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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261007
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261008
DTSTAMP:20261004T115719Z
CREATED:20261004T115719Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261004T115719Z
UID:15541-1791331200-1791417599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Our Lady of the Rosary
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nFR ROMANO GUARDINI \n◊◊◊ \nTo linger in the domain of Mary is something divinely great. One does not \nask about the utility of truly noble things\, because they have their meaning \nwithin themselves. So it is of infinite meaning to draw a deep breath of this \npurity\, to be secure in the peace of this union with God. \nWith this we come back to what was said in the beginning. We need a \nplace of holy tranquility that is pervaded by the breath of God and where we \nmeet the great figures of the faith. This place is really the inaccessibility of God \nhimself which is opened to us only through Christ. All prayer begins when we \nbecome silent\, when we recollect our scattered thoughts and feel remorse at our \ntrespasses\, when we direct our thoughts toward God. If we do all this\, the place \nis thrown open\, not only as a domain of spiritual tranquility and mental \nconcentration\, but as something that comes from God. \nWe are always in need of this place\, especially when the convulsions of the \ntimes make clear something that has always existed but which is sometimes \nhidden by outward well-being and a prevailing “peace of mind”: namely\, the \nhomelessness of our lives. In such times\, a great courage is demanded from us: \nnot only a readiness to dispense with more and to accomplish more than usual\, \nbut to persevere in a vacuum we do not otherwise notice. So\, we require more \nthan ever this place of which we speak\, not to creep into to hide\, but as a place to \nfind the core of things\, to become calm and confident once more. \nFor this reason the Rosary is so important in times like ours–assuming\, of \ncourse\, that all slackness and exaggeration are done away with\, and it is used in \nits clear and original forcefulness. This is all the more important because the \nRosary does not require any special preparation. We do not need to generate \nthoughts of which we are not capable at the moment or at any other time. We \nstep into a well-ordered world\, meet familiar images and find roads that lead us \nto the essential. \nThe Rosary has the character of a sojourn. Its essence is the sheltering \nsecurity of a quiet\, holy world that envelops the person who is praying. This is \nparticularly evident when we compare it with the Stations of the Cross\, which \nhave the character of a journey. We follow the Master from one “station” to \nanother\, and feel at the end that we have reached our goal. The Rosary is not a \nroad\, but a place\, and it has no goal but a depth. To linger in it has great \ncompensations.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-our-lady-of-the-rosary-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261008
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261009
DTSTAMP:20261004T115828Z
CREATED:20261004T115828Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261004T115828Z
UID:15544-1791417600-1791503999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nWILLIAM OF ST THIERRY \n◊◊◊ \nLord\, you are pitying and merciful\, patient and kind beyond all measure. \nYou are gracious to all\, and your compassion rests on all your works. You \nyourself exhort us\, Lord\, to pray and to watch in prayer; so does your Holy \nSpirit. You exhort us and teach us to do so\, out of your tenderness and pity and \nyour will to show us mercy. \nAnd you make out our case beforehand for us\, establishing for us \njudgment and justice\, so that\, if we pray as we should\, you may have just cause \nfor showing mercy. And you have fixed for us even our form of prayer\, so that \nyou\, who are for us both judge and advocate\, may in no respect fail us in our \ncause. And you have told us to ask boldly in your name\, and to believe that we \nshall receive whatever we have asked\, and that those things for which we pray \nwill come to pass. \nIt is your goodness\, Lord\, that leads you to do this; we\, on the other hand\, \nare bound by grim necessity. And yet\, in spite of all your exhortation\, we are \nslow to pray; in spite of your bidding we neglect to do it\, and we do not believe \nyour promises. Nevertheless\, you in your mercy and your great compassion \nrouse the slothful and the negligent; your patience overlooks our lack of trust. \nAnd further\, since we neither know how to pray aright\, nor have the power to do \nso\, you send your Holy Spirit\, that he may help our weakness and intercede for \nus with groanings that cannot be uttered. \nWe pray\, therefore\, because you tell us to do so; we ask with confidence\, \nbecause we have your promise; and forthwith you run to meet us and answer \nour prayer\, finding in us a ground for your forgiveness\, because you have \nyourself made us forgivable. \nLoving as you are\, O Lord\, now you multiply your loving-kindness on us \nall\, and we begin to see your mercies that are over all your works. For when\, O \nGod\, instead of fleeing from us\, you begin to draw near and to rejoice our spirits \nwith your consolation\, the soul’s dead senses catch the fragrance of your healing \npresence and perceive its touch\, and forthwith come to life; faith leaps up and \nconfidence is cheered; the heart is kindled\, and tears run down to fan the new-lit \nfire\, not to quench it. \nWhen your Spirit helps our weakness thus\, your sweetness moves us to \nweep copious floods of sweet and fruitful tears; and when your loving-comfort \nwipes the tears away\, they flow the more profusely and become our meat by day \nand night\, a strong and pleasant food. For it is a happy thing for us who are your \npeople and the sheep of your pasture\, O Lord our God\, to weep before you who \nare our Creator.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-474/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261009
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261010
DTSTAMP:20261004T115934Z
CREATED:20261004T115934Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261004T115934Z
UID:15546-1791504000-1791590399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nXAVIER LEON-DUFOUR \n◊◊◊ \nIn its internal logic\, punishment reveals God: it is like a theophany \nadapted to the sinner. He who does not accept the grace of the divine visit \nclashes with holiness and encounters God. This is what the prophet repeats \nwithout ceasing: “Then you will know that I am Yahweh”. Because punishment \nis revelation\, it is the Word which executes it; and it is in confrontation with the \ncrucified that it assumes its true dimensions. \nSince punishment is thus ordered to the recognition of Yahweh and of \nJesus\, it is so much the more terrible when the one whom it affects is closer to \nGod. The same presence\, sweet to the pure heart\, becomes painful to the \nhardened heart even though all suffering is not punishment. Still more\, \npunishment reveals the depths of God’s heart: his jealousy as soon as one \nentered into God’s covenant\, God’s wrath and vengeance toward the enemies\, \nGod’s justice and readiness to pardon and finally God’s mercy and pressing \nlove…. But there is a punishment at the very heart of our history where the \ntempter and sin have been struck dead — it is the cross where the Wisdom of \nGod shines forth. In the cross\, the “closed” condemnation of Satan\, sin\, and \ndeath\, and the “open” suffering\, the source of life\, coincide. \nThis wisdom has made its way through every ancient covenant; the \neducation of liberty was not able to be accomplished without “correction”. \nPunishment is connected with the law; historically\, this age has passed\, but \npsychologically many Christians delay there still: punishment is\, then\, one of \nthe bonds which continues to unite the sinner to God. But the Christian who \nlives with the Spirit is free from punishment. If he recognizes this as coming \n5 Dictionary of Biblical Theology\, Xavier Leon-Dufour\, Seabury Press\, 1970\, p. 476.11 \nfrom the love of the Father\, it is in view of conversion. And\, in our \neschatological times\, the true and only punishment is final obduracy. \nThis proximity of decisive judgment\, already at work\, confers on the \npunishment of “carnal” human being the value of a sign: it anticipates the \ncondemnation of everything that is not able to inherit the kingdom. But for the \n“spiritual\,” the judgment is justification: the punishment then becomes \nexpiation in Christ; voluntarily accepted\, it makes the flesh die to live according \nto the Spirit.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-475/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261010
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261011
DTSTAMP:20261004T120041Z
CREATED:20261004T120041Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261004T120041Z
UID:15548-1791590400-1791676799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX \n◊◊◊ \n“In all things give thanks to God.” If you can credit yourself with wisdom \nor with virtue\, realize that the credit is due rather to Christ\, who is the Power \nand the Wisdom of God. \n“Who is so mad\,” you say\, “as to presume otherwise?” Actually nobody. \nEven the Pharisee gives thanks\, although his justice merits no praise from God. \nAnd if\, as the Gospel points out\, his act of thanksgiving does not increase his \ngrace\, why is this so? Because the pieties that our mouths proclaim will not \njustify the pride of our heart in the sight of him who is repelled by the arrogant. \n“God is not mocked\, O Pharisee. What do you have that was not given to \nyou?” “Nothing\,” he says\, “and therefore I offer thanks to the giver.” But if there \nis really nothing\, then you had no antecedent merit to warrant your reception of \nthe things of which you boast. And if you admit this\, then in the first place it is \nfutile to give yourself airs at the expense of the publican who does not possess as \nmuch as you because he has not received as much… \nWhen you despise others\, however\, you betray the inner reality of your \ncondition\, you are speaking from a double heart\, with one lending your tongue \nto a lie\, with the other usurping the honor due to truth. Never would you judge \nthe publican more despicable than yourself if you did not consider that you are \nmore honorable than he. But how will you reply to the principle laid down by the \nApostle: ‘Honor and glory to the only God?’ How reply to the angels who in their \nteaching distinguish between what God reserves for himself and what he is \nwilling to share with men? Their song is: ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven\, \nand peace on earth to men of good-will.’ \nDo you not perceive that the Pharisee\, in offering thanks\, honors God with \nhis lips but in his heart pays tribute to himself? And so\, through force of habit \nmore than by intention or inclination\, you will hear people of all sorts \npronouncing words of thanks… For instance\, when the thief has bagged the loot \nfor which he has planned\, he celebrates in the privacy of his hide-out and says: \n“Thank God!”… The murderer will brag and express his thanks for the \noverthrow of a rival\, for having had revenge on an enemy. And the adulterer will \nutter an irreverent “Thank you God\,” as he capers with delight on having gone to \nbed at last with the woman he has long pursued. \nIt is clear then that God will listen only to the thanks that spring from a \npure and genuine simplicity of heart. I say “pure heart\,” because when those \nwho boast of their evil conduct presume to thank God for it\, they bring him \ndown to the level of their own profligacy and make him share in their wicked \npleasures. God says to people of this kind: “Do you really think I am like you? I \ncharge\, I indict you to your face.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-476/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261011
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261012
DTSTAMP:20261011T141034Z
CREATED:20261011T141034Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261011T141034Z
UID:15552-1791676800-1791763199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n28th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nOctober 11 – 17\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n11\nMon\n12\nTue\n13\nWed\n14\nThu\n15\nFri\n16\nSat\n17\n\n\nOffice\n28th Sunday\nWeekday\nOffice for the Dead\nWeekday\nSt Teresa of Avila\nSt Hedwig\nSt Ignatius of Antioch\n\n\nVigils\nSir 11:1-19\nSir 11:20-34\nSir 12:1-18\nSir 13:1-13\nSir 13:15-26\nSir 14:1-19\nSir 14:20-15:6\n\n\nLauds\nZech 2:1-9\nZech 2:10-17\nZech 3:1-7\nZech 3:8-4:5\nZech 4:6-10a\nZech 4:10b-5:4\nZech 5:5-11\n\n\nMass\n142\n467\n468\n469\n470\n471\n472\n\n\n1st\nIsa 25:6-10a\nGal 4:22-24\, 26-27\, 31-5:1\nGal 5:1-6\nGal 5:18-25\nEph 1:1-10\nEph 1:11-14\nEph 1:15-23\n\n\n2nd\nPhil 4:12-14\, 19-20\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 22:1-14\nLuke 11:29-32\nLuke 11:37-41\nLuke 11:42-46\nLuke 11:47-54\nLuke 12:1-7\nLuke 12:8-12\n\n\nVespers\n2 Pet 2:17-22\n2 Pet 3:1-7\n2 Pet 3:8-13\n2 Pet 3:14-18\n1 John 1:1-4\n1 John 1:5-10\n1 John 2:1-6
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-172/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261011
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261012
DTSTAMP:20261011T141147Z
CREATED:20261011T141147Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261011T141147Z
UID:15554-1791676800-1791763199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 28th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST AUGUSTINE \n◊◊◊ \nAll believers are familiar with the story of the wedding of the king’s son \nand the banquet that followed it\, and of how the Lord’s table was thrown open to \nall comers. When everyone was seated the master of the house came in to see \nthe guests\, and among them he noticed one without a wedding garment. So he \nsaid to him\, “My friend\, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” \nNow what precisely does this mean? Let us try to find out what it is that \nsome believers have\, but which the wicked lack\, for that will be what the \nwedding garment is. \nCan it be one of the sacraments? Hardly\, for these\, as we know\, are \ncommon to good and bad alike. Take baptism for example. It is true that no one \ncomes to God except through baptism\, but not every baptized person comes to \nhim. We cannot take this sacrament as the wedding garment\, then\, for it is a \nrobe worn not only by good people but also by wicked people. Perhaps\, then\, it is \nour altar that is meant\, or at least what we receive from it. But we know that \nmany who approach the altar eat and drink to their own damnation. Well\, then\, \nmaybe it is fasting? The wicked can fast too. What about going to church? Some \nbad people also go to church. \nWhatever can this wedding garment be\, then? For an answer we must go \nto the Apostle who says: The purpose of our command is to arouse the love that \nsprings from a pure heart\, a clear conscience\, and a genuine faith. There is \nyour wedding garment. It is not love of just any kind. Many people of bad \nconscience appear to love one another\, but you will not find in them the love \nthat springs from a pure heart\, a clear conscience\, and a genuine faith. Only \nthat kind of love is the wedding garment. \nIf I speak in the tongues of men and angels\, says the Apostle\, but have no \nlove\, I am nothing but a booming gong or a clashing cymbal. If I have the gift \nof prophecy\, if I have all knowledge and understand all mysteries\, if I have \nfaith strong enough to move mountains\, but have no love\, I am nothing. In \nother words\, even with all these gifts I am nothing without Christ. Does that \nmean that prophecy has no value and that knowledge of mysteries is worthless? \nNo\, they are not worthless but I am\, if I possess them but have no love. \nBut can the lack of one good thing rob so many others of their value? Yes\, \nwithout love my confession of the name of Christ even by shedding my blood or \noffering my body to be burnt will avail me nothing\, for I may do this out of a \ndesire for glory. That such things can be endured for the sake of empty show \nwithout any real love for God the Apostle also declares. Listen to him: If I give \naway all I have to the poor\, if I hand over my body to be burnt\, but have no \nlove\, it will avail me nothing. So this is what the wedding garment is. Examine \nyourselves to see whether you possess it. If you do\, your place at the Lord’s table \nis secure.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-28th-sunday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261012
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261013
DTSTAMP:20261011T141247Z
CREATED:20261011T141247Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261011T141247Z
UID:15556-1791763200-1791849599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST JOHN HENRY NEWMAN \n◊◊◊ \nLet us prepare for suffering and disappointment\, which befit us as \nsinners\, and which are necessary for us as saints. Let us not turn away from trial \nwhen God brings it on us\, or play the coward in the fight of faith… When \naffliction overtakes you\, remember to accept it as a means of improving your \nhearts\, and pray God for His grace that it may do so. Look disappointment in \nthe face. Take the Prophets for example of suffering affliction\, and of patience. \nBehold\, we count them happy who endure. Give not over your attempts to serve \nGod\, though you see nothing come of them. Watch and pray\, and obey your \nconscience\, though you cannot perceive your progress in holiness. \nGo on\, and you cannot but go forward; believe it\, though you do not see it. \nDo the duties of your calling\, though they are distasteful to you. Educate your \nchildren carefully in the good way\, though you cannot tell how far God’s grace \nhas touched their hearts. Let your light shine before men\, and praise God by a \nconsistent life\, even though others do not seem to glorify their Father on \naccount of it\, or to be benefited by your example… Persevere in the narrow way. \nThe Prophets went through sufferings to which ours are mere trifles; violence \nand craft combined to turn them aside\, but they kept right on\, and are at rest. \nNow\, I know full well\, that this whole subject is distasteful to many who \nsay we ought to be cheerful. “We are bid rejoice\, why then do you bid us \nmourn?” I bid you mourn in order that you may rejoice more perfectly. \n“Blessed are they that mourn\, for they shall be comforted.” “They that sow in \ntears\, shall reap in joy.” I bid you take up the cross of Christ\, that you may wear \nHis crown. Give your hearts to Him\, and you will for yourselves solve the \ndifficulty\, how Christians can be sorrowful\, yet always rejoicing. You will find \nthat lightness of heart and cheerfulness are quite consistent with that new and \nheavenly character which He gives us\, though to gain it in any good measure\, we \nmust for a time be sorrowful\, and ever after thoughtful. \nBut I give you fair warning\, you must at first take His word on trust; and if \nyou do not\, there is no help for it. He says\, “Come to me and I will give you rest.” \nYou must begin on faith: you cannot see at first where He is leading you\, and \nhow light will rise out of the darkness. You must begin by denying yourselves \nyour natural wishes\, – a painful work; by refraining from sin\, by rousing from \nsloth\, by preserving your tongue from insincere words\, and your hands from \ndeceitful dealings\, and your eyes from beholding vanity; by watching against the \nfirst rising of anger\, pride\, impurity\, obstinacy\, jealousy; by learning to endure \nthe laugh of irreligious men for Christ’s sake; by forcing your minds to follow \nseriously the words of prayer\, though it be difficult to you\, and by keeping before \nyou the thought of God all through the day. And the Lord shall guide you \ncontinually\, and satisfy your soul in drought; and you shall be like a watered \ngarden\, and like a spring of water\, whose waters fail not.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-477/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261013
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261014
DTSTAMP:20261011T141350Z
CREATED:20261011T141350Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261011T141350Z
UID:15558-1791849600-1791935999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST EPHREM THE SYRIAN \n◊◊◊ \nIn that night when all sound\, all human activity shall be silent\, when the \nvoices of all peoples and nations are still\, may my soul through its good works \nshine out in You\, O Jesus\, Light of the Just. In that hour when darkness like a \ncloak shall be spread over all things may your grace\, O Lord\, shine on us in place \nof the earthy sun. In that night which brings to an end the course of this world \nand all its activities\, may our souls behold your wonders in that quiet which is \nmore than silence. In that hour\, refreshing the weary through the sleep that lies \nover all\, may our minds be inebriated with your delights\, O Delight of all the \nSaints! In that time of dark night\, may a New Sun arise for us. Then let us take \nwing in that hope which was laid up for us in your Resurrection. \nGrant us O Lord\, to imitate the watchfulness of those who waited for your \nResurrection\, so that day and night O Lord\, we may be turned towards you. In \nthat hour when we shall be separated from others and from the business of the \nworld\, be to us O Lord\, a Giver of good things\, bringing joy to our sadness. When \nconfiding in your grace we have gone forth from this world\, so that we are alone\, \nmay we behold O Lord\, clearly and in deed the power of your help. Pour your \npeace into our hearts\, and give your rest to all our striving that the darkness of \nthat night may be to us as the day. \nIn that hour when we shall have been deprived of life\, and night has \nhidden us in its darkness and we have been separated from others\, may our \nconsolation in you O Lord\, increase. In that place that is empty of all things\, \nwhere the voice of comfort is no more heard\, awaken in our souls O Lord\, a \nwatchfulness free of all distraction… \nGrant us by your graces O Lord\, that like the wise virgins who were ready \nby their good works\, our way of life shall also be watchful\, that we shall not sit in \ndarkness with darkened souls\, in darkness of mind\, but that through prayer we \nmay look for ever on the shining splendor of your grace. Expel\, O Lord\, by the \ndaily light of your knowledge the nocturnal darkness of our mind\, that being \nenlightened it may serve you in the purity of its regeneration. \nGrant us with the just to watch by night in prayer\, that in your revelations \nour lamps may burn brightly before your sun. In that time of night give \nconsolation to our need\, for the gloom of the night darkens us; through you may \nwe be comforted in our sadness. Grant that our minds may labor in the \nremembrance of your revelations\, while our souls burn in the fire of your love. \nIn that hour when the Saints were wont to give themselves to prayer; grant us\, O \nLord\, to share in their watchfulness.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-30/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261014
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261015
DTSTAMP:20261011T141442Z
CREATED:20261011T141442Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261011T141442Z
UID:15560-1791936000-1792022399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nBLESSED GUERRIC OF IGNY \n◊◊◊ \nSearch the Scriptures then. For you are not mistaken in thinking that you \nfind life in them\, you who seek nothing else in them but Christ\, to whom the \nScriptures bear witness. Blessed indeed are they who search his testimonies\, \nseek them out with all their heart.” Your testimonies are wonderful\, Lord\, \ntherefore my soul has searched them. There is need for searching not only in \norder to draw out the mystical sense but also to taste the moral sense. Therefore \nyou who walk about in the gardens of the Scriptures do not pass by heedlessly \nand idly but searching each and every word like busy bees gathering honey from \nflowers\, reap the Spirit from the words. “For my Spirit\,” says Jesus\, “is sweeter \nthan honey and my inheritance surpasses the honeycomb.” So\, proving by \nexperience that hidden manna is savory\, you will break forth into those words of \nDavid: “How sweet to my mouth are your words\, sweeter than honey and the \nhoneycomb to my palate. \nFrom these gardens the Bridegroom will lead you\, if I be not mistaken\, \ninto others where rest is more hidden and enjoyment more blessed and beauty \nmore wonderful. When you are absorbed in his praises with accents of \nexultation and thanksgiving\, he will take you into his wonderful tenting place\, \ninto the very house of God\, into the unapproachable light in which he dwells\, \nwhere he feeds\, where he lies down at midday. For if the devotion of those who \nsing psalms or pray has something of that loving curiosity of the disciples who \nasked: “Rabbi\, where do you dwell?” they deserve\, I think\, to hear: “Come and \nsee.”… \nAs long as we are with the Father of lights\, with whom there can be no \nchange\, no swerving from his course\, we know nothing of night\, we enjoy a \nblessed daylight. When we fall thence\, we relapse into our own darkness. Woe is \nme: how quickly my days have passed away\, how quickly I have dried up like \ngrass. As long as I was in the garden with him\, I was vigorous and flourishing \nlike God’s Paradise. With him I am a garden of delight; without him\, a place of \nhorror and utter wilderness. \nFor I think that the man who enters his garden becomes a garden himself\, \nhis soul is like a watered garden\, so that the Bridegroom says in praise of him: “A \nclosed garden is my sister\, my bride.” Are they not a garden in which there \ncomes about what the Gardener himself says to the plantation which his Father \nplanted? “Give heed to me\,” he says\, “scions of the divine stock. Burgeon like a \nrose-bush that is planted by running water. Yield the fragrance of incense. \nBlossom like the lily\, and smell sweet\, and put forth leaves for your adornment.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-478/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:15562-1792022400-1792108799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Teresa of Avila
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST TERESA OF AVILA \n◊◊◊ \nIf Christ Jesus dwells in a person as his friend and noble leader\, that one \ncan endure all things\, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons \nus. He is a true friend. And I clearly see that if we expect to please him and \nreceive an abundance of his graces\, God desires that these graces must come to \nus from the hands of Christ\, through his most sacred humanity\, in which God \ntakes delight. \nMany\, many times I have perceived this through experience. The Lord has \ntold it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if we wish his \nSovereign Majesty to reveal to us great and hidden mysteries. A person should \ndesire no other path\, even if he is at the summit of contemplation; on this road \nhe walks safely. All blessings come to us through Our Lord. He will teach us\, for \nin beholding his life we find that he is the best example. \nWhat more do we desire from such a friend at our side? Unlike our friends \nin the world\, he will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed. \nBlessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near. Let us \nconsider the glorious St Paul: it seems that no other name fell from his lips than \nthat of Jesus\, because the name of Jesus was fixed and embedded in his heart. \nOnce I had come to understand this truth\, I carefully considered the lives of the \nsaints\, the great contemplatives\, and found that they took no other path: \nFrancis\, Anthony of Padua\, Bernard\, Catherine of Sienna. A person must walk \nalong this path in freedom\, placing himself in God’s hands. If God should desire \nto raise us to the position of one who is an intimate and shares his secrets\, we \nought to accept this gladly. \nWhenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to \nbestow on us so many graces and favors\, and also the great love God showed in \ngiving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us \nstrive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For \nif at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our \nhearts\, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly \nand without effort.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-teresa-of-avila-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261016
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261017
DTSTAMP:20261011T141703Z
CREATED:20261011T141703Z
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UID:15564-1792108800-1792195199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Hedwig
DESCRIPTION:A reading from Butler’s Lives of the Saints on \nST HEDWIG OF SILESIA \n◊◊◊ \nHedwig was born in Bavaria about the year 1174\, the daughter of \nBerthold\, Count of Andechs. When she was only twelve she was married to \nHenry\, Duke of Silesia. Together they founded a large number of religious \nhouses\, the best known of which was a convent for Cistercian nuns at Trebnitz\, \nnear Breslau in modern Poland\, the first convent for women in Silesia. These \nfoundations helped both to develop the religious life of the people and to spread \na common German culture throughout their lands. They also established \nhospitals and a house for lepers. \nTheir seventh and last child was born in 1209\, and Hedwig persuaded her \nhusband to take a mutual vow of chastity. They lived apart\, with Hedwig taking \nup residence close to the nunnery at Trebnitz\, and often sharing the austere life \nof the nuns. She recommended fasting to those who wanted to live holier lives\, \nsaying that it could “master concupiscence\, lift up the soul\, confirm it in the \npaths of virtue\, and prepare a fine reward for the Christian”. \nMuch of the rest of Hedwig’s life was spent in trying to keep peace \nbetween her warring sons Henry and Conrad and in attempts to make peace \nbetween her husband and his enemies. When Henry died in 1238\, she \ncomforted those who mourned him with the words\, “Would you oppose the will \nof God? Our lives are his; our will is whatever he is pleased to ordain\, whether \nour own death or that of our friends.” \nShe took the habit at Trebnitz but did not take any religious vows\, \nremaining free to administer her property for the good of the poor. We are told \nthat she took great care to instruct the uneducated in their religion\, on one \noccasion having an old woman share a room with her so that they could go \nthrough the Our Father together whenever there was a free moment. After ten \nweeks of patient teaching\, the old woman could repeat and understand the \nprayer. \nWhen her son Henry II was killed in 1240 fighting the Tartar invaders\, \nHegwig knew of his death three days before a messenger arrived from the \nbattlefield. Other miracles were attributed to her; she cured a blind man\, for \nexample\, and had the gift of prophecy\, foretelling her own death in October \n1243. She was canonized in 1267\, and her feast was extended to the Western \nChurch in 1706.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-hedwig-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261017
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261018
DTSTAMP:20261011T141820Z
CREATED:20261011T141820Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261011T141820Z
UID:15566-1792195200-1792281599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Ignatius of Antioch
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST IGNATIUS OF ANTIOCH \n◊◊◊ \nThe last epoch has arrived! Therefore let us exercise restraint and fear lest \nGod’s long-suffering should turn to our condemnation. Obviously\, we must \neither fear the gathering storm of anger\, or else cherish the present time of grace \n– one of the two; only let us be found in union with Christ Jesus so as to possess \nthe true life. Apart from him\, let nothing fascinate you. In union with him I carry \nabout these chains of mine – spiritual pearls they are! May I be privileged \nthrough your prayer – in which I wish I may ever have a share – to wear them \nwhen I rise from the dead! Thus I shall be found in the ranks of the Christians of \nEphesus\, who have ever been of one mind with the Apostles through the power \nof Jesus Christ… \nMake an effort then\, to meet more frequently to celebrate God’s Eucharist \nand to offer praise. For\, when you meet frequently in the same place\, the forces \nof Satan are overthrown\, and his baneful influence is neutralized by the \nunanimity of your faith. Peace is a precious thing: it puts an end to every war \nwaged by heavenly or earthly enemies. \nNothing of this escapes you; only persevere to the end in your faith in\, and \nyour love for\, Jesus Christ. Here is the beginning and the end of life: faith is the \nbeginning\,”the end is love”; and when the two blend perfectly with each other\, \nthey are God. Everything else that makes for right living is consequent upon \nthese. No one who professes faith sins; no one who possesses love hates. “The \ntree is known by its fruit.” \nIn like manner\, those who profess to belong to Christ will be known as \nsuch by their conduct. Certainly\, what matters now is not mere profession of \nfaith\, but whether one is found to be actuated by it to the end. \nIt is better to keep silence and be something than to talk and be nothing. \nTeaching is an excellent thing\, provided the speaker practices what he teaches. \nNow\, there is one Teacher who “spoke and it was done.” But even what he did \nsilently is worthy of the Father. He who has made the words of Jesus really his \nown is able also to hear His silence. Thus he will be perfect: he will act through \nHis speech and be understood through His silence. \nNothing is hidden from the Lord; no\, even our secrets reach him. Let us\, \nthen\, do all things in the conviction that he dwells in us. Thus we shall be his \ntemples and he will be our God within us. And this is the truth\, and it will be \nmade manifest before our eyes. Let us then\, love him as he deserves.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-ignatius-of-antioch-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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