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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230924
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230925
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230923T152409Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230923T152409Z
UID:11018-1695513600-1695599999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n25th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nSeptember 24 – 30\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n24\nMon\n25\nTue\n26\nWed\n27\nThu\n28\nFri\n29\nSat\n30\n\n\nOffice\n25th Sunday\nWeekday\nOffice for Vocations\nSt Vincent de Paul\nWeekday\nSt Michael & All Angels\nSt Jerome\n\n\nVigils\n1 Sam 12:1-25\n1 Sam 13:2-22\n1 Sam 13:23-14:23a\n1 Sam 14:23b-48\n1 Sam 15:1-23\nDan 10:4-11:1\n1 Sam 15:24-16:13\n\n\nLauds\nAmos 5:7\, 10-15\nAmos 5:16-20\nAmos 5:21-27\nAmos 6:1-7\nAmos 6:8-14\nGen 28:10-17\nAmos 7:1-6\n\n\nMass\n133\n449\n450\n451\n452\n647\n454\n\n\n1st\nIsa 55:6-9\nEzra 1:1-6\nEzra 6:7-8\, 12b\, 14-20\nEzra 9:5-9\nHag 1:1-8\nRev 12:7-12a\nZech 2:5-9\, 14-15a\n\n\n2nd\nPhil 1:20c-24\, 27a\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 20:1-16a\nLuke 8:16-18\nLuke 8:19-21\nLuke 9:1-6\nLuke 9:7-9\nJohn 1:47-51\nLuke 9:43b-45\n\n\nVespers\n1 Pet 2:18-25\n1 Pet 3:8-12\n1 Pet 3:13-17\n1 Pet 3:18-22\n1 Pet 4:1-6\nHeb 1:5-14\n1 Pet 4:7-11
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-45/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230924
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230925
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230923T152548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230923T152548Z
UID:11020-1695513600-1695599999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 25th Sun ORD
DESCRIPTION:THE 11th HOUR \nFrom a commentary by St Augustine1 \n◊◊◊ \nThe gospel story about the vineyard workers is appropriate to this time of year\, the season of the earthly grape harvest. But there is also another harvest\, the spiritual one\, at which God rejoices in the fruits of his vineyard. \nThe kingdom of heaven is like a householder who went out to hire men to work in his vineyard. In the evening he gave orders for all to be paid\, beginning with the last comers and ending with the first. Now why did he pay the last comers first? Will not everyone be rewarded at the same time? We read in another gospel passage how the king will say to those placed on his right hand: Come\, you whom my Father has blessed: take possession of the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. If all\, then\, are to receive their wages together\, how should we understand this statement about those who arrived at the eleventh hour being paid first\, and those who had been working since daybreak being paid last? If I can say anything to further your understanding\, thanks be to God. Give thanks to him who teaches you through me\, for my own knowledge is not the source of my teaching. \nTo take an example\, then\, let us ask which of two workers receives his wages sooner\, one who is paid after an hour\, or one who is paid after twelve hours? Anyone will answer: “One who is paid after an hour.” So also in our parable. All the workmen were paid at the same time\, but because some were paid after an hour and others after twelve hours\, the former\, having had a shorter time to wait\, may be said to have received their wages first. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe earliest righteous people like Abel and Noah\, called as it were at the first hour\, will receive the joy of resurrection at the same time as we do. So also will others who came later\, Abraham\, Isaac\, and Jacob\, and those contemporary with them\, called as we may say at the third hour; Moses and Aaron and those called with them at the sixth hour; and after them the holy prophets\, called at the ninth hour. At the end of the world all Christians\, called at the eleventh hour\, will receive the joy of resurrection together with those who went before them. All will be rewarded at the same time\, but the first comers will have had the longest to wait. Therefore\, if they receive their reward after a longer period and we after a shorter one\, the fact that our reward is not delayed will make it seem as though we were receiving it first\, even though we all receive it together. \nIn that great reward\, then\, we shall all be equal-the first to the last and the last to the first. For the denarius stands for eternal life\, in which all will have the same share. Although through diversity of merit some will shine more brilliantly than others\, in the possession of eternal life there will be equality. What is endless for all will not be longer for one and shorter for another. What has no bounds will have none either for you or for me. Those who lived chastely in the married state will have one kind of splendor; virgins will have another. The reward for good works will differ from the crown of martyrdom; but where eternal life is concerned there can be no question of more or less for anyone. Whatever may be the individual’s degree of glory\, each one will live in it eternally. This is the meaning of the denarius \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n1 Letter LIII in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers\, Series Two\, Volume 6; translated by W. H. Fremantle\, p. 101-102. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-25th-sun-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230925
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230926
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230923T152716Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230923T152716Z
UID:11022-1695600000-1695686399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:TRUE PRAYER \nFrom the writings of St Macarius2 \n◊◊◊ \nThe person\, that wishes to come to the Lord and to be deemed worthy of eternal life and to become the dwelling place of Christ and to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he may be able to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit and perform the commandments of Christ purely and blamelessly\, ought to begin first by believing firmly in the Lord and giving himself completely to the words of His commands and renouncing the world in all things so that his whole mind may be taken up with nothing ephemeral… \nThen the Lord\, seeing such an intention and his good diligence\, how he strives to remember the Lord and always seeks to do good and is humble and meek and loving\, how he guides his heart\, whether he wishes or not\, to the best of his ability with force\, has mercy on him and frees him from his enemies and the indwelling sin. He fills him with the Holy Spirit. And gradually without force or struggle he keeps all the Lord’s commandments in truth. Or\, rather\, it is the Lord who keeps in him His very own commandments and then He brings forth the fruits of the Spirit purely. \nIt is\, however\, necessary at first for one coming to the Lord to force himself thus to do good and even if he should not in his heart be so inclined\, he must constantly await His mercy with unshakened faith and push himself to love\, even if he does not have love. He ought to push himself to meekness\, even if he has none\, to mercy and to have a merciful heart. He must force himself to be disregarded\, and when he is looked down by others\, let him rejoice. When he is made light of or dishonored\, let him not become angry according to the saying: “Beloved\, do not avenge yourselves”. Let him push himself to prayer even when he does not possess the prayer of the Spirit. And so\, God\, seeing him striving so and pushing himself by determination\, even if the heart is unwilling\, gives him the authentic prayer of the Spirit\, gives him true charity\, true meekness… true kindness\, and\, simply put\, fills him with the fruits of the Spirit. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nBut\, if anyone pushed to attain for himself only prayer… but he does not strive earnestly for meekness and humility and charity and all the other commandments of the Lord\, neither taking pains or struggling and battling to succeed in these…sometimes he may be given a grace of prayer… but he has the same traits he had before. He has no meekness because he did not seek it with effort and he did not prepare himself beforehand to become such. He has no humility since he did not ask for it and did not push himself to have it. He has no charity toward all men because he was not concerned with this and did not strive for it in his asking for the gift of prayer. And in doing his work\, he has no faith nor trust in God since he did not know himself\, that he appeared without it… For just as he forces himself to prayer even when unwilling\, so everyone must push himself likewise to trust\, so also to humility\, so to charity\, so to meekness\, sincerity and simplicity… \nLet us pray that the Spirit may teach us true prayer which now we are unable to accomplish even through our earnest striving. He will teach us how to accomplish\, with hearts of compassion\, kindness and all the other commandments of the Lord truly without any trouble and force since the Spirit Himself knows how to fill us with His fruit. And so we fulfill the commandments of God through His Spirit who alone knows the will of the Lord \n\n\n\n2 Intoxicated with God – The Fifty Spiritual Homilies of Macarius. Trans. George A. Maloney\, S.J.\, Denville\, NJ: Dimension Books\, 1978. 128-131. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-119/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230926
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230927
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230923T152853Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230923T152853Z
UID:11024-1695686400-1695772799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
DESCRIPTION:THE SPIRITUAL LIFE \nFrom the writing of John Ruusbroec3 \n◊◊◊ \nNow you should note three things which make a person good. The first thing which a person must have in order to be good is a purified conscience\, free from any reproach of mortal sin… The second thing… is the need to obey God\, the holy Church\, and his own conscience in all things…The third thing… is that he primarily intends God’s glory in all his works… These three things\, when possessed in this way\, make a person good. Whoever lacks a single one of them is not a good person and does not abide in God’s grace. But whenever a person resolves in his heart to bring about these three things in his own life\, then in that very moment — regardless of how evil he was previously — he becomes a good person\, open to God and full of God’s grace. \nIf this good person is to go on and become an interiorly fervent and spiritual person\, then three further things are necessary: The first is a heart unencumbered by images; the second is spiritual freedom in his desires; and the third is an experience of interior union with God… In his exercises a person should make use of good images\, such as our Lord’s passion and anything else which can stir a person to greater devotion. In possessing God\, however\, a person must descend to that imageless bareness which is God himself. This is the first thing necessary for a spiritual life and is its very foundation. \nThe second thing is interior freedom\, which means that a person can be raised to God in all his interior exercises without hindrance and without the encumbrance of images. Such exercises are thanksgiving\, praise\, worship\, devout prayers… and all the other things which longing and affection can bring about with the help of God’s grace… By means of these interior exercises a person attains the third thing necessary for a spiritual life\, which is that he experiences spiritual union with God. Whoever\, then\, in his interior exercises ascends freely and without images to his God and intends nothing but God’s glory will savor God’s goodness and will experience true interior union with God… In this way\, activity and union are constantly renewed\, and this renewal in work and in union constitutes a spiritual life… \n\n\n\n\n\n\nYou should also know that if this spiritual person is to become a contemplative three more things are necessary: The first is that he must experience the depth of his being as having no ground and must possess it in this way; the second is that his exercises must be devoid of particular form or measure; and the third is that his turning within himself must be characterized by the enjoyment of God… \nYou can thus see that this Unity of God which draws all things to itself is nothing other than a love which has no ground and which lovingly draws the Father and the Son and all that lives in them into a state of eternal enjoyment. In this love we will ceaselessly burn and be consumed by fire for all eternity\, for in this lies the blessedness of all spirits… Through the same love we will ascend and transcend ourselves as we rise to an incomprehensible height. In this formless love we will wander about\, and it will lead us to the measureless breadth of God’s love. In it we will flow forth and flow out of ourselves into the uncomprehended abundance of God’s riches and goodness. In it we will also melt and be dissolved\, revolve and be eternally whirled around in the maelstrom of God’s glory \n\n\n\n3 John Ruusbroec. The Spiritual Espousals and Other Works. Trans. James A. Wiseman\, O.S.B. New York: Paulist Press\, 1985. 156-159. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-vocations-8/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230927
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230928
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230923T153028Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230923T153028Z
UID:11026-1695772800-1695859199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Vincent de Paul
DESCRIPTION:GOD LOVES THE POOR \nFrom the writings of St Vincent de Paul4 \n◊◊◊ \nEven though the poor are often rough and unrefined\, we must not judge them from external appearances nor from the mental gifts they seem to have received. On the contrary\, if you consider the poor in the light of faith\, then you will observe that they are taking the place of the Son of God who chose to be poor. Although in his passion he almost lost the appearance of a man and was considered a fool by the Gentiles and a stumbling block by the Jews\, he showed that his mission was to preach to the poor… We also ought to have this same spirit and imitate Christ’s actions\, that is\, we must take care of the poor\, console them\, help them\, support their cause. \nSince Christ willed to be born poor\, he chose for himself disciples who were poor. He made himself the servant of the poor and shared their poverty. He went so far as to say that he would consider every deed which either helps or harms the poor as done for or against himself. Since God surely loves the poor\, he also loves those who love the poor. For when one person holds another dear\, he also includes in his affection anyone who loves or serves the one he loves. That is why we hope that God will love us for the sake of the poor. So when we visit the poor and needy\, we try to be understanding where they are concerned. We sympathize with them so fully that we can echo Paul’s words: I have become all things to all people. Therefore we must try to be stirred by our neighbor’s worries and distress. We must beg God to pour into our hearts sentiments of pity and compassion and to fill them again and again with these dispositions. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nIt is our duty to prefer the service of the poor to everything else and to offer such service as quickly as possible. If a needy person requires medicine or other help during prayer time\, do whatever has to be done with peace of mind. Offer the deed to God as your prayer. Do not become upset or feel guilty because you interrupted your prayer to serve the poor. God is not neglected if you leave him for such service. One of God’s works is merely interrupted so that another can be carried out. So when you leave prayer to serve some poor person\, remember that this service is performed for God. Charity is certainly greater than any rule. Moreover\, all rules must lead to charity. Since she is a noble mistress\, we must do whatever she commands. With renewed devotion\, then\, we must serve the poor\, especially beggars and outcasts. They have been given to us as our masters and patrons \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n4 The Liturgy of the Hours vol. IV Catholic Book Publishing Co – New York – 1975 – pg 1424. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-vincent-de-paul-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230928
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230929
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230923T153205Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230923T153205Z
UID:11028-1695859200-1695945599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:HOW JESUS IS THE CONSUMMATION \nFrom the writings of Nicholas of Cusa5 \n◊◊◊ \nWe experience\, O Lord\, that your… Spirit\, infinite in its power\, is received in many ways. For it is received in one way in one in whom it produces a prophetic spirit\, in another in one who is given skill to interpret\, and in another by one to whom it teaches knowledge\, and it is received still otherwise in others. For its gifts are diverse …just as the same heat of the sun produces different fruit of different trees. I see\, Lord\, that your Spirit cannot be lacking to any… because it is the Spirit of spirits and the movement of movements and fills the whole world… \nO Lord\, who work all things for yourself\, you have created this entire world… as if you were a painter who mixes different colors in order finally to be able to paint oneself and to have an image of oneself wherein one may be delighted and one’s art find rest… For each… sees in you\, my God\, something which must be revealed to the others if they would attain to you… The spirits\, full of love\, therefore\, reveal their secrets to one another\, and thereby the knowledge of the beloved is increased as well as the desire for the beloved\, and the sweetness of joy grows ardent… All come to rest in this Spirit as in the final perfection of the image of God\, of whose image they have attained likeness and some degree of perfection… \nAll things rouse me to turn toward you; all Scripture strives to do nothing else but to disclose you… Above all\, you have given me Jesus as Master\, as ‘the Way\, the Life\, and the Truth’\, so that nothing at all can be lacking to me. You strengthen me by your Holy Spirit\, through whom you inspire choices of life and holy desires. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYou draw me by a foretaste of the sweetness of the life of glory to love you\, the infinite Good. You enrapture me in order to be above myself and to foresee the place of glory to which you invite me. You show me many most delectable dishes which draw me by their excellent savor. You permit me to see the treasury of riches\, of life\, of joy\, and of beauty. In nature as well as in art\, you uncover the fountain from which flows all that is desirable. You keep nothing secret. You do not hide the channel of love\, nor of peace\, nor of rest. You offer all things to me\, wretched as I am\, whom you have created from nothing. \nWhy then do I delay? Why do I not hasten to the aroma of the ointments of my Christ? Why do I not enter into the joy of my Lord? What holds me back? If ignorance of you\, Lord\, has restrained me\, and the vain delight of the sensible world\, they will hold me back no longer. For because you grant me to will\, I will to forsake the things of this world\, for the world wills to forsake me. I hasten toward the goal; I have almost finished my course; I look forward to its end\, for I strive after the crown. Draw me\, Lord\, for no one may come to you unless drawn by you\, so that drawn to you\, I may be made absolute from this world and may be joined to you\, the absolute God\, in the eternity of the glorious life \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n5 Nicholas of Cusa. Selected Spiritual Writings (Classics of Western Spirituality). Paulist\, 1997. 287-289. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-120/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230929
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230930
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230923T153444Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230923T153444Z
UID:11030-1695945600-1696031999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Michael & All Angels
DESCRIPTION:THE ANGELS \nFrom the Catechism of the Catholic Church6 \n◊◊◊ \nSt. Augustine says: “Angel’ is the name of their office\, not of their nature. If you seek the name of their nature\, it is ‘spirit’; if you seek the name of their office\, it is ‘angel’: From what they are\, ‘spirit’\, from what they do\, ‘angel’.” With their whole beings the angels are servants and messengers of God. Because they ‘always behold the face of my Father who is in heaven’ they are the “mighty ones who do his word\, harkening to the voice of his word.” \nAs purely spiritual creatures angels have intelligence and will: they are personal and immortal creatures\, surpassing in perfection all visible creatures\, as the splendor of their glory bears witness. \nChrist is the center of the angelic world. They are his angels: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory\, and all the angels with him…” They belong to him because they were created through and for him: “for in him all things were created in heaven and on earth\, visible and invisible\, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.” They belong to him still more because he has made them messengers of his saving plan: “Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to serve\, for the sake of those who are to obtain salvation?” \nAngels have been present since creation throughout the history of salvation\, announcing this salvation from afar or near and serving the accomplishment of the divine plan: they closed the earthly paradise; protected Lot; saved Hagar and her child; stayed Abraham’s hand; communicated the law by their ministry; led the People of God; announced births and callings; and assisted the prophets\, just to cite a few examples. Finally\, the angel Gabriel announced the birth and the Precursor and that of Jesus himself. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nFrom the Incarnation to the Ascension\, the life of the Word incarnate is surrounded by the adoration and service of angels. When God “brings the firstborn into the world\, he says: “Let all God’s angels worship him”. Their song of praise at the birth of Christ has not ceased resounding in the Church’s praise: “Glory to God in the highest!” They protect Jesus in his infancy\, serve him in the desert\, strengthen him in his agony in the garden\, when he could have been saved by them from the hands of his enemies as Israel had been. Again\, it is the angels who “evangelize” by proclaiming the Good News of Christ’s Incarnation and Resurrection. They will be present at Christ’s return\, which they will announce\, to serve at his judgment. \nIn the meantime\, the whole life of the Church benefits from the mysterious and powerful help of angels. In her liturgy\, the Church joins with the angels to adore the thrice-holy God. She invokes their assistance… in the funeral liturgy’s “May the angels lead you into Paradise”. Moreover\, in the “Cherubic Hymn” of the Byzantine Liturgy\, she celebrates the memory of certain angels more particularly St. Michael\, St. Gabriel\, St. Raphael\, and the guardian angels. \nFrom infancy to death human life is surrounded by their watchful care and intercession. “Besides each believer stands an angel as protector and shepherd leading him to life.” Already here on earth the Christian life shares by faith in the blessed company of angels and humanity united in God \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n6 The Catechism of the Catholic Church\,USCC\,Libreria Editrice Vaticana\,’94\, p.85-87. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-michael-all-angels-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230930
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231001
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230923T153623Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230923T153623Z
UID:11032-1696032000-1696118399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Jerome
DESCRIPTION:ON THE LOVE OF SCRIPTURE \nA letter from St Jerome to Paulinus7 \n◊◊◊ \nYou see how\, carried away by my love of the scriptures\, I have exceeded the limits of a letter yet have not fully accomplished my object. We have heard only what it is that we ought to know and to desire\, so that we too may be able to say with the psalmist: “My soul breaks out with the fervent desire it always has had for your judgments”. But the saying of Socrates about himself— “I only know this: that I know nothing”—is fulfilled in our case also. \nThe New Testament I will briefly deal with. Matthew\, Mark\, Luke and John are the Lord’s team of four\, the true cherubim or store of knowledge. [Like the description in the prophet Ezekiel\,] with them the whole body is full of eyes\, they glitter as sparks\, they run and return like lightning\, their feet are straight feet\, and lifted up\, their backs also are winged\, ready to fly in all directions. They hold together each by each and are interwoven one with another: like wheels within wheels they roll along and go wherever the breath of the Holy Spirit wafts them. The apostle Paul writes to seven churches (for the eighth epistle\, that to the Hebrews\, is not generally counted in with the others). He instructs Timothy and Titus; he interceded with Philemon for his runaway slave. Of him I think it better to say nothing than to write inadequately. \nThe Acts of the Apostles seem to relate a mere unvarnished narrative\, descriptive of the infancy of the newly born church; but when once we realize that their author is Luke the physician whose praise is in the gospel\, we shall see that all his works are medicine for the sick soul. The apostles James\, Peter\, John and \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJude have published seven epistles at once spiritual and to the point\, short and long\, short that is in words but lengthy in substance so that there are few indeed who do not find themselves in the dark when they read them. The apocalypse of John has as many mysteries as words. In saying this I have said less than the book deserves. All praise of it is inadequate; manifold meanings lie hid in its every word. \nI beg of you\, my dear brother\, to live among these books\, to meditate upon them\, to know nothing else\, to seek nothing else. Does not such a life seem to you a foretaste of heaven here on earth? Let not the simplicity of the scripture or the poorness of its vocabulary offend you: for these are due either to the faults of translators or else to deliberate purpose: for in this way it is better fitted for the instruction of an unlettered congregation as the educated person can take one meaning and the uneducated another from one and the same sentence. I am not so dull or so forward as to profess that I myself know it\, or that I can pluck upon the earth the fruit which has its root in heaven\, but I confess that I should like to do so. I put myself before the man who sits idle and\, while I lay no claim to be a master\, I readily pledge myself to be a fellow-student. “Every one that asks\, receives; and those that seek\, find; and to those that knock\, it shall be opened”. \nLet us learn upon earth that knowledge which will continue with us in heaven \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n7 Letter LIII in The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers\, Series Two\, Volume 6; translated by W. H. Fremantle\, p. 101-102. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-jerome-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230930T140000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20230930T160000
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20230812T132924Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230812T132924Z
UID:10886-1696082400-1696089600@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Advisory Council Meeting
DESCRIPTION:Advisory Council Meeting \nSeptember 30th\, 2:00 pm on zoom
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/advisory-council-meeting-2/
CATEGORIES:Advisory Council
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231001
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231002
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231001T113821Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231001T113821Z
UID:11044-1696118400-1696204799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n26th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nOctober 1 – 7\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n1\nMon\n2\nTue\n3\nWed\n4\nThu\n5\nFri\n6\nSat\n7\n\n\nOffice\n26th Sunday\nWeekday\nLouisville Cathedral\nSt Francis\nWeekday\nSt Bruno\nOur Lady of the Rosary\n\n\nVigils\n1 Sam 16:14-17:11\n1 Sam 17:12-37\n2 Chron 7:1-16\n1 Sam 17:38-18:5\n1 Sam 18:6-30\n1 Sam 19:1-24\nJudith 15:8-16:2\, 11-16\n\n\nLauds\nAmos 7:7-9\nAmos 7:10-17\nEzek 43:1-7a\nAmos 8:1-8\nAmos 8:9-14\nAmos 9:1-6\nSir 39:12-22\n\n\nMass\n136\n455\n701.1\, 706.2\n457\n458\n459\n460\n\n\n1st\nEzek 18:25-28\nZech 8:1-8\n1 Kings 8:22-23\, 27-30\nNeh 2:1-8\nNeh 8:1-4a\, 5-6\, 7b-12\nBar 1:15-22\nBar 4:5-12\, 27-29\n\n\n2nd\nPhil 2:1-11\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 21:28-32\nLuke 9:46-50\nLuke 19:1-10\nLuke 9:57-62\nLuke 10:1-12\nLuke 10:13-16\nLuke 10:17-24\n\n\nVespers\n1 Pet 4:12-19\n1 Pet 5:1-7\nRev 21:1-5\n1 Pet 5:8-14\n2 Pet 1:1-9\n2 Pet 1:10-15\n2 Pet 1:16-19
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-46/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231001
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231002
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231001T113949Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231001T113949Z
UID:11046-1696118400-1696204799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 26th Sunday ORD
DESCRIPTION:WHAT I WANT IS MERCY\, NOT SACRIFICE \nA commentary by St Clement of Alexandria1 \n◊◊◊ \nThe doors are open for all who sincerely and wholeheartedly return to God; indeed the Father is most willing to welcome back a truly repentant son or daughter. The result of true repentance\, however\, is that you do not fall into the same faults again\, but utterly uproot from your souls the sins for which you consider yourself worthy of death. When these have been destroyed God will again dwell within you\, since Scripture says that for the Father and his angels in heaven the festal joy and gladness at the return of one repentant sinner is great beyond compare. That is why the Lord cried out: What I want is mercy\, not sacrifice. I desire not the death of the sinner but his conversion. Even if your sins are like crimson wool I will make them as white as snow; even if they are blacker than night. I will wash them as white as wool. \nAlthough only God has power to forgive sin and to cancel transgressions\, the Lord commands us also to forgive our repentant brothers and sisters every day. So if we who are evil know how to give good gifts\, how much more generous must be the Father of mercies\, the good Father of all consolation\, who is full of compassion and mercy\, and whose nature it is to be patient and await our conversion! Genuine conversion\, however\, means ceasing to sin without any backward glance. \nGod pardons what is past\, then\, but for the future we are each responsible for ourselves. By repenting we condemn our past misdeeds and beg forgiveness of the Father\, the only one who can in his mercy undo what has been done\, and wipe away our past sins with the dew of the Spirit. And so\, if you are a thief and desire to be forgiven\, steal no more. If you are a robber\, return your gains with interest. If you have been a false witness\, practice speaking the truth. If you are a perjurer\, stop taking oaths. You must also curb all the other evil passions: anger\, lust\, grief\, and fear. No doubt you will be unable all at once to root out passions habitually given way to\, but this can be achieved by God’s power\, human prayers\, the help of your brothers and sisters\, sincere repentance\, and constant practice \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY – 1999 – pg128-129. \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-26th-sunday-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231002
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231003
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231001T114112Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231001T114112Z
UID:11048-1696204800-1696291199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:DEATH AND THE MONK \nFrom “The Meaning of the Monastic Life” by Fr Louis Bouyer2 ◊◊◊ \nIt is not purely and simply by dying that we shall live\, but by dying such a death that it kills death itself — and it is only the death of Christ that can do that. For it is not the life of the mortal body which has injured the life of the soul. It is\, on the contrary\, the death of the soul which has injured the body and made it mortal. Life will be won back by the resurrection\, not of the soul alone\, but of the human being in its unity\, inseparably body and soul. And if the passage through death can lead to the resurrection\, it is only in as much as the soul\, which has become alive again in Christ\, has been made capable of burning away the death of the body as with a red-hot iron and of causing it to evaporate in its own flame. \nThe monk goes forward to meet death because he believes that this miracle\, the greatest of all\, has been accomplished in the death of Christ: because he believes that Christ was Life\, the very Life of God\, and that in making physical death his own\, he has robbed the evil one of all his power and all his empire which are annihilated by this very act. Again he goes forward to meet death because he believes that Christ now and for the future lives in him: and finally because he believes that what has taken place in Christ will be reproduced in himself\, in the same manner. \nThe death of the monk\, so desired and sought after day after day\, is then only the supreme evidence of his faith\, his faith in Christ vanquishing death in himself\, his faith in Christ present in his followers to vanquish it in them. The monk’s mortification is ultimately nothing more than his witness given to Christ\, \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nthe witness of his faith\, which makes it clear that it is not only an intellectual thing but an engagement of the whole being \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n2 New York\, 1955\, pp. 53-54. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-121/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231003
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231004
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231001T114414Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231001T114414Z
UID:11050-1696291200-1696377599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Louisville Cathedral
DESCRIPTION:THE CATHEDRAL OF THE ASSUMPTION3 ◊◊◊ \nCatholics were a small and scattered lot in the earliest days after Louisville’s founding in 1778… The roots of the first real Catholic congregation can be traced to about 1805 when the small Catholic community of Louisville was served by regular priestly visits from Father Stephen Badin\, the first Catholic priest ordained in the United States. Badin and other clerics came up from “the Kentucky Holy Land” to minister to that primal congregation that was to become the Cathedral of the Assumption. The congregation got its first building in 1811 on Tenth Street\, between Main Street and the Ohio River. The name St. Louis was adopted for the parish\, commemorating the saintly King Louis IX of France. But presumably the name of Louis was also a reference to Louisville’s own naming in honor of France’s Louis XVI\, for the aid he rendered to the American Revolution… \nWhen the seat of the Bardstown diocese was transferred to Louisville in 1841\, St. Louis became the new cathedral\, and Bishop Benedict Joseph Flaget took up his residence next door. Perhaps his last public act was his blessing of the cornerstone for a new structure\, today’s Cathedral of the Assumption\, on August 15\, 1849. Because that was the Feast of the Blessed Virgin’s Assumption\, that name was affixed to the Cathedral that had been known under the patronage of Saint Louis… The new American Gothic structure… was dedicated October 3\, 1852\, with eight bishops and the first American cardinal present. \nThe Cathedral parish immediately began to function. It established the St. Vincent de Paul Society for relief of the poor in 1853… \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAt heart\, the Cathedral of the Assumption retains its identity as a vital\, truly Catholic community of faith <and> has marched into the third millennium with renewed hope and promise \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n3 Cathedral of the Assumption. Accessed online: https://www.archlou.org/parishes/cathedral-of-the-assumption/. \n\n\n \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-louisville-cathedral/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231004
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231005
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231001T114557Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231001T114557Z
UID:11052-1696377600-1696463999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Francis
DESCRIPTION:THE HUMILITY OF ST FRANCIS \nFrom “The Life of St Francis” by St Bonaventure4 ◊◊◊ \nIn order to render himself contemptible to others\, he did not spare himself the embarrassment of bringing up his own faults when he preached before all the people. Once it happened that when he was weighed down with sickness\, he relaxed a little the rigor of his abstinence in order to recover his health. When his strength of body returned\, he was aroused to insult his own body out of true self- contempt: “It is not right\,” he said\, “that the people should believe I am abstaining while\, in fact\, I eat meat on the sly.” \nInflamed with the spirit of true humility\, he called the people together in the square of the town of Assisi and solemnly entered the principal church with many of the friars whom he had brought with him. With a rope tied around his neck and stripped to his underwear\, he had himself dragged before the eyes of all to the stone where criminals received their punishment. He climbed up upon the stone and preached with much vigor and spirit although he was suffering from a fever and the weather was bitter cold. He asserted to all his hearers that he should not be honored as a spiritual man but rather he should be despised by all as a carnal man and a glutton. \nTherefore those who had gathered there were amazed at so great a spectacle. They were well aware of his austerity\, and so their hearts were struck with compunction; but they professed that his humility was easier to admire than to imitate. Although this incident seemed to be more a portent like that of the Prophet [Isaiah] than an example\, nevertheless it was a lesson in true humility instructing the follower of Christ that he should despise the fame of transitory praise\, suppress the arrogance of bloated bragging and reject the lies of deceptive pretense. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nHe often did many things like this so that outwardly he might become like a discarded utensil while inwardly possessing the spirit of holiness. He strove to hide the gifts of his Lord in the secret recesses of his heart\, not wanting them to be exposed to praise\, which could be an occasion of a fall. For often when he was praised by the crowds\, he would answer like this: “I could still have sons and daughters; don’t praise me as if I were secure! No one should be praised whose end is still uncertain.” This is what he would say to those who praised him\, and to himself he would say: “If the Most High had given so much to a brigand\, he would be more grateful than you\, Francis.” He often used to tell the friars: “No one should flatter himself for doing anything a sinner can also do. A sinner\,” he said\, “can fast\, pray\, weep and mortify his flesh. This one thing he cannot do: be faithful to his Lord. Therefore we should glory in this: if we give back to the Lord the glory that is his\, if we serve him faithfully and ascribe to him whatever he gives to us. \n\n\n\n4 Translation and introduction by Ewert Cousins\, (Classics of Western Spirituality series)\, New York: Paulist Press\, 1978\, pp. 230-231. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-francis/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231005
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231006
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231001T114721Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231001T114721Z
UID:11054-1696464000-1696550399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:TRUE LOVE \nFrom “The Story of a Soul” by St Thérèse of Lisieux5 ◊◊◊ \nAt the beginning of my religious life Jesus wanted to have me experience how sweet it is to see Him in the souls of His brides. When I was guiding Sister St. Pierre\, I did it with so much love that I could not possibly have done better had I been guiding Jesus Himself. The practice of charity… was not always so sweet for me\, and to prove it to you I am going to recount certain little struggles which will certainly make you smile. For a long time at evening meditation\, I was placed in front of a Sister who had a strange habit… during meditation. This is what I noticed: as soon as this Sister arrived\, she began making a strange little noise which resembled the noise one would make when rubbing two shells\, one against the other. I was the only one to notice it because I had extremely sensitive hearing (too much so at times). Mother\, it would be impossible for me to tell you how much this little noise wearied me. I had a great desire to turn my head and stare at the culprit who was very certainly unaware of her “click.” This would be the only way of enlightening her. However\, in the bottom of my heart I felt it was much better to suffer this out of love for God and not to cause the Sister any pain. I remained calm\, therefore\, and tried to unite myself to God and to forget the little noise. \nEverything was useless. I felt the perspiration inundate me\, and I was obliged simply to make a prayer of suffering; however\, while suffering\, I searched for a way of doing it without annoyance and with peace and joy\, at least in the interior of my soul. I tried to love the little noise which was so displeasing; instead of trying not to hear it (impossible)\, I paid close attention so as to hear it well\, as \n\n\n\n\n\n\nthough it were a delightful concert\, and my prayer (which was not the Prayer of Quiet) was spent in offering this concert to Jesus. \nAnother time\, I was in the laundry doing the washing in front of a Sister who was throwing dirty water into my face every time she lifted the handkerchiefs to her bench; my first reaction was to draw back and wipe my face to show the Sister who was sprinkling me that she would do me a favor to be more careful. But I immediately thought I would be very foolish to refuse these treasures which were being given to me so generously\, and I took care not to show my struggle. I put forth all my efforts to desire receiving very much of this dirty water\, and was so successful that in the end I had really taken a liking to this kind of aspersion\, and I promised myself to return another time to this nice place where one received so many treasures. \nMy dear Mother\, you can see that I am a very little soul and that I can offer God only very little things. It often happens that I allow these little sacrifices which give such peace to the soul to slip by; this does not discourage me\, for I put up with having a little less peace and I try to be more vigilant on another occasion. Ah! the Lord is so good to me that it is quite impossible for me to fear Him. He has always given me what I desire or rather He has made me desire what He wants to give me; thus a short time before my trial against the faith began\, I was saying to myself: Really\, I have no great exterior trials and for me to have interior ones God would have to change my way… what means\, then\, will Jesus find to try me? The answer was not long in coming\, and it showed me that the One whom I love is not at a loss as to the means He uses \n\n\n5 Story of A Soul: The Autobiography of St Thérèse of Lisieux. Trans. John Clarke\, O.C.D. Washington\, DC: ICS Publications\, 1996. 279-280. PDF ONLINE VERSION. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-122/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231006
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231007
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231001T114912Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231001T114912Z
UID:11056-1696550400-1696636799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Bruno
DESCRIPTION:A READING FROM THE STATUTES OF THE CARTHUSIAN ORDER6 \n◊◊◊ \n\n\n\n\n12 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMaster Bruno and six companions entered the desert of Chartreuse in the year of our Lord 1084 and settled there; under the guidance of the Holy Spirit\, they and their successors\, learning from experience\, gradually evolved a special form of hermit life\, which was handed on to succeeding \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\ngenerations\, not by the written word\, but by example… \nThe more sublime the path that opens before us in the holy way of life handed down to us by our Fathers\, the more easily can we fall away from it; not only by obvious transgressions\, but also by the drag innate\, as it were\, in routine. Since\, however\, God gives his grace to the humble\, let us have recourse to him above all and stand fast in the combat\, lest the chosen vineyard fall into ruin. \nFor the continuing quality of our life will depend more on the fidelity of each individual than on the multiplication of laws\, or the updating of customs\, or even the zeal of Priors. It is not\, indeed\, enough to obey the commands of our superiors and observe faithfully the letter of the Statutes\, unless\, led by the Spirit\, we savor the things of the Spirit… Now no longer a child\, but a man\, let him not be tossed to and fro and carried about with \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nevery new wind\, but rather let him try to find out what would please God and do it of his own free will\, enjoying with sober wisdom that liberty of God’s children\, concerning which he will have to render an account before God. Let no one\, however\, be wise in his own eyes; for it is to be feared that he who neglects to open his heart to an enlightened guide\, will lose the \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nquality of discretion and go less quickly than is necessary\, or too fast and grow weary\, or stop on the way and… fall asleep… In simplicity of heart\, then\, and in purity of mind let us strive with all our power to fix our thoughts and affections continually on God. Let each be forgetful of self and what lies behind\, and press on towards the goal to win the prize which is God’s call to the life above\, in Christ Jesus. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“But he who has no love for the brother he has seen\, what love can he have for the God he has not seen?” And since brotherly fellowship between men can never be perfect unless based on mutual esteem\, it is certainly fitting in the highest degree that we\, who live in the house of God\, should bear witness to the love that comes from God by lovingly welcoming our brothers with whom we live\, and by making a real effort to understand with heart and mind their characters and temperaments\, however different from our own. For the source of hostilities\, disagreements\, and the like\, often lies in contempt of others. Let us carefully avoid anything that could injure the blessing of peace… \nFinally\, in these times\, we must be extremely careful not to model ourselves on the behavior of the world around us. For\, too eagerly to seek and too readily to accept the comforts of modern life is altogether opposed to our state of life; especially as novelty always calls for more novelty. The resources granted us by divine Providence are not given that we may seek \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nthe good things of life; indeed\, if the way to God is easy\, it is because it is traveled not by loading ourselves with burdens\, but by getting rid of them. Let us then\, free ourselves from possessions to the point that\, having given up everything and having left even self behind\, we may share in the way of life of our first Fathers \n\n\n\n6 The Statutes of the Carthusian Order. Accessed online: https://carthusiansusa.org/book-i/. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-bruno/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231007
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231008
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231001T115045Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231001T115045Z
UID:11058-1696636800-1696723199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Our Lady of the Rosary
DESCRIPTION:THE ROSARY IS NOT A ROAD\, BUT A PLACE \nFrom the writings of Fr Romano Guardini7 \n◊◊◊ \nTo linger in the domain of Mary is something divinely great. One does not ask about the utility of truly noble things\, because they have their meaning within themselves. So it is of infinite meaning to draw a deep breath of this purity\, to be secure in the peace of this union with God. \nWith this we come back to what was said in the beginning. We need a place of holy tranquility that is pervaded by the breath of God and where we meet the great figures of the faith. This place is really the inaccessibility of God himself which is opened to us only through Christ. All prayer begins when we become silent\, when we recollect our scattered thoughts and feel remorse at our trespasses\, when we direct our thoughts toward God. If we do all this\, the place is thrown open\, not only as a domain of spiritual tranquility and mental concentration\, but as something that comes from God. \nWe are always in need of this place\, especially when the convulsions of the times make clear something that has always existed but which is sometimes hidden by outward well-being and a prevailing “peace of mind”: namely\, the homelessness of our lives. In such times\, a great courage is demanded from us: not only a readiness to dispense with more and to accomplish more than usual\, but to persevere in a vacuum we do not otherwise notice. So\, we require more than ever this place of which we speak\, not to creep into to hide\, but as a place to find the core of things\, to become calm and confident once more. For this reason the Rosary is so important in times like ours — assuming\, of course\, that all slackness and exaggeration are done away with\, and it is used in its clear and original forcefulness. This is all the more important because the Rosary does not require any special preparation. We do not need to generate thoughts of which we are not capable at the moment or at any other time. We step into a well- ordered world\, meet familiar images and find roads that lead us to the essential. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Rosary has the character of a sojourn. Its essence is the sheltering security of a quiet\, holy world that envelops the person who is praying. This is particularly evident when we compare it with the Stations of the Cross\, which have the character of a journey. We follow the Master from one “station” to another\, and feel at the end that we have reached our goal. The Rosary is not a road\, but a place\, and it has no goal but a depth. To linger in it has great compensations \n\n\n7 The Rosary of Our Lady\, New York 1955\, 33-36.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-our-lady-of-the-rosary/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231008
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231009
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231007T133735Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231007T133735Z
UID:11066-1696723200-1696809599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n27th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nOctober 8 – 14\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n8\nMon\n9\nTue\n10\nWed\n11\nThu\n12\nFri\n13\nSat\n14\n\n\nOffice\n27th Sunday\nOffice for the dead\nWeekday\nSt John XXIII\nWeekday\nWeekday\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\n1 Sam 20:1-24a\n1 Sam 20:24b-21:1\n1 Sam 21:2-22:5\n1 Sam 22:6-23\n1 Sam 23:1-28\n1 Sam 24:1-25:1\n1 Sam 25:2-22\n\n\nLauds\nAmos 9:7-10\nAmos 9:11-15\nObad 1-7\nObad 8-14\nObad 15-18\nMic 1:1-9\nMic 2:1-5\n\n\nMass\n139\n461\n462\n463\n464\n465\n466\n\n\n1st\nIsa 5:1-7\nJonah 1:1-2:2\, 11\nJonah 3:1-10\nJonah 4:1-11\nMal 3:13-20b\nJoel 1:13-15; 2:1-2\nJoel 4:12-21\n\n\n2nd\nPhil 4:6-9\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 21:33-43\nLuke 10:25-37\nLuke 10:38-42\nLuke 11:1-4\nLuke 11:5-13\nLuke 11:15-26\nLuke 11:27-28\n\n\nVespers\n2 Pet 1:20-2:3\n2 Pet 2:4-10a\n2 Pet 2:10b-16\n2 Pet 2:17-22\n2 Pet 3:1-7\n2 Pet 3:8-13\n2 Pet 3:14-18
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-47/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231008
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231009
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231007T134121Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231007T134121Z
UID:11068-1696723200-1696809599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 27th Sunday ORD
DESCRIPTION:THE VINE AND THE VINEDRESSER \nA commentary by St Basil the Great1 \n◊◊◊ \nYou need only look at the vine to be reminded of your own nature\, that is\, if you observe it intelligently. No doubt you remember the image used by the Lord in which he says that he is the vine and the Father the vinedresser. Each of us who have been grafted onto the Church by faith he calls branches\, and he urges us to bear much fruit so as not to be rejected as useless and thrown into the fire. \nThroughout the Scriptures the Lord continually likens human souls to vines. He says for instance: My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hillside; and again: I planted a vineyard and put a hedge around it. Clearly it is human souls that he calls his vineyard\, and the hedge he has put round them is the security of his commandments and the protection of the angels; for the angel of the Lord will encamp around those who fear him. Moreover\, by establishing in the Church apostles in the first place\, prophets in the second\, and teachers in the third\, he has surrounded us as though by a firmly planted palisade. \nIn addition\, the Lord has raised our thoughts to heaven by the examples of saints of past ages. He has kept them from sinking to the earth where they would deserve to be trampled on\, and he wills that the bonds of love\, like the tendrils of a vine\, should attach us to our neighbors and make us rest on them\, so that always climbing upward like the vines growing on trees\, we may reach the loftiest heights. \nHe also requires that we allow ourselves to be weeded. To be spiritually weeded means to have renounced worldly ambitions that burdened our hearts. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnyone who has renounced the love of material things and attachment to possessions\, or who has come to regard as despicable and deserving of contempt the poor\, wretched glory of this world\, is like a weeded vine. Freed from the profitless burden of earthly aspirations\, that person can breathe again. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nFinally\, following out the implications of the comparison\, we must not run to wood\, or\, in other words\, show off or seek the praise of outsiders. Instead\, we must bear fruit by reserving the display of our good works for the true vine dresser \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY – 1999 – pg 130-31. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-27th-sunday-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231009
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231010
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231007T134245Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231007T134245Z
UID:11070-1696809600-1696895999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:THE INVISIBLE CHURCH \nFrom “The Paradise of the Heart” by John Comenius2 ◊◊◊ \nA still greater light began to shine around me… He who spoke to me\, my Lord… said\, “I live in two places\, in my glory in heaven and in the penitent heart on earth. So from this time forward\, I want you also to have two dwellings: one here at home\, where I have promised to dwell with you; the other with me in heaven… Whenever you wish\, you will be able to raise yourself up to me so that we may experience delight in one another.”… Go\, then\,” he said\, “and return to the place you passed over earlier…” \nRemembering where it was that I went astray\, I arose and hurried back eagerly. Although surrounded by the turmoil of the world\, I paid no attention to it. Entering the temple called Christianity and seeing in its innermost part\, which is the choir\, a curtain or screen\, I went directly toward it not even looking at the <factions> quarreling on the sides… The curtain had two parts. The exterior\, which could be seen from the outside\, was dark-colored and was called… ‘contempt of the world.’ The interior was brilliant and was called… the ‘love of Christ.’… \nStill standing outside and observing\, I saw something strange and amazing taking place. Although many thousands of people were constantly walking around the enclosure\, they did not enter it. I do not know whether they simply did not notice it or whether it seemed unattractive to them from the outside. I saw those learned in the Scriptures\, as well as priests\, bishops\, and many others who pretended to be holy walking around it. Some even stopped to look at it\, but they did not enter. This made me sad. I saw that when someone stepped closer\, a ray of light flashed through a crevice or a fragrance wafted out and attracted him\, so that he wanted to find its source. But even some of these people\, while beginning to look for the door\, turned back. The brilliance of the world dazzled them once more\, and they went away again. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nWhen I approached the door of the enclosure\, however\, I saw the real reason why so few people arrived there; namely\, because of the very rigorous examination that was held there. Those who wished to enter had to surrender all their possessions and even their eyes\, ears\, minds\, and hearts; for\, they said\, whoever wants to be wise in God’s sight must become simple in his own; whoever wishes to know God must forget all else; whoever wants to possess God must forsake all else. Therefore\, some who did not want to relinquish their possessions or their learning\, contending that these were aids to heaven\, remained outside and did not enter… \nHaving observed this at the door\, I went further beyond the screen to look at these things… With unspeakable delight\, I observed that everything here was in opposition to the world. In the world I had seen blindness and darkness everywhere\, but here bright light; in the world deception\, here truth; the world was full of disorder\, here was marvelous order; in the world was striving\, here peace… For although upon entering\, Christians must lay aside and relinquish reason\, yet it is returned to them again by the Holy Spirit\, refined and polished. Thus\, they are as if full of eyes; wherever they go in the world\, whatever they see\, hear\, smell\, or taste above them\, below them\, or around them\, they see everywhere the footprints of God and know well how to turn everything into the fear of God. Therefore\, they are wiser than all philosophers of the world\, whom God blinds by his righteous judgment so that while supposing they know everything\, they know nothing… Their learning is fixed only on the outer shell\, that is\, a survey of the exterior; it does not penetrate to the inner kernel where God’s glory pervades all. But in everything that he sees\, hears\, touches\, smells\, or tastes\, a Christian sees\, hears\, touches\, smells\, and tastes God\, having the certainty within that this is not mere supposition but the real truth \n\n\n2 John Comenius. The Labyrinth of the World and The Paradise of the Heart. Trans. Howard Louthan and Andrea Sterk. New York: Paulist Press\, 1998. 195-199. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-9/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231010
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231011
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231007T134426Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231007T134426Z
UID:11072-1696896000-1696982399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:MARY AND MARTHA \nFrom a sermon by St Bernard of Clairvaux3 \n◊◊◊ \nJesus entered into a certain village\, and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. Why is it\, my brethren\, that we read that only one of the two sisters welcomed him\, and she was the one who seems to have been less important? After all\, the one whom Martha received affirms that Mary chose the better part. Martha appears to have been the elder\, and action has a greater claim on the beginnings of salvation than contemplation does. Christ praises Mary\, but he is received by Martha. Jacob loves Rachel\, but Leah is substituted unawares. When he complains about the trickery\, he is told that it is not the custom for the younger to be given in marriage first. \nIf you picture this house as made of clay\, it will be easy to acknowledge that Martha should receive him in it rather than Mary. When the apostle says glorify and bear God in your body\, it is said to Martha\, not to Mary. The first uses her body as an instrument\, whereas to the other it is a hindrance. A perishable body\, it is said\, weighs down the soul\, and its frame of clay burdens the soul\, which is full of thoughts. It is not the same for the one who works\, is it? Martha\, then\, receives the Lord into her home on earth\, but Mary thinks rather how she may be received by him in a house not made with hands but an eternal one in heaven. Yet perhaps even she seems to have received the Lord\, but in spirit… \nYou notice that each received the Word\, the one in the flesh\, the other in the voice. But Martha was busy about much serving\, and she stood and said\, “Lord\, do you not care that my sister has left me alone to serve?” Is it possible\, do you think\, \n\n\n\n\n\n\nfor murmuring to be heard in the house where Christ is received? Happy the house\, and blessed the community where Martha complains about Mary! On the contrary\, it is altogether both shameful and out of bounds for Mary to be jealous of Martha. Where do you read of Mary lodging the accusation\, “My sister has left me alone to be still”? God forbid\, and I repeat\, God forbid that the person who is empty for God should aspire to the turbulent life of the brothers holding responsibilities in the monastery. Let Martha always seem to herself insufficient and hardly qualified\, and let her wish that the work she is entrusted with be confided to others instead! \nBut Jesus replies to her\, “Martha\, Martha\, you are troubled and anxious about many things.” See Mary’s privilege\, that in every conflict she has an advocate. The Pharisee is indignant\, the sister complains\, and even the disciples murmur\, but Mary remains silent\, and Christ speaks for her. Mary\, he says\, has chosen for herself the better part\, which shall not be taken away from her. For that is the one thing necessary\, that one thing that the prophet so constantly asked for: one thing have I asked for from the Lord; this I seek… \nTruly this is the better part that shall not be taken away; this is the best intention that will not change\, whatever you call her to… Rejoice and give thanks\, Mary\, because you have chosen the part. Blessed are the eyes that see what you see\, and the ears that are worthy to hear what you hear \n\n\n3 Bernard of Clairvaux. Sermons for the Autumn Season. CF 54. Trans. Irene Edmonds\, OCSO. Collegeville\, MN: Liturgical Press\, 2016. 26-28\, 32. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-123/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231011
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231012
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231007T134828Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231007T134828Z
UID:11074-1696982400-1697068799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St John XXIII
DESCRIPTION:THE SPIRITUAL TESTAMENT \nof St Pope John XXIII4 \n◊◊◊ \nOn the point of presenting myself before the One and Triune Lord who created me\, redeemed me\, chose me to be his priest and bishop\, and covered me with unending graces\, I entrust my poor soul to His mercy; I humbly ask pardon for my sins and deficiencies. I offer Him the little good\, although petty and imperfect\, that with His aid I have succeeded in doing\, for His glory\, for the service of Holy Church\, for the edification of my brethren\, begging Him finally to receive me\, like a good and kind Father\, with His Saints into eternal happiness. \nI profess once again with all my heart my entire Christian and Catholic faith\, my adherence and subjection to the Holy Apostolic and Roman Church\, and my complete devotion and obedience to her August Head\, the Supreme Pontiff\, whom it was my great honor to represent for long years in various regions of the East and West\, who at the end chose me to come to Venice as Cardinal and Patriarch\, and whom I have always followed with sincere affection\, aside from and above any dignity conferred upon me. The sense of my own littleness and nothingness has always been my good companion\, keeping me humble and calm\, and making me employ myself to the best of my ability in a constant exercise of obedience and charity for souls and for the interests of the Kingdom of Jesus\, my Lord and my all. To Him be all glory; for me and for my merit\, His mercy. “My merit is the mercy of the Lord. O Lord\, You know everything: You know that I love You.” This alone is enough for me. \nI ask pardon of those whom I have unwittingly offended\, of all to whom I have not been a source of edification. I feel that I have nothing to forgive anyone\, for all who have known and dealt with me – including those who have offended me\, scorned me\, held me in bad esteem (with good reason\, for that matter)\, or have been a source of affliction for me – I regard solely as brothers and benefactors\, to whom I am grateful and for whom I pray and always will pray. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nBorn poor\, but of honorable and humble people\, I am particularly happy to die poor\, having given away\, in accord with the various demands and circumstances of my simple and modest life\, for the benefit of the poor and of Holy Church that had nurtured me\, all that came into my hands – which was little enough as a matter of fact – during the years of my priesthood and episcopacy. Outward appearances of ease and comfort often veiled hidden thorns of distressing poverty and kept me from giving with all the largess I would have liked. I thank God for this grace of poverty which I vowed in my youth\, poverty of spirit as a priest of the Sacred Heart\, and real poverty. This grace has sustained me in never asking for anything\, neither positions nor money\, nor favors – never\, not for myself\, nor for my relatives or friends. \nThe goodness directed toward my poor person by all whom I met along the path made my life serene. As I face death\, I recall each and every one – those who preceded me in taking the final step\, those who will survive me and who will follow me. May they pray for me. I will repay them from Purgatory or from Paradise\, where I hope to be received. I repeat it once again\, not because of my merits\, but because of the mercy of the Lord. \nAt the moment for saying farewell\, or better still\, arrivederci\, I once more remind everyone of what counts most in life: blessed Jesus Christ\, His Holy Church\, His Gospel; and in the Gospel\, above all\, the Pater noster in the spirit and heart of Jesus and the Gospel\, the truth and goodness\, the goodness meek and kind\, active and patient\, victorious and unbowed. \nMy children\, my brethren\, arrivederci. In the name of the Father and of the Son\, and of the Holy Spirit \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n4 The Encyclicals and Other Messages of John XXIII – TPS Press – Washington DC – 1964 – pg 465 \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-john-xxiii-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231012
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231013
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231007T134948Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231007T134948Z
UID:11076-1697068800-1697155199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A MAN WHO IS HUNTED \nFrom a sermon by John Tauler5 \n◊◊◊ \nThe hypocrites\, or Pharisees\, are those who rank themselves good spiritual men\, and yet are full of self-esteem. Their own plans and customs are the only rule they follow\, and their one aim in life is to be praised by men… These men take the discipline\, they pray and fast and watch\, and yet God is not purely and simply the motive of any of these practices\, but only poor\, deluded human nature… This vineyard was never planted by the heavenly Father\, but will be disowned and destroyed\, as our Lord Himself declared: “He that is not with Me is against Me; and he that gathereth not with Me\, scattereth.” When the time of the harvest has come\, then God will gather in His corn\, that is to say\, His elect; and those who do not gather with Him shall be rejected; in whatsoever souls He finds a harvest that He has not planted\, those also shall be rejected… \nAlas\, dear children\, how few men there are who appreciate the value of interior suffering and of interior persecution\, or being hunted! Yet nothing in the world is so honorable or so precious as that both these trials should meet together in our souls. When one has safely gone through such an experience\, then alone can he understand what nobility of soul and what fruit of virtue result from these bitter struggles. But what do I mean by a man who is hunted? I mean that an interior man must insist on being always close to God as the only true state of his soul\, and this forces him incessantly to hunt and drive himself inward to God’s presence in his interior consciousness. Now\, this provokes the violent resistance of the outward man that is in us all; we would ever and again seek to return forcibly to the outward things that minister to our natural weakness. Here\, then\, \n\n\n\n\n\n\nis the conflict. The inner man’s proper place is with God; of this he ever thinks and for it he ever yearns\, and toward that union with God our Lord is ever driving and hunting him. Now\, to our outward man this is always offensive and against nature\, and he always fights against it. St. Paul tells of this struggle: “I am delighted with the law of God according to the inward man\, but I see another law in my members fighting against the law of my mind.”… \nYou can easily understand… that from this constant hunting of a man’s soul bitter anguish results. But when at last he is content to abide\, for God’s sake\, without any consolation\, then will Jesus surely come to him and possess him… For there are many trials of body and of soul whose end and purpose is little observed by us\, and which\, if humbly and thankfully received from God and patiently endured\, will end happily with the inpouring of Divine grace… \nWhat can this poor\, belated and desolate man do that he may hold his own\, and not be driven to extremities in this dreadful hunted condition? No otherwise than the <Canaanite Woman> did in her deep sorrow—run to Jesus Christ and call out to Him with all her strength: “Jesus\, Son of David\, have mercy on me!” Ah\, children\, in this hunted state of soul\, there is granted a voice to utter a holy call to God; the answer will be the measureless joys of the interior life. Our prayer is a sigh of the spirit yearning for God\, so deep and so sad that it flies through measureless space far over all the range of nature — straight to the Divine heart. Indeed\, it is the Holy Spirit Himself that now assumes charge of and perfects this work in us; and as St. Paul says\, it is His voice that pleads for us: “The Spirit Himself <asks> for us with unspeakable groanings.” And\, dear children\, when the Holy Ghost thus prepares us\, no other preparation can compare with it.. \n\n\n5 John Tauler. The Sermons and Conferences. Trans. Very Rev. Walter Elliott. Washington\, D.C.: Apostolic Mission House\, 1910. 194-197. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-124/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231013
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231014
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231007T135109Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231007T135109Z
UID:11078-1697155200-1697241599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:ON HUMILITY \nFrom a discourse by Dorotheos of Gaza6 \n◊◊◊ \nONE OF THE FATHERS used to say\, ‘Before anything else we need humility: a being ready to listen whenever a word is spoken to us\, and to say\, “I submit”\, because through humility every device of the enemy\, every kind of obstacle\, is destroyed\,’ What is the force of this saying? Why did he say\, ‘before anything else we need humility’\, and not\, ‘we have need of self-control’? Because\, the Apostle says\, ‘Everyone who strives for mastery abstains from all things.’ Or why did he not say\, ‘Before anything else we have need of the fear of God’? For it is written\, ‘The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord’ and again\, ‘With the fear of the Lord a man turns away from evil.’ Or why did he not say\, ‘Before all else we need almsgiving\, or faith’? For it is said that by faith and almsgiving we are cleansed from sin\, and the Apostle says\, ‘Without faith it is impossible to please God.’ If\, therefore\, it is impossible to please God without faith\, and faith and almsgiving cleanse from sin\, and by fear a man turns aside from evil\, and the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord\, and a man who strives for the mastery abstain from all things\, why does he say\, ‘Before all else we need humility’ and leaves aside all these very necessary things? \nThe holy man wishes to show us that neither the fear of God\, nor faith\, nor self-control\, nor any one of the other virtues can set us right without humility\, and therefore he says\, ‘Before anything else we need humility\, being ready to listen whenever a word is said to us\, and to say\, “I submit”\, because through humility every device of the enemy and every kind of obstacle is destroyed.’ \n\n\n\n\n\n\nConsider well\, brothers\, how great is the power of humility. Consider how great is the spiritual energy behind saying\, ‘Pardon me’. Why is the devil called not only ‘enemy’\, but also ‘adversary’? He is called ‘enemy’ because he is a hater of men\, one who hates what is good\, a traitor; an ‘adversary’\, because he always puts obstacles in the way of good. If someone wants to pray he puts obstacles in the way through evil suspicions\, shameful thoughts\, and spiritual torpor. If a man wants to give alms he obstructs it through avarice or procrastination. If a man wants to keep vigil he obstructs it with hesitations or laziness. In every single thing he is against us when we desire to do good. This is why he is called the enemy and the adversary and why\, by lowliness\, all his attacks and devices are brought to nothing. Lowliness is really a great thing\, for every kind of good is advanced by lowliness\, and by working at it we cut short our journey\, as it says\, ‘See my humility and my toil\, and take away all my sins\,’ and ‘I was humiliated\, and the Lord saved me’! For humility alone can bring us into the spiritual life… even if slowly. \nTherefore\, let us also be humble for a short time and we shall be saved. Even if we cannot endure much labor because we are weak\, let us be set on humbling ourselves. I firmly believe that\, in the mercy of God\, the little thing done with humility will enable us to be found there\, in the same place as the saints who have labored much and been true servants of God… \nWe are very weak\, and cannot labor very much\, but can we not at least be humble? Happy indeed\, brothers\, is the one who has true humility. A great thing is humility; rightly was it pointed out by that holy man who had true humility and who said\, ‘Humility does not grow angry\, and does not anger anyone.’… May God\, who is so good\, grant us the grace of humility which delivers man from so many evils and delivers him from the greatest temptations \n\n\n\n6 Dorotheos of Gaza. Discourses and Sayings. CS 33. Trans. Eric P. Wheeler. Kalamazoo\, MI: Cistercian Publications\, 1977. \,94-95\, 102. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-125/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231014
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231015
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231007T135226Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231007T135226Z
UID:11080-1697241600-1697327999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of the BVM
DESCRIPTION:THE VIRGIN AND THE HUMAN RACE \nFrom the writing of Matthew the Poor7 \n◊◊◊ \n“Behold\, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word”. These first recorded words of the Virgin reveal awesome depths of her character\, but unfortunately because we tend to concentrate on her youth and simplicity\, we pass over her words without pondering over them and so miss their depth. \nThe Virgin here is taking a firm and decisive stand with respect to herself\, the world\, and God. She believed the annunciation of the angel and perceived that it was a heavenly proclamation that she had indeed been chosen to bear in her womb a child begotten by God without human seed. God would be His father directly\, so He would be called Holy\, one of the most special and supreme attributes of God. He would also be called Son of the Most High\, and Emmanuel (God is with us). When Mary believed this she gave herself to God as His handmaid\, or slave\, in the sense that she committed herself totally to Him\, body\, soul\, and spirit. \nBy this commitment\, which took the form almost of an oath or everlasting covenant\, the Virgin consecrated her whole life to God after the mystery had taken place in her. According to this covenant that she took upon herself\, she became\, as far as she herself was concerned\, committed to virginity\, and as far as the world was concerned\, she became the supreme example of purity\, and as far as God was concerned\, she became a slave\, completely owned by Him and living for Him alone. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nHer heart\, which God made his possession through the Holy Spirit\, beat now only for the sake of the holy Word of God that was born of her. \nWe cannot overlook the feelings and emotions that were shared by the Virgin Mother and the Holy One who was born her son. The Virgin gave all her love and affection as a mother to the Christ she bore\, and Christ reciprocated as her son with the same emotions and affection\, showing her obedience… It is true that she was a handmaid\, but the handmaid of God became the mother of the Son of God\, though by her vow of total submission and obedience\, the mother remained a handmaid. \nWhen the Virgin understood clearly through the annunciation that she was to become the mother of the Holy One\, the Son of God\, she vowed that she would be a handmaid of God all her life. How different from Adam and Eve\, who refused the word of God and deliberately and willfully ate of the food that God had forbidden them\, intending to become like God Himself. The Virgin\, by her words of commitment –“Behold\, the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to Thy word” — took Adam and Eve back to their state before the fall. Adam and Eve rejected the living and life-giving word of God and so the sentence of death was passed on them. The Virgin accepted the Word of God\, the Word of life\, and He entered into her and removed from her the curse of death: “Blessed are you among women”. The Virgin’s words\, “Behold\, the handmaid of the Lord\,” which come after God had elevated her to be the mother of His Son\, the Holy One\, reveal her determination to go back before the fall and openly repudiate the sin of Adam and Eve \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n7 Matthew the Poor. The Communion of Love. Crestwood\, NY: St. Vladimir’s Seminary Press\, 1984. 205-207. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-the-bvm/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231015
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231016
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231014T143216Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231014T143216Z
UID:11091-1697328000-1697414399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n28th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (I)\nOctober 15 – 21\, 2023\n\n\n\nSun\n15\nMon\n16\nTue\n17\nWed\n18\nThu\n19\nFri\n20\nSat\n21\n\n\nOffice\n28th Sunday\nSt Hedwig\nSt Ignatius of Antioch\nSt Luke\nNorth American Martyrs\nWeekday\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\n1 Sam 25:23-43\n1 Sam 26:1-25\n1 Sam 27:1-12\nEzek 1:1-14\n1 Sam 28:1-25\n1 Sam 29:1-11\n1 Sam 30:1-25\n\n\nLauds\nMic 3:5-8\nMic 3:9-12\nMic 4:1-5\nIsa 52:7-10\nMic 4:6-8\nMic 4:9-14\nMic 5:1-8\n\n\nMass\n142\n467\n468\n661\n470\n471\n472\n\n\n1st\nIsa 25:6-10a\nRom 1:1-7\nRom 1:16-25\n2 Tim 4:10-17b\nRom 3:21-30\nRom 4:1-8\nRom 4:13\, 16-18\n\n\n2nd\nPhil 4:12-14\, 19-20\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 22:1-14\nLuke 11:29-32\nLuke 11:37-41\nLuke 10:1-9\nLuke 11:47-54\nLuke 12:1-7\nLuke 12:8-12\n\n\nVespers\n2 Cor 1:1-7\n2 Cor 1:8-11\n2 Cor 1:12-18\nActs 11:19-26\n2 Cor 1:19-24\n2 Cor 2:1-7\n2 Cor 2:8-13
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-48/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20231015
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20231016
DTSTAMP:20260403T141030
CREATED:20231014T143344Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231014T143344Z
UID:11093-1697328000-1697414399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 28th Sunday ORD
DESCRIPTION:THE LOVE THAT SPRINGS FROM A PURE HEART \nFrom a commentary by St Augustine1 \n◊◊◊ \nAll believers are familiar with the story of the wedding of the king’s son and the banquet that followed it\, and of how the Lord’s table was thrown open to all comers. When everyone was seated the master of the house came in to see the guests\, and among them he noticed one without a wedding garment. So he said to him\, “My friend\, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?” \nNow what precisely does this mean? Let us try to find out what it is that some believers have\, but which the wicked lack\, for that will be what the wedding garment is. \nCan it be one of the sacraments? Hardly\, for these\, as we know\, are common to good and bad alike. Take baptism for example. It is true that no one comes to God except through baptism\, but not every baptized person comes to him. We cannot take this sacrament as the wedding garment\, then\, for it is a robe worn not only by good people but also by wicked people. Perhaps\, then\, it is our altar that is meant\, or at least what we receive from it. But we know that many who approach the altar eat and drink to their own damnation. Well\, then\, maybe it is fasting? The wicked can fast too. What about going to church? Some bad people also go to church. \nWhatever can this wedding garment be\, then? For an answer we must go to the Apostle who says: The purpose of our command is to arouse the love that springs from a pure heart\, a clear conscience\, and a genuine faith. There is your wedding garment. It is not love of just any kind. Many people of bad conscience appear to love one another\, but you will not find in them the love that springs from a pure heart\, a clear conscience\, and a genuine faith. Only that kind of love is the wedding garment. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nIf I speak in the tongues of men and angels\, says the Apostle\, but have no love\, I am nothing but a booming gong or a clashing cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy\, if I have all knowledge and understand all mysteries\, if I have faith strong enough to move mountains\, but have no love\, I am nothing. In other words\, even with all these gifts I am nothing without Christ. Does that mean that prophecy has no value and that knowledge of mysteries is worthless? No\, they are not worthless but I am\, if I possess them but have no love. But can the lack of one good thing rob so many others of their value? \nYes\, without love my confession of the name of Christ even by shedding my blood or offering my body to be burnt will avail me nothing\, for I may do this out of a desire for glory. That such things can be endured for the sake of empty show without any real love for God the Apostle also declares. Listen to him: If I give away all I have to the poor\, if I hand over my body to be burnt\, but have no love\, it will avail me nothing. So this is what the wedding garment is. Examine yourselves to see whether you possess it. If you do\, your place at the Lord’s table is secure \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n1 Journey with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – NY -1999 – pg 132-133. \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-28th-sunday-ord/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11095-1697414400-1697500799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Hedwig
DESCRIPTION:ST HEDWIG OF SILESIA2 ◊◊◊ \nThe father of this saint was Bertold III of Andechs\, Marquis of Meran\, Count of Tirol\, and Prince of Carinthia and Istria… Her mother was Agnes\, daughter of the Count of Rotletchs. St. Hedwig\, by a distinguishing effect of the divine mercy in her favour\, was from her cradle formed to virtue by the example and lessons of her devout mother and of those that were placed about her… She was placed very young in the monastery of Lutzingen\, in Franconia\, and only taken thence when twelve years old to marry Henry\, Duke of Silesia\, descended of the Dukes of Glogau\, in that country; to which match she only consented out of compliance with the will of her parents… \nWhether in prosperity or adversity\, her whole comfort was in God and in the exercises of religion. The duke\, at her persuasion and upon her yielding into his hands her whole dower for this purpose\, founded the great monastery of Cistercian nuns at Trebnitz\, three miles from Breslau\, the capital of Silesia; upon which he settled the town of Trebnitz and other estates… \nThe duchess practiced in her palace greater austerities than those of the most rigid monks\, fasted and watched in prayer\, and wherever she travelled had always thirteen poor persons with her\, whom she maintained\, in honour of Christ and his apostles\, waiting upon them herself upon her knees at table\, where they were served with good meat before she took her own coarse refection. She often washed the feet and kissed the ulcers of lepers\, and having an extreme desire to hear that amiable sentence from Christ at the last day\, “I was in prison and you visited me”… \nUpon receiving the news of her husband being wounded in battle and taken prisoner by the Duke of Kirne\, she said\, without the least disturbance of mind\, that \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nshe hoped to see him in a short time at liberty and in good health. The conqueror rejected all terms that could be offered for his freedom; which obliged Henry\, our saint’s eldest son\, to raise a powerful army to attempt his father’s rescue by force of arms. Hedwig\, whose tender soul could never hear of the effusion of Christian blood without doing all in her power to prevent it\, went in person to Conrad\, and the very sight of her disarmed him of all his rage\, so that she easily obtained what she demanded. \nThe example of our saint had so powerful an influence over her husband that he not only allowed her an entire liberty as to her manner of living and exercises of piety\, but began at length in some degree to copy her virtues; observed the modesty and recollection of a monk in the midst of a court; and became the father of his people and the support of the poor and weak… He died happily in 1238… From that time she put on the religious habit at Trebnitz\, and lived in obedience to her daughter Gertrude\, who\, having made her religious profession in that house when it was first founded\, had been before that time chosen abbess… \nThe passion of Christ\, which she had always made a principal part of her most tender devotion\, was the chief entertainment by which she prepared herself for her last passage. God was pleased to put a happy end to her labours by calling her to himself on the 15th of October 1243. Her mortal remains were deposited at Trebnitz. She was canonized in 1266 by Clement IV\, and her relics were enshrined the year following. Pope Innocent XI appointed the 17th of this month for the celebration of her office. \n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n2 Accessed online: https://www.ewtn.com/catholicism/saints/hedwig-598 \n\n\n  \n  \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-hedwig/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11097-1697500800-1697587199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Ignatius of Antioch
DESCRIPTION:FROM A LETTER TO THE ROMANS \nby St Ignatius of Antioch\, bishop and martyr3 \n◊◊◊ \nI am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts\, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become God’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God. \nNo earthly pleasures\, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire. The time for my birth is close at hand. Forgive me\, my brothers. Do not stand in the way of my birth to real life; do not wish me stillborn. My desire is to belong to God. Do not\, then\, hand me back to the world. Do not try to tempt me with material things. Let me attain pure light. Only on my arrival there can I be fully a human being. Give me the privilege of imitating the passion of my God. If you have him in your heart\, you will understand what I wish. You will sympathize with me because you will know what urges me on. \nThe prince of this world is determined to lay hold of me and to undermine my will which is intent on God. Let none of you here help him; instead show yourselves on my side\, which is also God’s side. Do not talk about Jesus Christ as long as you love this world. Do not harbor envious thoughts. And supposing I should see you\, if then I beg you to intervene on my behalf\, do not believe what I say. Believe instead what I am now writing to you. For though I am alive as I write to you\, still my real desire is to die. My love for this life has been crucified\, and there is no yearning in me for any earthly thing. Rather within me is the living water which says deep inside me: “Come to the Father.” I no longer take pleasure in perishable food or in the delights of this world. I want only God’s bread\, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ\, formed of the seed of David\, and for drink I crave his blood\, which is love that cannot perish. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nI am no longer willing to live a merely human life\, and you can bring about my wish if you will. Please\, then\, do me this favor\, so that you in turn may meet with equal kindness. Put briefly\, this is my request: believe what I am saying to you. Jesus Christ himself will make it clear to you that I am saying the truth. Only truth can come from that mouth by which the Father has truly spoken. Pray for me that I may obtain my desire. I have not written to you as a mere man would\, but as one who knows the mind of God. If I am condemned to suffer\, I take it that you wish me well. If my case is postponed\, I can only think that you wish me harm \n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n\n3 The Liturgy of the Hours – vol. IV – Catholic Book Publishing Co – New York – 1975 – pg 1490 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-ignatius-of-antioch-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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UID:11099-1697587200-1697673599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Luke
DESCRIPTION:THE GOSPEL OF MERCY \nFrom a commentary by Servant of God Dolindo Ruotolo4 \n◊◊◊ \nThe Gospel of Luke is called by the Fathers “The Gospel of Mercy… The inspired author is a converted pagan\, as it is usually believed\, indicated by his very name Luke\, which comes from the Roman name Lucius. He was from Antioch\, he was an excellent medical doctor and fluent in the Greek language… He remained a virgin\, did not marry\, and once converted to the faith\, he kept his purity blameless. True purity\, the fruit of virtue and love\, generates in the soul sensitivity and a compassion for the failings of the poor human heart. \nThe harshest judges of the poor fragility of sinners are not found among souls who are pure\, but among those who know the slavery of the flesh. It is very possible that the human reason that motivated St. Luke to write his Gospel was indeed a feeling of compassion toward sinners. He heard the preaching of so many events on the goodness of Jesus and not having found them in any book\, he thought to record them\, almost as prescriptions of mercy to cure souls. The apostles\, from fishermen became physician of souls… God is marvelous in every disposition of His goodness; he made use of the compassion of St Luke toward the sinners oppressed by sicknesses resulting from their sins\, to leave to us a most precious memory of the mercy of our Savior. \nSt. Luke\, who was a virgin\, dealt more closely with the Immaculate Virgin\, and he knew from Her the details of Jesus’ infancy… An evangelist virgin and doctor could talk to Mary\, Mother of Mercy and gather from her most pure lips the stories of the fulfillment of the divine mercy upon earth with the Incarnation of the Word. \n\n\n\n\n\n\nBeing a physician\, he could appreciate\, more than others\, the miracle of the virginal conception\, and he could affirm it with the authority of a person who could not believe such an incredible miracle\, if he had not perceived in the story of Mary… the splendor of that virginity which was beyond any comparison… \nFrom the Blessed Mother he learned the beauty of virginity and mercy\, and maybe for this reason he remained a virgin; his heart\, in contact with the most pure lily\, became spotless and perfumed\, succumbing to the divine love. Fascinated with the divine mercy\, he wrote his Gospel\, to prove that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all people\, be they Jews or pagans… \nLet us collect ourselves to meditate on this precious book that can be called the Gospel of Mary. What our Blessed Mother kept in her immaculate heart and did not say to anyone\, she told to St. Luke and we must be grateful to this evangelist who kept for us the memory of a story so tender and admirable. Had he kept for us only the Magnificat\, he would already deserve all our devotion and gratitude… We can\, therefore\, go to him with our sicknesses and beg him to intercede for us with the Most Blessed Virgin\, to obtain for us especially the health of our souls and the gift of eternal life \n\n\n4 Rev. Dolindo Ruotolo. The Sacred Scripture: The Gospel According to Luke. Trans. Giovanna I. Ellis. Published by Giovanna Ellis\, 2014. 14-16. \n\n\n\n\n  \n\n\n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-luke-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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