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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230611T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230611T170000
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230101T004744Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230302T155338Z
UID:9870-1686492000-1686502800@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Advisory Council Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Content is protected.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/advisory-council-meeting/
CATEGORIES:Advisory Council
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230612
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230613
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230610T220102Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230610T220102Z
UID:10595-1686528000-1686614399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:St. Alice
DESCRIPTION:PURITY OF HEART\nFrom a sermon by Isaac of Stella2\n◊◊◊\n“HAPPY are the pure in heart\, they shall see God.” Once love is present there\ntoo is longing to see what is loved… Those alone who have purified their hearts shall\nsee him\, because it is solely by a pure heart that God can be seen. And I ask you\nfrankly\, brothers\, of what use are all our years of such effort if we have not made our\nhearts clean? Perhaps we have indeed purified our hearts for the sake of virtue?\nWell\, now they must be purified for the sake of truth. And if we have already\ncleansed them for loving\, now they must be made clean for seeing…\nWhen the Lord purifies the eye of a man’s mind\, enabling him to perceive\ntruth\, he is indeed giving a blind man his sight. It must be clearly understood\, then\,\nthat when we speak of purity of heart\, we do not mean simply that the heart is to be\npurified from vices\, call them disordered desire or perverted love\, but that it must\nbe purified from the phantasies that are absorbed by the corporeal senses and\nremain in the imagination\, for these become an obstruction that prevents our seeing\nthe sun’s clear light. They either cut us off from that solar body\, the very source of\nlight itself (they are so unlike it) or at least they reduce the sun’s brightness…\nDon’t let this discourage you! Once you have passed through all these clouds\nby vigilance of mind and purity of heart\, once your every thought is silent\, or\, rather\,\nleft far behind then\, at last\, brothers\, there will appear before you a shining cloud\, “a\ncloud filled with light”\, not stormy now nor dense\, a cloud of wisdom\, not of\nignorance. \nFor there is darkness in light\, darkness all the deeper in much light\, until\nfinally\, when the light reaches the threshold of its own incomprehensibility and\nenters that unapproachability in which dwells “ that peace which passes all\nunderstanding\,” it is taken from our eyes so that any further knowledge of the Light\nis obtained not through speculation but through revelation\, just as the apostles\ngazing heavenward\, learned from the men who stood beside them in white\ngarments…\nSo now you know from what things the heart must be purified and to what\nextent\, and for what purpose\, namely\, to be able to gaze upon the Being who is\nPerfection unlimited\, who is Beauty without quality\, Greatness without extension\,\nPresence uncircumscribed by place\, Existence beyond time. But without this\npurification it is impossible to see God and so he tells us: “Happy are the pure in\nheart\, they shall see God.” Here\, “a confused reflection; there\, as he is.”…\nTo speak plainly\, brothers\, no man can be fully and perfectly spiritual nor can\nhe be ready to go out with tranquil mind from his tent in the leisure of\ncontemplation\, unless he has first rid his home of vice\, that is\, of all perverted and\ndisordered love\, and has furnished and decorated it with good habits\, and left it\nfortified with a strong guard of virtues. Otherwise\, the adulterous unclean spirit… if\nhe find “the house swept clean and put in order\,” but empty of virtues\, may make his\nway in by force or favor and take possession\, protecting himself with a bodyguard of\nseven associates more evil than himself… Then indeed\, “the last state of this type of\nspiritual a man is worse than the first”. He who began in the Spirit is now ending\nwith the flesh\, or rather\, is ended by the flesh.\nIf a man desires to be truly spiritual\, let him first pay attention to his desires\nrather than to his ideas\, to his way of life rather than his form of meditation. For he\nmust first use his feet to walk before soaring into flight. And since he cannot always\nbe in flight\, let him go about sensibly on foot lest he suddenly crash down. \n2 Isaac of Stella. Sermons on the Christian Year: Volume One. CF 11. Trans. Hugh McCaffery.\nKalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 1979. 29-34.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/st-alice/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230613
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230614
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230610T220616Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230610T220616Z
UID:10597-1686614400-1686700799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:St. Anthony of Padua
DESCRIPTION:ST ANTHONY OF PADUA 3\n◊◊◊\nAnthony was born in the year 1195 at Lisbon\, Portugal\, where his father\nwas a captain in the royal army. Already at the age of fifteen years the youth had\nentered the Congregation of Canons Regular of St. Augustine… in the monastery\nat Coimbra\, when… the relics of St. Berard and companions\, the first martyrs of\nthe Franciscan Order\, were being brought from Africa to Coimbra. At the sight of\nthem\, Anthony was seized with an intense desire to suffer martyrdom as a\nFranciscan missionary in Africa. In response to his repeated and humble\npetitions\, the permission of his superiors to transfer to the Franciscan Order was\nreluctantly given. At his departure\, one of the canons said to him ironically: “Go\nthen\, perhaps you will become a saint in the new order.” Anthony replied:\n“Brother\, when you hear that I have become a saint\, you will surely praise God\nfor it.”\nIn the quiet little Franciscan convent at Coimbra he received a friendly\nreception\, and in the very same year his earnest wish to be sent to the missions\nin Africa was fulfilled… Anthony scarcely set foot on African soil when he was\nseized with a grievous illness. Even after recovering from it\, he was so weak that\,\nresigning himself to the will of God\, he boarded a boat back to Portugal…\nAnthony was sent to Forli with some other brethren\, to attend the\nceremony of ordination. At the convent there the superior wanted somebody to\ngive an address for the occasion. Everybody excused himself\, saying that he was\nnot prepared\, until Anthony was finally asked to give it. When he\, too\, excused\nhimself most humbly\, his superior ordered him by virtue of the vow of obedience\nto give the sermon. Anthony began to speak in a very reserved manner; but soon\nholy animation seized him\, and he spoke with such eloquence\, learning\, and\nunction that everybody was fairly amazed. When St. Francis was informed of the\nevent\, he gave Anthony the mission to preach all over Italy. At the request of the\nbrethren\, Anthony was later commissioned also to teach theology\, “but in such a\nmanner\,” St. Francis distinctly wrote\, “that the spirit of prayer be not\nextinguished either in yourself or in the other brethren.”\nSt. Anthony himself placed greater value on the salvation of souls than on\nlearning. For that reason he never ceased to exercise his office as preacher along\nwith the work of teaching. The concourse of hearers was sometimes so great\nthat no church was large enough to accommodate the audiences and he had to\npreach in the open air. He wrought veritable miracles of conversion. Deadly\nenemies were reconciled with each other. Thieves and usurers made restitution\nof their ill-gotten goods. Calumniators and detractors recanted and apologized.\nHe was so energetic in defending the truths of the Catholic Faith that many\nheretics re-entered the pale of the Church\, so that Pope Gregory IX called him\n“the ark of the covenant.”… In all his labors he never forgot the admonition of his\nspiritual Father\, that the spirit of prayer must not be extinguished. If he spent\nthe day in teaching\, and heard the confessions of sinners till late in the evening\,\nthen many hours of the night were spent in intimate union with God…\nDue to his taxing labors and his austere practice of penance\, he soon felt\nhis strength so spent that he prepared himself for death. After receiving the last\nsacraments he kept looking upward with a smile on his countenance. When he\nwas asked what he saw there\, he answered: “I see my Lord.”… He breathed forth\nhis soul on June 13\, 1231\, being only thirty-six years old. Pope Gregory IX\nenrolled him among the saints the very next year… In 1946 he was declared a\nDoctor of the Church. \n3 Habig\, Marion O.F.M. The Franciscan Book of Saints. Chicago\, IL: Franciscan Herald Press\, 1959. 415-418.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/st-anthony-of-padua/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230614
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230615
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230610T220923Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230610T220923Z
UID:10599-1686700800-1686787199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Bl. Gerard Matt
DESCRIPTION:LAMENT FOR THE DEATH OF GERARD\nBy St Bernard of Clairvaux4\n◊◊◊\nHow much better for me\, O Gerard\, if I had lost my life rather than your\ncompany\, since through your tireless inspiration\, your unfailing help and under\nyour provident scrutiny I persevered with my studies of things divine. Why\, I\nask\, have we loved\, why have we lost each other? O cruel circumstance! But pity\npertains to my lot only\, not to his.\nAnd the reason\, dear brother\, is that though you have lost your loved ones\,\nyou have found others more lovable still. As for me\, already so miserable\, what\nconsolation remains to me\, and you\, my only comfort\, gone? Our bodily\ncompanionship was equally enjoyable to both\, because our dispositions were so\nalike; but only I am wounded by the parting. All that was pleasant we rejoiced to\nshare; now sadness and mourning are mine alone: anger has swept over me\, rage\nis fastened on me. Both of us were so happy in each other’s company\, sharing the\nsame experiences\, talking together about them; now my share of these delights\nhas ceased and you have passed on\, you have traded them for an immense\nreward.\nWhat harvest of joys\, what a profusion of blessings is yours. In place of my\ninsignificant person you have the abiding presence of Christ\, and mingling with\nthe angelic choirs you feel our absence no loss. You have no cause to complain\nthat we have been cut off from you\, favored as you are by the constant presence\nof the Lord of Majesty and of his heavenly friends. But what do I have in your\nstead? How I long to know what you now think about me\, once so uniquely\nyours\, as I sink beneath the weight of cares and afflictions\, deprived of the\nsupport you lent to my feebleness! Perhaps you still give thought to our\nmiseries\, now that you have plunged into the abyss of light\, become engulfed in\nthat sea of endless happiness. It is possible that though you once knew us\naccording to the flesh\, you now no longer know us and because you have entered\ninto the power of the Lord you will be mindful of his righteousness alone\,\nforgetful of ours.\nFurthermore\, “he who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him\,”\nhis whole being somehow changed into a movement of divine love. He no longer\nhas the power to experience or relish anything but God\, and what God himself\nexperiences and relishes\, because he is filled with God. But God is love\, and the\ndeeper one’s union with God\, the more full one is of love. And though God cannot\nendure pain\, he is not without compassion for those who do; it is his nature to\nshow mercy and pardon. Therefore you too must of necessity be merciful\,\nclasped as you are to him who is Mercy; and though you no longer feel the need\nof mercy\, though you no longer suffer\, you cans still be compassionate. Your love\nhas not diminished but only changed; when you were clothed with God you did\nnot divest yourself of concern for us\, for God is certainly concerned about us. All\nthat smacks of weakness you have cast away\, but not what pertains to love. And\nsince love never comes to an end\, you will not forget me for ever.\nIt seems to me that I can almost hear my brother saying: “Can a woman\nforget the son of her womb? And if she should forget\, yet I will not forget you.”\nThis is how it must be. \n4 On The Song Of Songs II Sermon 26.III. Trans. Kilian Walsh. Cistercian Publications 1976. 62-64.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/bl-gerard-matt/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230615
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230616
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230610T221242Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230610T221242Z
UID:10601-1686787200-1686873599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Weekday
DESCRIPTION:ON THE SIN OF ANGER\nA Sermon by Alphonsus Liguori 5\n◊◊◊\nANGER resembles fire; hence\, as fire is vehement in its action\, and\, by the\nsmoke which it produces\, obstructs the view\, so anger makes men rush into a\nthousand excesses\, and prevents them from seeing the sinfulness of their\nconduct; and thus exposes them to the danger of the judgment of eternal death.\n“Whosoever is angry with his brother\, shall be in danger of the judgment”. Anger\nis so pernicious to man\, that it even disfigures his countenance. No matter how\ncomely and gentle he may be\, he shall\, as often as he yields to the passion of\nanger\, appear to be a monster and a wild beast full of terror… But\, if anger\ndisfigures us before men\, how much more deformed will it render us in the eyes\nof God!…\nBut you will perhaps say: If I resent such an injury\, God will have pity on\nme\, because I have just grounds for resentment. Who\, I ask\, has told you\, that\nyou have just grounds for seeking revenge? It is you\, whose understanding is\nclouded by passions\, that say so. I have already said\, that anger obscures the\nmind\, and takes away our reason and understanding. As long as the passion of\nanger lasts\, you will consider your neighbour’s conduct very unjust and\nintolerable; but\, when your anger shall have passed away\, you shall see that his\nact was not so bad as it appeared to you. But\, though the injury be grievous\, or\neven more grievous\, God will not have compassion on you\, if you seek revenge.\nNo; he says: vengeance for sins belongs not to you\, but to me; and when the time\nshall come\, I will chastise them as they deserve… But let us pass to the things…\nwhich will assist you to overcome this vice… \nIn the first place\, it is necessary to know that it is not possible for human\nweakness\, in the midst of so many occasions\, to be altogether free from every\nmotion of anger… All our efforts must be directed to the moderation of the\nfeeling of anger which spring up in the soul. How are they to be moderated? By\nmeekness. This is called the virtue of the lamb–that is\, the beloved virtue of\nJesus Christ. Because\, like a lamb\, without anger or even complaint\, he bore the\nsorrows of his passion and crucifixion…\nA certain monk once passed through a corn field: the owner of the field ran\nout\, and spoke to him in very offensive and injurious language. The monk\nhumbly replied: Brother\, you are right; I have done wrong; pardon me. By this\nanswer the husbandman was so much appeased\, that he instantly became calm\,\nand even wished to follow the monk\, and to enter into religion. The proud make\nuse of the humiliations they receive to increase their pride; but the humble and\nthe meek turn the contempt and insults offered them into an occasion of\nadvancing in humility…\nThe meek are useful to others; because\, as… St. Chrysostom says\, there is\nnothing better calculated to draw others to God\, than to see a Christian meek and\ncheerful when he receives an injury or an insult… The reason is\, because virtue is\nknown by being tried; and\, as gold is tried by fire\, so the meekness of men is\nproved by humiliation…\nWhen we meet with crosses\, persecutions\, and injuries\, let us turn to God\,\nwho commands us to bear them with patience; and thus we shall always avoid\nanger. Remember the fear of God\, and be not angry with thy neighbour. Let us\ngive a look at the will of God\, which disposes things in this manner for our merit\,\nand anger\, shall cease. Let us give a look at Jesus crucified\, and we shall not have\ncourage to complain. \n5 St. Alphonsus Liguori. The Sermons of St. Alphonsus Liguori – For All the Sundays of the Year.\nRockford\, IL: Tan Books and Publishers\, INC\, 1982. 254-255\, 257-259.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/weekday-7/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230616
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230617
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230610T221605Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230610T221605Z
UID:10603-1686873600-1686959999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Sacred Heart of Jesus
DESCRIPTION:CAST YOURSELF INTO HIS HEART\nFrom the mystical dialogue between Jesus and Sister Josefa Menéndez6\n◊◊◊\nWith a gesture of indescribable love He drew her into His Heart: “Come\, and\ntake your rest here in My Heart.”…”Do not think that I love you more now that I\nconsole you\, than when I ask you to suffer.”… But the more feeble you are\, the more\ntenderly I love you.’\n“I entreated Him again to give me a love true and strong\,” she wrote…\, “for\nI believe that if I really loved Him in the right way I should be better able to\nconquer myself. This was during my prayer\, and Jesus came and said to me: ‘Yes\,\nJosefa\, let your food be love and humility. But do not forget that I want you to be\nalways abandoned and happy\, because My Heart cares for you tenderly.’ “Then I\nexplained how sad I feel that I cannot conquer myself nor correspond to so much\ngoodness.” “Never mind. Cast yourself into My Heart\, and follow the guidance that\nis given you. That will suffice.”… “I asked Him how we can console Him\, since we\nare so full of miseries and weakness. He answered me by pointing to His Heart: ‘I\nmake little account of all that\,’ He said\, ‘provided souls come to Me with confidence\nand love. I Myself make up for all their frailty.’\n“During the nine-o’clock Mass\,” she wrote…\, “Jesus came with a radiant\nHeart. It might have been the sun. “Behold the Heart that gives life to souls\,” He\nsaid. “The fire of this love is stronger than the indifference and ingratitude\nof men.” “Behold the Heart that bestows on the souls He has chosen a vehement\ndesire to consume themselves\, and if necessary\, die to prove Me their love.” “His\nwords were so forcible that they went through and through my soul. Then\,\nglancing at me\, He continued: ‘Sinners tear Me to pieces and fill My Heart with\nsorrow… Will not you\, My chosen little victim\, repair all this ingratitude?’\n“I asked Him what He would have me do\, for He knows my helplessness well.\n‘My will is that you should enter deeply into My Heart today; there you will find\nstrength to suffer. Do not reflect on your helplessness; My Heart is powerful\nenough to sustain you. It is yours; take from It all you need. Be consumed in It …\noffer this Heart and this Blood to the Eternal Father. Cease to live except a life of\nlove\, reparation\, and suffering.’”\nThat evening during Benediction Jesus again manifested Himself\, and from\nHis Heart there streamed light. “A little group of fervent souls can obtain mercy\nfor many sinners\,” He said\, “for My Heart cannot resist their prayers…”\n“After a few minutes of silence He continued: ‘Come near Me\, Josefa\, rest on\nMy Heart and share Its grief. So many fill It with sorrow\, but your love will comfort\nMe.’ “As He drew me nearer to His Heart\, mine was instantly drowned in\ninexpressible sorrow and bitterness. I knew that I could not assuage His grief\, for\nI am so powerless . . . so I offered Him His own pain\, to supply for the insufficiency\nof mine… For a long while I stayed in silence\, adoring\, humbling myself and asking\nforgiveness for souls; Jesus then said: ‘Repair\, Josefa\, for those who ought to but\ndo not make reparation.”…\n“Ask forgiveness for the sins of the world. O! how they sin… how many are\nlost… souls that once knew and loved Me… but now they prefer their own\nenjoyment and pleasure to My Heart… where shall I find relief for My distress?’ “I\nsaid to Him: ‘Why\, here Lord\, in this house\, in our souls… there are still many\neverywhere who love Thee.’ ‘Yes\, I know\, but those are the souls I seek; I love them\nwith a boundless love.’ \n6 Sister Josefa Menéndez. The Way of Divine Love – or The Message of the Sacred Heart to the\nWorld. Westminster\, Maryland: The Newman Press\, 1950. 150-151\, 154\, 156\, 159.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/sacred-heart-of-jesus/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230617
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230618
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230610T221906Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230610T221906Z
UID:10605-1686960000-1687046399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Immaculate Heart of Mary
DESCRIPTION:THE VIRGIN KEPT ALL THESE THINGS IN HER HEART\nBy St Elizabeth of the Trinity 7\n◊◊◊\n“Those whom God has foreknown He has also predestined to become\nconformed to the image of His divine Son\,” the One crucified by love…No one has\npenetrated the depths of the mystery of Christ except the Blessed Virgin.” John\nand Mary Magdalene penetrated deeply this mystery; St. Paul often speaks of\n“the understanding of it which was given to him”; and yet\, how all the saints\nremain in the shadows when we look at the Blessed Virgin’s light!\nThis is the unspeakable “secret” that she kept in mind and pondered in her\nheart” which no tongue can tell or pen describe! This Mother of grace will form\nmy soul so that her little child will be a living\, “striking” image of her first-born\,\nthe Son of the Eternal\, He who was the perfect praise of His Father’s glory…\nShe responded fully to the divine election of which the Apostle speaks; she\nwas always “pure\, immaculate\, and without reproach” in the eyes of the thriceholy God. Her soul is so simple. Its movements are so profound that they cannot\nbe detected. She seems to reproduce on earth the life which is that of the divine\nBeing\, the simple Being. And she is so transparent\, so luminous that one would\nmistake her for the light\, yet she is but the “mirror” of the Sun of Justice…\n“The Virgin kept all these things in her heart”: her whole history can be\nsummed up in these few words! It was within her heart that she lived\, and at\nsuch a depth that no human eye can follow her. When I read in the Gospel “that\nMary went in haste to the hill country of Judea” to perform her loving service for\nher cousin Elizabeth\, I imagine her passing by so beautiful\, so calm and so\nmajestic\, so absorbed in recollection of the Word of God within her. Like Him\,\nher prayer was always this: “Ecce\, here I am!”… “The servant of the Lord\,” the\nlowliest of His creatures: she\, His Mother! Her humility was so real for she was\nalways forgetful\, unaware\, freed from self. And she could sing: “The Almighty\nhas done great things for me\, henceforth all peoples will call me blessed.”\nThis Queen of virgins is also Queen of martyrs; but again it was in her heart\nthat the sword pierced\,” for with her everything took place within!… Oh! How\nbeautiful she is to contemplate during her long martyrdom\, so serene\, enveloped\nin a kind of majesty that radiates both strength and gentleness… She learned\nfrom the Word Himself how those must suffer whom the Father has chosen as\nvictims\, those whom He has decided to associate with Himself in the great work\nof redemption\, those whom He “has foreknown and predestined to be conformed\nto His Christ\,” crucified by love.\nShe is there at the foot of the Cross\, standing\, full of strength and courage\,\nand here My Master says to me: “Behold your mother”. He gives her to me for my\nMother… And now that He has returned to the Father and has substituted me for\nHimself on the Cross so that “I may suffer in my body what is lacking in His\npassion for the sake of His body\, which is the Church\,” the Blessed Virgin is again\nthere to teach me to suffer as He did\, to tell me\, to make me hear those last songs\nof His soul which no one else but she\, His Mother\, could overhear. \n7 St Elizabeth of the Trinity. I have Found God: Complete Works – Volume 1. Trans. Sister Aletheia\nKane\, O.C.D. Washington: ICS Publications\, 1984. 141\, 160-161.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/immaculate-heart-of-mary/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230618
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230619
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230617T134050Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230617T134050Z
UID:10633-1687046400-1687132799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n11th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nJune 18 – 24\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n18\nMon\n19\nTue\n20\nWed\n21\nThu\n22\nFri\n23\nSat\n24\n\n\nOffice\n11th Sunday\nWeekday\nOffice for Vocations\nSt Aloysius of Gonzaga\nSS John Fisher & Thomas More\nWeekday\nNativity of St John the Baptist\n\n\nVigils\nGen 17:1-27\nGen 18:1-15\nGen 18:16-33\nGen 19:1-14\nGen 19:15-38\nGen 20:1-18\nMalachi 3:1-7b\, 19-24\n\n\nLauds\nProv 10:1-6\nProv 10:7-12\nProv 10:13-17\nProv 10:18-21\nProv 10:22-25\nProv 10:27-32\nJerm 1:4-10\n\n\nMass\n91\n365\n366\n367\n368\n369\n587\n\n\n1st\nExod 19:2-6a\n2 Cor 6:1-10\n2 Cor 8:1-9\n2 Cor 9:6-11\n2 Cor 11:1-11\n2 Cor 11:18\, 21-30\nIsa 49:1-6\n\n\n2nd\nRom 5:6-11\n\n\n\n\n\nActs 13:22-26\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 9:36—10:8\nMatt 5:38-42\nMatt 5:43-48\nMatt 6:1-6\, 16-18\nMatt 6:7-15\nMatt 6:19-23\nLuke 1:57-66\, 80\n\n\nVespers\nGal 5:7-15\nGal 5:16-26\nGal 6:1-10\nGal 6:11-18\nCol 1:1-8\nActs 13:15-26\n1 Jn 4:1-6
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-33/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230618
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230619
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230617T134244Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230617T134244Z
UID:10635-1687046400-1687132799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 11th Sun ORD
DESCRIPTION:GATHER IN THE HARVEST \nFrom a commentary by St John Chrysostom1 ◊◊◊ \nAll farm work is undertaken with a view to the harvest that will come at the end. How then could Jesus apply the word “harvest” to work that was only beginning? Idolatry held sway all over the world. Everywhere there was fornication\, adultery\, licentiousness; everywhere greed\, robbery\, bloodshed. When the world was filled with so many evils\, when the good seed had not yet been sown\, when the land had not been cleared\, and there were briars\, thistles and weeds everywhere\, when no ploughing had been done\, no furrow cut\, how could Jesus speak of a harvest and say it was plentiful? Why did he speak thus of the gospel? \nWhy indeed\, if not that with things in such a state\, he was about to send out his apostles all over the world. Most likely they were bewildered and anxious; they probably asked themselves: How can we even open our mouths\, let alone stand up and preach in front of huge crowds of people? How can eleven of us put the whole world to rights? Can we speak to the wise when we are ignorant\, to soldiers when we are unarmed\, to rulers when we are subjects\, to people of many different languages\, people of foreign nations and alien speech\, when we have only one language? Who will tolerate us if no one can understand what we say? \nIt was to save them from the anxiety of such reasoning that the Lord called the gospel a harvest. It was almost as if he said: Everything is ready\, all is prepared. I am sending you to harvest the ripe grain. You will be able to sow and reap on the same day. You must be like the farmer who rejoices when he goes out to gather in his crops. He looks happy and is glad of heart. His hard work and many difficulties forgotten\, he hurries out eagerly to reap their reward\, hastening to collect his annual returns. Nothing stands in the way\, there is no obstacle anywhere\, nor any uncertainty regarding the future. There will be no heavy rain\, no hail or drought\, no devastating legions of locusts. And since the farmer at harvest time fears no such disasters\, the reapers set to work dancing and leaping for joy. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nYou must be like them when you go out into the world — indeed your joy must be very much greater. You also are to gather in a harvest — a harvest easily reaped\, a harvest already there waiting for you. You have only to speak\, not to labor. Lend me your tongue\, and you will see the ripe grain gathered into the royal granary. And with this he sent them out\, saying: Remember that I am with you always\, until the end of the world \n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers: Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels – Year A. Ed. Edith Barnecut\, OSB. New York: New City Press\, 1992. 98-99. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-11th-sun-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230618T192500
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230618T200000
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230302T154105Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230302T154105Z
UID:10234-1687116300-1687118400@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Compline
DESCRIPTION:Sunday\, June 18th at 7:25 pm \nZoom link: \nhttps://us06web.zoom.us/j/3917499727 \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/compline-7/
CATEGORIES:Compline
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230619
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230620
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230617T134432Z
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UID:10637-1687132800-1687219199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:LOVING YOUR ENEMIES \nA sermon by Reverend Martin Luther King\, Jr.2 ◊◊◊ \nI am certain that Jesus understood the difficulty inherent in the act of loving one’s enemy. He never joined the ranks of those who talk glibly about the easiness of the moral life. He realized that every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God. So when Jesus said “Love your enemy\,” he was not unmindful of its stringent qualities. Yet he meant every word of it. Our responsibility as Christians is to discover the meaning of this command and seek passionately to live it out in our daily lives. \nLet us be practical and ask the question\, how do we love our enemies? First\, we must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love… Forgiveness does not mean ignoring what has been done or putting a false label on an evil act. It means\, rather\, that the evil act no longer remains as a barrier to the relationship. Forgiveness is a catalyst creating the atmosphere necessary for a fresh start and a new beginning. It is the lifting of a burden or the canceling of a debt. The words “I will forgive you\, but I’ll never forget what you’ve done” never explain the real nature of forgiveness. Certainly one can never forget\, if that means erasing it totally from his mind. But when we forgive\, we forget in the sense that the evil deed is no longer a mental block impeding a new relationship. Likewise\, we can never say\, “I will forgive you\, but I won’t have anything further to do with you.” Forgiveness means reconciliation\, a coming together again. Without this\, no man can love his enemies. The degree to which we are able to forgive determines the degree to which we are able to love our enemies. \nSecond\, we must recognize that the evil deed of the enemy- neighbor\, the thing that hurts\, never quite expresses all that he is. An element of goodness may be found even in our worst enemy. Each of us is something of a schizophrenic personality\, tragically divided against ourselves. A persistent civil war rages within all of our lives… to repeat with the Apostle Paul\, “The good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not\, that I do.”… This simply means that there is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this\, we are less prone to hate our enemies… We recognize that his hate grows out of fear\, pride\, ignorance\, prejudice\, and misunderstanding\, but in spite of this\, we know God’s image is ineffably etched in his being. Then we love our enemies by realizing that they are not totally bad and that they are not beyond the reach of God’s redemptive love. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThird\, we must not seek to defeat or humiliate the enemy but to win his friendship and understanding. At times we are able to humiliate our worst enemy. Inevitably\, his weak moments come and we are able to thrust in his side the spear of defeat. But this we must not do. Every word and deed must contribute to an understanding with the enemy and release those vast reservoirs of goodwill which have been blocked by impenetrable walls of hate… \nWe should be happy that he did not say\, “Like your enemies.” It is almost impossible to like some people. “Like” is a sentimental and affectionate word. How can we be affectionate toward a person whose avowed aim is to crush our very being and place innumerable stumbling blocks in our path? How can we like a person who is threatening our children and bombing our homes? This is impossible. But Jesus recognized that love is greater than like. When Jesus bids us to love our enemies\, he is speaking neither of eros nor philia; he is speaking of agape\, understanding and creative\, redemptive goodwill for all men. Only by following this way and responding with this type of love are we able to be children of our Father who is in heaven \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n2 Martin Luther King\, Jr. Strength to Love. New York: Pocket Book\, Inc.\, 1964. 41-44. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-90/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230620
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230621
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230617T134635Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230617T134635Z
UID:10639-1687219200-1687305599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
DESCRIPTION:WHEN PRAYER PROCEEDS FROM PURE GRIEF FOR SOMEONE \nFrom a reflection by St Silouan the Athonite3 ◊◊◊ \nThe Lord would save all men\, and in His goodness He summons all the world to salvation. The Lord does not take a man’s will away from him but by His grace urges him towards goodness and draws him to His love. And when the Lord would have mercy on a man\, He inspires others with the desire to pray for him\, and helps them in their prayer. Therefore we must know that when we feel a wish to pray for someone\, it means that the Lord Himself wants to shew mercy on that soul and will graciously hear our prayers… \nWhen prayer proceeds from pure grief for someone\, whether among the living or the dead\, it holds no element of morbid attachment in it. The soul in her prayer grieves for the man and prays fervently\, and this is a sign of God’s mercy… Therefore\, if it befalls you to sorrow over anyone\, you must pray for that person\, because the Lord for your sake would be gracious unto him… \nWhen a mother knows that her children are in distress\, she suffers grievously and may even fall mortally ill. And I have myself experienced something of the kind. A tree that was being felled and stripped of its branches started crashing down on the man below. I saw what was happening but my distress was so great that it prevented me from shouting to him to get out of the way. My heart felt sick and it wept\, and the tree stopped in its course. I did not know the man but had it been my own flesh and blood\, I think I should have died… \n\n\n\n\n\n\nAn old priest-monk who dwelt on the upper slopes of Mt. Athos used to see the prayers of the monks rising to heaven\, and this does not surprise me. The same staretz\, when he was a little boy and saw his father’s distress over a serious drought which threatened the whole harvest\, went to the kitchen-garden where hemp was growing\, and started praying: ‘O Lord\, Thou art merciful\, Thou didst create us\, Thou dost feed and clothe all men. Thou seest\, O Lord\, how my father mourns because there is no rain. Do Thou send rain upon the earth.’ And the clouds gathered\, and the rain fell and drenched the earth. \nAnd another old monk\, who lived by the sea\, near the harbour\, told me:\n‘It was a dark night. The harbour was full of fishing-vessels. A storm blew up and quickly gathered force. The boats began to bump one against the other. The fishermen tried to tie them up but it was impossible in the darkness and the storm. Confusion reigned. The fishermen began to shout for all they were worth\, and it was dreadful to hear the shouts of the terrified men. I grieved for the people and prayed with tears: “Lord\, hush the storm\, and still the waves. Have pity and save Thine afflicted people.” ‘And soon the storm ceased\, the sea grew calm\, and the people\, their fears lifted\, gave thanks to God.’… \nIn their inexperience many people declare that such-and- such a saint performed a miracle\, but I know that it is the Holy Spirit living in man Who performs the miracles. The Lord would have all men find salvation and dwell eternally with Him\, and so He gives ear to the sinner’s prayer\, either for the good of others or for the good of him who prays \n\n\n3 Archimandrite Sophrony. St Silouan the Athonite. Trans. Rosemary Edmonds. Crestwood\, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press\, 1999. 491 \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-vocations-5/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230621
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230622
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230617T134816Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230617T134816Z
UID:10641-1687305600-1687391999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Aloysius Gonzaga
DESCRIPTION:FROM A LETTER TO HIS MOTHER \nby St Aloysius Gonzaga4 ◊◊◊ \nYour letter found me lingering still in this region of the dead\, but now I must rouse myself to make my way to heaven at last and to praise God for ever in the land of the living; indeed I had hoped that before this time my journey there would have been over. If charity\, as St. Paul says\, means to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who are glad\, then\, dearest mother\, you shall rejoice exceedingly that God in His grace and His love for you is showing me the path to true happiness\, and assuring me that I shall never lose Him. \nThe divine goodness… is a fathomless and shoreless ocean\, and I confess that when I plunge my mind into thought of this it is carried away by the immensity and feels quite lost and bewildered there. In return for my short and feeble labors\, God is calling me to eternal rest; His voice from heaven invites me to the infinite bliss I have sought so languidly\, and promises me this reward for the tears I have so seldom shed. \nTake care above all things… not to insult God’s boundless loving kindness; you should certainly do this if you mourned as dead one living face to face with God\, one whose prayers can bring you in your troubles more powerful aid than they ever could on earth. And our parting will not be for long; we shall see each other again in heaven; we shall be united with our Savior; there we shall praise him with heart and soul\, sing his mercies forever\, and enjoy eternal happiness. When He takes away what He has once lent us\, His purpose is to store our treasure elsewhere more safely and bestow on us those very blessings that we ourselves would most choose to have. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nI write all this with the one desire that you and all <the> family may consider my departure a joy and favor and that you especially may speed with a mother’s blessing my passage across the waters till I reach the shore to which all blessings belong. I write the more willingly because I have no clearer way of expressing the love and respect I owe you as your son \n\n\n8 \n\n\n \n\n\n4 The Liturgy of the Hours – vol. III – Catholic Book Publishing Co – New York – 1975 – pg 1475. \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-aloysius-gonzaga/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230622
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230623
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230617T135008Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230617T135008Z
UID:10643-1687392000-1687478399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS John Fisher & Thomas More
DESCRIPTION:FROM A LETTER WRITTEN IN PRISON TO HIS DAUGHTER\, MARGARET \nby St Thomas More5 ◊◊◊ \nAlthough I know well\, Margaret\, that because of my past wickedness I deserve to be abandoned by God\, I cannot but trust in his merciful goodness. His grace has strengthened me until now\, and made me content to lose goods\, land\, and life as well\, rather than to swear against my conscience. God’s grace has given the king a gracious frame of mind toward me\, so that as yet he has taken from me nothing but my liberty. In doing this His Majesty has done me such great good with respect to spiritual profit that I trust that among all the great benefits he has heaped so abundantly upon me I count my imprisonment the very greatest. I cannot\, therefore\, mistrust the grace of God. Either he will keep the king in that gracious frame of mind to continue to do me no harm\, or else\, if it be his pleasure that for my other sins I suffer in this case as I deserve\, then his grace shall give me the strength to bear it patiently\, and perhaps even gladly. \nBy the merits of his bitter passion joined to mine and far surpassing in merit for me all that I can suffer myself\, his bounteous goodness shall release me from the pains of purgatory and shall increase my reward in heaven besides. \nI shall not mistrust him… though I shall feel myself weakening and on the verge of being overcome with fear. I shall remember how St. Peter at a blast of wind began to sink because of his lack of faith\, and I shall do as he did: call upon Christ and pray to him for help. And then I trust he shall place his holy hand on me and in the stormy seas hold me up from drowning. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnd if he permits me to play Saint Peter further and to fall to the ground and to swear and foreswear\, may God our Lord in his tender mercy keep me from this\, and let me lose if it so happen\, and never win thereby! Still\, if this should happen\, afterward I trust that in his goodness he will look on me with pity as he did upon Saint Peter\, and make me stand up again and confess the truth of my conscience afresh and endure here the shame and harm of my own fault. \nAnd finally… I know this well: that without my fault he will not let me be lost. I shall\, therefore\, with good hope commit myself wholly to him. And if he permits me to perish for my faults\, then I shall serve as praise for his justice. But in good faith…I trust that his tender pity shall keep my soul safe and make me commend his mercy. \nAnd therefore\, my own good daughter\, do not let your mind be troubled over anything that shall happen to me in this world. Nothing can come but what God wills. And I am very sure that whatever that be\, however bad it may seem\, it shall be the best \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n5 The Liturgy of the Hours – vol. III – Catholic Book Publishing Co – New York – 1975 – pg 1479. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-john-fisher-thomas-more/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230623
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230624
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230617T135209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230617T135209Z
UID:10645-1687478400-1687564799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:HOW NOAH\, DANIEL\, AND JOB CROSSED THE SEA \nA Sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux6 ◊◊◊ \nThis great and wide sea\, and it is certain that nothing else is signified by it but this present bitter and stormy age gives passage for three types of people to cross to freedom… the first crossed on a ship\, the second by a bridge\, and the third by the shallows. Now these three men signify three orders in the church: Noah steered the ark so that it did not perish in the deluge\, and in that I see the type of the rulers of the church. Daniel\, a man of dreams\,’ dedicated to abstinence and chastity and occupied only with God\, represents the order of those who are penitent and chaste. Job in marriage ordered well the good things of this world\, and he is the figure of the faithful people who lawfully possess the things of the world… \nThe continent are those who go by a bridge\, which is an easier and shorter way\, and everyone knows it is safer… Your path is straight\, my brothers\, and safer than that of married people\, but it is not completely safe. For there is a threefold danger to be feared\, namely\, if anyone should want to compare himself to another\, to look back\, or to stand or even sit down in the middle of the bridge. For the narrowness of the bridge does not allow for any of these three things\, and narrow is the way that leads to life. \nLet us then all pray against this danger with the prophet; let not the foot of pride come against us\, for they who work iniquity have fallen. For the one who puts his hand to the plow and then looks back will certainly fall straightway\, and the waters will cover his head. But the one who wishes to stand\, not leaving the Order but pretending to advance in it\, must needs fall\, driven forth and tripped up by those who follow. For narrow is the way\, and that is a hindrance to those who would advance and travel along it. Thus they assert themselves and are censorious and cannot bear the inactivity of tepidity but drive themselves on as though by some goad and push themselves\, so that they must necessarily do one of two things\, either make some progress or give up entirely. It is not right\, then\, to halt one’s steps; likewise\, it is not profitable to look back or to compare oneself with others. Instead\, let us run with all humility and make haste\, so that we may not be far from him who goes forth as a giant to run a race. And if we are wise\, we shall keep him before our eyes and\, attracted by his aroma\, we shall run more easily and quickly. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nBut the pathway over the bridge will not be found too narrow for those who wish to walk along it. For it is made of three kinds of wood\, so that the foot of those who wish to rely on it entirely shall not slip on the path. These three are punishment of the body\,” poverty of worldly goods\, and the humility of obedience… When these things have been duly linked\, see if you have not passed over three perils of this sea: the lust of the flesh\, the lust of the eyes\, and the pride of life. Duly linked\, I say\, so that you are sure that there is not a trace of impatience in the penance\, a speck of desire in the poverty\, a stain of self-will in the obedience. For those who murmured perished by serpents\,’ and those who want to be rich–not those who are\, but those who want to be rich–fall into the snare of the devil… \nBut because\, according to the saying of the Savior\, by the measure with which we measure out it shall be measured to us again\, it is good for people to give in abundance\, so that they may be of the number of those to whose breast others shall give good measure\, pressed down\, shaken together\, and running over \n\n\n\n6 St Bernard of Clairvaux. Sermons for the Autumn Season. Trans. Irene Edmonds\, OCSO. Collegeville\, Minnesota: Cistercian Publications\, 2016. 85-88. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-91/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230624
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230625
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230617T135341Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230617T135341Z
UID:10647-1687564800-1687651199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Nativity of St John the Baptist
DESCRIPTION:MAKE STRAIGHT THE WAY OF THE LORD \nA homily by Johannes Tauler7 ◊◊◊ \nWhen the Baptist said: “I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness\, make straight the way of the Lord\,” he refers to the path of the virtues. This path is very straight. And again he says that he is to prepare the Lord’s paths. Footpaths reach the goal faster than public roads. The shortcut across the fields is indeed rougher and may lead one astray; and yet it is more direct than the open road. \nBeloved! Whoever would discover the paths leading to the ground\, he would take the shortest and most direct way\, keeping all his energies to himself so as to be very attentive. For these paths are rugged\, dark\, and alien to our nature\, and only those who are sufficiently skilled can take them. If they are aware of this\, they will not be put off by hurdles and hindrances or any other human anguish. Quite the opposite: Everything will point to the ground\, beckon\, and draw them there. \nIn the same manner we should straighten the paths within ourselves\, the paths which lead our spirit to God\, and God to us. These relations also require skill\, and their difficulties are of a hidden nature. At this point many give up and begin to run after exterior devotions and activities. They are like people starting for Rome and taking the road to Holland. The more they advance\, the farther they get away from their destination. And when they return\, they are old and spent and no longer up to the tempestuous work of love. \nBeloved\, when we find ourselves in the tempests of love\, we should not dwell on our sins and failings. Our only concern should be that love’s work be accomplished. We can be overcome by this tempest even when our hearts appear cold\, disinterested and hard. Now more than ever we must adhere to love\, clinging to it in perfect faith\, freed and stripped of everything that is not love. Constantly long for it\, put your whole trust in it\, cleave to it. and your experience will be as powerful and overwhelming as is possible in this life. If your faith in love is imperfect\, your desire will fade away. Love will be extinguished\, and nothing will come of it all. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThis may seem very hard to you. The devil will allow you all the marks of a spiritual life\, but he will do everything in his power to deprive you of love’s true witness. He will leave you with all kinds of treacherous love which many will mistake for the real thing. If they looked deeply into their ground\, they would see whether their love was true or false. The one thing necessary is to give access to the ground in order to be able to enter its depth. There you would find that grace which would incessantly raise you up. But we often resist that voice until we make ourselves unworthy to ever receive it again. This is due to complacency. If only we would respond to the glance of grace\, it would lead us to find such union with God that we would experience in time the joy that will be ours in eternity\, as some have done before us. May God grant that we may all experience this.. \n\n\n7 The Classics of Western Spirituality. Johannes Tauler\, “Sermon 44 – Feast of John the Baptist”. Paulist Press\, 1985\, pp. 151-152. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-nativity-of-st-john-the-baptist/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230625
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230626
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230624T125851Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230624T125851Z
UID:10654-1687651200-1687737599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n12th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nJune 25 – July 1\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n25\nMon\n26\nTue\n27\nWed\n28\nThu\n29\nFri\n30\nSat\n1\n\n\nOffice\n12th Sunday\nWeekday\nWeekday\nSt Ireneaus\nSS Peter & Paul\nWeekday\nMemorial of BVM\n\n\nVigils\nGen 21:1-19\nGen 21:20-34\nGen 22:1-24\nGen 23:1-20\nGal 1:11-2:10\nGen 24:1-27\nGen 24:28-49\n\n\nLauds\nProv 11:1-6\nProv 11:7-12\nProv 11:13-18\nProv 11:23-28\nIsa 49:1-6\nProv 12:5-9\nProv 12:13-19\n\n\nMass\n94\n371\n372\n373\n591\n375\n376\n\n\n1st\nJer 20:10-13\nGen 12:1-9\nGen 13:2\, 5-18\nGen 15:1-12\, 17-18\nActs 12:1-11\nGen 17:1\, 9-10\, 15-22\nGen 18:1-15\n\n\n2nd\nRom 5:12-15\n\n\n\n2 Tim 4:6-8\, 17-18\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 10:26-33\nMatt 7:1-5\nMatt 7:6\, 12-14\nMatt 7:15-20\nMatt 16:13-19\nMatt 8:1-4\nMatt 8:5-17\n\n\nVespers\nCol 1:9-14\nCol 1:15-23\nCol 1:24-29\nActs 3:1-10\n1 Peter 4:12-19\nCol 2:1-8\nCol 2:9-15
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-34/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230625
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230626
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230624T130058Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230624T130058Z
UID:10656-1687651200-1687737599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 12 th Sun ORD
DESCRIPTION:GRAINS OF WHEAT \nFrom a commentary by St Augustine1 ◊◊◊ \nThanks be to that grain of wheat who freely chose to die and so be multiplied! Thanks be to God’s only Son\, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ\, for whom the enduring of our human death was not a thing to be scorned if it would make us worthy of his life! Mark how alone he was before his passing: his is the voice of the psalmist who said\, I am all alone until I depart from this place — a solitary grain that nevertheless contained an immense fruitfulness\, a capacity to be multiplied beyond measure. \nHow many other grains of wheat imitating the Lord’s passion do we find to gladden our hearts when we celebrate the anniversaries of the martyrs! Many members has that one grain\, all united by bonds of peace and charity under their one head\, our Savior himself\, and\, as you know from having heard it so often\, all of them form one single body. Their many voices can often be heard praying in the psalms through the voice of a single speaker calling on God as if all were calling together\, because all are one in him. \nLet us listen to their cry. In it we can hear the words of the martyrs who found themselves hard pressed\, beset by danger from violent storms of hatred in this world\, a danger not so much to their bodies which\, after all\, they would have to part with sometime\, but rather to their faith. If they were to give way\, if they should succumb either to the harsh tortures of their persecutors or to love of this present life\, they would forfeit the reward promised them by the God who had taken away all ground for fear. Not only had he said: Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; he had also left them his own example. The precept he had enjoined on them he personally carried out\, without attempting to evade the hands of those who scourged him\, the blows of those who struck him\, or the spittle of those who spat on him. Neither the crown of thorns pressed into his head nor the cross to which the soldiers nailed him encountered any resistance from him. None of these torments did he try to avoid. Though he himself was under no obligation to suffer them\, he endured them for those who were\, making his own person a remedy for the sick. And so the martyrs suffered\, but they would certainly have failed the test without the presence of him who said: Know that I am with you always\, until the end of time \n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers: Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels – Year A. Ed. Edith Barnecut\, OSB. New York: New City Press\, 1992. 100-101. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-12-th-sun-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230624T130231Z
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UID:10658-1687737600-1687823999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:ON SLANDER AND JUDGING \nFrom a commentary by St John Climacus2 ◊◊◊ \nNo sensible person\, I think\, will dispute that slander is born of hatred and remembrance of wrongs… Slander is an offspring of hatred\, a subtle yet coarse disease\, a leech lurking unfelt\, wasting and draining the blood of love. It is simulation of love\, the patron of a heavy and unclean heart\, the ruin of chastity… I have heard people slandering\, and I have rebuked them. And these doers of evil replied in self- defense that they were doing so out of love and care for the person whom they were slandering. I said to them: ‘Stop that kind of love\, otherwise you will be condemning as a liar him who said: “Him that… talked against his neighbour\, did I drive away.” If you say you love\, then pray secretly\, and do not mock the man. For this is the kind of love that is acceptable to the Lord.’ But I will not hide this from you (and of course be careful\, lest you judge the offender): Judas was in the company of Christ’s disciples\, and the thief was in the company of murderers. Yet it is a wondrous thing\, how in a single instant\, they exchanged places. \nHe who wants to overcome the spirit of slander should not ascribe the blame to the person who falls\, but to the demon who suggests it. For no one really wants to sin against God\, even though we all sin without being forced to do so. I have known a man who sinned openly and repented secretly. I condemned him as a profligate\, but he was chaste before God\, having propitiated <God> by a genuine conversion. \nDo not regard the feelings of a person who speaks to you about his neighbour disparagingly\, but rather say to him… ‘I fall into graver sins every day\, so how can I criticize him?’ In this way you will achieve two things: you will heal yourself and your neighbour with one plaster. This is one of the shortest ways to the forgiveness of sins; I mean\, not to judge. ‘Judge not\, and ye shall not be judged.’ \n\n\n\n\n\n\nFire and water are incompatible; and so is judging others in one who wants to repent. If you see someone falling into sin at the very moment of his death\, even then do not judge him\, because the Divine judgment is hidden from men. Some have fallen openly into great sins\, but they have done greater good deeds in secret; so their critics were tricked\, getting smoke instead of the sun… \nIf it is true (as it really is true) that ‘with what judgment ye judge\, ye shall be judged\,’ then whatever sins we blame our neighbour for\, whether bodily or spiritual\, we shall fall into them ourselves. That is certain. Hasty and severe judges of the sins of their neighbour fall into this passion because they have not yet attained to a thorough and constant remembrance and concern for their own sins. For if anyone could see his own vices accurately without the veil of self-love\, he would worry about no one else in this life\, considering that he would not have time enough for mourning for himself\, even though he were to live a hundred years\, and even though he were to see a whole River Jordan of tears streaming from his eyes… \nThe demons\, murderers as they are\, push us into sin. Or if they fail to do this\, they get us to pass judgment on those who are sinning\, so that they may defile us with the stain which we ourselves are condemning in another… A good grape-picker\, who eats the ripe grapes\, will not start gathering unripe ones. A charitable and sensible mind takes careful note of whatever virtues it sees in anyone. But a fool looks for faults and defects. And of such it is said: “They have searched after iniquity\, and in searching they are grown weary of searching.’ Do not condemn\, even if you see with your eyes\, for they are often deceived \n\n\n2 St John Climacus. The Ladder of Divine Ascent. Boston: Holy Transfiguration Monastery\, 2001. 89- 91. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-92/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230628
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230624T130429Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230624T130429Z
UID:10660-1687824000-1687910399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE SECRET OF THE PSALTER \nFrom the writing of Dietrich Bonhoeffer3 ◊◊◊ \nThe Psalter occupies a unique place in the Holy Scriptures. It is God’s Word and\, with a few exceptions\, the prayer of men as well. How are we to understand this? How can God’s Word be at the same time prayer to God?… \nA psalm that we cannot utter as a prayer\, that makes us falter and horrifies us\, is a hint to us that here Someone else is praying\, not we; that the One who is here protesting his innocence\, who is invoking God’s judgment\, who has come to such infinite depths of suffering\, is none other than Jesus Christ himself. He it is who is praying here\, and not only here but in the whole Psalter… \nThe Man Jesus Christ\, to whom no affliction\, no ill\, no suffering is alien and who yet was the wholly innocent and righteous one\, is praying in the Psalter through the mouth of his Church… He prayed the Psalter and now it has become his prayer for all time… \nThe Psalter is the vicarious prayer of Christ for his Church… This prayer belongs\, not to the individual member\, but to the whole Body of Christ. Only in the whole Christ does the whole Psalter become a reality\, a whole which the individual can never fully comprehend and call his own. That is why the prayer of the psalms belongs in a peculiar way to the fellowship. Even if a verse or a psalm is not one’s own prayer\, it is nevertheless the prayer of another member of the fellowship; so it is quite certainly the prayer of the true Man Jesus Christ and his Body on earth… \n\n\n\n\n\n\nIn so far as Christ is in us\, the Christ who took all the vengeance of God upon himself\, who met God’s vengeance in our stead\, who thus – stricken by the wrath of God… could forgive his enemies\, who himself suffered the wrath that his enemies might go free – we\, too… can pray these psalms\, through Jesus Christ\, from the heart of Jesus Christ… In so far as “Christ’s blood and righteousness” has become “our beauty\, our glorious dress\,” we can… pray the psalms of innocence as Christ’s prayer for us and gift to us. These psalms\, too\, belong to us through him. \nAnd how shall we pray those psalms of unspeakable misery and suffering\, the meaning of which we have hardly begun to sense even remotely? We can and we should pray the psalms of suffering\, the psalms of the passion\, not in order to generate in ourselves what our hearts do not know of their own experience\, not to make our own laments\, but because all this suffering was real and actual in Jesus Christ\, because the Man Jesus Christ suffered sickness\, pain\, shame\, and death\, because in his suffering and death all flesh suffered and died. What happened to us on the Cross of Christ\, the death of our old man\, and what actually does happen and should happen to us ever since our baptism in the dying of our flesh\, this is what gives us the right to pray these prayers. Through the Cross of Christ these psalms have been bestowed upon his Body on earth as prayers that issue from his heart… The Body of Christ is praying\, and as an individual one acknowledges that his prayer is only a minute fragment of the whole prayer of the Church. He learns to pray the prayer of the Body of Christ. And that lifts him above his personal concerns and allows him to pray selflessly… \nIn all our praying there remains only the prayer of Jesus Christ; this alone has the promise of fulfillment.. \n\n\n3 Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Life Together. Trans. John W. Doberstein. New York: Harper & Row\, Publishers\, 1954. 44-50. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-93/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230629
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230624T130603Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230624T130603Z
UID:10662-1687910400-1687996799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Ireneaus
DESCRIPTION:PERFECT KNOWLEDGE CANNOT BE ATTAINED IN THE PRESENT LIFE \nFrom the writing of St Irenaeus of Lyons4 ◊◊◊ \nJust as the Apostle said\, when all other things have been destroyed\, these will continue\, namely: faith\, hope\, and love. For faith in our teacher continues firm\, assuring us that there is only one who is truly God and that we should really love God always\, since he alone is Father; and that consequently we should hope to receive something more and to learn from God that he is good and possesses unlimited riches\, an eternal kingdom\, and infinite knowledge. Thus\, through the many voices of the <Scriptures> there will be heard among us one harmonious melody that hymns praises to God who made all things. If\, for example\, anyone should ask us what God did before he created the world\, we reply that the answer to this is in God’s keeping. The Scriptures do teach us that this world was made complete by God when it began in time; but no Scripture reveals what God did before this. So the answer to this is in God’s keeping… \nSince\, however\, God is all Mind and all Word\, what he thinks he speaks\, and what he speaks he thinks… For his thought is his Word\, and his Word is his Mind; and the Mind that contains all things is the Father himself… The Lord\, God’s very Son\, admitted that the Father alone knows the very day of judgment and the hour. He said clearly: But about that day and hour no one knows… nor the Son\, but only the Father. So if the Son was not ashamed to refer the knowledge of that day to the Father\, but told the truth\, neither should we be ashamed to leave to God the more important questions we encounter. Really\, no one is above the teacher. \nIf\, then\, anyone asks the reason why the Father\, who has all things in common with the Son\, was manifested by the Lord as the only one who knew the hour and the day\, he will find no more fitting\, proper\, or safe answer in the present life than this\, namely\, that we might learn through the Lord\, who alone is the truthful teacher\, that the Father is above all things. Truly\, he said: The Father is greater than I. Thus\, Our Lord proclaimed that the Father excels in regard to knowledge\, so that we too\, as long as we live in the form of this world\, might leave perfect knowledge and such questions to God; and that we should not\, while investigating the depths of the Father\, fall into so great a danger as to question whether there is another god above the God \n\n\n4 St. Irenaeus of Lyons. Against the Heresies – Book 2. Trans. Dominic J. Unger\, OFM CAP. New York: The Newman Press\, 2012. 87-93. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-ireneaus/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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CREATED:20230624T130821Z
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UID:10664-1687996800-1688083199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Peter & Paul
DESCRIPTION:WHEN PRAYER BECOMES WONDER \nFrom the letters of John of Dalyatha5 ◊◊◊ \nUnderstand\, my brother\, Our Lord said to Simon\, chief of the Apostles: I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven\, that you may close and open to all whom you wish. And not only to Simon did he give this power\, but also to all lovers of the Truth. Now prayer consists in knocking at the door of the Giver; but the one who has entered the Kingdom and has taken possession of its treasures\, how can he knock at the door?… He enjoys the good things within and he is amazed and marvels at the beauty of the Good One. But it would be absurd to say that he is actually praying\, for he is utterly inebriated with the beauty of the most glorious Bridegroom… How can such a one prostrate at the door to beg like a wayfarer\, while in his hands are the keys of the treasury\, to take from and to give; to live and to give life? \nBut you will say: Why did Simon go up on the roof to pray\, and why does the great Paul say: Pray always? These Apostles\, my brothers\, use such things with us which\, insofar as they are known to us\, are ones which are suitable for us… It is the Spirit Himself who prays for us\, says St. Paul. This then is the working of the Spirit and not the stirrings of prayer. As he said: God has shone forth in our hearts\, and his Spirit searches His depths and reveals to us His mysteries. We may have wanted to make this prayer ourselves\, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit it because we have the mind of Christ to see the mysteries of the house of the Father. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nSo then they have gone into the place of wonder. They have gained power in the world of visions; the Spirit has united them to the wondrous beauty; they no longer get weary in prayer; they no longer weep at the door; no longer do they cry from afar: “Show us your beauty!” They no longer ask like beggars: “Share with us your riches!” They give because they have received; they share because they have grown rich; they give rest because they are given rest in the harbor of life; they rejoice and they give joy because they are drunk with the love of the Beautiful One. Streams of living waters flow from within him who believes in me… These waters give life to others and give drink to the thirsty… \nBut perhaps you will say: “You speak of wonder but I do not know the power of this wonder.” I offer as witness the word of a brother worthy of belief who says: “When the grace of my God is pleased with me and draws my intellect to astonishment at the vision of Him\, my intellect remains all the day without stirrings in the place of wonder and when it goes out from there\, it prays and earnestly entreats that the light of the concealed One\, which is hidden within him\, may shine out in the world full of wonder.” From this time forward\, it is no longer a place of words in which the pen is able to flow with ink; here a limit is set: silence. Only the mind is able to pass over and to see this resting-place of all the mysteries. The mind has power to go in and to marvel at the wonderful beauty which is above all and hidden within all. \nThus every prayer which is not transformed now and then into wonder at the mysteries\, has not yet arrived at perfection… To these things you will say: “Do not speak of things of which you are not capable; do not say what you have not experienced.” Truly\, I incline my head in shame\, I am silent and I take refuge in mercy. Help me by prayer \n\n\n5 John of Dalyatha. The Letters of John of Dalyatha. Trans. Mary T. Hansbury. Piscataway\, NJ: Gorgias Press\, 2006. 54-62. \n\n\n\n\n10 \n\n\n \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-peter-paul/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230701
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230624T130944Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230624T130944Z
UID:10666-1688083200-1688169599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:ON HESITATION IN PRAYER \nFrom “The Commendation of Faith” by Baldwin of Forde6 ◊◊◊ \nThe fact that the righteous are sometimes ignorant of what it is proper to ask for is clearly shown by what Paul says to the Romans: “The Spirit helps our infirmity\, for we do not know what it is proper to pray for. But the Spirit itself asks for us with ineffable groanings”… The righteous do not know what it is proper to pray for\, for when they ask to be relieved from need or tribulation or to have temptation removed\, they do not realize [what positive] fruits will come from need or tribulation\, or the result of temptation. They do not know what is more useful for them for salvation: whether to have or to lack the things they desire. \nNevertheless\, since they have two wills – one which is weak and the other powerful; one according to the flesh which lusts against the spirit and the other according to the spirit which lusts against the flesh – a particular form of prayer has been instituted in which they say to God: ‘Nevertheless\, not as I will\, but as you [will]. This powerful will\, which is according to the spirit\, and by which we wish to put the will of God before the will which is according to the flesh\, is what the Holy Spirit urges and brings about\,… inflames our hearts in the fervour of holy desire\, and makes us ask for those things that please him and which are beneficial for us… \nWhen we ask from God wisdom\, charity\, humility\, patience\, peace of mind – things we should certainly ask for – then even though we know what we seek\, we still do not know whether what we seek is the right thing for us to have or for him to give… In such a confusion of uncertainty and ignorance\, when the righteous do not know… for what they ought properly to ask\, when they have only the certainty of their own weakness and do not have full confidence in their own righteousness\, then\, even though they trust resolutely in the mercy of God\, they still tremble because of their frailty and they hesitate\, nor do they hope without fear\, just as they do not tremble without hope. But if they so fear\, how is it that they do not despair? If they so hope\, how is it that they do not relax through such a great [sense of] security? When they pray\, they are placed between hope and fear: how\, then\, do they ask in faith without hesitation? [The answer is that] they do not hesitate in that faith which\, in all things and through all things\, they do not doubt to be true… \n\n\n\n\n\n\nSomeone who doubts focusses a great deal of attention either on the power of God or on his will. The man who brought his son to Jesus seemed to doubt [God’s] power when\, according to Mark\, he says: ‘If you can do anything\, help us and have mercy on us.’ Jesus said to him: ‘If you can believe\, all things are possible for the one who believes. He said: ‘Lord\, I do believe: help my unbelief.”… The leper doubted his will but not his power\, when\, according to Matthew\, he said to Jesus: ‘Lord\, if you will\, you can make me clean’\, and at once he heard: ‘I will; be clean.’ Note that he who doubted only his will received the assurance of his will with the grace of a cure. But he who doubted his power and said ‘If you can’\, straightaway heard this said to him: ‘If you can believe\, all things are possible for the one who believes.’ In this way it is shown that the grace of the mercy he sought depended on his faith in the omnipotence of the one whom he had doubted could do anything in his particular case \n\n\n6 Baldwin of Forde. The Commendation of Faith. CF 65. Trans. Jane Patricia Freeland and David N. Bell. Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 2000. 64-70. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-94/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230702
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230624T131118Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230624T131118Z
UID:10668-1688169600-1688255999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial B.V.M.
DESCRIPTION:PARADISO \nAn excerpt of “The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri7 ◊◊◊ \nI lifted up my eyes; and… I saw more than a thousand Angels making festival\, each one distinct in effulgence and in ministry. I saw there\, smiling to their sports and to their songs\, a beauty which was gladness in the eyes of all the other saints. And had I equal wealth in speech as in conception\, yet would I not dare to attempt the least of her delightfulness. Bernard\, when he saw my eyes fixed and intent on the object of his own burning glow\, turned his own with such affection to her\, that he made mine more ardent in their gazing. With his love fixed on his Delight\, that contemplator freely assumed the office of a teacher… And he began this holy prayer: \n“Virgin Mother\, daughter of thy Son\, humble and exalted more than any creature\, fixed goal of the eternal counsel\, thou art she who didst so enoble human nature that its Maker did not disdain to become its creature. In thy womb was rekindled the Love under whose warmth this flower in the eternal peace has thus unfolded. Here thou art for us the noonday torch of charity\, and below among mortals thou art the living fount of hope. Lady\, thou art so great and so availest\, that whoso would have grace and has not recourse to thee\, his desire seeks to fly without wings. Thy loving-kindness not only succors him who asks\, but oftentimes freely foreruns the asking. \nIn thee is mercy\, in thee pity\, in thee munificence\, in thee is found whatever of goodness is in any creature. Now this man\, who from the lowest pit of the universe even to here has seen one by one the spiritual lives\, implores thee of thy grace for power such that he may be able with his eyes to rise still higher toward the last salvation. And I\, who never for my own vision burned more than I do for his\, proffer to thee all my prayers\, and pray that they be not scant\, that with thy prayers thou wouldst dispel for him every cloud of his mortality\, so that the Supreme Pleasure may be disclosed to him… \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe eyes beloved and reverenced by God\, fixed upon him who prayed\, showed us how greatly devout prayers do please her; then they were turned to the Eternal Light\, wherein we may not believe that any creature’s eye finds its way so clear. And I\, who was drawing near to the end of all desires\, raised to its utmost\, even as I ought\, the ardor of my longing. Bernard was signing to me with a smile to look upward\, but I was already of myself such as he wished; for my sight\, becoming pure\, was entering more and more through the beam of the lofty Light which in Itself is true… \nWithin the profound and shining subsistence of the lofty Light appeared to me three circles of three colors and one magnitude; and one seemed reflected by the other\, as rainbow by rainbow\, and the third seemed fire\, breathed forth equally from the one and the other… O Light Eternal\, who alone abidest in Thyself\, alone knowest Thyself\, and\, known to Thyself and knowing\, lovest and smilest on Thyself! That circling which\, thus begotten\, appeared in Thee as reflected light\, when my eyes had dwelt on it for a time\, seemed to me depicted with our image within itself and in its own color\, wherefore my sight was entirely set upon it. As is the geometer who wholly applies himself to measure the circle\, and finds not\, in pondering\, the principle of which he is in need\, such was I at that new sight. I wished to see how the image conformed to the circle and how it has its place therein; but my own wings were not sufficient for that\, save that my mind was smitten by a flash wherein its wish came to it. Here power failed the lofty phantasy; but already my desire and my will were revolved\, like a wheel that is evenly moved\, by the Love which moves the sun and the other stars \n\n\n7 Alighieri\, Dante. The Divine Comedy: Paradiso. Trans. Charles S. Singleton. Princeton\, New Jersey: Princeton University Press\, 1975. 355-381. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-b-v-m-7/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230702
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230703
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230701T121439Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230701T121439Z
UID:10743-1688256000-1688342399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n13th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nJuly 2 – 8\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n2\nMon\n3\nTue\n4\nWed\n5\nThu\n6\nFri\n7\nSat\n8\n\n\nOffice\n13th Sunday\nSt Thomas\nWeekday\nWeekday\nWeekday\nWeekday\nMemorial of BVM\n\n\nVigils\nGen 24:50-67\nActs 5:12-32\nGen 25:1-18\nGen 25:19-34\nGen 26:1-22\nGen 26:23-35\nGen 27:1-29\n\n\nLauds\nProv 12:25-28\nIsa 43:8-13\nProv 13:1-6\nProv 13:7-12\nProv 13:13-18\nProv 13:20-25\nProv 14:29-34\n\n\nMass\n97\n593\n378\n379\n380\n381\n382\n\n\n1st\n2 Kgs 4:8-11\, 14-16a\nEph 2:19-22\nGen 19:15-29\nGen 21:5\, 8-20a\nGen 22:1b-19\nGen 23:1-4\, 19; 24:1-8\, 62-67\nGen 27:1-5\, 15-29\n\n\n2nd\nRom 6:3-4\, 8-11\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 10:37-42\nJohn 20:24-29\nMatt 8:23-27\nMatt 8:28-34\nMatt 9:1-8\nMatt 9:9-13\nMatt 9:14-17\n\n\nVespers\nCol 2:16-23\n1 Pet 1:3-9\nCol 3:1-11\nCol 3:12-17\nCol 3:18-4:1\nCol 4:2-9\nCol 4:10-18
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-35/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230702
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230703
DTSTAMP:20260403T184733
CREATED:20230701T121628Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230701T121916Z
UID:10745-1688256000-1688342399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 13th Sunday ORD
DESCRIPTION:TAKE UP YOUR CROSS \nFrom a commentary by St Hilary of Poitiers1 ◊◊◊ \nThanks Christ commanded the apostles to leave everything in the world that they held most dear\, adding: Whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. For those who belong to Christ have crucified their lower nature with its sinful passions and desires. No one is worthy of him who refuses to take up his cross\, that is to say\, to share the Lord’s passion\, death\, burial\, and resurrection\, and to follow him by living out the mystery of faith in the newly received grace of the Spirit. \nWhoever finds his life will lose it\, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. This means that thanks to the power of the word and the renunciation of past sins\, temporal gains are death to the soul\, and temporal losses salvation. Apostles must therefore take death into their new life and nail their sins to the Lord’s cross. They must confront their persecutors with contempt for things present\, holding fast to their freedom by a glorious confession of faith\, and shunning any gain that would harm their souls. They should know that no power over their souls has been given to anyone\, and that by suffering loss in this short life they will achieve immortality. \nWhoever receives you receives me\, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Christ gives us all a love for his teaching and a disposition to treat our teachers with courtesy. Earlier he had shown the danger facing those who refused to receive the apostles by requiring these to shake the dust off their feet as a testimony against them; now he commends those who do receive the apostles\, assuring them of a greater recompense than they might have expected for their hospitality\, and he teaches that since he still acts as mediator\, when we receive him God enters us through him because he comes from God. Thus whoever receives the apostles receives Christ\, and whoever receives Christ receives God the Father\, since what is received in the apostles is nothing else than what is received in Christ; nor is there anything in Christ but what is in God. Through this disposition of graces to receive the apostles is to receive God\, because Christ is in them and God is in Christ \n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers: Commentaries on the Sunday Gospels – Year A. Ed. Edith Barnecut\, OSB. New York: New City Press\, 1992. 102-103. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/13th-sunday-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:10747-1688342400-1688428799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading -St Thomas
DESCRIPTION:MY FAITH SEE YOU\, LORD \nFrom the writing of Bishop of Nikolai Velimirovich2 ◊◊◊ \nMy faith sees You\, Lord. It is the light and the farseeing vision of my eyes. It is the sensing of Your omnipresence. It pulls my knees to the ground and lifts my arms toward heaven. My faith is my soul’s contact with You. It prompts my heart to dance and my throat to sing. When a swallow draws near\, the baby swallows become excited in the nest. For even in the distance they sense the coming of their mother. My faith is my excitement\, for You are coming… If my friend is thinking of me while writing a letter in a distant city\, I also dismiss other thoughts and think of my friend. My faith is my thinking about You\, which prompts You\, all-encompassing Lord\, to think of me. When a lion is separated from his lioness\, the lion’s eyes are distraught with longing for the lioness. My faith is my longing for You\, when You are far from me\, my Beauty. \nWhen there is no sun\, the most terrifying storms lash the sea. My faith is the calming of the storm within my soul\, for Your light pours into me and pacifies me. My eyes said to me: “We do not see Him.” But I pacified them with the words: “The truth is\, that you were not created to see Him but to see what is His.” My ears said to me: “We do not hear Him.” But I brought them to their senses with the words: “The truth is\, that you were not created to hear Him but to hear what is His.” Nothing of all that is created can see or hear Him but only what is His. What is created sees and hears what is created. Only what is begotten of Him can see Him. And only what is begotten of Him can hear Him. A painting cannot see the painter\, but the son of a painter can see the painter. A bell cannot hear a bell-caster\, but the daughter of a bell-caster can hear her father. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe eye cannot see Him because it was not created for the purpose of seeing Him. The ear cannot hear Him\, because it was not created for the purpose of hearing Him. But vision can see Him\, and hearing can hear Him. My faith sees You\, Lord\, just as what is begotten sees its begetter. My faith hears You\, Lord\, just as what is begotten hears its begetter. The God within me sees and hears the God in You. And God is not created but begotten. My faith is like diving into the abyss of my soul and swimming out with You. My faith is my only genuine knowledge. Everything else is like the children collecting motley pebbles by the lake. \nMy faith is the only genuine interest of my life. Truly everything else is a comedy of the senses. When I say: “Give me more faith”–I am thinking: “Give my me more of Yourself\, O my Father and God. \n\n\n2 Bishop Nikolai Velimirovich. Prayers by the Lake. Trans. Rt. Rev. Archimandrite Todor Mika\, S.T.M. and Very Rev. Dr. Stevan Scott. Grayslake\, IL: The Serbian Orthodox Metropolitante of New Gracanica\, 1999. 56-59. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-thomas/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:10750-1688428800-1688515199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:WHY ARE THEY AFRAID? \nA Sermon by Isaac of Stella3 ◊◊◊ \n“A great storm arose on the sea.” The wind that was against them is the hot north wind from which comes all evil. Well knowing its fury\, the soul banishes it by saying\, “North wind\, be off; wind of the south\, blow through this garden of mine\, and set its fragrance astir.” There can be no doubt that the contrary wind is the devil\, is Satan who stirs up the depths of the sea\, namely\, the children of this world\, and attempts by instigating frequent storms of opposition to shipwreck the Church. In his power he disturbs even the mountains because of the bitter trials that overtake them. Where now\, I ask\, is the Power of him whom they have followed on to the boat\, the power that made them boast in their confidence: “Not for us to be afraid\, though earth should tremble about us\, and the hills be carried away into the depth of the sea?” \nBy now the waters\, the mountainous waves of the deep\, rage and roar\, and those mountains of his Church or mountains of the little ship\, are in a proper panic over the force and fury of the elements. Why have they lost their bearings? Why are they afraid? Their strong Saviour is asleep. Where Christ their Strength sleeps their fear holds sway\, for then the sea’s fury rises and a man forgets his faith in Christ. \nWhile Christ’s power is inoperative it is a good thing that fear should dominate; it will in due time force the frightened and their slight and sleepy faith to seek safety with him with whom they should have kept their strength\, and far from being afraid could have claimed: “God is our refuge and strong hold amid the bitter trials that overtake us.” Instead\, they have to beg Christ to wake up and save them because if he sleeps on they will drown. The best thing the disciples could have done would have been to keep their Master from sleeping; they did the next best thing and woke him from sleep. In place of courage and glowing faith they had but fear and a confession of need. Love keeps Christ awake; necessity wakes him from sleep. What a good thing it is\, nonetheless\, to have to make a virtue of necessity! \n\n\n\n\n\n\nFor seeking counsel and help is indeed virtuous\, though not as virtuous as having the courage that prevents fear. So\, brothers\, whenever persecution rages against us\, let us\, after the holy Apostle’s example\, have recourse to Christ. Let us enliven our faith in Christ and awake the memory of his Passion\, that sleeping of his that this sleeping in the boat fittingly refers to. By ourselves we become either weak and fearful or indulge in foolhardy fortitude; in Christ we find the very pattern of patience and he endows us with… virtuous endurance teaching us true constancy. Separated from him we are forever failures; joined to him we are fit for anything; as the blessed Apostle says\, “Nothing is beyond my powers\, thanks to the strength he gives me.” \nHow true it is that the Lord’s eyelids appraise us! When he closes his eyes the sea rages\, everything becomes savagely difficult. May we not be broken! He opens his eyes\, all is calm\, it is all smooth sailing. May we not become proud! For when all is quiet\, all is safe\, may we not become lazy. In foul weather we must hope for fair and in fair weather we must beware of foul. Changes are always going on and one thing follows another. The truly wise man will be more anxious in prosperity than in adversity\, and in neither will such a person grow lazy and surrender to slumber; not for such to either despair or become complacent. So\, brothers\, with fear and hope for escort\, let us keep ever alive in us faith in our Lord Jesus Christ \n\n\n3 Isaac of Stella. Sermons on the Christian Year: Volume One. CF 11. Trans. Hugh McCaffery. Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 1979. 110-111. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-95/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:10752-1688515200-1688601599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:BE FIRM\, STAND FIRM\, ACT BOLDY \nA letter from Henry Suso to a spiritual daughter4 ◊◊◊ \nDear daughter\, why do you give in to yourself? Why do you so turn your back on the well-intentioned instruction of your spiritual father that you begin again to surrender yourself to things from which I had just barely weaned you\, things that weakened you in soul\, body and honor. Do you now think you can go and do whatever you feel like? Do you now stand so firmly that you can allow yourself anything? Alas\, why don’t you think back on what God has forgiven you\, how you just barely got to where you are\, and that you are not yet anything at all?… Don’t you see the devil has wrapped a silk thread around your neck and would like to lead you off after him?… \n“Be brave…” When a respected knight first leads a squire into the tournament ring\, he says to him encouragingly\, “Now\, noble hero\, show what you are capable of today. Be bold and defend yourself keenly. Don’t lose heart… It is better to die with honor than to live in dishonor. Once the first contest has been gotten through\, it gets easier.”… This is what you need… that you stand firm and do not follow the evil counsels of the devil. You are now in the worst situation possible. If you can pass over this narrow stretch\, you shall quickly pass over into the beautiful and spacious meadow of a peaceful spiritual life. Would to God that I might stand in your place and fight\, taking for you the fierce blows that your besieged heart is now receiving. But this would be a shame because then you would not receive the green palm branch that you\, along with other special knights of God\, shall wear in your eternal glory if you conquer. For every arrow shot at you there shall be a ruby in your crown. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnd so\, my child\, be firm\, stand firm\, act boldly. What you suffer is short. What you look forward to is eternal. Act as though you can neither see nor hear until you have won the first contest of your spiritual beginning. After big storms there follow bright days… Do not give in out of indulgence to the sucking vipers of your heart… If you do not want them to return tomorrow\, tear their heads off. Do it quickly and thoroughly. If you only take them by the tail\, they will stick to you all the more and will bite you so much the worse. Say to them that have so clearly robbed your heart of peace with their guile: “I make no peace with you!” Flee to God. Let the silly fools call after you as much as they want. Never look back! Then you will have quickly conquered all your enemies and will easily be freed from your heavy shackles… \nCertainly it is not enough for you to bite daintily into the clover. You must attack your rebellious body\, curb your sharpened tongue\, recollect your distracted mind\, so that your heart is not like a public house\, a common wine cellar\, a tavern\, where anyone can come in and where everyone can do as he pleases. Drive them out\, drive out this low company or you can certainly never receive our gentle Lord. Remember that he has bidden you to be his bride. And so see to it that you don’t become a barmaid \n\n\n\n4 Henry Suso. The Exemplar\, with Two German Sermons. Trans. Frank Tobin. New York: Paulist Press\, 1989. 342-345. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-96/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:10754-1688601600-1688687999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE SUSTAINER OF LIFE \nFrom the writing of Howard Thurman5 ◊◊◊ \nIt is of enormous reassurance to us\, our Father\, that Thou art the sustainer and the holder of life\, that despite all of our own limitations and finitudes\, despite all our weaknesses and failures\, despite all of the soarings of our minds and imaginations and our spirits\, always we come back to the deeply-lying assurance that Thou art the sustainer of life\, the holder of all creation\, and the guarantor of all our values. This is of such overwhelming reassurance to us that we celebrate in simple words of praise this almighty grace. \nWe offer on our part not merely the good deeds of which we are aware at times\, not merely the concerns for our fellows which sometimes lead us to simple deeds or glorious acts of self-sacrifice\, but we offer Thee the things that we might become – all of the possibilities of our lives\, the potentials not yet realized. We offer to Thee our failures also; those times when something breaks down and we do not know what… all that we might have been at a particular time and were not; all of the sense of conscience that disturbs and whips and tortures because we have not been in quality and in kind what we knew at the time we could have been in quality and kind. And beyond all of these expressions of ourselves\, our Father\, we offer to Thee ourselves. This is what we want to do\, and sometimes we are able to do it – just to say to Thee\, Father\, here am I. My life as it is at its depth I give to Thee. And I want Thee to hold it so that it is no longer my life to do with in accordance with my whims\, my impulses\, my desires\, or even my needs\, but to take my life and to hold it until it takes on Thy character\, Thy mind\, Thy purposes. If Thou wilt do this and if Thou wilt help me to do this\, then I can be in myself what is truest and surest in me. And this\, O God\, is all\, all\, all \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n5 Thurman\, Howard. Essential Writings. Maryknoll\, NY: Orbis Books\, 2006. 135-136. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-97/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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