Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey

Vigils Reading - 32nd Sun ORD
2022-11-06
Commentary on the Gospel of Luke by St. John Henry Newman 1
God spoke to Moses in the burning bush, and called himself the God of Abraham; and Christ tells us that in this simple announcement was contained the promise that Abraham should rise again from the dead. In truth, if we may say it with reverence, the all-wise, all-knowing God cannot speak without meaning many things at once. He sees the end from the beginning; he understands the numberless connections and relations of all things one with another. Look at Christ’s words, and this same character of them will strike you; whatever he says is fruitful in meaning, and refers to many things. It is well to keep this in mind when we read the scripture.
When God called himself the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He implied that these holy patriarchs were still alive, though they were no more seen on earth. This may seem evident at first sight; but it may be asked how the text proves that their bodies would live; for, if their souls were still living, that would be enough to account for their being still called in the Book of Exodus servants of God. Our Blessed Lord seems to tell us that in some sense or other Abraham’s body might be considered still alive as a pledge of his resurrection, though it was dead in the common sense in which we apply the word. His announcement is, Abraham shall rise from the dead, because in truth he is still alive. He cannot in the end be held under the power of the grave, any more than a sleeping man can be kept from waking. Abraham is still alive in the dust, though not risen thence. He is alive because all God’s saints live in him, though they seem to perish.
We are apt to talk about our bodies as if we knew how or what they really were; whereas we only know what our eyes tell us. They seem to grow, to come to maturity, to decay; but after all we know no more about them than meets our senses. We have no direct cognizance of what may be called the substantive existence of the body, only of its accidents. Again, we are apt to speak of soul and body, as if we could distinguish between them, and knew much about them; but for the most part we use words without meaning. It is useful to make the distinction, and scripture makes it; but after all scripture speaks of our nature, in a religious sense, as one. Soul and body make up one person, which is born once and never dies. Philosophers of old time thought the soul indeed might live forever, but that the body perished at death; but Christ tells us otherwise. He tells us the body will live forever. In the text he seems to intimate that it never really dies; that we lose sight indeed of what we are accustomed to see, but that God still sees the elements of it which are not exposed to our senses.
God graciously called himself the God of Abraham. He did not say the God of Abraham’s soul, but simply of “Abraham”. He blest Abraham and gave him eternal life; not to his soul only, without his body, but to Abraham as one man.
1Journey with the Fathers – Year C – New City Press – N.Y. – 1997 – pg 132

Skema
2022-11-06
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
32nd Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (C), Weekdays (II)
November 6 – 12, 2022

Sun
6
Mon
7
Tue
8
Wed
9
Thu
10
Fri
11
Sat
12

Office
32nd Sunday
Weekday
St Elizabeth of the Trinity
Lateran Basilica
St Leo the Great
St Martin of Tours
Memorial of the BVM

Vigils
Ezra 1:1-10; 2:68-70
Ezra 3:1-13
Ezra 4:1-24
Exodus 40:1-34
Ezra 5:1-17
Ezra 6:1-12
Ezra 6:13-22

Lauds
Zeph 1:1-6
Zeph 1:7-13
Zeph 1:14-18
1 Macc 4:52-59
Zeph 2:1-7
Isa 58:6-12
Zeph 2:8-15

Mass
156
491
492
671
494
495
496

1st
2 Macc 7:1-2, 9-14
Titus 1:1-9
Titus 2:1-8, 11-14
Ezek 47:1-2, 8-9, 12
Phlm 7-20
2 John 4-9
3 John 5-8

2nd
2 Thess 2:16-3:5

1 Cor 3:9c-11, 16-17

Gospel
Luke 20:27-38
Luke 17:1-6
Luke 17:7-10
John 2:13-22
Luke 17:20-25
Luke 17:26-37
Luke 18:1-8

Vespers
1 Pet 4:7-11
1 Pet 4:12-19
1 Pet 5:1-7
Heb 10:19-25
1 Pet 5:8-14
Gal 6:1-5
Jude 1-7

Vigils Reading - Memorial B.V.M.
2022-11-05
Mary as Star of the Sea – From a Homily by St. Bernard of Clairvaux [1]

“And the Virgin’s name was Mary”. Let us now say a few words about this name, which means ‘star of the sea’ and is so becoming to the Virgin Mother. Surely she is very fittingly likened to a star. The star sends forth its ray without harm to itself. In the same way the Virgin brought forth her son with no injury to herself. The ray no more diminishes the star’s brightness than does the son his mother’s integrity. She is indeed that noble star risen out of Jacob whose beam enlightens this earthly globe. She it is whose brightness both shines in the highest heaven and pierces the pit of hell, and is shed upon the earth, warming our hearts far more than our bodies, fostering virtue and cauterizing vice.

O you, whoever you are, who feel that in the tidal wave of this world you are nearer to being tossed about among the squalls and gales than treading on dry land, if you do not want to founder in this tempest, do not avert your eyes from the brightness of this star. When the wind of temptation blows up within you, when you strike upon the rock of tribulation, gaze up at this star, call out to Mary. Whether you are being tossed about by the waves of pride or ambition or slander or jealousy, gaze up at this star, call out to Mary. When rage or greed or fleshly desires are battering the skiff of your soul, gaze up at Mary. When the immensity of your sins weighs you down and you are bewildered by the loathsomeness of your conscience, when the terrifying thought of judgment appalls you and you begin to founder in the gulf of sadness and despair, think of Mary. In dangers, in hardships, in every doubt, think of Mary, call out to Mary. Keep her in your mouth, keep her in your heart. Follow the example of her life and you will obtain the favor of her prayer. Following her you will never go astray. Asking her help, you will never despair. Keeping her in your thoughts, you will never wander away. With your hand in hers, you will not be afraid. With her leading you, you will never tire. Her kindness will see you through to the end. Then you will know by your own experience how true it is that “the Virgin’s name was Mary”.

[1] Magnificat – Homilies in Praise of the Virgin Mary – Cistercian Fathers Series #18 – Cistercian Publications – Kalamazoo, MI – 1979 – p 30

Vigils Reading - St Martin de Porres
2022-11-03
A reading about the early life of St. Martin de Porres,
from a book by J. C. Kearns. 1

Martin de Porres was born in the royal city of Lima, Peru, South America, on December 9th, 1579. His father was a Spanish nobleman, a native of Burgos and a knight of the Order of Alcántara, who like so many of the conquistadores had come to America to advance his fortunes, spurred on by the almost unbelievable stories of the fabulous wealth of the Indies. His name was Don Juan, and in his travels in the New World he had met a beautiful Negro woman in Panama, names Ana Velázquez. She was the mother of Martin. The child definitely inherited the dark skin and features of his mother=s race, which quickly displeased the Spanish cavalier, Y and the proud father felt that the dignity of his family had been impaired and he lost much of the affection he had entertained for the child=s mother. YDon Juan finally deserted Ana after the birth of another child, a daughter named JuanaY.

Little Martin endured all the pangs and sorrows of being an unwanted childY and he was little given to play or to a manifestation of interest in childish trifles. He was deeply religious, finding a refuge from the unfavorable environment of his childhood at devotions in the neighboring church. The boy was especially generous to the poor, often distributing to beggars the basket of provisions which he had purchased in the market for his mother. When he returned home with an empty basket, his mother would scold and chastise him, but soon this unique little boy became the object of admiration in the section of the city where he dwelt.

At the age of twelve he was apprenticed to a barber. In those days a barber did much more than cut hair and trim beards. He was also a surgeon, a physician, a druggist. Little Martin was delighted, for now he could learn to be of real service to his beloved friends, the poor. He learned with great eagerness how do bind up wounds, to allay fevers, how to brew soothing drugs form herbs, how to set broken limbs, to make poultices, and generally, all the medical knowledge of that era for the relief of the diseases and ailments of humanity.Y

Martin was deeply appreciative of the helpful interest which the barber-surgeon who was his teacher manifested towards him, and his teacher in turn seemed to realize the great good that his young apprentice was destined to accomplish in the future. Through study and practical experience Martin learned from him all about the materia medica of those days. In his charity, the young man practiced his profession gratuitously; any fees which were voluntarily given to him he soon distributed to the indigent. His own needs were very few; he led a life of unselfish zeal in behalf of his beloved poor and sick.

The fame of this youthful doctor soon became a topic of conversation throughout all Lima. His skill as a physician, his evident self-forgetfulness, his intense interest in the welfare of his patients, the all-encompassing nature of his charity, his patent personal holiness, and manifold miraculous cures gave him a reputation from which in his modesty he naturally shrank. However, Martin=s success made him all the more grateful to Almighty God for thus giving him the opportunity of doing good to so many. Yet he sensed the need of a higher sanction for the program of his Christian social service,Y which he was [eventually] to find in all its fullness as a member of the Order founded by St. Dominic.

1
The Life of Blessed Martin de Porres, New York: P. J. Kenedy, 1937, pp. 12-17.

Vigils Reading - All Souls
2022-11-02
From Purgation and Purgatory by St. Catherine of Genoa 1
The souls in purgatory cannot think, “I am here, and justly so because of my sins,” or “I wish I had never committed such sins for now I would be in paradise,” or “That person there is leaving before me,” or “I will leave before that one.” They cannot remember the good or evil in their past nor that of others.
Such is their joy in God’s will, in his pleasure, that they have no concern for themselves but dwell only in their joy in God’s ordinance. They see only the goodness of God, his mercy toward all. Should they be aware of other good or evil, theirs would not be perfect charity. Only once do they understand the reason for their purgatory: the moment in which they leave this life. After this moment, that knowledge disappears. Immersed in charity, incapable of deviating from it, they can only will or desire pure love. There is no joy save that in paradise to be compared with the joy of the souls in purgatory.
As the rust of sin is consumed the soul is more and more open to God’s love. Just as a covered object left out in the sun cannot be penetrated by the sun’s rays, in the same way, once the covering of the soul is removed, the soul opens itself fully to the rays of the sun. Having become one with God’s will, these souls, to the extent that he grants it to them, see into God.
Joy in God, oneness with him, is the end of these souls, an instinct implanted in them at their creation. All that I have said is nothing compared to what I feel within, the witnessed correspondence of love between God and the soul; for when God sees the soul pure as it was in its origins, he tugs at it with a glance, draws it and binds it to himself with a fiery love. God so transforms the soul into himself that it knows nothing other than God. He will not cease until he has brought the soul to its perfection.
That is why the soul seeks to cast off any and all impediments, so that it can be lifted up to God; and such impediments are the cause of the suffering of the souls in purgatory. Not that the souls dwell on their suffering; they dwell rather on the resistance they feel within themselves against the will of God, against his intense and pure love bent on nothing but drawing them up to him. And I see rays of lightning darting from that divine love to the creature, so intense and fiery as to annihilate not the body alone but, were it possible, the soul. The soul becomes like gold that becomes purer as it is fired, all dross being cast out.
The last stage of love is that which does its work without human doing. If humans were to be aware of the many hidden flaws in them, they would despair. These flaws are burned away in the last stage of love. God shows the soul its weakness, so that the soul may see the workings of God. If we are to become perfect, the change must be brought about in us and without us; that is, the change is to be the work not of human beings nut of God.
This, the last stage of love, is the pure and intense love of God alone. The overwhelming love of God gives the soul a joy beyond words. In purgatory great joy and great suffering do not exclude one another.
1A Word in Season – vol. IV – Sanctoral – Augustinian Press – 1991 – pg 215

Rule of Benedict: Reflection 7 pm CDT
2022-11-01 19:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago)
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Chapter 25: Serious Faults

A monk guilty of a serious fault is to be excluded from both the table and the oratory. No other monk should associate or converse with them at all. The monk will work alone at the tasks assigned to them, living continually in sorrow and penance, pondering that fearful judgement of the Apostle: “Such a man is handed over for the destruction of his flesh that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Cor. 5:5). Let them take their food alone in an amount and at a time the abbot considers appropriate for them. They should not be blessed by anyone passing by, nor should the food that is given them be blessed.

Vigils Reading - All Saints
2022-11-01
A Sermon by St. Aelred of Rievaulx 1

My brothers, if we are not qualified to speak of one of God’s saints and proclaim her glory, how qualified are we to give a sermon of all of the saints? It is all the more necessary that we bear ourselves in a way enabling us to come to share their glory. What then must we do? How can we attain these heights? Accordingly, brothers, let us listen to some wholesome advice. For whom should we be more ready to believe than someone who has already attained that glory? He certainly knows the way by which he went up. Let us listen then to one of the great friends of Jesus telling us: Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand that he may raise you up.

You know how today throughout the entire world everyone is praising God’s saints – the angels and archangels, the apostles, the martyrs, confessors, virgins. In their honor today in our holy Church there are canticles, hymns, torches and all the rest that goes with a feast. The canticles connote the everlasting celebration in which the saints live because of the inexpressible joy which is theirs in God. The hymns connote the inexpressible praise by which they are always praising God. So it is the Psalmist says: Blessed are those who dwell in your house, O Lord; they will praise you through all ages. The torches connote the everlasting light in which God’s saints live. This is why this past night you sang: Around you, Lord, is a light that will never fail where the souls of the saints find rest. Now brothers, ponder, if you can, how exalted in heaven are those who can be exalted and honored in this way on earth. Surelky, brothers, if we could behold all the glory of the world and all the praise of the world and all the joy of the world at the same time, in comparison with their joy it is nothing but absolute misery.

Therefore, brothers, you ought to know that we celebrate these feasts with torches, canticles and so on for only two reasons. (These things do not profit God’s saints. They take no delight from this earthly singing, nor do they glory in this earthly torches and trifles. Their praise is Christ and he is their light, who enlightens every person coming into this world.)

The first reason for these things is that by these reminders we may rouse ourselves to greater devotion; then the second, because of the connotations of which we have already spoken. We ought, then, to do as much as is adequate to these two reasons. They do not celebrate these feasts well who by excessive pomp and ceremony pursue these external glories and splendors – with the result that the outer self becomes so intent on the canticles, the ornaments, the torches and such lovely trappings that the mind is scarcely able to conceive of anything but what it sees with the eyes, hears with the ears, or perceives with the other senses.

As for us, brothers, who do not see these things, let us ponder and delight in the true loveliness in which the saints live free of corruption; in those spiritual ornaments that the saints possess in righteousness and holiness: in the hymns and praises with which they praise God without weariness; and in that light which they see in the face of God. And let us keep our feasts in such a way that our mind is not turned back to those earthly and perishable delights but rather is roused to those that are spiritual and eternal. And so let us reflect on their glory and exaltation. To enable us to reach this exaltation, let us listen to the advice of the Apostle: Humble yourselves beneath the mighty hand of God. The Apostle was very aware of the reason why we are cast down, why we have lost that exaltation in which we were created, why we were driven out into this unhappiness. What is this reason, brothers, if not pride? Therefore, to counteract this pride he taught humility. Humble yourselves, he says. But because he knew that not all those who humble themselves humble themselves wisely, he therefore added: under the mighty hand of God. Now let us notice who they are who are humbled beneath the glorious hand of God. They are the good angels who, after the blessed Mary Mother of God, are the focus of this feast. They doubtless humble themselves beneath the glorious hand of God for they look for nothing from his hand but his glory in which they are happy without end, each one according to the rank in which they were created. Therefore, brothers, let us humble ourselves beneath God’s mighty hand that he may lift us up at the time of his visitation. May he lift us up through good deeds and through holy desires, so that when he comes at that great visitation when he will demand from everyone an account of what they have done in this life, he may lift us up totally and we may hear that endearing voice saying: Come, you blessed of my Father. Receive the kingdom that has been prepared for you from the beginning of the world.

Aelred of Rievaulx – The Liturgical Sermons – Cistercian Fathers Series – #58 – Cistercian Publications – Kalamazoo – 2001 – pg 346

Vigils Reading
2022-10-31

Vigils Reading - 31st Sun ORD
2022-10-30
A Commentary on Luke by Philoxenus of Mabbug 1
All who were called by the Lord obeyed his summons at once, provided love of earthly things did not weigh them down. For worldly ties are a weight upon the mind and understanding, and for those bound by them it is difficult to hear the sound of God’s call.
But the apostles, and the righteous people and patriarchs before them, were not like this. They obeyed like people really alive, and set out lightly, because no worldly possessions held them bound as though by heavy fetters. Nothing can bind or impede the soul that senses God: it is open and ready, so that the light of the divine voice, each time it comes, finds the soul capable of receiving it.
Our Lord also called Zacchaeus from the sycamore he had climbed, and immediately Zacchaeus hastened to come down, and welcomed his disciple even before he was called. And that is a marvelous thing – our Lord had not spoken to him, and Zacchaeus had not seen the Lord with the eyes of the body, and yet he believed in him simply on the word of others. This was because in him faith had been preserved in its natural life and health. He showed his faith by believing in our Lord as soon as he heard he was coming; and the simplicity of his faith was seen when he promised to give half of his goods to the poor, and to restore fourfold what he had taken by fraud. For if Zacchaeus’ spirit had not been filled at that moment with the simplicity proper to faith, he would not have made this promise to Jesus, and he would not have given out and distributed, in a brief space of time, what his labors had amassed over many years. Simplicity scattered on all sides what had been accumulated by cunning; purity of soul dispersed what had been obtained by guile; faith made a public renunciation of what had been found and appropriated by unrighteousness. – over –
For faith’s only possession is God, and it refuses to own anything else besides him. Faith sets no store by possessions of any kind, apart from God, its one lasting possession. Faith has been implanted in us so that we may find God and possess nothing but him, and so that we may recognize that everything that exists is harmful to us apart from him.
1Journey with the Fathers – Year C – New City Press – NY – 1997 – pg 130

Skema
2022-10-30
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
31st Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (C), Weekdays (II)
September 30 – November 5, 2022

Sun
30
Mon
31
Tue
1
Wed
2
Thu
3
Fri
4
Sat
5

Office
31st Sunday
Weekday
All Saints
All Souls
St Martin de Porres
St Charles Borromeo
Memorial of the BVM

Vigils
Sir 30:14-25
Jon 1:1-16
Rev 5:1-14
Ezek 37:1-14
Jon 2:1-11
Jon 3:1-10
Jon 4:1-11

Lauds
Hag 1:9-15
Hag 2:1-9
Isa 65:17-25
Isa 38:9-20
Hag 2:10-14
Hag 2:15-19
Hag 2:20-23

Mass
153
485
667
668
488
489
490

1st
Wis 11:22-12:2
Phil 2:1-4
Rev 7:2-4, 9-14
Wis 3:1-9
Phil 3:3-8a
Phil 3:17-4:1
Phil 4:10-19

2nd
2 Thess 1:11-2:2

1 Jn 3:1-3
2 Cor 5:1, 6-10

Gospel
Luke 19:1-10
Luke 14:12-14
Matt 5:1-12a
John 11:17-27
Luke 15:1-10
Luke 16:1-8
Luke 16:9-15

Vespers
1 Pet 3:8-12
Heb 11:32-12:2
Rev 19:5-9
1 Thess 4:13-18
1 Pet 3:13-17
1 Pet 3:18-22
1 Pet 4:1-6

Vigils Reading - Memorial B.V.M.
2022-10-29
A reading about the silence and prayer of Mary,
from a book by Adrienne von Speyr. [1]

A life of faith is a life of silence. Mary’s existence as Mother is hidden in a great silence. All around and about her is silence. People knew nothing of her real life, of the mysteries of her virginity. Not even Joseph understood her. An angel had to enlighten him about her mystery. The silence that surrounds her is simply a reflection of her own silence. She did not become a subject of conversation, because she did not talk about herself. And in that way she safeguarded her secret. Later, too, when the Son appeared in public, she remained silent because it was not her task or mission to speak. But in her silence she participates in the dialogue between Father and Son which is the very substance of prayer. She remained silent out of respect, and in order not to drown the word of God with her own words.

Her silence also manifests her activity and her passivity, her strength and her weakness. Her activity and strength consist in her self-control, her weakness and passivity in allowing herself to be led. She is simply and solely the instrument of God. Strength and weakness, doing and suffering, all the tensions and stresses of life meet and join in her without occasioning the predominance of any one in particular. The priority is always decreed by the need of her mission. She did not cultivate, tend or encourage her good qualities for their goodness’ sake (in the way that people do when they are conscious of their own gentleness and are disposed to go further in the same direction). She did not practice her virtues with a definite end in view; on the contrary, she quite simply allowed God to decide everything, to decree everything in accordance with her mission–and this is where her silence is so profound–without losing or giving up any of her complementary qualities. In her, silence is both complete self-renunciation and complete indifference. – over –

All this co-exists in her with a perseverance that knows no limits, because her mission flows on accompanied by a parallel discretion that disturbs nothing. All her qualities participate to some extent in the glory of her conversation with the Angel: each decision is taken in the solitude and isolation imposed by the relation of her soul to God. Discretion, in this instance, is but another name for humility that asks no questions and never raises the dust. She asked the Angel of God one simple factual question, and with that she became the answer to all that God expected. Her life is therefore community in the Lord, solitude in God, and this communal solitude is called prayer.
[1] The Handmaid of the Lord, New York,1955, pp. 19-21.

Vigils Reading - SS Simon and Jude
2022-10-28
The zeal of the apostles:
a reading from a sermon on Sts Simon and Jude
by St. John Henry Newman. 1

The Apostles commemorated on this Festival direct our attention to the subject of Zeal. St. Simon is called Zelotes, which means the Zealous; a title given him (as is supposed) from his belonging before his conversion to the Jewish sect of Zealots, which professed extraordinary Zeal for the Law. Anyhow, the appellation marks him as distinguished for this particular Christian grace. St. Jude’s Epistle, which forms part of the service of the day, is almost wholly upon the duty of manifesting Zeal for Gospel Truth, and opens with a direct exhortation to contend earnestly for the Faith once delivered to the Saints.
It will be a more simple account of Zeal, to call it the earnest desire for God’s honor, leading to strenuous and bold deeds in His behalf; and that in spite of all obstacles. Now Zeal is one of the elementary religious qualifications; that is, one of those which are essential in the very notion of a religious man. A man cannot be said to be in earnest in religion, till he magnifies his God and Savior; till he so far consecrates and exalts the thought of Him in his heart, as an object of praise, and adoration, and rejoicing, as to be pained and grieved at dishonor shown to Him, and eager to avenge Him. In a word, a religious temper is one of loyalty towards God; and we all know what is meant by being loyal from the experience of civil matters. To be loyal is not merely to obey; but to obey with promptitude, energetic dutifulness, disinterested devotion, disregard of consequences. And such is Zeal, except that it is ever attended with that reverential feeling which is due from a creature and a sinner towards his Maker, and towards Him alone. It is the main principle in all religious service to love God above all things; now, Zeal is to love Him above all other people, above our dearest and most intimate friends. This was the especial praise of the Levites, which gained for them the reward of the Priesthood, that is , their executing judgment on the people in the sin of the golden calf. Zeal is the very consecration of God=s Ministers to their office. Accordingly our Blessed Savior, the One Great High Priest, the Antitype of all Priests who went before Him and the Lord and Strength of all who come after, began His manifestation of Himself by two acts of Zeal. When twelve years old he deigned to put before us in representation the sacredness of this duty, when He remained in the Temple Awhile His father and mother sought Him sorrowing, and on their finding Him, returned answer, Do you not know that I must be about My Father’s business? And again, at the opening of His public ministry, He went into the Temple, and made a scourge of small cords, and drove out the sheep and oxen, and overthrew the changer’s tables that profaned it: thus fulfilling the prophecy contained in the text, Zeal for your house has eaten me up. Being thus consumed by Zeal Himself, no wonder He should choose His followers from among the Zealous.

1
“Christian Zeal,” in Parochial and Plain Sermons, San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1987, pp. 464 ff.

Vigils Reading
2022-10-27
TO COMPREHEND WITH THE SAINTS THE DEPTH OF GOD, from the Works of St Bernard[1]

[“That you may have the power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth..”(Eph 3:18) St Paul says] “comprehend” not “know” so that we should not be content to be curious for knowledge, but seek with all our power to comprehend. The reward lies not in knowing but in comprehending. To put it another way, as someone says, it is a sin for someone to know what is good and not to do it(Jas 4:17). And Paul himself says in another place, “So run that you may comprehend (1Cor 9:24).
What then is God? He is “length,” I say. What is that? Eternity. Eternity is so long that it has no end of place or time. He is also breadth. And what is that? Love. And who shall draw boundaries to God’s love, for he hates nothing that he has made? Indeed, he causes his sun to rise upon the good and the wicked and rain falls upon the just and the unjust. Therefore his bosom enfolds even his enemies. And not satisfied with that, it stretches to infinity. He goes beyond every bound not only of love but of knowledge, as the Apostle goes on to say, “And to know the love of Christ, which passes all understanding”(Eph 3:19). What more can I say? He is eternal, or perhaps even greater, eternity itself. Do you see that the width is as great as the length? Would that you could see not only what it is like but what it actually is! To be breadth is to be depth. The one no less than two; the two no more than one. God is eternity; “God is love” (1Jn 4:16). He is length without extension, breadth without distension. In both equally he exceeds local and temporal limits, but by the freedom of his nature, not by the vastness of his substance. He who made everything according to measure is immense in this way, and although he is immense, this is the measure of his immensity.
Again, what is God? “The height and the depth.” In one he is above all, in the other, he is within all. It is clear that nowhere in the Godhead is equality limited. It stands square on all sides and is utterly consistent. Consider his power as the height and his wisdom as the depth. They correspond to one another symmetrically, and while the height is beyond reach the depth is equally beyond seeing into. Paul wonders at it and exclaims, “O height of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God; how inscrutable are his judgments, and his ways are beyond searching out”(Rom 11:33). Let us exclaim with Paul, gazing upon the most simple unity of those attributes with God and in God. O powerful wisdom, reaching everywhere in strength. O wise power, disposing all things sweetly! One reality, many effects, different acts; And this one reality is length because it is eternity, breadth because it is love, height because it is majesty, depth because it is wisdom.
[1]BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX (Classics of Western Spirituality) Trans. by G R Evans (Paulist Press NY 1987) pp. 169-170.

Vigils Reading
2022-10-26
A Commentary on the Book of Sirach by Origen [1]

Take the whole number of the human race and pick out those who are faithful from all the nations: doubtless they will be fewer than the whole. Then select the better ones from the number of the faithful; it is certain that the number will be far smaller. And again from those you have chosen, select the more perfect ones: you will find even fewer. And the more you continue to make choices, the more you will find them to be scanty and very few, until you finally come to a certain one who confidently says: “U labored more than all of them”,
Thus “those who are more” will receive more land and more of a physical inheritance, but the few will attain to a small amount of land, since they have more in the Lord; but some will receive no earthly inheritance, if they become worthy to become priests and ministers of God; for “of these” the Lord will be their whole inheritance. And who is so blessed that among the few he receives either a small amount of land or that among the chosen priests and ministers he merits in the allotment of his inheritance to have room for the Lord alone? For granted they receive some land on account of their beasts of burden, yet it is from the land that borders on cities and attached to cities.
Yet these words that say that the inheritance is multiplied to those who are more can be understood in still another way as well. For one just person is considered as “more” in accordance with the fact that he is accepted by God. After all. It is even written: “Through one wise person a city will be considered but the tribes of the unjust will be desolated”. And one just person is reckoned for the whole world, but the unjust, even if they are many, are considered by God as scanty and as nothing.
So there is a praiseworthy multitude, as we see was said to Abraham as well, when “he led him outside and said to him: look at the sky if you are able to number the stars; thus will be your seed.” Consider here how the just person is interior and always abides in what is interior, since it is “inside” that he prays to the Father in secret, and all the glory of the king’s daughter, that is, of the royal soul, is within.” Nevertheless God “leads him outside,” when circumstances demand it and the rational order of visible things demands it. Therefore, even in this way, to the many who are “as stars of the heaven in multitude”, an inheritance is multiplied’ and to the scanty few, name;y. those who. Even if they are many in number, nevertheless are considered scanty due to the unworthiness of their life, a scanty inheritance is appointed.
[1] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture = Old Testament = vol. XV – InterVarsity Press – Downers Grove, IK – 2010 – pg 255

Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
2022-10-25
The narrow way to God,
a reading from a sermon by St. Aelred of Reivaulx (CSQ 4:80-81)

As Saint Gregory has said, this present life is nothing other than a way. He who lives well and praiseworthily passes to God, and to life eternal. But the man who lives an evil life is journeying towards hell and eternal death. This is the way of sinners. David speaks of it in the first psalm: “Happy the man who never follows the advice of the wicked, or loiters in the way of sinners”.
Very logically, indeed, he says the death of sinners is the worst because their way is evil. And as the Apostle says: “Evil men go from bad to worse; erring themselves, they lead others into error”. The death of sinners therefore is said to be the “worst”, because as long as they live they become more and more evil, until, having reached the depths, they merit to be cut off and thrown into the fire.

But our blessed Father Benedict did not follow this way. He did not lead an evil life but held fast to the way of which it is said : “The way of the just is straight”. Although narrow, it leads to life. For those who are beginning, it is indeed narrow, as it was for David when he said “Because of the words of your mouth I have followed difficult ways”. But did this prophet ever say that because he found it difficult in the beginning he left or he thought he should leave it? God forbid! Rather he held fast until he could make this very different statement: “I have run in the way of your commandments because you have enlarged my heart”. Saint Benedict also found the way narrow at the beginning of his conversion. But in the end he found it wide open. Was not the way difficult for him? As we read in his Life, in order not to consent to lust, he threw himself into a thorn bush. But when he found the way difficult, what did he do? He did not depart from it ; rather he held fast and manfully stood his ground. He first did what he later taught, so that he might teach his followers what he himself did. Thus Pope Saint Gregory said of him: “Just as he lived, so he taught. He could not teach other than he lived”. That he stood manfully in the way of God we can learn from his own words, since in his Rule he warns one shaken by fear not to depart from the way of salvation.

Vigils Reading
2022-10-24
A Commentary on the Book of Sirach by Origen [1]

The last story that is related in the book of Numbers is the one in which the Lord commands Moses “to give orders to the children of Israel” that when “they have entered the holy land” they may know how to take possession of their inheritance and that they shall observe the boundaries pf their limits in these things. And after this, with the Lord now describing this, it is said, “toward Africa” that is, toward the west, the boundary of that place should be observed, and of that place toward the east, and thus the Lord indicates through the four regions of the sky certain names that the people of God ought to keep in that earthly Judea.
Thus one of the more simple hearers will say that here there are things that are necessary and useful even according to the letter, in that no one should go beyond the borders that have been appointed through the Lord’s command and one tribe should not dare to violate the boundaries of another. And what will we do when no possibility remains for the Jews, not merely to invade the borders of another nation in those lands, but even of possessing them at all? For they have ben banished from that land, they are exiles and refugees, and those who now possess and guard the boundaries are not those whom the divine law appointed but those whom they have entrusted the rights of victors. What, I ask, will we do who read these things in the church? If we read them according to the sense of the Jews, they will seem superfluous to is and pointless.
But I am one who reads what is written about Wisdom: “I went after her as a tracker,” I want to go out after her and since I do not find her in the physical realities, I desire to pursue her tracks and investigate where she is going and to see into which rooms she leads my understanding. For I think that if I am able to follow her with care and to investigate her ways, she will give me some opportunities from the Scriptures to understand how it is even in these passages we need to explain, if we believe what Paul says in a mystery, that those who serve through the law are serving “the shadow and image of heavenly things”. And if, bo les in accordance with the judgment of that man, the law of which this reading that we have in hand is a portion. “contains a shadow of the good things to come, “ it seems logical and necessary that everything that is described in the law, as it were concerning earthly things, is a shadow of the good things of heaven and the whole inheritance of that land, which is called the “holy land” and the “good land” is an image of the good things of heaven. These things, as we have said, that are mentioned as good things on earth contain a shadow and an image of these.
[1] Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture – Old Testamennt – vol. XV = InterVarsity Press – Downers Grove, IL = 2010 – pg. 249

Skema
2022-10-23
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
30th Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (C), Weekdays (II)
October 23 – 29, 2022

Sun
23
Mon
24
Tue
25
Wed
26
Thu
27
Fri
28
Sat
29

Office
30th Sunday
Weekday
Office for Vocations
Weekday
Weekday
SS Simon & Jude
Memorial of the BVM

Vigils
Sir 27:16-30
Sir 28:1-11
Sir 28:12-26
Sir 29:1-13
Sir 29:14-28
1 Macc 2:42-66
Sir 30:1-13

Lauds
Hab 2:9-14
Hab 2:15-20
Hab 3:1-7
Hab 3:8-15
Hab 3:16-19
Deut 32:1-9
Hag 1:1-8

Mass
150
479
480
481
482
666
484

1st
Sir 35:12-14, 16-18
Eph 4:32-5:8
Eph 5:21-33
Eph 6:1-9
Eph 6:10-20
Eph 2:19-22
Phil 1:18b-26

2nd
2 Tim 4:6-8, 16-18

Gospel
Luke 18:9-14
Luke 13:10-17
Luke 13:18-21
Luke 13:22-30
Luke 13:31-35
Luke 6:12-16
Luke 14:1, 7-11

Vespers
1 Pet 1:13-16
1 Pet 1:17-21
1 Pet 1:22-25
1 Pet 2:1-10
1 Pet 2:11-17
Jude 17-21
1 Pet 2:18-25

Vigils Reading - 30th Sun ORD
2022-10-23
Commentary on the Gospel of Luke by Gregory Palamas [1]

The spiritual champion of evil is full of resources for its furtherance. It has often happened that as soon as the foundations of virtue have been laid in a soul, he has begun to undermine them with despair and lack of faith. Often too, when the walls of the house of virtue were being built, he has assaulted them by means of inertia and indolence. Even when the house has been roofed over with good works, he has used arrogance and presumption to destroy it.
Nevertheless, stand firm and do not be afraid, for anyone zealous in doing good is even more resourceful. In resisting evil, virtue has the greater power, since it receives heavenly assistance from him who can do all things. And who confirms all virtue’s lovers in goodness. Consequently, virtue not only remains unmoved by the manifold wicked wiles of the adversary, but even has the power to raise up and restore those sunk in the depths of evil, and easily to lead them back to God through repentance and humility.
The present parable is sufficient proof; for the tax collector, in spite of his profession and of having lived in the depths of sin, joins the ranks of those living upright lives through a single prayer, and that a short one, he is relieved of his burden of sin, he is lifted up, he rises above all evil, and is admitted to the company of the righteous, justified by the impartial judge himself. The Pharisee, on the other hand, is condemned by his prayer in spite of being a Pharisee, and in his own eyes a person of importance. Because his “righteousness” is false and his indolence extreme, every syllable he utters provokes God’s anger.
But why does humility raise us to the heights of holiness, and self-conceit plunges us into the abyss of sin? It is because when we have a high regard of ourselves, and that in the presence of God, He quite reasonably abandons us, since we think we have no need of His assistance. But when we regard ourselves as nothing and therefore look to heaven for mercy, it is not unreasonable that we should obtain God’s compassion, help and grace. For, as Scripture says: “The Lord resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
“This man went away justified, and not the other”, says the Lord; “because all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but those who humble themselves will be exalted”. For since the devil is pride itself, and arrogance his own particular vice, this sin conquers and drags down with itself every human virtue tinged with it. Similarly, humility before God is the virtue of the good angels, and it conquers every human vice to which a sinner has fallen prey.
Humility is the chariot in which the ascent to God is made upon the clouds that are to carry up to Him those destined to be with God for endless ages, according to the apostle’s prophecy: “We shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we always be with the Lord.” For humility is like a cloud. Produced by repentance, it draws streams of tears+ from the eyes, makes unworthy people worthy, and raises up and presents to God those freely justified by reason of their right dispositions.

[1] Journey with the Fathers – New City Press – 1984 – pg 128

Vigils Reading - Memorial B.V.M.
2022-10-22
The silence of Mary: a reading from the works of Pierre de Bérulle. [1]

It falls to the Virgin to keep silence. It is her condition, her road, her life. Her life is a life of silence, which adores the eternal Word. Seeing before her eyes, at her breast, in her arms, this same Word, the substantial Word of the Father, to be dumb and reduced to silence by the condition of his childhood, she enters again into a new silence and is transformed by it after the example of the incarnate Word who is her Son, her God and her sole love. And in that way her life goes on, from silence to silence, from a silence of adoration to a silence of transformation.
Mary is in silence, enraptured by the silence of her Son Jesus. One of the sacred and divine effects of the silence of Jesus is to put the most holy Mother of Jesus into a life of silence: a silence that is humble, profound, and that adores the incarnate Wisdom with more holiness and eloquence than the words of either angels or humans. This silence on the part of the Virgin is not a silence of one who hesitates in speech or of one who is helpless: it is a silence more eloquent, in its praise of Jesus, than eloquence itself. And so it is marvelous to see that, in this condition of the silence and the childhood of Jesus, everyone speaks and Mary says nothing at all: the silence of Jesus has more power to hold her in sacred silence than the words of either angels or saints have the power to bring her in and make her speak of things so worthy of praise, things that heaven and earth are at one in celebrating and adoring.
The angels speak of these things among themselves and to the shepherds, and Mary is in silence. The shepherds hurry away and speak, and Mary is in silence. The kings arrive and speak, and make the whole city, the whole state, all the sacred synod of Judea, speak: and Mary has withdrawn and is in silence. The whole state is moved, and everyone is astonished and speaks of the new king sought by the kings, and Mary is in her repose and holy silence. Simeon speaks in the temple, and Anna the prophetess, and all those who await the salvation of Israel: and Mary offers, gives, receives and brings back her Son in silence; so powerful and secretly impressive is the silence of Jesus on the spirit and heart of the Virgin, keeping her powerfully and divinely occupied and enraptured in silence. For, again, during the time of his childhood, we have nothing but these words which have been brought to us about the conduct of the Virgin and about her holiness in regard to her Son and to the things which are reported of him and accomplished in him: ABut Mary kept all these things, pondering them in her heart@ (Lk 2.19). There we see the condition and occupation of the Virgin, there are her daily duties and her life in regard to Jesus during his holy childhood.
[1] Opuscules de pieté, 39, dans Oeuvres complètes de Bérulle, Édit. Migne, Paris, 1856, pp. 988-989; reprinted in ALectures chrétiennes pour notre temps@: 8 1971, Abbaye d’Orval, Belgium (M-77).

Vigils Reading
2022-10-21
From a letter of Saint Jerome of Jerusalem [1]

Scripture says: “I shall destroy the wisdom of the wise, and condemn the intelligence of the intelligent”. True wisdom will destroy the false; and although preaching about the cross is foolishness, yet Paul speaks wisdom among the mature. “Not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, who pass away”, but he speaks “the wisdom of God which was hidden in a mystery, and which God predestined from the beginning”. The wisdom of God is Christ. For “Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God”. This wisdom was hidden in a mystery, in which all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge were hidden, and he who was hidden in the mystery was predestined from the beginning. He was predestined and prefigured in the law and the prophets. That is why the prophets were also called seers: for they saw him whom the rest did not see. “Abraham saw his day and rejoiced”. The heavens were opened to Ezekiel on behalf of a sinful people. “Open my eyes”, said David, “so that I may gaze on the wonders of your law”. For the law is spiritual and needs to be revealed to be understood, and so that we may contemplate the glory of God when his face is revealed.

In the Acts of the Apostles there is a holy eunuch who was reading Isaiah, and when Philip asked him: “Do you really understand what you are reading?” he answered: “How can I without a teacher?” To speak of myself for a moment, I am neither holier nor more zealous than that eunuch, who came to the temple from Ethiopia, that is, from the ends of the earth. He loved the law and divine knowledge so much that even when sitting in his chariot he read the sacred writings. And yet all the time that he was holding the book, ruminating on the Lord’s words, reading them fluently and out loud, he did not know whom he was unwittingly revering in the book. Then Philip came and showed him Jesus, who lay enclosed in the text in secret. The marvelous power of a teacher! In that same hour the eunuch believed, was baptized, was faithful and holy, and turned from a pupil into a master.

I beg you, dearest brother, to live in the midst of these things, meditate on them, know nothing else, look for nothing – does that not seem to you to be a dwelling-place in the heavenly kingdom already here on earth? The petitioner receives what he asks for; the door is opened to one who knocks; the seeker finds. Let the knowledge that we acquire on earth be such as to continue to be ours in heaven.

[1] A Word in Season – vol. VIII – Augustinian Press – 1999 – p 185f

Vigils Reading
2022-10-20
From the writings of St. Gregory of Nyssa [1]

There is one way to guard and care for our souls, and that is to remember God with longing and to cling without fail to good thought. Our zeal must therefore continue at all times, whether we are eating, drinking, resting, working or conversing, so that whatever we do may be done for the glory of God and not for our own, and so that our lives may suffer no stain or pollution from the snares of the devil.

But all the same, for those who love God, to practice his commandments is an easy and enjoyable task, since our love for him lightens the struggle and makes it welcome. It is for that reason that the devil strives by every means to drive out the fear of the Lord from our souls, and to destroy our love for him with unlawful pleasure and treacherous delights. It is why he does his best to catch our soul off guard and without its spiritual armor, and so to destroy our labors, offering us earthly in place of heavenly glory, and confusing our vision of true beauty with its deceptive image. For if he finds the guards careless, he is quick to seize the opportunity to appear to the field of virtue, and amidst the growing corn to sow his own weeds, that is, slander, arrogance, vainglory, desire for honor, quarreling, and all the other products of evil. Therefore we must be vigilant and keep watch for our enemy on all sides, so that whatever shameless device he uses against us we may drive him off before he lays hands on our souls.

You must often remember that story of how Abel and Cain offered sacrifice to the Lord, Abel with some of his firstborn sheep and their fat, Cain with fruits of the earth, but no first fruits. And God observed Abel’s sacrifice, as Scripture tells us, but the gifts of Cain he ignored. What then is the moral of the story? It teaches us that God accepts whatever we offer him in fear and faith, but has no use for the costliest gift offered without love. The very reason why Abraham received Melchizedek’s blessing is that he offered the priest of God the first fruits and the richest spoils. Now the richest spoils and the first fruits that we ourselves possess are our souls and our minds; and thus we are commanded to make no trivial sacrifice of praise and prayer to God, nor to offer the Lord any chance gift but what is best in our souls, or rather to dedicate to God our entire souls with all possible love and desire. So continuously nourished by the grace of the Spirit and taking to ourselves the power that comes from Christ, we shall run with ease the race of salvation and make the struggle for righteousness carefree and joyous. For God himself with help us to toil with zeal, and will accomplish his righteous works through us.
[1] A Word in Season – vol. VIII – Augustinian Press – 1999 – pg 166f

Vigils Reading - North American Martyrs
2022-10-19
The North American Martyrs,
from Butler’s Lives of the Saints.[1]

On March 16, 1649, the Iroquois attacked the village at which Brebeuf and Lalemant were stationed. The torture of these two missionaries was as atrocious as anything recorded in history. At the height of the torments Father Lalemant raised his eyes to Heaven and invoked God’s aid, whilst Father de Brebeuf set his face like a rock as though insensible to the pain. Then, like one recovering consciousness, he preached to his persecutors and to the Christian captives until the savages gagged his mouth, cut off his nose, tore off his lips, and then, in derision of baptism, deluged him and his companion martyrs with boiling water. Finally, large pieces of flesh were cut out of the bodies of both the priests and roasted by the Indians, who tore out their hearts before their death by means of an opening above the breast, feasting on them and their blood, which they drank while it was still warm.

Before the end of the year 1649 the Iroquois had penetrated as far as the Tobacco nation, where Father Garnier had founded a mission in 1641 and where the Jesuits now had two stations. The inhabitants of the village of Saint-Jean hearing that the enemy was approaching, sent out their men to meet the attackers, who, however, took a roundabout way and arrived at the gates unexpectedly. An orgy of incredible cruelty followed, in the midst of which Garnier, the only priest in the mission, hastened from place to place, giving absolution to the Christians and baptizing the children and catechumens, totally unmindful of his own fate. While thus employed he was shot down by the musket of an Iroquois. He strove to reach a dying man whom he thought he could help, but after three attempts he collapsed, and subsequently received his death-blow from a hatchet which penetrated to the brain.

Father Noel Chabanel, the missionary companion of Garnier, was immediately recalled. He had started on his way back with some Christian Hurons when they heard the cries of the Iroquois returning from Saint-Jean. The father urged his followers to escape, but was too much exhausted to keep up with them. His fate was long uncertain, but a Huron apostate eventually admitted having killed the holy man out of hatred of the Christian faith.

These martyrs of North America, SS John de Brebeuf, Isaac Jogues, Anthony Daniel, Gabrial Lalemant, Charles Garnier, Noel Chabanel, Rene Goupil and John Lalande, were canonized in 1930.
[1]Butler’s Lives of the Saints, ed. Michael Walsh, Harpers San Francisco, 1985, p.136-137.

Rule of Benedict: Reflections. 7 pm CDT
2022-10-18 19:00 - 19:30 (America/Chicago)
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Oct. 18-Chapter 14: How the night office is to be said on the feasts of the saints
On the feasts of Saints and on all festivals let the Office be performed as we have prescribed for Sundays, except that the Psalms, the antiphons and the lessons belonging to that particular day are to be said. Their number, however, shall remain as we have specified above.

Vigils Reading - St Luke
2022-10-18
The Right Use of Material Posessions,
commentary by Joseph A Fitzmyer,SJ[1]

No other New Testament writer, save perhaps the author of the Epistle of James, speaks so forthrightly as does Luke about the use of material possessions by Christian disciples. More than the other evangelists Luke either preserves sayings of Jesus about this topic or puts on his lips statements that concern wealth, money, and material goods in general. In Acts Luke further sketches an idyllic picture of the early Jewish Christian community in Jerusalem with is common ownership of property and the sharing of wealth and possessions as a model for the community of his own day. Luke was clearly not happy about what he had seen of the use of wealth and possessions by Christian disciples.
So he portrays Jesus speaking about this matter both in sayings that he has taken over from Mark and “Q” and also in a number of sayings that he has composed himself or derived from his own source “L.” For instance, in Mark Jesus tells a rich young man to sell what he possesses, give the proceeds to the poor, and come, follow him, whereas in Luke Jesus tells “the magistrate”: “Sell all that you have”. Again in Mark, the first disciples called leave their nets to follow Jesus, but in Luke they leave “everything” to do so.
The contrast between the rich and the poor surfaces often in the Lucan story, in Mary’s Magnificat, in the instruction of John the Baptist to the poor, in Jesus’ interpretation of Isaiah 61:1-2 in his Nazareth synagogue sermon, in the first beatitude and first woe, in the story of the rich man and Lazarus, and in Jesus’ advice to “invite the poor” to dinner instead of rich neighbors who might reciprocate.
In the special Lucan material, in particular, one detects a twofold attitude toward material possessions’: (1) a moderate attitude, in which the Lucan Jesus advocates a prudent use of such posessions to give assistance to human beings who are less fortunate: “Give to everyone who begs from you”, as well as in the story of the dishonest manager a radical attitude, which recommends the absolute renunciation of all wealth: “Everyone of you who does not say goodbye to all he has cannot be a disciple of mine”; or “No servant can serve two masters; either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and mammon”. For Luke all of this is not merely a question of haves and have-nots, since there is an eschatological dimension to the topic, which the first beatitude and the first woe make clear, as well as does Mary’s Magnificat. Having and not having material possessions ultimately symbolize an important aspect of the disciple’s inner response to the call of God and to his visitation of his people in and through the ministry of Jesus. Material possessions are liable to stand in the way of the proper response, and Luke is concerned that they do not.

[1]Luke the Theologian, Joseph A Fitzmyer,SJ, Paulist Press, 1989, p.137-138

Vigils Reading - St Ignatius of Antioch
2022-10-17
From a Letter to the Romans by St. Ignatius, bishop and martyr [1]

I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become God’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.

No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not, then, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart, you will understand what I wish. You will sympathize with me because you will know what urges me on.

The prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbor envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you, if then I beg you to intervene on my behalf, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you, still my real desire is to die. My love for this life has been crucified, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, formed of the seed of David, and for drink I crave his blood, which is love that cannot perish.

I am no longer willing to live a merely human life, and you can bring about my wish if you will. Please, then, do me this favor, so that you in turn may meet with equal kindness. Put briefly, this is my request: believe what I am saying to you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth. Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man would, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer, I take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed, I can only think that you wish me harm.
[1] The Liturgy of the Hours – vol. IV – Catholic Book Publishing Co – New York – 1975 – pg 1490

Compline
2022-10-16 19:30 - 20:30 (America/New_York)
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Vigils Reading - 29th Sun ORD
2022-10-16
A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke by Gregory of Nyssa [1]

The divine Word teaches us how to pray, explaining to disciples worthy of him, and eagerly longing for knowledge of prayer, what word to use to gain a hearing from God.
Those who fail to unite themselves to God through prayer cut themselves off from God, so the first thing we have to learn from the Word is that we need to pray continually and not lose heart. Prayer brings us close to God, and when we are close to God we are far from the Enemy. Prayer safeguards chastity, controls anger, and restrains arrogance. It is the seal of virginity, the assurance of marital fidelity, the shield of travelers, the protection of sleepers, the encouragement of those who keep vigil, the cause of the farmer’s good harvest and of the sailor’s safety. Therefore I think that even of we spent the whole of our lives in communion with God through thanksgiving and prayer, we should still be as far from adequately repaying pur benefactor as we should have been had we not even desired to repay him.

Time has three divisions, past, present and future. In all three we experience the Lord’s kindly healings with us. If you consider the present, you live in him; if you consider the future, your hope of obtaining what you look forward to is in him; if you consider the past, you would not have existed had you not been created by him. Your birth is his kindly gift to you, and after birth his kindness toward you continued, since as the apostle says, you live and move in him. On this same kindness depend all your hopes for the future. Only over the present have you any control. Therefore, even if you give thanks to God unceasingly throughout your life, you will hardly meet the measure of your debt for present blessings, and as for those of the past and future, you will never find a way of repaying what you owe. – over –

And yet we, who are so far from being capable of showing due gratitude, do not even give thanks to the best of our ability. We fail to set aside, I do not say the whole day, but even the smallest portion of the day, to be spent with God.

Who restored to its original beauty that divine image in me that was blurred by sin? Who draws me back to the blessedness I knew before I was driven out of paradise, deprived of the tree of life, and submerged in the abyss of worldliness? As scripture says, There is no one who understands. If we realize these things we would give thanks continually, endlessly, throughout the whole of our lives.
[1] Journey with the Fathers – Year C – New City Press – 1994 – pg 126

Skema
2022-10-16
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
29th Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (C), Weekdays (II)
October 16 – 22, 2022

Sun
16
Mon
17
Tue
18
Wed
19
Thu
20
Fri
21
Sat
22

Office
29th Sunday
St Ignatius of Antioch
St Luke
North American Martyrs
Weekday
Weekday
Memorial of the BVM

Vigils
Sir 24:1-15
Sir 24:16-33
Ezek 1:1-14
Sir 25:1-11
Sir 25:13-26
Sir 26:1-6, 13-29
Sir 27:1-15

Lauds
Nahum 3:14-19
Hab 1:1-4
Isa 52:7-10
Hab 1:5-11
Hab 1:12-17
Hab 2:1-4
Hab 2:5-8

Mass
147
473
661
475
476
477
478

1st
Exod 17:8-13
Eph 2:1-10
2 Tim 4:10-17b
Eph 3:2-12
Eph 3:14-21
Eph 4:1-6
Eph 4:7-16

2nd
2 Tim 3:14-4:2

Gospel
Luke 18:1-8
Luke 12:13-21
Luke 10:1-9
Luke 12:39-48
Luke 12:49-53
Luke 12:54-59
Luke 13:1-9

Vespers
Jas 4:13-17
Jas 5:1-6
Acts 11:19-26
Jas 5:7-12
Jas 5:13-20
1 Pet 1:1-7
1 Pet 1:8-12

Vigils Reading - St Teresa of Avila
2022-10-15
From a Work by St. Teresa of Avila [1]

If Christ Jesus dwells in a person as his friend and noble leader, that one can endure all things, for Christ helps and strengthens us and never abandons us. He is a true friend. And I clearly see that if we expect to please him and receive an abundance of his graces, God desires that these graces must come to us from the hands of Christ, through his most sacred humanity, in which God takes delight.

Many, many times I have perceived this through experience. The Lord has told it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if we wish his Sovereign Majesty to reveal to us great and hidden mysteries. A person should desire no other path, even if he is at the summit of contemplation; on this road he walks safely. All blessings come to us through Our Lord. He will teach us, for in beholding his life we find that he is the best example.

What more do we desire from such a friend at our side? Unlike our friends in the world, he will never abandon us when we are troubled or distressed. Blessed is the one who truly loves him and always keeps him near. Let us consider the glorious St. Paul: it seems that no other name fell from his lips than that of Jesus, because the name of Jesus was fixed and embedded in his heart. Once I had come to understand this truth, I carefully considered the lives of the saints, the great contemplatives, and found that they took no other path: Francis, Anthony of Padua, Bernard, Catherine of sienna. A person must walk along this path in freedom, placing himself in God’s hands. If God should desire to raise us to the position of one who is an intimate and shares his secrets, we ought to accept this gladly.

Whenever we think of Christ we should recall the love that led him to bestow on us so many graces and favors, and also the great love God showed in giving us in Christ a pledge of his love; for love calls for love in return. Let us strive to keep this always before our eyes and to rouse ourselves to love him. For if at some time the Lord should grant us the grace of impressing his love on our hearts, all will become easy for us and we shall accomplish great things quickly and without effort.
[1] The Liturgy of the Hours – vol IV – Catholic Book Publishing Co – New York – 1975 – pg 1483

Vigils Reading
2022-10-14
The wisdom of Ben Sirach –
from a book by Fr Evode Beaucamp, O.F.M. [1]

At a time when Greek civilization and culture are about to submerge the Near East, the Book of Ben Sirach prepares Israel so that it will not allow itself to be swallowed up. This was not the first time the Chosen People, strong in the privilege of their election, had withstood the unifying force of history. They owed their success to their prophets and their allies of the Temple and royal house. Already Israel had reached to the gods of Canaan; already David’s small kingdom in the Fertile Crescent had been one of the last States to succumb to the attacks of the invaders from Assyria and Babylon. Even then, in spite of the frightful crisis of the seventh century, branded by Zephaniah and Jeremiah, and even into the Exile itself, the best part of Israel was fiercely obstinate in safeguarding its personality and in believing in the independence of its absolute destiny.

But now, since the Macedonian invasion Jewish exclusiveness will have to face up to an entirely new kind of imperialism and a new type of danger. While other conquerors were content with imposing their military, social and political domination upon the vanquished, along with the dangerous presence of their pantheon, Alexander intended to bend the minds of the Barbarians and render them pliant to a wisdom with universal pretensions. Hence it was inevitable that the Jews themselves would be called upon to welcome the civilization of the conqueror and to commune with the rest of the world in the ideal he made of beauty, truth and humanism.

At the time when Ben Sirach was working on his book, Judea was in the process of changing its rulers. It appeared to Antiochus III that the only way to bring about unity was to impose Hellinization upon all. He set to work and was very successful, except in the case of the Jews who opposed his efforts with great energy. They were resolved never to be dispossessed of the Wisdom which they regarded as the best part of their patrimony.

Sirach must be seen as the first builder of this resistance which would end in victory for the Jews. Their intransigence can be explained only by their enthusiastic and powerful faith. It was not up to Israel to dispose of this Wisdom since it did not chose her, but she came and established herself in Israel. If she imposes herself invincibly upon Israel, it is because she has issued from the mouth of God. The people have not in any way taken part in building her up; and if they enjoy her it is because the Lord has granted her as a free gift to whomever he pleases. As Sirach says: “All wisdom comes from the Lord and is with him for ever. The sand of the sea, the drops of the rain, and the days of eternity, who can count them? The height of heaven, the breadth of the earth, the abyss, and wisdom, who can search them out? Wisdom was created before all things, and prudent understanding from eternity. The root of wisdom, to whom has it been revealed? The Lord himself created wisdom; and he supplied her to those who love him.” (1: 1-10)
[1] Man’s Destiny in the Books of Wisdom – Evode Beaucamp, OFM – Alba House – Staten Island, NY – 1970 – pg 116 f
