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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261024
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261025
DTSTAMP:20261018T123117Z
CREATED:20261018T123117Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261018T123117Z
UID:15622-1792800000-1792886399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nFR RENE LAURENTIN \n◊◊◊ \nIt is of the essence of the Christian message that we shall turn our gaze to \nthe future\, to the completion and consummation of all things which the Lord’s \nreturn will bring about. \nAt that time (already present in the eternity of God)\, the frontiers between \nthe earthly and the heavenly are abolished. The corporal world is transfigured\, \nGod is all in all. Time\, too\, is abolished for the Church. This fragmentary \nduration of time\, linked up with humanity’s advance along the road to their \nsalvation\, gives place to the infinitely simple rhythm of eternity: the rhythm of \nGod which gathers together every duration of time and heaps up every hope. \nHere the task of Mary\, as mother\, comes to and end\, but her love remains. For \nher\, at the heart of things\, nothing changes. It is the Church which changes\, and \nonly for the reason that its situation is modified. \nFrom the outset Mary had preceded the Church at every stage of its life\, \nand here we see the Church joining her once more. Between them there is no \nlonger any difference in the realm of place and time. The tension of nature over \nagainst heaven\, of time over against eternity\, has been abolished. At the end of \nthe journey\, there they are\, perfectly reunited in the place and at the time of \nwhich God is the measure… Mary was the first personal realization of what \nawaits the redeemed. She is that still\, but the distances have been done away \nwith. \n7 Court traité sur la Vierge Marie\, Lethielleux\, Paris\, 1967\, pp. 156-157; reprinted in ALectures chrétiennes pour notre \ntemps@ (M 82): 8 1971\, Abbaye d’Orval\, Belgium.15 \nThe Church continues to look at Mary in Christ\, but in a different way: no \nlonger as its future and as a token of its hope\, but only as the summit of its \ncommunion in Christ. The Church used to look at Mary [in the same way] as a \nfleet in the storm looks at the first ship which has crossed the bar and reached \nport. Now\, the Church has re-joined her at the end of the voyage. There is no \nlonger either separation or distance\, but common joy in reunion in Christ\, and \nthis dialogue between them is nothing but the overflowing abundance of their \nthanksgiving. \nIn this communion\, of which Christ is the beginning and the completion\, \nwe see again the situation of Pentecost: Mary in the Church\, but beyond this \nworld… The hierarchy\, which was the visible summit of the Church here below\, \nno longer has any purpose. The world of the signs and means of grace which it \nadministered in this lower world has passed away\, and only the realities \nremain… In the crowd of the redeemed\, ranged henceforth according to their \nunion with Christ and no longer according to their function\, the Mother of \nChrist occupies the first place\, without common measure with the others. She is \nseen in the pure truth of the situation in which God has placed her\, at a higher \nlevel of grace and glory than that of the others: between the Redeemer who \nreigns over her from the infinitude of his Godhead and the remainder of the \nredeemed whom she enfolds in her maternal love\, she exults in the joy of \nreunion. Here her Magnificat achieves completion.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-bvm-24/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261025
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261026
DTSTAMP:20261025T030932Z
CREATED:20261025T030932Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T030932Z
UID:15732-1792886400-1792972799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema:  Week 30 in Ordinary Time
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass 30th Week in Ordinary Time \nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II) October 25 – 31\, 2026 \nSun 25 Mon 26 Tue 27 Wed 28 Thu 29 Fri 30 Sat 31 \nOffice 30th Sunday Weekday Office for Vocations SS Simon & Jude Weekday Weekday Memorial of the BVM \nVigils Daniel 3:24-45 Daniel 3:46-70 Daniel 3:71-90 1 Macc 2:42-66 Daniel 3:91-100 Daniel 4:1-15 Daniel 4:16-34 \nLauds Zech 8:18-23 Zech 9: 1-7 Zech 9:8-10 Deut 32:1-9 Zech 9:11-17 Zech 10:1-5 Zech 10:6-12 \nMass 148 479 480 666 482 483 484 \n1st Exod 22:20-26 Eph 4:32-5:8 Eph 5:21-33 Eph 2:19-22 Eph 6:10-20 Phil 1:1-11 Phil 1:18b-26 \n2nd 1 Thess 1:5c-10 \nGospel Matt 22:34-40 Luke 13:10-17 Luke 13:18-21 Luke 6:12-16 Luke 13:31-35 Luke 14:1-6 Luke 14:1\, 7-11 \nVespers 1 John 3:19-24 1 John 4:1-6 1 John 4:7-12 Jude 17-21 1 John 4:13-21 1 John 5:1-5 Heb 11:32-12:
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-week-30-in-ordinary-time/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261025
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261026
DTSTAMP:20261025T034630Z
CREATED:20261025T031614Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T034630Z
UID:15734-1792886400-1792972799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:30th Sunday in Ordinary Time
DESCRIPTION:A reading from\nST AUGUSTINE 1\n◊◊◊\nI know\, beloved\, how well fed you are every day by the exhortations of\nHoly Scripture\, and what nourishment your hearts find in the word of God.\nNevertheless the affection we have for one another compels me to say\nsomething to you\, beloved\, about love. To speak about love there is no need to\nselect some special passage from Scripture to serve as a text for the homily; open\nthe Bible at any page and you will find it extolling love. \nWe know this is so from the Lord himself\, as the gospel reminds us\, for\nwhen asked: what were the most important commandments of the law\, he\nanswered: You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart\, and with all\nyour soul\, and with all your mind; and you shall love your neighbor as\nyourself. And then\, just in case you might be tempted to search further through\nthe pages of Holy Scripture for some commandments other than these two\, he\nadded: The entire law and the prophets also depend upon these two\ncommandments. If the entire law and the prophets depend upon these two\ncommandments\, how much more must the gospel do so? \nPeople are renewed by love. As sinful desire ages them\, so love\nrejuvenates them. Enmeshed in the toils of his desires the psalmist laments: I\nhave grown old surrounded by my enemies. Love\, on the other hand\, is the sign\nof our renewal from the Lord’s own words: I give you a new commandment –\nlove one another. \nEven in former times there were people who loved God without thought of\nreward\, and whose hearts were purified by their chaste longing for him. They\ndrew back the veils obscuring the ancient promises\, and caught a glimpse\nthrough these figures of a new covenant to come. They saw that all the precepts\nand promises of the old covenant\, geared to the capacities of an unregenerate\npeople\, prefigured a new covenant which the Lord would bring to fulfillment in\nthe last age. The Apostle says this quite clearly: The things that happened to\nthem were symbolic\, and were recorded for us who are living in the last age. \nWhen the time for it came the new covenant began to be openly proclaimed\, and\nthese ancient figures were expounded and explained so that all might\nunderstand that the old covenant promises were pointed to the new covenant. \nAnd so love was present under the old covenant just as it is under the new\,\nthough then it was more hidden and fear was more apparent\, whereas now love\nis more clearly seen and fear is diminished. For as love grows stronger we feel\nmore secure\, and when our feeling of security is complete fear vanishes\, since\,\nas the apostle John declares: Perfect love casts out fear. \n1Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY -1999 – pg 136-137.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/30th-sunday-in-ordinary-time-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261026
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261027
DTSTAMP:20261025T031958Z
CREATED:20261025T031958Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T031958Z
UID:15736-1792972800-1793059199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Weekday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from\nST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM 2\n◊◊◊\n[Christ’s] predictions were of two kinds. Some are to be fulfilled in the\npresent life; others will come true after the consummation of the world. But the\nfirst kind confirmed the second and gave abundant proof that the prophecies\nabout the world to come are also true. Let me give you an example and\, by that\nexample\, I shall try to clear up any obscurity in what I mean. When only twelve\ndisciples followed him\, neither the reality nor even the name of a Church\noccurred to anyone. The synagogue was still flourishing. Why\, then\, did he\nspeak of the Church and predict it at a time when practically the whole world\nwas in the grip of godlessness? “Upon this rock I shall build my Church\, and the\ngates of hell shall not prevail against it”. \nPut this prediction of Christ to whatever test you wish and you will see\nthat its truth shines brightly forth. For it is a marvel not only that he built the\nChurch throughout the world but that he kept it unconquered even though it\nwas harassed by so many assaults. The words: “The gates of hell shall not\nprevail against it\,” mean the dangers which beget death\, the dangers which lead\nus down to hell. \nDo you not see that this prediction came true? Do you not see the strength\nof its fulfillment? Do you not see the words shining forth as proved in the light\nof the facts? Do you not see his invincible power which does all things with\nease? Because the words are few — “I will build my Church” — do not simply\npass over them. Ponder them in your mind. \nThink how great a thing it is to fill every land under the sun with so many\nChurches in so short a time. Think what it means to have converted so many\nnations\, to have won over so many peoples\, to have destroyed ancestral\ncustoms\, to have torn out deep-rooted habits\, to have driven out\, like dust\nbefore the wind\, the tyrannous rule of pleasure and the power and strength of\nevil. People have destroyed their old altars\, temples\, idols\, and rites. They have\ndestroyed their accursed festivals and made the unclean savor of victims\ndisappear like smoke. \nThey have raised up new altars everywhere… That word which Christ\nspoke in his own day has been planted in the souls of all men and is found on the\nlips of all. It is just as if land that was filled with thorns has been cleansed and\nbecome a cleared field. And this field has received the seeds of godliness. \n2 Demonstration Against the Pagans That Christ is God. Trans. Paul W. Harkins\, Fathers of the Church Series\, vol. 73.\nWashington\, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press\, 1985\, pp. 238-239.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/weekday-30/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261027
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261028
DTSTAMP:20261025T032513Z
CREATED:20261025T032513Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T032513Z
UID:15738-1793059200-1793145599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Office for Vocations
DESCRIPTION:A letter from Fr Jean-Pierre de Caussade to\nA RELIGIOUS SISTER 3\n◊◊◊\nWhen you have neither time nor inclination to read\, try to keep yourself\nsimply in peace in the presence of God… Humble yourself with the\nconsideration of the inefficacy of your own resolutions\, and look upon yourself\nas having so far done nothing. The less confidence you place in yourself\, the\nmore easy will it become to have entire confidence in the mercy of God alone\,\nthrough the merits of Jesus Christ. This is that solid and perfect confidence\nwhich completely annihilates self-love by withdrawing all those resources upon\nwhich it was accustomed to rely. There could be nothing more salutary for some\nsouls than this kind of martyrdom… \nThe more these sacrifices touch us to the quick\, and the more they make\nus die to ourselves\, and detach us from all consolation\, and sensible support\, the\ncloser they draw us to God and unite us to Him. This union is all the more\nmeritorious in being hidden and further out of the range of the senses. Self-love\,\ntherefore\, has no share in it\, since it cannot feed on what it can neither know nor\nfeel… \nYou must remember that in almost everyone there is such a depth of selflove\, \nweakness and misery\, that it would be impossible for us to recognize any\ngift of God in ourselves without being exposed to spoil and corrupt it by\nimperceptible feelings of self-complacency. In this way we appropriate as our\nown the graces of God\, and are pleased with ourselves for being in such or such a\nstate… Therefore\, God\, seeing the innermost recesses of the heart\, and being\ninfinitely jealous of His glory\, is obliged…to convince us\, by our own experience\,\nof our utter weakness. It is for this purpose that He conceals from us nearly all\nHis gifts and graces… \nFor my part I can bear witness to this constant action of divine\nProvidence. God has so completely hidden from those who have appealed to me\,\nthe gifts and graces with which he has loaded them\, that they cannot see their\nown progress\, nor their patience\, humility and abandonment\, nor even their\nlove of God… They can hardly help weeping at the supposed absence of these\nvirtues and at their want of generosity in their sufferings… God withdraws what\nHe had given\, but He does not take it away to deprive us of it absolutely. He\nwithdraws it to give it back in a better way\, after it has been purified from this\nmalicious appropriation made by us without our perceiving it… \nIn this terrible state\, one simple “Fiat\,” uttered very earnestly in spite of\nthe repugnance experienced in the soul\, is an assurance of real and solid\nprogress. Then there remains nothing but bare faith in God\, that is to say\, an\nobscure faith despoiled of all sensible devotion\, and residing in the will… “We\ndraw near to God by faith\,”… “The just man lives by faith.” All this ought to\nconvince you that it is not in anger but in mercy and in very great mercy that\nGod deprives you more than others. It is because He is more jealous of the\npossession of your whole heart and all your confidence… \n3\nJean-Pierre de Caussade. Abandonment to Divine Providence. St. Louis\, MO: B. Herder Book Company\, 1921. 192-193.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/office-for-vocations-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261028
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261029
DTSTAMP:20261025T033017Z
CREATED:20261025T033017Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T033017Z
UID:15740-1793145600-1793231999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:SS Simon & Jude
DESCRIPTION:A reading from\nST JOHN HENRY NEWMAN 4\n◊◊◊\nThe Apostles commemorated on this Festival direct our attention to the\nsubject of Zeal. St Simon is called Zealot\, which means the Zealous; a title given\nhim (as is supposed) from his belonging before his conversion to the Jewish sect\nof Zealots\, which professed extraordinary Zeal for the Law… St Jude’s Epistle\,\nwhich forms part of the service of the day\, is almost wholly upon the duty of\nmanifesting Zeal for Gospel Truth\, and opens with a direct exhortation to\n“contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints.” \nIt will be a more simple account of Zeal\, to call it the earnest desire for\nGod’s honor\, leading to strenuous and bold deeds in His behalf; and that in spite\nof all obstacles. Now Zeal is one of the elementary religious qualifications; that\nis\, one of those which are essential in the very notion of a religious man. A man\ncannot be said to be in earnest in religion\, till he magnifies his God and Savior;\ntill he so far consecrates and exalts the thought of Him in his heart\, as an object\nof praise\, and adoration\, and rejoicing\, as to be pained and grieved at dishonor\nshown to Him\, and eager to avenge Him. In a word\, a religious temper is one of\nloyalty towards God; and we all know what is meant by being loyal from the\nexperience of civil matters. \nTo be loyal is not merely to obey; but to obey with promptitude\, energetic\ndutifulness\, disinterested devotion\, disregard of consequences. And such is\nZeal\, except that it is ever attended with that reverential feeling which is due\nfrom a creature and a sinner towards his Maker\, and towards Him alone. \nIt is the main principle in all religious service to love God above all things;\nnow\, Zeal is to love Him above all other people\, above our dearest and most\nintimate friends. This was the special praise of the Levites\, which gained for\nthem the reward of the Priesthood\, that is\, their executing judgment on the\npeople in the sin of the golden calf. Zeal is the very consecration of God’s\nMinisters to their office. \nAccordingly our Blessed Savior\, the One Great High Priest\, the Antitype\nof all Priests who went before Him and the Lord and Strength of all who come\nafter\, began His manifestation of Himself by two acts of Zeal. When twelve years\nold he deigned to put before us in representation the sacredness of this duty\,\nwhen He remained in the Temple “while His father and mother sought Him\nsorrowing\,” and on their finding Him\, returned answer\, “Do you not know that\nI must be about My Father’s business?” \nAnd again\, at the opening of His public Ministry\, He went into the\nTemple\, and “made a scourge of small cords\, and drove out the sheep and\noxen\, and overthrew the changers’ tables” that profaned it: thus fulfilling the\nprophecy contained in the text\, “Zeal for your house has eaten me up.” Being\nthus consumed by Zeal Himself\, no wonder He should choose His followers\nfrom among the Zealous. \n4 “Christian Zeal\,” in Parochial and Plain Sermons\, San Francisco: Ignatius Press\, 1987\, pp. 464 ff.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/ss-simon-jude-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261029
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261030
DTSTAMP:20261025T033523Z
CREATED:20261025T033523Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T033523Z
UID:15742-1793232000-1793318399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Weekday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from\nST BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX 5\n◊◊◊\n“Our bed is covered with flowers; the beams of our houses are\nof cedar\, the paneling of cypress.” She is singing her marriage-song\,\ndescribing in beautiful language the marriage bed and bridal suite. She invites\nthe bridegroom to repose: for the better thing is to remain at ease and be with\nChrist; but necessity drives one forth to help those who are to be saved. So now\nwhen she feels that the opportunity presents itself\, she announces that the\nbridal suite has been furnished\, and pointing to the bed with her finger she\ninvited\, as I have said\, the Beloved to rest there. Like the disciples on the way to\nEmmaus she cannot contain the ardor in her heart\, but entices him to be the\nguest of her soul\, compels him to spend the night with her. With Peter she says:\n“Lord it is good for us to be here.” \nLet us now seek the spiritual content of these words. And indeed in the\nChurch the ‘bed’ where one reposes is\, in my opinion\, the cloisters and\nmonasteries\, where one lives undisturbed by the cares of the world and the\nanxieties of life. This bed is seen to be adorned with flowers when the conduct\nand life of the brothers brightly reflect the examples and rules of the Fathers\, as\nif strewn with sweet smelling flowers. \nBy ‘houses’ understand the ordinary communities of Christians. Those\nwho enjoy high office\, the Christian leaders of both orders\, strongly bind them\ntogether with laws justly imposed\, as beams bind the walls\, lest living by their\nown law and will\, they should fall apart from each other like tilting walls and\ntottering fences\, and thus the whole building fall to the ground and be\ndestroyed. \nThe paneling however\, which is firmly attached to the beams\, and\nimpressively adds to the beauty of the house\, seems to me to designate the\ncourteous and disciplined behavior of a well-trained clergy\, who carry out their\nduties correctly. For how shall the clerical orders stand and fulfill their duties\nunless they are sustained\, as by beams\, by the beneficence and munificence of\nthose who govern and protect by their power? \nSince the beams are described as cedar and the paneling as cypress\, these\ntimbers must possess natural properties that liken them to the aforesaid orders.\nThe cedar\, an incorruptible and fragrant wood of great height\, sufficiently\nindicates the qualities of the men who ought to be selected for the role of beams.\nHence it is necessary that those who are appointed over others should be strong\nand reliable\, tenacious in hope\, their mind directed to supernatural truths\,\nradiating everywhere the good odor of their faith and conduct. With the Apostle\nthey can say: We are the incense offered by Christ to God in every place.\nThe cypress too\, a wood that is equally incorruptible and fragrant\, shows\nthat every cleric ought to be of unblemished life and faith\, that he may be seen as\nan ornamental paneling for the beauty of the house. For it is written: “Holiness\nbefits your house\, O Lord\, for evermore\,” which expresses both the beauty of\nvirtue and the constancy of unfailing grace. It is necessary therefore that the\nman who is chosen for the adornment and beauty of the house should have an\nexcellent moral character\, and though living always within\, nevertheless be well\nthought of by those outside. \n5\n(CF7: 241-242). \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/weekday-31/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261030
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261031
DTSTAMP:20261025T034103Z
CREATED:20261025T034103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T034103Z
UID:15744-1793318400-1793404799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Weekday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “The Golden Epistle” by\nWILLIAM OF ST THIERRY 6\n◊◊◊\nThe apostle enumerates the kinds of prayer in a certain order:\nsupplications\, prayers\, petitions and thanksgiving. Petition is what we put in the\nfirst place and it is concerned with obtaining temporal benefits and what is\nnecessary for this life. When a man makes petition God indeed approves his\ngood will but he follows his own better judgment and enables the one who\nmakes petition in the right spirit to acquiesce in his will. \nIt is of this that the Psalmist says: “My prayer is still for what pleases\nthem.” That is to say\, what pleases even godless men\, for all people alike\, but\nespecially the children of this world\, desire the tranquility of peace\, bodily\nhealth\, good weather and whatever else contributes to a right use of this life and\nthe satisfying of its needs\, even indeed what serves the pleasure of those who\nmake ill use of life. Those who in faith make their petitions for these intentions\,\nalthough they only ask for them to meet their needs\, none the less always submit\ntheir will in this respect to the will of God. \nSupplication is a troubled and insistent turning to God during one’s\nspiritual exercises\, in which to add fresh knowledge before grace comes to the\nassistance is to add fresh pain. Prayer is the affection of a person who clings to\nGod\, a certain familiar and devout conversation\, a state in which the\nenlightened mind enjoys God as long as it is permitted. \nThanksgiving is an unwearied and undistracted attention of the good will\nto God in understanding and knowledge of God’s grace\, even if sometimes\noutward activity or interior affection is either non-existent or sluggish. It is of\nthis that the apostle says: “Praiseworthy intentions are always ready to hand\,\nbut I cannot find my way to the performance of them.” As if to say: good will\nindeed is always present\, but at times it is ineffective because although I seek to\nperform some good work I do not find the means. This is charity which never\nfails. \nIt is the uninterrupted prayer or thanksgiving of which the Apostle says:\n“Pray without interruption and give thanks at all times.” For it is a certain\nunchanging goodness of the mind and of the well-ordered spirit and a certain\nresemblance to the goodness of their Father\, God\, on the part of God’s children.\nIt prays for everyone always and gives thanks for everything. It continually\npours itself out before God in as many kinds of prayer or thanksgiving as its\ndevout affection finds occasion in its needs or consolations\, and also in sharing\nits neighbor’s pains or joys. It is constantly absorbed in thanksgiving because to\nbe in such a state is to be always in the joy of the Holy Spirit. \n6 The Golden Epistle – William of St Thierry – Cistercian Fathers Series #12 – Cistercian Publications – Kalamazoo\,\nMI – 1971 – pg 70.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/weekday-32/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261031
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261101
DTSTAMP:20261025T034528Z
CREATED:20261025T034528Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261025T034528Z
UID:15746-1793404800-1793491199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Memorial of The BVM
DESCRIPTION:A reading from the missionary letters of\nST NIKOLAI VELIMIROVICH 7\n◊◊◊\nYou write to me with exhilaration how the Mother of God appeared to you\nand how you are now on the sure path of faith. Your little daughter was in bed\nwith a terrible fever. You called for a number of doctors. They examined the girl\nand went to the other room to assess the situation. You listened in to their\nconversation with trembling. One of them said that she might be saved if the\nailing girl could perspire. Others considered it was too late even for that.\nIn desperation\, you wrung your hands and cried. Over the child’s bed was\nan icon of the Theotokos. Until that moment\, you saw that icon more as a\ndecoration of the house\, not a necessity. But in that desperate hour\, you kneeled\nbefore the icon and choking with tears\, you cried out to the Mother of God…\nAfter long prayer and sobbing\, you looked at the icon and you saw tears in the\nVirgin’s eyes. \nA moment after that\, you looked at your child and she was all in sweat.\nThe day after\, she sat up and ate\, and soon after that she was completely\nrecovered. Thanks be to the Holy Theotokos. And thank you for sharing this.\nOur faith is founded upon experience\, not on self-willed judgments and\ntheories… \nLast winter\, we had a case like this happen also. The daughter of a poor\nwidow was gravely ill. For a month\, she was out of her senses and did not say a\nword. All hope was lost. The grieving mother started collecting money for the\nfuneral items. One evening\, the mother was sitting by the deathbed of her\ndaughter and crying quietly. Suddenly\, without opening her eyes\, the girl said\,\n“Do not cry mother. Take me to Kalishte tomorrow and I will get well. That’s\nwhat my Heavenly Mother said to me. She is now standing by me!” The shocked\nmother was quivering. The next day she took the sick girl to the Monastery of the\nHoly Theotokos at Kalishte\, and brought her back healthy. \nBut were there only two instances of this happening; or three or ten?\nThere is no number and no end of the appearances and intercessions of the\nTheotokos. Saint Seraphim of Sarov…said that the Mother of God personally\nappeared to him six times during his life. And if the whole of this quiet people\nwhich considers all those heavenly visions to be its precious and sweet secret —\nif all of them would open their mouth and speak of all they have seen\, the earth\nwould be filled with amazement. \nBelieve me\, when one enters the knowledge of the working and appearing\nof the heavenly world in our earthly life\, one feels like he has entered a new\nboundless and unstudied kingdom of a most wondrous reality. Into that\ndarkness for the worldly eyes\, the soul can enter only with the lit torches of faith\nand love\, according to the wondrous words of the Apostle Paul\, “may Christ by\nfaith move into your hearts\, that you may be rooted and grounded in love\, so\nthat you may later understand what is width and length and depth and height.”\nAnd you ought to thank God and His Mother that your spiritual sight was open.\nDo not blind it with sin and carelessness anymore. May God always help you. \n7 Saint Nikolai Velimirovich. Missionary Letters of Saint Nikolai Velimirovich – Part 1. Trans. Hierodeacon Serafim.\nGrayslake\, IL: New Gracanica Monastery\, 2008. 120-122.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/memorial-of-the-bvm-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261101
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261102
DTSTAMP:20261031T223809Z
CREATED:20261031T223809Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261031T223809Z
UID:15755-1793491200-1793577599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - All Saints
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST GERTRUDE THE GREAT \n◊◊◊ \nO consuming fire\, my God… Devouring me\, a speck of dust\, in the fiery \nvigor of your love\, consume me utterly and absorb me into yourself. Behold\, I \nam approaching you… Let your face light up over me so that my darkness may \nbecome like noonday in your presence… Make me to be listed and numbered in \nthe generation of those who know you\, God of Israel; among the generation of \nthose who seek your face\, God of Jacob; in the generation of those who cherish \nyou\, God of hosts. \nHoly Trinity\, one God: grant that my heart may fear you\, cherish you\, \nfollow you because you are my true love. Holy Mary\, paradise of holiness\, lily of \npurity\, be the guide and guardian of my chastity\, for in you is all the grace of life \nand truth… Saint John the Baptist\, obtain for me enlightenment through that \ntrue light to whom you came to bear witness… Saint Peter\, first of the apostles\, \nby your authority deliver me from the bonds of all my sins. Saint Paul\, chosen \nvessel\, obtain for me that gift of true cherishing-love… Saint Mary Magdalene\, \nmost fervent lover of Jesus Christ\, obtain for me the most diligent observance of \nholy religion. All saints and chosen ones of God\, obtain for me such observance \nof holy religion that thereby I may come with you to that homeland of eternal life \nwhich knows nothing but joys\, where God is all in all. \nMy beloved Jesus Christ\, I desire to enter with you into a beloved rule so \nthat I may renew and remake my life in you… Place my life in the guardianship \nof your Holy Spirit so that I may keep your commandments at all times… Flood \nmy sense with the light of your love so that you alone may teach and guide me\, \nand convert me within. Sink my spirit so firmly into your Spirit – quickly down \ninto its ground – that I may be truly buried in you. And let me be so fully \ntransported out of myself into union with you that nobody may know of my \ngrave in you except your living love alone\, which may place its seal on it. \nTherefore\, by the cooperation of your grace and through the spotless law \nof your love\, turn my soul from the frailty of the human condition toward you in \nsuch a way that I may untiringly run the way of your commandments and cling \nto you. Be with me\, my Lord\, aiding me always and making me strong in the \nwork that I have taken up for the love of your love… And grant me then to see \nyou\, to have you\, to enjoy you eternally in the greatest happiness\, for my soul \nhas yearned for you\, O Jesus\, dearest of all dear ones.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-all-saints-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261101
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261102
DTSTAMP:20261031T223857Z
CREATED:20261031T223857Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261031T223857Z
UID:15757-1793491200-1793577599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n31st Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nNovember 1 – 7\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n1\nMon\n2\nTue\n3\nWed\n4\nThu\n5\nFri\n6\nSat\n7\n\n\nOffice\nAll Saints\nAll Souls\nWeekday\nSt Charles Borromeo\nWeekday\nWeekday\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nRev 5:1-14\nEzek 37:1-14\nDaniel 5:1-12\nDaniel 5:13-6:1\nDaniel 6:2-29\nDaniel 7:1-15\nDaniel 7:16-28\n\n\nLauds\nIsa 65:17-25\nIsa 38:9-20\nZech 11:1-6\nZech 11:7-14\nZech 11:15-17\nZech 12:1-6\nZech 12:7-14\n\n\nMass\n667\n668\n486\n487\n488\n489\n490\n\n\n1st\nRev 7:2-4\, 9-14\nWis 3:1-9\nPhil 2:5-11\nPhil 2:12-18\nPhil 3:3-8a\nPhil 3:17-4:1\nPhil 4:10-19\n\n\n2nd\n1 Jn 3:1-3\n2 Cor 5:1\, 6-10\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 5:1-12a\nJohn 11:17-27\nLuke 14:15-24\nLuke 14:25-33\nLuke 15:1-10\nLuke 16:1-8\nLuke 16:9-15\n\n\nVespers\nRev 19:5-9\n1 Thess 4:13-18\n1 John 5:6-12\n1 John 5:13-17\n1 John 5:18-21\n2 John 1-6\n2 John 7-13
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-174/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261102
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261103
DTSTAMP:20261031T224004Z
CREATED:20261031T224004Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261031T224004Z
UID:15759-1793577600-1793663999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - All Souls
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “Purgation and Purgatory” by \nST CATHERINE OF GENOA \n◊◊◊ \nThe souls in purgatory cannot think\, “I am here\, and justly so because of \nmy sins\,” or “I wish I had never committed such sins for now I would be in \nparadise\,” or “That person there is leaving before me\,” or “I will leave before that \none.” They cannot remember the good or evil in their past nor that of others. \nSuch is their joy in God’s will\, in his pleasure\, that they have no concern \nfor themselves but dwell only in their joy in God’s ordinance. They see only the \ngoodness of God\, his mercy toward all. Should they be aware of other good or \nevil\, theirs would not be perfect charity. Only once do they understand the \nreason for their purgatory: the moment in which they leave this life. After this \nmoment\, that knowledge disappears. Immersed in charity\, incapable of \ndeviating from it\, they can only will or desire pure love. There is no joy save that \nin paradise to be compared with the joy of the souls in purgatory. \nAs the rust of sin is consumed the soul is more and more open to God’s \nlove. Just as a covered object left out in the sun cannot be penetrated by the \nsun’s rays\, in the same way\, once the covering of the soul is removed\, the soul \nopens itself fully to the rays of the sun. Having become one with God’s will\, these \nsouls\, to the extent that he grants it to them\, see into God… \nAll that I have said is nothing compared to what I feel within\, the \nwitnessed correspondence of love between God and the soul; for when God sees \nthe soul pure as it was in its origins\, he tugs at it with a glance\, draws it and binds \nit to himself with a fiery love. God so transforms the soul into himself that it \nknows nothing other than God. He will not cease until he has brought the soul to \nits perfection. \nThat is why the soul seeks to cast off any and all impediments\, so that it \ncan be lifted up to God; and such impediments are the cause of the suffering of \nthe souls in purgatory. Not that the souls dwell on their suffering; they dwell \nrather on the resistance they feel within themselves against the will of God\, \nagainst his intense and pure love bent on nothing but drawing them up to him. \nAnd I see rays of lightning darting from that divine love to the creature\, so \nintense and fiery… The soul becomes like gold that becomes purer as it is fired\, \nall dross being cast out… \nThese flaws are burned away in the last stage of love. God shows the soul its \nweakness\, so that the soul may see the workings of God. If we are to become \nperfect\, the change must be brought about in us and without us; that is\, the \nchange is to be the work not of human beings but of God… The overwhelming \nlove of God gives the soul a joy beyond words. In purgatory great joy and great \nsuffering do not exclude one another.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-all-souls-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261103
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261104
DTSTAMP:20261031T224118Z
CREATED:20261031T224118Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261031T224118Z
UID:15761-1793664000-1793750399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “Rule of Life for a Recluse” by \nST AELRED OF RIEVAULX \n◊◊◊ \nImagine now that you are standing before Christ’s judgment-seat \nbetween these two companies and have not yet been assigned to one or the \nother. Turn your eyes to the left of the judge and gaze upon that wretched \nmultitude. What horror is there\, what a stench\, what fear\, what grief? They \nstand there miserable and unhappy\, gnashing their teeth\, their bare flesh \nshaking with fear\, dreadful to look upon\, their faces distorted\, cast down from \nshame\, in confusion because of their body’s degradation and nakedness. They \nwant to hide and they are not allowed\, they try to flee and it is not granted them. \nIf they raise their eyes the Judge’s fury bears down upon them from above. If \nthey lower them they are filled with the horror of hell’s pit. They have no excuse \nto offer for their crimes nor is there any chance of claiming that the judgment is \nunfair\, since whatever is decided their own conscience will recognize as just. \nSee now how you should love him who has set you apart from this doomed \ncompany by his predestination\, separated you by his call\, cleansed you by his \njustification. Now turn your eyes to the right and look at those among whom he \nwill place you by glorifying you. What grace is there\, what honor\, what \nhappiness\, what security. Some take their seat on high to give judgment\, some \nare resplendent in martyrs’ crowns\, some are bearing the white flower of \nvirginity\, some display the fruit of almsgiving\, some are illustrious for their \ndoctrine and their learning\, but they are all united by the bond of charity. Jesus’ \nface shines upon them\, not terrible but lovable\, not bitter but sweet\, not \nfrightening but attractive. \nNow stand in the middle\, not knowing to which company the Judge’s \nsentence will assign you. O what a dreadful waiting. Fear and trembling have \ncome upon me and darkness has covered me.’ If he sends me to join those on the \nleft I cannot complain of injustice; if he sets me among those on the right it is to \nbe attributed to his grace\, not to my merits. Truly\, Lord\, life is at your disposal.” \nYou see then how your spirit should be absorbed in his love. \nAlthough in all justice he could have extended to you the sentence passed \non the wicked\, he preferred to place you among those who are to be saved. \nNow imagine yourself associated with that holy company and hearing his \nvoice utter the decree: “Come\, ye blessed of my Father\, receive the kingdom \nwhich was prepared for you from the beginning of the world\,” while those other \nwretched souls hear the harsh words\, full of anger and fury: “Depart from \nme…into eternal fire.” “Then\,” we read\, “they will go to eternal punishment\, but \nthe just to eternal life.” What a harsh separation\, what a miserable lot.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-482/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261104
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261105
DTSTAMP:20261031T224225Z
CREATED:20261031T224225Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261031T224225Z
UID:15763-1793750400-1793836799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Charles Borromeo
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nFR RONALD KNOX \n◊◊◊ \nWhen our Lord’s apostles came to look back upon that terrible night in the \nLake of Galilee\, when they strained every nerve against the tempest while their \nMaster lay sleeping in the boat\, they found in it an allegory of their own \nsituation\, as they launched out the frail bark of his Church upon waves so \ntroubled\, with prospects so uncertain. And in every age the Church has looked \nback to that picture and taken comfort from it in times of adversity. [With great \nconfidence]\, the Church of God\, which is Peter’s boat\, has breasted the waves all \nthrough her troubled history. It is not upon the captain’s judgment or the pilot’s \nexperience\, not human wisdom or human prudence\, that she depends for her \nsafe voyage: she rests secure in the presence of her inviolable passenger. \nYet we should do ill if we grudged recognition and gratitude to those \nservants of his who at various times have steered our course for us through \ndifficult waters\, and especially to the saints of the Counter-Reformation — that \nremarkable group of saints whom God raised up at the time of Europe’s \napostasy\, by whose influence\, humanly speaking\, the faith survived that terrible \nordeal. And not the least\, nor the least prominent\, of these is [St Charles \nBorromeo]\, who ruled the Church of Milan in the latter part of the sixteenth \ncentury… \nWhatever be the rights and wrongs of all the controversies we hear about \nthe medieval Church\, this at least is clear\, that in the days of the Council of Trent \nits organization needed reform. And reform needs more than mere legislation to \ndecree it; it needs administration to execute it. That is St Charles’s characteristic \nlegacy to the Church: it was the influence of his example\, in great measure\, that \nmolded her organization on the new model which Trent had decreed. The \nbishop has got to be the center of everything in his diocese\, and the clergy of the \ndiocese are to be his clergy — a family of which he is to be the father\, a guild of \nwhich he is to be the master. \nSee how fond St Charles was of synods: the whole of his comparatively \nshort episcopate is a long record of the synods he gathered amongst his clergy. \nSee how enthusiastic he is for the seminary idea; the bishop\, henceforth\, is not \nmerely to ordain people\, he is to know whom he is ordaining. And above all what \nwas characteristic of St Charles was the institute which he left behind him — a \nbody of secular priests\, putting themselves at the disposal of the bishop as \nabsolutely as the religious puts himself at the disposal of his superior. \nYes\, there is much about St Charles’s life which is more exciting\, and much \nwhich is more attractive\, than all this; his boundless generosity to the poor\, the \nrelentless mortification that regulated his busy\, competent life. But what makes \nhim stand out among the saints more than either is his intense devotion even to \nthe most uninspiring details of diocesan routine.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-charles-borromeo-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261105
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261106
DTSTAMP:20261031T224327Z
CREATED:20261031T224327Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261031T224327Z
UID:15765-1793836800-1793923199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nJOHN OF FORD \n◊◊◊ \n‘May your will’\, Lord Jesus\, ‘be done on earth as it is in heaven \,̓ \nfor you \nsaid that it was your will that fire be enkindled on this earth\, the fire you came to \nsend upon it. What you desired has happened. The furnace that is in Jerusalem \nhas enkindled a furnace on earth. Here on earth\, just as in heaven\, you have \nmade your ministers flames of fire\, and like a devouring fire\, they devour to the \nright and to the left. \nIndeed\, love is never satisfied. It feels distaste for nothing\, it does not \nthink anything should be rejected. It issues its call equally to the good and to the \nbad\, receiving them indiscriminately and making no distinction in favor of one \nrather than the other. The only distinction\, perhaps\, is that it usually overflows \nmore copiously for those in whom sin has abounded. It is characteristic of love \nthat\, like fire\, it burns more fiercely where it finds sturdier tinder\, and the \nquality and quantity of what instigates it\, makes its flame grow ever stronger. \nJesus makes this crystal clear in his parable of the two debtors; it is the one who \nis forgiven most who loves most). He loves more\, says Jesus\, to whom more is \ngiven; he loves more\, meaning that he is urged by the debt and the material is \nthere to prompt him to greater love. \nIn my opinion\, this is why Zechariah said those words I quoted above\, that \nhe would make ‘the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood\, like a \nflaming torch among the sheaves Obviously\, because wood is harder than hay\, it .̓ \nis better material for fires\, and the more difficult it is to set it burning\, the more it \nblazes up once it has begun. It seems to change into the very substance of fire\, \ntaking on its color as well as its heat. \nThe sheaves\, on the other hand\, are those whose sins are venial\, and the \nflaming torch\, that is\, the opportunity to be forgiven and receive unmerited \ngrace\, consumes them with a spark. Yet it is not a fiery torch that touches the \nwood\, but a furnace\, so that\, in some wonderful way\, the wood itself becomes \nfire by the intensity of the heat. And the wood takes to itself not only the ability \nto burn\, but also to enkindle.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-483/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261106
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261107
DTSTAMP:20261031T224434Z
CREATED:20261031T224434Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261031T224434Z
UID:15767-1793923200-1794009599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nHANS URS VON BALTHASAR \n◊◊◊ \nChristians live with their involvement in the involvement of God for the \nfreedom of the world. They know that each one has been chosen by God and \ncalled by name to assist in his work of liberation. In this work human beings are \ncentral\, not the angels nor the subhuman things created for the sake of human \nbeings to rule as God commanded and chose them to do. \nChristians must\, first of all\, learn to see fellow human beings and all \ncreated things through the eyes of God. This does not mean that the human \nbeing seen in this light\, ceases to be a profound mystery. Just the opposite. If it \nis true that God has made the human being in his own image and likeness\, then \nthis ought rather to mean that something of the uniqueness and \nunfathomableness of God shines in the human person\, so much more clearly to \nthe beholder when God\, in choosing him and acting in and for him\, sheds upon \nhim God’s own mysterious light. \nTo look through God’s eyes at the human world means enduring both the \nopenness and contradictions of humans\, not forcing them onto a dogmatic \nprocrustean bed but bringing everything under the unity of God’s plan. \nWhoever can see more truth than someone else when they look\, is in the right. \nThis means first that the human being exists centrally as a person: a person \nintended by God\, loved by God\, and for whom God dies in order to rescue and \ndraw him to God. Hence all that has the status of a thing\, all that is not personal \nin this world\, has value only in so far as it serves the purposes of the person\, and \nis harmful when it betrays the person into the hands of the impersonal\, reducing \nhim to slavery and to the status of a thing. This determines the Christian’s \nattitude towards technology. Our battle with the universe will always remain \nsomething of a struggle and perhaps even a violent war\, but such a war will be \njust and permissible only so long as its normative aim remains the \nhumanization of the human being. \nAs a fellow human being\, the Christian is of course committed to taking \npart in the total effort of humanity towards the humanizing of the world\, the \nperduring problematic and indeed tragic nature of which we have already \nindicated. The Christian\, however\, has no clear-cut recipes or solutions to offer \nto this problem\, and like others must wrestle with the deciphering of the riddles \nof nature and of history. In this pursuit Christians are at one with their fellows. \nBut from their knowledge of God’s involvement for the world\, they have a wider \nhorizon which embraces the problematic and tragic\, without eliminating it\, and \nfrom which there falls on the world the only light that is truly illuminating and \nhelpful. They must bear witness to this light not just abstractly – by professions \nof faith – but concretely in their professional and human involvement.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-484/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20261107
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20261108
DTSTAMP:20261031T224624Z
CREATED:20261031T224624Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261031T224624Z
UID:15769-1794009600-1794095999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST THÉRÈSE OF LISIEUX \n◊◊◊ \nIn speaking of our Lady\, we ought not to make improbable assertions \nabout matters that are beyond our knowledge\, for example\, that when she was a \nsmall child she went up to the Temple to offer herself to God with extraordinary \nfervor and a heart on fire with love. For all we know\, she went simply in \nobedience to her parents. \nIf a sermon on the Blessed Virgin is to bear fruit\, it must describe her \nreal life\, such as the Gospel gives us a glimpse of\, and not her fancied life. And \nwe perceive clearly that her real life at Nazareth and later on must have been \nquite ordinary…”He was subject to them”. How simple it all is! \nSometimes the Blessed Virgin is represented as being quite \nunapproachable. Instead\, we ought to show that she was imitable in her practice \nof hidden virtues; we ought to point out that she lived a life of faith\, just as we \ndo. \nWe know well that the Blessed Virgin is queen of heaven and earth; but \nshe is more of a mother than a queen\, and we ought not to give out the idea\, as I \nhave heard it done more than once\, that because of her prerogatives she eclipses \nthe glory of all the saints\, just as the sun\, rising in brilliance\, makes the stars \ndisappear. My God\, what a strange thing to say! A mother who makes the glory \nof her children disappear! For my part\, I believe just the opposite; I think that \nshe will greatly increase the splendor of the elect. \nWe do well to speak of her prerogatives. But we should not stop there. \nWe should make her loved. If\, when we hear a sermon on the Blessed Virgin\, the \npreacher tries to do nothing from beginning to end but call forth our \nadmiration\, we become bored\, and that does not lead to love and imitation. Who \nknows but what some souls will not experience a certain sense of estrangement \nfrom a creature so lofty? \n  \nThe Theology of the Mystical Body \, Emile Mersch SJ\, B. Herder Book Co.\, St Louis MO 1951\, pp. 169-170\,174ff.15 \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-bvm-25/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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