Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey

Vigils Reading: Weekday
2022-11-26
A Reading from a Sermon on the Song of Songs by St Bernard[1]
This is the title: “The Beginning of the Song of Songs of Solomon.” Observe first the name of the Peacemaker, “Solomon”; that is appropriate at the beginning of a book which opens with the sign of peace, the kiss. And note, too, that only minds at peace are invited by this kind of opening to understand the Scriptures, minds which master the disturbances caused by the vices and the tumults of care within themselves.
Again, the title says not simply “Song,” but “Song of Songs.” Do not think that that is unimportant. I have read many songs in Scripture, and I do not remember any with that title. Israel sang a song to the Lord because he had escaped the sword and yoke of Pharaoh, and the twofold miracle of the Red Sea both freed and avenged him. The song he sang is not called “The Song of Songs,” but, if I remember correctly, Scripture says, “Israel sang this song to the Lord”.
Deborah sang and Judith sang, and the mother of Samuel sang, and some of the prophets sang too. And none of them is said to have called his song the “Song of Songs.” You will find, if I am not mistaken, that each sang in gratitude for himself or on behalf of his own people, for a victory, for example, for escape from danger, or for something longed-for which had been given. And so then many have sung, each for his own reason, so that they should not be found ungrateful for God’s goodness to them, as in “He gives thanks to you, O God, for blessing him” (Ps 48:19).
But King Solomon, singular in wisdom, sublime in glory, rich in possessions, secure in peace, is not known to have been in need of any benefit for whose granting he would have sung this song. Nor does Scripture itself anywhere say that he did. And so, divinely inspired, he sang the praises of Christ and the Church, of the gift of holy love and the mystery of eternal union with God. And at the same time he expressed the longing of the holy soul, its wedding song; and exulting in the Spirit, he composed a joyful song.
Yet it is in figurative language. It is not surprising that he veiled his face like Moses. It must have shone no less than Moses’ face did when he met God face to face, for in those days there was no one, or almost no one, who could bear the glory of the face of God unveiled. Therefore I think this wedding song is given its title because it is excellent, and that is why it alone is deservedly called “The Song of Songs,” just as he in whose honor it is sung is alone called “King of Kings and Lord of Lords” (1 Tm 6:15).
[1]Bernard of Clairvaux, Trans. G R Evans in Classics of Western Spirituality, (Paulist Press NY, 1987) pp. 212-213.

Skema
2022-11-27
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
1st Week of Advent

Mass Readings: Sunday (A), Weekdays (I)
November 27 – December 3, 2022

Sun
27
Mon
28
Tue
29
Wed
30
Thu
1
Fri
2
Sat
3

Office
1st Sunday of Advent
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday
St. Andrew
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday
St Francis Xavier

Vigils
Isa 1:1-18
Isa 1:21-2:5
Isa 2:6-22
1 Cor 1:18-2:5
Isa 10:5-21
Isa 19:11-25
Isa 21:1-12

Lauds
Micah 7:14-20
Isa 6:1-7
Isa 6:8-13
Deut 30:8-14
Isa 7:10-16
Isa 5:1-7
Isa 5:15-25

Mass
1
175
176
684
178
179
180

1st
Isa 2:1-5
Isa 4:2-6
Isa 11:1-10
Rom 10:9-18
Isa 26:1-6
Isa 29:17-24
Isa 30:19-21, 23-26

2nd
Rom 13:11-14

Gospel
Matt 24:37-44
Matt 8:5-11
Luke 10:21-24
Matt 4:18-22
Matt 7:21, 24-27
Matt 9:27-31
Matt 9:35-10:1, 5a, 6-8

Vespers
Rev 22:12-21
Rom 1:1-12
Rom 1:13-17
1 Thess 2:8-13
Rom 2:12-16
Rom 2:17-24
Rom 3:21-26

Vigils Reading - 1st Sun Advent
2022-11-27
A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew
by Paschasius Radbertus[1]

Watch, for you do not know the day or the hour. Like many other scriptural texts, the admonition is addressed to all of us, though it is formulated in such a way that it would seem to concern only Christ’s immediate audience. We can all apply it to ourselves because the Last Day and the end of the world will come for each of us on the day we depart this present life. This means we must make sure we die in the state in which we wish to appear on the Day of Judgment. Bearing this in mind each of us should guard against being led astray and failing to keep watch, otherwise the day of the Lord’s return may take us unawares. If the last day of our life finds us unprepared, then we shall be unprepared on that day also.

I do not for a moment believe the apostles expected the Lord to return in judgment during their own lifetime. All the same there can be no doubt that they took every care not to be drawn from the right path. They kept watch, observing the universal precepts their master had given to his disciples so as to be ready when he came again.

Consequently we must always be on the lookout for Christ’s twofold coming, the one when we shall have to give an account of everything we have done, and the other when he comes day after day to stir our consciences. He comes to us now in order that his future coming may find us prepared. If my conscience is burdened with sin what good will it do me to know when the Day of Judgment will be? Unless the Lord comes to my soul beforehand and makes his home with me, unless Christ lives in me and speaks his word in my heart, it is useless for me to know if and when his coming will take place. Only if Christ is already living in me and I in him will it go well with me when he comes in judgment. If I have already died to the world and am able to say, The world is crucified to me, and I to the world, then, in a sense, his final coming is already present to me.

Consider also our Lord’s warning: Many will come in my name. It is only the Antichrist and his members who, albeit falsely, claim the name of Christ, though they lack his works and his true doctrine and wisdom. You will never find the Lord in Scripture actually declaring, “I am the Christ.” His teaching and miracles revealed it clearly enough, for the Father was at work in him. Louder than a thousand acclamations his teaching and mighty works proclaimed: “I am the Christ.” And so whether or not you find him describing himself in so many words, the works of the Father and his own message of love declared what he was, whereas the false christs who possessed neither godly deeds nor holy doctrine loudly claimed to be what they were not.

[1] Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – New York – 1992 – pg 16

Vigils Reading
2022-11-28
The Six Aspects of Advent
A sermon by St. Bernard of Clairvaux[1]

Today, brothers, we celebrate the beginning of Advent. Its name, at least – like those of the other solemn seasons – is familiar enough and known to all the world, yet the reason behind the name is perhaps not so. Weigh well the reasoning behind this Advent – this coming.

The Son’s coming was not accomplished apart from the loftiest counsels of the Trinity, and if we consider the cause of our exile, we can perhaps note – even if only in part – how appropriate it was that the Son should set us free. That Daystar [Lucifer] who rose at dawn, was cast down and fell headlong because he tried to usurp the likeness of the Most High and thought equality with God – which belongs to the Son – something to be grasped.

You see how [Lucifer] is truly what the Lord said, a liar, and the father of lies. He was a liar when he said, I will be like the Most High, and he was the father of lies when he poured out the poison of his deceit upon human beings, telling them, You shall be like gods. You too, you human being, if you see thieves, you go along with them.

In fact, our leaders, Adam and Eve, the leading figures of our race, were disobedient and the companions of thieves; at the instigation of the serpent – or rather of the devil in the guise of a serpent – , they tried to steal what belongs to the Son of God. The Father did not ignore the insult to the Son – for the Father loves the Son – but immediately took vengeance on humanity and made his hand heavy upon us.
What should the Son do when he sees the Father zealous on his behalf and unsparing of any creature? ‘See’, he says, ‘because of me the Father is losing his creatures…on my account he has lost many of the angels and all of the human beings. Therefore, so that they may know that I love the Father, let those whom he seems somehow to have lost on my account be restored to him through me. If this storm has arisen on my account, says Jonah, pick me up and throw me into the sea!’

‘They all envied me. I am coming, and I am showing myself to be such that anyone who chooses to be envious, who aches to imitate me, may do so, and this emulation may become a good thing.’

So then, Lord, I entreat, be pleased to rescue me, for I am weak…Let Truth come so that falsehood can be exposed and that I will recognize the truth and the truth will set me free, if only I altogether renounce falsehood once exposed and cling fast to the truth once recognized.
[1] Bernard of Clairvaux. Sermons for Advent and the Christmas Season. Ed. John Leinenweber. Trans. Irene Edmonds, Wendy Mary Beckett, and Conrad Grenia, OCSO. CF 51. Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications, 2007. 3-7.

Jim Finley
2022-11-28 12:00 - 13:00, 2022-12-05 12:00 - 13:00, 2022-12-12 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
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Vigils Reading
2022-11-29
Commentary on Isaiah
by Eusebius of Caesarea[1]

The kindest promise was made to the Jewish nation, and it is true that it was revealed that they would possess their own land, but now the calling in fact has been engaging the Gentiles. Therefore, in no way does he introduce the new law as parallel to the law of Moses or as another word parallel to the old, but rather as a new mountain, unseen in times past but now manifest.

The mountain of God may be understood in various ways. Like the Jewish people who read the Scriptures literally, one could assume that it is the land of Palestine. But according to the deeper meaning, according to the final word, the high and heavenly and angelic word of God and the divine apostle of the “heavenly” Zion teaches that it is “the Jerusalem above, which is the mother of us all.” This mountain was not manifest to the men of old, but the divine Spirit prophesies that it will be manifest to all nations in the last days, when Christ would “appear to put away sin.” Therefore all nations – “both Greeks and barbarians,” which indeed turn from the error of polytheism and from the literal mountains which were in ancient times thought to be dedicated to demons or to the gods – will strive after the God who is proclaimed in revelation. For this reason, as though speaking one to another, he says: Come, let us go us to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, and he will declare to us his way, and we will walk in it. And so the Word promises to the nations that he will make the mountain and the house of God manifest in the heavens and known to all who are instructed.

The Christ could very well be this evangelical law, who relocated from the “heavenly” Zion above and set up shop in the Zion on the earth, where the death of the Savior at the hands of men and his resurrection from the dead took place. For once the mysteries and precepts of the new covenant came to power, they advanced throughout the entire world. This same law and the new preaching of the evangelical word to all nations educated those who welcomed it in what concerns the mountain and the house of God, and it taught the nations, saying: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob.

He also judged between the nations, for he convicted many a people, here exposing the former error among those who have believed in him, there convicting those who have not believed in him, who perish along with their case. Those who have received him, who were set free from every inclination for war, spend the rest of their quiet lives recovering in peace, no longer inciting hostility from opposing power nor living as subject to the demons who had mastery over them long ago. The Savior himself bestowed this “peace” to his disciples when he said: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” This means literally that, in the end, after his theophany and after the preaching of the evangelical lawto the nations, the nations were deemed worthy to partake of the deepest peace.
[1] Eusebius of Caesarea. Ancient Christian Texts: Commentary on Isaiah. Ed. Joel C. Elowsky. Trans. Jonathan J. Armstrong. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013. 11-12.

Vigils Reading - St Andrew
2022-11-30
ST ANDREW’S UNIQUE ROLE AMONG THE APOSTLES
from a Sermon by St. John Henry Newman[1]
St. John the Evangelist, [introduces St Andrew in his gospel] under circumstances which show that, little as is known of this Apostle now, he was, in fact, very high in the favour and confidence of his Lord. In his twelfth chapter he describes Andrew as bringing to Christ certain Greeks who came up to Jerusalem to worship and who were desirous of seeing Him. And, what is remarkable, these strangers had first applied to St. Philip, who, though an Apostle himself, instead of taking upon him to introduce them had recourse to his fellowtownsman St. Andrew, as if, whether from age or intimacy with Christ, a more suitable channel for furthering their petition. “Philip comes, and tells Andrew; and again, Andrew and Philip tell Jesus.”

These two Apostles are also mentioned together in the sixth chapter of the same Gospel, at the consultation which preceded the miracle of the loaves and fishes; and there again Andrew is engaged, as before in the office of introducing strangers to Christ. “There is a lad here,” he says to his Lord, a lad who perhaps, had not courage to come forward of himself, “who has five barley loaves and two small fishes.”

The information afforded by these passages, of St. Andrew’s especial acceptableness to Christ among the apostles, is confirmed by the only place in the other Gospels, beside the catalogue, in which his name occurs. After our Lord had predicted the ruin of the Temple, “Peter, James, John, and Andrewasked Him privately: ‘Tell us when shall these things be?'” and it was to these four that our Saviour revealed the signs of his coming, and of the end of the world (Mk 13:3). Here St. Andrew is represented as in the especial confidence of Christ; and associated too with those Apostles whom he is known to have selected from the Twelve, on various occasions, by tokens of his peculiar Favour.

Little is known of St. Andrew in addition to these inspired notices of him. He is said to have preached the Gospel in Scythia; and he was at length martyred in Achaia. His death was by crucifixion; that kind of cross being used, according to the tradition, which still goes by his name.

Yet, little as Scripture tells us concerning him, it affords us enough for a lesson, and that an important one. These are the facts before us. St. Andrew was the first convert among the Apostles; he was especially in our Lord’s confidence; thrice is he described as introducing others to him; lastly, he is little known in history, while the place of dignity and the name of highest renown have been allotted to his brother Simon, whom he was the means of bringing to the knowledge of his Saviour.

Our lesson then is this; that those persons are not necessarily the most useful in their generation, nor the most favored by God, who make the most noise in the world, and who seem to be principals in the great changes and events recorded in history; on the contrary, that even when we are able to point to a certain number of persons as the real instruments of any great blessings vouchsafed to humankind, our relative estimate of them, one with another, is often very erroneous: so that, on the whole, if we would trace truly the hand of God in human affairs, and pursue his bounty as displayed in the world to its original sources, we must unlearn our admiration of the powerful and distinguished, our reliance on the opinion of society, our respect for the decisions of the learned or the multitude, and turn our eyes to private life, watching in all we read or witness for the true sign of God’s presence, the graces of personal holiness manifested in his elect; which, weak as they may seem to humankind, are mighty through God, and have an influence upon the course of his Providence, and bring about great events in the world at large, when the wisdom and strength of the natural man are of no avail.

[1]PAROCHIAL & PLAIN SERMONS II, London 1898, 3-4&5.

Vigils Reading
2022-12-01
Sermon for the Coming of the Lord
by Aelred of Rievaulx[1]

It is time, dear brothers, for us to sing to the Lord of mercy and judgment. For it is the coming of the Lord, of the Almighty, who came and is to come. But how or to what place will he come or did he come? It is clearly his voice that says, I fill heaven and earth. But how could he have come to heaven or earth if he fills heaven and earth? Listen to the gospel: He was in the world, and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him. He was, therefore, both present and absent. He was present because he was in the world; he was absent, because the world did not know him.

He is not far, says Paul, from any one of us. In him we live, move, and are. And yet salvation is far from sinners. He was near in terms of his essence, but far in terms of his grace. How could he not be far, since he was neither recognized, believed, feared, nor loved? He was far from sinners: he did not call back the wandering, raise up the downtrodden, ransom the captives, or raise up the dead. He was far, I say, when he neither bestowed a heavenly reward upon the righteous nor openly imposed eternal damnation on the wicked.

The unrecognized one came so as to be recognized; the unbelieved, to be believed; he who was not feared, to be feared; the unloved, to be loved. Thus, he who was essentially present came mercifully, so that we might recognize his humanity, believe in his divinity, fear his power, and love his kindness. His humanity appeared in the taking up of our weakness, his divinity in performing miracles, his power in overthrowing the demons, his kindness in welcoming sinners.
Consider, if you will, what God is, and why he laid aside such majesty, why he emptied himself of such power, why he weakened such strength, why he brought low such loftiness, why he made a fool of such wisdom. Is this human righteousness? Far from it. Everyone turned aside, all were made useless; there was no one who did good. What then? Did he lack anything? Not at all. His is the earth and its fullness. Or did he by chance need us for something? By no means. He is my God, and he does not need my goods. What then? Truly, Lord, it is not my righteousness, but your mercy; not your lack, but my need. For you said, “Mercy will be built in the heavens.” This is clearly so, for wretchedness abounds on earth. Therefore, of your first coming, I will sing to you of mercy, Lord.

For it was from mercy that, having become human, he took our weaknesses on himself. From mercy he instilled faith in his divinity by miracles. It was just as much from mercy that he revealed the demons’ shrewdness to us and emptied their power. From mercy, he did not reject the prostitute’s touch, but approved her devotion. Thus he showed himself humble in his humanity, powerful in his miracles, strong in overcoming the demons, and gentle in taking on our sins. And all of this came forth from the fountain of mercy, all flowed forth from the depths of goodness. And therefore, in this your first coming, I will sing to you of mercy, Lord. Rightly, because the earth is full of your mercy.
[1] Aelred of Rievaulx. Homilies on the Prophetic Burdens of Isaiah. Trans. Lawrence White. CF 83. Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2018. 5-7.

Vigils Reading
2022-12-02
Knowing How to Wait
A meditation by Saint Rafael Arnaiz[1]

In La Trapa, we Trappists have a consolation that is little known in the world … Here in the house of God, away from all that hustle and bustle, we can clearly see how short everything is as time passes … The world knows it too, but it’s different.

When the world talks about how quickly life passes, it does so with a hint of sadness. It laments how short-lived everything is … People often live in the past, and what good does it do them? … They don’t change their ways. They just use whatever time they have left to keep searching for the things they didn’t find in the life they’ve already lived. Then their final years come, and then they become even more aware of their nostalgia for the past and how short-lived everything is … Old age is so sad, according to the world.

In La Trapa, monks don’t care about the past … They just have the great consolation of knowing that whatever remains of this life will pass, too. What more is there to do, then, but wait? And they wait with such joy and peace, certain of what is to come.

What peace it brings to the soul to think that neither human beings nor world events can hinder the coming of what awaits us … With each passing day, we are a step closer to the beginning of our true lives. What the world sees as the end is what the monk sees as the beginning. Everything comes, everything goes … only God remains.
[1] Saint Rafael Arnaiz. The Collected Works. Ed. Sr. Maria Gonzalo-Garcia, OCSO. Trans. Catherine Addington. MW 61. Collegeville, MN: Cistercian Publications, 2022. 415.

Vigils Reading - St Francis Xavier
2022-12-03
St. Francis Xavier
from Butler’s Lives of the Saints[1]

Francis Xavier was born in Spanish Navarre at the castle of Xavier, near Pamplona, in 1506, the youngest of a large family. He entered the college of St, Barbara and in 1528 gained the degree of licentiate. It was here that he met Ignatius Loyola, and later joined with him in the first band of seven who vowed themselves to the service of God at Montmartre in 1534. With them he received the priesthood at Venice three years later and in 1540 Ignatius appointed him to join Fr. Simon Rodriguez on the first missionary expedition the Society sent out to the East Indies.

They arrived at Goa, India on May 6, 1542, after a voyage of thirteen months. Francis opened the mission with the Christians of Goa, instructing them in the principles of religion and forming the young to the practice of virtue. He walked through the streets ringing a bell to summon the children and slaves to catechism. He offered Mass with lepers each Sunday. For the instruction of the very ignorant or simple he versified the truths of religion to fit popular tunes, and this was so successful that the practice spread till these songs were being sung everywhere, in the streets and fields and workshops.

In the spring of 1545 Francis set out for Malacca, on the Malay peninsula, where he spent four months. The next fifteen months were spent in endless traveling between Goa, Ceylon and Cape Comorin, consolidating his work and preparing for an attempt on that Japan into which no European had yet penetrated. In April 1549 Francis set out, accompanied by a Jesuit priest and lay-brother and three Japanese converts. On the feast of the Assumption they landed in Japan, at Kagoshima on Kyushu.

Francis set himself to learn Japanese. A translation was made of a simple account of Christian teaching, and recited to all who would listen. The fruit of twelve months labor was a hundred converts, but then the authorities began to get suspicious and forbade further preaching. So, leaving one of the Japanese converts in charge of the neophytes, Francis pressed further with his companions and went by sea to Hirado, north of Nagasaki. Before leaving Kagoshima he visited the fortress of Ichiku, where the baron’s wife, her steward and others accepted Christianity. Xavier left the rest in the care of the steward, and twelve years later the Jesuit lay-brother, Luis de Almeida, found these isolated converts still retaining their first fervor and faithfulness.

At Hirado the missionaries were well received by the ruler and they had more success in a few weeks than they had had at Kagoshima in a year. Xavier’s objective was Miyako (Kyoto), then the chief city of Japan. In due time he was able to be received by the authorities, who gave him permission to preach and provided an empty Buddhist monastery for a residence. He preached with such fruit that he baptized many in that city.

Francis decided to revisit his charge in India, from whence he hoped to extend his mission to China. After dealing with matters in India, Xavier set sail for China. In august 1552 the convoy reached the desolate island of Shang-chwan, half-a-dozen miles off the coast and a hundred miles south-west of Hong Kong. Here Xavier fell sick with a fever and died on December 3. He was buried on the island, but his body which was found to be incorrupt, was later moved to Goa. He was canonized in 1622 at the same time as Ignatius of Loyola.
[1] Butler’s Lives of the Saints – revised edition – Harper – San Francisco – 1991 – p 398f

Skema
2022-12-04
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
2nd Week of Advent

Mass Readings: Sunday (A), Weekdays (I)
December 4 – 10, 2022

Sun
4
Mon
5
Tue
6
Wed
7
Thu
8
Fri
9
Sat
10

Office
2nd Sunday of Advent
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday
St Ambrose
Immaculate Conception
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday

Vigils
Isa 22:8b-23
Isa 24:1-18
Isa 24:19-25:5
Isa 25:6-26:6
Rom 5:12-21
Isa 27:1-13
Isa 29:1-8

Lauds
Isa 4:2-6
Isa 10:20-27a
Isa 9:1-6
Isa 11:1-9
Isa 43:1-7
Zeph 3:14-20
Isa 11:10-16

Mass
4
181
182
183
689
185
186

1st
Isa 11:1-10
Isa 35:1-10
Isa 40:1-11
Isa 40:25-31
Gen 3:9-15, 20
Isa 48:17-19
Sir 48:1-4, 9-11

2nd
Rom 15:4-9

Eph 1:3-6, 11-12

Gospel
Matt 3:1-12
Luke 5:17-26
Matt 18:12-14
Matt 11:28-30
Luke 1:26-38
Matt 11:16-19
Matt 17:9a, 10-13

Vespers
Rom 5:1-11
Rom 6:1-11
Rom 8:18-27
Gal 4:21-5:1
Rom 8:28-39
Rom 8:1-6
Rom 8:9-17

Vigils Reading - 2nd Sun Advent
2022-12-04
A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew
by St. Augustine1
The gospel tells us that some people were rebuked by the Lord because, clever as they were at reading the face of the sky, they could not recognize the time for faith when the kingdom of heaven was at hand. It was the Jews who received this reprimand, but it has also come down to us. The Lord Jesus began his preaching of the gospel with the admonition: Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. His forerunner, John the Baptist, began in the same way: Repent, he said, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Today, for those who will not repent at the approach of the kingdom of heaven, the reproof of the Lord is the same. As he points out himself, You cannot expect to see the kingdom of heaven coming. The kingdom of heaven, he says elsewhere, is within you.
Each of us would be wise therefore to take to heart the advice of his teacher, and not waste this present time. It is now that the Savior offers us his mercy; now, while he still spares the human race. Understand that it is in hope of our conversion that he spares us, for he desires no one’s damnation. As for when the end of the world will be, that is God’s concern. Now is the time for faith. Whether any of us here present will see the end of the world I know not; very likely none of us will. Even so, the time is very near for each of us, for we are mortal. There are hazards all around us. We should be in less danger from them were we made of glass. What is more fragile than a vessel of glass? And yet it can be kept safe and last indefinitely. Of course it is exposed to accident, but it is not liable to old age and the suffering it brings. We therefore are the more frail and infirm. In our weakness we are haunted by fears of all the calamities that regularly befall the human race, and if no such calamity overtakes us, still, time marches on. We may evade the blows of fortune, but shall we evade death? We may escape perils from without, but shall we escape what comes from within us? Now, suddenly, we may be attacked by any malady. And if we are spared? Even so, old age comes at last, and nothing will delay it1 Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY – 1992 n- pg 18.

Vigils Reading
2022-12-05
Sermon One for the Coming of the Lord2 by St. Aelred of Rievaulx
Let us see how all the saints who lived before his first coming longed for him and let us follow their example, not the example of those who love the world. For scripture says: The world will perish and so will its unruly appetites. So those who love the world will perish together with the world when it perishes.
The Prophet Isaiah said with great longing: Would that you would burst the heavens, Lord, and come down. The prophet knew that Providence had determined the time of his coming, but he found it very difficult to endure such a delay. And therefore he longed for God, if it were possible, to anticipate the hour he had fixed.
It is as if he had said: I know, O Lord, that you are waiting for the time which you foresaw from the beginning. You are waiting until everything has been fulfilled which the holy ones have said must be fulfilled before your coming. But would that you would burst the heavens, Lord – that is, if only you would, if it were possible, break through that plan of yours which you have revealed to the heavens – that is, to your saints – and come. Look how many years have passed since you first promised us that he would come and still he does not come. It would seem that you are only deceiving us.
But what did Christ do in his compassion? Indeed, he did not let his prophet suffer such grief for long without great consolation. Listen to what the same prophet says a little further on: You come down and the mountains dissolved before your face. You hear something amazing in this. First he said:
Would that you would come down, Lord, and now he says: You came down and the mountains dissolved before your face, as though what he had been so longing for had already happened. Why is this? In my opinion, when holy Isaiah was in that distress over the devil’s pride and human wickedness, our Lord, to console him, showed him in spirit what we now see, namely, that the whole world would believe in him and kings and princes adore him, that all idols should be destroyed and those who were proud be made humble by the Lord’s coming. Surely this is what the prophet saw in spirit when he exalted and rejoiced.

Oh dearest brothers, if only we, now that we see this fulfilled, could feel as much joy as he felt when he saw that it was still having to be fulfilled. We now see it. We can turn to our Lord and say with great joy: Lord, you came down and the mountains dissolved before your face. This has now been fulfilled just as David also desired when he said: Touch the mountains and they will smoke. By the grace of the Holy Spirit he touched the mountains – that is, the proud of this world. And look how they dissolved, that is, how they were humbled. They began to weep for their sins. Do you not see this every day, brothers? Do you not every day see the proud of this world turning to the Lord in great confusion, with great fear humbling themselves and weeping for their sins? Of course, this happens every day, brothers. Even if it does not happen before our eyes every day, it is happening every day in the holy Church2Aelred of Rievaulx – The Liturgical Sermons – Cistercian Fathers Series #58 – Cistercian Publications – Kalamazoo – 2001 – p 61.

Vigils Reading
2022-12-06
A Reading from the Third Advent Sermon
of Bl. Guerric of Igny3
Be prepared now Israel to meet the Lord, for he is coming. And you too, my dear brethren, be prepared as well; for the Son of Man will come when you least expect him. He is coming, nothing is more certain than that; but when he will arrive – nothing is less certain. Right up to the last moment we will not know the actual time the Father in his almighty power has appointed. Even the angels who stand before him have not been given the privilege of knowing that day or hour… All we can say is that it is knocking at the door for the old, and lies in wait for the young. O that they would keep careful watch over themselves who see death so ready to enter, nay rather who see it entering. For has it not already entered, at least to some extent, a body grown senile and decrepit? Yet in many who are already half-dead one can see worldly desires still alive. The limbs are growing cold and the fire of avarice still burns within; life is coming to its end and ambition still strains ahead. Because our youth or health perhaps appear to promise some more years ahead of us death is not often before our eyes, but this is the very reason why, if we are wise, it should be in our thoughts, lest that day come like a thief in the night and find us unprepared and unready… There is therefore only one thing that makes us safe: never to think that we are safe. For fear makes a careful man always prepared until at length fear can give way to security and not security to fear.
Brethren, how beautiful and blessed it is not only to be without fear of death but with the assurance of a good conscience to triumph over it; in the spirit and words of St. Martin, to rebuke the foul beast if he dares to present himself, to open joyfully to the Judge when he comes and knocks. At that hour you will see unfortunates like me tremble, begging for a truce and having it denied them; wanting to buy the oil of penance for a sorrowing conscience and not having enough time; desirous of turning aside those ghostly specters and not being able to do so; anxious to hide away in the body from angry wrath and being forced to go forth. He will go forth, his spirit shall go forth and the sinner shall return into his earth whence he was drawn. In that day all their thoughts shall perish. It is only human, I know, to be distressed about the moment of our passage from the earth. Even the perfect wish not to be stripped but rather to be further clothed. And although their conscience does not in fact reproach them, yet since that is not where their justification lies, they must of necessity fear the unknown judgment.

When therefore you can say: “My heart is ready, O God,” because it is emptied of evil, “my heart is ready,” because it is full of holy desires, then busy yourself with what follows: “I will sing and recite a psalm.” And whatever may be your voice, singing or reciting, let this intention be in your mind: “Arise, my Glory, arise at my coming, for as far as in me lies I have gone to meet you.

3Guerric of Igny – Liturgical Sermons – vol I – CF #8 – Cistercian Publications – Spencer, MA – 1970 pg. 14-21.

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Vigils Reading - St Ambrose
2022-12-07
A Letter to Irenaeus by Saint Ambrose
If someone has taken up residence in the heavenly city, let him not leave its life and customs, since he is an inhabitant. Let him not again depart, or retrace the steps, I do not say, of the body, but of the heart. Let him not come back from there. Behind him is wantonness; behind is impurity. Your feet should not turn back, neither should your actions turn back. Your hands should not hang idle, nor should the knees of your devotion and faith become weak. Let no weakness cause your will to backslide, nor evil deeds recur. You have made your entrance, now remain. You have reached this place, stand firm. ‘Being safe, save thy life.’
In your ascent, take the straight path; it is not safe to turn back. Here is the road; there is downfall. Here is the path upward; there, a precipice. there is work in ascending, danger in ascending. The Lord who is powerful will protect you if you are grounded and hedged round with the ramparts of the Prophets and the bulwarks of the Apostles. For this reason, the Lord says to you: ‘Enter and tread the grape, for the vintage time is here.’ Let us be found within, not out of doors. In the Gospel, too, the Son of God says: ‘Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take his vessels.’ Surely, He does not mean our present dwelling but that one of which ‘He has spread the sky like a roof.’
Remain within, therefore, within Jerusalem, within your soul which is peaceful, meek, and tranquil. Do not leave it or go down to take your vessels with honors or riches or pride. Remain within, so that strangers may not pass through you, so that neither sins nor vain works nor useless thoughts may pass through your soul. This will not happen if you wage a holy war against the snare of the passions on behalf of devotion and faith and in the pursuit of truth, if you will put on the armor of God in your fight against spiritual diseases and the cunning of the Evil One who tempts our senses with cunning and fraud. Yet, he is easily crushed by the gentle warrior who does not sow discord, but, as befits the servant of God, attaches faith with moderation and refutes those who are his adversaries. Of this man Scriptures says: ‘Let the warrior who is gentle arise,’ and the weak man says: ‘I can do all things in him who strengthens me.’

Waters will flow upon him from his vessels and the depths of his wells, or from his belly will flow living waters, spiritual waters which the Holy Spirit gives to the faithful. May He deign to water your soul, too, so that in you there may abound the fount of water springing up into life

4The Fathers of the Church. Vol 26 – Letters of St. Ambrose. Catholic Univ. Washington, 1954, pp. 446-447.

Vigils Reading - Immaculate Conception
2022-12-08
“I am the Immaculate Conception” – Mary Reveals Her Name5 The final writing of St. Maximilian Kolbe
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION. These words fell from the lips of the Immaculata herself. Hence, they must tell us in the most precise and essential manner who she really is.
Who then are you, O Immaculate Conception?
Not God, of course, because he has no beginning. Not an angel, created directly out of nothing. Not Adam, formed out of the dust of the earth. Not Eve, molded from Adam’s rib. Not the Incarnate Word, who exists before all ages, and of whom we should use the word “conceived” rather than “conception.” Humans do not exist before their conception, so we might call them created “conceptions.” But you, O Mary, are different from all other children of Eve. They are conceptions stained by original sin; whereas you are the unique, Immaculate Conception.
If the fruit of created love is a created conception, then the fruit of divine Love, that prototype of all created love, is necessarily a divine “conception.” The Holy Spirit is, therefore, the “uncreated, eternal conception,” the prototype of all the conceptions that multiply life throughout the whole universe.
The Father begets; the Son is begotten; the Spirit is the “conception” that springs from their love; there we have the intimate life of the three Persons by which they can be distinguished one from another. But they are united in the oneness of their Nature, of their divine existence.
The Spirit is, then, this thrice holy “conception,” this infinitely holy, Immaculate Conception.
In what does this life of the Spirit in Mary consist? He himself is uncreated Love in her; the Love of the Father and of the Son, the Love by which God loves himself, the very love of the Most Holy Trinity. He is a fruitful Love, “Conception.” Among creatures made in God’s image the union brought about by married love is the most intimate of all. In a much more precise, more interior, more essential manner, the Holy Spirit lives in the soul of the Immaculata, in the depths of her very being. He makes her fruitful, from the very first instant of her existence, all during her life, and for all eternity.

This eternal “Immaculate Conception” (which is the Holy Spirit) produces in an immaculate manner divine life itself in the womb (or depths) of Mary’s soul, making her the Immaculate Conception, the human Immaculate Conception. And the virginal womb of Mary’s body is kept sacred for him; there he conceives in time…the human life of the Man-God.
And so the return to God (which is love)…by the Spirit the Son becomes incarnate in the womb of the Immaculata; and through this Son love returns to the Father.
In the Holy Spirit’s union with Mary we observe more than the love of two beings; in one there is all the love of the Blessed Trinity; in the other, all of creation’s love. So it is that in this union heaven and earth are joined; all of heaven with all the earth, the totality of eternal love with the totality of created love. It is truly the summit of love.
At Lourdes, the Immaculata did not say of herself that she had been conceived immaculately, but, as St. Bernadette repeated it, “Que soy era immaculada councepciou”: “I am the Immaculate Conception.”
If among human beings the wife takes the name of her husband because she belongs to him, is one with him, becomes equal to him and is, with him, the source of new life, with how much greater reason should the name of the Holy Spirit, who is the divine Immaculate Conception, be used as name of her in whom he lives as uncreated Love, the principle of life in the whole supernatural order of grace?

5 H.M. Manteau-Bonamy, OP. Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit. Trans. Richard Arnandez, FSC. Libertyville, IL: Franciscan, Marytown Press, 1977. 2-5.

10

Vigils Reading
2022-12-09
If you Knew the Gift of God6
From the spiritual writings of St. Elizabeth of the Trinity
What is the gift of God if not Himself? And, the beloved disciple tells us: “He came to His own and His own did not accept Him.” St. John the Baptist could still say to many souls these words of reproach: “There is one in the midst of you, ‘in you,’ whom you do not know.”
“If you knew the gift of God…” There is one who knew this gift of God, one who did not lose one particle of it, one who was so pure, so luminous that she seemed to be Light itself. One whose life was so simple, so lost in God that there is hardly anything we can say about it.
Faithful Virgin, “who kept all these things in her heart.” She remained so little, so recollected in God’s presence, in the seclusion of the temple, that she drew down upon herself the delight of the Holy Trinity: “Because He has looked upon the lowliness of His servant, henceforth all generations shall call meblessed!” The Father bending down to this beautiful creature, who was so unaware of her own beauty, willed that she be the Mother in time of Him whose Father He is in eternity. Then the Spirit of love who presides over all of God’s works came upon her; the Virgin said her fiat: “Behold the servant of the Lord, be it done to me according to Your word,” and the greatest of mysteries was accomplished. By the descent of the Word in her, Mary became forever God’s prey.
It seems to me that the attitude of the Virgin during the months that elapsed between the Annunciation and the Nativity is the model for interior souls, those whom God has chosen to live within, in the depths of the bottomless abyss. In what peace, in what recollection Mary lent herself to everything she did! How even the most trivial things were divinized by her! For through it all the Virgin remained the adorer of the gift of God! This did not prevent her from spending herself outwardly when it was a matter of charity; the Gospel tells us that Mary went in haste to the mountains of Judea to visit her cousin Elizabeth. Never did the ineffable vision that she contemplated within herself in any way diminish her outward charity. For, a pious author says, if contemplation “continues toward praise and towards the eternity of its Lord, it possesses unityand will not lose it. If an order from Heaven arrives, contemplation turns towards men, sympathizes with their needs, is inclined towards all their miseries; it must cry and be fruitful. It illuminates like fire, and like it, it burns, absorbs and devours, lifting up to Heaven what it has devoured. And when it has finished its work here below, it rises, burning with its fire, and takes up again the road on high

6 Elizabeth of the Trinity. I Have Found God, The Complete Works: Volume One. Trans. Sister Aletheia Kane, O.C.D. ICS Publications, 1984. 110-111.

Vigils Reading
2022-12-10
The Historical Meeting Point of Martyrdom and Monasticism7 A chapter talk by St. Christian de Chergé
From the beginnings of Christian monasticism, there has been both continuity and discontinuity between the monastic choice and martyrdom. As we know, there is continuity in time: during the first centuries of persecutions there were certainly vocations to the solitary life, dedicated to prayer and intercession for all. It is easy to imagine John the Evangelist withdrawing into solitude and inspiring followers. But the threat was there for them and for everyone, and there was need to sustain believers’ courage and faith in that direct form of sequela Christi—the offering of martyrdom—to which they left themselves exposed by the very fact of being Christian. And there is discontinuity, because Constantine’s “peace of the Church” was needed in order for monasticism to find its specific place, when laxity and ease were quickly undermining the vitality of gospel witness.
It was indeed the gospel that incited Anthony to “lose his life” in a way different from the shedding of blood through “pagan” hatred. Paganism was not dead; it transplanted itself in the Church, where “secularization” made rapid headway. Anthony, therefore, would be “pursued” by the Word. He heard it and embodied it by following it literally and on the spot. It happened as quickly as the fall of the ax on the neck of Cecilia or Lucy. But for Anthony it was only the first step of the Pasch, the passing over. It then took dozens of years for the letter to be truly rewritten in terms of the spirit, in order to find, following Jesus’ example, ways of combining time and eternity, the earth and the things above. Anthony and many others instinctively returned to the place of the first Passover, the desert, for this unique kind of martyrdom.
Earlier persecutions had singled out towns—and even big cities—to offer the spectacle of faith to the crowds in the arenas as if it were a game. The persecutions faded away, but the Adversary remained and continued to have his fun. He, then, was the one to take on directly. Anthony’s combat was not againstpeople, pagans or not, but against the traditional Enemy of humankind, whom he confronted as a solitary, confident that he could contribute to conquering him where he is most rampant.

This flight from the spirit of the world and this fierce but humble solitude will become, strangely enough, “the seeds of Christianity,” to use the phrase Tertullian applied to the early martyrs. It is to this drop by drop spending of flesh and blood in the desert 7 Christian de Chergé, Dieu pour tout jour. Chapitres de Père Christian de Chergé à la communauté de Tibhirine [1986–1996], Les Cahier de Tibhirine 1, Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Aiguebelle, p. 449. Trans. Fr. Elias Dietz, OCSO we must constantly return, in order to sustain the specific fruitfulness of our lives here and now.

Skema
2022-12-11
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
3rd Week of Advent

Mass Readings: Sunday (A), Weekdays (I)
December 11 – 17, 2022

Sun
11
Mon
12
Tue
13
Wed
14
Thu
15
Fri
16
Sat
17

Office
3rd Sunday of Advent
Our Lady of Guadalupe
St Lucy
St John of the Cross
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday

Vigils
Isa 29:13-24
Prov 8:32-9:11
Isa 30:27-33; 31:4-9
Isa 31:1-3; 32:1-8
Isa 32:14-33:6
Isa 33:7-24
Isa 45:1-13

Lauds
Zech 2:10-17
Sir 4:11-18
Isa 52:1-7
Isa 45:18-25
Isa 51:9-16
Isa 35:1-10
Isa 40:1-5

Mass
7
690A
188
189
190
191
193

1st
Isa 35:1-6a, 10
Rev 11:19a; 12:1-6a, 10ab
Zeph 3:1-2, 9-13
Isa 45:6c-8, 18, 21c-25
Isa 54:1-10
Isa 56:1-3a, 6-8
Gen 49:2, 8-10

2nd
Jas 5:7-10

Gospel
Matt 11:2-11
Luke 1:39-47
Matt 21:28-32
Luke 7:18b-23
Luke 7:24-30
John 5:33-36
Matt 1:1-17

Vespers
Rom 9:1-8
Gal 3:23-29
Rom 11:13-20
Rom 11:25-36
Rom 13:8-14
Rom 15:4-13
1 Thess 5:16-24

Vigils Reading - 3rd Sun Advent
2022-12-11
A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew by Thomas of Villanova1
The gospel narrative tells of a question which John the Baptist, who was in prison, put to the Lord through his disciples. Are you the one who is to come, or are we to look for someone else? John himself was in no doubt about the matter. Even from his mother’s womb he had recognized Jesus, and at the Jordan he had borne his testimony; but he sent this embassy for two reasons.
In the first place, John wished to instruct his disciples. He knew that his own death was imminent and, like the good leader and teacher he was, he made provision for his disciples, to ensure that they would have a teacher and protector. He wanted to see them safe under Christ’s wing and in his care.
John’s second and paramount motive, however, was to draw attention to Christ. He knew that he had been sent to bear witness to Christ, and although he had given his testimony at the Jordan, few had accepted it. Knowing now that his death was near he devised a profitable and very prudent plan: he would put this question to Jesus publicly and thus bring him into the limelight, so that in replying to the question Jesus would at the same time bear witness about himself, and thereby reveal himself to the people. John knew that the Lord’s reply was bound to be very fruitful, and events proved him right.
The disciples approached Jesus, and in front of the crowd put to him the same question which the Jews had put to John. Everyone eagerly awaited his reply, for there had already been a rumor among the people that he might indeed be the Messiah. The Lord gave no immediate answer, but delayed a little, and in their presence worked wonderful, mighty miracles. Then he invited them, Go and report to John what you have heard. The blind are receiving their sight, the lame are walking, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. He did not give an answer to them in so many words, but pointed to his deeds, as much as to say, “The works that I am doing are my witness. These are the works I am performing; judge for yourself whether I am the Messiah.” This was an admirable reply, for he not only claimed by means of his works that he was the Messiah; he also proved it.

Isaiah had uttered three prophecies about the Christ. The first was this:
Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened, and the ears of the deaf unsealed, and the lame man will leap like a [deer]. The second was, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me… he has sent me to announce good tidings to the poor. The third declared, He shall be a stone for stumbling over, and a rock of scandal as well, for both houses of Israel. The Lord fulfilled these prophecies before their eyes, and implicitly quoted them in his reply: the first, by saying, The blind are receiving their sight, the lame are walking … the deaf hear; the second in his claim that the good news is proclaimed to the poor; and the third by saying, Blessed is anyone who takes no offense at me

1Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY – 1992 – pg 20

Vigils Reading - Our Lady of Guadalupe
2022-12-12
THE SIGNS OF SALVATION by Carlo Cardinal Martini2
Human persons are hearers of God’s word and find fulfillment by putting themselves and their lives totally in an attitude of listening to the word of God manifested in Jesus. Jesus came to us through Mary and so through a person formed by Jewish cult and culture and history. But Jesus didn’t come for Jewsalone and so he had to make God’s word known to Greco-Roman peoples too. If you read the opening chapters of the Gospel according to St. Luke you will see how the Jewish story of God’s incarnation was retold for a Greco-Roman audience. These people, after all, were called to share fully in God’s promise of salvation but couldn’t hear the promise if
spoken only in Jewish cultural ways of speaking.
What God says to us through Mary by her role in the incarnation is so important that there have been what we call Marian apparitions all over the world. When we celebrate the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe we recall one of these, and what God gave her to say to the Native American peoples. The words are in Native American language and “picture writing” and expressed using the forms of courtesy and piety of those peoples. Mary appears as one of them and builds a cultural bridge to Europe by giving St. Juan Diego, a Native American, Castilian roses for the Bishop of Mexico City. They weren’t being grown in Mexico but picked from a miraculous bush growing on Tepeyac hill. It was to persuade the bishop. Even more persuasive was the word written on Juan Diego’s tilma, the picture of Mary as a Native American.
What was asked was a church where God’s word given through Mary could be proclaimed to Native American peoples. In many of their languages an unexpected opportunity is called “a flower of God” and in picture writing a word is painted as a flower. One doesn’t pick it but cultivates it so all may share the beauty. St. Juan Diego was chosen to cultivate the flower, God’s word saying “Mary” as the centerpiece of the small church the bishop let be built. Mary said to Juan Diego just what Jesus said to us on the cross—I am your mother, and added that she would show Native American peoples God’s love for them. She began by showing them the respect of speaking their language, wearing their clothes and using their form of writing. Mary really knew her Native American cultural anthropology!

Advent is a time dedicated to sharing the Gospel… sharing God’s word as we have personally heard it. It is also a time for speaking of the signs and wonders God has worked for us and for our own people. We are to speak it in a language, perhaps a kind of sign language, which those with whom we share can understand in a way that penetrates to their hearts. St. Juan Diego—who had been the equivalent of a Knight in Aztec society and culture—spent the remainder of his life explaining God’s message, given through the sign of the Virgin who bears a child, to all the Native Americans who came to the little church to see God’s word and sign to them. They turned to God by the thousands. We have the same task, and who know what wonders God will work through us

2 Martini, Carlo. Journeying with the Lord. Uxbridge, UK: Alba House Publishing, 1987.

Vigils Reading - St Lucy
2022-12-13
An excerpt from ON THE TWOFOLD COMING AND THE WINGS COVERED IN SILVER3
by St Bernard of Clairvaux
That you celebrate the Lord’s coming with your full devotion – delighting in such consolation, amazed at such condescension, and inflamed by such love – is appropriate, brothers. Yet you must ponder not only that coming at which he came to seek and to save what was lost, but also and no less the one at which he will come and take us to himself. If only you would constantly mull over these two comings, ruminating in your hearts how much he performed in the first and how much he promised in the second! If only you would sleep between the middle allotments! These are the Bridegroom’s two arms; between them thebride was sleeping when she said, His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me.
Therefore, if we want to sleep between the middle allotments – that is, between the two comings – we must let our wings be covered with silver. Thus can we preserve the appearance of the virtues that Christ enjoined by both word and example when he was present in the flesh. By silver then it is not inappropriate to understand his humanity, as by gold his divinity.
All our virtue is as far from true virtue as it is from the appearance, and all our wings are good for nothing if they are not covered with silver. Great is the wing of poverty by which we fly so swiftly to the kingdom of heaven! But in the case of the virtues that follow, the use of the future tense indicates a promise; poverty is not so much promised as given. So we are told in the present tense that theirs is the kingdom of heaven, while in other cases, they will inherit, they shall be comforted, and so on.

We see other poor people who if they had true poverty would appear, not so weak-willed and sad, but instead, like kings – and kings of heaven at that! Others want to be poor, on condition that they lack nothing, and they love poverty in such a way as to suffer no want. Others still are meek but only so long as nothing is said or done without their approval. Their distance from true meekness will become obvious at the slightest provocation…I see mourning, but if those tears came from the heart they would not so easily change into laughter…Others show such furious zeal against the faults of others that they may seem to hunger and thirst for righteousness if they were to pass the same judgement on their own sins.
Still others so confess their sins that they can seem to be doing it from a desire to purify their hearts – everything is washed clean in confession – but what they say freely to others, they are incapable of hearing patiently from others.
Let us cover our wings with silver, then, in our way of life in Christ, just as the holy martyrs washed their robes in his passion. As much as we can, let us imitate him who so loved poverty that, although the ends of the earth were in his hand, he had yet no place to lay his head…he who did not hesitate to die for his enemies and who prayed for those who crucified him; who committed no sin and who listened patiently to what was laid on him by others; who endured so much to reconcile sinners to himself

3 Bernard of Clairvaux. Sermons for Advent and the Christmas Season. Trans. Irene Edmonds, Wendy Mary Beckett, and Conrad Greenia, OCSO. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 2007. 27-3

Vigils Readings - St John of the Cross
2022-12-14
COUNSELS TO A RELIGIOUS ON HOW TO REACH PERFECTION by St John of the Cross4
He who wishes to be a true religious and fulfill the promises which by his state he has professed, advance in virtue, and enjoy the consolations and the delights of the Holy Spirit, will be unable to do so if he does not try to practice with the greatest diligence the four following counsels concerning resignation, mortification, the practice of virtue, and bodily and spiritual solitude.
In order to practice the first counsel, concerning resignation, you should live in the monastery as though no one else were in it. And thus you should never, by word or by thought, meddle in things that happen in the community, nor with individuals in it, desiring not to notice their good or bad qualities or their conduct. And in order to preserve your tranquility of soul, even if the whole world crumbles, you should not desire to advert to this or interfere, remembering Lot’s wife who was changed into hard stone because she turned her head to look at those who in the midst of much clamor and noise were perishing.
To practice the second counsel, which concerns mortification, and profit by it, you should engrave this truth upon your heart. And it is that you have not come to the monastery for any other reason than to be worked and tried in virtue, that you are like the stone which must be chiseled and fashioned before being used in the building.
Thus you should understand that those who are in the monastery are craftsmen placed there by God to mortify you by working and chiseling at you. Some will chisel with words, telling you what you would rather not hear; others by deed, doing against you what you would rather not endure; others by their temperament, being in their person and in their actions a bother and annoyance to you; and other by their thoughts, neither esteeming nor feeling love for you.

Trials will never be lacking in religious life, nor does God want them to be. Since He brings souls there to be proved and purified, like gold, with the hammer and the fire, it is fitting that they encounter trials and temptations from men and from devils, and the fire of anguish and affliction.
To practice the third counsel, which concerns the practice of virtue, you should be constant in your religious observance and in obedience, without any concern for the world, but only for God. In order to achieve this and avoid being deceived, you should never set your eyes upon the satisfaction or dissatisfaction of the work at hand as a motive for doing it or failing to do it, but upon doing it for God. Thus you must undertake all things, agreeable or disagreeable, for the sole purpose of pleasing God through them.
To practice the fourth counsel, which concerns solitude, you should deem everything in the world as finished. Thus, when (for not being able to avoid it) you have to deal with some matter, do so in as detached a way as you would if it did not exist…Do not desire to know anything in any way except how better to serve God and keep the observance of your institute.
If Your Charity observes these four counsels with care, you will reach perfection in a very short time. These counsels are so interdependent that if you are lacking in one of them, you will begin to lost the profit and gain you have form practicing the others

4 St. John of the Cross. The Collected Works of St. John of the Cross. Trans. Kieran Kavanaugh, OCD and Otilio Rodriguez, OCD. Washington, D.C.: ICS Publications, 1979. 662-665.

Vigils Reading
2022-12-15
A Letter from PADRE PIO to his Spiritual Child5
May the divine Spirit come down into your heart and fill it entirely with heavenly charisms. How good our God is who lavished so many graces upon us and loves us so dearly although we do not deserve it. May He be for ever blessed by all creatures.
At the opening of the sacred novena in honour of the holy Child Jesus I felt my soul being born, as it were, to a new life. My heart felt too small to contain the heavenly favours and my soul seemed to disintegrate in the presence of this God who took human flesh for our sake. How can we help loving Him more and more ardently? Oh, let us draw near to the Child Jesus with hearts free from sin, that we may discover how sweet and delightful it is to love Him.
Do not fail to send up your supplications…especially during these days when heaven is open more than ever to send down divine graces upon us.
Pray, then, and do sweet violence to the little heart of this tender Infant who is filled with deep affection for us.
Take care, moreover, not to lose the presence of God by any action whatsoever. Never undertake any work or any action without first raising your mind to God and directing to Him with a pure intention the action you are about to perform. You should do likewise at the end of every action. Examine yourself as to whether you have done everything with the right intention you had at the beginning and if you find you have been at fault, then ask pardon of the Lord with humility while making a firm resolution to correct your faulty conduct.

You must not be discouraged or let yourself become dejected if your actions have not succeeded as perfectly as you intended. What do you expect? We are made of clay and not every soil yields the fruits expected by the one who tills it. But let us always humble ourselves and acknowledge that we are nothing if we lack the divine assistance.
To be worried because something we have done has not turned out in accordance with our pure intention shows a lack of humility. This is a clear sign that the person concerned has not entrusted the success of his action to the divine assistance but has depended too much on his own strength.
May the ever-present grace of the Lord invariably prevent you from being a prey to this evil spirit even to the slightest extent. It is never a small matter when a soul espoused to the Son of God succumbs to the wiles of this dreadful monster even in little things.
Never lie down to sleep without having first examined your conscience on the way you have spent the day and without first turning your thoughts to God. Then offer and consecrate your whole person and that of every Christian, especially my wretched self, to God, just as I do for you

5 Padre Pio of Pietrelcina. Letters Vol. II: Correspondence with Raffaelina Cerase, Noblewoman. Ed. Melchiorre of Pobladura and Alessandro of Ripabottoni. Trans. Fr. Gerardo Di Flumeri. Foggia, Italy: Edizioni, 1975. 288-294.

Vigils Reading
2022-12-16
An Excerpt from Sermon Eighty-Three on the Song of Songs6 by John of Ford
From the moment that ‘the Word was made flesh’, the Lord Jesus bore his cross, truly from then on ‘a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief’. In fact, we hold that the evangelist intended to reveal this by saying that ‘the Word was made flesh’, the word ‘flesh’ standing deliberately for his capacity to suffer and feel compassion. If you think of it, what in all creation is weaker than human flesh, or more tender? Weakness implies suffering and tenderness implies compassion, the two factors form which, as from two bars of wood, the cross of Christ was fashioned. We have the word of St Gregory that the real cross of Christ is to suffer and to feel compassion, by which he means pain of body and sympathy of soul. Of course, the necessary condition is that a cross like this is carried for Christ’s sake and in his dispositions.
It is clear enough that Christ bore a cross of this kind from his very entrance into his mother’s body, where he suffered the constriction of her virginal womb. Probably he suffered more than other babies, in that he who had come to learn suffering from experience, could not be without the sense of pain. From his very beginning, he was full of grace, but he was also pre-eminently full of knowledge and truth. So even when in the womb ‘he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows,’ and he did this all the more truly because he did it with full knowledge and consent. But other babies pass through this experience in what one might call the sleep of ignorance.
Here, within the narrowness of the womb, narrow indeed, he sought and found what long ago in paradise, Adam sought, and could not find its hiding place. Here he seized hold of the urge to sin, which the serpent had struck the first man, and drew it out with his hands. He saw his task through to the end, working now ‘ salvation in the midst of the earth’, and diligently and vigorously purging out all stain from human conception. Yes, it was there that the Lamb of God took away the sin of the world, it was there he did penance for our wickedness, enduring nine months of weariness and constantly interceding with the Father on our behalf.

For it was his choice not to anticipate the hour of his birth, but to go patiently through the normal stages of being formed. He awaited the ordinary period of being brought forth by his mother, for he had come to be all things for all men, and he wanted to be, also, a child for all children. In only one respect he evaded the laws that govern other infants when he entered his mother’s womb, he did not desecrate its sanctity; he caused no inconvenience while he lived within it; he did not tear it when he left. The Lord Jesus is the only infant who was truly innocent, for he made his mother’s virginity fruitful by his own conception, he sanctified it by his growth within her, and he gave her great joy by his actual birth

6 John of Ford. Sermons on the Final Verses of the Song of Songs. Trans. Wendy Mary Beckett. CF 46. Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1984. 2-4.

Vigils Reading
2022-12-17
WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR THE WORD OF GOD TO BECOME MAN?
an excerpt from the writings of St Irenaeus of Lyons7
We have clearly shown that in the beginning the Word was with God, and that through Him all things were made, that He was also always with the human race, and that, according to the time preordained by the Father, even in these latter days, this same one was united with His handiwork and became man, capable of suffering. Consequently, every objection of those who say, “If therefore Christ was born, then He did not exist before,” is rejected. For we have shown that the Son of God did not begin to exist then, having been always with the Father; but when He became incarnate and was made man, He recapitulated in Himself the long unfolding of humankind, granting salvation by way of compendium, that in Christ Jesus we might receive what we had lost in Adam, namely, to be according to the image and likeness of God.
In fact, it was not possible for humankind, which had once been conquered and had been dashed to pieces by its disobedience, to refashion itself and obtain the prize of victory. Again, it was not possible for the human race, which had fallen under sin, to receive salvation. And so the Son, Word of God that He is, accomplished both, by coming down from the Father and becoming incarnate, and descending even to death, and bringing the economy of our salvation to completion.
This same one was announced by Paul: For I delivered to you, he said, as of first importance, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day, in accordance with the Scriptures. So it is evident that Paul did not know another Christ besides Him alone who suffered and was buried and rose again, who was also born, whom he also called man. For, when he had said, Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, he continued, giving the reason for His incarnation, for as by man came death, by a man has come also resurrection from the dead. And whenever he speaks of the passion of our Lord, and of His human nature and death, he uses the name of Christ. For example, Do not let what you eat cause the ruin of one for whom Christ died; again, But now in Christ…you, who were once afar off, have been brought near through the bloodof Christ.

The Lord Himself makes it plain who suffered. When He asked the disciples, Who do men say that the Son of Man is? And when Peter answered, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God, and when he was praised by Him, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to him, but the Father who is in heaven,then He made it plain that this Son of Man is Christ the Son of the living God.
He destroyed disobedience, because He bound the strong one and loosed the weak ones and gave salvation to His handiwork by destroying sin. For the Lord is most kind and merciful and loves humankind.
Therefore…He caused humanity to adhere to and to be united with God. For if humankind had not overcome the enemy of humankind, the enemy would not justly have been overcome. Again, unless God had given salvation, we would not possess it securely; and unless the human race had been united with God, it would not be partaker of imperishability. For it behooved the Mediator of God and humanity, by His kinship to both, to lead them back to friendship and concord, and to bring it about that God would take humankind to Himself, and that humankind would give itself to God

7 St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Ancient Christian Writers: Against the Heresies (Book 3). Trans. Dominic J. Unger, OFM Cap. New York: The Newman Press, 2012. 87-91.

Skema
2022-12-18
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
4th Week of Advent

Mass Readings: Sunday (A), Weekdays (I)
December 18 – 24, 2022

Sun
18
Mon
19
Tue
20
Wed
21
Thu
22
Fri
23
Sat
24

Office
4th Sunday of Advent
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday
Mass for 175 Years
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday
Advent Weekday

Vigils
Isa 46:1-13
Isa 47:1-15
Isa 48:1-11
Isa 48:12-22
Isa 49:8-26
Isa 51:1-11
Isa 51:17-52:10

Lauds
Isa 40:6-11
Isa 40:25-31
Isa 41:1-10
Isa 41:11-16
Isa 41:17-20
Isa 43:9-13
Isa 63:15-19

Mass
10
195
196
701.1, 702.4, 706.3
198
199
200

1st
Isa 7:10-14
Judg 13:2-7, 24-25a
Isa 7:10-14
1 Kings 8:22-23, 27-30
1 Sam 1:24-28
Mal 3:1-4, 23-24
2 Sam 7:1-5, 8b-12, 14a, 16

2nd
Rom 1:1-7

1 Peter 2:4-9

Gospel
Matt 1:18-24
Luke 1:5-25
Luke 1:26-38
John 2:13-22
Luke 1:46-56
Luke 1:57-66
Luke 1:67-79

Vespers
Phil 1:3-11
Phil 3:17-21
Phil 4:4-9
1 Cor 1:1-9
1 Cor 4:1-5
Jas 5:7-11
2 Pet 3:8-14
