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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260706
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260707
DTSTAMP:20260705T124934Z
CREATED:20260705T124934Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T124934Z
UID:15144-1783296000-1783382399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from the Encyclical “Ut Unum Sint” by \nPOPE ST JOHN PAUL II \n◊◊◊ \nThe Second Vatican Council exhorts all Christ’s faithful to remember that \nthe more they strive to live according to the Gospel\, the more they are fostering \nand even practicing Christian unity. For they can achieve depth and ease in \nstrengthening mutual brotherhood to the degree that they enjoy profound \ncommunion with the Father\, the Word and the Holy Spirit. This change of heart \nand holiness of life\, along with public and private prayer for the unity of \nChristians should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement\, \nand can rightly be called ‘spiritual ecumenism’. \nWe proceed along the road leading to the conversion of hearts guided by \nlove which is directed to God and\, at the same time\, to all our brothers and \nsisters\, including those not in full communion with us. Love gives rise to the \ndesire for unity\, even in those who have never been aware of the need for it. Love \nbuilds communion between individuals and between Communities. If we love \none another\, we strive to deepen our communion and make it perfect. Love is \ngiven to God as the perfect source of communion – the unity of Father\, Son and \nHoly Spirit – that we may draw from that source the strength to build \ncommunion between individuals and communities or to reestablish it between \nChristians still divided. Love is the great undercurrent which gives life and adds \nvigor to the movement toward unity. \nThis love finds its most complete expression in common prayer. When \nbrothers and sisters who are not in perfect communion with one another come \ntogether to pray\, the Second Vatican Council defines their prayer as the soul of \nthe whole ecumenical movement. This prayer is “a very effective means of \npetitioning for the grace of unity”\, “a genuine expression of ties which even \nnow bind Catholics to their separated brethren.” Even when prayer is not \nspecifically offered for Christian unity\, but for other intentions such as peace\, it \nactually becomes an expression and confirmation of unity. The common prayer \nof Christians is an invitation to Christ himself to visit the community of those \nwho call upon him: “Where two or three are gathered in my name\, there am I \nin the midst of them.” \nAlong the ecumenical path to unity\, pride of place certainly belongs to \ncommon prayer; the prayerful union of those who gather together around Christ \nhimself. If Christians\, despite their divisions\, can grow ever more united in \ncommon prayer around Christ\, they will grow in the awareness of how little \ndivides them in comparison to what unites them. Fellowship in prayer leads \npeople to look at the Church and Christianity in a new way. It must not be \nforgotten in fact that the Lord prayed to the Father that his disciples might be \none\, so that their unity might bear witness to his mission and that the world \nwould believe that the Father had sent him. “Ecumenical prayer” is at the \nservice of the Christian mission and its credibility. It must be especially present \nin the life of the Church and in every activity aimed at fostering Christian unity.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-443/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260707
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260708
DTSTAMP:20260705T125038Z
CREATED:20260705T125038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T125038Z
UID:15146-1783382400-1783468799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nFR KARL RAHNER \n◊◊◊ \nWhat must we do in order to avoid stifling the Spirit? This is a dark and \ndifficult question. If it could ever be thought easy to answer it would be no \nquestion at all. The real answer to it is itself a factor in the movement and \nguidance of the Spirit\, who himself ensures that he shall not be stifled. It can be \nfound\, in the last analysis\, not by the reflexive processes of theory and \nspeculation\, but rather\, at basis\, through the sureness of instinct to be found in \nChristian living. \nThe first thing that we could do\, and do with all our hearts\, would be to \nacquire an attitude of caring; of recognizing with anxiety that it is possible to \nstifle the Spirit. The Spirit can be stifled not indeed throughout the entire \nChurch\, but still over so wide an area\, and to such a terrible extent that we have \nto fear that judgment which begins with the house of God. And for this reason \nwe must all face the possibility with fear and trembling that we could be the ones \nwho stifle the Spirit – stifle him through that pride in ‘knowing better’\, that \ninertia of heart\, that cowardice\, that unteachableness with which we react to \nfresh impulses and new pressures in the Church. \nHow different many things would be if we did not so often react to what is \nnew with a self-assured superiority\, an attitude of conservatism\, adopted as a \ndefense not of the honor of God and the teaching and institutions of the Church\, \nbut of our own selves\, of what we have always been accustomed to\, of the usual\, \nwith which we can live without daily experiencing the pain of the new metanoia. \nBut if we realized\, and with burning conviction\, that we can also be judged for \nour omissions\, for a general obtuseness and inertia of heart which\, though \nindefinable\, extends over all spheres of our lives\, for our culpable lack of \ncreative imagination and boldness of spirit\, then we should lend a sharper ear\, \nkeener eye\, a livelier anticipation to the slightest indication that somewhere that \nSpirit is stirring whose inspiration is not merely confined to the official \npronouncements and directives of the Church\, or to the holders of official \npositions in her. \nThen we should be eagerly on the watch to see whether charisms were not \nappearing\, of which only a glimpse and a feeling can initially be obtained. Then \nwe would not make it a condition for admitting those charisms which the Spirit \nwills to impart (a condition to which\, however\, we do not subject our own lives \nand activities) that such charisms must have no element of the human in them\, \nnothing which has not yet been purified out. For this is not possible in view of \nthe fact that even the fire of the Holy Spirit burns up from the thorn-bush of our \nhuman – all too human – nature.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-444/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260708T170000
DTSTAMP:20260705T125201Z
CREATED:20260705T125201Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T125201Z
UID:15148-1783497600-1783530000@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Bl Eugene III
DESCRIPTION:A reading from St Bernard of Clairvaux for \nPOPE BLESSED EUGENE III \n◊◊◊ \nIt has occurred to me to write something which might edify\, delight or \nconsole you\, Blessed Father Eugene. But I do not know the rules for writing a \nformal yet intimate treatise. Two opposites\, your majesty and my love\, vie to \ndictate my style. Love draws me on; majesty holds me back. But you graciously \nintervene and request rather than command this treatise\, although it would be \nmore fitting for you to command it. Since your majesty so admirably \ncondescends\, why does my hesitancy persist? What if you have ascended the \nthrone? Even if you were to walk on the wings of the wind\, you would not escape \nmy affection. Love knows no master. It recognizes a son even though he wear \nthe tiara. It is the nature of a lover to be suitably humble\, willingly submissive\, \nfreely compliant\, respectful without duress. \nThis is not the way with others however; they are driven either by fear or \nby greed. Such men bless openly\, but harbor evil in their hearts. They flatter you \nwhen you are present\, yet fail you in time of need. But charity never fails. It is \ntrue that I have been freed of maternal obligation toward you\, but I am not \nstripped of affection for you. You were once in my womb; you will not be drawn \nfrom my heart so easily. Ascend to the heavens\, descend to the depths\, you will \nnot escape me. I will follow you wherever you go. I loved you when you were \npoor in spirit; I shall love you still as father of the poor and the rich. \nIf I know you\, you did not cease being poor in spirit when you became the \nfather of the poor. I am confident that this change has been thrust on you and \nwas not of your doing\, that this promotion has not replaced your former state\, \nbut rather has enhanced it. Therefore I will instruct you not as a teacher\, but as a \nmother\, indeed as a lover. I may seem more the fool\, but only to one who does \nnot love\, to one who does not feel the force of love.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-bl-eugene-iii-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260709T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260709T170000
DTSTAMP:20260705T125256Z
CREATED:20260705T125256Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T125256Z
UID:15150-1783584000-1783616400@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nFR LOUIS BOUYER \n◊◊◊ \nIt is not purely and simply by dying that we shall live\, but by dying such a \ndeath that it kills death itself – and it is only the death of Christ that can do that. \nFor it is not the life of the mortal body which has injured the life of the soul. It is\, \non the contrary\, the death of the soul which has injured the body and made it \nmortal. Life will be won back by the resurrection\, not of the soul alone\, but of the \nhuman being in its unity\, inseparably body and soul. And if the passage through \ndeath can lead to the resurrection\, it is only in as much as the soul\, which has \nbecome alive again in Christ\, has been made capable of burning away the death \nof the body as with a red-hot iron and of causing it to evaporate in its own flame. \nThe monk goes forward to meet death because he believes that this \nmiracle\, the greatest of all\, has been accomplished in the death of Christ: \nbecause he believes that Christ was Life\, the very Life of God\, and that in making \nphysical death his own\, he has robbed the evil one of all his power and all his \nempire which are annihilated by this very act. Again he goes forward to meet \ndeath because he believes that Christ now and for the future lives in him: and \nfinally because he believes that what has taken place in Christ will be \nreproduced in himself\, in the same manner. \nThe death of the monk\, so desired and sought after day after day\, is then \nonly the supreme evidence of his faith\, his faith in Christ vanquishing death in \nhimself\, his faith in Christ present in his followers to vanquish it in them. The \nmonk’s mortification is ultimately nothing more than his witness given to \nChrist\, the witness of his faith\, which makes it clear that it is not only an \nintellectual thing but an engagement of the whole being.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-27/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260710
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260711
DTSTAMP:20260705T125357Z
CREATED:20260705T125357Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T125357Z
UID:15152-1783641600-1783727999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST AELRED OF RIEVAULX \n◊◊◊ \nFor when in bitterness of soul \nI view my former life\, \nit scares and frightens me that I should be called shepherd\, \nfor I am surely crazy if I do not know myself \nunworthy of the name. \nYour holy mercy is upon me\, \nto snatch my wretched soul out of hell. \nYou show mercy as you will; \nyour pity succors him whom you are pleased to pity; \nand such is your forgiveness of my sin\, \nthat you do not avenge yourself by damning me\, \nnor do you even overwhelm me with reproaches; \nand\, even when you do accuse\, you love me no less. \nNevertheless\, I am disturbed and troubled\, \nfor I am mindful of your goodness\, yes— \nbut I am not unmindful of my own ingratitude. \nSee\, then\, \nbefore you is my heart’s confession of the countless sins\, \nfrom which your mercy has been pleased to free my \nhapless soul. \nMy whole heart renders thanks and praise to you \nwith all its might for all these benefits. \n6 (CF 2 : 106-107).12 \nBut I am no less in your debt \nfor all the evil things I have not done. \nFor\, most assuredly\, whatever evil thing \nI have not done\, it was your guiding hand \nthat made me abstain from doing it; \nsince either you took away the means to do it\, \nor else you corrected my inclination\, \nor gave me the power to resist. \nBut what am I to do\, O Lord my God\, \nabout the ills whereby\, in your just judgment\, \nyou suffer your servant\, the son of your handmaiden\, \nstill to be wearied and be overcome? \nThe things concerning which my sinful soul \nis troubled in your sight\, O Lord\, cannot be counted; \nyet\, for all that\, \nneither my sorrow for them nor my care \nto shun their repetition is as great \nas they demand\, and as my will desires.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-445/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260711
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260712
DTSTAMP:20260705T125503Z
CREATED:20260705T125503Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260705T125503Z
UID:15154-1783728000-1783814399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Benedict
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “Butler’s Lives of the Saints” on \nST BENEDICT \n◊◊◊ \nBenedict was of good birth\, and was born and brought up at the ancient \nSabine town of Nursia. He was sent to Rome for his ‘liberal education’\, being \naccompanied by a ‘nurse’\, probably to act as housekeeper. He was then in his \nearly teens\, or perhaps a little older. But Benedict\, revolted by the licentiousness \nof his companions in the city\, made up his mind to leave Rome. He made his \nescape without telling anyone of his plans excepting his nurse\, who \naccompanied him. They made their way to the village of Enfide in the \nmountains thirty miles from Rome. What was the length of his stay we do not \nknow\, but it was sufficient to enable him to determine his next step. Absence \nfrom the temptations of Rome\, he soon realized\, was not enough; God was \ncalling him to be a solitary and to abandon the world. \nIn search of complete solitude Benedict started forth once more\, alone\, \nand climbed further among the hills until he reached a place now known as \nSubiaco. In this wild and rocky country he came upon a monk called Romanus\, \nto whom he opened his heart\, explaining his intention of leading the life of a \nhermit. Romanus assisted the young man\, clothing him with a sheepskin habit \nand leading him to a cave in the mountain. In this desolate cavern Benedict \nspent the next three years of his life… \nDisciples began to gather about him\, attracted by his sanctity and by his \nmiraculous powers… We do not know how long the saint remained at Subiaco\, \nbut he stayed long enough to establish his monasteries on a firm and permanent \nbasis. His departure was sudden. \nHaving set all things in order\, he withdrew from Subiaco to the territory of \nMonte Cassino… Upon the site of a big temple he built two chapels and round \nabout these sanctuaries there rose little by little a great building which was \ndestined to become the most famous abbey the world has ever known\, the \nfoundation of which is likely to have been laid by St Benedict in the year 530… \nIt is probably that Benedict\, who was now in middle age\, again spent some \ntime as a hermit; but disciples soon flocked to Monte Cassino too… \nThe holy abbot\, far from confining his ministrations to those who would \nfollow his rule\, extended his solicitude to the population of the surrounding \ncountry: he cured their sick\, relieved the distressed\, distributed alms and food \nto the poor\, and is said to have raised the dead on more than one occasion. The \ngreat saint who had foretold so many other things was also forewarned of his \nown approaching death. He notified it to his disciples… He was stricken with \nfever\, and on the last day he received the Body and Blood of the Lord. Then\, \nwhile the loving hands of the brethren were supporting his weak limbs\, he \nuttered a few final words of prayer and died – standing on his feet in the chapel\, \nwith his hands uplifted towards heaven.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-benedict-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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