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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250116
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250117
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250111T212609Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250111T212609Z
UID:13022-1736985600-1737071999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
DESCRIPTION:THE PROMISES WHICH \nYOUR LIPS HAVE UTTERED \nFrom “The Mirror of Charity” by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nThese three elements — stability\, conversion of life\, and obedience — \nconstitute the essential character of monastic profession… Blessed Benedict \nrecommends obedience\, which he wants to be neither tardy nor tepid\, neither \nmorose nor grumbling\, unwavering in the face of injuries and adversities\, and \nunflagging even in the face of death… \nHow then can anyone who does not keep these things keep to his \nprofession? Someone will say: if someone is proud\, stubborn\, impatient\, and yet \nobserves all the things mentioned above\, must we say that he keeps the Rule of \nSaint Benedict? I maintain that if a monk has committed any of these faults \nagainst God’s law\, he will not be guilty of transgressing his profession if he \nmakes amends for them according to the means prescribed by the Rule. \nBut what if someone looks at the Rule of Saint Benedict as a tool for \npruning away vices more easily and fulfilling the gospel precepts more carefully\, \nand yet\, as could happen\, abusing this excellent tool\, he neither prunes away his \nvices nor acquires virtues by it. Does he not keep the Rule to his peril then\, and \nstill not fulfill Christ’s precepts? Does blessed Benedict not allude to this? We \nare going to establish\, he says\, a school of the Lord’s service\, in which we hope \nnot to institute anything harsh or burdensome… \nTo beginners\, of course\, this strictness seems not inconsiderable when \nthey think about the meager\, paltry quantity of food and drink\, the roughness of \nthe clothing\, the discomforts of fasts and vigils\, the wearing grind of daily work\, \nand all the other things we find he instituted in the Rule. If anyone does not \nagree that the Rule consists of these alone\, at least let him admit what cannot be \ndenied except by stubborn obstinacy: that our profession and Rule consist of \nboth\, that is\, of virtues and observances\, and let him therefore not refuse to \nadmit that we necessarily practice both. \nIf you have charity it is not necessary for you to be forced to fulfill the \npromises which your lips have uttered. If you scorn fulfilling the things you \npromised by putting your signature to them and calling on God and his saints as \nyour witnesses\, you can be very sure you do not have charity. For do you love \nsomeone you mock? If anyone does other than he has promised\, he said\, let him \nknow that he will be condemned by the God whom he mocks.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-vocations-19/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250117
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250118
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250111T212746Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250111T212746Z
UID:13024-1737072000-1737158399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Anthony\, Abbot
DESCRIPTION:THE PATH OF VIRTUE \nFrom “The Life of Anthony” by St Athanasius \n◊◊◊ \nAll the monks were one day gathered around Anthony so as to hear his \nwords. He said to them with the authority of a prophet: “The Holy Scriptures are \nsufficient for our instruction; nevertheless it is a good thing to encourage each \nother mutually in the faith and to urge one another in discourse. You\, therefore\, \nin a filial manner\, bring what you know to your father\, and I\, your elder\, will \ntransmit to you something of what I have experienced. \nIn the first place\, let us all endeavor together not to become lax after \nhaving begun well\, and not to be discouraged in the face of difficulties. Let us \nnot say to ourselves: We have been living the ascetical life for a long time. On \nthe contrary\, let us increase our ardor every day as if we were just beginning\, for \na person’s whole life is very short compared with the centuries to come\, and the \nwhole of time present is nothing compared with eternal life… After combating \non earth we shall obtain no earthly inheritance but a celestial one\, and when we \nhave left this corruptible body we shall receive it again incorruptible. Therefore\, \ndear sons\, let us not be discouraged nor find the time long. Let us not believe \nourselves doing too much\, for ‘The sufferings of this present time cannot be \ncompared to the glory that will be revealed in us.’ \nFor this reason\, my sons\, let us remain firm in asceticism and flee from \nsloth. The Lord is working with us\, as it is written: ‘God collaborates for good \nwith the one who has chosen what is good.’ In order to avoid negligence we will \ndo well to meditate upon the Apostle’s words: ‘I die every day’. If\, in fact\, we live \nas if each day were that of our death\, we shall not sin. This means that every day\, \non waking\, we must think that we shall not last until evening; and every night\, in \nfalling asleep\, we must think that we shall not reawaken. \nHaving thus begun and walked along the path of virtue\, let us press \nstraight on\, straining forward. Let no one look back\, like Lot’s wife\, especially as \nthe Lord has said: ‘No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for \nthe kingdom of God.’ Looking back is nothing else than feeling regret\, and \nrenewing a taste for things of the world. \nDo not fear\, on hearing talk of virtue\, that it will remain foreign to you. It is \nnot far from us nor outside of us. It is a work which is taking place within us\, and \nan easy thing if only we wish it. The Greeks leave their country and cross the sea \nto gain learning\, but as for us we have no need to travel to obtain the kingdom of \nheaven\, nor to cross the ocean to become instructed in virtue. The Lord indeed \nsaid: ‘The kingdom of God is within you.’ So virtue has need only of our will\, as it \nis in us and finds its source in ourselves… If we had to go outside of ourselves to \nacquire virtue\, it would be difficult; but since it is actually within us\, let us keep \nourselves from evil thoughts and preserve our soul for the Lord as a trust received \nfrom him\, to the end that he may recognize his handiwork\, for it is in the state in \nwhich he formed it.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-anthony-abbot/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250118
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250119
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250111T212855Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250111T212855Z
UID:13026-1737158400-1737244799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of the BVM
DESCRIPTION:IN PRAISE OF THE \nBLESSED VIRGIN MARY’S HUMILITY \nFrom a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux \n◊◊◊ \nNot everyone is a virgin\, but there are still fewer who join humility to \nvirginity\, as does Mary. So if you can do no more than admire Mary’s virginity\, \ntry to imitate her humility and for you this will be enough. \nBut in Mary there is something else still more admirable [than humility \njoined to her virginity]; her childbearing allied with her virginity. Never since \nthe world began has it been known for any woman to be at once a mother and a \nvirgin. If you just think whose mother she is surely you must be astounded at \nsuch marvelous greatness. Who could ever admire this enough? To your way of \nthinking\, or rather\, not yours but Truth’s\, should she not be exalted above all the \nchoirs of angels\, she who bore God the Son? Who else would dare\, as Mary did\, \nto call ‘son’ the Lord and God of angels\, and to say “son\, why have you treated us \nso?” Would any angel dare this? They already consider it a great favor to be \ncalled\, and to be\, angels\, when they are no more than spirits\, as David suggests \nwhen he says “He makes the spirits his angels.” Yet his was the same Majesty \nwhom they serve with awe and reverence that Mary\, knowing herself the \nmother\, confidently called her son. \nNor did God disdain to be called what he had deigned to become. As the \nEvangelist tells us a bit later\, “he was obedient to them.” Who? God. To whom? \nTo men. God\, I repeat\, to whom the angels are subject\, he whom the \nprincipalities and the power obey\, he was obedient to Mary. And not only to \nMary but to Joseph\, too\, for Mary’s sake. Marvel then at these two things: the \ngracious kindness of the Son and the surpassing dignity of the mother. Choose \nwhich you consider more wonderful. Just imagine!.. God does what a woman \nsays—unheard of humility. A woman outranks God — unparalleled sublimity. In \npraise of the virgins we sing that “they follow the Lamb wherever he goes.” Of \nwhat praise then do you consider her worthy\, who preceded him? \nMan\, learn to obey! Earth\, learn to be subject! Dust\, I say\, learn to submit \nyourself! The Evangelist tells you that your Creator was obedient to them – \nmeaning to Mary and Joseph\, of course. Blush for shame… God stoops down in \nhumility\, and you exalt yourself? God is obedient to men\, and you\, anxious to lord \nit over men\, set yourself up as your own authority? God preserve me from ever \nthinking such a thing! And if I should\, may he be so kind as to rebuke me with that \nanswer he have to the apostle: “Get behind me\, Satan! You do not know the things \nof God.” Every time I seek to lord it over men\, I am trying to get in front of my God \n– and then\, in all truth\, I do not know the things of God. For it was said of him \nthat he was obedient to them.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-the-bvm-6/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250119
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250120
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250119T113929Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250119T113929Z
UID:13029-1737244800-1737331199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n2nd Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nJanuary 19 – 25\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n19\nMon\n20\nTue\n21\nWed\n22\nThu\n23\nFri\n24\nSat\n25\n\n\nOffice\n2nd Sunday\nBl Cyprian Tansi\nSt Agnes\nWeekday\nWeekday\nSt Francis de Sales\nConversion of St Paul\n\n\nVigils\n1 Kings 3:16-28\n1 Kings 4:1-7\, 20-28\n1 Kings 4:29-5:12\n1 Kings 5:13-6:13\n1 Kings 6:14-38\n1 Kings 7:1-22\n2 Macc 3:22-36\n\n\nLauds\nJoel 2:18-22\nJoel 2:23-27\nJoel 3:1-5\nJoel 4:1-8\nJoel 4: 9-16\nJoel 4:17-21\nSir 39:1-10\n\n\nMass\n66\n311\n312\n313\n314\n315\n519\n\n\n1st\nIsa 62:1-5\nHeb 5:1-10\nHeb 6:10-20\nHeb 7:1-3\, 15-17\nHeb 7:25-8:6\nHeb 8:6-13\nActs 22:3-16\n\n\n2nd\n1 Cor 12:4-11\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nJohn 2:1-11\nMark 2:18-22\nMark 2:23-28\nMark 3:1-6\nMark 3:7-12\nMark 3:13-19\nMark 16:15-18\n\n\nVespers\n1 Cor 2:14-3:4\n1 Cor 3:5-9\n1 Cor 3:10-17\n1 Cor 3:18-23\n1 Cor 4:1-5\n1 Cor 4:6-13\n2 Cor 4:7-18
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-101/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250119
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250120
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250119T114047Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250119T114047Z
UID:13031-1737244800-1737331199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 2nd Sunday
DESCRIPTION:THE NEW CHALICE \nOF ETERNAL SALVATION \nFrom a commentary by St Maximus of Turin \n◊◊◊ \nThe Son of God went to the wedding so that marriage which had been \ninstituted by his own authority\, might be sanctified by his blessed presence. He \nwent to a wedding of the old order when he was about to take a new bride for \nhimself through the conversion of the Gentiles\, a bride who would forever \nremain a virgin. He went to a wedding even though he himself was not born of \nhuman wedlock. He went to the wedding not…to enjoy a banquet\, but rather to \nmake himself known by miracles. He went to the wedding not to drink wine\, but \nto give it\, for when there was none left for the wedding guests\, the most blessed \nMary said to him: They have no wine. \nJesus answered as though he was displeased: Woman\, he said\, is that my \nconcern or yours? It can hardly be doubted that these were words of \ndispleasure. However\, this\, I think\, was only because his mother mentioned to \nhim so casually the lack of wine\, when he had come to offer the peoples of the \nwhole world the new chalice of eternal salvation. By his reply\, My hour has not \nyet come\, he was foretelling the most glorious hour of his passion and the wine \nof our redemption which would obtain life for all. Mary was asking for a \ntemporal favor\, but Christ was preparing joys that would be eternal. \nNevertheless the Lord in his goodness did not refuse this small grace while great \ngraces were awaited. \nHoly Mary\, therefore\, since she was in very truth the Mother of the Lord\, \nand in her spirit knew in advance what would happen and foresaw the Lord’s \nwill\, took care to advise the servants to do whatever he told them. Of course this \nholy Mother knew that the rebuke of her Son and Lord was not an insult born of \nanger\, but that it contained a mysterious compassion. \nThen\, to save his Mother from embarrassment because of his reproach\, \nthe Lord revealed his sovereign power. Addressing the expectant servants\, he \nsaid\, Fill the jars with water. The servants promptly obeyed\, and suddenly in a \nmarvelous way the water began to acquire potency\, take on color\, emit \nfragrance\, and gain flavor – all at once it changed its nature completely.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-2nd-sunday/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250120
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250121
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250119T114216Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250119T114216Z
UID:13033-1737331200-1737417599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Blessed Cyprian Tansi
DESCRIPTION:THE ROAD TO THE FATHER’S HOUSE \nFrom the homily of Pope St John Paul II \nat the Beatification of Blessed Cyprian Tansi \n◊◊◊ \nThe life and witness of Father Tansi is an inspiration to everyone in the \nNigeria that he loved so much. He was first of all a man of God; his long hours \nbefore the Blessed Sacrament filled his heart with generous and courageous \nlove. Those who knew him testify to his great love of God. Everyone who met \nhim was touched by his personal goodness. He was then a man of the people: he \nalways put others before himself\, and was especially attentive to the pastoral \nneeds of families. He took great care to prepare couples well for Holy \nMatrimony and preached the importance of chastity. He tried in every way to \npromote the dignity of women. In a special way\, the education of young people \nwas precious to him. Even when he was sent by Bishop Heerey to the Cistercian \nAbbey of Mount Saint Bernard in England to pursue his monastic vocation\, with \nthe hope of bringing the contemplative life back to Africa\, he did not forget his \nown people. He did not fail to offer prayers and sacrifices for their continuing \nsanctification. \nFather Tansi knew that there is something of the Prodigal Son in every \nhuman being. He knew that all men and women are tempted to separate \nthemselves from God in order to lead their own independent and selfish \nexistence. He knew that they are then disappointed by the emptiness of the \nillusion which had fascinated them\, and that they eventually find in the depths \nof their heart the road leading back to the Father’s house. He encouraged people \nto confess their sins and receive God’s forgiveness in the Sacrament of \nReconciliation. He implored them to forgive one another as God forgives us\, and \nhand on the gift of the reconciliation\, making it a reality at every level of \nNigerian life. Father Tansi tried to imitate the father in the parable: he was \nalways available for those searching for reconciliation. He spread the joy of \nrestored communion with God. He inspired people to welcome the peace of \nChrist\, and encouraged them to nourish the life of grace with the word of God \nand with Holy Communion… \nBlessed Cyprian Michael Tansi is a prime example of the fruits of holiness \nwhich have grown and matured in the Church in Nigeria since the Gospel was \nfirst preached in this land. He received the gift of faith through the efforts of the \nmissionaries\, and taking the Christian way of life as his own he made it truly \nAfrican and Nigerian. So too the Nigerians of today — young and old alike — are \ncalled to reap the spiritual fruits which have been planted among them and are \nnow ready for the harvest… Father Tansi’s witness to the Gospel and to \nChristian charity is a spiritual gift which this local Church now offers to the \nUniversal Church… \nWe must be convinced that each of us\, according to our particular state in \nlife\, is called to do no less than what Father Tansi did. Having been reconciled \nwith God\, we must be instruments of reconciliation\, treating all men and \nwomen as brothers and sisters\, called to membership in the one family of God…
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-blessed-cyprian-tansi/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250121
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250122
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250119T114323Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250119T114323Z
UID:13035-1737417600-1737503999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Agnes
DESCRIPTION:ST AGNES \nFrom The Oxford Dictionary of Saints \n◊◊◊ \nThe earliest witness to her cult is the Deposito Martyrum of 354. About \nthe same time a basilica was built in her honor over her grave in the Via \nNomemtana. Her name was in the Roman Canon; her feast was kept in \nnumerous churches of both East and West from early times. This evidence from \ncalendars and martyrologies make her one of the most famous and universal of \nthe early Roman martyrs. Writers who praised her include Ambrose\, Jerome\, \nand Prudenius. \nHer 5th-century Acts\, wrongly attributed to Ambrose\, made her a girl of \nonly thirteen who refused marriage because of her dedication to Christ. Calmly \nand deliberately she preferred death to any violation of her consecrated \nvirginity; for this reason she has been venerated by many nations. She was \nkilled by the sword…piercing her throat. Legendary accretions to this simple \nstory were numerous\, but unhistorical. \nThrough the remembrance of the word agnus (lamb) to Agnes\, her \nprincipal iconographic emblem is a lamb\, at least from the time of the 6th \ncentury mosaics at San Apollinare Nunco at Ravenna. On her feast are blessed \nthe lambs which produce the wool from which pallia for archbishops are woven \nby the nuns of St Agnes’s convent in Rome. In England\, as elsewhere\, her cult \nwas ancient and widespread\, with five early church dedications. \nWith other virgin martyrs she also appears…frequently in late medieval \nstained glass\, but the finest cycle of her life story is on a gold and enamel cup at \nthe British museum\, which formerly belonged to the Duke of Berry and passed \nthrough the Duke of Bedford to King Henry VI… Formerly the Roman calendar \ncontained a second feast in her honor on January 29th. This seems to have \ncommemorated her birthday rather than her octave.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-agnes-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250122
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250123
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250119T114453Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250119T114453Z
UID:13037-1737504000-1737590399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE VALUE OF HUMAN LIFE \nFrom the encyclical “The Gospel of Life” by Pope St John Paul II \n◊◊◊ \nThe human person is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the \ndimensions of earthly existence\, because it consists in sharing the very life of \nGod. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the \ninestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. In a special way \nbelievers in Christ must defend and promote this right\, aware as they are of the \nwonderful truth recalled by the Second Vatican Council: By his incarnation the \nSon of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being”. This \nsaving event reveals to humanity not only the boundless love of God who “so \nloved the world that he gave his only Son”\, but also the incomparable value of \nevery human person. \nThe Church acknowledges this value with ever new wonder. She feels \ncalled to proclaim to the people of all times this Gospel\, the source of invincible \nhope and true joy for every period of history… Today this proclamation is \nespecially pressing because of the extraordinary gravity of threats to the life of \nindividuals and peoples\, especially where life is weak and defenseless. In \naddition to the ancient scourges of poverty\, hunger and disease\, violence and \nwar\, new threats are emerging on an alarmingly vast scale… \nAll this is causing a profound change in the way in which life and \nrelationships between people are considered. The fact that legislation in many \ncountries\, has determined not to punish these practices against life\, and even to \nmake them altogether legal\, is both a disturbing symptom and a significant \ncause of grave moral decline. Choices once unanimously considered criminal \nand rejected by the common moral sense are gradually becoming socially \nacceptable. Even certain sectors of the medical profession\, which by its calling \nis directed to the defense and care of human life\, are increasingly willing to carry \nout these acts against the person. \nThe end result of this is tragic; not only is the fact of the destruction of so \nmany human lives still to be born or in their final stage extremely grave and \ndisturbing\, but no less grave and disturbing is the fact that conscience itself\, \ndarkened as it were by such widespread conditioning\, is finding it increasingly \ndifficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic value of \nhuman life. \nThe present encyclical\, the fruit of the cooperation of the episcopate of \nevery country of the world\, is therefore meant to be a precise and vigorous \nreaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability\, and at the same \ntime a pressing appeal to each and every person\, in the name of God\, respect\, \nprotect\, love and serve life\, every human life! Only in this direction will you \nfind justice\, development. True freedom\, peace and happiness.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-257/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250123
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250124
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250119T114606Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250119T114606Z
UID:13039-1737590400-1737676799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:ON THE THRESHOLD \nOF CONTEMPLATION \nFrom a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux \n◊◊◊ \nMy brethren\, I beseech you\, be on your guard all the time\, for this is the \nhour of battle… Let us stand firmly at our post. Let us lean with all our strength \non the invincible rock which is Christ\, in accordance with these words from the \nscriptures: “He set my feet on a rock\, and ordered my goings”. Thus set up and \nfortified\, let us apply ourselves to contemplation: we shall see what is said to us \nand what we should answer to him who reproaches us. \nThe first stage of contemplation…is that we should ceaselessly consider \nthe Lord’s wishes as to what pleases him\, what he wants. For we all make many \nmistakes. Our want of simplicity bruises the honesty of his will\, and this \nprevents us from unifying ourselves\, from cleaving to him. So let us humble \nourselves beneath the mighty hand of the Most High God and hasten to lay our \nwretchedness before the eyes of his mercy\, saying\, “Heal me\, O Lord\, and I shall \nbe healed; save me\, and I shall be saved”\, and again\, “Lord\, be merciful to me\, \nheal my soul\, for I have sinned against you’. \nWhen the eye of the heart has been purified by this kind of thought we no \nlonger live with a heart full of bitterness but in the joys which are found in the \nSpirit of God. And now we consider no longer what is God’s will for us\, but what \nthis will is in itself. For God wills life\, and nothing is better or more profitable \nthan to conform to his will. That is why the eagerness with which we try to \npreserve our life should be directed\, as far as possible\, into never swerving from \nthe path which brings us to God’s will… \nLet us recall how gentle the Lord is\, how good he is in himself. With the \nprophet let us ask to see the Lord’s will\, let us ask him to bring us\, no longer to \nour hearts but to his temple\, “to behold the fair beauty of the Lord\, and to visit \nhis temple”. And in addition let us say with him\, “My God\, my soul is vexed \nwithin me: therefore will I remember you”. \nThese two things embrace the content of the whole spiritual life: at the \nsight of ourselves we are troubled and contrite\, and in fear of our salvation; \nwhile in contemplating God we find relief\, and the joy of the Holy Spirit brings \nus consolation. On one side\, fear and humility; on the other\, hope and love.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-258/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250124
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250125
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250119T114718Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250119T114718Z
UID:13041-1737676800-1737763199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Francis de Sales
DESCRIPTION:A DELICATE SENSE \nOF GOD’S PRESENCE \nBy St Francis de Sales \n◊◊◊ \nThe soul thus inwardly recollected in God or in God’s presence is at times \nrendered so sweetly attentive to the goodness of its beloved as to think that its \nattention is not actually attention\, so simply and so delicately is it exercised. It \nis like certain rivers which flow so calmly and smoothly that those who look at \nthem or sail on them seem neither to see nor to feel any motion\, since they see \nno waves or currents whatever. This loving repose of the soul is called the \n“prayer of quiet” by the holy virgin Teresa of Jesus\, and is scarcely different \nfrom that which she calls “the sleep of the powers\,” at least if I understand her \nproperly. \nIndeed\, even men in love are at times content with being near or within \nsight of the one they love without actually speaking to her and without thinking \nespecially either of her or of her perfections. They seem to be pleased and \nsatisfied with enjoying this dear presence\, not by any consideration they give it \nbut by a certain calm and repose their spirit finds in it… \nSometimes this repose goes so deep in its tranquility that the whole soul \nand all its powers remain as if sunk in sleep. They make no movement or action \nwhatsoever\, except the will alone and even it does no more than receive the joy \nand contentment that it receives but enjoys it insensibly. It does not think of \nitself but of him whose presence gives it such pleasure. It is like what often \nhappens when we drop off unaware into a light sleep. We only half hear what \nour friends are saying around us\, or feel their caresses almost imperceptibly \nwithout feeling that we feel. \nNevertheless\, the soul enjoying in this sweet repose such a delicate sense \nof God’s presence\, even though it does not have perception of such enjoyment\, \nstill shows clearly how precious to it and how worthy of love is this happiness. \nFor when anyone tries to deprive the soul of it or something turns it from it\, then \nthat poor soul complains\, cries out\, even weeps at times. It is like a little child \nawakened before it has slept enough; by the pain it feels on being awakened \nclearly shows the pleasure it had in sleep. For this reason the heavenly shepherd \nadjures the daughters of Sion\, “by the roes and harts of the fields\,” not to cause \nthe beloved to awaken up until she pleases\, that is\, to let her awaken by herself. \nA soul thus at peace in its God would not change that repose for all the world’s \ngreatest goods.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-francis-de-sales-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250125
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250126
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250119T114828Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250119T114828Z
UID:13043-1737763200-1737849599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Conversion of St Paul
DESCRIPTION:THE BEARER OF A MISSION \nBy Fr Lucien Cerfaux \n◊◊◊ \nIn terms of today\, Paul passed from the Jewish religion to Christianity. He \nis the first of the great “converts” who distinguish the pages of Christian history \nand provide the apologists with proof of the supremacy of our religion. Yet he \nhimself would not have used the term “conversion” if this implied abandoning \none religion for another. For him Christianity was not a new religion\, distinct \nfrom Judaism. If it had been suggested to Paul that he was no longer a Jew\, he \nwould not have understood what was meant. The many protests in the epistles \ndo not apply to the past: Paul is and continues to be Hebrew and Jew\, in race \nand religion… \nWe can state definitely that St Paul interprets the event which took place \non the road to Damascus as a call from God\, a vocation to a mission which ranks \nhim with the prophets of the Old Testament. Like the prophets\, he has been \ngranted a vision; like them\, he has been given a mission\, and like them too\, he is \nconstrained to answer the call: his human resolve is endowed by grace to such \nan extent that it is God himself who carries out the work with which the Apostle \nis entrusted. \nThe book of Acts confirms these conclusions. Paul is the chosen instru- \nment to “carry” the name of Christ\, that is\, to bear witness\, in the midst of \npersecution\, before kings\, nations and Israel. The three accounts of the vision at \nDamascus agree with the Epistle to the Galatians; Paul changed abruptly from \nbeing an active persecutor of the church and submitted himself to the orders \ntransmitted by Christ… \nThere are two distinct aspects of his vocation. The first concerns salvation \nonly: the chosen are destined for the messianic era; they are called children of \nGod\, they receive the messianic graces. The summons to the messianic feast was \nknown to the rabbis from the first century and was used by Jesus. A second \nseries of texts reserves the call to outstanding leaders in the Old Testament such \nas Abraham\, Moses\, Joshua\, the prophets\, who were predestined before their \nbirth and “called” at the chosen moment by God. When he calls someone by \nname it is to entrust that one with a mission. \nSt Paul is called as the bearer of a mission. He is ranked on the same level \nas the spiritual leaders of Israel and shares their privileges. His mission is \naddressed to the gentiles\, to whom he will transmit the call to the messianic \ngraces.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-conversion-of-st-paul-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250126
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250127
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250126T112842Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T112842Z
UID:13061-1737849600-1737935999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n3rd Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nJan. 26 – Feb. 1\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n26\nMon\n27\nTue\n28\nWed\n29\nThu\n30\nFri\n31\nSat\n1\n\n\nOffice\nSS Robert\, Alberic\, & Stephen\nSS Timothy & Titus\nSt Thomas Aquinas\nOffice for the Dead\nWeekday\nWeekday\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nLev 26:3-13\n1 Kings 7:23-51\n1 Kings 8:1-21\n1 Kings 8:22-40\n1 Kings 8:41-53\n1 Kings 8:54-66\n1 Kings 9:1-14\n\n\nLauds\nSir 2:1-11\nAmos 1:1-5\nAmos 1:6-10\nAmos 1:11-15\nAmos 2:1-5\nAmos 2:6-16\nAmos 3:1-8\n\n\nMass\n606\, 322\, 815.8\n520\, 317\n318\n319\n320\n321\n322\n\n\n1st\nSir 44:1\,10-15\n2 Tim 1:1-8\nHeb 10:1-10\nHeb 10:11-18\nHeb 10:19-25\nHeb 10:32-39\nHeb 11:1-2\, 8-19\n\n\n2nd\nHeb 11:1-2\, 8-16\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMark 10:24b-30\nMark 3:22-30\nMark 3:31-35\nMark 4:1-20\nMark 4:21-25\nMark 4:26-34\nMark 4:35-41\n\n\nVespers\nEph 4:1-6\n1 Cor 4:14-21\n1 Cor 5:6-13\n1 Cor 6:1-11\n1 Cor 6:12-20\n1 Cor 7:17-24\nRom 12:1-5
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-102/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250126
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250127
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250126T113053Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T113053Z
UID:13063-1737849600-1737935999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Robert\, Alberic\, & Stephen
DESCRIPTION:THE BEGINNINGS OF THE \nCISTERCIAN ORDER \nA reading from the “Exordium Parvum” \n◊◊◊ \nWe Cistercians\, the first founders of this Church\, in this document hereby \nrelate to our successors how this Monastery and its way of life took its beginning \naccording to the Laws of Holy Mother the Church; by what authority it began\, \nand also by what persons and at what times; so that by the telling of the plain \nand unadulterated truth\, they may be moved to a deep love for this Monastery \nand for the observance of the Holy Rule of St Benedict which was begun in it by \nus through the Grace of God; and that they might pray for us who have borne the \nheat and the burden of the day without losing courage; that they might labor \nwith great fervor in the straight and narrow way which the Rule describes\, even \nunto complete union with God\, when\, having shed the garments of this flesh\, \nthey might happily rest in eternal peace. \nIn the year 1098\, Robert of blessed memory\, the first Abbot of the Church \nof Molesme founded in the Diocese of Langre\, together with some of the \nbrethren from the same Monastery\, came to the venerable Hugh\, who was at \nthat time the Legate of the Holy See and the Archbishop of the Church of Lyons\, \nstating that they desired to live their life under the guidance of the Holy Rule of \nFather Benedict\, and that in order that they might follow out these designs with \ngreater freedom and security\, they earnestly entreated him that he would bless \nand endorse their project with his Apostolic Authority. The Legate was happily \npleased with their desire\, and he laid the foundation of their beginnings by his \nLetter. \nAfter these affairs\, Robert and those who sided with him returned to \nMolesme and chose from that community of brethren those who wished to \nassociate with themselves\, brothers who had made their vows according to the \nRule; so that between those who had spoken to the Legate at Lyons and those \nwho had been chosen from the Monastery\, there were twenty-one monks. \nAccompanied by such a troop\, they made their way in all haste to the desert \nwhich was called Citeaux… Because of the thickness of the woods and \nundergrowth\, it was very rarely visited by people and it was inhabited by \nnothing but wild animals. \nWhen they arrived there\, the men of God immediately conceived a great \nand holy reverence for the place\, for the more contemptible and inaccessible it \nwas to the people of the world\, the more they considered it fit for their life. This \nwas the very reason for which they had come there. Far away and hidden by the \ndensity of trees and undergrowth\, they began to construct a monastery there \nwith the help of the Bishop of Chalons-sur-Saone and the consent of the one \nwho owned the property. For these men\, while they were still at Molesme\, \ninspired by the grace of God\, had frequently spoken among themselves about \nthe transgressions of the Rule of Blessed Benedict\, Father of Monks. They had \nlamented and grown sad in spirit\, seeing that both they and the rest of the \nmonks who had promised by their Solemn Profession that they would observe \nthis Rule\, kept that promise to a very small degree. On account of this\, by the \nauthority of the Holy See\, they came to this solitude in order that they might \nfulfill their profession by the observance of the Holy Rule.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-robert-alberic-stephen-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250127
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250128
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250126T113430Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T113430Z
UID:13065-1737936000-1738022399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Timothy & Titus
DESCRIPTION:THE VIRTUE OF ST TIMOTHY \nAS A PATTERN FOR CHRISTIANS \nFrom a sermon by St John Henry Newman \n◊◊◊ \n“Drink no longer water\, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and \nfor your other infirmities”. This is a remarkable verse\, because it accidentally tells \nus so much. It is addressed to Timothy\, St Paul’s companion\, the first Bishop of \nEphesus. Of Timothy we know very little\, except that he did minister to St Paul\, \nand hence we might have inferred that he was a man of very saintly character; but \nwe know little or nothing of him\, except that he had been from a child a careful \nreader of Scripture… \nTimothy…had so read the Old Testament\, and had so heard from St Paul the \nNew\, that he was a true follower of the Apostle\, as the Apostle was of Christ. St Paul \naccordingly calls him “my own son”\, or “my true son in the faith”. And elsewhere \nhe says to the Philippians that he has “no man like-minded to Timothy\, who would \nnaturally” or truly “care for their state”… St Paul does not expressly tell us that he \nwas a man of mortified habits; but he reveals the fact indirectly by cautioning him \nagainst an excess of mortification. “Drink no longer water\,” he says\, “but use a little \nwine.” It should be observed that wine\, in the southern countries\, is the ordinary \nbeverage; it is nothing strong or costly. Yet even from such as this\, Timothy was in \nthe habit of abstaining\, and restricting himself to water; and\, as the Apostle \nthought\, imprudently\, to the increase of his “frequent infirmities.” \nThere is something very striking in this accidental mention of the private \nways of this Apostolic Bishop. We know indeed from history the doctrine and the \nlife of the great saints\, who lived some time after the Apostles’ age; but we are \nnaturally anxious to know something more of the Apostles themselves and their \nassociates. We say\, “Oh that we could speak to St Paul – that we could see him in his \ndaily walk\, and hear his…teaching! – that we could ask him what he meant by this \nexpression in his Epistles\, or what he thought of this or the other doctrine.” This is \nnot given to us. God might give us greater light than He does; but it is His gracious \nwill to give us the less. Yet perhaps much more has been given us in Scripture\, as it \nhas come to us\, than we think\, if our eyes were enlightened to discern it there. Such\, \nfor instance\, is this text; it is a sudden revelation\, a glimpse of the personal \ncharacter of Apostolic Christians; it is a hint which we may follow out. For no one \nwill deny that a very great deal of doctrine\, and a very great deal of precept\, goes \nwith such a fact as this: namely\, that this holy man\, without impiously disparaging \nGod’s creation\, and thanklessly rejecting God’s gifts\, yet\, on the whole\, lived a life \nof abstinence. \nI cannot understand why such a life is not excellent in a Christian now\, if it \nwas the characteristic of Apostles and friends of Apostles then. I really do not see \nwhy the trials and persecutions\, which surrounded them from Jews and Gentiles\, \ntheir forlorn despised state\, and their necessary discomforts\, should not even have \nexempted them from voluntary sufferings in addition\, unless such self-imposed \nhardships were pleasing to Christ. Such were the holy men of old. How far are we \nbelow them! Alas for our easy sensual life\, our cowardice\, our sloth! Is this the way \nby which the kingdom of God is won?
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-timothy-titus-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250128
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250129
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250126T113603Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T113603Z
UID:13067-1738022400-1738108799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Thomas Aquinas
DESCRIPTION:THE ATTITUDE OF ST THOMAS \nAQUINAS BEFORE THE TRUTH \nBy Josef Pieper \n◊◊◊ \nIn considering the teaching of St Thomas\, we should not understand it \nmerely as the material substance of an explicitly formulated set of doctrines. \nMuch too rarely does one remember that the substance of the content [of his \nwritings] has its origin in a very special attitude of St Thomas\, human as well as \nintellectual\, not only in the sense that this attitude colors the work with its \nparticular emphasis\, but also in the sense that without this special human \nattitude\, what has been written might never have been written at all. \nShould we therefore not consider this attitude\, this temper of mind – \nthough Thomas himself never expressly formulated it – as part and parcel of the \nspirit of the ratio of the Universal Doctor of Christendom – the bold intrepidity \nwhich impelled and enabled the young mendicant friar at the University of Paris \nto “re-cognize” the truth of the Aristotelian worldview\, to re-integrate it as an \nessential part into the intellectual heritage of the Christian West\, undaunted by \nthe opposition of the defenders of traditional doctrine. And should we not see in \nthe personal “style” of this bold recognition of truth and reality likewise an \nelement of “timeliness\,” in the sense of an exemplary attitude?… \nIn times such as these it is imperative to call to mind the qualities which \nmake Thomas what he was: the all-inclusive\, fearless strength of his \naffirmation\, his generous acceptance of the whole of reality\, the trustful \nmagnanimity of his thought. And we find occasion\, also\, to remember: The \nformal and theoretical justification for this attitude is found precisely in \nThomas’s doctrine of the infinitely many-sided truth of things. Truth cannot be \nexhausted by any (human) knowledge; it remains therefore always open to new \nformulation. \nOn the other hand\, what we call here the “Thomist attitude” would have to \ninclude\, in order to remain true to its master\, the resolution not to relinquish a \nsingle particle of the heritage of truth; for it is the hallmark of the “modernity” of \nAlbert and Thomas that both refused to disrupt and abandon\, for the sake of new \nideas\, the realm of tradition. They relinquished neither the Bible nor Augustine \n(nor\, consequently\, Plato) for the sake of Aristotle. The new territory which awaits \nconquest today…is of virtually immeasurable scope… Thomas Aquinas might \nattain to a new timeliness\, both affirmative and corrective.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-thomas-aquinas-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250129
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250130
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250126T113722Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T113722Z
UID:13069-1738108800-1738195199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:THE HAPPINESS OF HEAVEN \nFrom a letter by St Alphonsus Liguori \n◊◊◊ \nWhile we remain on earth\, it is difficult\, if not impossible\, to understand \nor describe the happiness of heaven. One reason for this is that we think and \nimagine only in terms of earthly enjoyments. If a horse were made capable of \nreasoning and then were promised a rich feast from its owner\, the animal would \nenvision a meal made up of the choicest hay and oats. Our concept of heaven is \nformed under the same limitations. In heaven we will be totally enthralled with \na beauty far surpassing anything we have experienced here on earth. In heaven \nwe will be sure that we love God and he loves us. \nWhat is more\, this love of ours will be constantly extended by the ever \nincreasing knowledge that we will gain of the magnitude of God’s love for us. We \nwill see how God showed this love\, for example\, by becoming man and dying on \nthe cross for us and by giving us himself in the holy Eucharist. \nAlso\, we will see how many graces God gave us in our lifetime; how he \ndelivered us from so may temptations; how much patience he showed by \nenduring our many weaknesses and sins; how merciful he was to us in giving us \nso many lights\, so many chances\, so much love. \nIn heaven we will forever enjoy a kind of happiness which\, even as eternity \nprogresses\, will always be as new as at the first moment we began to enjoy it. We \nshall be always satisfied\, yet always craving. We will be forever hungry\, yet always \nsated with infinite delights\, because desires in heaven produce no pain\, and \npleasure in heaven never becomes boring.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-16/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250130
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250131
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250126T113823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T113823Z
UID:13071-1738195200-1738281599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE FIRE OF LOVE \nBy John of Ford \n◊◊◊ \n‘May your will’\, Lord Jesus\, ‘be done on earth as it is in heaven for you\,̓ \nsaid that it was your will that fire be enkindled on this earth\, the fire you came to \nsend upon it. What you desired has happened. The furnace that is in Jerusalem \nhas enkindled a furnace on earth. Here on earth\, just as in heaven\, you have \nmade your ministers flames of fire\, and like a devouring fire\, they devour to the \nright and to the left. \nIndeed\, love is never satisfied. It feels distaste for nothing\, it does not \nthink anything should be rejected. It issues its call equally to the good and to the \nbad\, receiving them indiscriminately and making no distinction in favor of one \nrather than the other. The only distinction\, perhaps\, is that it usually overflows \nmore copiously for those in whom sin has abounded. It is characteristic of love \nthat\, like fire\, it burns more fiercely where it finds sturdier tinder\, and the \nquality and quantity of what instigates it\, makes its flame grow ever stronger. \nJesus makes this crystal clear in his parable of the two debtors; it is the one who \nis forgiven most who loves most). He loves more\, says Jesus\, to whom more is \ngiven; he loves more\, meaning that he is urged by the debt and the material is \nthere to prompt him to greater love. \nIn my opinion\, this is why Zechariah said those words I quoted above\, that he \nwould make ‘the clans of Judah like a blazing pot in the midst of wood\, like a \nflaming torch among the sheaves Obviously\, because wood is harder than hay\, it is.̓ \nbetter material for fires\, and the more difficult it is to set it burning\, the more it \nblazes up once it has begun. It seems to change into the very substance of fire\, \ntaking on its color as well as its heat. The sheaves\, on the other hand\, are those \nwhose sins are venial\, and the flaming torch\, that is\, the opportunity to be forgiven \nand receive unmerited grace\, consumes them with a spark. Yet it is not a fiery spark \nthat touches the wood\, but a furnace\, so that\, in some wonderful way\, the wood \nitself becomes fire by the intensity of the heat. And the wood takes to itself not only \nthe ability to burn\, but also to enkindle.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-259/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250131
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250201
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250126T113938Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T113938Z
UID:13073-1738281600-1738367999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:SIMPLICITY AND OPENNESS \nFrom the Collected Works of Saint Rafael Arnaiz \n◊◊◊ \nOne must walk so many tortured paths to arrive at simplicity. Complication \nis such an uncomfortable thing…and we human beings like to complicate \neverything for ourselves. Often\, if we fail to practice virtue\, it’s because our \ncomplicated nature rejects what is simple. Often\, we fail to appreciate the \nmagnificence hidden within an act of simplicity\, because we look for greatness in \ncomplicated things; we judge the magnificence of things based on their difficulty… \nI clearly see that what seemed dark and complicated to me before is actually \nrather simple and straightforward. Virtue…God…the interior life\, how difficult I \nthought it was to live that! It’s not that I’m virtuous now\, or that I have a \ncompletely clear knowledge of God and spiritual life\, but I’ve realized that you get \nthere without complications or complexities\, without clever philosophy\, without \ntechnical challenges. I’ve come to see that you reach God in precisely the opposite \nmanner. You come to know Him through simplicity of heart and being \nuncomplicated. There’s nothing difficult about acts of love… What’s truly difficult \nis wanting to know God by searching out His mysteries. The former leads us to \nGod\, and the latter does not… \nSo\, then\, why do we lack virtue at times? Because we aren’t simple; because \nwe complicate our desires; because everything we want is made difficult by our \nweak will\, which gets carried away by whatever is pleasing\, comfortable\, and \nunnecessary\, and often by its passions. We lack virtue not because it is difficult\, but \nbecause we don’t want it. We lack patience…because we don’t want it. We lack \ntemperance…because we don’t want it. We lack chastity…for the same reason. We \nwould be saints if we wanted to be…it’s much harder to become an engineer than it \nis to become a saint. If only we had faith! \nThe interior life…the spiritual life\, a life of prayer. “My God! That must be \ndifficult!” But it’s not at all. Get rid of everything in your heart that’s in the way\, \nand you’ll find God there. That’s it. Often we look for things that aren’t there\, and \non the other hand we’ll walk right by a treasure without seeing it…We look for Him \nin a whole tangled mess of things\, and to us\, the more complicated they are\, the \nbetter. And all the while\, we are carrying God around inside of us\, yet we don’t look \nfor Him there. Collect yourself within…gaze upon your nothingness\, gaze upon the \nnothingness of the world\, place yourself at the foot of the cross\, and if you are \nsimple\, you will see God… All we have to do is want Him\, and God will fill the soul \nagain in such a way that you’d have to be blind not to see it. \nIf a soul wants to live according to God’s ways…it must be rid of everything \nthat is not Him…and that is it. It’s quite easy. If we wanted to\, and if we asked God \nwith simplicity\, we would make great progress in the spiritual life. If we wanted to \nbe saints\, we would be… But we’re such fools that we don’t want to…We prefer to \nwaste time on stupid vanities. We’ll regret that someday. \nBut I am very happy\, because I have come to see that everything is simple \nand straightforward…and this is within my reach.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-260/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250201
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250202
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250126T114043Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250126T114043Z
UID:13075-1738368000-1738454399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of the BVM
DESCRIPTION:SHE HEARD THE WORD OF GOD \nAND KEPT IT \nBy Fr Hans Urs von Balthasar \n◊◊◊ \nMary is a “prototype of the church\,” and this for two reasons: she is the \nplace of the real and bodily indwelling of the Word in the most intimate union of \nMother and Child sharing the same flesh; and\, in the spiritual sphere\, she is – \nand to this the former is due – a servant\, in her entire person\, body and soul\, one \nwho knows no law of her own\, but only conformity to the Word of God. Because \nshe was a virgin\, which means a pure\, exclusive hearer of the word\, she became \nmother\, the place of the incarnation of the Word. Her womb was blessed\, only \nbecause she “heard the word of God and kept it”\, because she “kept all these \nwords and pondered them in her heart”. She is the model which should govern \ncontemplation\, if it is to keep clear of two dangers: one\, that of seeing the word \nonly as something external\, instead of the profoundest mystery within our own \nbeing\, that in which we live\, move and are: the other\, that of regarding the word \nas so interior to us that we confuse it with our own being\, with a natural wisdom \ngiven us once and for all\, and ours to use as we will…. \nThe hearer par excellence is the virgin who became pregnant with the \nWord\, and bore him as her own and the Father’s son. She herself\, even when \nmother\, remained a servant; the Father alone is the Master\, together with the \nSon\, who is her life and who molds her life. She lives wholly for the fruit of her \nwomb. Even after she has given him birth\, she continues to carry him within \nher; she only needs to look into her heart to find him. But she does not omit\, on \nthat account\, to turn her gaze uninterruptedly upon the child growing up by her \nside\, upon the youth and the man\, whose ideas and actions seem to her ever \nmore unpredictable and astonishing. \nMore and more she “understood not” what he meant – when he stayed \nbehind in the Temple without telling her\, when he failed to receive her\, when\, in \nhis public life\, he concealed his power and spent himself in vain and\, in the end\, \ndetached himself from her as she stood at the foot of the cross\, substituting for \nhimself a stranger\, John\, to be her son. With all the force of her body\, she obeys \nthe word that resounds ever more strongly and divinely but seems more and \nmore alien and almost tears her asunder\, although\, in spite of all\, she has given \nherself to it wholly and radically in advance. She lets herself be led whither she \n“knows not”; so far is the word she follows from being her own wisdom. Yet she \nis wholly in accord with its leading\, so surely is the word she loves “engrafted” in \nher heart.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-the-bvm-7/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250202
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250203
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250202T012541Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T012541Z
UID:13085-1738454400-1738540799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n4th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nFebruary 2 – 8\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n2\nMon\n3\nTue\n4\nWed\n5\nThu\n6\nFri\n7\nSat\n8\n\n\nOffice\nPresentation of the Lord\nWeekday\nWeekday\nSt Agatha\nSt Paul Miki & Comp\nWeekday\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nExod 13:1-16\n1 Kings 9:15-28\n1 Kings 10:1-13\n1 Kings 10:14-29\n1 Kings 11:1-13\n1 Kings 11:14-25\n1 Kings 11:26-40\n\n\nLauds\nIsa 42:1-7\nAmos 3:9-12\nAmos 3:13-15\nAmos 4:1-5\nAmos 4:6-10\nAmos 4:11-13\nAmos 5:1-6\, 8-9\n\n\nMass\n524\n323\n324\n325\n326\n327\n328\n\n\n1st\nMal 3:1-4\nHeb 11:32-40\nHeb 12:1-4\nHeb 12:4-7\, 11-15\nHeb 12:18-19\, 21-24\nHeb 13:1-8\nHeb 13:15-17\, 20-21\n\n\n2nd\nHeb 2:14-18\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 2:22-40\nMark 5:1-20\nMark 5:21-43\nMark 6:1-6\nMark 6:7-13\nMark 6:14-29\nMark 6:30-34\n\n\nVespers\n1 Jn 3:1-8\n1 Cor 8:4-13\n1 Cor 9:1-12a\n1 Cor 9:12b-18\n1 Cor 9:19-27\n1 Cor 10:1-13\n1 Cor 10:14-22
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-103/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250202
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250203
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250202T012710Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T012710Z
UID:13087-1738454400-1738540799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Presentation of the Lord
DESCRIPTION:THE PASCHAL SIGNIFICANCE \nOF JESUS’ PRESENTATION \nFrom “Sign of Contradiction” by Pope St John Paul II \n◊◊◊ \nForty days after the nativity the Church celebrates an event full of \nspiritual significance. On that day the Son of God\, as a tiny child of poor parents\, \nborn in a rough stable in Bethlehem\, was carried to the temple in Jerusalem. \nThis was his own temple\, the temple of the living God\, but he came to it not as \nthe Lord but as one under the law. For the poor the law prescribed that forty \ndays after the birth of the firstborn two turtle-doves or two young pigeons must \nbe offered in sacrifice\, as a sign that the child was consecrated to the Lord. \nThe message which the Spirit of God allowed the old man Simeon to sense \nand express so wonderfully was implicitly in the event itself\, in this first \nencounter between the Messiah and his temple. On seeing the child\, Simeon \nbegins to utter words that are not of human provenance. He prophesies\, \nprompted by the Holy Spirit; he speaks with the voice of God\, the God for whom \nthe temple was built and who is its rightful master. \nSimeon’s words begin\, in what the liturgy calls the Song\, by bearing \nwitness to the light… They end…by bearing witness to the cross\, in which \ncontradiction of Jesus\, the Christ\, is to find tangible expression. The cost of the \ncross was shared by the mother\, whose soul — according to Simeon’s words — \nwas to be pierced by a sword\, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be laid \nbare. \nChronologically the presentation of Jesus in the temple is linked with the \nnativity\, but in its significance it belongs with the mystery of the pasch. It is the \nfirst of the events which clearly reveal the messianic status of the newborn child. \nWith him are linked the fall and the rising of many in the old Israel and also the \nnew. On him the future of humankind depends. It is he who is the true Lord of \nthe ages to come. His reign begins when the temple sacrifice is offered in \naccordance with the law\, and it attains full realization through the sacrifice on \nthe cross\, offered in accordance with an eternal plan of love.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-presentation-of-the-lord-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250203
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250204
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250202T012816Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T012816Z
UID:13089-1738540800-1738627199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE EYEWITNESS OF THE APOSTLES \nBy Fr Hans Urs von Balthasar \n◊◊◊ \nThe Apostles are the founders of the Church\, officially chosen and called \nby the Lord\, whose first function will be to be eyewitnesses. They are drawn into \nliving community with the Messiah\, a relationship in which they will enjoy with \nthis man\, who is ‘God among us’\, a commerce that is fully human\, that engages \nboth their senses and their spirit. They are ‘those with him’\, ‘those who \naccompany him’\, and ‘those around him’. This is what they are\, and they will \ngrow more and more into this way of life in the course of Jesus’ life. They \nconstitute the original cell of God’s community with us\, which had been \npromised and is now being realized. All those coming after them who wish to \nhave community with God must become a part of this original cell. There are \nmany others who come to the Lord\, only to go away again\, many others who stay \nwith him a while only then to leave him\, or simply others who have a loose \nconnection with him without any particular calling. \nBy contrast\, the Apostles enjoy a community with Jesus which has precise \ncontours\, a community which he has consciously established and maintained\, \nwhich is founded on the definitive life-long renunciation of all else: it is \nsomething wholly formed\, distinctive in shape. And yet it is not something \nmagical imposed from above\, since the son of perdition will indeed fall away; \nrather\, it is the realization of the covenant-partnership between God and \nourselves. \nEyewitness\, in turn\, is an association with the Lord in his public life\, in his \nPassion\, and in his death which is the communal\, human\, and realistic \nexperience of God which continues and fulfills the Old Testament’s promise of \nan earthly God-with-us. But this phase comes to an end with Jesus’ death. The \nApostles’ senses\, accustomed to his existence\, now fall into the void. There is no \nlonger anything there to see\, to hear\, to touch. The Apostles’ whole human \nexperience breaks off with the three days in death\, then to resume anew\, \nwithout any traceable continuity\, with Christ’s Resurrection\, at a place whose \ndistance from the point of disruption can be known and measured only by God. \nAnd now\, during the forty days\, the association with the Lord will be \nexperienced with wholly new senses. \nThe eyewitness of the Apostles draws all its force from this last phase\, to \nbe sure; otherwise they could hardly bear witness to anything more than an \nextraordinary man who was prophetically gifted and who performed miracles. \nBut it draws its force not\, indeed\, solely from the witness of the Resurrection\, \nbut from the fact that the man who appeared to them was the same whom they \nhad known previously from long association and whom they had seen suffer and \ndie. Seeing him\, hearing him\, touching him\, observing how he eats\, the proof of \nthe wounds” all of this receives its full significance only in that light.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-261/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250204
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250205
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250202T012925Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T012925Z
UID:13091-1738627200-1738713599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:ON PREACHING CHRIST \nBy St Albert the Great \n◊◊◊ \nJust as the body is borne about on legs\, so Christ is borne about by \npreachers. Professional preachers have the gospel in their heart through love and \nunderstanding\, in their lips through their preaching and doctrine\, and in their \nhand through the accomplishment of their work. \nGregory says: “The preacher’s tongue works to no avail unless there is the \ngrace of redemption at work within.” Hence\, the office of preaching must not be \nentrusted to those who lead a shady life and perform works of darkness. The \npreacher must put off the old association with sin. The word of the Lord must \nproceed maturely and orderly\, as befits the word of God and as it proceeds from \nthe mouth of God. \nThus preaching requires instruction\, and study\, and meditation. Just as \nthe eagle has a more sublime flight\, so must the preacher soar by means of \ncontemplation. For a sermon which proceeds from a preacher’s innermost being \nwarms and gladdens the heart like wine and is often brought back to the mind \nand pondered. \nThe things to be preached are those above nature which our intelligence \ncan only understand through faith. Especially to be preached are those things \nthat must be believed\, which works are to be avoided and which to be \naccomplished. Preaching should summon sinners to repentance\, strengthen the \nweak\, warn of the punishment for sinners\, and promise glory. Preachers must \noffer not their own teaching of truth but the teaching of the one who sent them. \nThey must lead an exemplary life as well. \nPreachers who are sent\, going out from their comfort into the field to sow \nthe word of God\, will find the Church of believers to be united with themselves in \na spiritual marriage. Just as the sight of open fields will impel a horse to run\, \nwhich is one of its skills\, so the sight of a place filled with people eager to listen \nwill inspire a preacher to preach. Preachers will thus proceed to insure their own \nspiritual growth\, that by contemplating they might imbibe the truth which by \npreaching they give forth; they are converted from an external work\, which they \ndirected toward their neighbor\, to familiar conversation with God in the secret of \ntheir own conscience. \nThe scribe is the Holy Spirit\, and the preacher’s tongue is the pen by which \nthe Holy Spirit speaks. And just as we do not praise the pen for fine writing but \nrather the writer\, so the preacher should not be praised for good preaching but \nthe Holy Spirit. \nThe word of God is to be preached to everyone without respect to persons. \nIt must be taught in a human way and inserted into the human heart by the finger \nof God. It should be taught to the unlearned by the examples of corporal things \nthrough the bodily examples with which they are acquainted and by which they \ncan in some way understand heavenly things.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-262/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250205
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250206
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250202T013023Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T013023Z
UID:13093-1738713600-1738799999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Agatha
DESCRIPTION:ST AGATHA \nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints \n◊◊◊ \nSt Agatha has retained her place in the Universal Calendar following the \nreforms of 1969\, even though nothing that can be called historical fact is known \nof her life. There is\, however\, good evidence of an early cult\, with many versions \nof her legend recorded in both Greek and Latin\, the Greek being the earlier\, with \nthe Latin dating from the sixth century. This means that however fictitious the \ndetails of her Acts\, she cannot be dismissed as a mere fiction altogether. Her \nActs\, though\, are more of an indication of the type of woman held up for \nveneration as a saint in the early centuries than anything else. \nShe is described as a wealthy woman who had dedicated her virginity to \nChrist. This\, then\, rather than her life\, is the most precious thing she has to \noffer. Her birthplace is assigned to either Palermo or Catania in Sicily\, and she is \nsaid to have died at Catania\, which has the stronger historical claim to be her \nbirthplace. Among those who try to take the precious gift she has vowed to \nChrist from her is a consul named Quintianus. He used the imperial edict \nagainst Christians to have her brought before him\, then placed in a brothel run \nby a woman with the appropriate name of “Aphrodisia” and her assistants\, \nreferred to as her daughters. All tricks\, assaults and threats to make her yield \nher virginity fail\, and so she stands as an example of “virginity as a sacred power\, \na concrete realization within this world of the divine spirit”. \nQuintianus then handed her over to be tortured\, and her Acts dwell on the \ntortures inflicted on her\, culminating in the cutting off of her breasts\, which \nwere placed on a platter. Perhaps because further details of her tortures involve \nher being rolled over live coals\, she is invoked against fire in general. This may\, \nthough\, be an extension of her protection against eruptions from Mount Etna\,9 \nbecause she is associated with Sicily\, and her legend states that after her death a \nflow of lava from Mount Etna was miraculously diverted by her silken veil held \nup on a staff. This is last recorded as happening in the 1840s\, and her veil is still \ncarried in solemn procession on her feast day in Catania. By extension she \nprotects against earthquakes everywhere. She is also patron saint of bell- \nfounders. The association is ancient and certain\, but the reason has not been \ndetermined. It may be that it derives from her protection against volcanic \neruptions and fire\, as bells were rung to warn of both. Another explanation \ngiven is that the molten metal involved in casting bells suggests the flow of \nmolten lava. Her breasts also brought a more appropriate patronage\, as she is \ninvoked against diseases of the breast. Her breasts on a dish were often \nmistaken for loaves in the Middle ages\, from which arose the custom of blessing \nbread on a dish at her altar on her feast day. \nPope Damasus I composed a hymn in her honor. Two churches were \ndedicated to her in the sixth century. Pope St Gregory the Great had rich shrines \nmade for some of her relics in Rome\, then moved them to the monastery of San \nStefano on the island of Capri. Other relics remained in Catania until 1840\, \nwhen they were moved to Constantinople. \nWhatever the facts behind her legend\, Agatha remains one of the best- \nloved and most invoked saints in the Christian devotional life.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-agatha-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250206
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250207
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250202T013235Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T013235Z
UID:13095-1738800000-1738886399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Paul Miki & Comp
DESCRIPTION:THE MARTYRDOM OF ST PAUL MIKI \nAND HIS COMPANIONS \nBy a contemporary writer \n◊◊◊ \nThe crosses were set in place. Fr Pasio and Fr Rodriguez took turns \nencouraging the victims. Their steadfast behavior was wonderful to see. The \nFather Bursar stood motionless\, his eyes turned heavenward. Brother Martin \ngave thanks to God’s goodness by singing psalms. Again and again he repeated: \n“Into your hands\, Lord\, I entrust my life.” Brother Francis Branco also thanked \nGod in a loud voice. Brother Gonsalvo in a very loud voice kept saying the Our \nFather and Hail Mary. \nOur brother\, Paul Miki\, saw himself now standing in the noblest pulpit he \nhad ever filled. To his “congregation” he began by proclaiming himself a \nJapanese and a Jesuit. He was dying for the Gospel he preached. He gave thanks \nto God for this wonderful blessing and he ended his “sermon” with these words: \n“As I come to this supreme moment of my life\, I am sure none of you would \nsuppose I want to deceive you. And so I tell you plainly: there is no way to be \nsaved except the Christian way. My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies \nand all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who have \nsought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves.” \nThen he looked at his comrades and began to encourage them in their \nfinal struggle. Joy glowed in all their faces\, and in Louis’ most of all. When a \nChristian in the crowd cried out to him that he would soon be in heaven\, his \nhands\, his whole body strained upward with such joy that every eye was fixed on \nhim. \nAnthony\, hanging at Louis’ side\, looked toward heaven and called upon \nthe holy names – “Jesus\, Mary!” He began to sing a psalm: “praise the Lord\, you \nchildren!”… Others kept repeating “Jesus\, Mary!” Their faces were serene. Some \nof them even took to urging the people standing by to live worthy Christian lives. \nIn these and other ways they showed their readiness to die. \nThen\, according to Japanese custom\, the four executioners began to \nunsheathe their spears. At this dreadful sight\, all the Christians cried out\, \n“Jesus\, Mary!” And the storm of anguished weeping then rose to batter the very \nskies. The executioners killed them one by one. One thrust of the spear\, then a \nsecond blow. It was over in a very short time.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-paul-miki-comp/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250208
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250202T013340Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T013340Z
UID:13097-1738886400-1738972799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE WATERS OF REGENERATION \nFrom a sermon by St Ambrose \n◊◊◊ \nWhat is regeneration? You can read in the Acts of the Apostles a verse \nwhich is cited from the second psalm: “You are my son\, I have begotten you \ntoday”. The words seem to refer to the resurrection. Indeed\, the holy apostle \nPeter interprets them in this way in the Acts of the Apostles: when the Son rose \nfrom the dead the Father’s voice was heard proclaiming: “You are my son\, I have \nbegotten you today.” That is why he is also called “the first-born from the dead. \nFor what is resurrection except that we rise from death to life? So it is in baptism\, \nwhich is an image of death: when you are immersed and rise up again\, there\, \ncertainly\, is an image of the resurrection. And as Christ’s resurrection\, according \nto the right interpretation of the apostle Peter\, is a regeneration\, so also this \nresurrection here is a regeneration. \nBut what conclusions do you draw from the fact that it is in water that you \nare immersed. Are you a little lost here? Does some doubt creep in. We read: \n“Let the earth produce for herself fruits which germinate.” You have read the \nsame about the waters: “Let the waters produce living things; and living things \nwere born”. These were born in the beginning\, at the creation; but this gift was \nkept for you: that the waters should regenerate you in grace\, even as those other \nwaters generated into life. Imitate the fish; it received a lesser grace than you\, but \nyou should still consider it a marvel. It is in the sea and the waves. It is in the sea \nand swims on the waves. On the sea the tempest rages\, violent winds blow; but \nthe fish swims on. It does not drown because it is used to swimming. In the same \nway this world is the sea for you. It has various currents\, huge waves\, fierce \nstorms. You too\, must be a fish\, so that the waves of this world do not drown you. \nThose are lovely words of the Father: “I have begotten you today.” It means \n“when you have redeemed the world\, when you have summoned hearts to the \nkingdom of heaven\, when you have fulfilled my will\, you have proved that you are \nmy son.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-263/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250209
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250202T013530Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250202T013530Z
UID:13099-1738972800-1739059199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
DESCRIPTION:MARY\, THE MOTHER OF JESUS \nBy St Thérèse of Lisieux \n◊◊◊ \nIn speaking of our Lady\, we ought not to make improbable assertions \nabout matters that are beyond our knowledge\, for example\, that when she \nwas a small child she went up to the Temple to offer herself to God with \nextraordinary fervor and a heart on fire with love. For all we know\, she went \nsimply in obedience to her parents. \nIf a sermon on the Blessed Virgin is to bear fruit\, it must describe her \nreal life\, such as the Gospel gives us a glimpse of\, and not her fancied life. \nAnd we perceive clearly that her real life at Nazareth and later on must have \nbeen quite ordinary…”He was subject to them”. How simple it all is! \nSometimes the Blessed Virgin is represented as being quite \nunapproachable. Instead\, we ought to show that she was imitable in her \npractice of hidden virtues; we ought to point out that she lived a life of faith\, \njust as we do. \nWe know well that the Blessed Virgin is queen of heaven and earth; but \nshe is more of a mother than a queen\, and we ought not to give out the idea\, \nas I have heard it done more than once\, that because of her prerogatives she \neclipses the glory of all the saints\, just as the sun\, rising in brilliance\, makes \nthe stars disappear. My God\, what a strange thing to say! A mother who \nmakes the glory of her children disappear! For my part\, I believe just the \nopposite; I think that she will greatly increase the splendor of the elect. \nWe do well to speak of her prerogatives. But we should not stop there. \nWe should make her loved. If\, when we hear a sermon on the Blessed Virgin\, \nthe preacher tries to do nothing from beginning to end but call forth our \nadmiration\, we become bored\, and that does not lead to love and imitation. \nWho knows but what some souls will not experience a certain sense of \nestrangement from a creature so lofty?
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-bvm-13/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250209
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250210
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250208T223419Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250208T223419Z
UID:13105-1739059200-1739145599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:skema: 5th Week in Ordinary Time
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n5th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nFebruary 9 – 15\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n9\nMon\n10\nTue\n11\nWed\n12\nThu\n13\nFri\n14\nSat\n15\n\n\nOffice\n5th Sunday\nSt Scholastica\nSt Benedict Aniane\nBl Humbeline\nWeekday\nSS Cyril & Methodius\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\n1 Kings 11:41-12:16\n1 Kings 12:17-31\n1 Kings 12:32-13:10\n1 Kings 13:11-34\n1 Kings 14:1-20\n1 Kings 14:21-31\n1 Kings 15:1-15\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\n75\n329\n330\n331\n332\n333\n334\n\n\n1st\nIsa 6:1-2a\, 3-8\nGen 1:1-19\nGen 1:20-2:4a\nGen 2:4b-9\, 15-17\nGen 2:18-25\nGen 3:1-8\nGen 3:9-24\n\n\n2nd\n1 Cor 15:1-11\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 5:1-11\nMark 6:53-56\nMark 7:1-13\nMark 7:14-23\nMark 7:24-30\nMark 7:31-37\nMark 8:1-10\n\n\nVespers\n1 Cor 10:23-11:1\n1 Cor 11:17-22\n1 Cor 11:23-27\n1 Cor 11:28-34\n1 Cor 12:1-11\n1 Cor 12:12-18\n1 Cor 12:19-26
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-5th-week-in-ordinary-time/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250209
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250210
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250208T224112Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250208T224112Z
UID:13107-1739059200-1739145599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:5th Sunday in Ordinary Time
DESCRIPTION:PROPHECY AND CONFIRMATION\nFrom a commentary by St Augustine of Hippo 1\n◊◊◊\nWhile he was on the mountain with Christ the Lord in company with the\ntwo other disciples James and John\, the blessed apostle Peter heard a voice\nfrom heaven saying: This is my beloved Son\, in whom I am well pleased. Listen\nto him. The apostle remembered this and made it known in his letter. We heard\na voice coming from heaven\, when we were with him on the holy mountain;\nand he added: so we have confirmation of what was prophesied. A voice came\nfrom heaven\, and prophecy was confirmed. \nHow great was Christ’s courtesy! This Peter who spoke these words was\nonce a fisherman\, and in our day a public speaker deserves high praise if he is\nable to converse with a fisherman! Addressing the first Christians the apostle\nPaul says: Brothers and sisters\, remember what you were when you were\ncalled. Not many of you were wise according to human standards; not many\nof you were influential or of noble birth. But God chose what the world regards\nas weak in order to disconcert the strong; God chose what the world regards\nas foolish in order to abash the wise; God chose what the world regards as\ncommon and contemptible\, of no account whatever\, in order to overthrow the\nexisting order. \nIf Christ has first chosen a man skilled in public speaking\, such a man\nmight well have said: “I have been chosen on account of my eloquence.” If he\nhad chosen a senator\, the senator might have said: “I have been chosen because\nof my rank.” If his first choice had been an emperor\, the emperor surely might\nhave said: “I have been chosen for the sake of the power I have at my disposal.”\nLet these worthies keep quiet and defer to others; let them hold their peace for a\nwhile. I am not saying that they should be passed over or despised; I am simply\nasking all those who can find any grounds for pride in what they are to give way\nto others just a little. \nChrist says: Give me this fisherman\, this man without education or\nexperience\, this man to whom no senator would deign to speak\, not even if he\nwere buying fish. Yes\, give me him; once I have taken possession of him it will be\nobvious that it is I who am at work in him. Although I mean to include senators\,\norators and emperors among my recruits\, even when I have won over the\nsenator I shall still be surer of the fisherman. The senator can always take pride\nin what he is; so can the orator and the emperor\, but the fisherman can glory in\nnothing except Christ alone. Any of these other men may come and take lessons\nfrom me in the importance of humility for salvation\, but let the fisherman come\nfirst. He is the best person to win over an emperor. \nRemember this fisherman\, then. This holy\, just\, good\, Christ-filled\nfisherman. In his nets cast throughout the world he has the task of catching this\nnation as well as others. So remember that claim of his: We have confirmation\nof what was prophesied. \n1\nJourney with the Fathers – Year C – New City Press – 1994 – pg 78.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/5th-sunday-in-ordinary-time/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250210
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250211
DTSTAMP:20260403T135556
CREATED:20250208T224919Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250208T224919Z
UID:13110-1739145600-1739231999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:ST. Scholastica
DESCRIPTION:THE LIFE OF ST SCHOLASTICA\nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints 2\n◊◊◊\nSt Scholastica\, who was St Benedict’s sister\, traditionally his twin\,\nconsecrated herself to God from her earliest years\, as we learn from St Gregory.\nIt is not known where she lived\, whether at home or in a community\, but after\nher brother had moved to Monte Cassino\, she settled at Plombariola in that\nsame neighborhood\, probably founding and ruling a nunnery about five miles to\nthe south of St Benedict’s monastery. St Gregory tells us that St. Benedict\ngoverned the nuns as well as the monks\, and it seems clear that St Scholastica\nmust have been their Abbess\, under his direction. She used to visit her brother\nonce a year and\, since she was not allowed to enter his monastery\, he used to go\nwith some monks to meet her at a house a little way off. They spent these visits\nin praising God and in conferring together on spiritual matters. \nSt Gregory gives a remarkable description of the last of these visits. After\nthey had passed the day as usual they sat down in the evening to have supper.\nWhen it was finished\, Scholastica\, possibly foreseeing that it would be their last\nvisit in this world\, begged her brother to delay his return till the next day that\nthey might spend the time discoursing of the joys of Heaven. Benedict\, who was\nunwilling to transgress his rule\, told her that he could not pass a night away\nfrom the monastery. When Scholastica found that she could not move him\, she\nlaid her head upon her hands which were clasped together on the table and\nbesought God to interpose on her behalf. Her prayer was scarcely ended when\nthere arose such a violent storm of rain that St Benedict and his companions\nwere unable to set foot outside the door. He exclaimed\, “God forgive you sister;\nwhat have you done?” Whereupon she answered\, “I asked a favor of you and you\nrefused it. I asked it of God\, and He has granted it.” Benedict was therefore\nforced to comply with her request\, and they spent the night talking about holy\nthings. The next morning they parted\, and three days later St Benedict saw the\nsoul of his sister rising to heaven like a dove. \n2\nButler’s Lives of the Saints\, pg 42\, edited by Michael Walsh – revised version\, Harper Collins\, San Francisco\,\n1991.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/st-scholastica/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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