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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231025
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231026
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231021T153705Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231021T153705Z
UID:11122-1698192000-1698278399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Office of Vocations
DESCRIPTION:THE EXERCISE OF VIRTUES\nFrom “Introduction to the Devout Life” by St Francis de Sales4\n◊◊◊\nCharity never enters the heart without lodging there all the other virtues in its\ntrain\, exercising and disciplining them as a captain does his soldiers. It neither\nemploys them all at the same time\, nor in the same manner… for charity waters the\nsoul and produces a variety of good works\, each one in its proper time… \nAmong the virtues unconnected with our particular duty we must prefer the\nmore excellent to the more showy. Comets usually appear greater than stars and seem\nto our eyes to occupy a greater space. In reality\, neither in magnitude nor equality can\nthey be compared to the stars. They only seem great because they are nearer… There\nare certain virtues which are greatly esteemed and always preferred by the general\nrun of men because they are near at hand\, apparent to our senses\, and\, so to speak\,\nmaterial. Hence it is that so many prefer corporal alms before spiritual; the hair shirt\,\nfasting\, going barefoot\, using the discipline\, and other such corporal mortifications\,\nbefore meekness\, mildness\, modesty\, and other mortifications of the heart\, which are\,\nnevertheless\, more exalted. Choose then… the best virtues\, not the most esteemed;\nthe most noble\, not the most apparent; those that are actually the best\, not those that\nmake the most show. \nIt is profitable for everyone to exercise some particular virtue\, not so far as to\nabandon the rest but more properly to keep his spirit ordered and occupied…\nEulogius of Alexandria desired to render God some particular service\, but did not\nhave strength enough to embrace a solitary life\, nor to subject himself to the\nobedience of another. Hence he took a poor wretch quite eaten up with the leprosy\ninto his house\, that he might exercise toward him the virtues of charity and\nmortification. To perform them the more worthily\, he made a vow to honor and serve\nhim as his lord and master. Both Eulogius and the leper having a temptation to quit\neach other\, they addressed themselves to the great St. Anthony\, who said\, “Take care\,\nmy children\, not to separate from each other. Both of you are near your end. If the\nangel should not find you together\, you run a great risk of losing your crown… \nWhen assaulted by any vice we must embrace the practice of the contrary\nvirtue as much as we can\, and refer all the others to it. By this means we shall\novercome our enemy and at the same time advance in all the virtues. Thus\, if assaulted\nby pride or by anger\, I must in all my actions yield and turn toward humility and\nmeekness and adapt all my other exercises of prayer and the sacraments\, of prudence\,\nconstancy\, and sobriety to this end. In order to sharpen his tusks\, the wild boar wets\nand polishes them with his other teeth and by this means sharpens all of them. So also\na virtuous man who has undertaken to perfect himself in the virtue that he most needs\nfor his own defense\, files and polishes it by the exercise of the other virtues. Even\nwhile they help to refine that one\, they make all the others become more excellent\nand better polished. \nSo it happened to Job. He exercised himself particularly in patience against the\nmany temptations wherewith he was assaulted and became perfectly holy and\nconfirmed in all kinds of virtues… As St. Gregory Nazianzen says\, that by the perfect\nexercise of only one virtue a person may attain to the height of all the rest. For this he\nalleges the example of Rahab\, who\, having exactly practiced the virtue of hospitality\,\narrived at a great degree of glory. This is to be understood of a virtue that is practiced\nwith great fervor and charity… In this\, if we conduct ourselves with humility and\nfidelity\, God will infallibly elevate us to heights that are truly great. \n4 St Francis de Sales. Introduction to the Devout Life. Trans. John K. Ryan. New York: Harper & Brothers\, Publishers\,\n1950. 76-79\, 82.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/office-of-vocations/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231026
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231027
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231021T154134Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231021T154134Z
UID:11124-1698278400-1698364799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Weekday
DESCRIPTION:KINDLED AND ENFLAMED BY GOD\nFrom “The Eternal Promise” by Quaker Thomas Kelly5\n◊◊◊\nGod your passion? Do you long for Him and rejoice in Him and find life\nmeaningful only to the degree you are in His Presence and He is in your life? Do\nyou keep close to the Divine Center\, the Inner principle counting all else as loss?\nFor a depth of commitment such as mild men do not know\, I speak in order that\nyou may hear Him speak in you the same message. Out of such lives will the world\nbe reborn\, will the church be reborn. Hasten unto God\, all you zealous pearlmerchants! There will you find rest for your souls\, and power\, and peace\, and joy\nunspeakable and full of Glory. \nHasten unto God. I have spoken with deep feeling\, for I am convinced this is\nthe deepest need of all men. We…have become earthy. We are more at home with\nhumans than we are with God. We have men of burning social passion\, but not so\nmany that burn for God\, who long for God\, who go down deep into the Waters of\nHis life\, who call to us\, “O taste and see that the Lord is good.” Social reformers we\nhave now\, men who are great in their contribution to social thinking\, to war\, to\npeace\, to economic injustice\, to racial cooperation. But this epoch of history is\nweak in great prophets of the inner life\, great voices who cry in the wilderness\,\n“Prepare ye the way of the Lord within your hearts.” Skill in social expressions of\nGod is great; skill in communion with Him\, agile obedience to the Inward Glory\, is\nless common today… \nStrip monasticism; strip it of its retreat behind walls from much human\nneed; strip it of its celibacy; and there is left\, in Bernard of Clairvaux and Francis\nof Assisi\, a God-hunger\, and completeness of renunciation of all else in the world\nin comparison with the life that is hid with Christ in God. Such a passion for God as\nleads men… to leave father and mother and all the world… until deep relations\nwith God have been found… Such men and women\, not with social techniques\, but\nwith God-motivations born out of deep immersion in the ocean of the Love of\nGod… Down at the base of life\, for all such people\, would be a fellowship in a\ncommon Life which is the Light within every man who is kindled and enflamed by\nGod. \nDo not misunderstand me. There is a practice of the presence of God which\nis done on the run\, in the busiest of days\, in office\, and schoolroom\, and kitchen.\nLittle prayers and communion; ejaculation of surrender and joy and exaltation…\nAnd most of our lives can be lived this way\, as divine conversation of our soul with\nGod\, going on behind the scenes all the time. But then come crucial periods in life\nwhen the quest for God grows hot\, when the hot breath of the Hound of Heaven is\nat our heels\, when the heart cries out\, “Give me the Presence or I die.” And these\nare the times when we get beneath the conventional mildness of average\nreligiosity\, and find Him more fully\, who is dearer than life itself. From these men\nand women will come the profound return to religion… the love of God and\nneighbor\, which is so desperately needed. \n5 Kelly\, Thomas. The Eternal Promise. New York: Harper & Row\, Publishers\, 1966. 116-118.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/weekday-12/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231027
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231028
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231021T154552Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231021T154552Z
UID:11126-1698364800-1698451199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Weekday
DESCRIPTION:THOSE WHO SEARCH FOR THE TIME \nOF CHRIST’S COMING\nFrom a commentary by St Cyril of Alexandria6\n◊◊◊\nObserve how… He cried unto the multitudes\, saying; “When you see a cloud\nrising out of the west\, straightway you say that rain comes; and it is so. And when\n[you see] the south wind blowing\, you say there will be heat: and so it is.” For men\nfix their attention on things of this kind\, and from long observation and practice\ntell beforehand when rain will fall\, or gusts happen of violent winds: and one\nespecially sees sailors very skillful in this matter. Well therefore\, He says\, well\nwould it become those who can calculate things of this sort\, and… fix the\npenetrating glance of the mind also upon matters of importance. And what are\nthese? The law showed beforehand the mystery of Christ; and that certainly He\nwould shine forth in the last ages of the world upon the inhabitants of the earth\,\nand submit to be a sacrifice for the salvation of all… \nBut against those\, who\, in the greatness of their wickedness\, have scorned\nHis goodness\, and rejected the Saviour\, there is decreed wrath and misery; and\, as\nit were\, a winter of torment and punishment\, from the blast of which hard will it\nbe to escape. For\, as the Psalmist says; “Fire\, and brimstone\, and the whirlwind\, is\nthe portion of their cup.” And why so? Because they have rejected… the grace that\nis by faith; and therefore the guilt of their sins cannot be wiped away\, and they\nmust bear\, as they deserve\, the punishment due to those who love sin. For…He\nsaid; “Verily I say unto you\, that if you believe not that I am He\, you shall die in\nyour sins.”… \nBut those who are in Christ by faith\, escaping from the pollutions of sin\, are\nnot only not full of shame\, but have that boldness which becomes those who are\nfree. It was their duty\, therefore… as being possessed of understanding\, and able\nto discern the face of the sky and of the earth\, to examine also things future\, and\nnot to let those tempests escape their observation\, which come after this world.\nFor there will be the south wind and rain: that is to say\, fiery torment. For the south\nwind is hot: and the infliction of that punishment is vehement and inevitable\, like\nthe rain falling upon those overtaken by it. They must not\, therefore\, let the time\nof salvation pass by unnoticed: that time in which our Saviour came\, and at which\nperfect knowledge of the truth reached mankind\, and the grace shone forth which\npurifies the wicked… \nNow all of us\, without exception\, upon earth are guilty of offences: he who\nhas a suit against us and accuses us is the wicked Satan: for he is “the enemy and\nthe exactor.” While therefore we are in the way… let us deliver ourselves\nfrom him: let us do away with the offences of which we have been guilty: let us\nclose his mouth: let us seize upon the grace that is by Christ\, which frees us from\nall debt and penalty\, and delivers us from fear and torment: lest if our impurity be\nnot cleansed away\, we be carried before the judge\, and given over to the exactors\,\nthat is\, the tormentors\, from whose cruelty no man can escape… who will exact\nvengeance for every fault\, whether it be great or small. \nFar removed from this danger are those who search for the time of Christ’s\ncoming\, and are not ignorant of His mystery\, but well know that the Word\, though\nHe be God\, has shone forth upon the inhabitants of earth in likeness as one of us\,\nthat freeing them from all blame\, He may bless with exceeding happiness those\nwho believe in Him\, and acknowledge Him as God… \n6 St Cyril of Alexandria. Patristic Bible Commentary. Accessed Online:\nhttps://sites.google.com/site/aquinasstudybible/home/luke-commentary/cyril-on-luke-12
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/weekday-13/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231028
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231029
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231021T155146Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231021T155146Z
UID:11128-1698451200-1698537599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:SS Simon and Jude
DESCRIPTION:THE ZEAL OF THE APOSTLES \nFrom a sermon on Sts. Simon and Jude by St John Henry Newman7 ◊◊◊ \nThe Apostles commemorated on this Festival direct our attention to the subject of Zeal. St. Simon is called…the Zealous; a title given him (as is supposed) from his belonging before his conversion to the Jewish sect of Zealots\, which professed extraordinary Zeal for the Law… The marks him as distinguished for this particular Christian grace. St. Jude’s Epistle\, which forms part of the service of the day\, is almost wholly upon the duty of manifesting Zeal for Gospel Truth\, and opens with a direct exhortation to “contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints.” \nIt will be a more simple account of Zeal\, to call it the earnest desire for God’s honor\, leading to strenuous and bold deeds in His behalf; and that in spite of all obstacles. Now Zeal is one of the elementary religious qualifications; that is\, one of those which are essential in the very notion of a religious man. A man cannot be said to be in earnest in religion\, till he magnifies his God and Savior; till he so far consecrates and exalts the thought of Him in his heart\, as an object of praise\, and adoration\, and rejoicing\, as to be pained and grieved at dishonor shown to Him\, and eager to avenge Him. In a word\, a religious temper is one of loyalty towards God; and we all know what is meant by being loyal from the experience of civil matters. \nTo be loyal is not merely to obey; but to obey with promptitude\, energetic dutifulness\, disinterested devotion\, disregard of consequences. And such is Zeal\, except that it is ever attended with that reverential feeling which is due from a creature and a sinner towards his Maker\, and towards Him alone. It is the main principle in all religious service to love God above all things; now\, Zeal is to love Him above all other people\, above our dearest and most intimate friends. This was the special praise of the Levites\, which gained for them the reward of the Priesthood\, that is\, their executing judgment on the people in the sin of the golden calf. Zeal is the very consecration of God’s Ministers to their office. \nAccordingly our Blessed Savior\, the One Great High Priest… of all Priests who went before Him and the Lord and Strength of all who come after\, began His manifestation of Himself by two acts of Zeal. When twelve years old he deigned to put before us in representation the sacredness of this duty\, when He remained in the Temple “while His father and mother sought Him sorrowing\,” and on their finding Him\, returned answer\, “Do you not know that I must be about My Father’s business? And again\, at the opening of His public Ministry\, He went into the Temple\, and “made a scourge of small cords\, and drove out the sheep and oxen\, and overthrew the changers’ tables” that profaned it: thus fulfilling the prophecy contained in the text\, “Zeal for your house has eaten me up.” Being thus consumed by Zeal Himself\, no wonder He should choose His followers from among the Zealous. \n7 “Christian Zeal\,” in Parochial and Plain Sermons\, San Francisco: Ignatius Press\, 1987\, pp. 464 ff.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/ss-simon-and-jude/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231029
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231030
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231028T185103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231028T185103Z
UID:11138-1698537600-1698623999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n30th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nOctober 29 – November 4\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n29\nMon\n30\nTue\n31\nWed\n1\nThu\n2\nFri\n3\nSat\n4\n\n\nOffice\n30th Sunday\nWeekday\nWeekday\nAll Saints\nAll Souls\nSt Martin de Porres\nSt Charles Borromeo\n\n\nVigils\nNeh 8:1-4a; 5-6; 8-18\nNeh 9:1-11\nNeh 9:12-20\nRev 5:1-14\nEzek 37:1-14\nNeh 9:21-28\nNeh 9:29-37\n\n\nLauds\nHab 1:1-4\nHab 1:5-11\nHab 1:12-17\nSir 44:1-15\nJob 14:1-12\nHab 2:1-4\nHab 2:5-8\n\n\nMass\n148\n479\n480\n667\n668\n483\n484\n\n\n1st\nExod 22:20-26\nRom 8:12-17\nRom 8:18-25\nRev 7:2-4\, 9-14\nWis 3:1-9\nRom 9:1-5\nRom 11:1-2a\, 11-12\, 25-29\n\n\n2nd\n1 Thess 1:5c-10\n\n\n1 Jn 3:1-3\n2 Cor 5:1\, 6-10\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 22:34-40\nLuke 13:10-17\nLuke 13:18-21\nMatt 5:1-12a\nJohn 11:17-27\nLuke 14:1-6\nLuke 14:1\, 7-11\n\n\nVespers\n2 Cor 5:16-21\n2 Cor 6:1-13\nHeb 11:32-12:2\nRev 19:5-9\n1 Thess 4:13-18\n2 Cor 6:14-7:1\n2 Cor 7:2-10
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-49/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231029
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231030
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231028T185225Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231028T185225Z
UID:11140-1698537600-1698623999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 30th Sunday ORD
DESCRIPTION:PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR \nFrom a commentary by St Augustine1 \n◊◊◊ \nI know\, beloved\, how well fed you are every day by the exhortations of Holy Scripture\, and what nourishment your hearts find in the word of God. Nevertheless the affection we have for one another compels me to say something to you\, beloved\, about love. To speak about love there is no need to select some special passage from Scripture to serve as a text for the homily; open the Bible at any page and you will find it extolling love. We know this is so from the Lord himself\, as the gospel reminds us\, for when asked: what were the most important commandments of the law\, he answered: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart\, and with all your soul\, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And then\, just in case you might be tempted to search further through the pages of Holy Scripture for some commandments other than these two\, he added: The entire law and the prophets also depend upon these two commandments. If the entire law and the prophets depend upon these two commandments\, how much more must the gospel do so? \nPeople are renewed by love. As sinful desire ages them\, so love rejuvenates them. Enmeshed in the toils of his desires the psalmist laments: I have grown old surrounded by my enemies. Love\, on the other hand\, is the sign of our renewal from the Lord’s own words: I give you a new commandment – love one another. \nEven in former times there were people who loved God without thought of reward\, and whose hearts were purified by their chaste longing for him. They drew back the veils obscuring the ancient promises\, and caught a glimpse through these figures of a new covenant to come. They saw that all the precepts and promises of the old covenant\, geared to the capacities of an unregenerate people\, prefigured a new covenant which the Lord would bring to fulfillment in the last age. The Apostle says this quite clearly: The things that happened to them were symbolic\, and were recorded for us who are living in the last age. When the time for it came the new covenant began to be openly proclaimed\, and these ancient figures were expounded and explained so that all might understand that the old covenant promises were pointed to the new covenant. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnd so love was present under the old covenant just as it is under the new\, though then it was more hidden and fear was more apparent\, whereas now love is more clearly seen and fear is diminished. For as love grows stronger we feel more secure\, and when our feeling of security is complete fear vanishes\, since\, as the apostle John declares: Perfect love casts out fear \n\n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY -1999 – pg 136-137. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-30th-sunday-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231030
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231031
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231028T185353Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231028T185353Z
UID:11142-1698624000-1698710399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:HUMBLE YOURSELF AND BE COMFORTED \nFrom the writing of St Alphonsus de Liguori2 \n◊◊◊ \nWhen you…are visited by God with any infirmity\, or loss\, or persecution\, humble yourself\, and say with the good thief\, “We receive the due reward of our deeds. Lord\, I deserve this cross because I have offended Thee.” Humble yourself and be comforted: for the chastisement that you receive is a proof that God wishes to pardon the eternal punishment due to your sins… Let this be my consolation\, that the Lord may afflict me and may not spare me here below in order to spare me hereafter. O God! how can he who has deserved hell complain if the Lord send him a cross. Were the pains of hell trifling\, still\, because they are eternal\, we should gladly exchange them for all temporal sufferings that have an end. But no: in hell there are all kinds of pain — they are all intense and everlasting. And though you should have preserved baptismal innocence and have never deserved hell\, you have at least merited a long purgatory: and do you know what purgatory is? St. Thomas says that the souls in purgatory are tormented by the very fire that tortures the damned. Hence St. Augustine says that the pain of that fire surpasses every torment that man can suffer in this life. Be content\, then\, to be chastised in this life rather than in the next; particularly since by accepting crosses with patience in this life your sufferings will be meritorious; but hereafter you will suffer without merit. \nConsole yourself also in suffering with the hope of paradise. St. Joseph Calasanctius used to say: “To gain heaven all labor is small.” And before him the Apostle said: “The sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come\, that shall be revealed in us.” It would be but little to suffer all the \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\npains of this earth for the enjoyment of a single moment in heaven: how much more\, then\, ought we to embrace the crosses that God sends us when we know that the short sufferings of this life shall merit for us an eternal felicity. That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation\, worketh for us… an eternal weight of glory. We should feel not sadness but consolation of spirit when God sends us sufferings here below. They who pass to eternity with the greatest merits shall receive the greatest reward. It is on this account that the Lord sends us tribulations. Virtues\, which are the fountains of merits\, are practiced only by acts. They who have the most frequent occasions of annoyance make the most frequent acts of patience; they who are most frequently insulted make most frequent acts of meekness. Hence St. James says\, “Blessed is the man that endureth temptation; for when he hath been proved\, he shall receive the crown of life…” \nThis thought made Job exclaim: “If we have received good things at the hand of God\, why should we not receive evil?” He meant to say\, if we have gladly received good things\, why should we not also receive with greater joy temporal evils\, by which we shall acquire the eternal goods of paradise? This thought also filled with jubilation the hermit whom a soldier found singing in a <forest>\, though his body was covered with ulcers so that his flesh was falling to pieces. The soldier said to him: “Is it you that were singing?” “Yes\, I sang\, and I had reason to sing; for between me and God there is nothing but the filthy wall of my body. I now see it falling to pieces\, and therefore I sing\, because I see that the time is at hand when I shall go to enjoy my Lord.” This thought made St. Francis of Assisi say: “So great is the good which I expect\, that to me every pain gives delight.” In a word\, the saints feel consoled when they see themselves in tribulation\, and are afflicted when they enjoy earthly consolations \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n2 Saint Alphonsus de Liguori. The True Spouse of Jesus Christ. Brooklyn\, NY: Redemptorist Fathers\, 1929. 384=386. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-127/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231031
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231101
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231028T185530Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231028T185530Z
UID:11144-1698710400-1698796799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE OPPOSITION OF THE FALLEN SPIRITS TO PRAYER \nFrom the writing of Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov3 \n◊◊◊ \nThe devil employs all his efforts to hinder prayer or to make it powerless and ineffective. For this spirit\, cast down from heaven for pride and rebellion against God\, infected with incurable envy and hatred for the human race\, burning with thirst for the destruction of men\, sleeplessly engaged day and night in man’s ruin\, it is intolerable to see weak and sinful man detach himself by prayer from everything earthly\, enter into conversation with God Himself and go out from this conversation sealed with the mercy of God\, in hope of inheriting heaven and seeing even his frail body transformed into a spiritual body. This spectacle is unbearable for a spirit who is forever condemned to creep and crawl\, as in mud and stench\, in thoughts and feelings exclusively carnal\, material\, sinful\, and who must finally be cast down and confined for all eternity in the prisons of hell… \nOnly in extreme need\, especially if obedience requires it\, may the time appointed for prayer be given up to some other occupation. Without an extremely important reason never abandon prayer\, beloved brother! He who abandons prayer abandons his salvation; he who is careless about prayer is careless about his salvation; he who quits prayer renounces his salvation. \nA monk must be very cautious\, because the enemy is trying to surround him on all sides with his wiles and snares to deceive\, incite\, confuse\, seduce him from the way enjoined by the commandments of the Gospel\, and ruin him in time and eternity… But the enemy’s wiles are turned to profit by a watchful ascetic. Seeing a murderer constantly near him with a drawn dagger raised to strike\, the helpless\, powerless monk who is truly poor in spirit unceasingly cries for help to the all- powerful God with vigorous shouting and tears\, and obtains it… \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis conflict never ceases day or night\, but it becomes specially intense and furious when we stand for prayer. Then\, according to the expression of the holy Fathers\, the devil gathers the most monstrous thoughts from everywhere and pours them on our soul.” First he reminds us of all who have wronged or offended us. He tries to present all the insults\, wrongs and injuries inflicted on us in the most lurid colours. He points out the necessity for retaliation and resistance to them by demanding justice\, common sense\, the public good\, self-preservation\, self-defense. \nIt is obvious that the enemy tries to shake the very foundation of prayer\, namely forgiveness and meekness\, so that the building erected on this foundation may collapse of its own accord… Angry thoughts dissipate prayer; they blow it aside\, just as a violent wind scatters seeds thrown by a sower on his field; so the field of the heart remains unsown\, and all the ascetic’s hard work comes to nothing. It is a well-known fact that forgiveness of wrongs and offenses\, changing condemnation of our neighbours into kindness and mercy so that we excuse them and blame ourselves\, provides the only solid basis for successful prayer.”… \nAlthough a true servant of God is allowed to undergo a struggle with the many forms of solicitation and temptation to sin offered by satan and arising from our nature warped by the fall\, yet God’s right hand is constantly supporting and guiding him. The very struggle brings the greatest profit\, giving the combatant spiritual experience\, a clear and exact understanding of the corruption of human nature\, of sin\, of the <devil>\, leading the wrestler to contrition of spirit\, to weeping and mourning over himself and all mankind.. \n\n\n3 Bishop Ignatius Brianchaninov. The Arena: An Offering to Contemporary Monasticism. Madras\, India: Diocesan Press\, 1970. 217-223. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-128/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231102
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231028T185707Z
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UID:11146-1698796800-1698883199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - All Saints
DESCRIPTION:FOLLOWING CHRIST \nFrom the writing of St Gertrud the Great4 \n◊◊◊ \nO consuming fire\, my God… Devouring me\, a speck of dust\, in the fiery vigor of your love\, consume me utterly and absorb me into yourself. Behold\, I am approaching you… Let your face light up over me so that my darkness may become like noonday in your presence… Make me… to be listed and numbered in the generation of those who know you\, God of Israel; among the generation of those who seek your face\, God of Jacob; in the generation of those who cherish you\, God of hosts. \nHoly Trinity\, one God: grant that my heart may fear you\, cherish you\, follow you because you are my true love. Holy Mary\, paradise of holiness\, lily of purity\, be the guide and guardian of my chastity\, for in you is all the grace of life and truth… Saint John the Baptist\, obtain for me enlightenment through that true light to whom you came to bear witness. O my Father Abraham\, obtain for me that faith and obedience which led you to friendship with the living God. O Moses\, dear to God\, obtain for me that spirit of mildness\, peace\, and charity which made you worthy to hold discourse face to face with the Lord of majesty. O David\, venerable king and prophet\, obtain for me the wholeness of fidelity\, promptitude\, and humility that made you a man after God’s own heart\, to be truly pleasing and dear to God the king… Saint Peter\, first of the apostles\, by your authority deliver me from the bonds of all my sins. Saint Paul\, chosen vessel\, obtain for me that gift of true cherishing-love… Saint Mary Magdalene\, most fervent lover of Jesus Christ\, obtain for me the most diligent observance of holy religion. All saints and chosen ones of God\, obtain for me such observance of holy religion that thereby I may come with you to that homeland of eternal life which knows nothing but joys\, where God is all in all. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nMy beloved Jesus Christ\, I desire to enter with you into a beloved rule so that I may renew and remake my life in you… Place my life in the guardianship of your Holy Spirit so that I may keep your commandments at all times… Flood my sense with the light of your love so that you alone may teach and guide me\, and convert me within. Sink my spirit so firmly into your Spirit – quickly down into its ground – that I may be truly buried in you. And let me be so fully transported out of myself into union with you that nobody may know of my grave in you except your living love alone\, which may place its seal on it. \nTherefore\, by the cooperation of your grace and through the spotless law of your love\, turn my soul from the frailty of the human condition toward you in such a way that I may untiringly run the way of your commandments and cling to you. Be with me\, my Lord\, aiding me always and making me strong in the work that I have taken up for the love of your love… And grant me then to see you\, to have you\, to enjoy you eternally in the greatest happiness\, for my soul has yearned for you\, O Jesus\, dearest of all dear ones \n\n\n4 Gertrud the Great of Helfta. Spiritual Exercises. CF 49. Trans. Gertrud Jaron Lewis and Jack Lewis. Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 1989. 61-63\, 65-66\, 72. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-all-saints-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231028T185838Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231028T185838Z
UID:11148-1698883200-1698969599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - All Souls
DESCRIPTION:ALL SOULS’ DAY \nFrom a homily by Fr. Karl Rahner5 \n◊◊◊ \nAll Souls’ Day is the day of everyone who has died and gone home into the eternal love of God. Today\, then\, we want to remember before God our dead\, all those who once belonged to us and who have departed from us. In true love no one can replace the beloved\, for true love loves the beloved in those depths where each is uniquely and irreplaceably oneself. That is why each one of those who has passed away has taken a part of our heart away: they may be said even to have taken the heart with them\, if death has trodden through our lives from beginning to end. \nIf one has really loved\, and continues to love\, then even before one’s own death our life is changed into a life with the dead. Could the lover forget his dead? If one has really loved\, then one’s forgetting and the fact that one has ceased weeping are not signs that nothing has really changed\, that one is just the same as before. They are\, rather\, signs that a part of one’s own heart has really died with the loved ones\, and is now living with the dead. That is why one can no longer mourn. We live\, then\, with the dead\, with those who have gone before us into the dark night of death… \nToday\, when we stand by the graves\, or when our heart must seek distant graves\, where perhaps not even a cross stands over them any longer; when we pray\, “Lord\, grant them eternal rest\, and may perpetual light shine upon them;” when we quietly look up towards the eternal homeland of all the saints and – from afar and yet so near – greet God’s light and God’s love\, our eternal homeland; then all our memories and all our prayers are only the echo of the words of love that the holy living\, in the silence of their eternity\, softly and gently speak into our heart. Hidden in the peace of the eternal God\, filled with God’s own bliss\, redeemed for eternity\, permeated with love for us that can never cease\, then\, on their feast\, utter the prayer of their love for us: “Lord\, grant eternal rest to them whom we love – as never before – in your love. Grant it to them who still walk the hard road of pilgrimage\, which is nonetheless the road that leads to us and to your eternal light. We\, although silent\, are now closer to them than ever before\, closer than when we were sojourning and struggling along with them on earth. Grant to them\, too\, Lord\, eternal rest\, and may your perpetual light shine on them as on us. May it shine upon them now as the light of faith\, and then in eternity\, as the light of blessed life.”… And there will be one\, single\, eternal feast of all the saints \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n5 The Eternal Year\, Baltimore: Dublin 1964\, 37ff. \n\n\n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-all-souls-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231104
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231028T190017Z
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UID:11150-1698969600-1699055999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Martin de Porres
DESCRIPTION:MARTIN THE CHARITABLE \nThe life of St Martin de Porres (1579-1639)6 \n◊◊◊ \nPOPE ST JOHN XXIII described St. Martin de Porres thus: “He forgave the bitterest injuries\, convinced that he deserved much severer punishments on account of his own sins.” Martin could have easily grown up a social misfit\, angry at society. Born in Lima\, Peru\, he was the illegitimate son of a noble knight from Spain\, John de Porres\, who eventually became governor of Panama\, and Anna Velasquez\, a freed mulatto from Panama. He was dark-skinned and greatly resembled his mother. His father left his mother when Martin was just a boy and his sister Joan just an infant. The result was a childhood of poverty\, except for a brief period when the children lived with their father in Ecuador… Even in Martin’s youth\, he had a deep devotion to the Passion ofour Lord\, full of gratitude for his own redemption. He also sometimes would give his family’s meager food money to the poor\, causing his mother to protest that she and Joan had not volunteered to starve along with him… \nWhen he was fifteen\, despite his father’s objections\, Martin chose the lowliest possible station in the Dominican order\, becoming a humble lay tertiary (servant). In addition to gardening\, housekeeping\, and barbering\, he acted as wardrobe-keeper and infirmarian. Nine years later\, at the command of his superior\, he became a professed Dominican lay brother\, although he believed he was unworthy. \nMartin devoted himself completely to a life of charity. He nursed the sick\, without regard to color\, race\, or status. He gave out food\, clothing\, blankets\, and other necessities to those in need\, becoming known as “Martin the Charitable.” He helped found an orphanage and a hospital for abandoned children. Sometime Martin’s charity was blessed by miraculous help from God. One of his tasks was to distribute \n\n\n\n\n\n\nthe daily bread and soup to the poor in the Dominican refectory. The meager supply of food was often miraculously multiplied. He was also known for miraculous cures and even raising the dead. He felt especially drawn to the suffering of enslaved Africans\, and caring for them in illness was a significant part of his work… \nMartin cared for all sorts of animals… On one occasion\, his superior instructed him to poison the rodents infesting the Dominican house. Instead\, he went out to the garden\, called the rats and mice\, explained the problem they caused and told them about the poison\, and promised to feed them every day in the garden if they would leave the house. That ended the problem. He is among those rare saints who offer a glimpse of an Eden lost\, of the original harmony between man and the rest of creation. \nMartin’s humility was sometimes ridiculed by those who did not know him well. It prompted him to turn insults to jokes\, and to return unkindness with special attention. He was deeply drawn and devoted to the Eucharist. He received Communion as often as he could and\, as often as he contemplated Jesus’ Passion anddeath\, tears would flow from his eyes. He prayed at length in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament\, and often spent entire nights in prayer. He received in abundance the gifts God bestows on those exemplars of contemplative prayer\, the mystics… \nMartin lived a life of great austerity\, wearing a sackcloth habit and never sleeping on a mattress. His superiors permitted these only because they saw how close to the Lord he was. He lived entirely for others. Jesus teaches the astonishing paradox that “he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” Grasping loses it all; letting go gains everything. Martin knew how to let go\, and became the glorious saint God intended him to be \n\n\n6 Accessed Online: https://scsreading.org/scsparish/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/8-st.-martin-de- porres.pdf \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-martin-de-porres-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231028T190151Z
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UID:11152-1699056000-1699142399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Charles Borromeo
DESCRIPTION:ST CHARLES BORROMEO \nFrom the writing of Alban Butler7 \n◊◊◊ \nCharles was an aristocrat by birth\, his father being Count Gilbert Borromeo\, himself a man of talent and sanctity. His mother\, Margaret\, was a Medici\, whose younger brother became Pope Pius IV. Charles\, the second of two sons in a family of six\, was born in the castle of Arona on Lake Maggiore on October 2\, 1538. At the age of twelve he received the clerical tonsure\, and his uncle\, Julius Caesar Borromeo\, resigned to him the rich Benedictine monastery of Saints Gratian and Felinus at Arona\, which had been long enjoyed by members of his family in commendam… \nIt was not until after the death of both of his parents that he took his doctor’s degree\, in his twenty-second year. He returned to Milan\, where he soon received news that his uncle\, Cardinal de Medici\, was chosen pope in 1559\, at the conclave held after the death of Paul IV. \nEarly in 1560 the new pope created his nephew cardinal-deacon and on February 8 nominated him administrator of the vacant see of Milan. Pius IV\, however\, detained him at Rome and entrusted him with many duties. In quick succession Charles was named legate of Bologna\, Romagna and the March of Ancona\, and protector of Portugal\, the Low Countries\, the Catholic cantons of Switzerland\, and the orders of St. Francis\, the Carmelites\, the Knights of Malta\, and others. At this time Charles was not yet twenty-three years old\, and only in minor orders. He still found time to look after his family affairs\, and took recreation in music and physical exercise. He was a patron of learning\, and promoted it among the clergy. For this end he instituted in the Vatican a literary academy of clergy and laymen… \n\n\n\n\n\n\nPope Pius IV had announced soon after his election his intention of reassembling the Council of Trent\, which had been suspended in 1551. Charles used all his influence and energy to bring this about\, amid the most difficult and adverse ecclesiastical and political conditions. He was successful\, and in January 1562 the council was reopened… Several times it nearly broke up with its work unfinished\, but Charles’ never-failing attention and his support of the papal legates kept it together\, and in nine sessions and numerous meetings for discussion many of the most important dogmatic and disciplinary decrees of the great reforming council were passed. Charles was the mastermind and ruling spirit of the third and last period of the Council of Trent. \nDuring its assembly Count Frederick Borromeo died\, and Charles found himself at the head of this noble family. Many took it for granted that he would leave the clerical state and marry. But Charles resigned his family position to his uncle Julius and received the priesthood in 1563. Two months later he was consecrated bishop… \nHe arrived there in April 1566 and went vigorously to work for the reformation of his diocese. In provincial councils\, diocesan synods and by many pastoral instructions he made regulations for the reform of both clergy and laity which have been regarded ever since as a model. He was one of the foremost of the great pastoral theologians who arose in the Church to remedy the disorders engendered by the decay of medieval life. He directed that children in particular should be properly instructed in Christian doctrine… \nIn 1575 the plague broke out. Charles organized priests of his own clergy to attend the sick. He used his own wealth and that of the church to assist the great number of sick. During 1584 Charles own health deteriorated… On October 29 he started off for Milan\, where he arrived on All Souls’ Day. He went straight to bed andasked for the last sacraments\, and after receiving them died quietly during the night between November 3 and 4. He was only forty-six years old \n\n\n7 Butler’s Lives of the Saints – Revised and Updated – edited by Michael Walsh – Harper – San Francisco – 1991 – pg 361f. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-charles-borromeo/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231106
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231104T132218Z
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UID:11218-1699142400-1699228799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n31st Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nNovember 5 – 11\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n5\nMon\n6\nTue\n7\nWed\n8\nThu\n9\nFri\n10\nSat\n11\n\n\nOffice\n31st Sunday\nWeekday\nWeekday\nSt Elizabeth of the Trinity\nLateran Basilica\nSt Leo the Great\nSt Martin of Tours\n\n\nVigils\nNeh 10:1-2; 29-40\nJud 1:1-16\nJud 2:1-13\nJud 2:14-28\nExodus 40:1-34\nJud 3:1-10\nJud 4:1-15\n\n\nLauds\nHab 2:9-14\nHab 2:15-20\nHab 3:1-7\nHab 3:8-15\nJerm 7:1-7\nHab 3:16-19\nIsa 58:6-12\n\n\nMass\n151\n485\n486\n487\n671\n489\n490\n\n\n1st\nMal 1:14b—2:2b\, 8-10\nRom 11:29-36\nRom 12:5-16ab\nRom 13:8-10\nEzek 47:1-2\, 8-9\, 12\nRom 15:14-21\nRom 16:3-9\, 16\, 22-27\n\n\n2nd\n1 Thess 2:7b-9\, 13\n\n\n\n1 Cor 3:9c-11\, 16-17\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 23:1-12\nLuke 14:12-14\nLuke 14:15-24\nLuke 14:25-33\nJohn 2:13-22\nLuke 16:1-8\nLuke 16:9-15\n\n\nVespers\n2 Cor 7:11-16\n2 Cor 8:1-7\n2 Cor 8:8-15\n2 Cor 8:16-24\n1 Pet 2:1-10\n2 Cor 9:1-5\n2 Cor 9:6-15
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-50/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231104T132349Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231104T132349Z
UID:11220-1699142400-1699228799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 31st Sun ORD
DESCRIPTION:THE DESIRE TO SERVE \nFrom a commentary by Paschasius Radbertus1 \n◊◊◊ \nChrist is called master\, or teacher\, by right of nature rather than by courtesy\, for all things subsist through him. Through his incarnation and life upon earth we are taught the way to eternal life. Our reconciliation with God is dependent on the fact of his being greater than we are. Yet\, having told his disciples not to allow themselves to be called master\, or to love seats of honor and things of that kind\, he himself set an example and was a model of humility. It is as though he said: Even as I do not seek my own glory (though there is One who seeks it)\, so neither must you love to be honored above others\, or to be called master. Look at me: The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve\, and to give his life for many. \nThis was said not only for the instruction of his disciples\, but also of those who are teachers in the Church. None of them must seek positions of honor; whoever wishes to be greater than the rest must first become the servant of all\, as Christ himself did. If anyone wants a high office let him want the labor it entails\, not the honor it will bring him. He should desire to serve and minister to everyone\, and not expect everyone to serve and minister to him. For the desire to be served comes from the supercilious attitude of the Pharisees; the desire to serve from the teaching of Christ. Those who canvass for positions of honor are the ones who exalt themselves; and similarly it is those who of their own accord humble themselves who will be exalted by the Lord. \nAfter specifically reserving the office of teaching to himself\, Christ immediately went on to give as the rule of his teaching that whoever wants to be greatest should be the servant of all. And he gave the same rule in other words when he said: Learn of me\, for I am meek and humble of heart. Anyone therefore who wants to be Christ’s disciple must hasten to learn the lesson he professes to teach\, for a perfect disciple will be like his master. Otherwise\, if he refuses to learn the master’s lesson\, far from being a master himself\, he will not even be a disciple \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY -1999 – pg 138-139. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-31st-sun-ord-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231107
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231104T132545Z
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UID:11222-1699228800-1699315199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:EUCHARIST \nFrom the writing of Blessed Madeleine Delbrêl2 \n◊◊◊ \nIf we want to receive the grace of fraternal charity from the Eucharist\, we must situate our soul close to what happens in heaven\, we must surrender ourselves to Our Lord so that he makes us participate in his adoration\, in his acts of grace\, in his supplications\, because fraternal charity is only one small consequence of what happens between Jesus and his Father in heaven… \nWhen the priest distributes the Host at Mass\, Jesus is there\, completely for us\, without choosing between us\, without limitation\, without making categories between people. As long as we make categories of people\, we cannot say that we live a Eucharistic life. This Eucharistic idea of unity goes beyond the idea of fraternity. \nIf we reflect on the changes that it brings to the evangelical virtues\, the idea of poverty\, for example\, which consists more in sharing than in not having\, we would then have the certainty that everything we possess belongs to others. If we knew that the same vital impulse flows between everyone\, we would have less difficulty in obeying. “Obedience ends where love begins.” Thus\, we would do our will in doing that of others. \nAll this intensity of charity pushed to the edge is not yet the edge of Jesus’ charity in the Eucharist since he is a presence to the whole world. He is the true Worshipper\, the satisfied Distributor\, clothed with every grace\, filled with all the gifts of the source of life. It is here that we can learn to live a life of intimacy with the whole world. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nEach of us should be\, following Jesus’ example\, the sole worshipper for the whole world\, because if our heart is surrendered to the Eucharist\, it is present to all human hearts. We do not take far enough the notion of deep intimacy with the whole human family in a complete participation with all suffering or lifelessness in the world. Therefore\, pity for others should awaken in us through the heart of Jesus. Thus\, we become a benevolent and welcoming presence to them. \nWe do not have the right to make rankings of people. We do not have the right to take sides in certain social deficiencies. It is only through the heart of Jesus that we can understand equality\, that we can pass through the suffering life of each person and learn to offer what is good in everyone just as it is in the Host\, which does not refuse itself to anyone who desires it\, that we can carry to everyone the strength of Christ\, just as he\, Jesus\, does not refuse to enter the mouth of every human who desires him. \nIt is to the extent to which we will be faithful to the Eucharistic life in us that we will turn toward others to welcome them among us\, and we will only attain this love for others by knowing the love with which we ourselves are loved. Then\, we will become perfect imitators \n\n\n2 Delbrêl\, Madeleine. The Dazzling Light of God – A Madeleine Delbrêl Reader. Trans. Mary Dudro Gordon. San Francisco: Ignatius Press\, 2023. 129-133. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-129/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231107
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231108
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231104T132707Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231104T132707Z
UID:11224-1699315200-1699401599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE GREAT SUPPER \nFrom a sermon by John Tauler3 \n◊◊◊ \n“A certain man made a great supper and invited many. And he sent his servant at the hour of supper to say to them that were invited\, that they should come\, for now all things were ready. And they began all at once to make excuse…” \nSt. Gregory says that we may understand this supper\, to which we are all invited\, as a most interior self-knowledge\, a most clear knowledge of that inmost depth of our soul which is God’s kingdom. And also the very taste of how it is that God dwells and works there\, experiencing the same knowledge and love. In another sense\, this supper means the holy Sacrament. In yet another meaning it is eternal happiness\, which is the true supper of our souls\, and compared with which all banquets of soul or body which the whole world could set before us\, would be no more than a single morsel of bread… The second supper is that of the holy Sacrament\, bringing such grace and joy as no words can explain. And we should be all the more gratified for it because it is a holy feast that we can enjoy every day. \nOne might enquire how it happens to be necessary that we should daily renew in the Eucharist the commemoration of our Lord’s death\, since on Good Friday our Lord was offered up once for all\, and for all the world\, and\, if it were needed\, for a thousand sinful worlds besides. The answer is that our Savior devised this blessed way of daily renewing His death\, out of pity for our human weakness and our daily necessity. He would give us His adorable sacrifice of Calvary newly offered up every day for the sins and miseries of mankind. It is thus that St. Thomas teaches: “All the fruitfulness\, all the benefit that God granted us the day He died\, is found every day in every mass that is celebrated; and all this grace is received by every man each time he worthily receives the Lord’s body and blood.” \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis holy Sacrament banishes sin. It puts sin to death\, and causes a man to grow strong in a virtuous life\, imparting new graces. It safeguards him from future dangers\, and from the snares of the enemy\, snares incessantly being laid for us. Without its strong help one may easily fall\, either by inner or outer sinfulness. Besides this\, the holy Sacrament is a great grace when offered for the souls in purgatory; many souls would suffer there till the last day were it not for holy mass… Each one should assist at mass with deep longings of spirit\, uniting his fervent intention with every mass offered in the whole world\, especially remembering those who are dear to him\, whether living or dead. We thus feel ourselves present not only at the mass being celebrated before us\, but at all the masses being said in the whole world… \nWhosoever will experience these benefits\, must journey out of the land of Egypt and out of the land of darkness\, <before> he can eat the bread of heaven\, whose sweetness is proportioned to our heart’s desires. The bread of heaven was not given to the chosen people\, as long as the flour lasted that they had brought with them out of Egypt. But when that was gone\, the manna came to them\, full of every sweetness their hearts desired. So it happens to us… \nAll who would interiorly receive the fruits of Communion will not allow the world\, creatures or their own weakness to cleave to their souls. They will not approach the Sacrament trusting to their own perfection\, but rather to strengthen their weakness. They feel as weak as a man reduced so low by illness that his life is despaired of—who\, if he were able\, would purchase the medicine needed for his recovery with an immense amount of gold and jewels… The wise Christian does not receive Communion for the joy of it\, but out of dire necessity\, so that his very life may be preserved \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n3 Tauler\, John. The Sermons and Conferences of John Tauler. Washington\, D.C.: Apostolic Mission House\, 1910. 397-400. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-130/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11226-1699401600-1699487999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Elizabeth of the Trinity
DESCRIPTION:WITH CHRIST I AM NAILED TO THE CROSS \nFrom the writing of St Elizabeth of the Trinity4 \n◊◊◊ \nThe soul that longs to serve God day and night in His temple\, in the inner sanctuary of which St. Paul speaks when he says: “The temple of God is holy\, which temple you are” such a soul must be resolved to take a real share in the Passion of its Master. It is a ransom which in its turn will ransom other souls. Therefore it will sing… “God forbid that I should glory\, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ!”… “With Christ I am nailed to the cross.” And again: “I . . . fill up those things that are wanting of the sufferings of Christ\, in my flesh\, for His Body\, which is the Church.”… \nSuch is the attitude of this soul; it walks on the road to Calvary at the right hand of the crucified\, crushed\, and humbled King\, Who\, strong\, calm\, and full of majesty\, goes to His Passion\, to show forth “the glory of His grace.” \nHe desires His bride to join in His work of redemption\, and the way of sorrow which she treads seems to her the way of beatitude\, not only because it leads there\, but also because her holy Teacher makes her understand that she must pass beyond the bitterness of suffering\, to find her rest in it\, as He did. \nThen she can “serve God day and night in His temple.” Neither interior nor exterior trials can make her leave the fortress in which He has enclosed her. She no longer thirsts nor hungers\, for in spite of her overwhelming longings for heaven she is satisfied with the food that was her Master’s — the will of the Father. She no longer feels the “sun fall on her” that is\, she does not suffer from suffering\, and the “Lamb . . . can lead her to the fountains of the waters of life\,” where He will\, as He will\, for she looks not at the path whereon she walks\, but at the Shepherd Who guides her. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nGod\, bending down towards this soul\, His adopted daughter who so closely resembles His Son\, “the first-born of every creature\,” recognizes it as one whom He has…justified; and His Fatherly heart thrills at the thought of perfecting His work…by transferring it to His kingdom\, there to sing through endless ages “the praise of His glory!”… \nThe soul that gazes upon its Master with the simple eye which makes the whole body full of light\, is “kept from the iniquity” within it. The Lord makes it enter the “spacious place\,” which is nothing else than Himself; there all is pure\, all is holy.\nO\, blessed death in God! O\, sweet and delightful loss of self within Him Whom we love! \nHenceforth the creature can say: “With Christ I am nailed to the cross. And I live\, now not I; but Christ liveth in me. And that I live now in the flesh: I live in the faith of the Son of God\, Who loved me\, and delivered Himself for me. \n\n\n\n4 Elizabeth of the Trinity. The Praise of Glory. Trans. Benedictines of Stanbrook. London: R. & T. Washbourne\, LTD.\, 1913. 236-239. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-elizabeth-of-the-trinity-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11228-1699488000-1699574399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Lateran Basilica
DESCRIPTION:THE BASILICA OF ST JOHN LATERAN5 ◊◊◊ \n\n\n\n\n10 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe largest and most famous of Rome’s great basilicas is St. Peter’s\, which is constructed over the bones of the apostle to whom Jesus gave the Keys of the Kingdom. But St. Peter’s is not the oldest and is not the primary basilica in Rome; that honor is accorded to the Basilica of St. John Lateran\, the pope’s own \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nchurch… Dating back to the fourth century\, St. John Lateran carries the title of “ecumenical mother church\,” the mother church of the whole inhabited world… to which all… Churches are united. \nAfter the first centuries of persecution by state power\, the Church gained the freedom to organize her life in the fourth century. From that time onward for a millennium\, the Bishop of Rome had his residence at the “Lateran Palace” and his cathedral church was part of that complex. We know it as St. John Lateran\, but it was originally dedicated in 324 and dedicated to Christ the Savior. Centuries later two additional patrons were added\, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist… \nAfter the Avignon exile in the 14th century\, when the pope returned to Rome he did not live at the Lateran\, which had been damaged by two fires in the interim. He eventually settled at the Vatican\, where the pope has lived ever since. However\, \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\ndespite the grandeur of the new St. Peter’s\, built in the 16th century\, the pope never shifted his cathedral\, which remains his cathedral church… \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIt’s rare that a liturgical feast turns our eyes to a building… But that’s missing the point: We are challenged to look within the four marbled walls to see what’s really important: the “chair of Peter.” \nIn Exodus 18:13\, Moses sat upon his chair\, and the Israelites understood that from that honored throne\, he ruled in judgment of his people. In the Scriptures\, the authority of the chair was passed on to Joshua. Jesus recognized the \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nauthority of the chair\, and so conferred upon Peter both his own authority\, and the authority of Moses. \nIn St. John Lateran\, the locus of the Catholic Faith\, the Church proclaims itself to be truly one (that is\, united in faith)\, holy\, catholic… and apostolic (continuing unceasing from the time of the apostles)… \nAs we celebrate the…feast of the great basilica\, we are reminded that like the great basilica\, we are temples of God. We are holy\, for we are made in the image and likeness of God. Inspired by the Holy Spirit\, Paul cautions “If anyone destroys God’s temple\, God will destroy that person; for the temple of God\, which you are\, is holy. \n\n\n\n\n5 Assemblage of two articles from The National Catholic Register by Kathy Schiffer and Father Raymond J. de Souza. Accessed Nov. 3\, 2023. https://www.ncregister.com/blog/the-temple-of-god-which-you-are-is- holy — https://www.ncregister.com/commentaries/st-john-lateran. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-lateran-basilica-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11230-1699574400-1699660799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Leo the Great
DESCRIPTION:LET US NOT BE WEARY IN DOING GOOD \nFrom a sermon by St Leo the Great6 \n◊◊◊ \nMen’s liberality is not happy\, nor their thriftiness to be commended\, if their riches are of benefit to themselves alone; if no poor folks are helped by their goods\, no sick persons nourished; if out of the abundance of their great possessions the captive gets not ransom\, nor the stranger comfort\, nor the exile relief. Rich men of this kind are needier than all the needy. For they lose those returns which they might have forever\, and while they gloat over the brief and not always free enjoyment of what they possess\, they are not fed upon the bread of justice nor the sweets of mercy: outwardly splendid\, they have no light within: of things temporal they have abundance\, but utter lack of things eternal: for they inflict starvation on their own souls\, and bring them to shame and nakedness by spending upon heavenly treasures none of these things which they put into their earthly storehouses… \nFor although a man be full of faith\, and chaste\, and sober\, and adorned with other still greater decorations\, yet if he is not merciful\, he cannot deserve mercy: for the Lord says\, blessed are the merciful\, for God shall have mercy upon them. And when the Son of Man comes in His Majesty and is seated on His glorious throne\, and all nations being gathered together\, division is made between the good and the bad\, for what shall they be praised who stand upon the fight except for works of benevolence and deeds of love which Jesus Christ shall reckon as done to Himself? For He who has made man’s nature His own\, has separated Himself in nothing from man’s humility. And what objection shall be made to those on the left except for their neglect of love\, their inhuman harshness\, their refusal of mercy to the poor? As if those on the right had no other virtues those on the left no other faults. But at the great and final day of judgment large-hearted liberality and ungodly meanness will be counted of such importance as to outweigh all other virtues and all other shortcomings\, so that for the one men shall gain entrance into the Kingdom\, for the other they shall be sent into eternal fire. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nLet no one therefore… flatter himself on any merits of a good life\, if works of charity be wanting in him\, and let him not trust in the purity of his body\, if he be not cleansed by the purification of almsgiving. For almsgiving wipes out sin\, kills death\, and extinguishes the punishment of perpetual fire. But he who has not been fruitful therein\, shall have no indulgence from the great Recompenser\, as Solomon says\, He that closes his ears lest he should hear the weak\, shall himself call upon the Lord\, and there shall be none to hear him. And hence Tobias also\, while instructing his son in the precepts of godliness\, says\, Give alms of your substance\, and turn not your face from any poor man: so shall it come to pass that the face of God shall not be turned from you… \nWhile we have time therefore\, as the Apostle says\, let us do that which isgoodtoallmen\,andespeciallytothemthatareofthehouseholdoffaith. Butlet us not be weary in doing good; for in His own time we shall reap. And so the present life is the time for sowing\, and the day of retribution is the time of harvest\, when everyone shall reap the fruit of his seed according to the amount of his sowing. And no one shall be disappointed in the produce of that harvesting\, because it is the heart’s intentions rather than the sums expended that will be reckoned up \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n6 St Leo the Great. Accessed online: Nov 3\, 2023. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/360310.htm. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-leo-the-great-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11232-1699660800-1699747199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Martin of Tours
DESCRIPTION:ON THE FEAST OF ST MARTIN \nFrom a homily by St Aelred of Rievaulx7 \n◊◊◊ \nToday Christ mercifully raised up Martin to the joys of the kingdom of heaven… Martin\, this poor and modest one\, enters heaven a rich man. Happy and necessary\, voluntary poverty\, which scorns the world\, flees vainglory\, restrains luxury of the flesh\, nourishes self-control\, fosters sobriety\, and inflames love of God in the human heart\, happily attains eternal reward without hindrance. Blessed Martin loved this\, preferred it to riches and status; on account of this he scorned thepalaces of kings\, he discarded his soldier’s belt. But after corporeal military service\, he transferred himself to the spiritual battle and\, girded with the sword of God\, vigorously fought the wars of his God\, fighting against flesh and blood and the leaders of darkness. \nSo not long after his conversion\, on a journey he came to meet a spiteful spirit who envied his sanctity and the glory of his merits\, and as an adversary threatened the holy man wherever he went. But the Lord’s man Martin\, fervent with charity and filled with faith\, despised the horrible beast\, taking refuge in God’s garrison and saying\, “The Lord is my helper; I do not fear your threats.” Great was the fortitude of this athlete of the Lord\, who while near to death looked at the devil\, who was standing nearby\, and did not fear. Recalling his past life\, and discovering nothing in his conscience about which our adversary the devil should boast… he proclaimed\, “What are you doing here\, you bloodthirsty beast? Nothing in me… will you discover. May the bosom of Abraham receive me.” \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis true Israelite\, in whom there is no guile\, ought to be honored. For if we diligently examine his life and behavior\, he was fervent in charity\, strong in faith\, frequent in prayer\, perfect in humility\, eager in obedience\, truthful in speech\, efficacious in deed\, powerful in the accomplishment of miracles… I do not find anyone after the apostles who could be compared to blessed Martin in virtues\, in miracles\, in signs and wonders. \nSo that we may glean a few things about many matters\, fringes of his clothing and threads of that goat-hair garment liberated many <people> from various illnesses. Beautiful and pleasing to God was the praise of God in Martin’s mouth\, who cleansed a leper by a kiss…at the gate of the city of Paris… Indeed\, rightly enough through the touch of his mouth the leprosy was put to flight\, because the law of his God was in his heart. His mouth contemplated wisdom\, because there was“never anything on his mouth except peace\, except Christ\, except compassion.” \nHe gave light to the blind\, restored hearing to the deaf\, healed paralytics\, raised the dead\, commanded flames\, trees\, birds\, and beasts. Martin the priest of God worked these and many other boundless signs and wonders while he still lived in the mortal flesh. Therefore\, what great things do we believe that he can do now that he is joined to his Creator\, from whom he received so that he was capable of these and similar things? Certainly\, as I may truly confess\, he is capable of all things in God the all-powerful\, to whom now he eternally adheres\, because he has served him faithfully\, in person\, regarding temporal matters… \nTherefore protect us\, chosen and beloved priest of God\, Martin\, so that with your merits lending support\, may we deserve to attain to that blessed rest that today you have happily entered.. \n\n\n7 Aelred of Rievaulx. The Liturgical Sermons: The Reading-Cluny Collection\, 2 of 2. CF 87. Trans. Daniel Griggs. Collegeville\, MN: Liturgical Press\, 2022. 306-308. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-martin-of-tours-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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CREATED:20231111T200230Z
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UID:11277-1699747200-1699833599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n32nd Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nNovember 12 – 18\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n12\nMon\n13\nTue\n14\nWed\n15\nThu\n16\nFri\n17\nSat\n18\n\n\nOffice\n32nd Sunday\nAll Benedictine Saints\nWeekday\nGethsemani Church\nSt Gertrude the Great\nWeekday\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nJud 5:1-24\nDan 7:1-3\, 9-22\, 27\nJud 6:1-21\nRev 21:9-22:5\nJud 7:1-18\nJud 7:19-32\nJud 8:1-23\n\n\nLauds\nZeph 1:1-6\nWisdom 5:1-5\, 14-16\nZeph 1:7-13\nEzek 37:21-28\nZeph 1:14-18\nZeph 2:1-7\nZeph 2:8-15\n\n\nMass\n154\n573\, 677\n492\n701.2\, 704.2\, 706.4\n494\n495\n496\n\n\n1st\nWis 6:12-16\nIsa 61:9-11\nWis 2:23-3:9\n2 Chron 5:6-10\, 13-6:2\nWis 7:22b-8:1\nWis 13:1-9\nWis 18:14-16; 19:6-9\n\n\n2nd\n1 Thess 4:13-18\n\n\nEph 2:19-22\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 25:1-13\nJohn 15:1-8\nLuke 17:7-10\nJohn 4:19-24\nLuke 17:20-25\nLuke 17:26-37\nLuke 18:1-8\n\n\nVespers\n2 Cor 10:1-11\nRev 7:9-17\n2 Cor 6:14-7:1\nHeb 3:1-6\n2 Cor 10:12-18\n2 Cor 11:1-6\n2 Cor 11:7-15
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-51/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11279-1699747200-1699833599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 32nd Sunday ORD
DESCRIPTION:TO BE FREE AND FAITHFUL \nFrom a commentary attributed to St Anthony the Great1 \n◊◊◊ \nBlessed are the pure in heart\, for they shall see God\, since purity of heart leads to perfection. Two things are contained within the heart — goodness which is natural to it and evil which is unnatural. This latter gives rise to such passions of the soul as murmuring\, envy\, detraction\, and all the rest. Goodness\, on the other hand\, promotes knowledge of God and rids the soul of all these passions. If people honestly try to root out vice and avoid evil\, if they repent with tears and sighs\, devoting themselves humbly to a life of prayer\, fasting\, and watching\, the Lord in his goodness will come to their aid and free them from all sinful inclinations. \nMany who have lived a celibate monastic life for a long time have failed to learn what purity of heart is\, because instead of studying the teaching of the fathers\, they have followed their own wayward desires. So evil spirits and rebel marauders of the air have prevailed against them\, hurling invisible darts by day and night\, and thus preventing them from finding rest anywhere. Moreover they fill their hearts with pride\, vanity\, jealousy\, criticism\, raging anger\, strife\, and any number of other passions. \nSuch people are to be reckoned with the five foolish virgins because they have spent their time foolishly. They have not controlled their tongues nor cleansed their eyes and bodies from concupiscence\, neither have they purged their hearts of lust and other deplorable defilements. It was enough for them merely to wear a woolen garment signifying virginity. Consequently they lack the heavenly joy which would kindle their lamps\, and the Bridegroom does not open the door to them but repeats what he said to the foolish virgins: Truly I say to you\, I know you not. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nMy only reason for writing you this letter is my desire for your salvation. I want you to be free and faithful and pure brides of Christ\, the Bridegroom of all holy souls; as Saint Paul says: I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste bride to Christ. \nLet us awake\, then\, while we are still in this body\, and grieve over ourselves\, lamenting day and night from the bottom of our hearts\, so that we may escape the bitter torment\, the weeping\, wailing\, and remorse that will have no end. We must beware of entering through the wide gate and taking the easy road that leads to perdition\, for many go that way. Instead we must enter by the narrow gate and take the path of sorrow and affliction that leads to life. Few people enter this gate\, but those who do are real workers who will have the joy of receiving the reward of their labors and will inherit the kingdom. \nIf any are prepared to set out I do beg them not to delay and waste time\, for they may be like the foolish virgins and find no one willing to sell them oil. These virgins burst into tears and cried out: Lord\, open to us. But he answered: Truly I say to you\, I know you not. And this happened to them simply because of their laziness.\nI beg you by the grace of God to obey me as I also will obey you; and may we all obey the Lord who said by the tongue of the Prophet: Who longs for life and desires to see good days? Keep your tongue from evil talk and your lips from deceitful speech. Turn away from evil and do good; seek and strive after peace \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY -1999 – pg 140-41. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/32nd-sunday-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11294-1699747200-1699833599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Alternate
DESCRIPTION:ITS LAMPS ARE LAMPS OF FIRE \nFrom a sermon by John of Ford[1] \n  \n◊◊◊ \n  \nThe simplicity of the just man is a lamp\, as holy Job tells us; a sense of honor is a lamp\, a very bright one; self respect is a lamp\, a very lovely one; every appearance and encounter with him is a lamp. A most brilliant lamp are all the words of truth that come forth from the mouth of Wisdom and dispel the darkness of error. They refute the night of sin with the light of justice. There is a still darker night\, the excuses wemake for our sins\, and this too they drive with a serene brightness. In fact\, all that a just man is shows itself outwardly like brightness\, and like a lamp\, he is all on fire to save us. When he is silent\, his silence does us good\, and away when he speaks\, it is as if he speaks the words of God\, a source of grace for those who hear him. And ‘when he renders service\,’ as the apostle says\, ‘it is as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies.’ \n  \nBecause the fire flaming in this lamp is so great\, a holy light appears outwardly\, dazzling our eyes. This is not the light of knowledge\, which we can obtain from someone by begging for it\, nor does it come from the witness of somebody else’s conscience\, namely\, of those who are accustomed to sell oil to the foolish virgins. ‘All the glory of the king’s daughter is from within.’ Outwardly she makes her lamp luminous\, but the glory is reserved for within. Inwardly\, the oil of gladness and a wealth of charity makes her burn to the glory of God\, and outwardly she shines to give grace to men. As scripture puts it: ‘Let your light so shine before men\, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven’. \n  \n[1] John of Ford.  Sermons on the Final Verses of  the Song of Songs – Vol. 7.  Trans.  Wendy Mary Beckett.  Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 1984. Sermon 108.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-alternate/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11281-1699833600-1699919999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - All Benedictine Saints
DESCRIPTION:THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS \nFrom the writing of Baldwin of Ford2 \n◊◊◊ \nI believe\, O Lord\, in the Holy Spirit\, the holy catholic Church\, the communion of saints. Here is my hope\, here is my trust\, here is my confidence\, here is my security — however small it may be — which I have in the confession of my faith\, in the generosity of the Holy Spirit\, in the unity of the catholic Church\, in the communion of the saints. If it be granted me from above to love you and to love my neighbour\, then even though my own merits are poor and meager\, I have a hope which is above and beyond all my merits: I am sure that through the communion of charity the merits of the saints will profit me and that the communion of the saints can make good my own imperfection and insufficiency. The prophet comforts me when he says\, “I have seen an end of all perfection\, but your commandment is exceeding broad.” \nO charity\, so broad and so extensive\, how great is the house of God\, how vast is the place of his possession! We need not be distressed in our heart; we need not be confined by the boundaries and limits of our insignificant righteousness. Charity extends our hope to the communion of the saints\, and we can therefore share with them their merits and their rewards. But the sharing of their rewards is [reserved] for the time to come\, for it is the sharing of the glory which shall be revealed in us. \nThus there are three sorts of sharing\, [three forms of communion\, three ways in which we have things in common]: the sharing of nature\, which is associated with the sharing of sin and the sharing of wrath; then the sharing of grace; and thirdly\, the sharing of glory. By the sharing of grace\, the sharing of nature begins to be restored and the sharing of sin is removed\, but by the sharing of glory\, the sharing of nature will be fully and perfectly restored and the sharing of wrath wholly removed. It is then that God shall wipe away all the tears from the eyes of the saints. It is then that all the saints will be as one heart and one soul\, and they will have all things in common when God will be all in all. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Our hope is] that we\, too\, may come… to this communion and come together as one [and therefore we pray that] the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the charity of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit may be with us all always.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-all-benedictine-saints/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231114
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231115
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231111T201758Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231112T111146Z
UID:11283-1699920000-1700006399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:I KNOW YOUR WORKS \nFrom a sermon by Geoffrey of Auxerre[1] \n  \n◊◊◊ \n  \nThe Lord knows the works of each\, he knows everything fully\, not only superficially but in the depth and hidden intention of the heart.  He knows what\, why\, and how they have performed their works\, and he fully comprehends the works of them all. \n  \nLet us not reckon as works only what is done with the hands\, but whatever is done by word\, deed\, or thought\, whatever its merit may be.  ‘We must all stand before the tribunal of Christ\, for each to receive as he has done in the body’\, says the Apostle.  That is\, he will receive according to what he merited while in the body.  Now is the time of meriting\, the time of sowing; the future life is the time of receiving and of reaping… Hence he had regard for Abel and his offerings by accepting them\, while he had no regard for Cain and his offerings.  To Cain he says\, I know your works\, that you have the name of being alive and you are dead…  \n  \n            Are we surprised that a dead person is said to be alive?…  Thus do the demons fool unfortunate souls by making them appear to themselves and to others to be alive even though they are dead in sin… Some hearers may perhaps find it difficult to believe… but we know that the lives of the fathers contain something similar\, and this is the tale. \n  \nThe evil one envied a religious man who applied himself assiduously to hospitality along with his other pious works.  Dreaming up a novel sort of malice\, the evil one occupied the corpse of an unfortunate woman who had died without confession and viaticum.  Dressed as a man\, he entered the monk’s cell\, and accepted for an annual wage the necessary service of receiving guests.  For a while he showed himself diligent\, quick\, and ready\, seeking an opportunity to upset him with the malign sting of carnal desires. \n  \nBut divine loving-kindness was ahead of his cunning.  A holy bishop endowed with a prophetic spirit arrived to visit his parishes.  Observing the hired servant at work\, he perceived the hidden intent of the evil spirit.  In private he anxiously asked his host who he was and where he came from.  When the monk responded openly and unsuspectingly\, the priest began to ask whether he ever saw him enter the oratory or participate in the divine mysteries.  He answered that\, when he himself arose for vigils\, the man remained asleep outside with the rest of the seculars\, but beyond this he had noticed nothing.  The bishop called the man\, and commanded him by authority of the divine name and of his episcopal office to tell who he was\, what he was called\, and why he came.  But\, gnashing his teeth and melting away\, he replied\, ‘Truly\, is what concerns you so well finished – or perhaps so neglected – that you have come to inquire about my affairs\, which are none of your business?  If you had delayed your prying visit a few days\, I would have gotten what I came for’. \n  \nBut\, O great power of the divine name\, and episcopal authority… At the bishop’s command this creation of diabolical fraud vanished\, and the corpse fell into dust and dry bones.  The power of malignant spirits to simulate this visible and bodily life is so great – yet only with God’s leave – that they craftily try many things\, and sometimes they succeed in the measure that God’s just judgment permits.  With every form of malice they try to bring it about that those reputed by themselves and others to be living in spirit and truth may be condemned as dead before God.  May the merciful and gracious Lord protect us always from this\, for he alone truly gives life who lives and reigns without end\, true God over all and blessed forever. \n[1] Geoffrey of Auxerre.  Geoffrey of Auxerre: On the Apocalypse.  Trans. Joseph Gibbons\, CSSP.  Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 2000. 162-165. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-131/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231115
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231116
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231111T201929Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231111T201929Z
UID:11285-1700006400-1700092799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Gethsemani Church
DESCRIPTION:THE DEDICATION OF OUR CHURCH \nFrom a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux4 \n◊◊◊ \nMy brethren\, we ought to observe today’s festivity all the more devoutly for the reason that it is so peculiarly our own. All the other sacred solemnities which we keep are common to us with the faithful in general. But this is so proper to ourselves that if we do not keep it\, it will not be kept at all. It is our own feast\, because it is the feast of the dedication of our own church. It is still more our own because it is the feast of our own selves. For what of sanctity can belong to these dead walls which cause them to be honored with a religious solemnity? They are undoubtedly holy\, but it is because of your bodies. Will anyone question that your bodies are holy\, since they are “the temples of the Holy Spirit”? Consequently your souls are sanctified because of the spirit of God “Who is in you”\, your bodies are sanctified because of your souls\, and this house is sanctified also because of your bodies. The Psalmist prayed “Preserve my soul for I am holy”. Truly “God is wonderful in His saints”\, not alone in His saints in heaven\, but also those on earth. For He has His saints in both places and shows Himself wonderful in them all\, beatifying those above\, consummating the sanctity of those below. \nAccordingly it is your own festival\, dearest brethren\, your very own\, that you are celebrating today. You have been dedicated to the Lord and the Lord has chosen and adopted you as His own peculiar people. Oh\, how wisely you have acted\, dearly beloved\, in renouncing all that you might have possessed in this world\, since by doing so you have deserved to become the peculiar people of the world’s Creator\, and to have Him as your special possession\, for He is undoubtedly “the portion and inheritance” of His own! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSee\, therefore\, if it is not right to observe as a festival the day on which the Lord adopted us as His own and took formal possession of us through His ministers\, thus accomplishing in fact what He had promised long ago\, saying\, “I in the midst of them shall be their God”\, while we should be “the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand”. For when this house was consecrated to the Lord by the ministry of the Bishop\, it was manifestly for our sakes it was done; not only for the sake of those who were actually present then\, but also for the sake of all those who until the end of time shall serve God in this holy place. Therefore\, dearest brethren\, it is necessary that what has already been accomplished in the walls in a visible manner should be invisibly accomplished in ourselves \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n4 St. Bernard’s Sermons – vol. II – The Carroll Press – Westminster\, MD – 1950 – p 385. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-gethsemani-church/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231116
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231117
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231111T202059Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231111T202059Z
UID:11287-1700092800-1700179199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Gertrud the Great
DESCRIPTION:MY HEART IS OPEN TO YOU \nFrom the “Spiritual Exercises” of St Gertrud the Great5 ◊◊◊ \nO love\, the fruition of you is that worthiest coupling of your Word and the soul which is brought about by perfect union with God. To use you is to become intertwined in God. To enjoy you is to be one with God. You are that peace which surpasses all understanding and you are the road by which one comes to the inner chamber. \nOh\, if only it happened to me\, too\, miserable as I am\, to repose for a moment under your dearest cloak of cherishing-love so that my heart might be emboldened by one consolatory utterance of your living Word\, or that my soul might hear this good and pleasant word from your mouth: ‘I am your salvation; behold\, now the bedchamber of my heart is open to you.’ \nWhy\, then\, O love so unwavering\, have you deeply loved someone so foul\, so ugly\, if not to make her beautiful in you? Your loving-kind charity attracts and allures me\, O tender flower of the virgin Mary. \nLet me not be confounded in my expectation but grant me to find rest for my soul in you. I have found nothing more desirable\, I have judged nothing more lovable\, I have wished for nothing more dear than to be held tight\, O love\, in your embraces\, to rest under the wings of my Jesus\, and to dwell in the tabernacle of divine charity. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nO love\, O radiant noonday\, I would die a thousand times to be at rest in you. If only you would bend to me your face of such beautiful cherishing-love\, O dearest one. \nOh\, if I were granted to come exceedingly close to you so that I might now find myself not only next to you but within you. Then\, through you\, sun of justice\, flowers of all the virtues might arise in me\, who am dust and ashes. With you as a husband\, my Lord\, such fecundity might enter my soul that the renowned offspring of total perfection would be born in me. Then\, having been snatched from the valley of this misery\, I might be able to glory in you forever in the presence of your desirable face; for you\, mirror without spot\, have not scorned to be\, in truth\, coupled with a sinner like me \n\n\n\n5 SPIRITUAL EXERCISES\, by St Gertrude the Great\, Trans. by G. J. Lewis & J. Lewis (Cistercian Publications Kalamazoo 1989) pp. 78-79. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-gertrud-the-great/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231117
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231118
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231111T202238Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231111T202238Z
UID:11289-1700179200-1700265599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE LOVE OF GOD AND AFFLICTION \nFrom the writing of Simone Weil6 \n◊◊◊ \nThe great enigma of human life is not suffering but affliction… Affliction makes God appear to be absent for a time\, more absent than a dead man\, more absent than light in the utter darkness of a cell. A kind of horror submerges the whole soul. During this absence there is nothing to love. What is terrible is that if\, in this darkness where there is nothing to love\, the soul ceases to love\, God’s absence becomes final. The soul has to go on loving in the emptiness\, or at least to go on wanting to love\, though it may only be with an infinitesimal part of itself. Then\, one day\, God will come to show himself to this soul and to reveal the beauty of the world to it\, as in the case of Job. But if the soul stops loving it falls\, even in this life\, into something almost equivalent to hell… \nBecause no other could do it\, he himself went to the greatest possible distance\, the… infinite distance between God and God\, this supreme tearing apart\, this agony beyond all others\, this marvel of love\, is the crucifixion. Nothing can be further from God than that which has been made accursed. This tearing apart\, over which supreme love places the bond of supreme union\, echoes perpetually across the universe in the midst of the silence\, like two notes\, separate yet melting into one\, like pure and heart-rending harmony. This is the Word of God. The whole creation is nothing but its vibration… \nThose who persevere in love hear this note from the very lowest depths into which affliction has thrust them. From that moment they can no longer have any doubt. Men struck down by affliction are at the foot of the Cross\, almost at the \n\n\n\n\n\n\ngreatest possible distance from God. It must not be thought that sin is a greater distance. Sin is not a distance\, it is a turning of our gaze in the wrong direction… From the beginning\, we are told\, humanity turned its gaze away from God and walked in the wrong direction for as far as it could go. That was because it could walk then. As for us\, we are nailed down to the spot\, only free to choose which way we look… It rests with them to keep or not to keep their eyes turned toward God through all the jolting… \nWhen an apprentice gets hurt\, or complains of being tired\, the workmen and peasants have this fine expression: “It is the trade entering his body.” Each time that we have some pain to go through\, we can say to ourselves quite truly that it is… the obedience of creation to God that are entering our body. After that how can we fail to bless with tenderest gratitude the Love that sends us this gift? Joy and suffering are two equally precious gifts both of which must be savored to the full\, each one in its purity\, without trying to mix them. Through joy\, the beauty of the world penetrates our soul. Through suffering it penetrates our body… \nThe man to whom such a thing happens has no part in the operation. He struggles like a butterfly pinned alive into an album. But through all the horror he can continue to want to love. There is nothing impossible in that\, no obstacle\, one might almost say no difficulty. For the greatest suffering\, so long as it does not cause the soul to faint\, does not touch the acquiescent part of the soul\, consenting to a right direction. It is only necessary to know that love is a direction and not a state of the soul. If one is unaware of this\, one falls into despair at the first onslaught of affliction. He whose soul remains ever turned toward God though the nail pierces it finds himself nailed to the very center of the universe. It is the true center; it is not in the middle; it is beyond space and time; it is God \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n6 Weil\, Simone. Waiting for God. Trans. Emma Craufurd. New York: Harper & Row\, 1951. 119-125\, 131-132. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-132/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231118
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231119
DTSTAMP:20260403T134956
CREATED:20231111T202351Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231111T202351Z
UID:11291-1700265600-1700351999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
DESCRIPTION:ABOUNDING IN EVERY DELIGHT \nFrom a homily by Amadeus of Lausanne7 \n◊◊◊ \nEAT\, MY FRIENDS\, drink and be inebriated\, beloved. I invite you to the table of wisdom and to libations of wine which she [wisdom] has mixed for you in the bowl. I invite you to the banquet of the glorious lady\, to the feast of the Mother of God. Happy he who\, received at such a banquet\, shall shine forth in the marriage garment amidst the guests. The bread of life will be set before him\, strengthening\, filling\, satisfying him with its wondrous sweetness\, and the wine of gladness\, the wine coming forth from the fruit of the vine\, truly the wine of the resurrection pressed from the tree of the Lord’s passion… hung upon the bar of wood… Abounding then in every delight he will invite others with him to the feast\, saying\, ‘Eat\, my friends\, drink and be inebriated\, beloved.’ \nI\, too\, brothers\, invite you to this feast… Eat the bread of life\, drink the wine of gladness\, be inebriated with the joy of the resurrection. This inebriation is the height of sobriety. It blots out remembrance of the world and always stamps upon the mind the thought of God’s presence. Everyone drunk with this forgets all things and remembers only the charity of God… Therefore\, be you also drunken… Rejoice in her joy\, you who have mourned with her grief… \nFor he has risen and he has raised up his mother’s soul. She lay as in a narrow tomb of grief while the Lord lay in the sepulchre. As he arose\, her spirit lived again and\, waking as if from deep slumber\, she saw in the morning light the sun of justice and the rays of his rising… She feasted her eyes upon the glowing flesh of the risen Lord and in her heart perceived the glory of his godhead\, so that within and \n\n\n\n\n\n\nwithout\, leaving and entering\, she enjoyed the pasturage of true and everlasting felicity. Beside herself\, therefore\, forgetting self for joy\, she clung with all her heart to the Father of spirits and bound fast to God she poured out upon him her whole self and was wholly flooded in the immensity of his love… \nTherefore\, O blessed lady\, you have your joy\, the object of your desire and the crown of your head have been granted you. He has brought to you the sovereignty of heaven through his glory\, the kingdom of the world through his mercy\, the subjugation of hell through his power. All things with their diverse feelings respond to your great and unspeakable glory: angels by honor\, men by love\, demons by terror. For you are venerated in heaven\, loved in the world\, feared in hell… \nAnd you\, glorious lady\, saw your Son rising from hell. You saw with your blessed eyes your son’s glory. You saw and you fainted. Your flesh and your heart failed. You turned to water when you heard the voice of your beloved son speaking to you. His word became like a fire burning in your bones. Therefore inflamed by the divine words you became wholly like a fire and you offered yourself as a sweet sacrifice to God. O phoenix\, sending forth perfume more pleasing than cinnamon and balsam\, sweeter than nard delighting the king by its presence. O phoenix\, gathering together all chosen beauties\, surrounded by… fire\, that you may fill the heaven of heavens and the angelic powers of heaven with a wondrous sweet incense… This incense… comes forth from the censer of Mary’s heart and sweetly surpasses every perfume \n\n\n7 Amadeus of Lausanne. Eight Homilies on the Praise of Blessed Mary. CF 18B. Trans. Grace Perigo. Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 1979. 49-50\, 55\, 57-58. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-bvm-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231119
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231120
DTSTAMP:20260403T134957
CREATED:20231118T153219Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231118T153219Z
UID:11311-1700352000-1700438399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema.  33rd Week in Ordinary Time
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n33rd Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nNovember 19 – 25\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n19\nMon\n20\nTue\n21\nWed\n22\nThu\n23\nFri\n24\nSat\n25\n\n\nOffice\n33rd Sunday\nWeekday\nPresentation of the BVM\nSt Cecilia\nSt Columban Thanksgiving\nSt Andrew & Companions\nSt Catherine of Alexandria\n\n\nVigils\nJud 8:24-36\nJud 9:1-14\nJud 10:1-10\nJud 10:11-23\nJud 11:1-23\nJud 12:1-20\nJud 13:1-11\n\n\nLauds\nZeph 3:1-7\nZeph 3:8-13\nZeph 3:14-20\nMal 1:1-5\nMal 1:6-10\nMal 1:11-14\nMal 2:1-9\n\n\nMass\n157\n497\nAnointing\n499\n943.3\, 944.3\, 947.6\n501\n502\n\n\n1st\nProv 31:10-13\, 19-20\, 30-31\n1 Macc 1:10-15\, 41-43\, 54-57\, 62-63\n\n2 Macc 7:1\, 20-31\nIsa 63:7-9\n1 Macc 4:36-37\, 52-59\n1 Macc 6:1-13\n\n\n2nd\n1 Thess 5:1-6\n\n\n\nCol 3:12-17\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 25:14-30\nLuke 18:35-43\n\nLuke 19:11-28\nLuke 17:11-19\nLuke 19:45-48\nLuke 20:27-40\n\n\nVespers\n2 Cor 11:16-21a\n2 Cor 11:21b-33\n\n2 Cor 12:11-18\n2 Cor 12:19-13:4\n2 Cor 13:5-13\nEph 1:15-23\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-33rd-week-in-ordinary-time/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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