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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231223
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20231217T112715Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231217T112715Z
UID:11406-1703203200-1703289599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:RAISE YOUR HEADS\, \nBECAUSE YOUR REDEMPTION IS DRAWING NEAR \nFrom the writings of St Rafael Arnaiz6 \n◊◊◊ \nThere are many ways to wait for the God who is to be born among human beings. \nThere are many ways that the world celebrates the event of God’s coming… \nChristmastime in La Trapa… Joy in the liturgy\, hope in the songs we sing in church\, \nhymns that speak of love and gentleness of heart. Thinking\, in the silence of the temple\, \nabout Mary’s humility\, Joseph’s chastity… God’s love. The harmonious blend of angels’ \nmelodies and shepherds’ ballads… Christmas in La Trapa… Frankincense and myrrh \noffered up by souls who quietly live their lives in the divine service… the gold of \nsacrifices. No loud cheers or external expressions or music or drums…The parties\, the \njoy\, the music\, the drumbeat… he carries all that in his heart\, which loves Jesus so \nmuch\, in a joyful silence… an inner song… a quiet\, silent love. \nDuring this time\, he meditates upon the great mysteries of his faith… and \nvery\, very deep within his soul\, he delights in the consolations that the Child \nJesus offers him through sacred Scripture… In peace and quiet\, he meditates \nupon the psalms\, the hymns\, and the whole liturgical arsenal that the church \nprovides for this season. He contemplates with amazement how the young \nwoman is with child and shall bear a son\, and shall name him Emmanuel\, and \nhow the uneven ground shall become level and the rough places a plain. \nYou don’t need to make noise to love God. You won’t mind solitude\, \nsilence\, austerity\, penance\, or any amount of suffering if you know that the \nwilderness and the dry land shall be glad\, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; \nlike the crocus it shall blossom abundantly\, and rejoice with joy and singing… \nEverything balances out in this world… In the perfect harmony of creation\, \nevery person and thing follows the path that God has laid out before them. \nWhat a joy it is to know we are rooted in His will… Wherever we might go\, \nwherever we are\, so long as we don’t separate our heart from Jesus’ heart\, what \ndo we have to fear?… The world is very small\, and God is so great that it cannot \ncontain Him… But no matter\, God has made Himself small in order to save \nhumanity… To God\, the whole world is a vast temple… and the Son has come \ndown into it\, and it is in this world that He does the will of His Father… \nNow that Christmas is approaching\, and perhaps my struggles on this \nfront are harder\, God is calling me to account. Without letting anyone else \noverhear\, He is saying to me very softly\, “What does it matter?” \n… And then I \ncome to see the poverty of this world\, the brevity of this life… we must make \ngood use of it… We must not waste time…thinking about our past joys that will \nnever come back again. And then the soul comes to understand and \ncontemplate the only truth… and that is Christ. Christ\, who transforms the \nworld into a great big stable! Christ\, with Joseph and Mary… Christ\, made \nhuman for love of humanity… Christ\, born among the animals and hay\, with no \nshelter or clothing\, in great solitude… And faced with the thought of an \nincarnate God\, faced with the grandeur of His boundlessness\, the soul \nstretches…and the voice of Christ sweetly draws me in\, speaks to me of love\, and \nmakes me forget all my cares. \nToday\, at prayer\, a little monk was thinking about this. Looking around \nhim\, he could not help but close his eyes as he realized that nothing in this world \nwill remain… Leaving behind his feelings and sorrows\, he lifted his eyes to \nheaven and heard his soul cry out clearly… “Brother!…Brother!…Love \nChrist…As for everything else…what does it matter?” \n… “The Lord is now near; \ncome\, let us adore him. \n  \nSaint Rafael Arnaiz. The Collected Words. MW 61. Trans. Catherine Addington. Collegeville\, MN: Cistercian \nPublications\, 2022. 502-506.13 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-145/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231224
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20231217T112857Z
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UID:11408-1703289600-1703375999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:IF YOU KNEW THE GIFT OF GOD \nFrom the writing of St Elizabeth of the Trinity \n◊◊◊ \nWhat is the gift of God if not Himself?… The beloved disciple tells us: “He \ncame to His own and His own did not accept Him.” St. John the Baptist could \nstill say to many souls these words of reproach: “There is one in the midst of \nyou\, ‘in you\,’ whom you do not know… If you knew the gift of God…” \nThere is one who knew this gift of God\, one who did not lose one particle \nof it\, one who was so pure\, so luminous that she seemed to be Light itself. One \nwhose life was so simple\, so lost in God that there is hardly anything we can say \nabout it. \nFaithful Virgin\, “who kept all these things in her heart.” She remained so \nlittle\, so recollected in God’s presence\, in the seclusion of the temple\, that she \ndrew down upon herself the delight of the Holy Trinity: “Because He has looked \nupon the lowliness of His servant\, henceforth all generations shall call me \nblessed!” The Father bending down to this beautiful creature\, who was so \nunaware of her own beauty\, willed that she be the Mother in time of Him whose \nFather He is in eternity. Then the Spirit of love who presides over all of God’s \nworks came upon her; the Virgin said her fiat: “Behold the servant of the Lord\, \nbe it done to me according to Your word\,” and the greatest of mysteries was \naccomplished. By the descent of the Word in her\, Mary became forever God’s \nprey. \nIt seems to me that the attitude of the Virgin during the months that \nelapsed between the Annunciation and the Nativity is the model for interior \nsouls\, those whom God has chosen to live within\, in the depths of the bottomless \nabyss. In what peace\, in what recollection Mary lent herself to everything she \ndid! How even the most trivial things were divinized by her! For through it all \nthe Virgin remained the adorer of the gift of God! This did not prevent her from \nspending herself outwardly when it was a matter of charity; the Gospel tells us \nthat Mary went in haste to the mountains of Judea to visit her cousin Elizabeth. \nNever did the ineffable vision that she contemplated within herself in any way \ndiminish her outward charity. For… if contemplation “continues toward praise \nand towards the eternity of its Lord\, it possesses unity and will not lose it. \nIf an order from Heaven arrives\, contemplation turns towards men\, \nsympathizes with their needs\, is inclined towards all their miseries; it must cry \nand be fruitful. It illuminates like fire\, and like it\, it burns\, absorbs and devours\, \nlifting up to Heaven what it has devoured. And when it has finished its work \nhere below\, it rises\, burning with its fire\, and takes up again the road on high. \n  \nElizabeth of the Trinity. I Have Found God\, The Complete Works: Volume One. Trans. Sister Aletheia Kane\, O.C.D. ICS \nPublications\, 1984. 110-111.15 \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-146/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11410-1703376000-1703462399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n4th Sunday/Christmas Octave\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (B)\, Weekdays (II)\nDecember 24 – 30\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n24\nMon\n25\nTue\n26\nWed\n27\nThu\n28\nFri\n29\nSat\n30\n\n\nOffice\n4th Sunday of Advent\nNativity of the Lord\nSt Stephen\nSt John\nHoly Innocents\n5th Day in Christmas Octave\n6th Day in Christmas Octave\n\n\nVigils\nIsa 44:1-8\, 21-23\n*vigil and midnight Mass\nActs 6:1-15\nWis 7:21-8:1\nExod 1:6-22\nSong 1:1-11\nSong 1:12-2:7\n\n\nLauds\nIsa 63:15-19\nBaruch 3:36-4:4\n2 Chron 24:17-22\nProv 8:22-30\nBaruch 4:21-29\nIsa 51:1-8\nIsa 52:8-12\n\n\nMass\n11\n16\n696\n697\n698\n202\n203\n\n\n1st\n2 Sam 7:1-5\, 8b-12\, 14a\, 16\nIsa 52:7-10\nActs 6:8-10; 7:54-59\n1 John 1:1-4\n1 John 1:5-2:2\n1 John 2:3-11\n1 John 2:12-17\n\n\n2nd\nRom 16:25-27\nHeb 1:1-6\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 1:26-38\nJohn 1:1-18\nMatt 10:17-22\nJohn 20:1a\, 2-8\nMatt 2:13-18\nLuke 2:22-35\nLuke 2:36-40\n\n\nVespers\n2 Pet 3:8-14\n1 John 4:7-16\nActs 7:51-8:2\nActs 4:13-20\n1 Pet 4:12-19\nCol 1:1-8\nPhil 2:1-11\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n*Midnight Mass: 1) Isa 9:1-6 2) Titus 2:11-14 Gospel) Luke 2:1-14
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-56/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231224
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231225
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20231223T121925Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231223T121925Z
UID:11412-1703376000-1703462399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 4th Sunday Advent
DESCRIPTION:YOU SHALL CONCEIVE AND BEAR A SON \nFrom a commentary by St Bede the Venerable \n◊◊◊ \nToday’s reading of the gospel calls to mind the beginning of our \nredemption\, for the passage tells us how God sent an angel from heaven to a \nvirgin. He was to proclaim the new birth\, the incarnation of God’s Son\, who \nwould take away our age-old guilt; through him it would be possible for us to be \nmade new and numbered among the children of God. And so\, if we are to \ndeserve the gifts of the promised salvation\, we must listen attentively to the \naccount of its beginning. \nThe angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named \nNazareth\, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house \nof David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. What is said of the house of David \napplies not only to Joseph but also to Mary. It was a precept of the law that \neach man should marry a wife from his own tribe and kindred. Saint Paul also \nbears testimony to this when he writes to Timothy: Remember Jesus Christ\, \nrisen from the dead\, descended from David\, as preached in my gospel. Our \nLord is truly descended from David\, since his spotless mother took her ancestry \nfrom David’s line. \nThe angel came to her and said\, “Do not be afraid\, Mary\, for you have \nfound favor with God. And behold\, you will conceive in your womb and bear \na son\, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great\, and will be called \nthe Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his \nfather David.” The angel refers to the kingdom of the Israelite nation as the \nthrone of David because in his time\, by the Lord’s command and assistance\, \nDavid governed it with a spirit of faithful service. The Lord God gave to our \nRedeemer the throne of his father David\, when he decreed that he should \ntake flesh from the lineage of David. As David had once ruled the people with \ntemporal authority\, so Christ would now lead them to the eternal kingdom by \nhis spiritual grace. Of this kingdom the Apostle said: He has delivered us from \nthe dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved \nSon. \nHe will reign over the house of Jacob for ever. The house of Jacob here \nrefers to the universal Church which\, through its faith in and witness to Christ\, \nshares the heritage of the patriarchs. This may apply either to those who are \nphysical descendants of the patriarchal families\, or to those who come from \ngentile nations and are reborn in Christ by the waters of baptism. In this house \nChrist shall reign for ever\, and of his kingdom there will be no end. During this \npresent life\, Christ rules in the Church. By faith and love he dwells in the hearts \nof his elect\, and guides them by his unceasing care toward their heavenly \nreward. In the life to come\, when their period of exile on earth is ended\, he will \nexercise his kingship by leading the faithful to their heavenly country. There\, \nfor ever inspired by the vision of his presence\, their one delight will be to praise \nand glorify him \n  \n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year B – New City Press – NY -1993 – pg 16-17.3 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-4th-sunday-advent/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231225
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231226
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20231223T122154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231223T122154Z
UID:11414-1703462400-1703548799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading -Nativity of the Lord
DESCRIPTION:TODAY A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN FOR YOU \nFrom a commentary by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nToday\, in the city of David\, the Savior of the world is born for us: he is \nChrist the Lord. That city is Bethlehem. We must run there as the shepherds \ndid when they heard these tidings\, and so put into action the words we \ntraditionally sing at this season: They sang of God’s glory\, they hastened to \nBethlehem. \nAnd this shall be a sign for you: you will find the child wrapped in \nswaddling bands and lying in a manger. Now this is what I say: you must love. \nYou fear the Lord of angels\, yes\, but love the tiny babe; you fear the Lord of \nmajesty\, yes\, but love the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes; you fear him \nwho reigns in heaven\, yes\, but love him who lies in the manger. \nWhat sort of sign were the shepherds given? You will find the child \nwrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. It was by this that they \nwere to recognize their Savior and Lord. But is there anything great about being \nwrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a stable – are not other children also \nwrapped in swaddling clothes? What kind of sign\, then\, can this be? \nIndeed it is a great one\, if only we understand it rightly. Such \nunderstanding will be ours if this message of love is not restricted to our \nhearing\, but if our hearts too are illuminated by the light which accompanied \nthe appearance of the angels. The angel who first proclaimed the good tidings \nappeared surrounded by light to teach us that only those whose minds are \nspiritually enlightened can truly understand the message. \nMuch can be said of this sign; but as time is passing\, I shall say little\, and \nbriefly. Bethlehem\, the house of bread\, is holy Church\, in which is distributed \nthe body of Christ\, the true bread. The manger at Bethlehem is the altar of the \nchurch; it is there that Christ’s creatures are fed. This is the table of which it is \nwritten\, You have prepared a banquet for me. In this manger is Jesus\, wrapped \nin the swaddling clothes which are the outward form of the sacraments. Here \nin this manger\, under the species of bread and wine\, is the true body and blood \nof Christ. We believe that Christ himself is here\, but he is wrapped in swaddling \nclothes; in other words\, he is invisibly contained in these sacraments. We have \nno greater or clearer proof of Christ’s birth than our daily reception of his body \nand blood at the holy altar\, and the sight of him who was once born for us of a \nvirgin daily offered in a sacrifice for us. \nAnd so let us hasten to the manger of the Lord. But before drawing near \nwe must prepare ourselves as well as we can with the help of his grace; and then\, \nin company with the angels\, with pure heart\, good conscience\, and unfeigned \nfaith\, we may sing to the Lord in all that we do throughout the whole of our life: \nGlory to God in the highest\, and peace to his people on earth; through our Lord \nJesus Christ\, to whom be honor and glory for ever and ever \n  \n2 Journey with the Fathers – Year B – New City Press – NY -1993 – pg 18-19.5 \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-nativity-of-the-lord-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231226
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231227
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20231223T122453Z
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UID:11416-1703548800-1703635199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Stephen
DESCRIPTION:THE GIFT OF LOVE \nFrom a sermon by St Fulgentius\, Bishop of Ruspe \n◊◊◊ \nYesterday we celebrated the birth in time of our eternal king; today we \ncelebrate the triumphant suffering of a soldier. For yesterday our king\, nobly \narrayed in flesh\, proceeding from the chaste womb of the Virgin Mary\, deigned \nto visit this world; today a soldier\, leaving the confines of the body\, made his \nway in triumph to heaven. \nOur king\, though he is the Most High\, for our sake came in humility; yet \nhe could not come empty-handed. It was indeed a generous gift that he brought \nfor us\, one by which he not only abundantly enriched us but gave us the strength \nto do battle and never be vanquished. What he brought was the gift of love\, \nwhich was to lead us to become sharers in the godhead. He brought it only to \nexpend it\, without in any way diminishing his own store; while turning the \npoverty of his followers into riches he remained himself\, as by a miracle\, fully \npossessed of his own inexhaustible treasury. \nLove then\, the same love that brought Christ down from heaven to earth\, \nraised Stephen from earth to heaven; the same love shown first in the king was \nreproduced in its splendor in the warrior. \nAnd so Stephen\, in order to earn his right to the crown his name signifies\, \narmed himself with love\, and by that same love won every battle. It was love of \nGod that made him yield not an inch\, love of his neighbor that led him to \nintercede for those who stoned him. It was through love that he was able to \nexpose those in error so that they might change their ways; through love that he \nprayed for those who stoned him so that they should not be punished. Trusting \nonly in love\, he overcame Saul’s cruel rage\, and the very man who had been his \npersecutor on earth he won as his companion in heaven. That same holy and \nuntiring love longed to win over by prayer those whom it could not convert by \npersuasion… \nLove is therefore the source and origin of every good\, an unrivalled \nprotection\, the road that leads to heaven. Those who walk in love can be neither \nlost nor afraid; love is the guide and protector\, and brings them to the end of \ntheir journey. For this reason\, beloved\, since Christ has set up a stairway of love \nby which every Christian can mount up to heaven\, keep a firm hold on love \nalone; love one another\, and by growing in love climb together up to heave \n  \n3 Sermon 3\,1-3\,5-6: CCL 91A\, 905-909. cf. A Word in Season\, I (1st series) p132f.7 \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-stephen/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231228
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231229
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20231223T122758Z
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UID:11420-1703721600-1703807999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Holy Innocents
DESCRIPTION:CHILDREN OF GOD \nFrom the letters of St Cyprian of Carthage \n◊◊◊ \nThe martyrdom of children marked the very beginning of Christ’s life: for \nhis name’s sake\, all those of two years old and under were put to death. Too \nyoung to fight\, they were yet able to win a martyr’s crown\, and by their \ninnocence bear witness to the innocence of all who shed their blood for Christ. \nWhen even such as these make martyrs\, clearly no one is immune from the peril \nof persecution. \nWhat a shameful thing it would be for Christ’s servants to recoil from \nsuffering when their Master suffered first; for us to be unwilling to endure \nsomething for our sins\, when he\, though sinless\, endured so much for us! The \nSon of God suffered in order to make us children of God; will the children of \nthis world refuse to persevere in that sonship through suffering? If we have to \nbear with the world’s hatred\, we must remember that Christ bore it before we \ndid. We may have to endure insults\, exile\, torture in this world\, but the Creator \nand Lord of the world knew them first in harsher form\, and warned us of them\, \nsaying\, “If the world hates you\, remember that it hated me before you. If you \nbelonged to the world\, the world would love its own. But you are not of the \nworld; I chose you out of it\, and therefore it hates you. Remember the saying I \ngave you\, ‘The servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecute me\, they \nwill persecute you also.” Our Lord and God practiced all he taught\, so there can \nbe no excuse for a disciple who hears his teaching but does not act on it… \nLet these be the sentiments\, dearly beloved brethren\, that ever abide in \nyour hearts. And may we thus make ready our arms by fixing our thoughts\, day \nand night\, on this reflection\, by holding before our eyes and turning over \nconstantly in our minds and our hearts what tortures are inflicted upon the \nwicked\, what rewards are merited by the just\, what the Lord threatens by way \nof punishment to those who deny\, what\, by contrast\, He promises by way of \nglory to those who confess. If the day of persecution should come upon us whilst \nwe meditate upon and contemplate these thoughts\, then the soldier of Christ\, \nbeing thus instructed by His precepts and counsels\, shows no fear in the face of \nbattle but is now ready for his crown. \n  \n5 St. Cyprian of Carthage. The Letters of St. Cyprian of Carthage – Vol. 3 (Letter 58). Trans. G.W. Clarke. New York: \nNewman Press\, 1986. 64-65\, 68.11 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-holy-innocents-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231230
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20231223T122931Z
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UID:11422-1703808000-1703894399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Readings - 5th day in Christmas Octave
DESCRIPTION:WHY CHRIST HAD TO BE BORN \nFrom the missionary letters of St Nikolai Velimirovich \n◊◊◊ \nYou have asked why Christ had to be born\, grow and be tormented? Why \ndid he not suddenly appear out of the Heavens in the form of a grown man\, like \nApollo does in Hellenic fairy tales? A completely inappropriate comparison! \nHow can one compare a true man with a phantom and the true man with made- \nup monsters? \nAs much as heaven is above the earth\, so much is the wisdom of God \nbeyond the reason of man. According to the wisdom of the Most High\, Christ \nhad to come into the world as a child and as a youth and as a mature man\, so \nthat He could be accessible to everyone and gain everyone. Had He never been \na child\, His words would have been pale and cold – \n“Let the children come to \nme and forbid them not\, for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.” And also the \nother saying\, \n“Indeed I say to you\, if you do not return and become as children\, \nyou will not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” \n… \nChrist could have undoubtedly appeared to the world as you imagine. But \nhad He done that\, He could not have been for the human race what He wanted \nto be\, that is\, the Teacher and Savior of all\, and an example to all generations. \nA thought torments you. You think that the Lord has magnified the \nmystery of His being for our reason by His unusual birth. But would His \nmystery not be far greater and less comprehensible had He suddenly appeared \namong men\, outside of any kinship with them? Would the world then not talk \nof Him as of an apparition? In that case\, His person\, and along with it His \nteaching and sacrifice\, would lose their true foundation and true meaning. For \nif He had been an apparition\, who would listen to and imitate an apparition? \nThe Lord also had to be born\, exactly in the way in which He was\, in order \nto show us the possibility and point out the importance of our spiritual rebirth\, \nwhich is in the center of His teaching about man. According to His word\, “If \none is not born again\, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” As He was born of \nthe Holy Spirit from the body of Mary the Virgin\, so can we be spiritually born \nof the Holy Spirit in the purity of our soul. Great Orthodox elders have always \ntaught that the rebirth of a man is conditioned by a virginal purity of the soul. \nIn other words\, souls which completely cleanse themselves\, even from impure \nthoughts\, come to resemble the pure Virgin\, and are deemed worthy by God’s \ngoodwill to become the habitation of Christ. If Christ’s birth from the Virgin \nMary is not easily comprehended by the human mind\, it is fantastically \nbeneficial and inspiring for all those who desire a spiritual and mortal rebirth \nof their being. \nSo\, be at peace and thank the eternal Wisdom that the Savior of mankind \nhad appeared as He Himself thought it was best. And exclaim with Apostle \nPaul\, “O the depth of the riches and wisdom and understanding of God! \n  \n6 Saint Nikolai Velimirovich. Missionary Letters of Saint Nikolai Velimirovich. Trans. Hierdeacon Serafim. Grayslake\, IL: \nNew Gracania Monastery\, 2008. 177-179.13 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-readings-5th-day-in-christmas-octave/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11424-1703894400-1703980799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 6th day in Christmas Octave
DESCRIPTION:A MORE GRACIOUS VISITATION \nOF THE LORD AT CHRISTMAS \nFrom the writing of St Gertrud the Great \n◊◊◊ \nO unattainable height of marvellous power! O depth of the abyss of \ninscrutable wisdom! O immense breadth of desirable love!… Even in my \nwandering exile I was allowed…to experience again the foretaste of the most \npleasing delights and sweetest pleasures\, by which anyone who clings to God \nbecomes one spirit with him. The boundless nature of his blessedness\, spread \nabroad so abundantly\, permitted me\, just a speck of dust\, to have the audacity \nto lap up some of its droplets\, in the way I shall describe. \nOn that most holy of nights\, when by the sweetening dew of divinity the \nheavens rained down honey on the whole world\, my soul\, drenched like \nGideon’s fleece with dew on the threshing-floor of the convent\, was intent by \nmeditation\, and through the practice of certain devotions\, on being present and \noffering help at the heavenly birth\, at which the Virgin brought forth her son\, \ntrue God and true man\, like a ray of light. As in a moment of revelation my soul \nrealized that it had been offered\, and had received\, in place of its heart so to \nspeak\, a tender little boy. In him there lay hidden the gift of complete \nperfection\, which is truly the best endowment… \nThen my soul perceived a meaning that defies explication in the sweet \nwords\, ‘God shall be all in all’. It felt that it held within itself the Beloved\, \ninstalled in the heart\, and it rejoiced that it was not without the welcome \npresence of its Spouse\, with his most enjoyable caresses. Offered the honeyed \ndraughts of the following\, divinely inspired words\, it drank them in with a thirst \nthat could not be satisfied: ‘Just as I bear the stamp of the substance of God the \nFather in regard to my divine nature\, so you bear the stamp of my substance in \nregard to my human nature\, for you receive in you deified soul the outpourings \nof my divine nature\, just as the air receives the sun’s rays. Penetrated to the \nvery marrow by this unifying force\, you will become fit for a more intimate \nunion with me’ \n. \nO noble balm of the divine\, sending out streams of love on every side\, \nflourishing and flowering for ever\, but to be spread everywhere when time shall \ncome to an end! O true power of the invincible hand of the Most High\, when a \nvessel so fragile and disgraced by its own imperfection contained so precious a \nliquid to be poured out! O proof most clear of the abundance of God’s loving- \nkindness! It did not shrink from me\, who wandered so far into the pathless \nwastes of my sins\, but rather made known to me\, as far as I was capable of it\, \nthe sweetness of that most blessed union. \n  \n7 Gertrud the Great of Helfta. The Herald of God’s Loving-Kindness – Books 1 & 2. CF 35. Trans. Alexandra Barratt. \nKalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 1991. 116-118.15 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-6th-day-in-christmas-octavd/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11433-1703980800-1704067199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\nChristmas Season\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (B)\, Weekdays (II)\nDecember 31\, 2023 – January 6\, 2024\n\n\n\nSun\n31\nMon\n1\nTue\n2\nWed\n3\nThu\n4\nFri\n5\nSat\n6\n\n\nOffice\nHoly Family\nMary Mother of God\nSS Basil & Gregeory\nChristmas Weekday\nSt Elizabeth Ann Seton\nSt John Neumann\nChristmas Weekday\n\n\nVigils\nProv 31:10-31\nSir 24:1-12\, 19-22\nSong 4:1-5:1\nSong 5:2-6:3\nSong 6:4-7:10\nSong 7:11-8:7\nIsa 49:1-13\n\n\nLauds\nSir 26:1-4\, 13-16\nWis 7:7-12\nIsa 60:1-7\nIsa 60:10-14\nIsa 60:15-22\nIsa 62:1-7\nIsa 62:8-12\n\n\nMass\n17\n18\n205\n206\n207\n208\n209\n\n\n1st\nGen 15:1-6; 21:1-3\nNum 6:22-27\n1 John 2:22-28\n1 John 2:29-3:6\n1 John 3:7-10\n1 John 3:11-21\n1 John 5:5-13\n\n\n2nd\nHeb 11:8\, 11-12\, 17-19\nGal 4:4-7\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 2:22-40\nLuke 2:16-21\nJohn 1:19-28\nJohn 1:29-34\nJohn 1:35-42\nJohn 1:43-51\nLuke 3:23-38\n\n\nVespers\n2 John 4-9\nRev 11:19-12:6\nCol 1:15-20\nCol 1:21-23\nCol 1:24-29\nCol 2:1-7\n2 Tim 1:6-14
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-57/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11435-1703980800-1704067199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Holy Family Sunday
DESCRIPTION:THE DUTIES OF EACH MOMENT \nFrom “Abandonment to Divine Providence” by Jean-Pierre de Caussade \n◊◊◊ \nThere are remarkably few extraordinary characteristics in the outward \nevents of the life of the most holy Virgin\, at least there are none recorded in holy \nScripture. Her exterior life is represented as very ordinary and simple. She did \nand suffered the same things that anyone in a similar state of life might do or suffer. \nShe goes to visit her cousin Elizabeth as her other relatives did. She took shelter \nin a stable in consequence of her poverty. She returned to Nazareth from whence \nshe had been driven by the persecution of Herod\, and lived there with Jesus and \nJoseph\, supporting themselves by the work of their hands. It was in this way that \nthe holy family gained their daily bread. But what a divine nourishment Mary and \nJoseph received from this daily bread for the strengthening of their faith! It is like \na sacrament to sanctify all their moments. What treasures of grace lie concealed \nin these moments filled\, apparently\, by the most ordinary events. That which is \nvisible might happen to anyone\, but the invisible\, discerned by faith\, is no less than \nGod operating very great things… God reveals Himself to the humble under the \nmost lowly forms\, but the proud\, attaching themselves entirely to that which is \nextrinsic\, do not discover Him hidden beneath\, and are sent empty away. \nHe who knows that a certain person in disguise is the king\, behaves towards \nhim very differently to another who\, only perceiving an ordinary man\, treats him \naccordingly. In the same way the soul that recognises the will of God in every \nsmallest event\, and also in those that are most distressing and direful\, receives all \nwith an equal joy\, pleasure and respect. It throws open all its doors to receive with \nhonour what others fear and fly from with horror. The outward appearance may \nbe mean and contemptible\, but beneath this abject garb the heart discovers and \nhonours the majesty of the king. The deeper the abasement of his entry in such a \nguise and in secret the more does the heart become filled with love. Ah! how the \nsight of God\, poor and humble\, lodged in a stable\, lying on straw\, weeping and \ntrembling\, pierced the loving heart of Mary! Ask the inhabitants of Bethlehem \nwhat they thought of the Child. You know what answer they gave\, and how they \nwould have paid court to Him had He been lodged in a palace surrounded by the \nstate due to princes. \nThen ask Mary and Joseph\, the Magi and the Shepherds. They will tell you \nthat they found in this extreme poverty an indescribable tenderness\, and an \ninfinite dignity worthy of the majesty of God. Faith is strengthened\, increased and \nenriched by those things that escape the senses; the less there is to see\, the more \nthere is to believe… \nThose souls that have this disposition adore God with redoubled love and \nrespect in each consecutive humiliating condition; nothing can hide Him from the \npiercing eye of faith. The louder the senses proclaim that in this\, or that\, there is \nno God; the more firmly do these souls clasp and embrace their “bundle of myrrh.” \nNothing daunts them\, nothing disgusts them. Mary\, when the apostles fled\, \nremained steadfast at the foot of the Cross. She owned Jesus as her Son when He \nwas disfigured with wounds\, and covered with mud and spittle. The wounds that \ndisfigured Him made Him only more lovable and adorable in the eyes of this tender \nMother. The more awful were the blasphemies uttered against Him\, so much the \ndeeper became her veneration and respect. \n  \n1 Jean-Pierre de Caussade. Abandonment to Divine Providence. Grand Rapids\, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal \nLibrary\, 2001. 7\, 17.3 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-holy-family-sunday/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11437-1704067200-1704153599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Mary Mother of God
DESCRIPTION:LOOK TO MARY \nFrom the letters of Adam of Perseigne \n◊◊◊ \nYou\, Lady\, are my all. In your hands has been stored for me the fulness \nof all good. With you have been hidden the unfailing treasures of truth and \ngrace\, of peace and pity\, of salvation and wisdom\, of glory and of honor. You \nare my anchor amid the billows\, port in shipwreck\, support in tribulation\, \ncomfort in grief. You are\, for those who are yours\, aid in oppression\, help in \ntime of crisis\, temperance in prosperity\, joy in time of waiting\, refreshment in \ntoil… \nWhen you conceive the sun of righteousness\, you like the moon are \nillumined by the good office of the blazing sun. The moon borrows from the sun \nthe light which the nature of its gross body denies it. Therefore whatever beauty \nit possesses it has through the gift of its borrowed splendor. When you bring \nforth the sun of righteousness\, you are compared to the sun because of the close \nlikeness. Just as the body of the sun is not injured or diminished when it puts \nforth its rays\, so the bringing forth of the holy birth does not violate the mother. \nAnd what\, you who are glorious as the sun\, what is your offspring but the eternal \nsplendor of a certain sun?… \nTherefore\, dear friend\, all our confidence lies in the childbearing of our \nVirgin and though I may be unworthy I shall not cease to dwell upon her praises. \nIf you stand in need of mercy\, it is found in full measure in the heart of the \nVirgin. If you reverence the truth\, give thanks to the Virgin\, since from the \nground of her virgin flesh the truth which you worship has arisen. No less give \nthanks to the Virgin if you follow after peace\, since from her is born for you the \npeace which passes all understanding. If you pursue justice\, see that you are \nnot ungrateful to the Virgin\, for at the opening of her womb justice looked forth \nfrom heaven. If your faith is shaken by some assault from an enemy\, turn your \neyes upon the Virgin and that in which was wavering will be firmly fixed. If the \nlust of the flesh delights you\, turn your gaze upon the Virgin\, and the danger to \nyour chastity is removed. If pride disturbs your spirit\, turn your gaze upon the \nVirgin\, and by the merit of her unsullied humility your swelling spirit will \nsubside. If you are set on fire by anger’s torches\, lift your eyes to the Virgin and \nyou will grow gentle through her calm. If ignorance or error have led you astray \nfrom the way of life\, look to Mary\, star of the sea\, and in her light you will be led \nback to the path of truth… In every peril the goodness of the Virgin comes to \n<our aid>. Give thanks…for us the Virgin brought forth\, ours is the birth\, for \nus the child was born and to us the son was given. \n  \n2 Adam of Perseigne. The Letters of Adam of Perseigne. CF 21. Trans. Grace Perigo. Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian \nPublications\, INC\, 1976\, 72-75.5 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-mary-mother-of-god-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11439-1704153600-1704239999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Basil & Gregory
DESCRIPTION:CHRIST AMONG US \nFrom a homily by St Basil the Great \n◊◊◊ \nGod is on earth\, God is among us\, not now as lawgiver – there is no fire\, \ntrumpet blast\, smoke-wreathed mountain\, dense cloud\, or storm to terrify \nwhoever hears him but as one gently and kindly conversing in a human body \nwith his fellow men and women. God is in the flesh. Now he is not acting \nintermittently as he did through the prophets. He is bringing back to himself \nthe whole human race\, which he has taken possession of and united to himself. \nBy his birth he has made the human race his own kin. \nBut how can glory come to all through one man? How can the Godhead \nbe in the flesh? In the same way as fire can be in iron: not by moving from place \nto place but by the one imparting to the other its own properties. Fire does not \nspeed toward iron\, but without itself undergoing any change it causes the iron \nto share in its own natural attributes. The fire is not diminished and yet it \ncompletely fills whatever shares in its nature. So is it also with God the Word. \nHe did not relinquish his own nature and yet he dwelt among us. He did not \nundergo any change and yet the Word became flesh. Earth received him from \nheaven\, yet heaven was not deserted by him who holds the universe in being. \nLet us strive to comprehend the mystery. The reason God is in the flesh is \nto kill the death that lurks there. As diseases are cured by medicines and \nassimilated by the body\, and as darkness in a house is dispelled by the coming \nof light\, so death\, which held sway over human nature\, is done away with by the \ncoming of God. As ice formed on water covers its surface as long as night and \ndarkness last but melts under the warmth of the sun\, so death reigned until the \ncoming of Christ; but when the grace of God our Savior appeared and the Sun7 \nof Justice arose\, death was swallowed up in victory\, unable to bear the presence \nof true life. How great is God’s goodness\, how deep his love for us! \nLet us join the shepherds in giving glory to God\, let us dance with the \nangels and sing… The Lord is God and he has appeared to us!
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-basil-gregory/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11441-1704240000-1704326399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE ETERNAL SON \nFrom the writing of St Mechthild of Magdeburg \n◊◊◊ \nI saw and still see three Persons in the eternal heights before God’s Son \nwas conceived in the body of St. Mary. They were then known and seen by all \nthe holy angels in their distinctness\, in their completeness\, in their name\, and \nin how the Three were one God. No matter how good the angels’ eyes were\, they \nsaw neither bone nor flesh nor color nor the glorious name Jesus. This was \nmiraculously hidden from them in the breast of the eternal Father. They called \nthe Father the uncreated eternal God\, the Son wisdom with no beginning\, the \nSpirit of them both they called right knowledge of truth. \nThe fiery angels of the highest order\, who are suspended opposite the \nloving Godhead in the breath of the whole Trinity\, served and were witness to \nthe blissful decision when God became man. Gabriel brought only the name \ndown at the Annunciation. He was entrusted with neither bone nor flesh nor \nblood. The Second Person — that was always the eternal Son. Although he had \nnot yet assumed human nature\, he had always been ours but had not been given \nto us before Gabriel brought the message… Although Adam’s nature was broken \nand changed and his inheritance lost forever\, God never gave up on him. Hence \nwe were and still are able to return. God has kept his noble loving nature intact… \nHe cannot withhold himself. God immediately cast Lucifer from himself into \nthe eternal prison\, but he pursued Adam\, asked him where he was\, and brought \nhim back to the path. Lucifer had only a single nature in God. When he \ndestroyed it\, he could not return. \nMan has a complete nature in the Holy Trinity\, and God saw fit to fashion \nit with his own divine hands. When his holy efforts on our behalf went for \nnaught\, he was forced back within himself by a threefold delight. For this reason \nhe wanted to restore us with his own feet and his own hands so that we would \nhave great oneness with him. If man had remained in paradise\, God would have \nbeen immediately visible to him\, would have greeted his soul and refreshed his \nbody. Thus did I see God come from heaven to paradise\, like a great angel. \nAlso\, this same nature forces God to greet us with knowledge and with \nholy intimacy to the extent that we are prepared through holy virtues and true \ninnocence. When I reflect that divine nature now includes bone and flesh\, body \nand soul\, then I become elated in great joy\, far beyond what I am worth. But \nangels are to some degree formed according to the Holy Trinity\, but they are \npure spirits. The soul alone with its flesh is mistress of the house in heaven\, sits \nnext to the eternal Master of the house\, and is most like him. There eye reflects \nin eye\, there spirit flows in spirit\, there hand touches hand\, there mouth speaks \nto mouth\, and there heart greets heart. Thus does the Lord and Master honor \nthe mistress at his side. But the princes and the vassals — these are the holy \nangels — these the Master keeps in full view. All service and all praise the angels \nengage in are offered totally to the mistress as well as to the Master. \n  \n3 Mechthild of Magdeburg. The Flowing Light of the Godhead. Trans. Frank Tobin. New York: Paulist Press\, 1998. 156- \n158.9 \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-147/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11443-1704326400-1704412799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Elizabeth Ann Seton
DESCRIPTION:DEATH OF A HUSBAND AT CHRISTMAS \nFrom the collected writings of St Elizabeth Ann Seton \n◊◊◊ \nWith God for our Portion there is no Prison in high walls and bolts — no \nsorrow in the Soul that waits on him tho’ beset with present cares\, and gloomy \nProspects… For this freedom I can never be sufficiently thankful\, as in my \nWilliams case\, it keeps alive what in his weak State of Body would naturally fail \n— and often when he hears me repeat the Psalms of Triumph in God\, and read \nSt. Paul’s faith in Christ with my Whole Soul\, it so enlivens his Spirit that he \nalso makes them his own\, and all our sorrows are turned into joy. Oh well may \nI love God. Well may my whole soul strive to please him\, for what but the strain \nof an Angel can ever express what he has done and is constantly doing for me. \nWhile I live\, while I have my being in Time and thro’ Eternity let me sing praises \nto my God… \nEvery promise in the Scriptures I could remember and suitable Prayer\, I \ncontinually repeated to him which seemed to be <William’s> only relief. When \nI stopped to give anything <he would say> “Why do you do it\, what do I want\, \nI want to be in Heaven\, pray\, pray for my Soul“ \n… \nThe hard struggle ceased…a quarter past seven when the dear Soul took \nits flight to the blessed exchange it so much longed for… I often asked him when \nhe could not speak\, “You feel my love that you are going to your Redeemer” and \nhe motioned yes with a look…of Peace. At a quarter past 7 on Tuesday morning \n27th December — his Soul was released — and mine from a struggle next to \ndeath… \nI had done all — all that tenderest love and duty could do. My head had \nnot rested for a week. Three days and nights the fatigue had been incessant and \none meal in 24 hours… In all this it is not necessary to dwell on the mercy and \nconsoling presence of my dear Redeemer\, for no mortal strength could support \nwhat I experienced… \nMy William often asked me if I felt assured that he would be accepted and \npardoned\, and I always tried to convince him that where the soul was so humble \nand sincere as his\, and submission to God’s will so uniform as his had been \nthroughout his trial\, that it became sinful to doubt one moment of his reception \nthrough the merits of his Redeemer… \nThe night before his death praying earnestly for him that his pardon \nmight be sealed in Heaven and his transgressions blotted out… I continued on \nmy knees and leaned my head on the chair by which I knelt and insensibly lost \nmyself… I had a dream… A little angel at some distance held open a division in \nthe sky. A large black Bird like an eagle flew towards me and flapped its wings \nround and made everything dark. The angel looked as if it held up the division \nwaiting for something the Bird came for. And so alone from every friend on \nEarth\, walking the valley of the Shadow of death we had sweet comfort even in \nour dreams — while Faith convinced us they were realities. \n  \n4 Elizabeth Bayley Seton. Collected Writings: Volume I – Correspondence and Journals 1793-1808. Ed. Regina Bechtle\, S.C. \nand Judith Metz\, S.C. New City Press: Hyde Park\, NY\, 2000. 265\, 274-276.11 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-elizabeth-ann-seton-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11445-1704412800-1704499199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St John Neumann
DESCRIPTION:THE PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS \nOF ST JOHN NEUMANN \n◊◊◊ \nThe fourth Bishop of Philadelphia was a well-known and respected figure \nin the life of the city even though he moved in and about it quietly… A rather \nshort man\, he was just over five feet\, two inches in height… As a young priest he \nhad a rugged constitution; but the incessant calls he made on his physical \nresources took their toll\, which became noticeable with the advancing years… \nSo reserved was he that even those with a just estimate of true values were liable \nto be unimpressed. One old lady who ardently admired him declared\, “Oh\, to \nsee that humble little creature you never would think he was a bishop.” To \nappraise him adequately\, one had to see him at close range; then the \noutstanding qualities of the man shone to the best advantage… \nOne class of people was his special concern – the poor. His generosity to \nthem became so proverbial that those working in the rectory complained that \nthe poor imposed upon him\, oftentimes overdoing appeals for aid… On one \noccasion when a poor beggar\, caught red-handed coming back a second time\, \nwas despoiled of her gift\, the bishop intervened and allowed her to keep it\, \nsaying that if she repeated her call she must indeed be badly off… When one \nwoman begged Neumann for a dollar\, he was forced to confess that he did not \nhave a dollar to his name. Just then another woman called on him and asked \nhim to say a Mass for her giving him a five-dollar stipend. The bishop quickly \nput the five dollars into the poor woman’s hands and said\, “See what God sent \nyou!” \nAnother story illustrates well the bishop’s way with youngsters. Two \nsmall girls were sent by the Sisters of the Holy Cross with a message for the \nbishop. When he entered the parlor\, he found the little ladies in wide-eyed \nadmiration of a very beautiful marble statue of a child in a cradle… The bishop \ncommented on it and playfully suggested that he would give the statue to the \none who could carry it home. When the statue\, twenty-five or thirty pounds in \nweight\, proved too much for the youthful admirers\, one of them ran home and \nreturned with a little wagon to claim the prize. Considering himself \noutmaneuvered fairly\, the bishop surrendered his precious piece of marble\, \nwhich she carried to her home… \nBesides the poor and children\, the bishop had a special care for the sick… \nFrequently in his visits to the hospital\, he might be seen going through the \nwards from bed to bed\, addressing words of consolation and encouragement to \nall the patients\, irrespective of age\, condition or religion. And he would most \nearnestly exhort the Sisters engaged with the sick to regard them as the \nsuffering members of Jesus Christ and lavish on them every care and \nattention… \nAll his life he had a deep sense of his own nothingness… Neumann knew \nthat of himself he was nothing and could do nothing… Even the slightest \ndeviation from the highest form of service to God and man was proof positive \nthat of himself he could do nothing but sin. This basic conviction and the habits \nof soul rooted in it were the solid foundations of all his other virtues… \nThough Neumann was bishop only seven and three-quarter years… he \nlabored through every part of the diocese\, and has\, undoubtedly\, done more for \nits better organization and for the spread of piety throughout the various \nCongregations than might have been otherwise done in even ten or twenty years \nby another individual… He spared himself in nothing. \n  \n5 Curley\, Michael J. C.SS.R. Venerable John Neumann\, C.SS.R. Washington\, D.C.: The Catholic University of America \nPress\, 1952. 361-362\, 366-370\, 373\, 376.13 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-john-neumann-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11447-1704499200-1704585599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:GOD AND FLESH \nFrom the homilies of St Gregory Palamas \n◊◊◊ \nHIS IS THE FESTIVAL of the virgin birth! Our address must be exalted \ntherefore in accordance with the greatness of the feast…for nothing done by God \nfrom the beginning of time was more beneficial to all or more divine than \nChrist’s nativity… \nThe pre-eternal and uncircumscribed and almighty Word is now born \naccording to the flesh\, without home\, without shelter\, without dwelling\, and \nplaced as a babe in the manger\, seen by men’s eyes\, touched by their hands\, and \nwrapped in layers of swaddling bands. He is not a spiritual creature coming into \nbeing after previously not existing; nor flesh which is brought to birth but will \nsoon perish; nor flesh and mind united to form a rational creature\, but God and \nflesh mingled unconfusedly… \nDavid\, who is a forefather of God on account of Him who has now been \nborn of his line\, hymns God somewhere “Thy hands have made me and \nfashioned me” \n… God formed human nature out of the earth with His own hand \nand breathed His own life into man\, whereas everything else He brought into \nbeing by His word alone. He then allowed man to be governed by his own \nthoughts and follow his own initiative\, because he was a rational creature with \na sovereign will. Left alone\, deceived by the evil one’s counsel and unable to \nwithstand his assault\, man did not keep to what was in accordance with his \nnature\, but slid towards what was unnatural to it. So now God not only forms \nhuman nature anew by His own hand in a mysterious way\, but also keeps it near \nHim. Not only does He assume this nature and raise it up from the fall\, but He \ninexpressibly clothes Himself in it and unites Himself inseparably with it and \nwas born as both God and man: from a woman\, in the first instance\, that He \nmight take upon Himself the same nature which He formed in our forefathers; \nand from a woman who was a virgin\, in the second\, so that He might make man \nnew. \nIf He had been born from seed\, He would not have been a new man and\, \nbeing part of the old stock\, and inheriting that fall\, He would not have been able \nto receive the fullness of the incorruptible Godhead in Himself and become an \ninexhaustible source of hallowing. And so\, not only would He not have been able \nto cleanse\, with abundance of power\, our forefathers’ defilement caused by sin\, \nbut neither would He have been sufficient to sanctify those who came later. Just \nas water stored in a tank would not be sufficient to provide a large city with \nenough to drink continuously\, but would require its own spring… in the same \nway\, neither a man nor a holy angel who\, by sharing in grace…would suffice to \nsanctify everyone at all times… Creation needed a well man\, containing its own \nspring\, that those who drew near it and drank their full might remain \nundefeated by the attacks of weaknesses and deprivations inherent in the \ncreated world. So…the Lord Himself came and saved us\, being made a man like \nus for our sake\, and continuing unchanged as God. \nBuilding now the new Jerusalem\, raising up a temple for Himself with \nliving stones\, and gathering us into a holy and worldwide Church\, He sets in its \nfoundation\, which is Christ\, the ever-flowing fount of grace. For the Lord’s \neternal fullness of life\, the all-wise and omnipotent divine nature\, is made one \nwith human nature…that the Lord might instil into it wisdom and power and \nfreedom and unfailing life. \n  \n6 St Gregory Palamas. The Homilies. Trans. Christopher Veniamin. Waymart\, PA: Mount Thabor Publishing\, 2009. \n477\, 481-482.15 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-148/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11453-1704585600-1704671999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n1st Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (B)\, Weekdays (II)\nJanuary 7 – 13\, 2024\n\n\n\nSun\n7\nMon\n8\nTue\n9\nWed\n10\nThu\n11\nFri\n12\nSat\n13\n\n\nOffice\nEpiphany of the Lord\nBaptism of the Lord\nWeekday\nSt William of Bourges\nOffice for Vocations\nSt Aelred\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nIsa 60:1-22\nJoshua 3:1-17\nNum 1:1-4\, 44-54\nNum 6:1-21\nNum 6:22-7:11\nNum 9:15-23; 10:33-36\nNum 11:1-6\, 10-30\n\n\nLauds\nIsa 49:13-23\nActs 19:1-7\nEccles 1:1-11\nEccles 1:12-18\nEccles 2:1-3\nEccles 2:4-12\nEccles 2:13-17\n\n\nMass\n20\n21\n306\n307\n308\n309\n310\n\n\n1st\nIsa 60:1-6\nIsa 55:1-11\n1 Sam 1:9-20\n1 Sam 3:1-10\, 19-20\n1 Sam 4:1-11\n1 Sam 8:4-7\, 10-22a\n1 Sam 9:1-4\, 17-19; 10:1\n\n\n2nd\nEph 3:2-3a\, 5-6\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 2:1-12\nMark 1:7-11\nMark 1:21-28\nMark 1:29-39\nMark 1:40-45\nMark 2:1-12\nMark 2:13-17\n\n\nVespers\nRev 21:22-27\nCol 2:8-15\n2 Cor 1:1-7\n2 Cor 1:8-11\n2 Cor 2:14-3:3\n2 Cor 3:4-11\n2 Cor 3:12-18
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-58/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11455-1704585600-1704671999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Epiphany of the Lord
DESCRIPTION:IN SEARCH OF GOD \nFrom a commentary by St Leo the Great1 \n◊◊◊ \nDearly beloved\, the day on which Christ first showed himself to \nthe Gentiles as the Savior of the world should be held in holy reverence among \nus. We should experience in our hearts the same joy as the three wise men felt \nwhen the sign of the new star led them into the presence of the king of heaven \nand earth\, and they gazed in adoration upon the one in whose promised coming \nthey had put their faith. Although that day belongs to the past\, the power of the \nmystery which was then revealed has not passed away; we are not left with a \nmere report of bygone events\, to be received in faith and remembered with \nveneration. God’s bounty toward us has been multiplied\, so that even in our \nown times we daily experience the grace which belonged to those first \nbeginnings. \nThe gospel story specifically recalls the days when\, without any previous \nteaching from the prophets or instruction in the law\, three men came from the \nfar east in search of God; but we see the same thing taking place even more \nclearly and extensively in the enlightenment of all those whom God calls at the \npresent time. We see the fulfillment of that prophecy of Isaiah which says: The \nLord has bared his holy arm in the sight of all nations\, and the whole world \nhas seen the salvation that comes from the Lord our God. And again: Those \nwho have not been told about him shall see\, and those who have not heard shall \nunderstand. When we see people being led out of the abyss of error and called \nto knowledge of the true light\, people who\, far from professing faith in Jesus \nChrist\, have hitherto devoted themselves to worldly wisdom\, we can have no \ndoubt that the splendor of divine grace is at work. Whenever a shaft of light \nnewly pierces darkened hearts\, its source is the radiance of that same star\, \nwhich impresses the souls it touches by the miracle of its appearance and leads \nthem forward to worship God. \nIf on the other hand we earnestly ask ourselves whether the same \nthreefold oblation is made by all who come to Christ in faith\, shall we not \ndiscover a corresponding gift offering in the hearts of true believers? To \nacknowledge Christ’s universal sovereignty is in fact to bring out gold from the \ntreasury of one’s soul; to believe God’s only Son has made himself truly one with \nhuman nature is to offer myrrh\, and to declare that he is in no way inferior to \nhis Father in majesty is to worship him with frankincense. \n  \n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year B – New City Press – NY -1993 – pg 26-27.3 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-epiphany-of-the-lord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11457-1704672000-1704758399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Baptism of the Lord
DESCRIPTION:THE WATERS WILL BE SANCTIFIED \nFrom a commentary by St Ephrem the Syrian2 \n◊◊◊ \nToday the Source of all the graces of baptism comes himself to be baptized \nin the river Jordan\, there to make himself known to the world. Seeing him \napproach\, John stretches out his hand to hold him back\, protesting: Lord\, by \nyour own baptism you sanctify all others; yours is the true baptism\, the source \nof perfect holiness. How can you wish to submit to mine? \nBut the Lord replies\, I wish it to be so. Come and baptize me; do as I wish\, \nfor surely you cannot refuse me. Why do you hesitate\, why are you so afraid? \nDo you not realize that the baptism I ask for is mine by every right? By my \nbaptism the waters will be sanctified\, receiving from me fire and the Holy Spirit. \nUnless I am immersed in them they will never be empowered to bring forth \nchildren to eternal life. There is every reason for you to let me have my way and \ndo what I am asking you to do. Did I not baptize you when you were in your \nmother’s womb? Now it is your turn to baptize me in the Jordan. So come\, then\, \ncarry out your appointed task. \nTo this John answers\, Your servant is utterly helpless. Savior of all\, have \nmercy on me! I am not fit even to unfasten your sandal straps\, let alone to lay \nmy hand upon your venerable head. But I hear your command\, Lord\, and in \nobedience to your word I come to give you that baptism to which your own love \nimpels you. Man of dust that I am\, let deepest reverence enfold me when I \nbehold the height to which I have been called — even to laying my hand on the \nhead of my Maker! \nSee the hosts of heaven hushed and still\, as the all-holy Bridegroom goes \ndown into the Jordan. No sooner is he baptized than he comes up from the \nwaters\, his splendor shining forth over the earth. The gates of heaven are \nopened\, and the Father’s voice is heard: This is my beloved Son in whom I am \nwell pleased. All who are present stand in awe as they watch the Spirit descend \nto bear witness to him. O come\, all you peoples\, worship him! Praise to you\, \nLord\, for your glorious epiphany which brings joy to us all! The whole world has \nbecome radiant with the light of your manifestation. \n  \n2 Journey with the Fathers – Year B – New City Press – NY -1993 – pg 28-29.5 \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-baptism-of-the-lord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11459-1704758400-1704844799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:PERFECT TRUST IN GOD \nFrom “Unseen Warfare” by St Theophan the Recluse3 \n◊◊◊ \nIt is very important not to rely on our own efforts in this unseen warfare. At \nthe same time\, if we merely give up all hope of ourselves and despair of ourselves \nwithout having found another support\, we are certain to flee immediately from the \nbattlefield or to be overcome and taken prisoner by our enemies. Therefore\, \ntogether with complete renunciation of ourselves\, “we should plant in our heart a \nperfect trust in God and a complete confidence in Him. In other words we should \nfeel with our whole heart that we have no one to rely on except God\, and that from \nHim and Him alone can we expect every kind of good\, every manner of help\, and \nvictory. Since we are nothing\, we can expect nothing from ourselves\, except \nstumblings and falls\, which make us relinquish all hope of ourselves. On the other \nhand\, we are certain always to be granted victory by God\, if we arm our heart with \na living trust in Him and an unshakable certainty that we will receive His help… \nThe following thoughts will help you to be grounded in this hope and\, \nthereby\, to receive help: 1) God is Omnipotent and can do all that He chooses\, \nand therefore can also help us… 2) God\, being Omniscient and Wise\, knows all \nin the most perfect manner\, and therefore knows fully what Is best for the salvation \nof each one of us… 3) God is infinitely Good and comes to us with ineffable love\, \nalways desirous and ready…from moment to moment to give us all the help we \nneed for complete victory in the spiritual warfare which takes place in us\, as soon \nas we run with firm trust to the protection of His arms. \nAnd how is it possible that our good Shepherd\, Who for three years went in \nsearch of sheep that had gone astray\, calling so loudly that His throat became \nparched\, and following ways so hard and thorny that He shed all His blood and \ngave up His life; how is it possible\, I repeat\, that now\, if His sheep follow Him\, turn \nto Him with love and call for His help with hope\, He should fail to turn His eyes to \nthe lost sheep\, take it into His divine arms and\, placing it among the heavenly \nangels\, make a welcoming feast for its sake? If our God never ceases to search \ndiligently and lovingly for the blind and deaf sinner (like the woman for the piece \nof silver in the Gospels)\, how is it possible to suppose that He would abandon him \nnow when\, like a lost sheep\, he cries out calling for his Shepherd? And who will \never believe that God\, Who\, according to the Revelation\, constantly stands at the \ndoor of a man’s heart\, and knocks\, wishing to come in and sup with him\, and \nbestow His gifts upon him\, who will believe that this same God should remain deaf \nand refuse to enter if a man opens to Him the door of his heart and invites Him in? \nAnd the fourth method of maintaining a lively trust in God and of attracting \nHis speedy help is to review in our memory all the instances of speedy divine help \ndescribed in the Scriptures. These instances\, which are so numerous\, show us \nclearly that no one\, who put his trust in God\, was ever left confounded and without \nhelp. \nArmed with these four weapons\, enter the battle with courage…and wage \nwar watchfully with the full conviction that victory will be granted you. For with \ntheir help you will most certainly acquire perfect trust in God\, and this trust will \nnever fail to attract God’s help… These two together will in the end make \ncomplete distrust of yourself deeply rooted in you… Without any self-reliance\, led \nonly by your trust in God\, take care always to preserve an attitude in which the \nconsciousness and feeling of your weakness always precede in you the \ncontemplation of God’s omnipotence\, and let both alike precede your every action. \n  \n3 Theophan the Recluse. Unseen Warfare. Accessed online:7 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-149/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11461-1704844800-1704931199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St William of Bourges
DESCRIPTION:SAINT WILLIAM\, \nARCHBISHOP OF BOURGES\, FRANCE \nFrom “In the Valley of Wormwood” by Thomas Merton4 \n◊◊◊ \nSeek peace and follow after her. The search for interior and exterior peace\, \nfor himself and for others\, is more or less the dominating theme of…Saint William \nof Bourges… William de Donjean came from the family of the Counts of Nevers and \nwas born at the castle of Arthel near Nevers\, probably about 1140… Going on to \nParis where he completed his studies for the priesthood\, he became a canon there \nalso\, but he renounced all that a brilliant career in the Church held out to him and \nretired to the strictest Order he could find: the Order of Grandmont… After a short \ngolden age…the Order of Grandmont fell into a decline…notorious in the Church \nfor its incessant internal quarrels\, dissensions\, rebellions and scenes of violence… \nAbout the time Saint William became a member of the Order\, matters had already \nreached a crisis… Having entered the Order about 1164\, and made his profession\, \nhe left it again about 1170. The peace he had sought\, and which the Rule of \nGrandmont had seemed to promise\, was not to be found here. He made his way to \nthe Cistercian abbey of Pontigny… \nSaint William so impressed all with his virtues and talents that he was soon \nchosen as Prior of Pontigny. Some years later\, about 1184\, he became abbot of \nFountains-Jean\, a thriving community of over two hundred monks with many lay \nbrothers\, but he did not remain there long. In 1188 he was abbot of Chalis. He was \nthe admiration of all for his sanctity which made itself evident by the extraordinary \ninterior peace and spiritual joy which he radiated and which affected all who came \nin contact with them… \nThe fame of his virtues and sanctity made it impossible for him to remain \nlonger in the cloister which he loved… In 1199 the Cathedral Chapter of Bourges\, \nhaving come to a deadlock in their efforts to select a new archbishop\, drew up a list \nthat included several Cistercian abbots and submitted it to Odo of Sully\, Bishop of \nParis\, with the intention of accepting his choice as final… The archbishop…placed \nthree of the best names on slips of paper under the altar cloth while he said Mass\, \nand then afterwards in the presence of two other bishops\, he took one of the papers. \nThe name on it was William of Chalis… Saint William made himself remarkable \nfrom the very outset as a prelate who refused to maintain a private army and resort \nto force in order to keep order in his diocese… William relied first on the example \nof a life of uncompromising abnegation and ceaseless prayer and then on preaching \nof the word of God and showing mercy and pardon to his enemies… \nOn the feast of the Epiphany\, 1209\, Saint William must have had a \npresentiment that his end was near… He received the Body of Christ…kneeling on \nthe floor with his arms out in the form of a cross. After that… he entered into his \nagony. He was then taken from his bed and placed on a haircloth and heap of ashes \nin the middle of the floor\, according to the Cistercian usages\, and there he gave up \nhis soul to God… \nHis process was introduced\, strangely enough\, not at the suggestion of the \nCistercians but of the Grandmontines. The Prior of Grandmont\, speaking of his \nown memory of Saint William as a member of that Order\, praised his holiness of \nlife to Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council… Saint William’s canonization \ntook only nine years… It was completed in 1218… At the present day…his life is \npractically unknown. Yet he is one of our greatest saints\, and we have much to \nreflect upon and imitate in his perfection of Christ-like charity and apostolic love \nof souls\, which seeks to win men to the kingdom of God by love and mercy and \npurity of life and prayer…. \n  \n4 Merton\, Thomas. In the Valley of Wormwood – Cistercian Blessed and Saints of the Golden Age. CS 233. Ed. Patrick Hart. \nCollegeville\, MN: Cistercian Publications\, 2013. 19-20\, 22-24\, 26\, 28-30.9 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-william-of-bourges/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11463-1704931200-1705017599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
DESCRIPTION:FRATERNAL CHARITY \nFrom the book “My Sister Saint Thérèse” by Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face 5 \n◊◊◊ \nFraternal charity…was one of Thérèse’s favourite themes. She left no stone \nunturned\, therefore\, to impress on her novices the supreme importance of this \nvirtue in community life… In order to encourage me in the practice of virtue\, \nThérèse confided to me one of the sacrifices she was called upon to make during \nher first years at Carmel. \nAs one of the former prioresses could not endure any fragrant odour\, \n<Thérèse>\, in deference to her\, had always been very careful not to have any sweet- \nsmelling flowers…at her cloister-shrine of the Child Jesus. It happened that\, one \nday\, just as she was about to place a lovely rose before the statue of the Holy Child\, \nshe heard the Mother calling her\, and Thérèse knew why… My humble little sister \nconfessed when relating the incident to me\, “I had a strong desire to let this good \nnun go ahead and actually complain before I should tell her that it was only an \nartificial flower. But at that same moment\, Jesus was tugging at my heart for a \nsacrifice of this little selfish satisfaction\, and He won out. Holding up the flower\, I \nexclaimed gaily: ‘See\, Mother\, how well they imitate nature nowadays! Wouldn’t \nyou think that this rose had just been freshly gathered from the garden?’ Oh! If \nyou only knew how happy I was after that act of charity\, and how marvellously it \nstrengthened my character.” \nOne day in the Infirmary during her last illness\, my sister called my attention \nto the soft\, downy linens which the infirmarian\, Sister Stanislaus always had at \nhand for the benefit of her patients. “Souls should be treated with the same tender \ncare\,” the Saint said\, “but why is it that we forget this so frequently\, and allow those \nabout us to go on unnoticed in the endurance of sharp\, interior pain? Shouldn’t \nthe spiritual needs of the soul be attended to with the same charity\, with the same \ndelicate care which we devote to our neighbour’s bodily necessities?… How \ntenderly we should not only love them but also show our love for them.” Whenever \nshe happened to find any sister in a disagreeable mood or at fault in any other way\, \nThérèse would extend herself to be only the more amiable\, obliging and \naffectionate; in this way she endeavoured to restore peace to an agitated heart \nwhich\, she knew\, must be suffering… \nBelieving that I was too self-centered at times\, our dear Saint said to \nme… \n“This tendency to fall back on self makes the soul barren and incapable of the \npractice of virtue… Whenever we find ourselves a prey to such self-introspection\, \nwe should have immediate recourse to external works of charity. <God> often \npermits us to become obnoxious to ourselves precisely that we might get away from \nself. Our only escape\, then\, is to go on a visit to Jesus and Mary by the performance \nof charitable works.” \n… \nThérèse frequently urged us to practise great charity in judging others\, for\, \nas she used to point out to us\, that which seems to be a fault in another is often an \nact of heroism in the sight of God. The unfinished task of a nun who may be over- \ntired or suffering interiorly\, she told us\, often brings more glory to God than a duty \nmeticulously completed by another nun robust of soul and body. In other words\, \nit is effort and not success that counts most with God… \nWhen the tuberculosis had spread to all parts of her body causing \nindescribable suffering\, we were imploring heaven one day in tears to give our dear \nlittle sister some relief when she said to us: “I am asking God that all the prayers \nbeing offered for me may serve rather for the salvation of souls and not for the \nalleviation of my sufferings.” And I can still hear her declare: “No\, I never would \nhave thought it possible to suffer so much… never\, never! I can only explain it by \nmy intense desire to save souls.” \n  \n5 Sister Genevieve of the Holy Face. My Sister Saint Thérèse. New York: P.J. Kenedy & Sons\, 1959. 124\, 129-132\, 137- \n138\, 148-149.11 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-vocations-10/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11465-1705017600-1705103999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Aelred
DESCRIPTION:AELRED’S LAST DAYS \nFrom “The Life of Aelred of Rievaulx” by Walter Daniel6 \n◊◊◊ \nAs he lay in bed he talked constantly in gasps\, and day by day his body got \nfeebler\, until at last on 3 January he ordered all the monks to be summoned to \nhim\, and made them this allocution: \n‘Often I have begged your permission when I had to cross the sea\, or it \nwas my duty to hasten to some distant region\, or I had occasion to seek the \nking’s court; and now by your leave and with the help of your prayers I go hence\, \nfrom exile to the fatherland\, from darkness to light\, from this evil world to God; \nfor the time has come when he\, who redeemed me of himself without me\, and \ndeigned by his grace to bind me more closely to himself in the bonds of a better \nlife among you\, will take me to himself… We have a good Lord and now it \npleases my soul to see his face… \n’ \nThe most pious father added: ‘I have lived with a good conscience among \nyou\, for as I lie here\, as you see\, at the point of death\, my soul calls God to \nwitness that\, since I received this habit of religion\, the malice\, detraction or \nquarrel of no man has ever kindled any feeling in me against him which has \nbeen strong enough to last the day in the domicile of my heart… By the grace of \nChrist I have commanded my spirit that no disturbance to the patience of my \nmind should survive the setting of the sun.’ At these words we all wept… and \nmost of all when he\, weeping\, said to us\, ‘God who knows all things knows that \nI love you all as myself\, and\, as earnestly as a mother after her sons… \nTo wait by his bedside during those days was\, I confess\, an awe-inspiring \nexperience… He would say… \n‘Hasten for the love of Christ\, hasten.’ When I said \nto him ‘What\, lord?’ he stretched out his hands\, as to heaven\, and fixing his eyes \nlike lamps of fire upon the cross which was held there before his face\, said\, \n‘Release me\, let me go free to him\, whom I see before me\, the King of Glory. \nWhy do you linger?… Hasten\, for the love of Christ\, hasten’ \n… In all my life I \nhave never been so stricken to the heart as I was by those words\, so often \nrepeated\, so awfully uttered\, by such a man at such an hour\, by a good man at \nthe point of death. And these words kept proceeding from his mouth through \nthree whole days… \nI sat with him on that <last> day and…said to him in a low voice\, so that \nnobody would notice us\, ‘Lord\, gaze on the cross; let your eye be where your \nheart is.’ And immediately raising his eyelids and turning his pupils to the \nfigure of truth depicted on the wood\, he said to him who suffered death for us \nupon the tree\, ‘You are my God and my Lord\, You are my refuge and my Saviour. \nYou are my glory and my hope for evermore. Into your hands I commend my \nspirit.’ He uttered these words clearly as they are written\, although for two days \nhe had not spoken so many words\, nor afterwards did he speak three words \ntogether… He died about the fourth watch of the night before the Ides of \nJanuary\, in the year of the Incarnation one thousand and sixty-six… the fifty- \nseventh year of his life… \nWhenever I think of him then\, I am still overcome by joy and wonder at \nthe gracious recollection… My God! He did not die ‘in darkness\, as those that \nhave been long dead\,’ not so\, Lord\, but in your light\, for in his light we see your \nlight. \n  \n6 Daniel\, Walter. The Life of Aelred of Rievaulx. CF 57. Trans. F.M. Powicke. Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, \n1994. 133-135\, 138-139.13 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-aelred/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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CREATED:20240107T014243Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240107T014243Z
UID:11467-1705104000-1705190399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of the BVM
DESCRIPTION:OF MARY’S CHARITY TOWARDS HER NEIGHBOUR \nBy St Alphonsus de Liguori7 \n◊◊◊ \nLove towards God and love towards our neighbour are commanded by the \nsame precept: “And this commandment we have from God\, that he who loveth \nGod love also his brother.” Saint Thomas says that the reason for this is\, that he \nwho loves God loves all that God loves. Saint Catherine of Genoa one day said\, \n‘Lord\, Thou willest that I should love my neighbour\, and I can love none but \nThee.’ God answered her in these words: All who love Me love what I love.” But \nas there never was\, and never will be\, any one who loved God as much as Mary \nloved Him\, so there never was\, and never will be\, any one who loved her \nneighbour as much as she did… \nFor Christ\, who is love itself\, inspired the Blessed Virgin with charity in \nits highest degree\, that she might succour all who had recourse to her. So great \nwas Mary’s charity when on earth… as was the case at the marriage-feast of \nCana\, when she told her Son that family’s distress: “They have no wine\,” and \nasked Him to work a miracle. O\, with what speed did she fly when there was \nquestion of relieving her neighbour! When she went to the house of Elizabeth \nto fulfil an office of charity\, “she went into the hill-country with haste.” She \ncould not\, however\, more fully display the greatness of her charity than she did \nin the offering which she made of her Son to death for our salvation. On this \nsubject Saint Bonaventure says\, \n‘Mary so loved the world as to give her only- \nbegotten Son.’ Hence Saint Anselm exclaims\, ‘O blessed amongst women\, thy \npurity surpasses that of the angels\, and thy compassion that of the Saints!’ \nGreat was the mercy of Mary towards the wretched when she was still in \nexile on earth; but far greater is it now that she reigns in heaven. Saint Agnes \nassured Saint Bridget that there was no one who prayed without receiving \ngraces through the charity of the Blessed Virgin. Unfortunate\, indeed\, should \nwe be\, did not Mary intercede for us! Jesus Himself\, addressing the same Saint\, \nsaid\, \n‘Were it not for the prayers of My Mother\, there would be no hope of \nmercy.’ Blessed is he\, says the Divine Mother\, who listens to my instructions\, \npays attention to my charity\, and\, in imitation of me\, exercises it himself \ntowards others: “Blessed is the man that heareth me\, and that watcheth daily at \nmy gates\, and waiteth at the posts of my doors. \n” \nSaint Gregory Nazianzen assures us that ‘there is nothing by which we can \nwith greater certainty gain the affection of Mary than by charity towards our \nneighbour. Therefore\, as God exhorts us\, saying\, “Be ye merciful\, as your Father \nalso is merciful\,” so also does Mary seem to say to all her children\, ‘Be ye \nmerciful\, as your Mother also is merciful.’ It is certain that our charity towards \nour neighbour will be the measure of that which God and Mary will show us: \n“Give\, and it shall be given to you. For with the same measure that you shall \nmete withal\, it shall be measured to you again. \n” Saint Methodius used to \nsay\, \n‘Give to the poor\, and receive paradise.’ For the apostle writes\, that \ncharity… \n“is profitable to all things\, having promise of the life that now is\, and \nof that which is to come. \n” \nO Mother of Mercy\, thou art full of charity for all; forget not my miseries; \nthou seest them full well. Recommend me to God\, who denies thee nothing. \nObtain me the grace to imitate thee in holy charity\, as well towards God as \ntowards my neighbour. \n  \n7 St Alphonsus de Liguori. The Glories of Mary. Rockford\, IL: TAN Books\, 1982. 477-480.15 \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-the-bvm-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240114
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240115
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20240113T202545Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240113T202545Z
UID:11477-1705190400-1705276799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n2nd Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (B)\, Weekdays (II)\nJanuary 14 – 20\, 2024\n\n\n\nSun\n14\nMon\n15\nTue\n16\nWed\n17\nThu\n18\nFri\n19\nSat\n20\n\n\nOffice\n2nd Sunday\nSS Maur & Placid\nWeekday\nSt Anthony\nWeekday\nWeekday\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nNum 12:1-15\nNum 13:1-3\, 17-33\nNum 14:1-25\nNum 16:1-24\nNum 16:25-35\nNum 17:1-15\nNum 17:16-28\n\n\nLauds\nEccles 2:18-23\nEccles 2:24-3:8\nEccles 3:9-15\nEccles 3:16-22\nEccles 4:1-6\nEccles 4:7-12\nEccles 4:13-17\n\n\nMass\n65\n311\n312\n313\n314\n315\n316\n\n\n1st\n1 Sam 3:3b-10\, 19\n1 Sam 15:16-23\n1 Sam 16:1-13\n1 Sam 17:32-33\, 37\, 40-51\n1 Sam 18:6-9; 19:1-7\n1 Sam 24:3-21\n2 Sam 1:1-4\, 11-12\, 19\, 23-27\n\n\n2nd\n1 Cor 6:13c-15a\, 17-20\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nJohn 1:35-42\nMark 2:18-22\nMark 2:23-28\nMark 3:1-6\nMark 3:7-12\nMark 3:13-19\nMark 3:20-21\n\n\nVespers\n2 Cor 4:1-6\n2 Cor 4:7-18\n2 Cor 5:1-10\n2 Cor 5:11-15\n2 Cor 5:16-21\n2 Cor 6:1-13\n2 Cor 6:14-7:1
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-59/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240114
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240115
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20240113T202752Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240113T203828Z
UID:11479-1705190400-1705276799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 2nd Sunday Ordinary
DESCRIPTION:BEHOLD\, THE LAMB OF GOD \nFrom a commentary by St Basil of Seleucia1 \n◊◊◊ \nSpurred on by the testimony of John the Baptist\, the glorious apostle \nAndrew left his teacher and ran to the one pointed out by him. John’s words \nwere his signal\, and\, moving more swiftly than John could speak\, he \napproached the master with obvious longing\, his companion\, John the \nEvangelist\, running beside him. Both had left the lamp to come to the sun. \nAndrew was the first to become an apostle. It was he who opened the gates \nof Christ’s teaching. He was the first to gather the fruits cultivated by the \nprophets\, and he surpassed the hopes of all by being the first to embrace the \none awaited by all. He was the first to show that the precepts of the law were in \nforce only for a limited time. He was the first to restrain the tongue of Moses\, \nfor he would not allow it to speak after Christ had come. Yet he was not rebuked \nfor this\, because he did not dishonor the teacher of the Jews\, but honored more \nthe sender than the one sent. In fact Andrew was seen to be the first to honor \nMoses\, because he was the first to recognize the one he foretold when he said: \nThe Lord God will raise up for you from among your kindred a prophet like \nmyself. Listen to him. Andrew set the law aside in obedience to the law. He \nlistened to Moses who said: Listen to him. He listened to John who cried out: \nBehold the Lamb of God\, and of his own accord went to the one pointed out to \nhim. \nHaving recognized the prophet foretold by the prophets\, Andrew led his \nbrother to the one he had found. To Peter\, who was still in ignorance\, he \nrevealed the treasure: We have found the Messiah for whom we were longing. \nHow many sleepless nights we spent beside the waters of the Jordan\, and now \nwe have found the one for whom we longed! Nor was Peter slow when he heard \nthese words\, for he was Andrew’s brother. He listened attentively\, then \nhastened with great eagerness. \nTaking Peter with him\, Andrew brought his brother to the Lord\, thus \nmaking him his fellow-disciple. This was Andrew’s first achievement: he \nincreased the number of the apostles by bringing Peter to Christ\, so that Christ \nmight find in him the disciples’ leader. When later on Peter won approval\, it was \nthanks to the seed sown by Andrew. But the commendation given to the one \nredounded to the other\, for the virtues of each belonged to both\, and each was \nproud of the other’s merits. Indeed\, when Peter promptly answered the master’s \nquestion\, how much joy he gave to all the disciples by breaking their \nembarrassed silence! Peter alone acted as the mouthpiece of those to whom the \nquestion was addressed. As though all spoke through him\, he replied clearly on \ntheir behalf: You are the Christ\, the Son of the living God. In one sentence he \nacknowledged both the Savior and his saving plan. \nNotice how these words echo Andrew’s. By prompting Peter the Father \nendorsed from above the words Andrew used when he led Peter to Christ. \nAndrew had said: We have found the Messiah. The Father said\, prompting \nPeter: You are the Christ\, the Son of the living God\, almost forcing these words \non Peter. “Peter\,” he said\, “when you are questioned\, use Andrew’s words in \nreply. Show yourself very prompt in answering your master. Andrew did not lie \nto you when he said: We have found the Messiah. Turn the Hebrew words into \nGreek and cry out: You are the Christ\, the Son of the living God!” \n  \n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year B – New City Press – NY -1993 – pg 72-73.3 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/2nd-sunday-ordinary/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240115
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240116
DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20240113T202940Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240113T202940Z
UID:11481-1705276800-1705363199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Maur & Placid
DESCRIPTION:SAINTS MAUR AND PLACID \nFrom the Dialogues of St Gregory the Great2 \n◊◊◊ \nThe holy man\, St Benedict\, having returned to Subiaco\, long continued to \nshine by his virtue and miracles\, and assembled a great number of solitaries \nwho consecrated themselves to the service of God\, so that\, with the aid of our \nLord Jesus Christ\, he built twelve monasteries\, placing in each twelve Religious \nwith an Abbot to govern them. He retained with himself only a few of his \ndisciples who\, he thought\, still needed his presence to be better formed to \nperfection. It was at this time that many persons in Rome\, conspicuous for their \nnobility and virtue\, began to visit him and offer their children that he might \nmold them to piety\, and teach them to live for God alone. Aequitas and \nTertullus\, who had the honor of being Roman Patricians\, came to see the saint \nand confided to his care their two children; the former was distinguished for \nspotless innocence of life\, and merited\, though young\, to be chosen by his \nmaster to assist him in his functions. As to Placid\, being only a boy\, he was \nsubject to the weaknesses inseparable from tender age… \nThe venerable Benedict being one day in his cell\, the boy Placid…went out \nto fetch water from the lake\, but\, when dipping his pitcher into the water\, not \ntaking sufficient heed\, his body followed the vessel and he fell into the lake. The \nwaves immediately bore him out from the land as far as the usual flight of an \narrow. The saint\, who was in his cell\, knew of the sad accident at that very \ninstant\, and at once calling Maurus\, his disciple\, said to him: “Brother Maurus\, \nrun with all speed; the boy who went to fetch water fell into the lake and has \nbeen already carried off a long distance.” \nThe thing wonderful and unheard of since that instance of the Apostle \nPeter! Maurus having asked and received the blessing\, ran to the lake to execute \nthe order of his Abbot. Thinking he was treading upon dry land\, he advanced to \nthe very place whither the waves had carried off the child\, and laying hold of \nhim by the hair\, brought him back with great haste to the shore. Having reached \nthe land\, he began to reflect on what he did\, and casting a look behind\, saw that \nhe had been running over the waves. He was astonished thereat and very much \nafraid\, seeing that he had performed what he would not have dared to undertake \nif he had been aware of what he was doing. Having returned to the monastery\, \nhe narrated the whole occurrence to the Abbot. The venerable Benedict did not \nattribute this miracle to his own merit\, but to the obedience of the disciple. \nMaurus\, on the other hand\, said he was only fulfilling a command\, and could \nhave no share in a miracle which he unconsciously performed. \nDuring this pious dispute arising from the humility of the holy Abbot and \nhis disciple\, the boy rescued from peril presented himself as arbitrator\, and put \nan end to the contest thus: “When I was being drawn out of the waves\, I saw the \nAbbot’s robe above my head\, and it seemed to me that it was he who delivered \nme from the water.” \n… \nAn ancient tradition says that the monk Maurus was sent into Gaul by the \nsame holy Father. There\, according to the same tradition\, he founded a \nmonastery at Glannofol; after having governed it for a long time\, he died in the \nLord in a good old age\, renowned for his sanctity and miracles… while Placid \ndied a martyr’s death in Sicily in 541\, a few years before the death of St Benedict \nhimself. \n  \n2 from the LITURGICAL READINGS compiled and adapted at St Meinrad’s Abbey (St Meinrad \, IN\, 1941) pp. 311-313.5 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-maur-placid/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240116
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DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20240113T203111Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240113T203111Z
UID:11483-1705363200-1705449599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:DIVINE LOVE \nFrom “The Four Hundred Chapters of Love” by Maximus the Confessor3 \n◊◊◊ \nWhen through love the mind is ravished by divine knowledge…then\, \naccording to the divine Isaiah\, it comes in consternation to a realization of its \nown lowliness and says with conviction the words of the prophet: Woe is me for \nI am stricken at heart; because being a man having unclean lips\, I dwell in the \nmidst of a people with unclean lips and I have seen with my eyes the King\, the \nLord of hosts. The one who loves God cannot help but love also every man as \nhimself even though he is displeased by the passions of those who are not yet \npurified. Thus when he sees their conversion and amendment\, he rejoices with \nan unbounded and unspeakable joy. \nThe passionate soul is impure\, filled with thoughts of lust and hatred. The \none who sees a trace of hatred in his own heart through any fault at all toward \nany man whoever he may be makes himself completely foreign to the love for \nGod\, because love for God in no way admits of hatred for man. \n“The one who \nloves me\,” says the Lord\, \n“will keep my commandments” and “this is my \ncommandment\, that you love one another.” Therefore the one who does not love \nhis neighbor is not keeping the commandment\, and the one who does not keep \nthe commandment is not able to love the Lord… \nThe one who has acquired divine love in himself does not grow weary of \nclosely following after the Lord his God\, as the divine Jeremiah says; rather he \nendures nobly every reproachful hardship and outrage without thinking any evil \nof anyone. When you are insulted by someone or offended in any matter\, then \nbeware of angry thoughts\, lest by distress they sever you from charity and place \nyou in the region of hatred. Whenever you are suffering intensely from insult or \ndisgrace\, realize that this can be of great benefit to you\, for disgrace is God’s way \nof driving vainglory out of you. \nAs the memory of fire does not warm the body\, so faith without love does \nnot bring about the illumination of knowledge in the soul. As the light of the sun \nattracts the healthy eye\, so does the knowledge of God draw the pure mind to \nitself naturally through love… The soul is pure when it has been freed from the \npassions and rejoices unceasingly in divine love… For he recalls his former \nworldly life and different transgressions and the temptations bedeviling him \nfrom his youth\, and how the Lord delivered him from all these things and made \nhim pass from this life of passion to a divine life. And so with fear he receives \nlove as well\, ever thankful with deep humility to the benefactor and pilot of our \nlife. \n  \nMaximus the Confessor. Selected Writings. Trans. George C. Berthold. New York: Paulist Press\, 1985. 36-40.7 \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-150/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20240117
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DTSTAMP:20260403T190705
CREATED:20240113T203303Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240113T203303Z
UID:11485-1705449600-1705535999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Anthony
DESCRIPTION:HE KEPT HIS HEART WATCHFUL \nFrom the writing of Nikiphorus the monk4 \n◊◊◊ \nOnce two brothers were on their way to visit St Antony\, but on the journey \ntheir water gave out and one of them died and the other was near to dying. \nUnable to go any further\, he too lay down on the ground and awaited death. But \nAntony\, seated on the mountain\, called two monks who happened to be with \nhim and said to them urgently\, ‘Take a jar of water and go as fast as you can \nalong the road leading to Egypt: two men were on their way here\, but one has \njust died and the other will also die if you don’t hurry. This was revealed to me \nas I was praying.’ \nThe monks set off; and finding the one man dead they buried him\, while \nthey revived the other with water and brought him to the elder. It was about a \nday’s journey off. Should you ask why Antony did not speak before the first man \ndied\, I would say that the question is inapt: the decision about death rested not \nwith Antony but with God\, and He allowed the first man to die and sent a \nrevelation to St Antony about the second. The miracle happened to St Antony\, \nand to him alone\, because while seated on the mountain he kept \nhis heart watchful\, and so the Lord showed him what was happening a long way \noff. \nDo you see how through watchfulness of heart St Antony was able to \nperceive God…? For it is in the heart that God manifests Himself to \nthe intellect…as fire that purifies the lover and then as light that illumines \nthe intellect and renders it godlike. \nWe cannot be reconciled with God and assimilated to Him unless we \nfirst…enter into ourselves\, in so far as this lies within our power. For the miracle \nconsists in tearing ourselves away from the distraction and vain concerns of the \nworld and in this way relentlessly seizing hold of the kingdom of heaven within \nus \n4 https://orthodoxchurchfathers.com/fathers/philokalia/nikiphoros-the-monk-from-the-life-of-our-holy-father- \nantony.html. Accessed: Jan. 11\, 2024.9 \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-anthony-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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