance. It is the whole journey\, following \nthe cloud whether it moves forward or settles\, that symbolizes our desire to be \nwith God. \nNevertheless\, if we would have a more subtle interpretation\, we could \nperhaps say that our first departure is from unbelief to faith\, from ignorance to \nknowledge\, and from having no perception of the true God to clear recognition \nof the Creator and Lord of the universe. The second stage\, and an essential one\, \nis conversion from sin and licentiousness to a desire for amendment both in \nthought and deed. But the best and most glorious is the third part of the journey\, \nbecause in it we leave behind what is deficient and move onward toward what is \nperfect both in our actions and in our belief. \nSo\, little by little\, we advance toward the ideal we see in Christ\, to become \nthe perfect man\, sharing in the perfection of Christ himself. This surely is what \nSaint Paul means by saying: Forgetting what lies behind me and straining \nforward to what lies ahead\, I press on to reach the goal\, the heavenly reward to \nwhich God calls me in Christ Jesus. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-413/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260321 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260322 DTSTAMP:20260403T174701 CREATED:20260314T235108Z LAST-MODIFIED:20260314T235108Z UID:14715-1774051200-1774137599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org SUMMARY:Vigils Reading DESCRIPTION:MANY ARE CALLED\, \nBUT FEW ARE CHOSEN \nFrom “The Conferences” of St John Cassian \n◊◊◊ \nNow something must be said about the renunciations which the tradition \nof the Fathers and the authority of Holy Scripture show to be three and which \neach one of us ought to pursue with all our zeal. The first is that by which in \nbodily fashion we despise all the wealth and resources of the world. The second \nis that by which we reject the former behavior\, vices\, and affections of soul and \nbody. The third is that by which we call our mind away from everything that is \npresent and visible and contemplate only what is to come and desire those \nthings that are invisible. \nWe read that the Lord commanded Abraham to do these three things all at \nonce when he said to him\, Leave your country and your kinsfolk and your \nfather’s house. First he spoke of your country – namely\, of the resources of this \nworld and of earthly wealth; secondly\, of your kinsfolk – namely\, of the former \nway of life and behavior and vices that have been related to us from our birth by \na connection as it were of a certain affinity or consanguinity; thirdly\, of your \nfather’s house – namely\, of every vestige of this world which the eyes gaze upon. \nTherefore\, if we desire to achieve true perfection we ought to strive so \nthat\, just as with our body we have disdained parents\, homeland\, wealth\, and \nthe pleasures of the world\, we may also in our heart abandon all these things \nand not turn back again in our desires to what we have left behind\, like those \nwho were led out by Moses. Although\, to be sure\, they did not return in body\, \nnonetheless they are said to have turned back to Egypt in their heart\, for they \nabandoned the God who had led them out with such powerful signs and they \nvenerated the idols of Egypt that they had once disdained. Scripture recalls it \nthus: In their hearts they turned back to Egypt\, saying to Aaron: Make for us \ngods who will go before us. \nWe would be censured along with those who dwelled in the desert and \nwho desired the disgusting food of vice and filthiness after having eaten the \nheavenly manna\, and we would seem to complain like them: It was well with us \nin Egypt\, when we sat over pots of flesh and ate onions and garlic and \ncucumbers and melons. Although this manner of speaking first referred to that \npeople\, nonetheless we see it now daily fulfilled in our life and profession. For \neveryone who has first renounced this world and then returns to his former \npursuits and his erstwhile desires proclaims that in deed and in intention he is \nthe same as they were\, and he says: ‘It was well with me in Egypt’. \nI fear that there will be found as many such people as we read there were \nmultitudes of sinners in the time of Moses. For although six hundred and three \nthousand armed men were said to have left Egypt\, no more than two of these \nentered the promised land. Hence we must strive to take our models of virtue \nfrom the few and far between\, since\, according to that figure of speech in the \nGospel\, many are said to be called but few are said to be chosen. Bodily \nrenunciation and removal from Egypt\, as it were\, will be of no value to us\, \ntherefore\, if we have been unable to obtain at the same time the renunciation \nof heart which is more sublime and more beneficial. URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-414/ CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR