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SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Charles Lwanga & Companions
DESCRIPTION:THE MARTYRS OF UGANDA \nFrom a homily by St Pope Paul VI2 \n◊◊◊ \nThe African martyrs add another page to the martyrology – the Church’s \nroll of honor – an occasion both of mourning and of joy. This is a page worthy \nin every way of being added to the annals of that Africa of earlier times\, which \nwe\, living in this era and being people of little faith\, never expected to be \nrepeated. \nIn earlier times there occurred those famous deeds\, so moving to the \nspirit\, of the martyrs of Scilli\, of Carthage\, and of that “white robed army” of \nUtica commemorated by Saint Augustine and Prudentius; of the martyrs of \nEgypt so highly praised by Saint John Chrysostom\, and of the martyrs of the \nVandal persecution. Who would have thought that in our days we should have \nwitnessed events as heroic and glorious? \nWho would have predicted to the famous African confessors and martyrs \nsuch as Cyprian\, Felicity\, Perpetua and – the greatest of all – Augustine\, that \nwe would one day add names so dear to us as Charles Lwanga and Matthias \nMulumba Kalemba and their twenty companions? Nor must we forget those \nmembers of the Anglican Church who also died in the name of Christ. \nThese African martyrs herald the dawn of a new age. If only the human \nmind might be directed not toward persecutions and religious conflicts but \ntoward a rebirth of Christianity and civilization! Africa has been washed by the \nblood of these latest martyrs\, the first of this new age (and God willing\, let them \nbe the last\, although such a holocaust is precious indeed). Africa is reborn free \nand independent. \n  \n2 The Liturgy of the Hours – vol II – Catholic Book Publishing Co. – New York – 1976 – p 1860.5 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-charles-lwanga-companions-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240605
DTSTAMP:20260403T155056
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UID:11981-1717459200-1717545599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE GREATEST OF ALL HIS MIRACLES \nBy St Thomas Aquinas3 \n◊◊◊ \nSince it was the will of God’s only-begotten Son that we should share in \nhis divinity\, he assumed our nature in order that by becoming man he might \nmake us divine. Moreover\, when he took our flesh he dedicated the whole of its \nsubstance to our salvation. He offered his body to God the Father on the altar \nof the cross as a sacrifice for our reconciliation. He shed his blood for our \nransom and purification\, so that we might be redeemed from our wretched state \nof bondage and cleansed from all sin. But to ensure that the memory of so great \na gift would abide with us forever\, he left his body as food and his blood as drink \nfor the faithful to consume in the form of bread and wine. \nO precious and wonderful banquet that brings us salvation and contains \nall sweetness! Could anything be of more intrinsic value? Under the old law it \nwas the flesh of calves and goats that was offered\, but here Christ himself\, the \ntrue God\, is set before us as our food. What could be more wonderful than this? \nNo other sacrament has greater healing power; through it sins are purged away\, \nvirtues are increased\, and the soul is enriched with an abundance of every \nspiritual gift. It is offered in the Church for the living and the dead\, so that what \nwas instituted for the salvation of all may be of benefit to all. Yet in the end no \none can fully express the sweetness of this sacrament\, in which spiritual delight \nis tasted at its very source\, and in which we renew the memory of that \nsurpassing love for us which Christ revealed in his passion. \nIt was to impress the vastness of this love more firmly upon the hearts of \nthe faithful that our Lord instituted this sacrament at the Last Supper. As he \nwas on the point of leaving the world to go to the Father\, after celebrating the \nPassover with his disciples\, he left it as a perpetual memorial of his passion. It \nwas the fulfillment of ancient figures and the greatest of all his miracles\, while \nfor those who were to experience the sorrow of his departure\, it was destined to \nbe a unique and abiding consolation. \n  \n3 Opusculujm 57 – Feast of Corpus Christi. A Word in Season – vol. III – Exordium Books – \nRiverdale\, MD – pg 2287 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-195/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11983-1717545600-1717631999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Boniface
DESCRIPTION:ST BONIFACE \nThe Apostle of Germany4 \n◊◊◊ \nIn art and religion\, in scholarship and literature\, the Anglo-Saxons of the \neighth century were the leaders of their age. At the time when continental \ncivilization was at its lowest ebb\, the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons marked \nthe turn of the tide. The Saxon pilgrims flocked to Rome as the center of the \nChristian world and the Papacy found its most devoted allies and servants in \nthe Anglo-Saxon monks and missionaries. The foundations of the new age were \nlaid by the greatest of them all\, St Boniface of Crediton\, “the apostle of \nGermany”\, a man who had a deeper influence on the history of Europe than any \nEnglishman who has ever lived. \nUnlike his Celtic predecessors\, he was not an individual missionary\, but \na statesman and organizer\, who was\, above all\, servant of the Roman order. To \nhim is due the foundation of the medieval German Church and the final \nconversion of Hesse and Thuringia\, the heart of the German land. With the help \nof his Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns he destroyed the last strongholds of \nGermanic heathenism and planted abbeys and bishoprics on the site of the old \nFolkburgs and heathen sanctuaries\, such as Buraburg\, Amoneburg\, and Fulda. \nOn his return from Rome in 739 he used his authority as Papal Vicar in Germany \nto reorganize the Bavarian Church and to establish the new dioceses which had \nso great an importance in German history. \nFor Germany beyond the Rhine was still a land without cities\, and the \nfoundation of the new bishoprics meant the creation of new centers of cultural \nlife. It was through the work of St Boniface that Germany first became a living \nmember of the European society. But in addition to this\, Boniface was the \nreformer of the whole Frankish church. The decadent Merovingian dynasty \nhad already given up the substance of its power to the mayors of the palace\, but \nin spite of their military prowess\, which saved France from conquest by the \nArabs in 735\, they had done nothing for culture and had only furthered the \ndegradation of the Frankish Church. Charles Martel had used the abbeys and \nbishoprics to reward his lay partisans\, and had carried out a wholesale \nsecularization of Church property. As Boniface wrote to the Pope\, “Religion is \ntrodden under foot. Benefices are given to greedy laymen or unchaste and \npublican clerics. All their crimes do not prevent their attaining the priesthood; \nat last rising in rank as they increase in sin they become bishops\, and those of \nthem who can boast that they are not adulterers or fornicators\, are drunkards\, \ngiven up to the chase\, and soldiers who do not shrink from shedding Christian \nblood.” \nNevertheless\, the successors of Charles Martel\, Pepin and Carloman\, \nwere favorable to Boniface’s reforms. Armed with his special powers as Legate \nof the Holy See and personal representative of the Pope\, he undertook the \ndesecularization of the Frankish Church. \n  \n4 Dawson\, Christopher. “The Making of Europe”\, New York\, 1956\, pp 185-186.9 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-boniface-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11985-1717632000-1717718399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Norbert
DESCRIPTION:ST NORBERT \nThe Patron of Peace5 \n◊◊◊ \nNorbert is deservedly numbered by historians among those who made an \neffective contribution to the reform movement under Pope Gregory VII. He \nestablished a clergy dedicated to the ideals of the Gospel and the apostolic \nChurch. They were chaste and poor. They wore “the clothing and the symbols \nof the new man; that is to say\, they wore the religious habit and exhibited the \ndignity proper to the priesthood.” Norbert asked them to “live according to the \nnorms of the Scriptures with Christ as their model.” They were “to be clean in \nall matters pertaining to the altar and divine worship\, to correct their faults and \nfailings in their chapter meeting\, and to care for and give shelter to the poor.” \nThe priests lived in community\, where they continued the work of the \napostles. Inspired by the practice of the early Church\, Norbert exhorted the \nfaithful to join the monastic life in some capacity. So many men and women \nresponded to the invitation that many asserted that no man since the apostles \nthemselves had inspired so many to embrace the monastic life. \nWhen Norbert was appointed an archbishop\, he urged his brothers to \ncarry the faith to the lands of the Wends. In his own diocese he tried \nunsuccessfully to convince the clergy of the need for reform and was confronted \nwith noisy protests both in the street and in the church. \nOne of the principal goals of Norbert’s life was to foster harmony between \nthe Apostolic See and the German empire. At the same time he wanted to \nmaintain Rome’s freedom in the matter of ecclesiastical appointments. \n  \nApparently his efforts were so successful that Pope Innocent II thanked him \nprofusely in a letter in which he called him a “devoted son”\, and Lothair made \nhim chancellor of the realm. \nNorbert did all these things with a steadfast faith: “Faith was the \noutstanding virtue of Norbert’s life\, as charity had been the hallmark of Bernard \nof Clairvaux.” Affable and charming\, amiable to one and all\, “he was at ease in \nthe company of the humble and the great alike”. Finally\, he was a most eloquent \npreacher; after long meditation “he would preach the word of God\, and with his \nfiery eloquence purged vices\, refined virtues and filled souls of good will with \nthe warmth of wisdom”. He spent many hours in contemplation of the divine \nmysteries and fearlessly spread the spiritual insights which were the fruit of his \nmeditation. \n  \n5 Dawson\, Christopher. “The Making of Europe”\, New York\, 1956\, pp 185-186.11 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-norbert-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240608
DTSTAMP:20260403T155056
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UID:11987-1717718400-1717804799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Sacred Heart of Jesus
DESCRIPTION:A BAPTISM OF BLOOD AND WATER \nFrom a commentary by St Catherine of Siena6 \n◊◊◊ \n“Why\, gentle spotless lamb\, since you were dead when your side was \nopened\, did you want your heart to be pierced and parted?” He answered\, \n“there were plenty of reasons\, but I shall tell you one of the chief. My longing \nfor humanity was infinite\, but the actual deed of bearing pain and torment was \nfinite and could never show all the love I had. This is why I wanted you to see \nmy inmost heart\, so that you would see that I loved you more than finite \nsuffering could show.” \n“By shedding both blood and water I showed you the holy baptism of \nwater that you receive through the power of my blood. But I was also showing \nyou the baptism of blood\, and this in two ways. The first touches those who are \nbaptized in their own blood poured out for me. Though they could not have the \nother baptism\, their own blood has power because of mine. Others are baptized \nin fire when they lovingly desire baptism but cannot have it. Nor is there any \nbaptism of fire without blood\, for blood has been fused with the fire of divine \ncharity\, because it was shed for love. \n“There is a second way the soul receives this baptism of blood\, figuratively \nspeaking. This my divine charity provided because I know how people sin \nbecause of weakness. Not that weakness or anything else can force them to sin \nif they do not want to\, but being weak they do fall into deadly sin and lose the \ngrace they had drawn from the power of the blood in holy baptism. So my divine \ncharity had to leave them an ongoing baptism of blood accessible by heartfelt \ncontrition and a holy confession as soon as they can confess to my ministers \nwho hold the key to the blood. This blood the priest pours over the soul in \nabsolution. \nSo you see\, this baptism is ongoing\, and the soul ought to be baptized in \nit right up to the end\, in the way I have told you. In this baptism you experience \nthat though my act of suffering on the cross was finite\, the fruit of that suffering \nwhich you have received through me is infinite. This is because of the infinite \ndivine nature joined with finite human nature. It was this human nature in \nwhich I was clothed that suffered in me\, the Word. But because the two natures \nare fused with each other\, the eternal Divinity took to itself the suffering I bore \nwith such burning love. \nFor this reason what I did can be called infinite. Not that either the actual \nbodily suffering or the pain of my longing to accomplish your redemption was \ninfinite\, for all of that ended on the cross when my soul left my body. But the \nfruit was infinite that came from my suffering and from my desire for your \nsalvation\, and therefore you receive it without limit. Had it not been infinite\, \nthe whole of humankind\, past\, present and to come\, would not have been \nrestored. Nor could those who sin get up again if this baptism of blood (that is\, \nthe fruit of the blood) had not been given to you without limit. \nI showed you this in the opening up of my side. There you find my heart’s \nsecret and it shows you\, more than any finite suffering could\, how I love you.” \n  \n6 Journey with the Fathers: Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels – Year B. New \nYork: New City Press\, 1999. 70-71.13 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-sacred-heart-of-jesus/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T155056
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UID:11989-1717804800-1717891199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Immaculate Heart of Mary
DESCRIPTION:THE TEMPLE OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY \nBy St Elizabeth of the Trinity7 \n◊◊◊ \n“The Virgin kept all these things in her heart”: her whole history can be \nsummed up in these few words! It was within her heart that she lived\, and at \nsuch a depth that no human eye can follow her. When I read in the gospel “that \nMary went in haste to the hill country of Judea” to perform her loving service \nfor her cousin Elizabeth\, I imagine her passing by so beautiful\, so calm and so \nmajestic\, so absorbed in recollection of the Word of God within her. Like him \nher prayer was always this: “Ecce\, here I am!” Who? “The servant of the Lord\,” \nthe lowliest of his creatures: she\, his Mother! Her humility was so real for she \nwas always forgetful\, unaware\, freed from self. And she could sing: “The \nAlmighty has done great things for me\, henceforth all peoples will call me \nblessed.” \nThis Queen of virgins is also Queen of martyrs; but again it was in her \nheart that the sword pierced\, for with her everything took place within! Oh! How \nbeautiful she is to contemplate during her long martyrdom\, so serene\, \nenveloped in a kind of majesty that radiates both strength and gentleness. She \nlearned from the Word himself how those must suffer whom the Father has \nchosen as victims\, those whom he has decided to associate with himself in the \ngreat work of redemption\, those whom he “has foreknown and predestined to \nbe conformed to his Christ\,” crucified by love. \nShe is there at the foot of the Cross\, standing\, full of strength and courage\, and \nhere my Master says to me: [“Behold your Mother.”] He gives her to me for my \nMother. And now that he has returned to the Father and has substituted me for \nhimself on the Cross so that “I may suffer in my body what is lacking in his \npassion for the sake of his body\, which is the Church\,” the Blessed Virgin is \nagain there to teach me to suffer as he did\, to tell me\, to make me hear those \nlast songs of his soul which no one else but she\, his Mother\, could overhear. \n  \n7 Complete Works\, vol. 1\, translated by Sr. Aletheia Kane\, OCD\, Washington\, D.C.: ICS Publications\, 1984\, pp. 160-161.15 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-immaculate-heart-of-mary/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20240610
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CREATED:20240608T235506Z
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UID:11993-1717891200-1717977599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n10th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (B)\, Weekdays (II)\nJune 9 – 15\, 2024\n\n\n\nSun\n9\nMon\n10\nTue\n11\nWed\n12\nThu\n13\nFri\n14\nSat\n15\n\n\nOffice\n10th Sunday\nWeekday\nSt Barnabas\nSt Alice\nSt Anthony of Padua\nBl Gerard\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nJudg 7:23-8:21\nJudg 8:22-35\n1 Cor 9:1-18\nJudg 9:1-21\nJudg 9:22-41\nJudg 9:42-57\nJudg 10:6-18\n\n\nLauds\nAmos 3:9-12\nAmos 3:13-15\nActs 4:32-37\nAmos 4:1-5\nAmos 4:6-10\nAmos 4:11-13\nAmos 5:1-6\, 8-9\n\n\nMass\n89\n359\n580\n361\n362\n363\n364\n\n\n1st\nGen 3:9-15\n1 Kgs 17:1-6\nActs 11:21b-26; 13:1-3\n1 Kgs 18:20-39\n1 Kgs 18:41-46\n1 Kgs 19:9a\, 11-16\n1 Kgs 19:19-21\n\n\n2nd\n2 Cor 4:13-5:1\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMark 3:20-35\nMatt 5:1-12\nMatt 10:7-13\nMatt 5:17-19\nMatt 5:20-26\nMatt 5:27-32\nMatt 5:33-37\n\n\nVespers\nPhil 2:1-11\nPhil 2:12-18\nActs 9:23-31\nPhil 3:2-11\nPhil 3:12-16\nPhil 3:17-21\nPhil 4:1-9
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-72/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11995-1717891200-1717977599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 10th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:THE DAY THE LORD HAS MADE\nBy an unknown Greek author of the 5th century1 \nThe signs of the Lord’s resurrection are obvious: deception has ceased\, envy has been banished\, strife is despised. Peace is held in honor\, and war has been done away with. No longer do we bewail the Adam who was fashioned first; instead we glorify the second Adam. No longer do we reproach Eve for transgressing God’s command: instead we bless Mary for being the Mother of God. No longer do we avert our eyes from the wood of the tree: instead we carry the Lord’s cross. We no longer fear the serpent: instead we revere the Holy Spirit. We no longer descend into the earth: instead we reascend into heaven. We are no longer exiles from paradise: instead we live in Abraham’s bosom. We no longer hear\, “I have made your day like night”: instead\, inspired by the Holy Spirit\, we sing: This is the day which the Lord has made: let us keep it with gladness and rejoicing. \nWhy should we do so? Because the sun is no longer darkened: instead everything is bathed in light. Because the veil of the temple is no longer rent: instead the Church is recognized. Because we no longer hold palm branches: instead we carry the newly enlightened. \nThis is the day which the Lord has made: let us keep it with gladness and rejoicing. This is the day\, this and no other\, for there is only one queen\, and not a throng of princesses. This is the day in the truest sense: the day of triumph\, the day custom consecrates to the resurrection\, the day on which we adorn ourselves with grace\, the day on which we partake of the spiritual Lamb. This is the day on which milk is given to those born again\, and on which God’s plan for the poor is realized. Let us keep it with gladness and rejoicing\, not by running off to the taverns\, but by hastening to the martyrs’ shrines; not by esteeming drunkenness\, but by loving temperance; not by dancing in the marketplace\, but by singing psalms at home. This day is a day of resurrection\, not of revelry. No one can ascend to heaven dancing; no one in a state of drunkenness can attend upon a king. Let none of us\, therefore\, dishonor this day. \nThis is the day on which Adam was set free\, and Eve delivered from her affliction. It is the day on which cruel death shuddered\, the strength of hard stones was shattered and destroyed\, the bars of tombs were broken and set aside. It is the day on which the bodies of people long dead were restored to their former life\, and the laws of the underworld\, hitherto ever powerful and immutable\, were repealed. It is the day on which the heavens were opened at the rising of Christ the Lord\, and on which\, for the good of the human race\, the flourishing and fruitful tree of the resurrection set forth branches all over the world\, as if the world were a garden. It is the day on which the lilies of the newly enlightened sprang up\, the streams that sustained sinners ran dry\, the strength of the devil is drained away\, and demonic armies are scattered. \nThis\, then is the day which the Lord has made: let us keep it with gladness and rejoicing by the grace of Christ. By his resurrection he has illuminated the whole world\, which was in darkness and in the shadow of death. May glory and adoration be given to him together with the Father and the Holy Spirit for endless ages. \n1 Journey with the Father – Year B – New City Press – 1999 – pg 88-89.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-10th-sunday/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11998-1717977600-1718063999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:LET YOURSELF BECOME AN ALTAR STONE\nFrom a homily by Origen2 \nAll of us who believe in Christ Jesus are called ‘living stones’ in the words of scripture: ‘Like living stones be yourselves built into a spiritual house\, to be a holy priesthood\, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ’. \nYou know that in the case of earthly stones the builder takes care to lay first the strongest and most massive stones as the foundation\, so that the whole weight of the building can rest upon them. The next stones\, of not quite such good quality\, are laid upon the foundation stones; and so on according to the strength of the stone: the weakest are laid at the top\, near the roof. It must be understood that this applies equally to living stones\, some of which are foundations of our spiritual building. Who are these stones that are laid in the foundation? ‘The apostles and prophets’. This is Paul’s teaching: ‘Built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets\, Christ Jesus himself being the chief cornerstone. \nTo prepare yourselves more zealously…to construct this building\, to be one of the stones near the foundation\, you must realize that Christ himself is the foundation of the building which we are describing. Paul the Apostle declares this to be so: ‘No other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid\, which is Jesus Christ’. Happy are they who have built holy\, religious buildings on so noble a foundation. \nNow in this building which is the Church there must be an altar. Moreover I believe that there are among you those who as ‘living stones’ are able to become an altar–those of you who have resolved to dedicate yourselves to prayer\, to offer God supplications day and night\, and to immolate your sacrifices–and that\, it is with you that Jesus builds his altar. \nThink of the worth to be discerned in altar stones. ‘Joshua built an altar\, as it is written in the book of the law of Moses\, of unhewn stones\, upon which no one has lifted an iron tool’. What do you think these unhewn stones represent? It is for each one’s conscience to tell whether he or she is whole and perfect\, whether one has integrity\, whether one is without impurity or spot… To my mind\, those whole and spotless stones must be the holy apostles who together form but one stone because of their unity of heart and soul. Indeed it is said that they ‘all with one accord devoted themselves to prayer’\, and that they said: ‘Lord\, who knowest the hearts of all’. For those who can pray with one accord\, with one voice and one spirit\, are indeed worthy to have been built together into a single altar on which Jesus offers sacrifices to his father. But we for our part\, we too must ensure that we all agree and are united in the same mind and same judgment; that we ‘do nothing from selfishness or conceit’ but live ‘having the same love\, and of one mind’. So let us too try to become altar stones. \n2 Homilies IX\, 1-2: PG 12\, 871-872.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-196/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12000-1718064000-1718150399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Barnabas
DESCRIPTION:ST BARNABAS\nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints3 \nAlthough St Barnabas was not one of the twelve chosen by our Lord\, yet he is styled an apostle by the early fathers and by St Luke himself on account of the special commission he received from the Holy Spirit and the great part he took in apostolic work. He was a Jew of the tribe of Levi\, but was born in Cyprus. His name was originally Joseph\, but the apostles changed it to Barnabas – which St Luke interprets as meaning “man of encouragement”. \nThe first mention we find of him in the Holy Scriptures is in the fourth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles\, where it is stated that the first converts at Jerusalem lived in common and that as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and laid the proceeds at the feet of the apostles for distribution. St. Barnabas’s sale of his estate is singled out for mention on this occasion. When Paul came to Jerusalem three years after his conversion the faithful were suspicious of the genuineness of this conversion\, and avoided him. It was Barnabas who then “took him by the hand “and vouched for him among the other apostles. \nSome time later\, certain disciples having preached the Gospel with success at Antioch\, it was thought desirable that someone be sent by the Church in Jerusalem to guide and confirm the neophytes. The man selected was Barnabas – “a good man\, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith”\, as we read in the Acts. Upon his arrival he rejoiced exceedingly at the progress the gospel had made and by his preaching added greatly to the number of converts. Finding himself in need of an able assistant he went to Tarsus to enlist the cooperation of St. Paul\, who accompanied him back and spent a whole year at Antioch. Their labors were crowned with success\, and it was in that city and at this period that the name “Christians” was first given to the followers of the Lord. \nThe Holy Spirit said to the apostles “Separate me Paul and Barnabas for the work for which I have taken them.” Accordingly\, after all had prayed and fasted\, Paul and Barnabas received their commission by the laying on of hands and set forth on their first missionary journey. A miraculous cure wrought by St Paul upon a cripple at Lystra led the pagan inhabitants to conclude that the gods were come among them. They hailed Paul as Hermes or Mercury because he was the chief speaker\, and Barnabas as Zeus or Jupiter. But with the proverbial fickleness of the mob\, they soon rushed to the other extreme and stoned Paul. \nAt the Council of Jerusalem Paul and Barnabas gave a full account of their labors among the Gentiles and received approbation of their mission. Later a contention arose between Paul and Barnabas over John Mark and they separated\, Paul proceeding on his projected tour with Silas\, while Barnabas sailed to Cyprus with John Mark. Here the Acts leave him without further mention. He is said to have been stoned to death at Salamis. \n3 Butler’s Lives of the Saints – revised edition – Harper – San Francisco – 1984 – pg 176.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-barnabas/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12002-1718150400-1718236799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Alice
DESCRIPTION:ST ALICE\nDEAREST DAUGHTER OF THE LORD\nBy Arnold of Villiers4 \nAlice was a nun of La Cambre in Brussels. She left her home when she was seven years old. From the beginning she endeavored to embrace a genuine love for God\, such as would equip and train her to take a wise stand against any onslaught of the devil. Compared with this love\, every transitory thing cheapened for her. For the sake of this love she spurned all things visible\, except as required for bodily needs\, and she patiently endured any adversity. As Alice grew\, her virtues increased with her years and her skill in applying those virtues advanced even beyond her years. God in turn wanted her to become his vessel of election. He wished her to be thoroughly purged of all temporal din\, all defilement from this secular world. God longed that his Bride be free\, be at leisure for him alone. To this end He struck her a heavy blow\, struck her down with an incurable disease of leprosy. \nThe contagious nature of her disease demanded sequestration from the community. Due to this her heart was severely crushed and bruised. Yet she remembered God and was consoled. And the loving Lord gazed with eyes of mercy upon this handmaid’s humility and deigned to warm her heart with His Love\, to the extent that Alice preferred to linger in this situation of hers\, with God as her only visitor. She learned from many experiences that the surest thing for her to do in every trouble and anguish was to take refuge in God’s own haven. She ever applied this against all weariness and all emptiness. \nAlice lodged in one hut for the first four years\, but after that another hut was built in view of her unique infirmity. When this had been completed and she had moved in\, the Lord appeared to her\, right inside and on the very first day. With open arms He embraced her\, saying: “Welcome\, dearest daughter! Long have I desired to welcome you into this tabernacle of my covenant. For your whole remaining sojourn in this body\, I will abide with you and be\, as it were\, your cellarer\, ministering to you in every need.” \nOnce on the feast of St Ursula and her companions\, at the time of Matins\, Alice stepped across the threshold of her hut to face towards the church and hearken awhile to the voices of the nuns praising God. she became disturbed in mind that she could not keep company with the others at the psalmody in choir. But she turned to the Lord\, saying\, “This I ask of you\, holy Father\, I cannot now join the others in praising these holy Virgins as I would like\, since the special gift you have given me does not allow me to be in community for now. But this at least I ask: after this life’s misery if over\, do not allow me to be separated from their companionship!” And the Lord answered her: “Sweetest daughter\, it shall not be merely as you desire; in my Kingdom I shall set you in a place loftier yet!” \nWholly deprived of the use of her body and of any of its members\, she was committed to her bed. She breathed her last breath on the 11th day of June\, at sunrise\, in the year of the Lord 1250. \n4 Alice the Leper: Life of St Alice of Schaerbeck by Arnold II of Villers – Translated by Martinus Cawley\, ocso – Guadalupe Translations – 2000.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-alice/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12004-1718236800-1718323199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Anthony of Padua
DESCRIPTION:ST ANTHONY OF PADUA\nFrom the Little Flowers of St Francis of Assisi5 \nAt one time that wonderful vessel of the Holy Spirit\, St Anthony of Padua\, one of the chosen followers and companions of St Francis\, whom St Francis used to call his vicar\, was preaching before the Pope and Cardinals in a consistory where there were people from different countries–Greeks and Latins\, French and Germans\, Slavs and English–and others of many different languages and idioms. And being inflamed by the Holy Spirit and inspired with apostolic eloquence\, he preached and explained the word of God so effectively\, devoutly\, subtly\, clearly\, and understandably that all who were assembled at that consistory\, although they spoke different languages\, clearly and distinctly heard and understood every one of his words as if he had spoken in each of their languages. Therefore they were all astounded and filled with devotion\, for it seemed to them that the former miracle of the Apostles at the time of Pentecost had been renewed\, when by the power of the Holy Spirit they spoke in different languages. \nAnd in amazement they said to one another: “Is he not a Spaniard? How then are we all hearing him in the language of the country where we were born–we Greeks and Latins\, French and Germans\, Slavs and English\, Lombards and foreigners?” The Pope also was astonished at St Anthony’s profound knowledge of Holy Scripture and said: “He is truly the Ark of the Covenant and the Treasury of Holy Scripture!” \nSuch then are the soldiers whom our leader St Francis had–companions who could nourish with the marrow of the Holy Spirit and arm with heavenly weapons against the snares of the enemy not only the flock of Christ but also the Vicar of Christ with his venerable College of Cardinals. To the glory of Our Lord Jesus Christ\, who is blessed forever and ever. \n5 Trans.\, Raphael Brown “Omnibus of Sources”\, Chicago\, 1973\, pp. 1390-91.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-anthony-of-padua/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12006-1718323200-1718409599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Bl Gerard
DESCRIPTION:LAMENT FOR THE DEATH OF GERARD\nBy St Bernard of Clairvaux6 \nHow much better for me\, O Gerard\, if I had lost my life rather than your company\, since through your tireless inspiration\, your unfailing help and under your provident scrutiny I persevered with my studies of things divine. Why\, I ask\, have we loved\, why have we lost each other? O cruel circumstance! But pity pertains to my lot only\, not to his. \nAnd the reason\, dear brother\, is that though you have lost your loved ones\, you have found others more lovable still. As for me\, already so miserable\, what consolation remains to me\, and you\, my only comfort\, gone? Our bodily companionship was equally enjoyable to both\, because our dispositions were so alike; but only I am wounded by the parting. All that was pleasant we rejoiced to share; now sadness and mourning are mine alone: anger has swept over me\, rage is fastened on me. Both of us were so happy in each other’s company\, sharing the same experiences\, talking together about them; now my share of these delights has ceased and you have passed on\, you have traded them for an immense reward. \nWhat harvest of joys\, what a profusion of blessings is yours. In place of my insignificant person you have the abiding presence of Christ\, and mingling with the angelic choirs you feel our absence no loss. You have no cause to complain that we have been cut off from you\, favored as you are by the constant presence of the Lord of Majesty and of his heavenly friends. But what do I have in your stead? How I long to know what you now think about me\, once so uniquely yours\, as I sink beneath the weight of cares and afflictions\, deprived of the support you lent to my feebleness! Perhaps you still give thought to our miseries\, now that you have plunged into the abyss of light\, become engulfed in that sea of endless happiness. It is possible that though you once knew us according to the flesh\, you now no longer know us and because you have entered into the power of the Lord you will be mindful of his righteousness alone\, forgetful of ours. \nFurthermore\, “he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him\,” his whole being somehow changed into a movement of divine love. He no longer has the power to experience or relish anything but God\, and what God himself experiences and relishes\, because he is filled with God. But God is love\, and the deeper one’s union with God\, the more full one is of love. And though God cannot endure pain\, he is not without compassion for those who do; it is his nature to show mercy and pardon. Therefore you too must of necessity be merciful\, clasped as you are to him who is Mercy; and though you no longer feel the need of mercy\, though you no longer suffer\, you cans still be compassionate. Your love has not diminished but only changed; when you were clothed with God you did not divest yourself of concern for us\, for God is certainly concerned about us. All that smacks of weakness you have cast away\, but not what pertains to love. And since love never comes to an end\, you will not forget me for ever. \nIt seems to me that I can almost hear my brother saying: “Can a woman forget the son of her womb? And if she should forget\, yet I will not forget you.” This is how it must be. \n6 On The Song Of Songs II Sermon 26.III. Trans. Kilian Walsh. Cistercian Publications 1976. 62-64.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-bl-gerard/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12008-1718409600-1718495999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of the BVM
DESCRIPTION:IN PRAISE OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY\nFrom a sermon by Amadeus of Lausanne7 \nSince we have\, at the bidding of God\, embarked upon the praises of the Blessed Virgin\, it remains for us to complete her praise from the bottom of our heart and with dutiful voice. Let us gaze upon her glory and\, entering the depth of so great a light\, let us with swelling heart and unspeakable joy hasten through the vivid brightness of the paths\, saying with Solomon\, ‘Her paths are lovely and all her ways are peaceful’. What if\, as the same prophet says\, ‘the path of the just\, as a shining light\, goes forth and grows into the perfect day’? Who will be able to express the light and brightness of her paths? Yet we shall try to explain in part the progress and additions of her paths so that she may be perceived as glorious in her steps and be proclaimed in each of them. \nFor she possessed progress clearly marked and distinct growth\, so that she advanced according to the fairest order of Charity and\, going forward from virtue to virtue\, she saw the God of gods in Sion\, being changed from glory to glory as by the Spirit of the Lord. \nFirstly\, therefore\, she was deemed worthy to be adorned with the beauty of all the virtues. Secondly she was united to the Holy Spirit in a bond of wedlock. Thirdly\, she was found the Mother of the Savior. Fourthly\, a sword pierced her soul and by the flesh taken of her flesh the ruin of the lost world is restored. Fifthly\, she rejoices in her Son arising and ascending above the heaven of heavens to the right hand of the Father. Sixthly\, she is caught up from this world and as the Lord hastens to meet her she is placed above the denizens of heaven. Seventh\, she will be completed when the fulness of the Gentiles shall have entered and all Israel shall be saved. For beyond what it is right to be said or believed\, she rejoices in the general salvation of the elect\, knowing that it was for them that the Son of God took flesh from her. Therefore she will then be fulfilled\, God providing a better thing\, lest without us she should not be made perfect. \n7 Amadeus of Lausanne (CF 18: 69-70).
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-the-bvm-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12129-1718496000-1718582399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n11th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (B)\, Weekdays (II)\nJune 16 – 22\, 2024\n\n\n\nSun\n16\nMon\n17\nTue\n18\nWed\n19\nThu\n20\nFri\n21\nSat\n22\n\n\nOffice\n11th Sunday\nBl M-Joseph Cassant\nOffice for Vocations\nWeekday\nWeekday\nSt Aloysius Gonzaga\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nJudg 11:1-11\nJudg 11:12-28\nJudg 11:29-40\nJudg 13:1-25\nJudg 14:1-20\nJudg 15:1-20\nJudg 16:1-22\n\n\nLauds\nAmos 5:7\, 10-15\nAmos 5:16-20\nAmos 5:21-27\nAmos 6:1-7\nAmos 6:8-14\nAmos 7:1-6\nAmos 7:7-9\n\n\nMass\n92\n365\n366\n367\n368\n369\n370\n\n\n1st\nEzek 17:22-24\n1 Kgs 21:1-16\n1 Kgs 21:17-29\n2 Kgs 2:1\, 6-14\nSir 48:1-14\n2 Kgs 11:1-4\, 9-18\, 20\n2 Chr 24:17-25\n\n\n2nd\n2 Cor 5:6-10\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMark 4:26-34\nMatt 5:38-42\nMatt 5:43-48\nMatt 6:1-6\, 16-18\nMatt 6:7-15\nMatt 6:19-23\nMatt 6:24-34\n\n\nVespers\nPhil 4:10-14\nPhil 4:15-23\n1 Thess 1:1-10\n1 Thess 2:1-8\n1 Thess 2:9-12\n1 Thess 2:13-16\n1 Thess 2:17-3:5
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-73/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12131-1718496000-1718582399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 11th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN \nAND THE MUSTARD SEED \nFrom a commentary by St Peter Chrysologus1 \n◊◊◊ \nBrothers and sisters\, you have heard today how the kingdom of heaven\, \nfor all its vastness\, can be compared to a mustard seed… A mustard seed! Is that \nthe sum of believer’s hopes? Is that what the faithful are longing for – a mustard \nseed\, the blessed reward of virgins for their long years of self-restraint\, the \nglorious prize won by martyrs at the cost of their blood? Is this the mystery no \neye has seen\, no ear heard\, no human heart imagined; the mystery past telling \nthat the Apostle assures us God has prepared for all who love him? \nLet us not be too easily disappointed at our Lord’s words. If we remember \nthat God’s weakness is stronger than human strength\, and God’s foolishness \nwiser than human wisdom\, we shall find that this smallest seed of God’s \ncreation is greater than the whole wide world. It is up to us to sow this mustard \nseed in our minds and let it grow within us into a great tree of understanding \nreaching up to heaven and elevating all our faculties; then it will spread out \nbranches of knowledge… \nChrist is the kingdom of heaven. Sown like a mustard seed in the garden \nof the virgin’s womb\, he grew up into the tree of the cross whose branches \nstretch across the world. Crushed in the mortar of the passion\, its fruit has \nproduced seasoning enough for the flavoring and preservation of every living \ncreature with which it comes in contact. As long as a mustard seed remains \nintact\, its properties lie dormant; but when it is crushed they are exceedingly \nevident. So it was with Christ; he chose to have his body crushed\, because he \nwould not have his power concealed. \nWe too must crush this mustard seed in order to feel the force of this \nparable. Christ is king\, because he is the source of all authority. Christ is the \nkingdom\, because all glory of his kingdom is within him. Christ is a man\, \nbecause all humanity is restored in him. Christ is a mustard seed\, because the \ninfinitude of divine goodness is accommodated to the littleness of flesh and \nblood. \nDo we need further examples? Christ became all things in order to restore \nall of us in himself. The man Christ received the mustard seed which represents \nthe kingdom of God; as man he received it\, though as God he had always \npossessed it. He sowed it in his garden\, that is in his bride\, the Church. The \nChurch is a garden extending over the whole world\, tilled by the plough of the \ngospel\, fenced in by stakes of doctrine and discipline\, cleared of every harmful \nweed by the labor of the apostles\, fragrant and lovely with perennial flowers: \nvirgins’ lilies and martyrs’ roses set among the pleasant verdure of all who bear \nwitness to Christ and the tender plants of all who have faith in him. \nSuch then is the mustard seed which Christ sowed in his garden. When \nhe promised a kingdom to the patriarchs the seed took root in them; with the \nprophets it sprang up\, with the apostles it grew tall\, in the Church it became a \ngreat tree outing forth innumerable branches laden with gifts. And now you too \nmust take the wings of the psalmist’s dove\, gleaming gold in the rays of divine \nsunlight\, and fly to rest forever among these sturdy\, fruitful branches. No snares \nare set to trap you there; fly off\, then\, with confidence and dwell securely in its \nshelter. \n  \n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year B – New City Press – 1999 – pg90.3 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-11th-sunday/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12133-1718582400-1718668799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Bl. Marie Joseph Cassant
DESCRIPTION:BLESSED MARIE JOSEPH CASSANT2 \n◊◊◊ \nJoseph Cassant was born on March 6\, 1878 in the southern French town \nof Casseneuil\, the younger son of Pierre and Marie Cassant… Whereas Joseph’s \nelder brother\, Emile\, was clearly marked out to continue his father’s agricultural \nwork\, Joseph’s…single ambition was to be a priest. \nJoseph’s devotion to the Eucharist drew the attention of the pastor\, who \ntook him in and began to direct his studies toward seminary. However it soon \nbecame apparent that Joseph’s talent did not lay in academic studies. The \npastor then directed his interests toward the Trappist life\, thinking that \nacademics would not be of such importance there. The pastor took Joseph into \nthe rectory and established a Trappist way of life there for the two of them. \nPriest and teenager arose every night at two a.m. They celebrated the whole \nTrappist horarium including the whole Divine Office\, manual labor\, a rigorous \nsilence and kept to a vegetarian diet. \nJoseph entered the Trappist Abbey of Sainte Marie du Desert\, near \nToulouse at the age of sixteen. The novice was captivated by the Novice Master\, \nFr. Andre Malet. He was well equipped to help the novice overcome his natural \ntendencies to scrupulosity and discouragement. Instead of putting the emphasis \non Trappist asceticism and penance… he led Joseph to an emphasis on love… \nthus bringing him to a spirit of peace rather than turbulence. He fought to give \nhimself in complete confidence in Jesus\, rather than succumbing to paralyzing \nanxiety… With the help of his director\, Fr Andre\, he sought to live as much as \npossible within the Sacred Heart of Jesus\, seeking to make Christ’s inner \nattitudes his own. \nHis greatest challenge was the studies\, as his pastor had originally \nexpected. It was during his time of studies that Joseph first showed ill health. \nHe suffered from migraine headaches and other difficulties… As he prepared \nfor the priesthood\, he started to show the classic symptoms of tuberculosis. But \nhis firm conviction was that God’s will was that he not complain. He was \nordained a priest on October 12\, 1902. By this time\, everyone was aware that \nJoseph’s ordination was a participation in the death of Jesus… But suffering was \nan art that Cassant knew well because of his love of Jesus… In the early morning \nof June 17\, 1903\, as Fr. Andre was celebrating Mass for his friend’s intentions\, \nJoseph went to the Lord. \nWe might ask: what does Joseph Cassant have to offer us today? First of \nall\, he instructs us. A man of little intellectual capacity and a very ordinary \nexperience of prayer\, Cassant is nonetheless a theologian of the monastic life. \nHe saw\, and makes us see\, that the personal relation with Jesus is the heart of \nChristian monasticism. He understood that the central monastic practices – \nobedience\, silence and humility – are Christological realities\, expressions of \nChrist’s Sonship and means of our conformity to Christ… Trappist vocation is a \nlifelong process of healing. Joseph Cassant is a monk who was healed\, and Fr \nMalet by betting on and developing the essentially healthy aspect of Joseph was \nthe instrument of the cure. Finally\, Cassant challenges us. The tools that he \nbrought to the monastery were few but indispensable: a good and upright will\, \nwith a consistent practice of fidelity and generosity\, an interior and exterior \nobedience to the formation offered by his superiors. He staked his spiritual \ndestiny on the sanctifying power of the conversatio and was sanctified by it. \n  \n2 Cist. Studies Quarterly = vol. 39.1 2004 – pg 67.5 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-bl-marie-joseph-cassant/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12135-1718668800-1718755199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
DESCRIPTION:THE JOY OF THE ONE WHO LIVES FOR GOD ALONE \nFrom the letters of Saint Rafael Arnaiz3 \n◊◊◊ \nGod alone. How difficult it is to understand and live these words\, but once \nyou do\, even if just for a moment… there is nothing in the world that can trouble \nyour soul… A great peace fills the hearts of those who live for God alone\, and only \nthose who desire God alone find peace… \nHe gives what the world and its creatures cannot. Our misery\, forgetfulness\, \nand ingratitude are covered with His infinite Mercy. The consolation that people \nso often deny us when we are in pain can be found in His cross\, alone with Him on \nCalvary. The only Truth can be found in His Gospel\, the words of eternal life. And \nas if that weren’t enough\, everything else can be found in His Mother Mary… \nBlessed are those who mourn\, Jesus said on earth\, by the water’s edge\, and \na crowd made up of the sick\, the lame\, the poor\, and sinners followed Him. . . I \nbelieve that after turning toward Jesus\, their faces\, once tear stained from all their \nweeping\, were transformed with joyful laughter\, blessing their afflictions and \nmiseries\, which united them to Jesus. And Jesus looked at them with the \ntenderness that won over the world\, and let Himself be loved by the poor\, the \nafflicted\, the sick\, and sinners. And Jesus healed them\, and Jesus consoled them\, \nand Jesus forgave them… \nWhat a great joy it is to realize you are beloved of God! To be counted among \nHis friends\, to follow Him step by step in Jerusalem with your eyes fixed on His \ndivine countenance\, blessing our own misery for having inspired Jesus to attract \nour gaze\, so that He might reach our hearts\, heal us\, forgive us… and love us \nenough to die for us on a cross… That is true joy\, the joy of the one who lives for \nGod alone\, who trusts in God alone\, who hopes in God alone. And it is not a raucous \njoy; it is the serene joy of a soul who might still live on this earth\, but expects \nnothing from this world. It is the joy of one who lives for Christ and dreams of \nMary… \nIf the path proves difficult\, or arduous\, or long\, it won’t matter\, Jesus goes \nbefore us… We’ll press on\, day or night\, drunk with joy\, utterly mad with it\, not \nlistening to the world… “God alone…” our heart will bellow… And that is how we \nshall keep our silence as we walk around in this world… Oh\, we can indeed weep \nand suffer\, but not because of our own crosses and sorrows\, which are very small \nindeed\, but rather… over how ungrateful we are toward Jesus\, and how often we \nforget Mary… Mary. It wasn’t enough for God to give us His Son on a cross; He \ngave us Mary\, too. How is it possible\, brother\, that we aren’t better than this?… \nNeither the body\, our soul’s prison\, nor the world with all its creatures can \ndamage the soul that hopes in God\, no matter how harshly they chafe against it. \nWe can conquer and disregard the body\, and instead of fearing contact with \ncreatures\, love them\, even searching them out in order to teach them the science \nthat Christ taught us… love… \nLet nothing trouble you\, for He gives so much to the souls of His friends\, \nonly to have us shrug off the treasure that is Christ’s gentle yoke at every vain \ndisturbance that life provides… God alone. Let us not grow tired of repeating it. If \nwe were to take the intensity of the effort we put into earthly matters and put it \ninto love for God instead… things would be different… With silence\, prayer\, and a \nwhole lot of inner madness\, we can wait well for what is to come… and it will all \ncome. \n  \n3 Saint Rafael Arnaiz. The Collected Works. Trans. Catherine Addington. Collegeville\, MN: Cistercian Publications\,
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-vocations-13/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12137-1718755200-1718841599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE LIFE OF ST ROMUALD \nBy St Peter Damian4 \n◊◊◊ \nRomuald lived near the city of Parenzo for three years. In the first year he \nbuilt a monastery and appointed an abbot with monks. For the next two years \nhe remained there in seclusion. In that setting\, divine holiness transported him \nto such a summit of perfection that\, breathed upon by the Holy Spirit\, he \nforesaw many future events and comprehended with the rays of his intelligence \nhidden mysteries of the Old and New Testaments. \nFrequently he was seized by so great a contemplation of divinity that he \nwould be reduced to tears with the boiling\, indescribable heat of divine love. In \nthis condition he would cry out: Beloved Jesus\, beloved\, sweet honey\, \nindescribable longing\, delight of the saints\, sweetness of the angels\, and other \nthings of this kind. We are unable to express the ecstasy of these utterances\, \ndictated by the Holy Spirit. \nWherever the holy man might arrange to live\, he would follow the same \npattern. First he would build an oratory with an altar in a cell; then he would \nshut himself in and forbid access. \nFinally\, after he had lived in many places\, perceiving that his end was \nnear\, he returned to the monastery he had built in the valley of Castro. While he \nawaited with certainty his approaching death\, he ordered a cell to be \nconstructed there with an oratory in which he might isolate himself and \npreserve silence until death. \nAccordingly his hermitage was built\, since he had made up his mind that \nhe would die there. His body began to grow more and more oppressed by \nafflictions and was already failing\, not so much from weakness as from the \nexhaustion of great age. One day he began to feel the loss of his physical strength \nunder all the harassment of increasingly violent afflictions. As the sun was \nbeginning to set\, he instructed two monks who were standing by to go out and \nclose the door of the cell behind them; they were to come back to him at \ndaybreak to celebrate Matins. They were so concerned about his end that they \nwent out reluctantly and did not rest immediately. On the contrary\, since they \nwere worried that their master might die\, they lay hidden near the cell and \nwatched this precious treasure. For some time they continued to listen \nattentively until they heard neither movement nor sound. Rightly guessing what \nhad happened\, they pushed open the door\, rushed in quickly\, lit a candle and \nfound the holy man lying on his back\, his blessed soul snatched up into heaven. \nAs he lay there\, he seemed like a neglected heavenly pearl that was soon to be \ngiven a place of honor in the treasure of the King of kings. \n4 The Liturgy of the Hours – vol III – Catholic Book Publishing Co – New York – 1975 – pg 1472.9
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-197/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12139-1718841600-1718927999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE CHRISTIAN SAINT \nFrom “The Faith and Modern Man” by Fr Romano Guardini5 \n◊◊◊ \nWe associate the word saints with the idea of exceptional persons. In the \nNew Testament\, however\, it signifies Christians generally. Being a Christian at \nall was extraordinary. For the Christians stood out sharply from the \nenvironment; either one lived in the Old Testament world\, or in the Hellenistic- \npagan world\, and by both they were regarded as something strange if not \nhostile. The experience of conversion lifted them out of the environment. A \nsense of the reality of God not learned from natural religious experience or from \nthe teaching of the Old Testament had shaken and\, at the same time\, blessed \nthem. In the existence of Christ\, God’s countenance had been unveiled. The life \nof Christ had made them aware of how God is toward us. These experiences had \nchanged their whole lives. They had acquired new ideas of God\, new standards \nof judging the world. \nThe “renewal of mind” of which the Gospel speaks and which they had \nbegun to fulfill\, now consisted not only in a conversion to a good and pious life\, \nbut in a change of direction in their whole way of thinking. Thus for them “all \nthings had become new” — and with all these “new things” they found \nthemselves still in an old world\, a world which regarded them with distrust and \nhostility. All this is\, in itself\, extraordinary — indeed the very essence of the \nextraordinary\, and the “saint” was one who led this existence. \nBut the spread of Christianity and its increase in members tended to \nobscure its unique nature. Time went on\, the Gospel grew familiar\, and the \nsense of newness wore off. Christianity became the state religion and\, as such\, \nthe official order of society. Thus the fact that being a Christian at all was in \nitself extraordinary faded out of people’s consciousness\, and Christianity grew \nto be regarded as normal and usual. \nBy contrast\, a new form of the unusual arose. Now it belonged to the idea \nof a special calling\, a divine favor and testing\, with a wearisome\, dangerous way \nof life granted only to the few. Such tendencies had appeared in Christian \nantiquity as in the reverence for those who had given their lives for the Master \n—the martyrs — or for those who had retired into solitude to live a life of \nextraordinary austerity — the hermits and ascetics. But this concept of \nsaintliness developed particularly in the Middle Ages\, great human and \nreligious forces expressing themselves in extraordinary intensification of \nChristian daring and achievement. Then arose also the ideas of missionaries of \nthe Faith… masters of sacred science\, mystical writers. In modern times \nsomething else came in — the Renaissance feeling for the exceptional in human \nlife which affected the concept of the saint. With the ideas of Christian election \nand testing now blended that of the great man\, the pioneer\, the man of genius \nand the hero. \nBut the original concept of the saint was of a purely religious\, of a purely \nspiritual character. The concept of perfection\, to be sure\, includes religious \nperfection — all that is signified by redemption\, grace\, providence\, God’s inward \nworking. Nevertheless…if anyone had asked Paul what constituted the holiness \nof the saint\, he would probably have replied that it came into the world at \nPentecost. The Holy Ghost is holy\, and so also is the man whom the Spirit seizes. \nThe God Who reveals Himself in Christ is holy\, and so also is the man whom the \nSpirit brings into the kingdom of God. The saints\, then\, were those in whom the \nmystery of God held sway\, in whom His providence was working to bring about \nGod’s kingdom\, that is to say\, those who have believed and have been baptized. \n  \n5 The Faith and Modern Man\, New York 1952\, 128-133.11
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-198/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12141-1718928000-1719014399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Aloysius Gonzaga
DESCRIPTION:FROM A LETTER TO HIS MOTHER \nby St Aloysius Gonzaga6 \n◊◊◊ \nYour letter found me lingering still in this region of the dead\, but now I \nmust rouse myself to make my way to heaven at last and to praise God for ever \nin the land of the living; indeed I had hoped that before this time my journey \nthere would have been over. If charity\, as St. Paul says\, means to weep with \nthose who weep and rejoice with those who are glad\, then\, dearest mother\, you \nshall rejoice exceedingly that God in His grace and His love for you is showing \nme the path to true happiness\, and assuring me that I shall never lose Him. \nThe divine goodness…is a fathomless and shoreless ocean\, and I confess \nthat when I plunge my mind into thought of this it is carried away by the \nimmensity and feels quite lost and bewildered there. In return for my short and \nfeeble labors\, God is calling me to eternal rest; His voice from heaven invites me \nto the infinite bliss I have sought so languidly\, and promises me this reward for \nthe tears I have so seldom shed. \nTake care above all things…not to insult God’s boundless loving kindness; \nyou should certainly do this if you mourned as dead one living face to face with \nGod\, one whose prayers can bring you in your troubles more powerful aid than \nthey ever could on earth. And our parting will not be for long; we shall see each \nother again in heaven; we shall be united with our Savior; there we shall praise \nhim with heart and soul\, sing his mercies forever\, and enjoy eternal happiness. \nWhen He takes away what He has once lent us\, His purpose is to store our \ntreasure elsewhere more safely and bestow on us those very blessings that we \nourselves would most choose to have. \nI write all this with the one desire that you and all <the> family may \nconsider my departure a joy and favor and that you especially may speed with a \nmother’s blessing my passage across the waters till I reach the shore to which \nall blessings belong. I write the more willingly because I have no clearer way of \nexpressing the love and respect I owe you as your son. \n  \n6 The Liturgy of the Hours – vol. III – Catholic Book Publishing Co – New York – 1975 – pg 1475.13
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-aloysius-gonzaga-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12143-1719014400-1719100799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
DESCRIPTION:THE NATURE OF MARY’S MATERNITY \nFrom “The Divine Motherhood” by Anscar Vonier7 \n◊◊◊ \nLet us always bear in mind the great truth that the Blessed Virgin’s \nmaternity was a most natural maternity in the sense that she fully responded to \nit\, was not overwhelmed by it\, that there was no separation between her and her \noffspring; Christ came from her as her own dear child\, the fruit of her own \nblessed womb. I am right\, therefore\, in asserting that Mary’s maternal function \nin the conception of Christ was raised to an incredibly high plane of vitality so \nas to make her maternity not only an instrumental\, but a natural maternity. If \nMary’s mission had been merely to minister the human element to the Word \nwhen he became flesh\, her maternity would have been just instrumental; it \nwould have existed only to serve a higher purpose. But Mary’s role is more than \nthat; she is permanently the Mother of God; her maternity is not a transient \nministration\, but an abiding dignity that makes her share with God the Father\, \nin literal truth\, the parenthood of Jesus Christ. \nA threefold hypothesis may make this point clearer still. We can think of \na woman being made a mother by the direct productive act of God; in that case \nthe offspring of that mother would not be divine\, but human. Then there can be \nthe conception in a woman’s womb of a divine person\, as happened in the \nincarnation\, but the woman being merely instrumental to the production of the \nbody; in such a case it would be divine maternity in the most restricted \nphysiological sense. Thirdly\, there is the glorious possibility of perfect divine \nmaternity with all the graces and privileges\, with all the rights and splendors\, of \none who shares to the full\, with God the Father\, the parenthood of the God \nIncarnate. \nSuch is Mary’s maternity; such is the meaning of Elizabeth’s salutation\, \nor rather the salutation of the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Elizabeth\, when \nfull of the divine Spirit she cried with a loud voice: Blessed are you among \nwomen\, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And whence is this to me\, that \nthe Mother of my Lord should come to me? Elizabeth was the first creature to \ncall Mary “the Mother of God”; she gave us the grandest title of our Lady: \n“Mother of God.” The archangel\, indeed\, had said as much\, but only by \nimplication; Elizabeth\, the happiest of human mothers\, has the privilege of \nhaving spoken for the first time the words “Mother of God.” \nWhen\, moreover\, in the same breath she calls blessed the Mother and the \nfruit of her womb\, bestowing the same encomium on the two lives which were \nnot yet disjoined\, she gives us an additional reason for saying that Mary’s \nmaternity had been raised to the divine plane of dignity and perfection\, where \none and the same blessedness holds mother and offspring wrapped in a \nmatchless sanctity. \n  \n7 pp. 345-346; reprinted in Meditations on the Sunday Gospels: Year A; introduced and edited by John E. Rotelle\, Hyde \nPark\, NY: New City Press\, 1995\, pp. 28-29.15 \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-bvm-5/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12195-1719100800-1719187199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n12th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (B)\, Weekdays (II)\nJune 23 – 29\, 2024\n\n\n\nSun\n23\nMon\n24\nTue\n25\nWed\n26\nThu\n27\nFri\n28\nSat\n29\n\n\nOffice\n12th Sunday\nNativity of St John the Baptist\nWeekday\nOffice for the Dead\nWeekday\nSt Ireneaus\nSS Peter & Paul\n\n\nVigils\nJudg 16:23-31\nJerm 1:4-19\nJudg 17:1-13\nJudg 18:1-11\nJudg 18:13-31\nJudg 19:1-21\nGal 1:11-2:10\n\n\nLauds\nAmos 7:10-17\nMalachi 3:19-24\nAmos 8:1-8\nAmos 8:9-14\nAmos 9:1-6\nAmos 9:7-10\nIsa 49:1-6\n\n\nMass\n95\n587\n372\n373\n374\n375\n591\n\n\n1st\nJob 38:1\, 8-11\nIsa 49:1-6\n2 Kgs 19:9b-11\, 14-21\, 31-35a\, 36\n2 Kgs 22:8-13; 23:1-3\n2 Kgs 24:8-17\n2 Kgs 25:1-12\nActs 12:1-11\n\n\n2nd\n2 Cor 5:14-17\nActs 13:22-26\n\n\n\n\n2 Tim 4:6-8\, 17-18\n\n\nGospel\nMark 4:35-41\nLuke 1:57-66\, 80\nMatt 7:6\, 12-14\nMatt 7:15-20\nMatt 7:21-29\nMatt 8:1-4\nMatt 16:13-19\n\n\nVespers\n1 Jn 4:1-6\nActs 13:15-26\n1 Thess 3:6-13\n1 Thess 4:1-12\n1 Thess 4:13-18\n1 Peter 4:12-19\nActs 3:1-10
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-74/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12197-1719100800-1719187199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 12th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:OBEY THE GOD WHO MADE YOU \nFrom a commentary by St Augustine1 \n◊◊◊ \nThe Lord’s power is by no means dead\, nor is it asleep. Do you think the \nAlmighty was overcome by sleep in the boat against his will? If you do\, then \nChrist is asleep in your hearts. If he were indeed keeping watch within you\, then \nyour faith too would be vigilant. The Apostle\, remember\, speaks of Christ \ndwelling in your hearts through faith. \nThis sleep of Christ has a symbolic meaning. The boat’s crew are human \nsouls sailing across the sea of this world in a wooden vessel. That vessel\, of \ncourse\, also represents the Church; but as each one of us is a temple of God\, \neach one’s heart is a sailing boat\, nor can it be wrecked so long as we fill our \nminds only with what is good. \nWhen you have to listen to abuse\, that means that you are being buffeted \nby the wind; when your anger is roused\, you are being tossed by the waves. So \nwhen the winds blow and the waves mount high\, the boat is in danger\, your \nheart is imperiled\, your heart is taking a battering. On hearing yourself insulted\, \nyou long to retaliate; but the joy of revenge brings with it another kind of \nmisfortune – shipwreck. Why is this? Because Christ is asleep in you. What do \nI mean? I mean you have forgotten his presence. Rouse him\, then; remember \nhim\, let him keep watch within you\, pay heed to him. \nNow what is your desire? You wanted to get your own back. You have \nforgotten that when Christ was being crucified he said: Father\, forgive them\, \nfor they know not what they do. Christ\, the sleeper in your heart\, had no desire \nfor vengeance in his. Rouse him\, then\, call him to mind. (To remember him is \nto recall his words… his commands.) Then\, when he is awake within you\, you \nwill ask yourself\, “Whatever kind of wretch am I to be thirsting for revenge? \nWho am I to threaten another? Suppose I were to die before I were avenged! \nSuppose I were to take leave of my body breathing out threats\, inflamed with \nrage and thirsting for that vengeance which Christ himself never sought; would \nhe not refuse to receive me? He who said\, Give and it shall be given you; forgive \nand you will be forgiven\, would indeed decline to acknowledge me. So I will \ncurb my anger and restore peace to my heart. \nNow all is calm again. Christ has rebuked the sea. What I have said about \nanger must be your rule of conduct in every temptation. A temptation arises: it \nis the wind. It disturbs you: it is the surging of the sea. This is the moment to \nawaken Christ and let him remind you of these words: Who can this be? Even \nthe winds and the sea obey him. Who is this whom the sea obeys? It is he to \nwhom the sea belongs\, for he made it; all things were made through him. \nTry\, then\, to be more like the wind and the sea; obey the God who made \nyou. The sea obeys Christ’s command\, and are you going to turn a deaf ear to it? \nThe sea obeys him\, the wind is still; will you persist with your blustering? \nWords\, actions\, schemes\, what are all these but a constant huffing and puffing\, \na refusal to be still at Christ’s command? \nWhen your heart is in this troubled state\, do not let the waves overwhelm \nyou. If\, since we are only human\, the driving wind should stir up in us a tumult \nof emotions\, let us not despair but awaken Christ\, so that we may sail in quiet \nwaters\, and at last reach our heavenly homeland. \n  \n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year B – New City Press – 1993 – pg 92.3 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-12th-sunday/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12199-1719187200-1719273599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Nativity of St John the Baptist
DESCRIPTION:THE NATIVITY OF JOHN THE BAPTIST \nFrom a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux2 \n◊◊◊ \nLet us rejoice\, dearly beloved\, on the Nativity of blessed John [the \nBaptist]\, on the solemnity of whose birth is celebrated today\, and let us rejoice \nin that very nativity. Our reason for remembering [John] is certainly rich\, and \nthe source of [our] rejoicing sundry. Listen\, brothers\, to what is said about \nJohn: “He was a burning and shining lamp\,” [Scripture] says. A great testimony\, \nmy brothers: great is the one to whom it is given\, but greater is the one who \ngives [it]. “He was a burning and shining lamp.” Only to shine is nothing; only \nto burn is not enough. To burn and shine is complete… He burned for himself; \nhe was shining for us. Let us rejoice in his fervor for the purpose of imitation; \nlet us also rejoice in [his] light—yet not remaining there\, but that in his light we \nmay see light\, the true light\, which is not [John] himself\, but the One to whom \nhe bears witness. \nIt is especially said to the apostles and to apostolic men: “Let your light \nshine before people.” [This is said to them] as to people who have been kindled\, \nand mightily kindled\, who are not to fear any situation whatever\, or the winds’ \nforce. It was said even to John\, [while] they but hear it in the ear\, John\, like an \nangel\, is instructed in the Spirit. Assuredly\, he [was] as close to God as the voice \nis near the Word. No other voice\, which would sound outwardly as an \nintermediary\, was needed for him to be taught. \nInspiration\, not preaching\, taught John\, whom the Spirit filled in his \nmother’s womb. Truly burning and mightily kindled [was] he whom the \ncelestial flame so possessed that he perceived Christ’s coming when he could \nnot yet perceive even himself. That new fire\, recently fallen from heaven\, surely \npenetrated the Virgin’s ear through Gabriel’s mouth\, and through the Virgin’s \nmouth and his mother [Elizabeth’s] ear [that fire] entered into the little child\, \nso that from that moment the Holy Spirit filled his chosen vessel\, and prepared \na lamp for Christ the Lord. Then he was already a burning lamp\, but [he was] \nstill for a time under a bushel\, until he could be placed on a lampstand and shine \nfor all who were in the Lord’s house. At that time\, he was able to illuminate only \nhis own bushel\, and to shine for a while to his mother alone\, revealing the great \nmystery of holiness to her by the motion of [his] singular joy! \n“Why\,” [Elizabeth] says\, “does the mother of my Lord come to me?” Who \nmade the Lord’s mother known to you\, holy woman? [So Mary asks Elizabeth\,] \n“How do you know me?” “When the voice of your greeting\,” [Elizabeth] says\, \n“came to my ears\, the infant in my womb leaped for joy.” \nAlready then he illumined the bushel under which he lay hidden\, but the \nburning lamp under the bushel did not leave hidden the One whom it would \nsoon afterwards make known to the whole world with unheard of brightness. \n  \n2 From Sermons for the Summer Season: Liturgical Sermons from Rogationtide and Pentecost; translated\, with an \nIntroduction\, by Beverly Mayne Kienzle; additional translations by James Jarzembowski (CF 53); Kalamazoo\, MI: \nCistercian Publications\, 1991\, pp. 88-96.5 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-nativity-of-st-john-the-baptist-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12201-1719273600-1719359999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE EXAMPLE OF THE SAINTS \nFrom a sermon by St John Henry Newman3 \n◊◊◊ \nI have not yet mentioned the peculiar benefit to be derived from the \nobservance of Saints’ days: which obviously lies in their setting before the mind \npatterns of excellence for us to follow. In directing us to these\, the Church does \nbut fulfil the design of Scripture. Consider how great a part of the Bible is \nhistorical; and how much of the history is merely the lives of those who were \nGod’s instruments in their respective ages. Some of them are no patterns for us\, \nothers show marks of the corruption under which human nature universally \nlies. Yet the chief of them are specimens of special faith and sanctity\, and are \nset before us with the evident intention of exciting and guiding us in our \nreligious course… \nFirst of all\, and in his own incommunicable glory\, Our Blessed Lord \nHimself gives us an example\, but His faithful servants lead us on towards Him\, \nand confirm and diversify His pattern. Now it has been the aim of our Church \nin her Saints’ days to maintain the principle\, and set a pattern\, of this peculiarly \nScriptural teaching. \nChrist’s Church is indestructible; and lasting on through all the \nvicissitudes of this world\, she must rise again and flourish\, when the poor \ncreatures of a day who opposed her\, have crumbled into dust. In the meantime \nlet us not forget our duty; which is\, after the example of the Saints\, to take up \nour cross meekly\, and pray for our enemies. \nEvery year brings wonders. We know not any year\, what wonders shall \nhave happened before the circle of Festivals has run out again\, from St. \nAndrew’s to All Saints’. Our duty then is\, to wait for the Lord’s coming\, to \nprepare His way before Him\, to pray that when he comes\, we may be found \nwatching… Let us not forget\, that\, as we are called to be Saints\, so we are\, by \nthat very calling\, called to suffer; and\, if we suffer\, must not think it strange \nconcerning the fiery trial that is to try us\, nor be puffed up by our privilege of \nsuffering\, nor bring suffering needlessly upon us\, nor be eager to make out we \nhave suffered for Christ\, when we have but suffered for our faults\, or not at all. \nMay God give us grace to act upon these rules\, as well as to adopt and admire \nthem; and to say nothing for saying’s sake\, but to do much and say little! \n  \n3 Parochial & Plain Sermons\, Ignatius Press: San Francisco 1987. pp.476-478.7 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-199/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12203-1719360000-1719446399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:DEATH AND OUR LIVES AS CHRISTIANS \nBy Cardinal Jean Daniélou4 \n◊◊◊ \nTHE CHRISTIAN LIFE is altogether an act of waiting. Christians know \nthat they are made for greater things. They feel acutely the misery of their \npresent condition. They aspire to be relieved of the weight of animal life and its \nservitude. “I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ” (Phil 1:23). While the \ncarnal in us grasps desperately at pleasures and possessions\, the Christian lives \nalready in the order of being\, detached\, free\, making use of time\, so long as it is \ngiven\, to perform works of charity towards all – an activity invisible to the eyes \nof the world. The Christian life is a hidden life. But when the world is folded up \nlike a tent\, the reality that has been hidden until that moment will be clearly \nrevealed. It is to prepare oneself for this solemn act\, which is the entry of every \nperson into the heavenly Temple\, through the veil that still conceals it\, that \none’s whole life must be devoted. \nThat life consists for the Christian in being endowed little by little with \ndivine manners… We must not be without a country on our arrival in heaven. \nOur life is an apprenticeship. It is a matter of learning the rudiments of what we \nshall have one day to do. So let us already try in prayer to stammer what will \nlater be the ‘conversation in heaven’ with God and his angels; so we must try to \nmake less crude this intellect of ours\, which is so immersed in the world of time \nand space\, and to acclimatize it gradually to heavenly things through the action \nof the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Thus charity itself is the clumsy beginning of that \ncomplete communion which will embrace all the saints. So doing\, we begin to \ndo what we have always to do. It is our real life which is being mapped out. Let \nus begin it. \n4 The Presence of God\, Baltimore 1959\, pp.55-57.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-12/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12205-1719446400-1719532799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE UNITY OF SPIRIT AND MATTER \nBy Karl Rahner5 \n◊◊◊ \nThe history of the angels and the history of the world are at least \ninterlaced in many respects. The common goal of both is the eternal kingdom \nof God… In the Christian teaching the angels\, whether they are to be thought of \nas good or bad\, certainly exercise functions in this world… The angels can be \nunderstood quite correctly\, even according to scripture\, as cosmic powers of the \norder of nature and of its history. Christian theology has always seen the object \nof the personal decision of personal spiritual powers\, called angels\, to live in \nChrist and in his salvific function for the history of humankind and hence of the \nmaterial world. \nIf one looks at these data\, it will be quite legitimate to be of the opinion \nthat\, first of all\, the doctrine of the angels understood as ‘pure spirits’\, no matter \nhow materially correct\, unjustifiably lends too much support to a platonic and \nnon-Christian removal of the created spirit from this world. Furthermore\, it \nwill have to be said that the angels\, in spite of their differences from human \nbeings\, can be conceived in such a way that\, in their own way and of their own \nmost proper and original nature\, they are powers of the one and hence also \nmaterial world to whose material nature they are genuinely and essentially \nrelated. It may rightly be said\, at any rate\, that the Christian teaching about the \nangels does not basically bar the way to a decided and consequential conception \nof the unity of spirit and matter in their common history. \nSince ultimately we really know very little that is certain about the angels \nand demons\, we have the perfect right after what has been said to look at the \nunity of spirit and matter as we experience it directly in the history of \nhumankind and also as interpreted in a way compatible with revelation\, and to \nlook at this unity as paradigmatic in principle for the unity of spirit and matter \nin the created sphere as such. The highest grade of all productive becoming is \nthe human spirit and matter tends towards it as towards its final principle of \nnature and form\, for a human being is the goal of all generative becoming. \nMatter and spirit have a unity in their starting point\, in their history and in their \ngoal. Both of them remain eternally valid before God and form for ever\, now \nand in the state of perfection\, the mutually correlative\, non-separable \nconstitutive elements of the one created reality. \n  \n5 Theological Investigations VI\, On Angels. Karl Rahner\, Seabury Press\, 1974\, pp. 159-160.10 \n  \n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-200/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12207-1719532800-1719619199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Irenaeus
DESCRIPTION:WHERE THE CHURCH IS\, \nTHERE IS THE SPIRIT OF GOD \nFrom the writing of St Irenaeus6 \n◊◊◊ \nIt is within reach of all who want to see the truth to discern the tradition \nof the apostles which has been manifested in the whole world. All we have to do \nis to list those who are appointed bishops in the churches by the apostles and \ntheir successors up to our own time who neither taught nor recognized anything \nlike that which the heretics rave about. For even if the apostles would have \nknown “secret mysteries” which they used to teach the “perfect” separately and \nsecretly apart from the others\, they would especially have passed these things \ndown to those to whom they also were entrusting the churches themselves. For \nthey wanted those whom they left as successors to be quite perfect and beyond \nreproach in all things\, handing over to them their own place as teachers. To \nthose who do what is right this would have great usefulness\, but to those who \nfall away it would be great disaster… \nThe preaching of the church is consistent everywhere and persists equally \nand has behind it the testimony of the prophets and the apostles and all the \ndisciples through the beginning\, middle\, and end and through the whole saving \nplan of God and that solid system which is in our faith which lends itself to \nhuman salvation. We keep what we have received from the church and what is \nalways from the Spirit of God like some precious deposit growing in a good vase \nwhich also makes the vase it is in to grow. For this gift of God has been entrusted \nto the church\, like the breath of creation\, so that all the members receiving it \nmay be made alive. And in it has been deposited the means of communicating \nwith Christ\, that is\, the Holy Spirit\, the…confirmation of our faith and ladder of \nascent to God. “For in the Church\,” [Scripture] says\, “God has appointed \napostles\, prophets\, teachers”\, and all the other working of the Spirit. All who do \nnot gather with the church but defraud themselves of life through evil thought \nand worse deed do not participate in the Spirit. For where the church is\, there \nis the Spirit of God; and where the Spirit of God is\, there is the church and every \ngift; and the Spirit is truth. Accordingly\, those who do not participate in the \nSpirit are not nourished unto life by the mother’s breasts nor do they receive \nthat brilliant fountain which flows from the Body of Christ. Rather\, they dig for \nthemselves broken cisterns in dirty ditches and they drink putrid water from \nthe dirt\, fleeing the faith of the church\, lest they be convicted\, rejecting the Spirit \nthat they may not be instructed. \n  \n6 UNDERSTANDING OF THE CHURCH\, Edited by Glenn Hinson (Fortress Press\, Phila. PA\, \n1986) pp. 40-42.12 \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-irenaeus/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:12209-1719619200-1719705599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Peter & Paul
DESCRIPTION:THE CHURCH BUILD UPON \nTHE APOSTLES PETER AND PAUL \nFrom a sermon by St Maximus the Confessor7 \n◊◊◊ \nSince all the most blessed apostles obtain a like reward of sanctity with \nthe Lord\, I do not know by what consideration Peter and Paul\, nevertheless\, \nappear to excel in a certain virtue of faith; which fact\, in truth\, we can prove \nfrom the judgment of the Lord Himself. For to Peter\, as to a good steward\, He \ngave the key to the heavenly Kingdom; on Paul\, as an apt teacher\, He enjoins \nthe teaching office of the Church\, so that those whom the latter instructs unto \nsalvation\, the former receives into their reward\, and to the souls of those whose \nhearts Paul enlightens by the word of teaching\, Peter opens the realm of heaven. \nIn a way Paul\, too\, received the key of knowledge from Christ. For that must be \ncalled a key by which the hard hearts of sinners are unbolted to belief\, the \nsecrets of minds are revealed\, and whatever is kept enclosed within is brought \nforth plainly by a reasonable manifestation. That is a key\, I say\, which\, on the \none hand\, opens the conscience to the confession of its sin\, and\, on the other\, \nmakes fast unto eternity the grace of the saving mystery. \nConsequently\, both men received keys from their Lord: the latter (Paul) \nthe key of knowledge\, the former (Peter) the key of power; the former bestows \nthe riches of an immortal life; the latter grants the treasures of knowledge. For \nthere are treasures of knowledge\, as it is written: “In whom are hidden all the \ntreasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Hence\, the blessed Peter and Paul stand \nout above all the apostles and supersede them by a certain\, peculiar prerogative. \nBut between these two it is uncertain who is to be placed first. I think they are \nequal in merits\, for they were equal in their suffering… \nAccordingly\, I believe\, the day was decreed for their merit; the place\, for \ntheir glory; the persecutor\, for their virtue. Yet where did they finally suffer \nmartyrdom? In the city of Rome which stands as the prince and head of nations\, \nso that there\, where the source of superstition was\, the source of sanctity should \nrepose; and where the rulers of the nations were dwelling\, there the princes of \nthe Church should stay. Of what merit the Blessed Peter and Paul might be\, we \ncan comprehend from this\, that while our Lord glorified the region of the Orient \nby His own Passion\, He deigned to make bright the land of the Occident (lest it \nshould be of lesser account) in its turn by the blood of the Apostles\, and\, while \nHis own Passion served us for salvation\, He held forth their martyrdom as an \nexample. \n  \n7 LITURGICAL READINGS\, Compiled at St Meinrad’s Abbey (St Meinrad\, IN 1943) pp. 400- \n401.14 \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-peter-paul-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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