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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250707
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250708
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250706T144300Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250706T144300Z
UID:13673-1751846400-1751932799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A THRONE \nFOR THE MOST HIGH \nFrom a sermon by Blessed Guerric of Igny \n◊◊◊ \n[Christ the Lord] is to be not merely invited but drawn into the guest \nchamber of our heart by the violence of our prayers and the vehemence of our \nfervor. [But] sometimes he makes as though he would go farther on; he does so \nfor no other reason than that he may prove the zeal of your love. \nBut what does it mean\, you say\, that Jesus makes as though he would go \nfurther? What else than what Ecclesiastes tells us of himself: “I have said\, I will \nbe wise\, and [wisdom] departed farther from me.” The Spouse speaks more \nexplicitly when\, giving voice to our daily complaint\, she says: “I rose up to open \nto my beloved\, but he had turned aside and was gone. I sought him\, and found \nhim not\, I called\, and he did not answer me\,” just as he did not answer the \nCanaanite woman either. You too are wont to call on the Spirit of wisdom\, you \nare accustomed to seek the Spirit of grace in prayer. If it seems that he draws \nfarther away from you\, do not despair but be more importunate in your pleading \nuntil you hear him answer you: “Great is your faith\, be it done to you as you \nwill.” \nBut when you invite Jesus take care that you do not invite the God of \nmajesty into an unclean and unworthy dwelling where a wrangling [spouse] or \nclouds of smoke or a dripping roof would not allow even yourself to dwell in \npeace. For his place is in peace and nowhere else. Right and justice are the \npillars of his throne. \n“Now they seek me\,” he says\, “from day to day\, and desire to know my \nways as a nation that has done justice and has not forsaken the will of their \nGod.” “Right\,” he says\, “and justice are the pillars of his throne.” Do not plead \nthat it is a lavish dwelling you have to prepare for so great and so powerful a \nguest and that it is beyond the limits of your poverty. You have the means at \nhand. I speak in human terms because of the infirmity of your flesh\, or rather \nbecause of the narrowness of your mind. Make a perfect confession of your past \nlife\, have a good will in respect to all else (for there is peace to men of good will)\, \nand in this way you will have prepared with right and justice a throne for the \nMost High.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-333/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250708
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250709
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250706T144415Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250706T144415Z
UID:13675-1751932800-1752019199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Bl Eugene III
DESCRIPTION:FROM THE TREATISE “ON \nCONSIDERATION” \nBy St Bernard of Clairvaux for Pope Eugenius III \n◊◊◊ \nIt has occurred to me to write something which might edify\, delight or \nconsole you\, Blessed Father Eugene. But I do not know the rules for writing a \nformal yet intimate treatise. Two opposites\, your majesty and my love\, vie to \ndictate my style. Love draws me on; majesty holds me back. But you graciously \nintervene and request rather than command this treatise\, although it would be \nmore fitting for you to command it. Since your majesty so admirably \ncondescends\, why does my hesitancy persist? What if you have ascended the \nthrone? Even if you were to walk on the wings of the wind\, you would not escape \nmy affection. Love knows no master. It recognizes a son even though he wear \nthe tiara. It is the nature of a lover to be suitably humble\, willingly submissive\, \nfreely compliant\, respectful without duress. \nThis is not the way with others however; they are driven either by fear or \nby greed. Such men bless openly\, but harbor evil in their hearts. They flatter you \nwhen you are present\, yet fail you in time of need. But charity never fails. It is \ntrue that I have been freed of maternal obligation toward you\, but I am not \nstripped of affection for you. You were once in my womb; you will not be drawn \nfrom my heart so easily. Ascend to the heavens\, descend to the depths\, you will \nnot escape me. I will follow you wherever you go. \nI loved you when you were poor in spirit; I shall love you still as \nfather of the poor and the rich. If I know you\, you did not cease being poor in \nspirit when you became the father of the poor. I am confident that this change \nhas been thrust on you and was not of your doing\, that this promotion has not \nreplaced your former state\, but rather has enhanced it. Therefore I will instruct \nyou not as a teacher\, but as a mother\, indeed as a lover. I may seem more the \nfool\, but only to one who does not love\, to one who does not feel the force of love.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-bl-eugene-iii-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250709
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250710
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250706T144507Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250706T144507Z
UID:13677-1752019200-1752105599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:BE PERFECT\, \nAS YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER \nFrom a treatise by St Cyprian \n◊◊◊ \nDearly Beloved in the Lord\, let us try to understand more fully that \npatience is an attribute of God and that whoever is gentle\, patient\, and meek is \nan imitator of God the Father. The Lord Jesus said as much in his Gospel \nteaching. For when he was giving out precepts unto salvation\, and he was \ninstructing his disciples unto perfection with holy advice\, he said thus: You \nhave heard that it was said: \n‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you\, Love \nyour enemies and pray for those who persecute you\, so that you may be sons of \nyour Father who is in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the \ngood\, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who \nlove you\, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? \nAnd if you salute only your brethren\, what more are you doing than others? \nDo not even the Gentiles do the same? You\, therefore\, must be perfect\, as your \nheavenly Father is perfect.’ \nHe said that it is in this way that the children of God are made perfect; He \nshowed that it is in this way that we reach our consummation\, and he taught \nthat we are restored by a heavenly birth\, if the patience of God the Father abide \nin us\, and if the divine likeness which our first parents lost by sin be manifested \nand shine in our actions. What glory it is to become like God! What wonderful \nand what great happiness it is to possess in virtues what can be put on the same \nlevel with the divine praises. \nJesus Christ\, Our Lord and God\, did not teach this by words only\, but He \nalso fulfilled it by His deeds. For He said that He came down for this purpose\, \nnamely\, to do the will of His Father. By other miracles of virtue\, He gave proof \nof his divine majesty. But he also preserved and exemplified His Father’s \npatience by His own habitual forbearance.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-334/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250710
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250711
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250706T144611Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250706T144611Z
UID:13679-1752105600-1752191999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:LIVING FOR GOD ALONE \nFrom “The Spiritual Exercises” of St Gertrud the Great \n◊◊◊ \nEarnestly wish with the cherished one to become inebriated with the wine \nof love and in union with God to become unconscious to the world; in the \nembrace of the cherished one to expire from yourself into God; and already \nalmost totally stripped of your humanness\, to go pleasantly to sleep on the \nbreast of Jesus. Thus\, dying daily to yourself in love and living for God alone\, \nyou may\, at the hour of death\, trustfully run up to death\, looking on it as the end \nof your exile\, the door of the kingdom\, and the gate of heaven. And say this with \nprayer and verse: \nHide me\, most loving Jesus\, in the hiding-place of your face from all \nthose plotting crafty devices against me\, and let my soul not be confounded \nwhen it speaks with its enemies at the gate; but fill it full of gladness with your \nmellifluous face. \nO God\, love\, you are the consummation and the end of all good: to the \nvery end\, you cherish what you choose; whatever comes into your hand\, you do \nnot toss out but preserve most diligently for yourself. Ah! By right of possession \nmake all my being and my consummation’s end your own forever. Spare me \nnow no longer\, but wound my heart to the spirit’s very marrow until you leave \nno spark of life within me. Rather\, take away with you my entire life\, reserving \nfor yourself my soul in you. \nWho will grant me to be consummated in you\, O charity\, and to be \ndelivered by your death from the prison of this body and to be freed from this \nsojourn? How good\, O love\, to see you\, have you\, and possess you for eternity. \nOn the day I depart this life\, may you yourself be present\, regardful of \ngreat consolation\, and may you bless me then in the beautiful dawn of the \nmanifest contemplation of you. Now\, O love\, I here leave you behind and \ncommend to you my life and\, at the same time\, my soul: allow me\, allow me now \nto rest and fall asleep in you in peace.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-20/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250711
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250712
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250706T144718Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250706T144718Z
UID:13681-1752192000-1752278399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Benedict
DESCRIPTION:THE TABERNACLE OF GOD \nFrom a sermon by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nBenedict was filled not only with the spirit of Moses\, he was also \nsomehow\, as someone has said\, filled with the spirit of all the just. He built a \nspiritual tabernacle from the offerings of the children of Israel. In his Rule \nsparkles the god of blessed Augustine\, the silver of Jerome\, the double-dyed \npurple of Gregory\, not to mention the jewel-like sayings of the holy fathers; with \nall these this heavenly edifice is embellished. You\, my brothers\, are the \ntabernacle of God; you are the temple of God. As the apostle says: Holy is the \ntemple of God\, which you are. A temple\, because the Lord will reign forever in \nyou. Yet still a tabernacle\, because he is on pilgrimage in you\, he hungers in you\, \nhe thirsts in you… \nThis\, my brothers\, is what a tabernacle puts up with as long as it is being \ncarried through the desert of this world\, until it is taken into the Land of \nPromise and becomes a temple instead of a tabernacle. Then a twofold stole will \nbe given to each – immortality for the body\, blessedness for the soul. Yet even \nnow\, brothers\, let each of us make our own offering for the construction of this \ntabernacle. \nFor each one of us has his unique gift from God\, one this but another that. \nOne person can make an offering of more work; another\, more vigils; another\, \nmore fasting; another\, more prayer; and another more lectio or meditation. \nFrom all these offerings let one tabernacle be made\, so that\, as our legislator \ncommands: No one may presume that anything is his own but al things are \ncommon to all. This is to be understood\, brothers\, not only of cowls or robes but \nfar more of our strengths and spiritual gifts. \nNo one therefore should boast on his own about any grace given by God as \nif it were exclusively his own. No one should envy his brother because of some \ngrace\, as if it were exclusively his. Whatever he has\, he should consider the \nproperty of all his brothers\, and whatever his brother has\, he should never \ndoubt is also his. For in his caring way…he causes each person to need the other \nand to have in this other what one does not possess in oneself. Thus humility is \npreserved\, charity increased and unity recognized. Therefore each belongs to all \nand all belong to each. \nIf\, then\, we are buried with Jesus\, like him in his death\, we shall be his \ncompanions also in the resurrection\, walking in newness of life. When Christ \nour life appears\, we\, too\, shall appear with him in glory. Through the merits and \nprayers of our blessed Father Benedict may this be granted to us by our Lord \nJesus Christ Himself who with the Father and Holy Spirit\, lives and reigns God \nthrough all the ages of ages.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-benedict-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250712
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250713
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250706T144828Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250706T144828Z
UID:13683-1752278400-1752364799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
DESCRIPTION:CRUCIFIED BY LOVE \nBy St Elizabeth of the Trinity \n◊◊◊ \nNo one has penetrated the depths of the mystery of Christ except the \nBlessed Virgin. John and Mary Magdalene penetrated deeply this mystery; St P \naul often speaks of “the understanding of it which was given to him“; and yet\, \nhow all the saints remain in the shadows when we look at the Blessed Virgin’s \nlight! \nThis is the unspeakable “secret” that she kept in mind and pondered in \nher heart” which no tongue can tell or pen describe!… “The Virgin kept all these \nthings in her heart“: her whole history can be summed up in these few words! It \nwas within her heart that she lived\, and at such a depth that no human eye can \nfollow her. When I read in the Gospel “that Mary went in haste to the hill \ncountry of Judea” to perform her loving service for her cousin Elizabeth\, I \nimagine her passing by so beautiful\, so calm and so majestic\, so absorbed in \nrecollection of the Word of God within her. Like Him\, her prayer was always \nthis: “Ecce\, here I am!”… “The servant of the Lord\,” the lowliest of His creatures \n: she\, His Mother! Her humility was so real for she was always forgetful\, \nunaware\, freed from self. And she could sing: “The Almighty has done great \nthings for me\, henceforth all peoples will call me blessed.“ \nThis Queen of virgins is also Queen of martyrs; but again it was in her \nheart that the sword pierced\, for with her everything took place within!… Oh! \nHow beautiful she is to contemplate during her long martyrdom\, so serene\, \nenveloped in a kind of majesty that radiates both strength and gentleness… She \nlearned from the Word Himself how those must suffer whom the Father has \nchosen as victims\, those whom He has decided to associate with Himself in the \ngreat work of redemption\, those whom He “has foreknown and predestined to \nbe conformed to His Christ\,” crucified by love. \nShe is there at the foot of the Cross\, standing\, full of strength and courage \n\, and here My Master says to me: “Behold your mother”. He gives her to me for \nmy Mother… And now that He has returned to the Father and has substituted \nme for Himself on the Cross so that “I may suffer in my body what is lacking in \nHis passion for the sake of His body\, which is the Church\,” the Blessed Virgin i \ns again there to teach me to suffer as He did\, to tell me\, to make me hear those \nlast songs of His soul which no one else but she\, His Mother\, could overhear.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-bvm-15/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20250712T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20250712T120000
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250610T014225Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250610T014225Z
UID:13506-1752310800-1752321600@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Chicago Monthly Meeting 9:00 am CDT
DESCRIPTION:All are invited: \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 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/chicago-monthly-meeting-900-am-cdt/
CATEGORIES:LCG Local Community Meetings,LCG open events
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250713
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250714
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250713T114951Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250713T120327Z
UID:13686-1752364800-1752451199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema - 15th Week Ord
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n15th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nJuly 13 – 19\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n13\nMon\n14\nTue\n15\nWed\n16\nThu\n17\nFri\n18\nSat\n19\n\n\nOffice\n15th Sunday\nSt Kateri Tekakwitha\nSt Bonaventure\nOur Lady of Mt Carmel\nWeekday\nWeekday\nWeekday\n\n\nVigils\nGen 24:1-27\nGen 24:28-49\nGen 24:50-67\nGen 25:1-18\nGen 25:19-34\nGen 26:1-22\nGen 26:23-35\n\n\nLauds\nEccles 10:1-10\nEccles 10:11-20\nEccles 11:1-10\nEccles 12:1-8\nEccles 12:9-14\nHosea 1:1-9\nHos 2:1-6\n\n\nMass\n105\n389\n390\n391\n392\n393\n394\n\n\n1st\nDeut 30:10-14\nExod 1:8-14\, 22\nExod 2:1-15a\nExod 3:1-6\, 9-12\nExod 3:13-20\nExod 11:10-12:14\nExod 12:37-42\n\n\n2nd\nCol 1:15-20\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 10:25-37\nMatt 10:34-11:1\nMatt 11:20-24\nMatt 11:25-27\nMatt 11:28-30\nMatt 12:1-8\nMatt 12:14-21\n\n\nVespers\nEph 2:1-10\nEph 2:11-22\nEph 3:1-7\nEph 3:8-13\nEph 3:14-21\nEph 4:1-6\nEph 4:7-16
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-15th-week-old/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250713
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250714
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250713T115322Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250713T120306Z
UID:13688-1752364800-1752451199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 15th Sunday Ord
DESCRIPTION:THE PARABLE OF \nTHE GOOD SAMARITAN \nFrom a commentary by Origen of Alexandria \n◊◊◊ \nTo interpret the parable of the Good Samaritan\, one of the elders used to \nsay that the man going down from Jerusalem to Jericho was Adam. He said \nJerusalem was paradise\, Jericho was the world\, and the brigands were enemy \npowers. The priest was the law\, the Levite the prophets\, and the Samaritan \nChrist. Adam’s wounds were his disobedience\, the animal that carried him was \nthe body of the Lord\, and the “inn”\, open to all who wished to enter\, was the \nChurch. The two denarii represented the Father and the Son\, and the innkeeper \nwas the head of the Church\, who was entrusted with its administration. The \npromised return of the Samaritan was a figure of the second coming of the \nSavior. \nThe Samaritan was carrying oil – oil to make his face shine as Scripture \nsays\, referring surely to the face of the man he cared for. He cleansed the man’s \nwounds with oil to soothe the inflammation and with wine that made them \nsmart\, and then placed him on his own mount\, that is\, on his own body\, since he \nhad condescended to assume our humanity. This Samaritan bore our sins and \nsuffered on our behalf; he carried the half dead man to the inn which takes in \neveryone\, denying no one its help; in other words\, to the Church. To this inn \nJesus invites all when he says: Come to me\, all who labor and are \noverburdened\, and I will give you new strength. \nAfter bringing in the man half dead the Samaritan did not immediately \ndepart\, but remained and dressed his wounds by night as well as by day\, \nshowing his concern and doing everything he could for him. In the morning \nwhen he wished to set out again he took from his own purse silver coins\, from \nhis own sterling money\, two denarii to pay the innkeeper – clearly the angel of \nthe Church – and ordered him to nurse with all diligence and restore to health \nthe man whom for a short time he himself had personally tended. \nI think the two denarii stand for knowledge of the Father and the Son in \nthe Father. This was given to the angel as a recompense\, so that he would care \nmore diligently for the man entrusted to him. He was also promised that \nwhatever he spent of his own in healing him would be repaid. \nThis guardian of souls who showed mercy to the man who fell into the \nhands of robbers was a better neighbor to him than were either the law or the \nprophets\, and he proved this more by deeds than by words. Now the saying: Be \nimitators of me as I am of Christ makes it clear that we can imitate Christ by \nshowing mercy to those who have fallen into the hands of brigands. We can go to \nthem\, bandage their wounds after pouring in oil and wine\, place them on our \nown mount\, and bear their burdens. And so the Son of God exhorts us to do \nthese things\, in words addressed not only to the teacher of the law but to all of \nus: Go and do likewise. If we do\, we shall gain eternal life in Christ Jesus\, to \nwhom belongs glory and power for ever and ever.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-15th-sunday-old/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250714
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250715
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250713T115431Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250713T115431Z
UID:13690-1752451200-1752537599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Kateri Tekakwitha
DESCRIPTION:THE VIRGINITY OF \nKATERI TEKAKWITHA \nFrom the writings of Fr Francis Xavier Weiser \n◊◊◊ \nTekakwitha was seventeen and still without a boyfriend to whom\, like the \nother Indian girls\, she might have given her love and affection. In her \nsurroundings this was unusual\, for the Indian girls started quite early “playing \nthe field.” Most of them married at the age of eighteen or nineteen. \nDespite the urgings of her aunts she refused to meet the young men of the \nvillage or dance with them. Was it natural shyness\, due to her weak sight and \nher pockmarked face? In any case\, she had no inclination to fall in love. \nSomething deep down in her soul seemed to hold her back with unexplainable\, \nquiet force. She was a normal happy girl and knew how natural it was for a \nyoung Indian maiden to find\, as soon as possible\, a good hunter or warrior who \nwould take her as co-worker and companion in the heavy toil that marriage \nimposed on husband and wife. The family\, the village\, the whole tribe took it for \ngranted that girls should enter an early marriage and assume the many duties of \ntheir calling. \nShe had not the slightest idea of celibate life among women\, nor had she \never seen or heard anything concerning the voluntary state of virginity such as \nthe Catholic nuns observed it. The Mohawks knew\, of course\, that the black- \nrobes lived without marriage and woman’s love for the sake of their priestly \nvocation; this was for them a source of constant marvel and admiration. They \ndid not know\, however\, that such an ideal was also practiced by women. Even \nthe Christian Indians had no inkling of it\, for the Jesuits never mentioned this \nfact; it was a hard enough task for them to raise their spiritual children to the \nlevel of a sound\, morally good married life according to the demands of the \nsacrament of matrimony. \nThus\, Tekakwitha\, who had no instruction at all in Christianity\, followed \nthe path of a splendid Christian ideal without being aware of it. All she knew \nwas that an inner force\, a strange spirit in the depth of her heart drove her with \nconstant\, quiet urgings to keep herself free from the bonds of human love that \nled to marriage. Gladly and willingly she obeyed her parents in everything; but \non this point she remained adamant and rather followed the guidance of that \nmysterious voice in her soul. Had she only known that it was the grace of…the \ntrue God\, directing her on this path\, how happy would she have been!
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-kateri-tekakwitha-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250715
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250716
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250713T115559Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250713T115559Z
UID:13692-1752537600-1752623999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Bonaventure
DESCRIPTION:THE FOUNTAIN OF LIFE \nFrom “The Tree of Life” by St Bonaventure \n◊◊◊ \nYou\, soul devoted to God\, whoever you are\, run with living desire to this \nFountain of life and light and with the innermost power of your heart cry out to \nhim: “O inaccessible beauty of the most high God and the pure brightness of \nthe eternal light\, life vivifying all life\, light illumining every light\, and keeping \nin perpetual splendour a thousand times a thousand lights brilliantly shining \nbefore the throne of your Divinity since the primeval dawn! O eternal and \ninaccessible\, clear and sweet stream from the fountain hidden from the eyes of \nall mortals\, whose depth is without bottom\, whose height is without limit\, \nwhose breadth cannot be bounded\, whose purity cannot be disturbed.“ \nFrom this Fountain flows the stream of the oil of gladness\, which \ngladdens the city of God\, and the powerful fiery torrent\, the torrent\, I say\, of the \npleasure of God\, from which the guests at the heavenly banquet drink to joyful \ninebriation and sing without ceasing hymns of jubilation. \nAnoint us with this sacred oil and refresh with the longed-for waters of \nthis torrent the thirsting throat of our parched hearts so that amid shouts of joy \nand thanksgiving we may sing to you a canticle of praise\, proving by experience \nthat with you is the fountain of life\, and in your light we will see light… \nBelieving\, hoping and loving with my whole heart\, with my whole mind \nand with my whole strength\, may I be carried to you\, beloved Jesus\, as to the \ngoal of all things\, because you alone are sufficient\, you alone are good and \npleasing to those who seek you and love your name. “For you\, my good Jesus\, \nare the redeemer of the lost\, the Saviour of the redeemed\, the hope of exiles\, the \nstrength of laborers\, the sweet solace of anguished spirits\, the crown and \nimperial dignity of the triumphant\, the unique reward and joy of all the \ncitizens of heaven\, the renowned offspring of the supreme God and the sublime \nfruit of the virginal womb\, the abundant fountain of all graces\, of whose \nfullness we have all received.“
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-bonaventure-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250716
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250717
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250713T115906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250713T115906Z
UID:13694-1752624000-1752710399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Our Lady of Mt Carmel
DESCRIPTION:THE SCAPULAR OF \nTHE VIRGIN OF CARMEL \nFrom the writings of Fr Lawrence Lovasik \n◊◊◊ \nThe feast of the scapular is that of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. The \nScapular of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the best known\, most celebrated\, and \nmost widespread of the small scapulars.… \n[The word scapular is derived from the Latin\, and means the shoulder \nblade\, or … the shoulders. As a garment\, it is a broad piece of cloth\, with an \nopening in it for the head\, and which hangs down in front and in back almost to \nthe ground\, as may be seen in the habits of the Carmelites\, the Benedictines\, and \nsome other religious Orders. The scapular worn by the faithful is but a symbol of \nthat worn by the religious of the Order of Mount Carmel.] \nAccording to tradition\, a number of men who embraced the Christian \nfaith on Pentecost Day [as recounted in the book of Acts] erected a church to the \nBlessed Virgin on Mount Carmel. They were called Brethren of Blessed Mary of \nMount Carmel. These religious came to Europe in the thirteenth century\, when \nMary appeared to their General\, Simon Stock\, at Cambridge\, England\, on \nSunday\, July 16\, 1251. In answer to his appeal for help for his oppressed order\, \nshe appeared to him with a scapular in her hand and said\, “Take\, beloved son\, \nthis scapular of thy order as a badge of my confraternity; and for thee and all \nCarmelites a special sign of grace; whoever dies in this garment\, will not \nsuffer everlasting fire. It is the sign of salvation\, a safeguard in dangers\, a \npledge of peace and of the covenant.” Indirectly\, the promise is extended to all \nwho from devotion to the Mother of God wear her habit until death and are \nthus…affiliated with the Carmelite Order… \nThe Scapular Devotion is one of the oldest devotions to Our Lady. It has \nbeen widespread in the Church for nearly seven centuries… [Pope] Leo XIII \nwrote: “Its nobility of origin\, its venerable antiquity\, its extraordinary spread \nin the Church\, the spiritualizing effects produced by it and the outstanding \nmiracles worked in virtue of it\, render the Scapular of Carmel commendable \nto a wondrous degree.” And [Pope] Benedict XV wrote: “Let all of you have a \ncommon language and a common armor; the language\, the sayings of the \nGospel; the common armor\, the Scapular of the Virgin of Carmel\, which you \nall ought to wear and which enjoys the singular privilege of protection even \nafter death.” \nThe scapular is the sign of being devoted to the Blessed Virgin\, just as the \ncarrying of your mother’s picture would be a sign of your being devoted to her. \nDo you wear a scapular…? It should remind you that you belong entirely to her \nand that through her you can best give yourself to God.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-our-lady-of-mt-carmel/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250717
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250718
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250713T120008Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250713T120008Z
UID:13696-1752710400-1752796799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE PROOF OF \nCHRIST’S DIVINE POWER \nFrom a treatise by St John Chrysostom \n◊◊◊ \n[The success of the Church in to have converted so many nations\, to have \nwon over so many peoples\,] is a great thing\, truly a great thing. Rather\, it \nsurpasses greatness and provides a proof of [Christ’s] divine power. Let us \nsuppose that many men were disposed to work together\, and no one was \ninclined to oppose them. Even under such ideal circumstances\, it would have \nbeen a great thing that a world as large as this could suddenly be set free from \nthe wicked ways which had preoccupied it for so long a time; it would have been \nmiraculous that it could change over to another and far more difficult way of life. \nFor two tyrannical factors opposed this change: habit and pleasure. For \nmany years their fathers\, grandfathers\, great grandfathers\, their ancestors\, \ntheir philosophers\, and public speakers had given them a certain way of life. Yet \npeople were persuaded to reject this\, even though it was a difficult thing to do. \nThey were also persuaded to accept a strange and very hard way of life which \nwas introduced to replace their old ways. And this was a still more difficult \nthing to do. \nThe new way drove them from luxurious living and led them to fasting; it \ndrove them from the love of money and led them to poverty; it drove them from \nwanton ways and led them to temperance; it drove them away from anger and \nled them to mildness; it drove them away from envy and led them to kindliness; \nit drove them from the broad way and the wide street and led them onto a way \nwhich was narrow\, strait\, and steep\, despite the fact that they were used to the \nwide road. \nFor the Church did not take a different kind of human being who lived \noutside this world and its ways. It took those very men who had grown rotten \nhere and who had become softer than mud; it told them to travel on the strait \nand narrow\, the rough road of austerity. And it won them over to this way of life. \nHow many did the Church win over? Not two\, or ten\, or twenty\, or a \nhundred\, but almost every man living under the sun. With whose help did it win \nthem over? With the help of eleven men. And these men are unlettered\, \nignorant\, ineloquent\, undistinguished\, and poor. They could not rely on the \nfame of their homelands\, on any abundance of wealth\, or strength of body\, or \nglorious reputation\, or illustrious ancestry. They were neither forceful nor \nclever in speech; they could make no parade of knowledge. They were \nfishermen and tentmakers\, men of a foreign tongue. They did not speak the \nsame language as those whom they won over to the faith. Their speech – I mean \nHebrew – was strange and different from all others. But it was with the help of \nthese men that Christ founded this Church which reaches from one end of the \nworld to the other.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-335/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250718
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250719
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250713T120116Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250713T120116Z
UID:13698-1752796800-1752883199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:WHEN ALL WILL BE ONE \nFrom the Second Vatican Council’s Declaration “Nostra Aetate” \n◊◊◊ \nThe Church of Christ acknowledges that\, according to the mystery of \nGod’s saving design\, the beginnings of her faith and her election are already \nfound among the patriarchs\, Moses\, and the prophets. She professes that all \nwho believe in Christ\, Abraham’s sons according to faith are included in the \nsame patriarch’s call\, and likewise that the salvation of the Church was \nmystically foreshadowed by the chosen people’s exodus from the land of \nbondage. \nThe Church\, therefore\, cannot forget that she received the revelation of \nthe Old Testament through the people with whom in God’s inexpressible mercy \ndeigned to establish the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws \nsustenance from the root of that good olive tree onto which have been grafted \nthe wild olive branches of the Gentiles. Indeed\, the Church believes that by His \ncross Christ\, our Peace\, reconciled Jew and Gentile\, making them both one in \nHimself. \nAlso\, the Church ever keeps in mind the words of the Apostle about his \nkinsmen\, “who have the adoption as sons\, and the glory and the covenant and \nthe legislation and the worship and the promises; who have the fathers\, and \nfrom whom is Christ according to the flesh“\, the son of the Virgin Mary. The \nChurch recalls too that from the Jewish people sprang the apostles\, her \nfoundation stones and pillars\, as well as most of the early disciples who \nproclaimed Christ to the world. \nAs holy Scripture testifies\, Jerusalem did not recognize the time of her \nvisitation\, nor did the Jews in large number accept the gospel; indeed\, not a few \nopposed the spreading of it. Nevertheless\, according to the Apostle\, the Jews \nstill remain most dear to God because of their fathers\, for He does not repent of \nthe gifts He makes nor of the calls He issues. In company with the prophets and \nthe same Apostle\, the Church awaits that day\, known to God alone\, on which all \npeoples will address the Lord in a single voice and “serve him with one accord“.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-336/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250719
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250720
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250713T120223Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250713T120223Z
UID:13700-1752883200-1752969599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE DEPTH OF \nREPENTANCE \nBy St Ambrose \n◊◊◊ \nHow many sins each of us commits every hour\, yet people feel no need to \nconfess their sins! By contrast\, the great and mighty King David could not abide \nthe awareness of his sin even for a moment\, but immediately confessed it and \nwith immense sorrow laid it before the Lord. Can you show me nowadays any \nwealthy and distinguished person who will not take it amiss if he or she is \naccused of some sin? Yet that renowned King\, approved by so many divine \noracles\, was not displeased and angered at being charged by a private person \nwith grave sin\, but admitted it and sorrowfully lamented his guilt. The result \nwas that his deep sorrow moved the Lord\, so that Nathan could say: Because \nyou have repented the Lord has taken away your sin. The King’s prompt \npardon was proof of the depth of his repentance\, since it could remove even an \noffense as heinous as his was. \nOthers\, when reproached by priests\, make their sin worse by trying to \ndeny or defend it\, so that when one might have expected a change of heart their \nguilt is actually increased. By contrast\, when the Lord’s saints\, who long to fight \nthe holy combat to the finish and to run the race of salvation\, happen to fall \nthrough the frailty of human nature rather than from any inclination to sin\, \ntheir sense of shame brings them to their feet again\, more eager than ever to run \nthe race; their energy is renewed for even harder struggles\, so that their fall\, far \nfrom being a hindrance\, becomes the motive for an even speedier advance. \nWe can see another way in which sin can benefit us\, and how it is \nprovidential that it surprised the saints. They are set before us as models\, and \ntherefore the Lord has seen to it that they too should sometimes fall; for if they \nhad run their course untouched by faults despite the many hazards of this \nworld\, they would have made us who are weaker think of them as possessed of a \nhigher and even superhuman nature that prevented them from sinning and \nsharing the experience of guilt. Such a view would deter those lacking this \nnature from imitating them\, for they would regard it as impossible. The grace of \nGod therefore passed them by momentarily\, so that their lives might be models \nfor us to follow\, and we might learn from their actions not only to be blameless\, \nbut also to repent.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-337/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250720
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250721
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250719T235321Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250719T235321Z
UID:13711-1752969600-1753055999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n16th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nJuly 20 – 26\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n20\nMon\n21\nTue\n22\nWed\n23\nThu\n24\nFri\n25\nSat\n26\n\n\nOffice\n16th Sunday\nWeekday\nSt Mary Magdalen\nOffice for Vocations\n`Weekday\nSt James\nSS Joachim & Ann\n\n\nVigils\nGen 27:1-29\nGen 27:30-46\nExodus 15:1-21\nGen 28:1-22\nGen 29:1-30\nJerm 26:1-15\nGen 29:31-30:24\n\n\nLauds\nHos 2:7-12\nHos 2:13-17\nIsa 30:18-21\nHos 2:18-25\nHos 3:1-5\nJerm 16:14-21\nHos 4:1-6\n\n\nMass\n108\n395\n603\n397\n398\n605\n400\n\n\n1st\nGen 18:1-10a\nExod 14:5-18\nSong 3:1-4b\nExod 16:1-5\, 9-15\nExod 19:1-2\, 9-11\, 16-20b\n2 Cor 4:7-15\nExod 24:3-8\n\n\n2nd\nCol 1:24-28\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 10:38-42\nMatt 12:38-42\nJohn 20:1-2\, 11-18\nMatt 13:1-9\nMatt 13:10-17\nMatt 20:20-28\nMatt 13:24-30\n\n\nVespers\nEph 4:17-24\nEph 4:25-32\nActs 13:26-31\nEph 5:1-5\nEph 5:6-14\nActs 11:27-12:5\nEph 5:15-20
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-119/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250720
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250721
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250719T235424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250719T235424Z
UID:13713-1752969600-1753055999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 16th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:MARTHA AND MARY \nFrom a commentary by St Bruno of Segni \n◊◊◊ \nEverything our Savior did was full of sacred teaching. In every situation \nhis actions were meant to point beyond themselves. For example\, his outward \nactions in the hillside village of Bethany are repeated every day in his holy \nchurch. Daily the Lord Jesus enters in\, not thinking frequent visits beneath his \ndignity. There he is welcomed by Martha who takes him into her home. \nLet us see then what Martha stands for\, and what Mary symbolizes. Each \nof them denotes something important\, for these two make up the entire church. \nOne of them\, namely Martha\, symbolizes the active life; the other\, Mary\, \nthe contemplative. That is why Scripture says it was Martha\, not Mary\, who \nreceived Christ into her house. Mary\, of course\, does not own a house\, since the \ncontemplative life entails the renunciation of all worldly possessions. All that \ncontemplatives want to do is sit at the feet of the Lord – to read\, pray\, and give \nthemselves up to contemplating God is their whole desire. It is enough for them \nto be always listening to the word of God and feeding their minds rather than \ntheir stomachs. Such as these were the apostles and prophets\, such are many \nothers who leave everything\, flee from the world and cling to the Lord. They \nseem to possess nothing\, yet they have everything… \nNow the reason the active life is so called is because it consists of constant \nactivity\, weariness and toil\, so that scarcely a moment’s quiet can be found in it. \nWe are not referring here though to that kind of active life that occupies thieves\, \nimpels tyrants\, tempts misers\, stirs up adulterers\, and incites all wicked people \nto commit evil deeds. For just as we speak only of one Martha who was Mary’s \nsister\, so we are referring only to that type of active life which is most closely \nrelated to the contemplative life\, that is\, an active life that is pure and blameless. \nWhen the apostle preached and baptized\, worked with his hands to gain a \nlivelihood\, journeyed from city to city\, and showed solicitude for all the \nchurches\, was he not living the active life? In the same way then our text says of \nMartha that she was busy with much serving. In fact\, right down to the present \nday we see prelates in charge of the churches and the other clergy devotedly \nhurrying to and fro about their work\, hot and bothered\, sweating over the needs \nof their brothers and sisters in various ways\, so that we may rightly describe \nthem also as busy with much serving. The contemplative life then is superior to \nthe active because it is free from anxiety and will never end. Nevertheless the \nactive life is so indispensable that in this life the contemplative life itself cannot \nexist without it.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-16th-sunday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250721
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250722
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250719T235545Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250719T235545Z
UID:13715-1753056000-1753142399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:MAKING THE MOST OF \nUNFAVORABLE CIRCUMSTANCES \nBy Alessandro Pronzato \n◊◊◊ \nI have always been impressed by this detail: “the night in which he was \nbetrayed“. In an atmosphere of betrayal\, in a climate of tiredness and sleep\, in a \ndifficult situation\, while the shadows of suspicion\, evil\, vileness and fear are \nthickening\, Christ offers us his supreme gift. The Eucharist is instituted \nprecisely in the midst of unfavorable circumstances. On that night\, men and \nwomen put together a whole collection of damaged goods: opportunism\, \nsleepiness\, dirty business\, suspicious alliances\, malice\, stupidity and \nfanaticism. And it is precisely in this gloomy situation\, which is the opposite of \nencouraging\, that Christ gives us the gift of himself as our food. \nAt the moment – certainly not ideal – when man presents his most hateful \nface\, Christ “invents” the way to remain always at man’s disposal. At the \nmoment when man sells him off and abandons him\, Christ assures his own \npresence at man’s table. \nReflecting on this paradox\, it is all too easy to discover a new occupation \nfor our ordinary days: to take advantage of unfavorable circumstances. We \nshould not wait to do something or to give our best when certain situations that \nwe consider “ideal” occur. Instead\, look for the less favorable circumstances. \nTake advantage of the less opportune moments. Yes\, precisely in this paltry \nenvironment\, in this impossible climate\, in the midst of the most shameless \nfalsehood and hypocrisy with these unbearable individuals\, you are called to do \nsomething good. \nIf you wait for the ideal superior\, the understanding brothers\, the work of \nyour liking\, the perfect community\, to do something\, to fulfill yourself\, to \nprovide your contribution to the common life\, you will probably have to remain \nunemployed all your life. Take advantage\, then\, of unfavorable circumstances… \nWhen it seems that everything is going smoothly… a chain of disasters \nrains down on you. Precisely then is the “right” moment to sing. When you are \nthe victim of suspicions\, of unfair accusations. You find yourself involved in a \ntangle of envy. You are the target of slander. Then it is the “favorable” moment \nto build your inner peace. When you taste the bitter taste of disappointment \nand ingratitude. You hit a wall of indifference. Then it is the “apt” moment to \noffer others something else\, something beautiful. When you don’t feel like \npraying. You feel distrustful and dry. You have nothing to say to the Lord. You \nhave so many other things to think about. Then it is the “ideal” time to pray. \nDo not miss…these unfavorable occasions. You would find yourself \nempty-handed. And others will never receive anything from you. So\, do not wait \nfor extraordinary\, exceptional occasions. Tenaciously build your greatness with \nthe ordinary materials you find at hand… True greatness passes through the \nseasons of your ordinary days. If you wait for it at the rendezvous of the \nexceptional\, you will never see its face. \nWork patiently with what you have\, with what you are\, if you don’t want to \naccumulate delays and disappointments. It is the heart you put inside that \nmakes even the most trivial things great… The choice is\, then\, between \nexclusively ideal situations and situations that are less than ideal at the starting \npoint\, but which open the possibility of encountering\, along the way\, the \ntransforming action of God.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-338/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250722
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250723
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250719T235705Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250719T235705Z
UID:13717-1753142400-1753228799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Mary Magdalene
DESCRIPTION:KEEP WATCH \nAT THE DOORS OF WISDOM \nFrom a sermon by Blessed Guerric of Igny \n◊◊◊ \nAbraham exulted that he might see the day of Christ and by this token he \nsaw and rejoiced. You too\, if you keep watch daily at the doors of wisdom\, \nsteadfast at its threshold\, if you stay awake through the night with Magdalen at \nthe entrance of his tomb\, if I am not mistaken you will experience with Mary \nhow true are the words we read of the Wisdom which is Christ: “She is easily \nseen by those who love her and she is found by those who seek her. She \nanticipates those who desire her and shows herself to them first. He who\, as \nsoon as it is light\, keeps watch for her will not have to toil\, for he will find her \nseated at his doors.” So did Christ\, Wisdom himself\, promise in the words: “I \nlove those who love me\, and they who from early morning keep watch for me \nwill find me.” \nMary found Jesus in the flesh. For this she was keeping watch… You\, who \nno longer ought to know Jesus according to the flesh but according to the spirit\, \nwill be able to find him spiritually if you seek him with a [similar] desire\, if he \nfinds you likewise vigilant in prayer. Say then to the Lord Jesus with the desire \nand the affection of Mary: “My soul has longed for you during the night\, my \nspirit too\, deep within me; from early morning I will keep watch for you”. Say \nwith the voice and the mind of the Psalmist: “God\, my God\, for you as soon as it \nis light I keep watch\, my soul is athirst for you”. And see if it is not your lot to \nsing with him: “We have been filled early in the morning with your mercy\, we \nhave exulted and been delighted”. \nKeep watch then\, brethren\, intent in prayer; keep watch and carefully \nguard your actions; especially since the morning of that day which has no sunset \nhas already shone upon us. For already eternal light has come back to us from \nthe nether regions\, more serene and more pleasing\, and the morning has given \nits welcome to the newly restored Sun. Indeed it is time now for us to arise from \nsleep; the night has passed away\, while the day has drawn near. Keep watch\, I \nsay\, that the morning light may rise for you\, that is Christ\, whose coming forth \nhas been made ready like the dawn\, ready to renew often the mystery of the \nmorning of his resurrection in those who keep watch for him. Then you will sing \nwith jubilant heart: “God the Lord has shone upon us… For then he will give you \na glimpse of the light which he has hidden in his hands\, telling his friend that it \nis his possession and he can attain to it.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-mary-magdalene-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250723
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250724
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250719T235809Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250719T235809Z
UID:13719-1753228800-1753315199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
DESCRIPTION:FOR GOD ALONE \nFrom the decree “Perfectae Caritatis” by Pope St Paul VI \n◊◊◊ \nFrom the beginning of the Church there have been men and women who \nhave sought to follow Christ with greater freedom\, and to imitate him with \ncloser fidelity through the practice of the evangelical counsels. They have led \nlives dedicated to God\, each in his or her own way. Many of them\, under the \ninspiration of the Holy Spirit\, have lived in solitude or have founded religious \ncommunities\, which the Church willingly recognized and approved. \nAs a result\, in accordance with God’s plan\, there has grown up a \nwonderful variety of religious families. These have been of great service to the \nChurch in equipping it “for every good work” and preparing it “for the work of \nthe ministry for the building up of the Body of Christ“\, and also in adorning it \nwith the different gifts of its children\, so that the Church may appear in beauty “ \nas a bride adorned for her husband\, and show forth the many-faceted wisdom \nof God.“ \nSurrounded by this rich profusion of gifts\, all who are called by God to the \npractice of the evangelical counsels and profess them with fidelity\, dedicate \nthemselves to the Lord in a special way. They follow Christ\, who in virginity and \npoverty redeemed and sanctified humankind through obedience\, “even to \ndeath upon a cross.“ \nDriven thus by the love that the Holy Spirit pours into their hearts\, they \nlive more and more for Christ and for “his Body which is the Church.” The more \nfervent their union with Christ through this gift of self throughout their lives\, \nthe richer is the life of the Church\, and the more vigorous and fruitful its \napostolate. \nThe members of each institute should remember above all that in \nprofessing the evangelical counsels they have given their response to the call of \nGod in such a way that they are to live for God alone\, not only by dying to sin but \nalso by renouncing the world. They have surrendered to his service the whole of \ntheir lives: this constitutes a special consecration\, deeply rooted in the \nconsecration of baptism\, to which it gives fuller expression. \nThose who profess the evangelical counsels should seek and love above all \nthings the God who has first loved us. In every circumstance of life they should \nstrive to foster a life hidden with Christ in God; such a life is a source of\, and \nstimulus to\, the love of one’s neighbor for the salvation of the world and the \nbuilding up of the Church. This love is the animating and guiding principle for \nthe practice of the evangelical counsels.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-vocations-21/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250724
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250725
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250719T235928Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250719T235928Z
UID:13721-1753315200-1753401599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:VIRTUES AND OBSERVANCES \nFrom “The Mirror of Charity” by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nIt remains for us to inquire what conversion of life according to the Rule \nof Saint Benedict is. If we resort to virtues here\, so that\, for example\, a once \nproud person is hereafter humble and a once hot-tempered person meek\, surely \nwe can say that this conversion of life is enjoined not so much on monks by the \nRule of Saint Benedict as on all Christians by the Gospel. Hence for some \ndiversity to be found among the diverse types of conversion of life which are \nprofessed according to the diverse rules\, there is nothing to which we may have \nrecourse except those traits which constitute the diversity among the diverse \nrules… \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\, “but if reason and fairness \ndictate being a little stricter to correct faults or to persevere love\, do not then \nand there become daunted by fear and run from the way of salvation”. \nNow…what is this strictness which he encourages beginners not to fear? \nHe certainly confirms that what he has established is situated in this strictness. \nIf patience\, humility\, and the other virtues were meant\, would he say he was \ngoing to establish them\, as though they were something new? Assuredly\, there is \nnothing to which we have recourse – except to the new practices he institutes. \nNeither the law nor the prophets nor Christ himself gave these precepts. \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.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-339/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250725
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250726
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250720T000042Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250720T000042Z
UID:13723-1753401600-1753487999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St James
DESCRIPTION:CAN YOU DRINK THE CHALICE? \nFrom a homily by St John Chrysostom \n◊◊◊ \nLet no one take scandal if we say now that the apostles were not perfect\, \nfor the mystery of the cross had as yet not been consummated; the grace of the \nHoly Spirit had not yet been infused into their hearts. If you are desirous of \nknowing their virtue\, consider what kind of men they were after the grace of the \nSpirit had been given\, and you will see that they overcame every perverse \ninclination in them. For this very purpose their imperfection is now revealed \nthat you might clearly see what they suddenly became through the operation of \ngrace. \nThat they once sought nothing spiritual\, nor thought about the Kingdom \nof Heaven\, is very clear. But still let us consider how they approached our Lord \nand what they said. “We desire\,” they said\, “that whatsoever we ask of thee\, \nthou wilt grant us.” To which Christ replied\, “What do you desire?” – certainly \nnot because He did not know\, but that He might compel them to answer and \nthereby might lay open the wound and thus apply the remedy. But they\, \nblushing and held back by shame because they had come to Him motivated by \nhuman aspirations\, took Christ apart from the rest and questioned Him. They \nmoved aside lest perhaps they be heard by the rest. \nAnd so at last they said what they wished. I conjecture that they had heard \nthat the disciples were to be seated on twelve thrones and they wished to ask for \nthe place of honor in this assembly; they knew that at other times they were \ngiven precedence over the rest\, but fearing that Peter might be put before them\, \nthey were bold enough to request\, “Say that one may sit on thy right hand\, the \nother on they left.” And they pressed Him saying\, “Speak thus.“ \nAnd what did He say? That He might show that they sought nothing \nspiritual\, and did not even realize what they were asking – for had they known \nthey would not have asked it – Jesus said to them\, “You know not what you ask; \nyou know not how great\, how admirable a thing this is\, far surpassing even \nthe higher Powers.“ \nAnd He added further: “Can you drink the chalice which I shall drink\, \nand be baptized with the baptism wherewith I am baptized?” Notice how He \nmoves them from their present state of mind by bringing to their attention \nthings entirely contrary. “For\,” He says\, “you ask me for crowns and honors\, \nbut I speak to you of struggle and perspiration. This is not a time for rewards\, \nnor will my glory appear at this time\, but the present is the time of death and \ndangers.” But observe how by His very manner of questioning He exhorts and \nconsoles. He did not say\, “Can you undergo suffering? Can you shed your \nblood?” But He said\, “Can you drink the chalice?” Then by way of consolation \nHe adds\, “which I am to drink.” So that by their very union with Him they \nmight become more eager for hardships.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-james-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250726
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250727
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250720T000146Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250720T000146Z
UID:13725-1753488000-1753574399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Joachim & Ann
DESCRIPTION:JOACHIM AND ANN \nFrom a sermon by St John Damascene \n◊◊◊ \nAnn was to be the mother of the Virgin Mother of God\, and hence nature \ndid not dare to anticipate the flowering of grace. Thus nature remained sterile\, \nuntil grace produced its fruit. For she who was to be born had to be a first-born \ndaughter\, since she would be the mother of the first-born of all creation\, in \nwhom all things are held together. \nJoachim and Ann\, how blessed a couple! All creation is indebted to you. \nFor your hands the Creator was offered a gift exceeding all other gifts: a chaste \nmother\, who alone was worthy of him. \nAnd so rejoice\, Ann\, that you were sterile and have not borne children; \nbreak forth into shouts\, you who have not given birth. Rejoice\, Joachim\, \nbecause from your daughter a child is born for us\, a son is given us\, whose \nname is Messenger of great counsel and universal salvation\, mighty God. For \nthis child is God. \nJoachim and Ann\, how blessed and spotless a couple! You will be known \nby the fruit you have borne\, as the Lord says: “by their fruits you will know \nthem”. The conduct of your life pleased God and was worthy of your daughter. \nFor by the chaste and holy life you led together\, you have fashioned a jewel of \nvirginity; she who remained a virgin before\, during and after giving birth. She \nalone for all time would maintain her virginity in mind and soul as well as in \nbody. Joachim and Ann\, how chaste a couple! While safeguarding the chastity \nprescribed by the law of nature\, you achieved with God’s help something which \ntranscends nature in giving the world the Virgin Mother of God as your \ndaughter. While leading a devout and holy life in your human nature\, you gave \nbirth to a daughter nobler than the angels\, whose queen she now is. \nGirl of utter beauty and delight\, daughter of Adam and mother of God\, \nblessed the loins and blessed the womb from which you come! Blessed the arms \nthat carried you\, and blessed your parent’s lips\, which you were allowed to cover \nwith chaste kisses\, ever maintaining your virginity. Rejoice in God\, all the earth. \nSing\, exult and sing hymns. Raise your voice\, raise it and be not afraid.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-joachim-ann-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250727
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250728
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250727T111714Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250727T111714Z
UID:13732-1753574400-1753660799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n17th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (C)\, Weekdays (I)\nJuly 27 – Aug.2\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n27\nMon\n28\nTue\n29\nWed\n30\nThu\n31\nFri\n1\nSat\n2\n\n\nOffice\n17th Sunday\nWeekday\nSS Martha\, Mary & Lazarus\nWeekday\nSt Ignatius Loyola\nSt Alphonsus Ligouri\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\nGen 30:25-43\nGen 31:1-24\nGen 31:25-54\nGen 32:1-22\nGen 32:23-33:20\nGen 34:1-31\nGen 35:1-29\n\n\nLauds\nHos 4:7-12\nHos 4:13-19\nHos 5:1-7\nHos 5:8-15\nHos 6:1-6\nHos 6:7-7:2\nHos 7:3-10\n\n\nMass\n111\n401\n402\, 607\n403\n404\n405\n406\n\n\n1st\nGen 18:20-32\nExod 32:15-24\, 30-34\nExod 33:7-11; 34:5b-9\, 28\nExod 34:29-35\nExod 40:16-21\, 34-38\nLev 23:1\, 4-11\, 15-16\, 27\, 34b-37\nLev 25:1\, 8-17\n\n\n2nd\nCol 2:12-14\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nLuke 11:1-13\nMatt 13:31-35\nJohn 11:19-27\nMatt 13:44-46\nMatt 13:47-53\nMatt 13:54-58\nMatt 14:1-12\n\n\nVespers\nEph 6:1-9\nEph 6:10-17\nEph 6:18-24\nPhil 1:1-11\nPhil 1:12-18a\nPhil 1:18b-26\nPhil 1:27-30
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-120/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250727
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250728
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250727T112006Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250727T112006Z
UID:13734-1753574400-1753660799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 17th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:ASK\, SEEK\, AND KNOCK \nFrom a commentary by The Venerable Bede \n◊◊◊ \nOur Lord and Savior wishes us to attain the joy of the heavenly kingdom\, \nand so he taught us to pray for it\, promising to give it to us if we did so. Ask\, he \nsaid\, and you will receive\, seek and you will find\, knock and the door will be \nopened to you. \nWe should consider most seriously and attentively what these words of \nthe Lord may mean for us\, for they warn that not the idle and lazy but those who \nask\, seek\, and knock will receive\, find and have the door opened to them. We \nmust therefore ask for entry into the kingdom by prayer\, seek it by upright \nliving\, and knock at its door by perseverance. Merely to ask verbally is not \nenough; we must also diligently seek to discover how to live so as to be worthy of \nobtaining what we ask for. We know this from our Savior’s words: Not everyone \nwho says to me\, “Lord\, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven\, but only those \nwho do the will of my heavenly Father. \nThere is a need\, then\, for constant and unflagging prayer. Let us fall upon \nour knees with tears before our God and Maker; and that we may deserve a \nhearing\, let us consider carefully how he who made us wishes us to live\, and \nwhat he has commanded us to do… \nSeek first the kingdom of God and its justice\, and these other things will \nbe given you as well. To seek the kingdom of God and its justice is to long for the \ngraces of our heavenly homeland\, and to give constant thought to the kind of \nupright living that will deserve to obtain them; for should we chance to stray \nfrom the path that leads there we shall never be able to reach our goal. \nTo ask God for the justice of his kingdom is to ask principally for faith\, \nhope and love. These virtues above all we should strive to obtain\, for Scripture \nsays: Mercy surrounds those who hope in the Lord; and To love is to fulfill the \nlaw\, for the whole law is summed up in one word: You shall love your neighbor \nas yourself. And so the Lord graciously promises that the Father will give the \ngood Spirit to those who ask him\, in order to show that those who of themselves \nare evil can become good only by receiving the grace of the Spirit… \nAs we do our best\, then\, to follow in our Lord’s footsteps\, let us ask God \nthe Father for the grace of his Spirit to lead us along the path of that true faith \nwhich works through love… Then\, if we keep the almighty Father’s \ncommandments\, he will certainly reward us with the eternal blessing which \nfrom the beginning he prepared as our heritage through Jesus Christ our Lord\, \nwho with the Holy Spirit lives and reigns with him\, God for ever and ever.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-17th-sunday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250728
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250729
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250727T112107Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250727T112107Z
UID:13736-1753660800-1753747199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE GLORY OF GOD \nFrom a commentary by Eric Peterson \n◊◊◊ \nAngels are more than poetic extras from the repertoire of folk-lore. They \nhave to do with Christ and with the Holy Spirit; but they have to do with us well. \nThey represent for us a possibility in our own nature\, an enhancement and \nintensification of our being – but never the possibility of a new and different \nfaith. They teach us about dark depths in our being wherein is movement and \nimpulse\, independent\, it may be\, of ourselves\, and which we may not even \nrecognize for what they really are\, nor attribute yet awhile to angelic influence. \nAn impulse might simply be felt as an urge towards purity of heart; or one might \nbecome conscious of an overwhelming desire for mental clarity and a true \nexistence. \nWe hurry towards the angels along many paths\, not as though we \nexpected to become an angel\, but because our own being is only a preliminary \nexistence and it does not yet appear what we shall be. And if we do not hurry \ntowards those angels who stand in God’s presence\, then we shall most certainly \nhasten towards those who have turned away from God; we shall rush towards \nthe demons. For we always live so that we transcend ourselves and thus move \ntoward either the angels or the demons. And we who transcend ourselves – for \nto do this is our being – are able to ascend higher and higher\, not in the moral \nbut in the metaphysical sense\, until we become an associate of the angels and \narrive at the frontier of that realm where stand the cherubim and seraphim. \nThis boundary line\, marked out neither by ourselves nor by any \narchangel\, arrests our progress: here we begin to join in the music of the \nspheres and in the singing of the angels. Our song is no mere imitation of the \nangelic song\, no modest joining in the cry of Holy\, holy\, holy which resounds \nfrom their lips majestically and without ceasing; but it is also something which \nerupts from our innermost being when we reach the bounds of all things – the \nbounds of ourselves as creatures. \nWhat do we learn on reaching the angelic world but the creation praises \nGod\, praises him from the last star down to the least blade of grass? What \napplies to the highest grade of creation applies equally to the lowest\, to plant- \nlife\, animals and things which stand much lower than we in the scale of being. \nWhen in the psalms let us say\, animals and mountains break froth in praise of \nGod\, this is no mere hyperbole or excess of poetic fancy\, an unwarrantable \nhuman personifying of inanimate nature. It is something based ultimately in \nthe nature of the created thing\, and which runs fight through the whole scale of \ncreation from the cherubim and seraphim down to the least thing in the world. \nAs the Gospel has told us\, the whole creation is full of the glory of God.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-340/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250729
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250730
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250727T112241Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250727T112241Z
UID:13738-1753747200-1753833599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Martha\, Mary & Lazarus
DESCRIPTION:THE HAPPINESS OF \nMARTHA AND MARY \nFrom a sermon by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nJesus entered a certain fortress\, and a certain woman named Martha \nreceived him into her house. And she had a sister named Mary. You have heard \nin the Gospel about the great happiness of the two women. Truly\, brothers\, great \nwas the happiness of Martha\, who welcomed such a guest\, who waited upon \nhim\, who was completely engaged with serving him. Great was the happiness of \nMary\, who recognized the excellence of her guest\, who listened to his wisdom \nand tasted his sweetness… \nIf therefore…our soul according to what we have said\, becomes a fortress\, \nit is fitting that two women live in it: one who sits at the feet of Jesus and listens \nto his words\, the other who waits upon Jesus and feeds him. Consider this: if \nMary were alone in this house\, there would be no one to feed the Lord; if Martha \nwere alone\, there would be no one to take delight in the discourses and presence \nof the Lord. Therefore…Martha signifies that action by which a person labors \nfor Christ\, and Mary signifies that rest by which a person ceases from bodily \nactivities and takes delight in the sweetness of God\, either through reading\, \nprayer\, or contemplation. Therefore…as long as Christ is poor and goes about \nafoot on earth\, and is hungry and thirsty\, and is tempted\, it is necessary that \nboth of these women dwell in one house\, that both of their actions be in one \nsoul. \nAs long as you or I or anyone else is on earth\, he himself is present in the \nworld\, if we are his members. Whenever those who are his members are hungry\, \nthirsty\, and tempted\, then Christ will be hungry\, thirsty\, and tempted. For this \nreason\, Christ himself will say on the day of judgment: “Whenever you\, did it to \none of the least of my brothers or sisters\, you did it to me”. Therefore…in this \nmiserable and burdensome life\, it is necessary that Martha be in our house\, that \nis\, that our soul be busy with bodily activities. As long as we must eat and drink\, \nthen we have to labor. As long as we are tempted by carnal pleasures\, it is \nnecessary for us to tame the flesh by vigils\, fasts\, and bodily labor. This part is \nMartha’s. \nMary also should be in our soul\, for she represents activity of spirit. We \nshould not always give ourselves to bodily exercises but occasionally should rest \nand see how delightful\, how sweet\, is the Lord; we should sit at the feet of Jesus \nand listen to his word. In no way ought you to neglect Mary because of Martha\, \nnor again Martha because of Mary. If you neglect Martha who will feed Jesus? If \nyou neglect Mary\, what will it benefit you that Jesus entered your house\, since \nyou taste nothing of his sweetness?
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-martha-mary-lazarus-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250730
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250731
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250727T112406Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250727T112406Z
UID:13740-1753833600-1753919999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:ASCETICISM \nAS A WAY OF LOVE \nBy Paul Evdokimov \n◊◊◊ \nThe methods provided for asceticism reflect the epoch which practices it \nand adapt themselves to its way of thinking. In the conditions of modern life\, \nunder the weight of overwork and nervous exhaustion\, emotional reaction \nchanges. Medicine protects and prolongs life but at the same time diminishes \nthe resistance to suffering and to privations. Christian asceticism is never an \nend in itself; it is only a means\, a method in the service of life\, and it will seek to \nbe in harmony with new requirements. \nFormerly\, the asceticism of the desert Fathers imposed fasts of a severe \nkin\, and constraints; today the battle is shifting to other ground. Man has no \nneed to impose supplementary suffering upon himself; to use [highly artificial \nmethods] would be to risk breaking him to no purpose. \nToday ‘mortification’ means being relaxed from all necessity to ‘dope’ \noneself: through speed\, noise\, excitements\, drugs\, alcohol\, [and similar] stimuli \nof all kinds. Asceticism would be\, rather\, the repose that is imposed upon us\, the \ndiscipline of calmness and silence in which a man rediscovers the faculty to \npause for prayer and contemplation\, even at the heart of all the noises of the \nworld\, in the [train and bus stations]\, in the crowd\, at the crossroads of a town; \nbut above all it is the faculty of appreciating the presence of others\, the friends of \neach encounter. \nFasting\, contrary to the maceration which one inflicts upon oneself\, \nwould be the joyous renunciation of all that is superfluous\, sharing it with the \npoor\, and a smiling\, natural\, peaceful equilibrium. Back beyond the [bodily] and \npsychological asceticism of the Middle Ages\, we should seek the eschatological \nasceticism of the first centuries\, that act of faith which transformed the whole \nhuman being into the joyous expectation of the Second Coming\, an expectation \nwhich was not chronological\, but qualitative\, and which discerns the final and \nsole necessity\, for\, according to the Gospel\, the time is short and “the Spirit and \nthe Bride say ‘Come!’” \nAsceticism thus becomes a means of paying attention to the challenges of \nthe Gospel\, to the standard of the Beatitudes: it will seek for humility and purity \nof heart\, in order to deliver its neighbor and to restore him to God. In a world \nthat is weary\, crushed with cares\, living to an intensely accelerated rhythm\, the \ntask is to find and to live a ‘spiritual childhood’\, the freshness and the \nevangelical simplicity of the ‘little way’ which leads to sitting at the table of \nsinners\, to blessing and breaking bread together.… \nThus\, [asceticism] is never anything but a means\, a strategy… The \nevangelical asceticism of the Gospel goes to extremes\, not out of fear\, but out of \na love that overflows with tenderness towards the world. St. Dorotheus gives a \nbeautiful picture of salvation\, in the form of a circle. Its center is God\, and all the \npeople stand at the circumference. The nearer one draws to the center — God — \nthe nearer do the rays of the circle — one’s neighbor — draw to one another. \n[And so] St. Isaac can say [a similar thing] to his disciple: “Here is a \ncommandment for you: let mercy always [be the measure] your scale\, until… \nyou feel within yourself the mercy that God feels towards you and towards the \nworld.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-341/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250731
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250801
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250727T112517Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250727T112517Z
UID:13742-1753920000-1754006399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading  -St Ignatius Loyola
DESCRIPTION:THE FIRST TRIAL OF \nIGNATIUS OF LOYOLA \nFrom The Autobiography of St Ignatius \n◊◊◊ \nOn the Vigil of the Annunciation in 1522 he set out at nightfall\, as \ndiscreetly as possible\, to find a beggar. Stripping off his clothes he gave them to \nthis pauper and dressed…in the garb for which he had longed. Then he went and \nknelt before the altar of our Lady\, where\, staff in hand\, he spent the whole night\, \nnow kneeling\, now standing\, and after receiving the Blessed Sacrament left at \nday-break <for Manresa>\, in order not to be recognized. \nIt was while he was living at the hospital at Manresa that the following \nstrange event took place. Very frequently on a clear moonlight night there \nappeared in the courtyard before him an indistinct shape which he could not see \nclearly enough to tell what it was. Yet it appeared so symmetrical and beautiful \nthat his soul was filled with pleasure and joy as he gazed at it. It had something \nof the form of a serpent with glittering eyes\, and yet they were not eyes. He felt \nan indescribable joy steal over him at the sight of this object. The oftener he saw \nit\, the greater was the consolation he derived from it\, and when the vision left \nhim\, his soul was filled with sorrow and sadness. \nUp to this period he had remained in a constant state of tranquility and \nconsolation\, without any interior knowledge of the trials that beset the \nspiritual life. But during the time that the vision lasted\, sometimes for days\, \nhis soul was violently agitated by a thought that brought him no little \nuneasiness. There flashed upon his mind the idea of the difficulty that \nattended the kind of life he had begun\, and he felt as if he head some one \nwhispering to him\, “How can you keep up for seventy years of your life these \npractices which you have begun?” Knowing that this thought was a \ntemptation of the evil one\, he expelled it by this answer: “Can you\, wretched \none\, promise me one hour of life?” In this manner he overcame the temptation\, \nand his soul was restored to peace. This was his first trial.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-ignatius-loyola-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20250801
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20250802
DTSTAMP:20260403T171929
CREATED:20250727T112644Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250727T112644Z
UID:13744-1754006400-1754092799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Alphonsus Ligouri
DESCRIPTION:THE FULLNESS OF HIMSELF \nFrom a sermon by St Alphonsus Ligouri \n◊◊◊ \nAll holiness and perfection of soul lies in our love for Jesus Christ our \nGod\, who is our Redeemer and our supreme good. It is part of the love of God to \nacquire and to nurture all the virtues that make one perfect. \nHas not God in fact won for himself a claim on all our love? From all \neternity he has loved us. And it is in this vein that he speaks to us: “O consider \ncarefully that I first loved you. You had not yet appeared in the light of day\, nor \ndid the world yet exist\, but already I loved you. From all eternity I have loved \nyou.” \nSince God knew that we are enticed by favors\, he wished to bind us to his \nlove by means of his gifts: “I want to catch mortals with these snares\, these \nchains of love in which they allow themselves to be entrapped\, so that they will \nlove me.” And all the gifts which he bestowed on us were given to this end. He \ngave us a soul\, made in his likeness\, and endowed with memory\, intellect and \nwill; he gave us a body equipped with the senses; it was for us that he created \nheaven and earth and such an abundance of things. He made all things out of \nlove for us\, so that all creation might serve us\, and we in turn might love God out \nof gratitude for so many gifts. \nBut God did not wish to give us only beautiful creatures; the truth is that \nto win for himself our love\, he went so far as to bestow upon us the fullness of \nhimself. The eternal Father went so far as to give us his only Son. When he saw \nthat we were all dead through sin and deprived of his grace\, what did he do? \nCompelled\, as the Apostle says\, by the superabundance of his love for us\, he sent \nhis beloved Son to make reparation for us and to call us back to a sinless life. \nBy giving us his Son\, whom he did not spare precisely so that he might \nspare us\, he bestowed on us every good: grace\, love and heaven; for all these \ngoods are certainly inferior to the Son: He who did not spare his own Son\, but \nhanded him over for all of us; how could he fail to give us along with his Son all \ngood things?
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-alphonsus-ligouri-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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