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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250327
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250328
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250323T115135Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250323T115135Z
UID:13257-1743033600-1743119999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE SPIRIT OF LENT \nFrom a meditation by Dom Alban Boultwood \n◊◊◊ \nIn Chapter 49 of the Holy Rule\, “On the Observance of Lent\,” St Benedict \nbegins by saying that the spiritual man ought really to be living at all times in the \nspirit of Lent\, that is\, in wholehearted conversion to God. Our frailty causes us \nto fail often in this\, but if we do not try to live in this spirit during the holy season \nof Lent\, when shall we ever do so? \nSt Benedict sees the spirit of Lent not as one of unhappiness\, but rather as \na spirit of free and joyful oblation: “so that everyone of his own will may offer to \nGod\, with joy and the Holy Spirit\, something beyond the measure appointed to \nhim”. The Church herself has been preparing us for this\, first by drawing us and \ninspiring us by the sublime glimpse of divine love unveiled at Christmas\, and \nthen by summoning us to hear the Savior’s call as he manifests his divine \nmission and power after the Epiphany. And now we are called to follow him\, in \nthe work of his oblation and redemptive sacrifice which he now so lovingly takes \nup. Our Lord calls us to unite ourselves with him in his oblation to his Father’s \nwill\, for this is his mission. \nOur response to this divine invitation has led us to the “oblation” by which \nas [monks] we offer ourselves wholly to God\, and it seems specially fitting for us \nduring Lent\, to renew\, solemnly\, sincerely\, reflectively\, our formal [offering] of \nourselves to God through the Rule of St Benedict. It is true that our [offering] is \nreally made once and for all but the point lies in the renewal of the spirit of our \n[offering]. It is not enough to set up a religious program in our life\, Even in the \nmonastery itself\, where the vows and the whole rule of life establish a wonderful \nreligious machinery to guide and speed us towards God\, yet these things still \n5 Alive to God [Benedictine Studies VII]\, Baltimore-Dublin\, 1964\, pp. 72-75.11 \nremain in themselves just the machinery of our life; and we soon find\, here too\, \nprecisely that tendency for things to become mechanical in the bad sense. And \nso we are always having to renew our spirit\, deepening\, clarifying\, purifying\, \nreaffirming\, our interior [offering]\, as the years bring us the daily opportunities \nof fulfillment. \nWe must go forward in faith and in hope and in love\, one step at a time\, \ntrying to be ready to recognize God’s will as it comes to us day by day\, and trying \nto give ourselves to it with all our heart. As occasion arises\, the “instruments of \ngood works” [which St Benedict mentions] will be offered to us; so many \nspiritual tools\, yet all but a part of the first great one to love the Lord with your \nwhole heart.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-284/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250328
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250329
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250323T115243Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250323T115243Z
UID:13259-1743120000-1743206399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:ROOTED AND GROUNDED \nIN LOVE \nFrom “Meditations and Prayers” by Evelyn Underhill \n◊◊◊ \nAdoration\, as it more deeply possesses us\, inevitably leads on to self- \noffering: for every advance in prayer is really an advance in love. “I ask not for \nthy gifts but for thyself\,” says the Divine Voice to Thomas à Kempis… That\, of \ncourse\, is real intercession; which is gravely misunderstood by us\, if we think of \nit mainly in terms of asking God to grant particular needs and desires. Such \nsecret intercessory prayer ought to penetrate and accompany all our active \nwork\, if it is really to be turned to the purpose of God. It is the supreme \nexpression of the spiritual life on earth: moving from God to man\, through us\, \nbecause we have ceased to be self-centered units\, but are woven into the great \nfabric of praying souls\, the “mystical body” through which the work of Christ on \nearth goes on being done. \nThose who deal much with souls soon come to know something about the \nstrange spiritual currents which are at work under the surface of life\, and the \nextent in which charity can work on supernatural levels for supernatural ends. \nBut if you are to do that\, the one thing that matters is that you should care \nsupremely about it; care in fact\, so much that you do not mind how much you \nsuffer for it. We cannot help anyone until we do care\, for it is only by love that \nspirit penetrates spirit. \nReal saints do feel and bear the weight of the sins and pains of the world. \nIt is the human soul’s greatest privilege that we can thus accept redemptive \nsuffering for one another – and they do. St Theresa says that if anyone claiming \nto be united to God is always in a state of peaceful beatitude\, she simply does not \nbelieve in their union with God. Such a union\, to her mind\, involves great \nsorrow for the sin and pain of the world; a sense of identity not only with God \nbut also with all other souls\, and a great longing to redeem and heal. That is real \nsupernatural charity. \nIt is a call to love and save not the nice but the nasty; not the lovable but \nthe unlovely\, the hard\, the narrow\, and the embittered\, and the tiresome\, who \nare so much worse. To love irrespective of merit or opinion or personal \npreference; to love even those who offend our taste. If you are to love your \npeople thus\, translating your love\, as you must\, into unremitting intercessory \nwork\, and avoid being swamped by the great ocean of suffering\, sin and need to \nwhich you are sent\, once again this will only be done by maintaining and feeding \nthe temper of adoration and trustful adherence. This is the heart of the life of \nprayer; and only in so far as we work from this center can we safely dare to touch \nother souls and seek to affect them. For such intercession is a sacrificial job; and \nsacrificial jobs need the support of a stronger inner life if they are to be carried \nthrough. They are rooted and grounded in love.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-285/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250329
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250330
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250323T115402Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250323T115402Z
UID:13261-1743206400-1743292799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE DIVINE REMEDIES \nA sermon by St Leo the Great \n◊◊◊ \nApostolic teaching\, beloved\, exhorts us that we “put off the old man with \nhis deeds” and renew ourselves from day to day by a holy manner of life. For if \nwe are the temple of God\, and if the Holy Spirit is a Dweller in our souls\, as the \nApostle says: “You are the temple of the living God”\, we must then strive with all \nvigilance that the dwelling of our heart be not unworthy of so great a Guest. And \njust as in houses made with hands\, we see to it with praiseworthy diligence that \nwhatever may be damaged\, either through the rain coming in\, or by the wind in \nstorms\, or by age itself\, is promptly and carefully repaired\, so must we with \nunceasing concern take care that nothing disordered be found in our souls\, that \nnothing unclean be found there. \nFor though this dwelling of ours does not endure without the support of \nits Maker\, nor would the structure be safe without the watchful care of the \nBuilder\, nevertheless since we are rational stones\, and living material\, the Hand \nof our Maker has so fashioned us that even he who is being repaired may \ncooperate with His Maker. \nLet human obedience then not withdraw itself from the grace of God\, nor \nturn away from that Good without which it cannot be good. And should it find in \nthe fulfillment of His commands something that is difficult to accomplish or \nbeyond its powers\, let it not remain apart\, but rather turn to Him who \ncommands us\, and who has laid on us this precept that He may both help us and \nawaken in us the desire of Him\, as the prophet tells us: “Cast your care upon the \nLord\, and he shall sustain you”. \nOr perhaps there is someone who prides himself beyond due measure\, \nand who imagines himself to be so untouched\, so unblemished\, that he has now \nno need to renew himself. Such a belief is wholly deceiving\, and he will grow old \nin unceasing folly who believes that amid the temptations of this life he is safe \nfrom all injury to his soul. All things are filled with dangers\, filled with snares. \nDesires inflame us\, allurements lie in wait for us\, the love of gain beguiles us\, \nlosses frighten us\, bitter are the tongues of detractors\, and not always true the \nlips of those who praise us. There hate rages against us; here the false friend \ncheats us; so that it is easier to avoid discord than to shun deceit. \nAnd since there are few so steadfast that no trial disturbs them\, and since \nnot merely bad fortune but good also\, corrupts many among the faithful\, we \nmust use earnest care in treating the wounds by which our human mortality has \nbeen injured… Since the Scripture says: “Who can say: my heart is clean\, I am \npure from sin?”…let each one think within himself of the forgiveness he has \nneed of for his sins\, and of the medicine he needs for the restoration of his soul. \nWhen…should we more fittingly have recourse to the divine remedies \nthan when we are once again reminded of the mysteries of our redemption? And \nthat we may more worthily commemorate them\, let us earnestly prepare \nourselves by these forty days of abstinence.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-286/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250330
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250331
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250330T104335Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T104335Z
UID:13271-1743292800-1743379199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n4th Week of Lent\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nMarch 30 – April 5\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n30\nMon\n31\nTue\n1\nWed\n2\nThu\n3\nFri\n4\nSat\n5\n\n\nOffice\n4th Sunday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\n\n\nVigils\nLev 16:1-19\nLev 16:20-34\nLev 17:1-16\nLev 19:1-18\, 31-37\nLev 20:1-8\, 22-26\nLev 23:1-14\, 26-32\nLev 25:1-22\n\n\nLauds\nExod 14:10-14\nExod 14:19-22\nExod 14-26-31\nExod 15:19-21\nExod 16:1-3\nExod 16:9-15\nExod 19:1-8\n\n\nMass\n33\n243\n245\n246\n247\n248\n249\n\n\n1st\nJosh 5:9a\, 10-12\nMic 7:7-9\nEzek 47:1-9\, 12\nIsa 49:8-15\nExod 32:7-14\nWis 2:1a\, 12-22\nJer 11:18-20\n\n\n2nd\n2 Cor 5:17-21\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 15:1-3\, 11-32\nJohn 9:1-41\nJohn 5:1-3a\, 5-16\nJohn 5:17-30\nJohn 5:31-47\nJohn 7:1-2\, 10\, 25-30\nJohn 7:40-53\n\n\nVespers\nDeut 11:8-12\nDeut 11:13-17\nDeut 11:18-25\nDeut 11:26-32\nDeut 26:16-19\nDeut 27:1-10\nDeut 29:1-8
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-109/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250330
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250331
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250330T104455Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T104455Z
UID:13273-1743292800-1743379199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 4th Sunday of Lent
DESCRIPTION:A FATHER \nAND NOT A JUDGE \nFrom a commentary by St John Chrysostom \n◊◊◊ \nAll that God looks for from us is the slightest opening\, and he forgives a \nmultitude of sins. Let me tell you a parable that will confirm this. \nThere were two brothers: they divided their father’s goods between them\, \nand one stayed home\, while the other went away to a foreign country\, wasted all \nhe had been given\, and then could not bear the shame of his poverty. Now the \nreason I have told you this parable is so that you will understand that even sins \ncommitted after baptism can be forgiven if we face up to them. I do not say this \nto encourage indolence but to save you from despair\, which harms us worse \nthan indolence. \nThe son who went away represents those who fall after baptism. This is \nclear from the fact that he is called a son\, since no one is called a son unless he is \nbaptized. Also\, he lived in his father’s house and took a share of all his father’s \ngoods. Before baptism no one receives the father’s goods or enters upon the \ninheritance. We can therefore take all this as signifying the state of believers. \nFurthermore\, the wastrel was a brother of the good man\, and no one is a brother \nunless he has been born again through the Spirit. \nWhat does he say after falling into the depths of evil? I will return to my \nfather. The reason the father let him go and did not prevent his departure for a \nforeign land was so that he might learn well by experience what good things are \nenjoyed by the one who remains at home. But when words would not convince \nus God often leaves us to learn from the things that happen to us. \nWhen the profligate returned after going to a foreign country and finding \nout by experience what a great sin it is to leave the father’s house\, the father did \nnot remember past injuries but welcomed him with open arms. Why? Because \nhe was a father and not a judge. And there were dances and festivities and \nbanquets and the whole house was full of joy and gladness. \nAre you asking: “Is this what he gets for his wickedness?” Not for his \nwickedness\, but for his return home; not for his sin but for repentance’ not for \nevil\, but for being converted. What is more\, when the elder son was angry at this\, \nthe father gently won him over\, saying You were always with me\, but he was \nlost and has been found; he was dead and has come back to life. When someone \nwho was lost has to be saved”\, says the father\, “it is not the time for passing \njudgment or making minute inquiries\, but only for mercy and forgiveness.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-4th-sunday-of-lent-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250331
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250401
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250330T104555Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T104555Z
UID:13275-1743379200-1743465599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:EVERYWHERE MERCY PRECEDES \nFrom a sermon by Blessed Guerric of Igny \n◊◊◊ \nO happy the humility of those who repent; O blessed the hope of those \nwho confess. How mighty you are with the Almighty; how easily you conquer the \nunconquerable; how quickly you turn the dreadful judge into a devoted father. \nWe have heard to our great edification of the prodigal son’s sorrowful journey\, \ntearful repentance and glorious reception. He was so gravely guilty and had not \nyet confessed but only planned to; had not yet made satisfaction but only bent \nhis mind to it. Yet by merely intending to humble himself he immediately \nobtained a pardon\, which others seek for so long a time with such great desire\, \nbeg for with such tears\, strive for with such diligence. The thief on the cross was \nabsolved by a simple confession\, the prodigal by only the will to confess. \n“I said\,” Scripture says\, “I will confess my transgression to the Lord; and \nyou did forgive the guilt of my sin.” Everywhere mercy precedes. It had preceded \nthe will to confess by inspiring it; it preceded also the words of confession by \nforgiving what was to be confessed. “When he was still far off\,” we read\, “his \nfather saw him and was moved with compassion\, and running to meet him fell \nupon his neck and kissed him.” These words seem to suggest that the father was \neven more anxious o pardon his son than the son was to be pardoned. He \nhastened to absolve the guilty one from what was tormenting his conscience\, as \nif the merciful father suffered more in his compassion for his miserable son than \nthe son did in his own miseries. We do not mean to attribute human feelings to \nthe unchangeable nature of God; we intend rather that our affection should be \nsoftened and moved to love that supreme goodness by learning from \ncomparison with human feelings that he loves us more than we love him. \nSee how where sin abounded grace abounds still more. The guilty one \ncould scarcely hope for pardon; the judge\, or rather not now the judge but the \nadvocate\, heaps us grace… What a wealth of graciousness and sweetness\, what \nan abundance of most blessed joy\, what torrents of most holy delight do they not \ncontain? “He fell upon his neck and kissed him.” When he thus showed his \naffection for him\, what did he do by his embrace and his kiss but take him to his \nbosom and cast himself into his son’s bosom\, breathe himself into him\, in order \nthat by clinging to his father he might become one spirit with him\, just as by \nclinging to harlots he had been made one body with them? It was not enough for \nthat supreme mercy not to close the bowels of his compassion to the wretched. \nHe draws them into his very bowels and makes them his members. He could not \nbind us to himself more closely\, could not make us more intimate to himself \nthan by incorporating us into himself. \nBoth by charity and by ineffable power he unites us not only with the body \nhe has assumed but also with his very spirit. If such is the grace accorded to the \nrepentant what will be the glory of those who reign? If such are the consolations \nof the wretched\, what will be the joys of the blessed? And since he gives us so \nmuch in advance while we are still on the way\, what treasures is he not keeping \nstored up for us when we arrive in our fatherland? Indeed\, what has not entered \ninto the heart of man: that we should be like him and that God should be all in \nall.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-287/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250401
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250402
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250330T104719Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T104719Z
UID:13277-1743465600-1743551999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A TOUGH MIND \nAND A TENDER HEART \nFrom a sermon by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.3 \n◊◊◊ \nToughmindedness without tenderheartedness is cold and detached\, leaving \none’s life in a perpetual winter devoid of the warmth of spring and the gentle heat of \nsummer. What is more tragic than to see a person who has risen to the disciplined \nheights of toughmindedness but has at the same time sunk to the passionless \ndepths of hardheartedness? \nThe hardhearted person never truly loves. He engages in a crass \nutilitarianism which values other people mainly according to their usefulness to \nhim. He never experiences the beauty of friendship\, because he is too cold to feel \naffection for another and is too self-centered to share another’s joy and sorrow. He \nis an isolated island. No outpouring of love links him with the mainland of \nhumanity. The hardhearted person lacks the capacity for genuine compassion… He \npasses unfortunate men every day\, but never really sees them. He gives dollars to a \nworthwhile charity\, but he gives not of his spirit… \nJesus reminds us that the good life combines the toughness of the serpent \nand the tenderness of the dove. To have serpentlike qualities devoid of dovelike \nqualities is to be passionless\, mean\, and selfish. To have dovelike qualities without \nserpentlike qualities is to be sentimental\, anemic\, and aimless. We must combine \nstrongly marked antitheses… \nThe greatness of our God lies in the fact that he is both toughminded and \ntenderhearted. He has qualities both of austerity and of gentleness. The Bible\, \nalways clear in stressing both attributes of God\, expresses his toughmindedness in \nhis justice and wrath and his tenderheartedness in his love and grace. God has two \noutstretched arms. One is strong enough to surround us with justice\, and one is \ngentle enough to embrace us with grace. On the one hand\, God is a God of justice \nwho punished Israel for her wayward deeds\, and on the other hand\, he is a \nforgiving father whose heart was filled with unutterable joy when the prodigal \nreturned home. \nI am thankful that we worship a God who is both toughminded and \ntenderhearted… At times we need to know that the Lord is a God of justice. When \nslumbering giants of injustice emerge in the earth\, we need to know that there is a \nGod of power who can cut them down like the grass and leave them withering like \nthe green herb. When our most tireless efforts fail to stop the surging sweep of \noppression\, we need to know that in this universe is a God whose matchless \nstrength is a fit contrast to the sordid weakness of man. \nBut there is also times when we need to know that God possesses love and \nmercy. When we are staggered by the chilly winds of adversity and battered by the \nraging storms of disappointment and when through our folly and sin we stray into \nsome destructive far country and are frustrated because of a strange feeling of \nhomesickness\, we need to know that there is Someone who loves us\, cares for us\, \nunderstands us\, and will give us another chance. When days grow dark and nights \ngrow dreary\, we can be thankful that our God combines in his nature a creative \nsynthesis of love and justice which will lead us through life’s dark valleys and into \nsunlit pathways of hope and fulfillment. \n  \n3 Martin Luther King Jr. Strength to Love. New York: Harper & Row\, 1964. 5-9.7
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-288/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250402
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250403
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250330T104824Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T104824Z
UID:13279-1743552000-1743638399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A DELUGE OF MERCY \nFrom a sermon by St Maximus the Confessor \n◊◊◊ \nWe must accept with all reverence\, brethren\, the sacred days of Lent\, and \nnot recoil because of the length of the season; for the longer the days of our \nfasting\, the greater the grounds of our forgiveness; the longer the time of our \nself-denial\, the grater the price paid for our soul’s salvation; the severer the \ntreatment of our wounds\, the more sure the healing of our offenses. For God \nwho is the Physician of our souls has instituted an appropriate time; sufficient \nfor the just to make reparation and for sinners to ask for mercy; the one praying \nfor peace\, the other imploring pardon. \nFor the days of Lent are suited to our purposes; not short\, so that we may \nplead in prayer; not long\, for our need to gain merit. For in this fast of forty days \nany offense may be wiped out\, and the severity of any judge softened. The time \nmay be long and tedious for the one who neither pleads for his sins\, nor hopes \nfor forgiveness. For he who despairs will neither confess his sins\, nor hope in the \nmercy of the Judge. \nHoly and salutary therefore is the time of Lent\, in which the Judge is \nmoved to mercy\, the sinner to repentance\, and the just to peace. For in these \ndays the Divinity is inclined to be more merciful\, the sinner to repent\, and grace \nto be obtained. All things are now prepared: the heavens to pardon\, the sinner to \nconfess\, the tongue to plead. \nMystical and salutary is this number forty. For when in the beginning the \niniquity of mortals covered the earth\, God\, dissolving the clouds of heaven for \nthe space of this number of days\, covered the whole earth with a flood. You see \nthen already that in this time the Mystery is put before us in Figure. For as it \nthen rained for forty days\, to cleanse the world\, so now it also happens. Yet the \ndeluge of those days must be called a mercy; in that through it iniquity was \ncrushed\, and justice upheld. For it took place out of mercy\, to deliver the just\, \nand that the wicked might no longer sin. We see clearly it was through mercy it \ncame\, as a sort of baptism\, in which the face of the earth was renewed; that is\, so \nthat mortals who wallowed in the dreadful sin of those abandoned might come \nto grace in the dwelling of Noah\, and so that he who was then an abode of \niniquity\, might become a dwelling of holiness. \nHoly and dedicated is this time of forty days\, which immediately from the \nbeginning began to divide the just from the unjust; and by a kind of judgment \nseparate the good from the bad. And this takes place even in our time of forty \ndays. For in these forty days the good are divided from the bad\, that is\, the \nchaste from the unchaste\, the temperate from the intemperate\, the Christian \nfrom the heathen. The wicked…are separated from the good\, that is\, the sinner \nfrom the just\, the devil from the saint\, the heretic from the faithful. For those \nothers are lost\, as in the Flood\, in the disaster of this world\, while the Church \nalone\, with all its virtues\, is like the Ark sustained above the deep.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-289/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250403
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250404
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250330T104924Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T104924Z
UID:13281-1743638400-1743724799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE EXPERIENCE OF ETERNITY \nFrom “Christian at the Crossroads” by Fr Karl Rahner \n◊◊◊ \nIn every human life not confined to the visible and tangible or totally \nabsorbed in the needs of the moment\, but lived in the Spirit\, there are moments \nand events in which our whole existence comes into play\, in which we are \nbrought up against our life in its entirety\, in which the meaning and fulfillment \nor failure of that life is weighed in the balance: perhaps when we make a \ncommitment to selfless love\, or reach out in yearning and hope for the fulfill- \nment of our life\, or are threatened in the depths of our existence. At those \nmoments attitudes are formed and decisions taken not wholly or rationally \nexplicable in purely inner-worldly terms and without an ultimate grounding in \nthe solely here and now; the presence and efficacy of the Spirit is sought – and \nperhaps also discovered – in a more reflexive way. \nHave we ever been silent although we wished to defend ourselves\, \nalthough we were treated with less than justice? Did we ever forgive although we \ngot no thanks for it and our silent pardon was taken for granted? Did we once \nobey not because we had to or would otherwise have suffered unpleasant \nconsequences\, but merely because of that mysterious\, speechless\, \nincomprehensible force we call God and God’s will? Have we ever made a \nsacrifice without thanks\, acknowledgment or even sentiments of inner peace? \nHave we ever been thoroughly lonely? Have we had to take a decision purely on \nthe verdict of our conscience\, when we cannot tell anybody or explain to \nanybody\, when we are quite alone and know we are making a decision no one \ncan make for us and for which we shall be responsible to eternity? Have we ever \ntried to love God when no wave of heartfelt enthusiasm sustains us\, when we \ncannot exchange ourselves and life’s pressures with God\, when we think we are \ndying of such love\, when it feels like death and absolute negation\, when we seem \nto be summoned into the void and wholly unheard-of\, when everything is \napparently becoming incomprehensible and seemingly meaningless?… And so \non. \nWe can all perhaps see ourselves in such life experiences\, or think of our \nown similar ones. If we can\, then we have had the spiritual experience referred \nto here: the experience of eternity\, the experience that spirit is more than a piece \nof this temporal world\, the experience that the meaning of being human is not \nexhausted in the meaning and happiness of this world\, the experience of risk \nand venturesome trust which has no provable justification deducible from mere \nworldly success\, in short and finally: the experience of God\, the experience of \nthe descent of the Holy Spirit which became a reality in Christ through his \nincarnation and his sacrifice on the cross.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-290/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250404
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250405
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250330T105016Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T105016Z
UID:13283-1743724800-1743811199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE SOJOURN \nOF OUR PEACE \nFrom the writing of Dom Columba Marmion \n◊◊◊ \nWhen we thus submit ourselves entirely to Christ Jesus\, when we abandon \nourselves to Him\, when our soul only responds\, like His own\, with a perpetual \nAmen to all that He asks of us in the name of His Father…then Christ Jesus \nestablishes His peace in us: His peace\, not that which the world promises\, but the \ntrue peace which can only come from Himself… \nDoubtless\, here below\, peace is not always sensible; upon earth we are in a \ncondition of trial and\, most often\, peace is won by conflict… We may be slighted\, \nopposed\, persecuted\, be unjustly treated\, our intentions and deeds may be \nmisunderstood; temptation may shake us\, suffering may come suddenly upon us; \nbut there is an inner sanctuary which none can reach; here is the sojourn of our \npeace\, because in this innermost secret of the soul dwell adoration\, submission and \nabandonment to God. “I love my God\,” said St. Augustine\, “no one takes Him from \nme: no one takes from me what I ought to give Him\, for that is enclosed within my \nheart… \nDeath cannot trouble the soul that has sought only God. Has it not confided \nitself to the One Who says: “He that believes in Me\, although he be dead\, shall \nlive”… \nIn one of her “Exercises\,” St Gertrude allows her assurance\, which the \ninfinite merits of Jesus give her\, to overflow. “Woe\, woe unto me\, if\, when I come \nbefore You\, I had no advocate to plead my cause!… Come with me to judgment… \nthere let us stand together. Judge me\, for the right is Yours; but remember You are \nalso my Advocate. In order that I be fully acquitted\, You have but to recount what \nYou did become for love of me\, the price with which You have purchased me…” \nFor souls moved by such sentiments\, death is but a transition; Christ comes \nHimself to open to them the gates of the heavenly Jerusalem… There will be no \nmore darkness\, trouble\, tears\, or sighs; but peace\, infinite and perfect peace. \n“Peace first becomes ours with the longing and seeking for the Creator; it is in the \nfull vision and eternal possession of Him that peace is made perfect.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-291/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250405
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250406
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250330T105114Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250330T105114Z
UID:13285-1743811200-1743897599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:FORGIVE US\, \nAS WE FORGIVE \nFrom a sermon by Caesarius of Arles \n◊◊◊ \nIf any one of us is in conflict with another\, let us end the quarrel lest we \nourselves end badly. Do not consider this unimportant\, my beloved. Let us call \nto mind that our life here is mortal and frail\, that it is endangered by many and \ngreat temptations\, and this makes us pray that we may not be overcome. And so\, \nwe realize that even the just are not without some sins. But there is one remedy \nwhich enables us to keep alive. For God\, our Master\, told us to say in our \nprayers: “Forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive those who wrong us.” \nWe have made a contract with God and taken a resolution that the wrong must \nbe forgiven. This makes us ask with complete confidence to be forgiven \nprovided we too forgive. \nIf\, on the contrary\, we do not forgive\, how can we in good conscience hope \nthat our sins will be forgiven? Let us not deceive ourselves: God deceived no \none. It is human to be angry\, but I wish it were impossible. It is human to \nbecome angry but let us not water the small plant born of anger with various \nsuspicions. Let us not permit it to develop into a tree of hatred. It happens also \nfrequently that a father is angry with his son\, but he does not hate the son. He is \nangry because he wishes to correct the son. If this is his purpose\, his anger is \nanimated by love. \nWe read in Scripture: “Why look at the speck in your brother’s eye when \nyou miss the plank in your own?” You find fault with another person for being \nangry\, and you keep hatred in yourself. Anger in comparison with hatred is only \na speck\, but if the speck is fostered\, it becomes a plank. If\, on the contrary\, you \npluck out the speck and cast it away\, it will amount to nothing. \nOur Master says in another place: “Anyone who hates his brother is a \nmurderer.” Those who hate their brother\, walk around\, go out\, come in\, march \non\, are not burdened by any chains and are not shut up in any prison\, but they \nare bound by their guilt. Do not think of them as not being imprisoned. Their \nheart is in prison. When you hear: “He who hates his brother is in darkness all \nthe while\,” lest you might despise that darkness\, the evangelist adds: “Anyone \nwho hates his brother is a murderer.” \nYou hate your brothers and sisters and walk safely around and refuse to \nbe reconciled with them\, and God has given you time and opportunity. Yet you \nare a murderer and are still alive. If you felt God’s wrath you would be suddenly \nsnatched away with your hatred toward others. God spares you; spare others \nlikewise; make up and seek reconciliation with them. But suppose you want \nreconciliation and another does not want it. That is enough for you; you have \nsomething to grieve for\, you have freed yourself. If you want agreement and the \nother refuses\, say confidently: “Forgive us the wrong we have done as we forgive \nthose who wrong us.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-292/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250406
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250407
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T123439Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T123439Z
UID:13298-1743897600-1743983999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n5th Week of Lent\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nMarch 6 – 12\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n6\nMon\n7\nTue\n8\nWed\n9\nThu\n10\nFri\n11\nSat\n12\n\n\nOffice\n5th Sunday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\nLenten Weekday\n\n\nVigils\nLev 26:1-17\, 40-46\nNum 9:15-23; 10:33-36\nNum 11:1-6\, 10-30\nNum 12:1-15\nNum 13:1-3\, 17-33\nNum 14:1-25\nNum 20:1-13; 21:4-9\n\n\nLauds\nExod 19:16-19\nExod 20:1-7\nExod 20:8-17\nExod 20:18-21\nExod 24:12-18\nExod 32:7-14\nExod 32:30-35\n\n\nMass\n36\n250\n252\n253\n254\n255\n256\n\n\n1st\nIsa 43:16-21\n2 Kgs 4:18b-21\, 32-37\nNum 21:4-9\nDan 3:14-20\, 91-92\, 95\nGen 17:3-9\nJer 20:10-13\nEzek 37:21-28\n\n\n2nd\nPhil 3:8-14\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nJohn 8:1-11\nJohn 11:1-45\nJohn 8:21-30\nJohn 8:31-42\nJohn 8:51-59\nJohn 10:31-42\nJohn 11:45-56\n\n\nVespers\nDeut 30:1-6\nDeut 30:9-14\nDeut 30:15-20\nDeut 31:1-6\nDeut 31:9-13\nDeut 32:45-47\n1 Tim 6:11-16
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-110/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250406
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250407
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T123606Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T123606Z
UID:13300-1743897600-1743983999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 5th Sunday of Lent
DESCRIPTION:IT IS SIN HE CONDEMNS\, \nNOT PEOPLE \nFrom a commentary by St Augustine \n◊◊◊ \nThe scribes and Pharisees brought to him a woman who had been \ncaught committing adultery. Now the penalty of the law for adultery was \nstoning. It was\, of course\, unthinkable that any of the prescriptions of the law \ncould be unjust\, so it followed that anyone whose teachings contravened what \nthe law required would lay himself open to the charge of advocating injustice. \nThe Lord’s enemies accordingly said to themselves: “He has a reputation \nfor truth and is regarded as a man of great kindness and forbearance\, so we \nmust find a pretext for accusing him on the grounds of injustice. Let us confront \nhim with a woman caught committing adultery\, and quote the ruling of the law \nin her regard. If he orders her to be stoned\, he will lose his name for clemency; if \nhe tells us to release her\, he will not be upholding justice. There is little doubt \nthat he will sway she must be freed\, in order not to lose the reputation which has \nmade him so popular. That will be our chance to incriminate him and find him \nguilty of an offense against the law. We shall be able to say: ‘You are an enemy \nof the law! Your answer is not merely an attack on Moses but on God who gave \nthe law to Moses. You have made yourself liable to the death penalty. You and \nthe woman should both be stoned.’” By voicing such opinions the Lord’s \nenemies might be able to enflame popular feelings against him; they might \nincite the crowds to denounce him and demand his condemnation. \nBut look at the way our Lord’s answer upheld justice without forgoing \nclemency. He was not caught in the snare his enemies had laid for him; it was \nthey themselves who were caught in it. He did not say the woman should not be \nstoned\, for then it would look as though he were opposing the law. But he had no \nintention of saying: “Let her be stoned\,” because he came not to destroy those he \nfound but to seek those who were lost. Mark his reply. It contains justice\, \nclemency and truth in full measure. Let the one among you who has never \nsinned be the first to throw a stone at her. Let the sinner be punished\, yes – but \nnot be sinners. Let the law be carried out\, but not by lawbreakers. \nThis\, unquestionably\, is the voice of justice\, justice that pierced those men \nlike a javelin. Looking into themselves\, they realized their guilt\, and one by one \nthey all went out. Two remained behind: the miserable woman\, and Mercy. The \nLord raised his eyes\, and with a gentle look he asked her: Has no one \ncondemned you? She replied: No one\, sir. And he said: Neither will I condemn \nyou. What is this\, Lord? Are you giving approval to immorality? Not at all. Take \nnote of what follows: Go and sin no more. \nYou see then that the Lord does indeed pass sentence\, but it is sin he \ncondemns\, not people. One who approved of immorality would have said: \n“Neither will I condemn you. Go and live as you please; you can be sure that I \nwill acquit you. However much you sin\, I will release you from all penalty\, and \nfrom the tortures of hell and the underworld.” He did not say that. He said: \n“Neither will I condemn you; you need have no fear of the past\, but beware of \nwhat you do in the future. Neither will I condemn you: I have blotted out what \nyou have done; now observe what I have commanded\, in order to obtain what I \nhave promised.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-5th-sunday-of-lent/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250407
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250408
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T123808Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T123808Z
UID:13302-1743984000-1744070399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE LIFE THAT RISES \nTHROUGH DEATH \nFrom “The Eternal Year” by Fr Karl Rahner2 \n◊◊◊ \nThere is a distance of God that permeates the pious and the impious\, that \nperplexes the mind and unspeakably terrifies the heart. The pious do not like to \nadmit it\, because they suppose that such a thing should not happen to them \n(although the Lord himself cried out\, “My God\, my God\, why have you forsaken \nme?”); and the others\, the impious\, draw false consequences from the admitted \nfacts… For when the bitter God-distance becomes a divine service\, the fasting \nseason of the world changes into the fasting season of the Church. \nThe first thing we have to do is this: stand up and face this God-distance of \na choked-up heart. We have to resist the desire to run away from it either in \npious or in worldly business. We have to endure it without the narcotic of the \nworld\, without the narcotic of sin or of obstinate despair. What God is really far \naway from you in this emptiness of heart? Not the true and living God; for he is \nprecisely the intangible God\, the nameless God; and that is why he can really be \nthe God of your measureless heart. Distant from you is only a God who does not \nexist: a tangible God\, a God of our small thoughts and our cheap\, timid feelings\, \na God of earthly security\, a God whose concern is that the children don’t cry and \nthat philanthropy doesn’t fall into disillusion\, a very venerable – idol! That is \nwhat has become distant… \nDo not be frightened over the loneliness and abandonment of your \ninterior dungeon\, which seems to be so dead – like a grave. For if you stand firm \n– this is already a wonder of grace – then you will suddenly perceive that your \ngrave-dungeon only blocks the futile finiteness; you will become aware that \nyour deadly void is only the breadth of God’s intimacy\, that the silence is filled \nup by a word without words\, by the one who is above all name and is all in all. \nThat silence is God’s silence. It tells you that God is there. \nThat is the second thing you should do in your despair: notice that God is \nthere. Know with faith that he is with you. Perceive that for a long time now he \nhas been waiting for you in the deepest dungeon of your blocked-up heart\, and \nthat for a long time he has been quietly listening to you\, even though you\, after \nall the busy noise that we call our life\, do not even let him get a word in edgewise\, \nand his words to the person-you-were-until-now seem only deadly silence. You \nshall see that you by no means make a mistake if you give up your anxiety over \nyourself and your life\, that you by no means make a mistake if you relax your \nhold on self\, that you are by no means crushed with despair if once and for all \nyou despair of yourself\, of your wisdom and strength\, and of the false image of \nGod that is snatched away from you… \nIf we do this\, then peace comes all by itself. Peace is the most genuine \nactivity: the silence that is filled with God’s word\, the trust that is no longer \nafraid\, the sureness that no longer needs to be assured\, and the strength that is \npowerful in weakness – it is\, then\, the life that rises through death. \n  \n2 The Eternal Year\, K. Rahner\, Helicon: Baltimore MD 1964. pp 68ff.5
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-293/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250408
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250409
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T123915Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T123915Z
UID:13304-1744070400-1744156799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:NOW IS THE TIME \nOF SALVATION \nFrom a sermon by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nShake yourself from the dust\, rouse yourself\, sit up\, O Jerusalem. Break \nthe chains off your neck captive daughter of Zion. Behold how sweetly\, how \naffectionately the heavenly spouse desires to reconcile the church to himself. \nThe loving father exhorts his daughter to salvation\, her who was prostrate in the \ndust for a long time. Therefore she is admonished by the prophet to rise from the \ndust\, break her chains\, go out from captivity. \nDust is human frailty when no virtue has been strengthened\, Dust is also \ntemporary wealth which lightly passes away and flies as though from the face of \nthe wind. Wretched human beings seek and do not find blessedness in this dust. \nIt takes away our eyesight\, because the cupidity of temporary wealth blinds our \nminds… We cannot rise while we are heavy with dust. Sins weigh down a soul; \ntemporary desires also weigh us down. Those who are weighed down are \noverwhelmed. Those who are burdened try in vain to rise up… Therefore\, Shake \nyourself from the dust\, Jerusalem; rouse yourself and sit up. We must sit\, not \nupright through pride\, not prostrating through ruin\, according to the saying of \nDavid: Beside the rivers of Babylon\, there we sat and wept. Certainly beside the \ntransitory and temporary things of this world\, not mixed up with them but \ntrampling them under foot\, we must sit repenting and weeping for all our sins. \nIn the first creation\, the human was made free\, but afterwards he sold \nhimself to the devil. The devil’s money with which he buys humans is sin… The \ndevil deceived humankind by promising what he did not pay\, saying\, You shall \nbe as gods\, knowing good and evil. The human obeyed; he ate the forbidden \nfruit\, and he received no other recompense except sin. And so he was sold for \nnothing. After the human surrendered\, the devil…put chains on his neck. \nChains are sins\, and the unfortunate sinner adds sin to sin… That is why Isaiah \nsays\, Woe to you who drag iniquity with ropes of vanity\, and drag sin like the \nchain of a cart. These are the ropes with which sinners shall be bound in the \nend… \nBreak the chains off your neck\, captive daughter of Zion. Break them by \nrepentance\, destroy them by making satisfaction. Shake your neck from the \ndevil’s yoke and submit yourself to the yoke of Christ\, whose yoke is light and \nburden sweet. Escape from the prison. The price has been given for you. The \nenemy cannot hold you back any longer\, if you are willing to escape. Destroy the \nrope that trails behind you\, lest the devil have the means to draw you… \nAs the Lord would say\, “You had not merited that I should redeem you\, \nbecause you have sold yourself to the devil gratis and for nothing\, and yet I shall \nredeem you\, not with money\, because the money of the whole world cannot \nredeem you\, but rather with the price of my blood…” You are that bride \nredeemed by the blood of the Lamb. You are those lying in the dust\, to whom it \nis said\, Rise up! You are those captives who are ordered to escape. Behold now is \nthe time of salvation. \nTherefore so that we might quickly and easily obtain pardon and find \nmercy\, let us seek God more attentively and carefully in this sacred fasting \nthrough true contrition and through pure confession and worthy satisfaction.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-294/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250409
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250410
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T124026Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T124026Z
UID:13306-1744156800-1744243199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:YOUR VERDICT ON OTHERS\, \nWILL BE THE VERDICT \nPASSED ON YOU \nFrom a homily by St Asterius of Amasea \n◊◊◊ \nIf you desire to resemble God\, for you have been created in God’s own \nimage\, imitate your model. You\, Christians\, whose very name calls to mind love\, \nimitate Christ’s love. Consider and wonder at the wealth of Christ’s love for us. \nWhen he was about to show himself to us in our own nature\, he sent John to \npreach repentance by word and example. Before John he sent all the prophets. \nThey too were to teach people to amend their lives. Then he came himself and \nwith his own voice cried out: Come to me\, all you who labour and are \noverburdened\, and I will give you rest. And how did he receive those who \nlistened to his call and followed him? He readily forgave them their sins\, \ninstantly relieving them of all their cause for grief. The Word has sanctified \nthem and the Spirit has confirmed them. Their old self was buried in the waters \nof baptism and a new self born; their youth was renewed by grace. And the \nresult? Enemies of God became his friends\, strangers to him became his \nchildren\, idolaters became worshipers of the true God. \nYou\, therefore\, who are harsh and unable to show gentleness\, learn \ngoodness from your Creator. Do not act as bitter judges and severe arbiters \ntoward those who are your companions in service\, as you wait for the coming of \nOne who will reveal the secret recesses of the heart and\, as the Almighty Lord\, \nwill assign to each person their proper place in the life beyond. \nDo not pass severe judgments that you may avoid being judged with the \nsame severity\, being pierced yourselves by the words of your own mouth as by \nsharp-pointed teeth. For it is against this kind of fault that the words of the \ngospel seem indeed to warn us where it is said: If you want to avoid judgment\, \nstop passing judgment\, your verdict on others will be the verdict passed on \nyou. \nChrist does not thereby mean that he wants to banish discernment and \nwisdom. What he condemns is a condemnation that is too severe. So\, lighten as \nmuch as possible the weight of your measurement of others\, if you want your \nown actions not to be considered excessively heavy when our lives are weighed \nat the divine judgment… Do not refuse to act mercifully that you yourselves may \nnot be sent away unpardoned at the time when you will need forgiveness.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-295/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250410
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250411
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T124120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T124120Z
UID:13308-1744243200-1744329599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE GREATEST \nOF ALL VIRTUES \nFrom a sermon by Blessed Guerric of Igny \n◊◊◊ \nKeep…O happy sinner\, keep carefully and watchfully this spirit of yours\, \nthis most fitting affection of humility and devotion by which you may always so \nthink of yourself in humility and of the Lord in goodness. There is nothing \ngreater than it among the gifts of the Holy Spirit\, nothing more precious in the \ntreasures of God\, nothing more holy among all the charisms\, nothing more \nhealth-giving in all the sacraments… This humility not only justifies sinners but \nalso perfects the just and brings their justice to fullness if they confess \nthemselves humble servants even when they have done all they were bidden. \nLet your sin be present to you always and\, according to the Wise Man’s \nadvice\, do not be without fear even for sin that has been forgiven. God’s \njudgments are uncertain and hidden; they are not rashly to be presumed upon\, \nfor we hold nothing more certain in that regard than that in God’s sight no man \nor woman alive shall be justified\, except insofar as they justify themselves to be \nsinners… \nMercy has welcomed you kindly\, received you with loving-kindness. Fear \nthe judgment\, lest the grace given you in your humility be taken away from you \nin your pride. You have chosen to be of little account… Remain in that frame of \nmind\, so that even if you are promoted you may be advanced to greater things \nstill. Always take the last place\, or at least desire it… Never let humility become \ndispleasing to you; through it you began to please and without it you will begin \nto displease however great the virtues by which you are distinguished… \nHumility is the greatest of all virtues\, although it does not know itself to \nbe a virtue. It is the root and seedbed\, the tinder and incentive\, it is the \nsummit and peak\, the custody and discipline of almost all the virtues. From it \nthey begin\, through it they make progress\, in it they are perfected\, by it they \nare preserved. It is humility that makes all the virtues what they are\, and if \nany one of them be lacking or less perfect it is humility that compensates for \nthe loss since it profits by the other’s absence.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-296/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250411
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250412
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T124223Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T124223Z
UID:13310-1744329600-1744415999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A LIFE WITH CHRIST \nby Fr Louis Bouyer \n◊◊◊ \nOur death with Christ and this resurrection with Him\, giving us the life \nhidden with Christ in God\, who will appear when Christ Himself will appear\, is \nthe whole mystery that St Paul tells us God had reserved for these later times. \nWriters have often stressed the extraordinary frequency of grammatical \ncompounds containing the word “with” in the writings of St Paul\, and have \nrightly observed that it is a characteristic feature of his whole conception of the \nChristian life. Indeed\, for him\, the Christian life\, the life of the Church or that of \neach Christian\, is a life with Christ. It is important to grasp all that that implies. \nJesus of Nazareth\, who died and rose under Pontius Pilate and is now \nseated at the right hand of the Father until the day He will come to judge the \nliving and the dead\, has never been for St Paul\, nor for any Catholic theologian\, \na hero whose epic must leave the impression that His achievements are too \nwonderful ever to be duplicated in ourselves. Surely no poet has dreamed of a \nhero more sublime than the One of whom the Apostle wrote: Despoiling the \nprincipalities and the powers\, he made a public spectacle of them\, leading \nthem away in triumph. But it is for us that He triumphed thus\, and we must \nknow that by Him and with Him\, dead as we were\, God has raised us up with \nhim and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus. \nYes\, Christ accomplished all that in us\, for\, if the sense of our own \nweakness is what faith\, in cutting at the very root of our pride\, first thrusts upon \nus\, it does so only to make clear to us that strength is made perfect in weakness \nand that we can do all things in Him who strengthens us – that is\, Jesus Christ. \nThat the Church celebrates Easter\, that today she suffers and weeps with \nher Head\, then rises and exults with Him\, is the sign that the relation between \nChrist and the Church\, between Christ and us\, is quite different from that \nexisting between any historic personages of different epochs\, even between a \nmaster and his disciples. For the authors of the New Testament\, even for the \nevangelists whose immediate end is to recount the earthly life of Jesus of \nNazareth\, this Christ can never be considered simply as a man whose life and \ndeath might inspire sentiments analogous to those awakened by\, say\, the life \nand death of a Socrates\, even though those sentiments were incomparably \ndeepened and purified. He is truly the Son of God made flesh for our sake.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-297/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250412
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250413
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T124356Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T124356Z
UID:13312-1744416000-1744502399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:OUR STRUGGLE \nIN SEARCH OF TRUTH \nBy Thomas Merton7 \n◊◊◊ \nLife is\, or should be\, nothing but a struggle to seek truth: yet what we seek \nis really the truth that we already possess. Truth is mine in the reality of life as it \nis given to me to live: yet to take life thoughtlessly\, passively as it comes\, is to \nrenounce the struggle and purification which are necessary. One cannot simply \nopen his eyes and see. The work of understanding involves not only dialectic\, \nbut a long labor of acceptance\, obedience\, liberty\, and love. The temptation of \nmonastic life is to evade this austere responsibility by falling back into passive \nindifference\, thinly veiled resentment disguised as obedience and \nabandonment. Since in fact one need not positively accept what happens\, one \ncan be merely resigned and negative. \nOthers make all the important decisions: but the most important decision \nalways falls to me\, and if I am in the habit of never deciding\, I will evade it. The \nroot decision to accept my own life and to obey its demands may challenge my \nunderstanding of those demands\, my honesty in their regard. The worst \ntemptation\, and that to which many monks succumb early in their lives\, and by \nwhich they remain defeated\, is simply to give up asking and seeking. To leave \neverything to the superiors in this life and to God in the next – a hope which may \nin fact be nothing but a veiled despair\, a refusal to live. And it is not Christian to \ndespair of the present\, merely putting off hope into the future. There is also a \nvery essential hope that belongs in the present\, and is based on the nearness of \nthe hidden God\, and of His Spirit\, in the present. What future can make sense \nwithout this present hope? \nEvil and falsity are unavoidable: but one does not bow down to them \npassively and without response. Resignation is not enough. God demands of us \na creative consent\, in our deepest and most hidden self\, the self we do not \nexperience\, though it is always there. This creative consent is the obedience of \nmy whole being to the will of God\, here and now. The inner “word” of consent is \nthe coincidence\, in the Spirit\, the identity of my own obedience and will with the \nobedience and will of Christ. Such is the depth of our Sonship and of the life of \ngrace. \nGradually\, by accepting our place in the world and our tasks as they are\, \nwe come to be liberated from the limitations of the world and of a restricted\, \nhalfhearted milieu: yet one is content with one’s moment of history and one’s \nobscure task in it. One must be detached from systems and collective plans\, \nwithout rancor toward them\, but with insight and compassion. To be truly \nCatholic is not merely to be correct according to an abstractly universal \nstandard of truth\, but also and above all to be able to enter into the problems \nand the joys of all\, to understand all\, to be all things to all persons. This \ncannot be done if we do not first completely and honestly accept ourselves\, \nour own problems\, our own defeats\, with the creative consent and \nresponsibility that unite us to God’s will and thus to the dynamism of history \nin its very source. \n  \n7 Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander\, by Thomas Merton\, Doubleday & Co. 1966\, pp.166-167.15
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-298/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250412T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250412T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250406T212445Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250406T212445Z
UID:13315-1744448400-1744459200@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:LCG Chicago April 12\, 2025\, Meeting 9:00 am CDT
DESCRIPTION:All in LCG are invited to join our Chicago Zoom meeting.  9:00 am CDT on April 12\, 2025. \nJoin Zoom Meeting \nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/86028356465 \nMeeting ID: 860 2835 6465 \nOne tap mobile \n+13126266799\,\,86028356465# US (Chicago) \n+13092053325\,\,86028356465# US \n  \n9:00 Gather for Opening prayer. \nWe also pray for all our lay Cistercian sisters and brothers in the US and around the world.  Specially we pray for our Gethsemani monks.  Finally\, we pray this month specially for: \nBr. Luke Armour \nFr. Andrew McAughan \n 9:10 Lectio. Our lectio piece will be led by Robert Johnson. \n 9:50 Reading.  Our reading this month is the first 50 pages (through Part III) of The Impact of God by Fr. Iain Matthew.Does St. John of the Cross sharpen your Lenten journey? \n10:45 Housekeeping.   Volunteer to lead lectio next month?  Chicago Report on LCG Advisory Council activity.  Plans for international meeting in 2025 and Anglophone lead-ins thereto. \n11:00 Update.   Share how the Holy Spirt has entered our lives as lay Cistercians since our last meeting. \n11:45 Closing worship and prayer.  We will pray the liturgical hour of None as with our Gethsemani monks (identical Psalms as done today at Gethsemani Abbey.) \nOur next meeting: May 10\, 2025. \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/lcg-chicago-april-12-2025-meeting-900-am-cdt/
CATEGORIES:LCG Local Community Meetings,LCG open events
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250413
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250414
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250413T124437Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T124437Z
UID:13320-1744502400-1744588799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\nHoly Week\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nApril 13 – 19\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n13\nMon\n14\nTue\n15\nWed\n16\nThu\n17\nFri\n18\nSat\n19\n\n\nOffice\nPalm Sunday\nMonday of Holy Week\nTuesday of Holy Week\nWednesday of Holy Week\nHoly Thursday\nGood Friday\nHoly Saturday\n\n\nVigils\nZech 9:9-17\nLam 1:1-16\nLam 2:1-10\nLam 2:18-22\nLam 3:19-54\nLam 4:1-6\nLam 5:1-22\n\n\nLauds\nZeph 3:14-20\nLam 1:17-22\nLam 2:11-17\nLam 3:1-18\nLam 3:55-66\nWis 2:10-22\nIsa 63:1-6\n\n\nMass\n38\n257\n258\n259\n39\n40\n\n\n\n1st\nIsa 50:4-7\nIsa 42:1-7\nIsa 49:1-6\nIsa 50:4-9a\nExod 12:1-8\, 11-14\nIsa 52:13-53:12\n\n\n\n2nd\nPhil 2:6-11\n\n\n\n1 Cor 11:23-26\nHeb 4:14-16; 5:7-9\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 22:14-23:56\nJohn 12:1-11\nJohn 13:21-33\, 36-38\nMatt 26:14-25\nJohn 13:1-15\nJohn 18:1-19:42\n\n\n\nVespers\nGal 3:7-14\nRom 5:6-11\n1 Cor 1:18-25\n1 Pet 2:20-25\n\n\n1 Pet 4:1-8
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-111/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250413
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250414
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250413T124605Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T124605Z
UID:13322-1744502400-1744588799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Palm Sunday
DESCRIPTION:THE WAY OF CHRIST \nIS STRAIGHT \nFrom a commentary by St Cyril of Alexandria \n◊◊◊ \n“Behold a righteous king will reign\, and princes will rule with justice.” \nThe only-begotten Word of God\, together with God the Father\, has always been \nking of the universe\, and to him all creatures\, visible and invisible\, are subject. \nPeople on earth\, having been caught in the snares of sin\, were persuaded by the \ndevil to reject his sovereignty and despise his royal power\, but the judge and \ndispenser of all justice brought them back under his own dominion. \nAll his ways are straight\, says Scripture\, and by the ways of Christ we \nmean the divine precepts laid down by the gospel. By observing them we make \nprogress in every virtue\, do honor to ourselves by the moral beauty of our lives\, \nand attain the heavenly reward to which we have been called. These are straight\, \nnot winding ways; they are direct and easily followed. As it is written: “The way \nof the upright is straight; the road of the just is made smooth.” Its many decrees \nmake the law a rugged way and its difficulty intolerable\, but the way of the \ngospel commands is smooth\, without any roughness or steep ascents. \nThe ways of Christ are straight\, then\, and as for the holy city. Which is the \nChurch\, he himself was its builder and he makes it his own dwelling. In other \nwords\, he makes the saints his dwelling\, sharing as we do in the Holy Spirit\, we \nhave Christ within us and have become temples of the living God. Christ is both \nthe founder of the Church and its foundation\, and upon this foundation we\, like \nprecious stones\, are built into a holy temple to become\, through the Spirit\, a \ndwelling place for God… \nWhen he founded the Church\, Christ delivered his people from bondage. \nHe saved us from the power of Satan and of sin\, freed us and subjected us to his \nown rule\, but not by paying a ransom or by bribes. As one of the disciples wrote: \n“we have been freed from the futile ways handed down to us by our ancestors\, \nnot by anything perishable like silver and gold\, but by the precious blood of \nChrist\, like that of a lamb without mark or blemish.” He gave his own blood for \nus\, so that we no longer belong to ourselves\, but to him who bought us and saved \nus. Those therefore who turn aside from the noble rule of the true faith are justly \naccused by all the saints of denying the Lord who redeemed them.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-palm-sunday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250414
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250415
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250413T124712Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T124712Z
UID:13324-1744588800-1744675199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:WHEN ALL WAS TO BE \nPUT TO THE TEST \nBy Henri Daniel-Rops \n◊◊◊ \nThe day which followed the astonishing Sunday of the triumphal entry \nwas not so striking\, but was nonetheless full of significance. Jesus entered \nJerusalem every day\, went up to the Temple\, and spoke to audiences which \nlistened to him with enthusiasm\, while the chief priests and scribes sought \nmeans to destroying him. To Jesus\, the slightest incident was an occasion for a \nlesson\, which often took the form of a warning. \nSo it was all through the Monday. What precisely was the meaning of the \ncurious episode\, uncharacteristic of Christ’s normally merciful manner\, in \nwhich he condemned a fig tree on which he found no figs to wither? And who is \nthe bad son who pretends to be submissive to his father’s will\, but in reality \ndisobeys him? Or the rebellious wine dressers who kill their master’s servants \nin order to seize the harvest? What is the name of the stone rejected by the \nbuilders which will be the cornerstone of the new building? And do we not know \nthese guests invited to the royal feast who refuse to attend? One is almost afraid \nto understand at whom these gestures\, these parables are aimed. At this \nmoment\, Israel’s refusal seems to haunt Jesus’ mind and to fill it with anguish. \nWe are hardly surprised to find that the leaders of the community sent \nemissaries to ask Jesus with what right he was behaving as he was. He avoided \nthe question by himself asking them an embarrassing one concerning what kind \nof a man was John\, and they could not give him any answer. But we can hardly \nbe surprised that their anger grew\, and that they were on the point of laying \nhands on him. Jesus cast a real challenge at his adversaries at this moment \nwhen he knew that all was to be put to the test.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-299/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250415
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250416
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250413T124811Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T124811Z
UID:13326-1744675200-1744761599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:TODAY YOU WILL BE \nWITH ME IN PARADISE \nBy St John Chrysostom \n◊◊◊ \nToday the cross has opened Paradise which had been closed to us for \nthousands of years. For today God has brought a robber there. Thus he effects \ntwo marvels: he opens Paradise\, and he brings in a thief. Today God has given \nus our ancient fatherland\, today he has brought us to the paternal city\, today he \nhas opened his house to the whole of humanity. ‘Today\,’ he said\, ‘you will be \nwith me in Paradise’. \nWhat did you say\, Lord? You are crucified\, nailed there\, and you \npromise Paradise? \nYes\, so that you may learn how great is my power on the cross. \nIt is indeed a cruel sight. And to deflect your attention from this aspect of \nthe cross and make you realize the power of the Crucified\, Jesus works this \nmiracle from the cross\, the miracle which more than any other bears witness to \nhis power. For it was not when raising the dead\, commanding the wind and the \nwaves\, expelling demons\, but when crucified\, fixed with nails\, covered with \ninsults\, spittle\, mockery and abuse\, that he had power to change the evil state of \nthe thief; and in this you can see two aspects of his power. \nHe shook the whole of creation\, he split the rocks\, and he drew the soul of \nthe thief\, which was harder than rock; for the thief believed in him and Jesus \nsaid in return\, ‘Today you will be with me in Paradise.” Doubtless the \ncherubim guarded paradise\, but he was master of the cherubim. A flaming \nsword twirled at the entrance\, but he had all power over fire and sword\, over life \nand death. \nTruly\, no king ever allowed a thief or any other subject to sit with him \nwhile he made an entrance into a town. But Christ has done this: when he \nentered into his fatherland he brought a thief with him. In doing this he did not \nslight Paradise\, did not dishonor it by the thief’s presence there; on the contrary\, \nhe honored Paradise\, because it is glorious for Paradise to have a master who \ncan make a thief worthy of the joys to be found there. Likewise when he brings \npublicans and prostitutes into the kingdom of heaven he is not insulting the \nkingdom but honoring it\, for he shows that the master of the kingdom of heaven \nis strong enough to make prostitutes and publicans worthy enough to receive \nsuch an honor and such a gift.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-300/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250416
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250417
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250413T124909Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T124909Z
UID:13328-1744761600-1744847999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE CROSS OF CHRIST \nFrom a sermon by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nOur Lord Jesus Christ worked for our salvation not in one way only but in \nmany. Because his mercy provided for our redemption\, he accomplished it in \nsuch a way that he might be an example for us. Behold\, my brothers\, how at this \ntime you call to mind our redemption; therefore pay diligent attention not only \nto the redemption itself but also to both the manner by which redemption was \naccomplished and the place in which it was done. The manner of the \nredemption is the passion of Christ; the place outside the city. You must know \nthen that from this redemption and the manner of accomplishing it\, we receive \nboth a way of living and the right location that we must choose in order to live in \nthis way. \nLet us accept now the way of living that comes from this cross of Jesus. Do \nI say a way of living or of dying? Certainly both of living and of dying: of of dying \nto the world\, of living for God; of dying to vices\, and of living in virtues; of dying \nto the flesh\, of living however in the Spirit. Therefore in the cross of Christ there \nis death and in the cross of Christ there is life. There the death of death and the \nlife of life. There the death of sins and the life of virtues. There the death of the \nflesh and the life of the Spirit. Why\, however did God choose this kind of death? \nBecause of both the divine mystery itself and the example to be given. Then\, too\, \nbecause our illness was such that the remedy should fit in this way. \nIt was certainly fitting that we who had fallen through the wood would rise \nup through the wood. Fitting that he who conquered through the wood would \nhimself be conquered through it. Fitting that we who chose the fruit of death \nfrom the wood would be given the fruit of life from the wood. And because we \nfell from the stability of this most beautiful earth into the great and spacious sea\, \nit is fitting that wood be prepared for us by which we would cross over that sea. \nFor no one can cross the sea without wood\, nor this world without the cross… \nTherefore do you see how Christ chose this kind of death as full of some \ndivine meaning…? The Apostle explains it openly\, saying\, He humbled himself\, \nbeing made obedient even to death\, death on the cross. He then proclaims the \nmeaning: Because of this\, God exalted him and gave him the name which is \nabove every name\, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow\, in heaven\, \non earth\, and in the depths. Because he was about to take possession of heaven \nand earth through the cross\, he was placed on the cross as if he embraced \nheaven and earth. Since in truth his death has already taken place not on the \nearth nut above the earth\, what can it mean except that\, raised up as we are \nfrom the earth through his blessed passion\, we taste what is above\, not those \nthings on earth. The fact that he died with arms outstretched is a sign of his \ngreat loving kindness. Just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing and \ndefends them from a persistent raptor\, so he\, clasping us with maternal \naffection under the wings of his grace\, makes us completely secure against the \nattack of heinous spirits.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-301/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250417
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250418
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250413T125020Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T125020Z
UID:13330-1744848000-1744934399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Holy Thursday
DESCRIPTION:THE BRIDGE BETWEEN \nTHE COVENANT \nAND THE EUCHARIST \nBy St Edith Stein \n◊◊◊ \nWe know from the Gospel narratives that Christ prayed as a Jew who \nbelieved in and was faithful to the Law. When he was a child with his parents\, \nand later with his disciples\, he used to go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem at the \nappointed times to take part in the festivals that were celebrated in the temple. \nHe sang joyfully with the pilgrims\, “I was glad when they said unto me: We \nwill go into the house of the Lord”. He recited the ancient prayers of blessing\, \nwhich are still said today\, for bread\, wine\, and the fruits of the earth\, as the \naccounts of the Last Supper bear witness\, This was wholly consecrated to the \nfulfillment of one of the holiest religious obligations – the solemn Passover meal \nwhich commemorated the deliverance from slavery in Egypt. Perhaps it is here \nthat we are given the deepest insight into the prayer of Christ\, as it were the key \nwhich gives access to the prayer of the Church. \nNow as they were eating\, Jesus took bread\, and blessed\, and broke \nit\, and gave it to the disciples\, and said\, “Take\, eat; this is my body.” \nAnd he took a cup\, when he had given thanks he gave it to them\, \nsaying\, “Drink of it\, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant\, \nwhich is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sin” \n. \nThe blessing and giving of the bread and wine have become part of the rite \nof the Passover meal. But at the Last Supper this blessing and giving takes on a \nwholly new meaning. For this is the birth of the Church. Doubtless it was only \nat Pentecost that the Church was born a spiritual and visible community. But \nhere\, at the Supper\, took place that grafting of the shoot in the vine branch \nwhich made the outpouring of the Spirit possible. \nThe ancient prayers of blessing became creative words of life on Christ’s \nlips. The fruits of the earth became his flesh and blood\, filled with his life. The \nvisible creation into which he was inserted by his incarnation is now bound to \nhim in a new and mysterious way. The foods that are indispensable for the \ngrowth of the human organism are transformed in their nature\, and those \npartaking of them with faith are themselves transformed too; incorporated into \nChrist in a living union\, they are filled with his divine life. The quickening power \nof the Word is fused with the sacrifice. The Word becomes flesh to give us that \nLife which is his own. He offered himself\, and has thus offered the creation \nwhich he ransomed by this offering\, as a sacrifice of praise to the Creator. \nThe Passover of the ancient covenant has become the Passover of the \nnew covenant\, at the Lord’s Last Supper\, at the Sacrifice of the Cross\, and\, \nbetween the Resurrection and the Ascension\, at the joyful agape where the \ndisciples recognized their Lord in the breaking of the bread; and\, in the \nSacrifice of the Mass\, at Holy Communion.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-holy-thursday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250418
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250419
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250413T125125Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T125125Z
UID:13332-1744934400-1745020799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading- Good Friday
DESCRIPTION:SOVEREIGNTY IS LAID \nON HIS SHOULDERS \nFrom a sermon by St Leo the Great \n◊◊◊ \nWhen our Lord was handed over to the will of his cruel foes\, they ordered \nhim\, in mockery of his royal dignity\, to carry the instrument of his own torture. \nThis was done to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah: “A child is born for us\, a son is \ngiven to us; sovereignty is laid upon his shoulders.” To the wicked\, the sight of \nthe Lord carrying his own cross was indeed an object of derision; but to the \nfaithful a great mystery was revealed\, for the cross was destined to become the \nscepter of his power. Here was the majestic spectacle of a glorious conqueror \nmightily overthrowing the hostile forces of the devil and nobly bearing the \ntrophy of his victory. On the shoulders of his invincible patience he carried the \nsign of salvation for all the kingdoms of the earth to worship\, as if on that day he \nwould strengthen all his future disciples by the symbol of his work\, and say to \nthem: “Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of \nme.” \nO the marvelous power of the cross\, the glory in the passion! No tongue \ncan fully describe it. Here we see the judgment seat of the Lord\, here sentence \nis passed upon the world\, and here the sovereignty of the Crucified is revealed. \nYou drew all things to yourself\, Lord\, when you stretched out your hands all \nthe day long to a people that denied and opposed you\, until at last the whole \nworld was brought to proclaim your majesty. You drew all things to yourself\, \nLord…when the lights of heaven were darkened and the day was turned into \nnight; when the land was shaken by unwonted earthquakes\, and all creation \nrefused to serve those wicked people. Yes\, Lord\, you drew all things to \nyourself; the veil of the temple was torn in two and the Holy of Holies taken \naway from those unworthy high priests. Figures gave way to reality\, \nprophecy to manifestation\, law to gospel. You drew all things to yourself in \norder that the worship of the whole human race could be celebrated \neverywhere in a sacramental form which would openly fulfill what had been \nenacted by means of veiled symbols in that single Jewish temple. A nobler \norder of levites has now arisen\, we have elders of a greater dignity and priests \nof a holier anointing\, because your cross is the fountainhead of every blessing \nand the source of every grace. Through your cross the faithful are given \nstrength instead of weakness\, glory instead of shame\, life instead of death.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-good-friday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250419
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250420
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250413T125232Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250413T125232Z
UID:13334-1745020800-1745107199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Holy Saturday
DESCRIPTION:THE DEATH OF CHRIST \nHAS TRANSFORMED DEATH \nBy St Cyril of Alexandria \n◊◊◊ \nThey took the body of Jesus and wrapped it in linen cloths with the spices\, \naccording to the Jewish burial custom. At the place where he had been crucified \nthere was a garden\, and in this garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been \nburied. \nChrist was numbered among the dead. For our sake he was put to death \nin the body\, even though of himself and through his Father we believe him to be\, \nand indeed he is\, life it self. In order to do all that was required by God\, all that \nwas involved in his having become man\, he freely submitted the temple of his \nbody not only to death\, but to everything that accompanies it\, to the laying out of \nhis body and its burial in a tomb. \nThe Evangelist says that his tomb was in a garden and that it was new. \nThis teaches us in a symbolic way that it is through Christ’s death that we gain \nentry into paradise; he entered as the forerunner on our behalf. The newness of \nthe tomb suggests the new and untrodden path from death to life and the \nrenewal by which Christ frees us from corruption. By Christ’s death\, our death \nhas been transformed into something quite new\, more like a kind of sleep. We \nare alive now to God\, as Scripture says\, and destined to live for ever. This is why \nSaint Paul frequently refers to those who have died in Christ as those who have \nfallen asleep. \nIn the past the power of death had always prevailed against our nature. \nFrom the time of Adam to the time of Moses\, death ruled over all\, even over \nthose who did not sin\, as Adam did\, by disobeying God’s command. We bore the \nimage of the earthly man\, Adam\, and underwent the death inflicted by the \ndivine curse\, but when the second Adam who is divine and from heaven \nappeared among us\, he fought for the lives of us all\, purchased them by his own \ndeath in the flesh and then\, having destroyed the power of corruption\, he rose \nagain. In this way he transformed us into his own image\, so that the death we \nnow undergo is of a new kind; it does not lead to eternal destruction\, but is \nrather a sleep\, full of good hope. In fact\, it resembles the death of Christ\, who \nopened up for us this new pathway to life.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-holy-saturday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:13339-1745107200-1745193599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\nEaster Octave\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nApril 20 – 26\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n20\nMon\n21\nTue\n22\nWed\n23\nThu\n24\nFri\n25\nSat\n26\n\n\nOffice\nEASTER SUNDAY\nEaster Monday\nEaster Tuesday\nEaster Wednesday\nEaster Thursday\nEaster Friday\nEaster Saturday\n\n\nVigils\n* Easter Vigil\n1 Pt 1:1-21\n1 Pt 1:22-2:10\n1 Pt 2:11-25\n1 Pt 3:1-17\n1 Pt 3:18-4:11\n1 Pt 4:12-5:14\n\n\nLauds\nActs 13:28-33\n1 Cor 15:1-11\n1 Cor 15:12-19\n1 Cor 15:20-28\n1 Cor 15:35-41\n1 Cor 15:42-49\n1 Cor 15:50-58\n\n\nMass\n42\n261\n262\n263\n264\n265\n266\n\n\n1st\nActs 10:34a\, 37-43\nActs 2:14\, 22-33\nActs 2:36-41\nActs 3:1-10\nActs 3:11-26\nActs 4:1-12\nActs 4:13-21\n\n\n2nd\nCol 3:1-4\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nJohn 20:1-9\nMatt 28:8-15\nJohn 20:11-18\nLuke 24:13-35\nLuke 24:35-48\nJohn 21:1-14\nMark 16:9-15\n\n\nVespers\nRev 1:12-18\nActs 1:1-5\nActs 1:12-14\nActs 1:15-26\nActs 2:42-47\nActs 4:32-37\nActs 5:1-11\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEaster Vigil Readings* 1st) Gen 1:1-2:2 2nd) Gen 22:1-18 3rd) Exod 14:15-15:1 4th) Isa 54:5-14 5th) Isa 55:1-11 \n6th) Bar 3:9-15\,32-4:4 7th) Ezek 36:16-17a\,18-28 Epistle) Rom 6:3-11 Gospel) Matt 28:1-10; Mk 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-112/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250420
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250421
DTSTAMP:20260403T142158
CREATED:20250420T013531Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250420T013531Z
UID:13341-1745107200-1745193599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Easter Sunday
DESCRIPTION:CHRIST’S RESURRECTION \nIS OUR RESURRECTION \nBy Symeon the New Theologian \n◊◊◊ \nAlready Easter\, that joyful day\, that day of all gladness and delight\, the \nday of Christ’s resurrection\, has arrived in the circle of the year. But rather\, it \nhappens daily and eternally in those who know its mystery\, and so has filled our \nhearts with unspeakable joy and gladness. Let us look and carefully examine \nwhat is the mystery of that resurrection of Christ our God which takes place \nmystically in us at all times\, if we are willing… \nChrist our God was hanged on the cross and nailed on it the sin of the \nworld. He tasted death and went down to the uttermost depths of hell… He \nreturned from hell into His own spotless body\, from which He had in no way \nbeen separated as He descended…and He arose from the dead. After that He \nascended into heaven with great glory and power. So\, likewise\, as we have now \ncome out of the world and entered into the tomb of repentance and humiliation \nby being assimilated to the sufferings of the Lord\, He Himself comes down from \nheaven and enters into our body as into a tomb. He unites Himself to our souls \nand raises them up\, though they were undoubtedly dead\, and then grants to him \nwho has thus been raised with Christ that he may see the glory of His mystical \nresurrection. \nChrist’s resurrection is thus our resurrection\, ours who lie here below. He \nwho has never fallen into sin\, as it is written\, nor lost anything whatever of His \nown glory\, how will He ever be raised up or be glorified\, since He is always \nglorified above all and remains the same\, “far above all rule and authority”…? \nThrough His resurrection in us it comes into being in us\, is shown to us\, and is \nseen by us. Once He has appropriated what is ours\, that which He works in us \nHe attributes to Himself… \nThe body is dead and cannot live or be called alive unless it receives the \nliving soul in itself and is joined to it\, though not mingled with it. Likewise the \nsoul cannot live unless it is ineffably and without confusion united to God\, who \nis truly the life eternal… \nA blind man who hits his foot against a stone feels it\, but a dead man does \nnot… In spiritual things\, unless the mind comes to the contemplation of the \nthings that are above thought\, it does not perceive the mystical activity. Those \nwho have not arrived at contemplation in spiritual matters and claim that they \nperceive the things that are above intellect\, word\, and thought are like those \nwhose eyes are blinded and who have a sensation of good or bad things that they \nexperience\, but do not know what is in their hands or at their feet\, even if they \nare for them a matter of life or death. Since they are deprived of the faculty and \nperception of vision they in no way perceive the bad or the good things that \ncome upon them. Thus they will often lift up their staff to ward off an enemy \nand possibly strike a friend instead\, while their enemy stands before their eyes \nand laughs at them. \nMost people believe in the resurrection of Christ\, but very few have a clear \nvision of it. Those who have no vision thereof cannot even adore Christ Jesus as \nthe Holy One and as Lord.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-easter-sunday/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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