Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey

Vigils Reading - St Maur & St Placid
2026-01-15
ST MAURUS AND ST PLACID
From the “Dialogues” of St Gregory the Great
◊◊◊
The holy man, St Benedict, having returned to Subiaco, long continued to
shine by his virtue and miracles, and assembled a great number of solitaries
who consecrated themselves to the service of God, so that, with the aid of our
Lord Jesus Christ, he built twelve monasteries, placing in each twelve Religious
with an Abbot to govern them. He retained with himself only a few of his
disciples who, he thought, still needed his presence to be better formed to
perfection. It was at this time that many persons in Rome, conspicuous for their
nobility and virtue, began to visit him and offer their children that he might
mold them to piety, and teach them to live for God alone. Aequitas and
Tertullus, who had the honor of being Roman Patricians, came to see the saint
and confided to his care their two children; the former was distinguished for
spotless innocence of life, and merited, though young, to be chosen by his
master to assist him in his functions. As to Placid, being only a boy, he was
subject to the weaknesses inseparable from tender age…
The venerable Benedict being one day in his cell, the boy Placid…went out
to fetch water from the lake, but, when dipping his pitcher into the water, not
taking sufficient heed, his body followed the vessel and he fell into the lake. The
waves immediately bore him out from the land as far as the usual flight of an
arrow. The saint, who was in his cell, knew of the sad accident at that very
instant, and at once calling Maurus, his disciple, said to him: “Brother Maurus,
run with all speed; the boy who went to fetch water fell into the lake and has
been already carried off a long distance.”…
Maurus having asked and received the blessing, ran to the lake to execute
the order of his Abbot. Thinking he was treading upon dry land, he advanced to
the very place where the waves had carried off the child, and laying hold of him
by the hair, brought him back with great haste to the shore. Having reached the
land, he began to reflect on what he did, and casting a look behind, saw that he
had been running over the waves. He was astonished thereat and very much
afraid, seeing that he had performed what he would not have dared to undertake
if he had been aware of what he was doing.
Having returned to the monastery, he narrated the whole occurrence to
the Abbot. The venerable Benedict did not attribute this miracle to his own
merit, but to the obedience of the disciple. Maurus, on the other hand, said he
was only fulfilling a command, and could have no share in a miracle which he
unconsciously performed. During this pious dispute arising from the humility
of the holy Abbot and his disciple, the boy rescued from peril presented himself
as arbitrator, and put an end to the contest thus: “When I was being drawn out
of the waves, I saw the Abbot’s robe above my head, and it seemed to me that it
was he who delivered me from the water.”…
An ancient tradition says that the monk Maurus was sent into Gaul by the
same holy Father. There, according to the same tradition, he founded a
monastery at Glannofol; after having governed it for a long time, he died in the
Lord in a good old age, renowned for his sanctity and miracles… while Placid
died a martyr’s death in Sicily in 541, a few years before the death of St Benedict
himself.

Vigils Reading
2026-01-16
THE FAITH
OF THE GENTILES
From a sermon by John of Ford
◊◊◊
The way the dawn rises seems a very apt symbol of the speed, eagerness
and greatness of the faith of the Gentiles in Jesus Christ. It awoke from a sleep
whose heaviness had been so long and so profound, and at the very first light of
the Lord’s birth, it sped towards him, like ‘the rising dawn’, It broke free from
the darkness of such a great want of faith to forestall, with eager devotion, the
Sun of justice. I say “forestall’ because it did not wait for the Wisdom of God to
come and discuss with it the sublimities he had seen and heard when he spoke at
home with this Father… [Nor did it] await his dazzling display of miracles and
virtues and his giving commands to sickness and health, to wind and sea, to
every angelic and human spirit, even to the demons themselves.
On the contrary, [this gentile faith] would not allow even the time of his
infancy to escape it, but in the lowly beginnings of that infancy, it sought out and
recognized its creator. And so the faith of the gentile nations was swift in its
speed, eager in its rejoicing, wise in its search, resolute in its finding, faithful in
its adoration, generous in its gift of itself…
Think of the faith of the centurion, at which scripture tells us that Jesus
marveled. In fact, he went so far as to say that he had not found faith as great in
Israel. That he was here commending the faith of the gentiles is clear enough
from what he said to those who were following him. ‘I tell you most solemnly,
that many will come from the east and from the west, and sit down with
Abraham and Isaac and Jacob; but the children of the kingdom will be cast out
into the exterior darkness .̓
Then we have the Canaanite woman who interceded for her daughter, and
when she was refused, persisted, and by the great noise she made, battered at
the silence of Jesus. When he turned away from her, she followed him without
apology; she humbly adored him when he rejected her; she listened patiently to
his reproaches, and so, in the end, she brought forth ‘honey from the rock, and
oil from the flinty stone I repeat, in the person of this woman, the church of the .̓
gentiles deserved to hear the Lord Jesus say: ‘O woman, great is your faith!’
Then there was the woman of Samaria, who found the God of Jacob
beside Jacob’s well, and in place of the water that does not quench our thirst,
drew for herself ‘the fount of living water’, so as never to know thirst again. She
too is a figure of the faith of the gentiles, and she was commended by the very
author of faith when he said to the disciples who were asking him to eat, ‘I have
food to eat that you know nothing about He added, ‘Lift up your eyes and see .̓
the fields, that they are white for the harvest Here he was making unmistakable .̓
reference to the ripeness and zealous eagerness of the gentile faith, which he
considered food that he hungered after and would eat in the near future…
And there was the centurion, too, when Jesus was suffering and the faith
of the disciples was exceedingly disturbed. He reached the full stature of a
strong faith, and the crucified Jesus, whom others saw and fell away,
scandalized, drew him forward in praise.

Vigils Reading - St Anthony
2026-01-17
BY HIS STRIPES
WE ALL WERE HEALED
From the letters of St Anthony the Great
◊◊◊
The Creator saw that the wound in human nature was grown great, and
needed the care of a physician – and Jesus Himself is their Creator, and Himself
heals them, – and He sent forerunners before His face. And we are not afraid to
say of Moses the Lawgiver that he is one of His forerunners, and that the same
Spirit which was with Moses worked also in the choir of the saints; and they all
prayed for the Only-begotten Son of God.
John again is one of his forerunners: and for this cause the Law and the
Prophets were until John, and ‘the Kingdom of God suffereth violence, and the
violent take it by force.’ And being clothed with the Spirit, they saw that none
among the creatures was able to heal that great wound, but only the bounty of
God, that is to say His Only-begotten, whom He sent to be the Saviour of all the
world; for He is the great physician, who is able to heal the great wound.
And they asked God, and of His bounty the Father of creatures spared not
His Only-begotten for our salvation, but delivered Him up for us all and for our
iniquities. And he humbled Himself, and by his stripes we all were healed. And
by the word of His power He gathered us out of all lands, from one end of the
world to the other end of the world, and raised up our hearts form the earth, and
taught us that we are members one of another.
I beseech you, dearly beloved in the Lord: understand that this Scripture
is the command of God. For it is a great thing for us to understand the form that
Jesus accepted for us: for He became in all things like unto us, apart from sin.
Now therefore it is right that we also should set ourselves free by His advent,
that by His foolishness He may make us wise, and by His poverty may enrich us,
and by His weakness strengthen us, and confer resurrection upon us all,
destroying him that had the power of death…
The advent of Jesus helps us to do what is good, until we have destroyed
all our vices. Then Jesus will say to us, ‘Henceforth I call you not servants, but
friends.’ When therefore the Apostles attained to receiving the Spirit of
Adoption, then the Holy Spirit taught them to worship the Father as they ought.
And to me, this poor prisoner of Jesus, this time to which we have come
has brought joy and lamentation and weeping. For many of our generation have
put on the robe of religion but denied its power. As for those who have prepared
themselves to be set free through the advent of Jesus, over them I rejoice. But
those who do business in the name of Jesus, and do the will of their heart and
their flesh – over such I lament. Those who have looked at the length of the time,
and their heart has failed them, and they have put off the robe of religion, and
are become beasts – for them I weep.
Know therefore that for such as these the advent of Jesus becomes a great
judgment. But do you, my beloved in the Lord, know yourselves, that you may
also know this time, and prepare to offer yourselves as a sacrifice acceptable to
God.

Skema
2026-01-18
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
2nd Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (A), Weekdays (II)
January 18 – 24, 2026

Sun
18
Mon
19
Tue
20
Wed
21
Thu
22
Fri
23
Sat
24

Office
2nd Sunday
Weekday
Bl Cyprian Tansi
St Agnes
Weekday
Weekday
St Francis de Sales

Vigils
Judg 6:1-18
Judg 6:19-40
Judg 7:1-22
Judg 7:23-8:21
Judg 8:22-35
Judg 9:1-21
Judg 9:22-41

Lauds
Amos 3:9-12
Amos 3:13-15
Amos 4:1-5
Amos 4:6-10
Amos 4:11-13
Amos 5:1-6, 8-9
Amos 5:7, 10-15

Mass
64
311
312
313
314
315
316

1st
Isa 49:3, 5-6
1 Sam 15:16-23
1 Sam 16:1-13
1 Sam 17:32-33, 37, 40-51
1 Sam 18:6-9; 19:1-7
1 Sam 24:3-21
2 Sam 1:1-4, 11-12, 19, 23-27

2nd
1 Cor 1:1-3

Gospel
John 1:29-34
Mark 2:18-22
Mark 2:23-28
Mark 3:1-6
Mark 3:7-12
Mark 3:13-19
Mark 3:20-21

Vespers
Phil 3:2-11
Phil 3:12-16
Phil 3:17-21
Phil 4:1-9
Phil 4:10-14
Phil 4:15-23
Colossians 1:1-8

Vigils Reading - 2nd Sunday ORD
2026-01-18
ONE DIED FOR ALL
From a commentary by St Cyril of Alexandria
◊◊◊
When he saw Jesus coming toward him, John said: Behold the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world.” No longer does he say: Prepare. That
would be out of place now that at last he who was prepared for is seen, is before our
very eyes. The nature of the case now calls for a different type of homily. An
explanation is needed of who is present, and why he has come down to us from
heaven. So John says: Behold the Lamb of God, of whom the prophet Isaiah told us
in the words: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb before his
shearer he opened not his mouth.
In past ages he was typified by the law of Moses, but because the law was
merely a figure and a foreshadowing, its salvation was only partial; its mercy did
not reach out to embrace the whole world. But now the true lamb, the victim
without blemish obscurely prefigured in the former times, is led to the slaughter for
all to banish sin from the world, to overthrow the world’s destroyer, to abolish
death by dying for the entire human race, and to release us from the curse: Dust
you are and to dust you shall return. He will become the second Adam who is not
of earth but of heaven, and will be for us the source of every blessing. He will deliver
us from the corruptibility foreign to our nature; he will secure eternal life for us,
reconcile us with God, teach us to revere God and to live upright lives, and be our
way to the kingdom of heaven.
Our Lamb died for all to restore the whole flock on earth to God the Father;
one died for all to make all subject to God; one died for all to gain all so that all
might live no longer for themselves, but for him who died and was raised to life
for them.
Because our many sins had made us subject to death and corruption, the
Father gave his son as our redemption, one for all, since we all were in him and he
was greater than all. One died for all so that all of us might live in him. Death
swallowed the Lamb who was sacrificed for all, and then disgorging him, disgorged
all of us in him and with him; for we were all in Christ who died and rose for us.
Once sin had been destroyed how could death, which was caused by sin, fail
to be wholly annihilated? What power will death have over us now that sin has been
blotted out? And so, rejoicing in the sacrifice of the Lamb let us cry out: O death,
where is your victory? O grave, where is your sting? All wickedness shall hold its
tongue, as the Psalmist sings somewhere. Henceforth it will be unable to denounce
sinners for their weakness, for God is the one who acquits us. Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for our sake, so that we might
escape the curse brought down on us by sin.

Vigils Reading
2026-01-19
THE WHOLE BODY
AS ONE BEING
From a sermon by St John Henry Newman
◊◊◊
That all Christians are one, in our Lord’s eyes is plain, from various parts
of the New Testament. In his mediatorial prayer for them to the Almighty
Father, before His Passion, He expressed His purpose that they should be one.
St Paul, in like manner, writing to the Corinthians, says, “As the body is one, and
has many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one
body, so also is Christ… Now you are the Body of Christ, and members in
particular.” To the Ephesians, he says, “There is one Body, and one Spirit, even
as you are called in one hope of your calling: one Lord, one faith, one baptism,
one God and Father of all.”
And, further, it is to this one Body, regarded as one, that the special
privileges of the Gospel are given. It is not that this person receives the blessing,
and that one, but one and all, the whole body, as one being, one new spiritual
reality, with one accord, seeks and gains it. The Holy Church throughout the
world, “the Bride, the Lamb’s wife,” is one, not many, and the elect souls are all
elected in her, not in isolation. For instance: “He is our peace who has made
both (Jews and Gentiles) one, to make in himself one new humanity.”
In the same epistle, it is said, that all nations are “fellow-heirs, and of the
same body and fellow-partakers of Hid promise in Christ;” and that we must
“one and all come,” or converge, “in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge
of the Son of God, unto a perfect creation, unto the measure of the stature of the
fullness of Christ;” that as “the husband is the head of the wife,” so “Christ is the
Head of the Church,” having “loved her and given Himself for her, that He
might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the Word.”
These are a few out of many passages which connect Gospel privileges
with the circumstance or condition of unity in those who receive them; the
image of Christ and token of their acceptance being stamped upon them then, at
that moment, when they are considered as one; so that henceforth the whole
multitude, no longer viewed as mere individuals, become portions or members
of the indivisible Body of Christ Mystical, so knit together in Him by Divine
Grace, that all have what He has, and each has what all have.
The same great truth is taught us in such texts as speak of all Christians
forming one spiritual building, of which the Jewish Temple was the type. They
are temples one by one, simply as being portions of that one Temple which is the
Church. “You are built up,” says St Peter, “a spiritual house, a holy priesthood,
to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” Hence the word
“edification”, which properly means this building up of all Christians in one, has
come to stand for individual improvement; for it is by being incorporated into
the one Body, that we have the promise of life; by becoming members of Christ,
we have the gift of His Spirit.

Vigils Reading - Blessed Cyprian Tansi
2026-01-20
A reading from the homily of Pope St John Paul II
at the Beatification of Blessed Cyprian Tansi
◊◊◊
The life and witness of Father Tansi is an inspiration to everyone in the
Nigeria that he loved so much. He was first of all a man of God; his long hours
before the Blessed Sacrament filled his heart with generous and courageous
love. Those who knew him testify to his great love of God. Everyone who met
him was touched by his personal goodness.
He was then a man of the people: he always put others before himself, and
was especially attentive to the pastoral needs of families. He took great care to
prepare couples well for Holy Matrimony and preached the importance of
chastity. He tried in every way to promote the dignity of women. In a special
way, the education of young people was precious to him. Even when he was sent
by Bishop Heerey to the Cistercian Abbey of Mount Saint Bernard in England to
pursue his monastic vocation, with the hope of bringing the contemplative life
back to Africa, he did not forget his own people. He did not fail to offer prayers
and sacrifices for their continuing sanctification.
Father Tansi knew that there is something of the Prodigal Son in every
human being. He knew that all men and women are tempted to separate
themselves from God in order to lead their own independent and selfish
existence. He knew that they are then disappointed by the emptiness of the
illusion which had fascinated them, and that they eventually find in the depths
of their heart the road leading back to the Father’s house.
He encouraged people to confess their sins and receive God’s forgiveness
in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. He implored them to forgive one another as
God forgives us, and hand on the gift of the reconciliation, making it a reality at
every level of Nigerian life. Father Tansi tried to imitate the father in the
parable: he was always available for those searching for reconciliation. He
spread the joy of restored communion with God. He inspired people to welcome
the peace of Christ, and encouraged them to nourish the life of grace with the
word of God and with Holy Communion…
Blessed Cyprian Michael Tansi is a prime example of the fruits of holiness
which have grown and matured in the Church in Nigeria since the Gospel was
first preached in this land. He received the gift of faith through the efforts of the
missionaries, and taking the Christian way of life as his own he made it truly
African and Nigerian. So too the Nigerians of today — young and old alike — are
called to reap the spiritual fruits which have been planted among them and are
now ready for the harvest… Father Tansi’s witness to the Gospel and to
Christian charity is a spiritual gift which this local Church now offers to the
Universal Church…
We must be convinced that each of us, according to our particular state in
life, is called to do no less than what Father Tansi did. Having been reconciled
with God, we must be instruments of reconciliation, treating all men and
women as brothers and sisters, called to membership in the one family of God…

Vigils Reading - St Agnes
2026-01-21
THE LOVE OF
CHRISTIAN UNITY
From a sermon by St Leo the Great
◊◊◊
I rejoice, dearly beloved, in the pious affection of your devotion, and I give
thanks to God that I see in you the love of Christian unity… For though the
universal Church is ordered in varying degrees, so the whole is made up from
the diverse members of the sanctified Body, we are all, nevertheless, as the
Apostle says, one in Christ; and no one is separated by office from another, so
that even the least among us is related to the head.
Therefore, Beloved, in its unity of faith and baptism, our society is
undivided, and its dignity is the dignity of all its members; according to the
words of the blessed Peter, spoken by his own consecrated voice: Be you as
living stones built up, a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual
sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. And a little later: You are a
chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people.
For all who are born again in Christ, the sign of the Cross makes kings,
and the anointing of the Holy Spirit consecrates priests; so that apart from the
special service of our ministry, let all spiritual and reasoning Christians know
that they are of royal birth, and sharers of the priestly office. For what is so
kingly as the soul that is subject to God, and the ruler of its own body? And what
is so priestly as to dedicate to the Lord a pure conscience, and to offer him on the
altar of our hearts the unstained gift of our love?

Vigils Reading
2026-01-22
THE INCOMPARABLE VALUE
OF EVERY HUMAN PERSON
From the encyclical “The Gospel of Life” by Pope St John Paul II
◊◊◊
The human person is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the
dimensions of earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of
God. The loftiness of this supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the
inestimable value of human life even in its temporal phase. In a special way
believers in Christ must defend and promote this right, aware as they are of the
wonderful truth recalled by the Second Vatican Council: “By his incarnation the
Son of God has united himself in some fashion with every human being”. This
saving event reveals to humanity not only the boundless love of God who “so
loved the world that he gave his only Son”, but also the incomparable value of
every human person.
The Church acknowledges this value with ever new wonder. She feels
called to proclaim to the people of all times this Gospel, the source of invincible
hope and true joy for every period of history. The Gospel of God’s love for
humans, the Gospel of the dignity of the person and the Gospel of life are a
single and indivisible Gospel.
Today this proclamation is especially pressing because of the
extraordinary gravity of threats to the life of individuals and peoples, especially
where life is weak and defenseless. In addition to the ancient scourges of
poverty, hunger and disease, violence and war, new threats are emerging on an
alarmingly vast scale…
The end result of this is tragic; not only is the fact of the destruction of so
many human lives still to be born or in their final stage extremely grave and
disturbing, but no less grave and disturbing is the fact that conscience itself,
darkened as it were by such widespread conditioning, is finding it increasingly
difficult to distinguish between good and evil in what concerns the basic value of
human life.
The present encyclical…is therefore meant to be a precise and vigorous
reaffirmation of the value of human life and its inviolability, and at the same
time a pressing appeal to each and every person, in the name of God, respect,
protect, love and serve life, every human life! Only in this direction will you
find justice, development, true freedom, peace and happiness.

Vigils Reading
2026-01-23
TO CALL ONESELF A CHRISTIAN
by St Gregory of Nyssa
◊◊◊
They say that a certain showman in the city of Alexandria, having trained
a monkey to dance with some grace, and having dressed him in a dancer’s mask
and a costume suitable for the occasion, and having surrounded him with a
chorus, gained fame by the monkey’s twisting himself in time with the music
and concealing his nature in every way by what he was doing and appeared to
be. While the audience was enthralled by the novelty of the spectacle, one of the
clever persons present, by means of a trick, showed those watching the
performance that the dancer was a monkey.
When everyone was crying out and applauding the gesticulations of the
monkey, who was moving rhythmically with the music, they say that he threw
onto the dancing place some of the sweetmeats which arouse the greediness of
such animals; whereupon the monkey, without a moment’s delay, when he saw
the almonds scattered in front of the chorus, forgetting the dancing and
applause and the elaborate costume, ran after them and grabbed what he found
in the palms of his hands.
And in order that the mask would not get in the way of his mouth, he
energetically thrust aside the disguise with his nails and immediately evoked a
laugh from the spectators in place of the praise and admiration, as he emerged
ugly and ridiculous from the shreds of the mask. Thereupon, just as the
assumed form was not sufficient for that creature to be considered a man, once
his nature was disclosed, in the incident of the almonds, so those individuals not
truly shaping their own natures by faith will easily be disclosed in the toils of the
devil as being something other than what they are called. For, instead of a fig or
an almond or some such thing, vanity and love of honor and love of gain and
love of pleasure, and whatever else the evil assembly of the devil places before
greedy men instead of sweetmeats, easily bring to light the ape-like souls who,
through pretense and imitation, play the role of the Christian and then remove
the mask of moderation or meekness or some other virtue in a moment of
personal crisis.
It is necessary, therefore, for us to understand what the name “Christian”
means, for then, perhaps we will become what the term implies and not be
shown up by the one who perceives what is hidden, namely, that we have
disguised ourselves by mere assent, and by the pretense of the name alone when
we are actually something contrary to what we appear to be.

Vigils Reading - St Francis de Sales
2026-01-24
A DELICATE SENSE
OF GOD’S PRESENCE
By St Francis de Sales
◊◊◊
The soul thus inwardly recollected in God or in God’s presence is at times
rendered so sweetly attentive to the goodness of its beloved as to think that its
attention is not actually attention, so simply and so delicately is it exercised. It
is like certain rivers which flow so calmly and smoothly that those who look at
them or sail on them seem neither to see nor to feel any motion, since they see
no waves or currents whatever. This loving repose of the soul is called the
“prayer of quiet” by the holy virgin Teresa of Jesus, and is scarcely different
from that which she calls “the sleep of the powers,” at least if I understand her
properly.
Indeed, even men in love are at times content with being near or within
sight of the one they love without actually speaking to her and without thinking
especially either of her or of her perfections. They seem to be pleased and
satisfied with enjoying this dear presence, not by any consideration they give it
but by a certain calm and repose their spirit finds in it…
Sometimes this repose goes so deep in its tranquility that the whole soul
and all its powers remain as if sunk in sleep. They make no movement or action
whatsoever, except the will alone and even it does no more than receive the joy
and contentment that it receives but enjoys it insensibly. It does not think of
itself but of him whose presence gives it such pleasure. It is like what often
happens when we drop off unaware into a light sleep. We only half hear what
our friends are saying around us, or feel their caresses almost imperceptibly
without feeling that we feel.
Nevertheless, the soul enjoying in this sweet repose such a delicate sense
of God’s presence, even though it does not have perception of such enjoyment,
still shows clearly how precious to it and how worthy of love is this happiness.
For when anyone tries to deprive the soul of it or something turns it from it, then
that poor soul complains, cries out, even weeps at times. It is like a little child
awakened before it has slept enough; by the pain it feels on being awakened
clearly shows the pleasure it had in sleep. For this reason the heavenly shepherd
adjures the daughters of Sion, “by the roes and harts of the fields,” not to cause
the beloved to awaken up until she pleases, that is, to let her awaken by herself.
A soul thus at peace in its God would not change that repose for all the world’s
greatest goods.

Skema
2026-01-25
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
3rd Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (A), Weekdays (II)
January 25 – 31, 2026

Sun
25
Mon
26
Tue
27
Wed
28
Thu
29
Fri
30
Sat
31

Office
3rd Sunday
SS Robert, Alberic, & Stephen
Ss Timothy & Titus
St Thomas Aquinas
Weekday
Office for Vocations
St John Bosco

Vigils
Judg 9:42-57
Lev 26:3-13
Judg 10:6-18
Judg 11:1-11
Judg 11:12-28
Judg 11:29-40
Judg 13:1-25

Lauds
Amos 5:16-20
Ezek 34:23-31
Amos 5:21-27
Amos 6:1-7
Amos 6:8-14
Amos 7:1-6
Amos 7:7-9

Mass
67
606, 322, 815.8
520, 318
319
320
321
322

1st
Isa 8:23b-9:3
Sir 44:1,10-15
2 Tim 1:1-8
2 Sam 7:4-17
2 Sam 7:18-19, 24-29
2 Sam 11:1-4a, 5-10a, 13-17
2 Sam 12:1-7a, 10-17

2nd
1 Cor 1:10-13, 17
Heb 11:1-2, 8-16

Gospel
Matt 4:12-23
Mark 10:24b-30
Mark 3:31-35
Mark 4:1-20
Mark 4:21-25
Mark 4:26-34
Mark 4:35-41

Vespers
1 Jn 4:13-21
2 Cor 4:7-18
Col 1:9-14
Col 1:15-23
Col 1:24-29
Col 2:1-8
Col 2:9-15

Vigils Reading - 3r Sunday
2026-01-25
THE LIGHT OF CHRIST
From a commentary by John Justus of Landsberg
◊◊◊
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. Everyone
knows that we were all born in darkness, and once lived in darkness. But now
that the Sun of Righteousness has risen for us, let us see that we no longer
remain in darkness.
Christ came to enlighten those who lived in darkness, overshadowed by
death, and to guide their feet into the way of peace. Do you ask what darkness?
Whatever is present in our intellect, in our will, or in our memory that is not
God, or which has not its source in God; that is to say, whatever in us is not for
God’s sake, is a barrier between God and the soul – it is darkness.
In himself Christ brought us light which would enable us to see our sins,
and hate our darkness. His freely chosen poverty, when there was no place for
him in the inn, is for us a light by which we can now learn that the poor in spirit,
to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs, are blessed.
The love with which Christ offered himself to instruct us, and to endure
for us injuries, ostracism, persecution, lashes, and death upon a cross; the love
finally which made him pray for those who crucified him – that love is for us a
light by which we may learn to love our enemies.
The humility with which he emptied himself, taking the nature of a slave
, and with which he scorned the glory of the world, and willed to be born, not in a
palace but in a stable, and to die ignominiously on a gibbet – that humility is for
us a light showing us what a detestable crime it is for clay, that is to say, for poor
weak creatures, to be proud, to exalt themselves, or to refuse submission, when
the infinite God was humbled, despised, and subject to human beings.
The meekness with which Christ endured hunger, thirst, cold, harsh
words, lashes, and wounds, when he was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and
like a lamb before his shearer opened not his mouth – that meekness is for us a
light. By it we see how useless it is to be angry, how useless to threaten. By it we
accept our own suffering, and do not serve Christ merely from routine. By it we
learn how much is required of us, and that when suffering comes our way we
should bewail our sins in silent submission, since he endured affliction with
such patience and long-suffering, not for his own sins, but for ours.
Reflect then, beloved, on all the virtues which Christ taught us by his
example, which he recommends by his counsel, and which he enables us to
imitate by the assistance of his grace.

Vigils Reading - SS Robert, Alberic & Stephen
2026-01-26
THE BEGINNINGS OF THE
CISTERCIAN ORDER
A reading from the “Exordium Parvum”
◊◊◊
We Cistercians, the first founders of this Church, in this document hereby
relate to our successors how this Monastery and its way of life took its beginning
according to the Laws of Holy Mother the Church; by what authority it began,
and also by what persons and at what times; so that by the telling of the plain
and unadulterated truth, they may be moved to a deep love for this Monastery
and for the observance of the Holy Rule of St Benedict which was begun in it by
us through the Grace of God; and that they might pray for us who have borne the
heat and the burden of the day without losing courage; that they might labor
with great fervor in the straight and narrow way which the Rule describes, even
unto complete union with God, when, having shed the garments of this flesh,
they might happily rest in eternal peace.
In the year 1098, Robert of blessed memory, the first Abbot of the Church
of Molesme founded in the Diocese of Langre, together with some of the
brethren from the same Monastery, came to the venerable Hugh, who was at
that time the Legate of the Holy See and the Archbishop of the Church of Lyons,
stating that they desired to live their life under the guidance of the Holy Rule of
Father Benedict, and that in order that they might follow out these designs with
greater freedom and security, they earnestly entreated him that he would bless
and endorse their project with his Apostolic Authority. The Legate was happily
pleased with their desire, and he laid the foundation of their beginnings by his
Letter.
After these affairs, Robert and those who sided with him returned to
Molesme and chose from that community of brethren those who wished to
associate with themselves, brothers who had made their vows according to the
Rule; so that between those who had spoken to the Legate at Lyons and those
who had been chosen from the Monastery, there were twenty-one monks.
Accompanied by such a troop, they made their way in all haste to the desert
which was called Citeaux… Because of the thickness of the woods and
undergrowth, it was very rarely visited by people and it was inhabited by
nothing but wild animals.
When they arrived there, the men of God immediately conceived a great
and holy reverence for the place, for the more contemptible and inaccessible it
was to the people of the world, the more they considered it fit for their life. This
was the very reason for which they had come there. Far away and hidden by the
density of trees and undergrowth, they began to construct a monastery there
with the help of the Bishop of Chalons-sur-Saone and the consent of the one
who owned the property.
For these men, while they were still at Molesme, inspired by the grace of
God, had frequently spoken among themselves about the transgressions of the
Rule of Blessed Benedict, Father of Monks. They had lamented and grown sad
in spirit, seeing that both they and the rest of the monks who had promised by
their Solemn Profession that they would observe this Rule, kept that promise to
a very small degree. On account of this, by the authority of the Holy See, they
came to this solitude in order that they might fulfill their profession by the
observance of the Holy Rule.

Vigils Reading - SS Timothy & Titus
2026-01-27
THE VIRTUE OF ST TIMOTHY
From a sermon by St John Henry Newman
◊◊◊
“Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for your stomach’s sake and
for your other infirmities”. This is a remarkable verse, because it accidentally tells
us so much. It is addressed to Timothy, St Paul’s companion, the first Bishop of
Ephesus. Of Timothy we know very little, except that he did minister to St Paul,
and hence we might have inferred that he was a man of very saintly character; but
we know little or nothing of him, except that he had been from a child a careful
reader of Scripture…
Timothy…had so read the Old Testament, and had so heard from St Paul the
New, that he was a true follower of the Apostle, as the Apostle was of Christ. St Paul
accordingly calls him “my own son”, or “my true son in the faith”. And elsewhere
he says to the Philippians that he has “no man like-minded to Timothy, who would
naturally” or truly “care for their state”… St Paul does not expressly tell us that he
was a man of mortified habits; but he reveals the fact indirectly by cautioning him
against an excess of mortification. “Drink no longer water,” he says, “but use a little
wine.” It should be observed that wine, in the southern countries, is the ordinary
beverage; it is nothing strong or costly. Yet even from such as this, Timothy was in
the habit of abstaining, and restricting himself to water; and, as the Apostle
thought, imprudently, to the increase of his “frequent infirmities.”
There is something very striking in this accidental mention of the private
ways of this Apostolic Bishop. We know indeed from history the doctrine and the
life of the great saints, who lived some time after the Apostles’ age; but we are
naturally anxious to know something more of the Apostles themselves and their
associates. We say, “Oh that we could speak to St Paul – that we could see him in his
daily walk, and hear his…teaching! – that we could ask him what he meant by this
expression in his Epistles, or what he thought of this or the other doctrine.” This is
not given to us. God might give us greater light than He does; but it is His gracious
will to give us the less.
Yet perhaps much more has been given us in Scripture, as it has come to us,
than we think, if our eyes were enlightened to discern it there. Such, for instance, is
this text; it is a sudden revelation, a glimpse of the personal character of Apostolic
Christians; it is a hint which we may follow out. For no one will deny that a very
great deal of doctrine, and a very great deal of precept, goes with such a fact as this:
namely, that this holy man, without impiously disparaging God’s creation, and
thanklessly rejecting God’s gifts, yet, on the whole, lived a life of abstinence…
Such were the holy men of old. How far are we below them! Alas for our easy
sensual life, our cowardice, our sloth! Is this the way by which the kingdom of God
is won?

Vigils Reading - St Thomas Aquinas
2026-01-28
GATHER YOURSELF IN WISDOM
From a commentary by St Thomas Aquinas
◊◊◊
[In the book of Ecclesiasticus it says] “Run ahead into your house and
gather yourself there and play there and pursue your thoughts.”
The advantage which the study of wisdom has is that it is to a greater
degree self-sufficient in pursuing its business. When we are engaged in outward
activities we need many things to help us, but in the contemplation of wisdom
we work all the more effectively, the more we dwell alone with ourselves.
So…the wise Man calls us back to ourselves: “Run ahead into your own
house,
” that is, be anxious to return from external things to your own mind,
before anything else gets hold of it and any other anxiety distracts it. That is why
it says in Wisdom, “I will enter my house and rest with her”…
The first requirement, then for the contemplation of wisdom is that we
should take complete possession of our minds before anything else does, so that
we can fill the whole house with the contemplation of wisdom. But it is also
necessary that we ourselves should be fully present there, concentrating in such
a way that our aim is not diverted to other matters. Accordingly the text goes on,
“And gather yourself there,
” that is, draw together your whole intention. And
when our interior house is entirely emptied like this and we are fully present
there in our intention, the text tells us what we should do; “And play there.
”
There are two features of play which make it appropriate to compare the
contemplation of wisdom to playing. First, we enjoy playing, and there is the
greatest enjoyment of all to be had in the contemplation of wisdom. As Wisdom
says in Ecclesiasticus, “My spirit is sweeter than honey.”
Secondly, playing has no purpose beyond itself; what we do in play is done
for its own sake. And the same applies to the pleasure of wisdom. If we are
enjoying thinking about the things we long for or the things we are proposing to
do, this kind of enjoyment looks beyond itself to something else which we are
eager to attain.
If we fail to attain it or if there is a delay in attaining it, our pleasure is
mingled with a proportionate distress… But the contemplation of wisdom
contains within itself the cause of its own enjoyment, and so it is not exposed to
the kind of anxiety that goes with waiting for something which we lack… “Her
company is without bitterness” (the company of wisdom)… “and there is no
boredom in living with her.”
It is for this reason that divine Wisdom compares her enjoyment to
playing… “I enjoyed myself every single day, playing before him,” each “single
day” meaning the consideration of some different truth. So… “Pursue your
thoughts,” the thoughts… by means of which we obtain knowledge of the truth.

Vigils Reading
2026-01-29
THE CHURCH OF THE CRUCIFIED
By Fr Hugo Rahner
◊◊◊
Precisely in weakness the Church of the crucified is the very essence of
God’s force of grace, the sacramentally humble symbol of the irresistibly
victorious love of the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ. The weak Church is the
joy of our faith. Not only despite her weakness, but rather because she is weak.
This is no theological dialectic that would release us from the responsibility of
constantly attempting anew to perfect the power of the Church’s witness, her
holiness, even her glory that can be dramatized here on earth.
However, our faith in the Church remains pure, resilient, filled with
unshatterable joy in the victory of Our Lord, only if we perceive that the power
and dominion of God, which is totally different in nature from anything else in
our experience, chooses to show itself most often in earthly impotence and
despicability – as long as we in the midst of the Church celebrate the death of
Our Lord, until Christ returns as the Messiah of glory. Christ, once and for all,
died beyond the barricades of human comprehensibility, and therefore the
Church must bear his disgrace.
Alas, this is so difficult for us here below to comprehend. Our eyes are
veiled, and our hearts are still as dull as those of the journeying disciples of
Emmaus. They recognized the Lord only after the breaking of bread. Then,
however, their hearts burned. It is the same with us. May faith assist the failure
of the senses. This also holds true for the mystery of the Church. It is the same
for her as it was for Our Lord: In sacrifice has he conquered, in the breaking of
bread he inflamed joy, in the fact that he was killed has he driven out the prince
of this world. Therefore we recognize him and his Church only in the breaking of
bread, in the breaking of our believing hearts.
And from his broken Church we discover with the quiet delight of tested,
suffered, disappointed and wise faith: Here is the Lord. Here is his Church, the
holy, the catholic. Then our hearts also burn. Then we know: She is still on the
desert path, but this leads into the promised land. She is still on the way of the
cross to death’s place of skulls, but only so will the Pasch come, and this means
the transition to the eternal…
Look about in this world – everywhere there is desert, aimless wandering,
thirst that cannot be quenched, strangers who no longer know home. But in this
desert you see a thornbush burst into flames, and you hear the divine words: “The
place where you stand is holy ground”. This is a type, a model of the holy Church.
She is a wretched, prickly shrub in the desert, but even now she bursts into flames
with heavenly fire. Here we stand: we believe in this Church of weak brambles and
tremendous fire. She is our trial of faith and our love’s joy.

Vigils Reading - Office for Vocations
2026-01-30
THE WORK OF TWO WILLS
From “No Man is an Island” by Thomas Merton
◊◊◊
Each of us has some kind of vocation. We are all called by God to share in
His life and His Kingdom. Each one of us is called to a special place in the
Kingdom. If we find that place, we will be happy. If we do not find it, we can
never be completely happy. For each one of us, there is only one thing necessary:
to fulfill our own destiny, according to God’s will, to be what God wants us to be.
In any case, our destiny is the work of two wills, not one. It is hopeless to
try to settle the problem of vocation outside the context of friendship and love.
God loves us more than we love ourselves, as if we were Himself. He loves us
moreover with our own wills, with our own decisions.
In planning the course of our lives, we must remember the importance
and the dignity of our own freedom. For our freedom is a gift God has given us in
order that He may be able to love us more perfectly, and be loved by us more
perfectly in return. Perfectly confident of being loved by God, the soul that loves
Him dares to make a choice of its own, knowing that its own choice will be
acceptable to love.
Every person has a vocation to be someone: but he must understand
clearly that in order to fulfill this vocation he can only be one person: himself.
We must be ourselves by being Christ. A person only lives fully when he knows
truth and loves what he knows and acts according to what he loves. In this way
he becomes the truth that he loves. So we “become” Christ by knowledge and by
love.
In order to be what we are meant to be, we must know Christ, and love
Him, and do what He did. Our destiny is in our own hands since God has placed
it there, and given us the grace to do the impossible. It remains for us to take up
courageously and without hesitation the work He has given us, which is the task
of living our own life as Christ would live it in us.
Our vocation is precisely this: to bear witness to the truth of Christ by
laying down our lives at His bidding. Our Father in heaven has called us each to
the place in which He can best satisfy His infinite desire to do us good. His
inscrutable choice of the office or state of life or particular function to which we
are called is not to be judged by the intrinsic merit of those offices and states but
only by the hidden love of God. My vocation is the one I love, not because I think
it is the best vocation in the Church, but because it is the one God has willed for
me. My vocation is at once my will and His. He chose it for me when His
inscrutable knowledge of my choice moved me to choose it for myself.

6 No Man is An Island – Thomas Merton – Harcourt Brace Publishers – New York – 1955 – pg 131f.13

Vigils Reading - St John Bosco
2026-01-31
GENTLE AND HUMBLE OF HEART
From a letter by St John Bosco
◊◊◊
My sons, in my long experience very often I had to be convinced of this
great truth. It is easier to become angry than to restrain oneself, and to threaten
a boy than to persuade him. Yes, indeed, it is more fitting to be persistent in
punishing our own impatience and pride than to correct the boys. We must be
firm but kind, and be patient with them.
See that no one finds you motivated by impetuosity or willfulness. It is
difficult to keep calm when administering punishment, but this must be done if
we are to keep ourselves from showing off our authority or spilling out our
anger.
Let us regard those boys over whom we have some authority as our own
sons. Let us place ourselves in their service. Let us be ashamed to assume an
attitude of superiority. Let us not rule over them except for the purpose of
serving them better.
This was the method that Jesus used with the apostles. He put up with their
ignorance and roughness and even their infidelity. He treated sinners with a
kindness and affection that caused some to be shocked, others to be scandalized,
and still others to hope for God’s mercy. And so he bade us to be gentle and humble
of heart.

Skema
2026-02-01
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
4th Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (A), Weekdays (II)
February 1 – 7, 2026

Sun
1
Mon
2
Tue
3
Wed
4
Thu
5
Fri
6
Sat
7

Office
4th Sunday
Presentation of the Lord
Weekday
Office for the Dead
St Agatha
St Paul Miki & Comp
Memorial of the BVM

Vigils
Judg 14:1-20
Exod 13:1-16
Judg 15:1-20
Judg 16:1-22
Judg 16:23-31
Judg 17:1-13
Judg 18:1-11

Lauds
Amos 7:10-17
1 Sam 1:20-28
Amos 8:1-8
Amos 8:9-14
Amos 9:1-6
Amos 9:7-10
Amos 9:11-15

Mass
70
524
324
325
326
327
328

1st
Zeph 2:3; 3:12-13
Mal 3:1-4
2 Sam 18:9-10, 14b, 24-25a, 30-19:3
2 Sam 24:2, 9-17
1 Kgs 2:1-4, 10-12
Sir 47:2-11
1 Kgs 3:4-13

2nd
1 Cor 1:26-31
Heb 2:14-18

Gospel
Matt 5:1-12a
Luke 2:22-40
Mark 5:21-43
Mark 6:1-6
Mark 6:7-13
Mark 6:14-29
Mark 6:30-34

Vespers
Col 2:16-23
Rom 12:1-5
Col 3:1-11
Col 3:12-17
Col 3:18-4:1
Col 4:2-9
Col 4:10-18

Vigils Reading - 4th Sunday ORD
2026-02-01
BLESSED ARE
THE POOR IN SPIRIT
From a commentary by Symeon the New Theologian
◊◊◊
When holy Scripture is being read we should look at ourselves as though
in a mirror and consider our state of soul. Let me explain what I mean. We hear
the Lord saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven. This must make us always examine and test ourselves whenever we
suffer humiliation, whenever we are insulted, dishonored, and treated with
contempt, to see whether or not we possess the virtue of humility. A person who
has it bears everything without feeling hurt or taking offense. His heart is not
wounded by anything that happens to him.
If he is slightly wounded he is not completely upset; on the contrary,
because of that heart wound, simply for having been slightly pained instead of
accepting what happened with joy, he is distressed and thinks himself
despicable, he grieves and weeps. Withdrawing into the inner chamber of his
soul or his cell, he falls down before God and confesses to him as though he had
completely forfeited eternal life.
Then again we hear: Blessed are those who mourn. Notice that the Lord
does not say those who have mourned, but those who continually mourn.
Concerning this too, then, we must examine ourselves to see whether we mourn
every day, for if we have been made humble by repentance, obviously we shall
not pass a single day or night without tears, without mourning, and without
compunction.
And again: Blessed are the gentle. Can anyone who mourns every day
continue to live in a state of anger and not become gentle? Just as water
extinguishes a blazing fire, so mourning and tears extinguish anger in the soul
so completely that a person who had long been given over to it sees his irascible
disposition transformed into perfect serenity.
Again we hear: Blessed are the merciful. Who, then, are the merciful?
Those who give away their possessions or who feed the poor? No. Then who
are they? Those who have become poor for the sake of him who became poor for
our sake, those who have nothing to give, but who in a spiritual way are always
mindful of the poor, the widows, the orphans, and the sick. Seeing them
frequently, they have compassion on them and shed burning tears over them.
Such was Job, who said: I wept over every infirmity. When they have anything
they cheerfully give alms to them, as well as ungrudgingly reminding all of how
they can save their souls, thus obeying the one who said: What I learned with
pure intention I pass on without grudging. These are the ones the Lord calls
blessed, the ones who are truly merciful, for such mercy is like a step by which
they ascend to attain perfect purity of heart.
In virtue of this God then proclaims the pure of heart blessed, saying:
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. The purified soul sees God
in everything and is reconciled to him. Peace is established between God our
creator and the soul, his erstwhile enemy, and it is then called blessed by God for
being a peacemaker: Blessed are the peacemakers, he says, for they shall be
called children of God.

Vigils Reading - Presentation of the Lord
2026-02-02
COME TO THE TEMPLE
From a commentary by Origen
◊◊◊
Let us reflect on the way everything was prearranged for Simeon to
embrace the Son of God. In the first place, he had been given a revelation by the
Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Anointed.
Then, he did not enter the temple by chance or routine, but he came there under
the prompting of the Spirit of God, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are
children of God.
If you too wish to embrace Jesus and enfold him in your arms, strive with
all your might to follow the guidance of the Spirit and come to God’s temple.
Now, at this moment you are standing in the temple of the Lord Jesus, which is
his Church, the temple built of living stones. When your life and conduct are
really worthy of the name of Church, you are standing in the Lord’s temple.
If, led by the Spirit, you come to the temple, you will find the child Jesus,
you will lift him up in your arms and say: Now, Lord, you let your servant go in
peace as you promised. Notice at once that peace is joined to death and
dismissal, for Simeon does not say only that he wishes to go, but adds that he
wished to go in peace. This is the same promise as was made to blessed
Abraham: You shall go to your ancestors in peace when you have reached a
ripe old age.
Who dies in peace? Only the person who has the peace of God which
surpasses all understanding, and which guards the heart of its possessor. Who
departs from this world in peace? Only the person who understands that God
was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, and who, being in no way at
enmity with God or opposed to him, has acquired complete peace and concord
through good works, and so is allowed like Abraham to go in peace and join the
holy patriarchs.
But why speak of the patriarchs? Shall I not rather go on to speak about
Jesus, the prince and lord of the patriarchs, about whom Saint Paul says: It is
better to die and be with Christ? That person possesses Jesus who dares to say:
It is no longer I who live – it is Christ who lives in me.
And so, as we stand in the temple and hold the Son of God and embrace
him, let us pray to almighty God and to the child Jesus that we may be found
worthy of discharge and departure to better things, for we long to speak with
Jesus and embrace him. To him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen

Vigils Reading
2026-02-03
THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE
From a commentary by St Augustine
◊◊◊
Jacob the Patriarch set a stone under his head and while he slept he saw
the heavens open and a ladder stretching from heaven to earth, and angels
ascending and descending. After seeing this, he woke up, anointed the stone,
and departed. In this stone he understood Christ, that is why he anointed it. And
this was done symbolically, and then he left. For he did not anoint the stone, and
keep going back there to worship, and to offer sacrifices there.
What happened was this: expression was given to a mystery. Take a look
at the stone: The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief
cornerstone. And it is because Christ is the head of man that the stone is placed
at the head. Take note of this great symbol: the stone is Christ. A living stone,
says Peter, rejected by mankind, but chosen by God. And the stone is at the
head, because Christ is the head of the man. And the stone is anointed because
the name Christ derives from anointing.
And as Christ unfolds this picture, a ladder is seen, from earth to heaven,
or from heaven to earth, and angels ascending and descending. What this is all
about we shall see better when we have look at the Lord’s words in the Gospel.
You know that Jacob himself is Israel. When the Lord saw Nathaniel in the
Gospel, he said: Behold, here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile. This is
the sort of language that was used about Jacob himself: And Jacob was free from
guile and he lived at home. The Lord called Nathaniel an Israelite in whom there
was no guile because of Jacob.
And Nathaniel said: How do you know me? And the Lord said: When you
were beneath the fig tree I saw you. This means, when you were within the
Jewish people and under the Law, which covered over that people with a bodily
shadow, that is where I saw you. And Nathaniel made his confession and said:
You are the Son of God, you are the king of Israel. And the Lord said: It is
because I saw you under the fig tree that you have believed. You shall see things
greater than these. He is speaking with Israel, with Jacob, with the one who
placed a stone under his head.
What greater things? The fact that already that stone is by the head: Truly
I tell you, you shall see the heavens open, and the angels of God ascending and
descending on the Son of Man. Let God’s angels ascend and descend on that
ladder. Let this happen in the Church. God’s angels are heralds of the truth, let
them ascend and see: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and God was the Word. Let the angels descend and see that, The Word
became flesh and dwelt among us.

Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
2026-02-04
SILENCE, POVERTY, AND DEATH
By Thomas Merton
◊◊◊
If, at the moment of our death, death comes to us as an unwelcome
stranger, it will be because Christ also has always been to us an unwelcome
stranger. For when death comes, Christ comes also, bringing us the everlasting
life which he has bought for us by his own death. Those who love true life,
therefore, frequently think about their death. Their life is full of a silence that is
an anticipated victory over death. Silence, indeed, makes death our servant and
even our friend. Thoughts and prayers that grow up out of the silent thought of
death are like trees growing where there is water. They are strong thoughts, that
overcome the fear of misfortune because they have overcome passion and
desire. They turn the face of our soul, in constant desire, toward the face of
Christ.
A whole lifetime of silence is ordered to a final utterance; by this I do not
mean that we must all contrive to die with pious speeches on our lips. It is not
necessary that our last words should have some special or dramatic significance
worthy of being written down. Every good death, every death that hands us over
from the uncertainties of this world to the unfailing peace and silence of the love
of Christ, is itself an utterance and a conclusion. It says, either in words or
without them, that it is good for life to come to its appointed end, for the body to
return to dust and for the spirit to ascend to the Father, through the mercy of
our Lord, Jesus Christ.
A silent death may speak with more eloquent peace than a death
punctuated by vivid expressions. A lonely death, a tragic death, may yet have
more to say of the peace and mercy of Christ than many another comfortable
death.
For the eloquence of death is the eloquence of human poverty coming face
to face with the riches of divine mercy. The more we are aware that our poverty
is supremely great, the greater will be the meaning of our death: and the greater
its poverty. For the saints are those who wanted to be poorest in life, and who,
above all else, exulted in the supreme poverty of death.

Vigils Reading - St Agatha
2026-02-05
ST AGATHA
From Butler’s Lives of the Saints
◊◊◊
St Agatha has retained her place in the Universal Calendar following the
reforms of 1969, even though nothing that can be called historical fact is known
of her life. There is, however, good evidence of an early cult, with many versions
of her legend recorded in both Greek and Latin, the Greek being the earlier, with
the Latin dating from the sixth century. This means that however fictitious the
details of her Acts, she cannot be dismissed as a mere fiction altogether. Her
Acts, though, are more of an indication of the type of woman held up for
veneration as a saint in the early centuries than anything else.
She is described as a wealthy woman who had dedicated her virginity to
Christ. This, then, rather than her life, is the most precious thing she has to
offer. Her birthplace is assigned to either Palermo or Catania in Sicily, and she is
said to have died at Catania, which has the stronger historical claim to be her
birthplace. Among those who try to take the precious gift she has vowed to
Christ from her is a consul named Quintianus. He used the imperial edict
against Christians to have her brought before him, then placed in a brothel run
by a woman with the appropriate name of “Aphrodisia” and her assistants,
referred to as her daughters. All tricks, assaults and threats to make her yield
her virginity fail, and so she stands as an example of “virginity as a sacred power,
a concrete realization within this world of the divine spirit”.
Quintianus then handed her over to be tortured, and her Acts dwell on the
tortures inflicted on her, culminating in the cutting off of her breasts, which
were placed on a platter. Perhaps because further details of her tortures involve
her being rolled over live coals, she is invoked against fire in general. This may,
though, be an extension of her protection against eruptions from Mount Etna,11
because she is associated with Sicily, and her legend states that after her death a
flow of lava from Mount Etna was miraculously diverted by her silken veil held
up on a staff. This is last recorded as happening in the 1840s, and her veil is still
carried in solemn procession on her feast day in Catania. By extension she
protects against earthquakes everywhere.
She is also patron saint of bell-founders. The association is ancient and
certain, but the reason has not been determined. It may be that it derives from
her protection against volcanic eruptions and fire, as bells were rung to warn of
both. Another explanation given is that the molten metal involved in casting
bells suggests the flow of molten lava. Her breasts also brought a more
appropriate patronage, as she is invoked against diseases of the breast. Her
breasts on a dish were often mistaken for loaves in the Middle ages, from which
arose the custom of blessing bread on a dish at her altar on her feast day…
Whatever the facts behind her legend, Agatha remains one of the best-
loved and most invoked saints in the Christian devotional life.

Vigils Reading - St Paul Miki & Companions
2026-02-06
THE MARTYRDOM OF ST PAUL MIKI
AND HIS COMPANIONS
By a contemporary writer
◊◊◊
The crosses were set in place. Fr Pasio and Fr Rodriguez took turns
encouraging the victims. Their steadfast behavior was wonderful to see. The
Father Bursar stood motionless, his eyes turned heavenward. Brother Martin
gave thanks to God’s goodness by singing psalms. Again and again he repeated:
“Into your hands, Lord, I entrust my life.” Brother Francis Branco also thanked
God in a loud voice. Brother Gonsalvo in a very loud voice kept saying the Our
Father and Hail Mary.
Our brother, Paul Miki, saw himself now standing in the noblest pulpit he
had ever filled. To his “congregation” he began by proclaiming himself a
Japanese and a Jesuit. He was dying for the Gospel he preached. He gave thanks
to God for this wonderful blessing and he ended his “sermon” with these words:
“As I come to this supreme moment of my life, I am sure none of you would
suppose I want to deceive you. And so I tell you plainly: there is no way to be
saved except the Christian way. My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies
and all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who
have sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians
themselves.”
Then he looked at his comrades and began to encourage them in their
final struggle. Joy glowed in all their faces, and in Louis’ most of all. When a
Christian in the crowd cried out to him that he would soon be in heaven, his
hands, his whole body strained upward with such joy that every eye was fixed on
him.
Anthony, hanging at Louis’ side, looked toward heaven and called upon
the holy names – “Jesus, Mary!” He began to sing a psalm: “praise the Lord, you
children!”… Others kept repeating “Jesus, Mary!” Their faces were serene. Some
of them even took to urging the people standing by to live worthy Christian lives.
In these and other ways they showed their readiness to die.
Then, according to Japanese custom, the four executioners began to
unsheathe their spears. At this dreadful sight, all the Christians cried out,
“Jesus, Mary!” And the storm of anguished weeping then rose to batter the very
skies. The executioners killed them one by one. One thrust of the spear, then a
second blow. It was over in a very short time.

Vigils Reading - Memorial of the BVM
2026-02-07
THE PRAISES OF
THE BLESSED VIRGIN
From a sermon by Amadeus of Lausanne
◊◊◊
Since we have, at the bidding of God, embarked upon the praises of the
Blessed Virgin, it remains for us to complete her praise from the bottom of our
heart and with dutiful voice. Let us gaze upon her glory and, entering the depth
of so great a light, let us with swelling heart and unspeakable joy hasten through
the vivid brightness of the paths, saying with Solomon, ‘Her paths are lovely and
all her ways are peaceful’. What if, as the same prophet says, ‘the path of the just,
as a shining light, goes forth and grows into the perfect day’? Who will be able to
express the light and brightness of her paths? Yet we shall try to explain in part
the progress and additions of her paths so that she may be perceived as glorious
in her steps and be proclaimed in each of them.
For she possessed progress clearly marked and distinct growth, so that
she advanced according to the fairest order of Charity and, going forward from
virtue to virtue, she saw the God of gods in Sion, being changed from glory to
glory as by the Spirit of the Lord.
Firstly, therefore, she was deemed worthy to be adorned with the beauty
of all the virtues. Secondly she was united to the Holy Spirit in a bond of
wedlock. Thirdly, she was found the Mother of the Savior. Fourthly, a sword
pierced her soul and by the flesh taken of her flesh the ruin of the lost world is
restored. Fifthly, she rejoices in her Son arising and ascending above the heaven
of heavens to the right hand of the Father. Sixthly, she is caught up from this
world and as the Lord hastens to meet her she is places above the denizens of
heaven. Seventh, she will be completed when the fullness of the Gentiles shall
have entered and all Israel shall be saved. For beyond what it is right to be said
or believed, she rejoices in the general salvation of the elect, knowing that it was
for them that the Son of God took flesh from her. Therefore she will then be
fulfilled, God providing a better thing, lest without us she should not be made
perfect.

Vigils Reading - 5th Sunday ORD
2026-02-08
LET YOUR LIGHT SHINE
BEFORE ALL
From a commentary by St John Chrysostom
◊◊◊
We who have once for all clothed ourselves in Christ, and been made worthy
to have him dwelling within us, may show everyone, if we choose, simply by the
strict discipline of our life and without saying a word, the power of him who dwells
in us. Therefore Christ said: Let your light so shine before all, that people may see
your good works and praise your Father in heaven. This is a light that reaches not
only the bodily senses, but illuminates also the beholder’s mind and soul. It
disperses the darkness of evil, and invites those who encounter it to let their own
light shine forth, and to follow the example of virtue.
Let your light shine before all, Christ said; and he used the words before all
advisedly. He meant, “Let your light be so bright that it illuminates not only
yourself, but shines also before those needing its help.” As the light our senses
perceive puts darkness to flight, and enables those traveling along a road
perceptible to the senses to follow a straight course, so also the spiritual light which
shines from blameless conduct illuminates those who cannot see clearly how to live
a virtuous life, because their spiritual eyesight has been blurred by the darkness of
error. It purifies their inward vision, leads them to live upright lives, and makes
them walk henceforth in the path of virtue.
That people may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven.
Christ means: Let your virtue, the perfection of your life, and the performance of
good works inspire those who see you to praise the common Master of us all.
And so I beg each of you to strive to live so perfectly that the Lord may be
praised by all who see you. By the perfection of your lives attract to yourselves the
grace of the Spirit, so that the Lord of all creation may be glorified, and so that we
may all be found worthy of the kingdom of heaven by the grace, mercy, and
goodness of God’s only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the
Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, might, and honor now and for ever and for
endless ages. Amen.

Skema
2026-02-08
Biblical Readings for Office and Mass
5th Week in Ordinary Time

Mass Readings: Sunday (A), Weekdays (II)
February 8 -14, 2026

Sun
8
Mon
9
Tue
10
Wed
11
Thu
12
Fri
13
Sat
14

Office
5th Sunday
Weekday
St Scholastica
St Benedict of Aniane
Bl Humbleline
Weekday
SS Cyril & Methodius

Vigils
Judg 18:13-31
Judg 19:1-21
Judg 19:20-30
Judg 20:1-19
Judg 20:20-48
Judg 21:1-25
Ruth 1:1-22

Lauds
Habakkuk 1:1-4
Hab 1:5-11
Hab 1:12-17
Hab 2:1-4
Hab 2:5-8
Hab 2:9-14
Hab 2:15-20

Mass
73
329
330
331
332
333
334

1st
Isa 58:7-10
1 Kgs 8:1-7, 9-13
1 Kgs 8:22-23, 27-30
1 Kgs 10:1-10
1 Kgs 11:4-13
1 Kgs 11:29-32; 12:19
1 Kgs 12:26-32; 13:33-34

2nd
1 Cor 2:1-5

Gospel
Matt 5:13-16
Mark 6:53-56
Mark 7:1-13
Mark 7:14-23
Mark 7:24-30
Mark 7:31-37
Mark 8:1-10

Vespers
1 Thess 1:1-10
1 Thess 2:1-8
1 Thess 2:9-12
1 Thess 2:13-16
1 Thess 2:17-3:5
1 Thess 3:6-13
1 Thess 4:1-12

Vigils Reading
2026-02-09
EVERYTHING WILL BEGIN AGAIN
By Marie Noël
◊◊◊
The way of all humanity traces a circle….
The path that we took when we came naked into the world and which we
climbed from year to year until we came to the middle of our life — on that same
path we will go down again to return, naked, to the place of departure.
Little by little we grew, and raised our stature above the earth; little by
little we will shrink and become bent down towards the earth.
Little by little we opened our senses, hearing, sight and all the others, like
windows in the morning; little by little, one after the other, we will close them
again like windows in the evening.
Little by little, every day, we stored up all kinds of knowledge in our
memory; they will daily escape from our memory a little later on.
A little later, day by day, our arms became strong, our hands skilled, our
tongues able, and rich in words; our arms will become weak, our hands clumsy,
our tongues poor and stammering, day by day, a little later on.
One day, we learned to speak; one day, we will not be able to speak. One
day we came down from our mother’s arms and walked by ourself; one day we
will stop walking by ourself and will lean on [another’s] arm.
One day we had not yet left our cradle and a woman took us up from time
to time to nurse us and change our clothes; one day we will not leave our bed
again and a [another] will come from time to time to wash us and give us drinks.
One day, for the first time, we opened our eyes and saw; one day, for the
last time, we will shut our eyes and see no more.
One day, for the first time, we inhaled the air of this world and were born;
one day, for the last time, we will exhale the air of this world and die.
One day, before all these days, we spent long months in the darkness of
our mother to form our bones and flesh and compose our bodies; one day, after
all these days, we will spend long months in the darkness of the earth to
decompose our bodies and unmake our flesh and bones.
One day, before all these days, we came out of our father as a little seed of
life; one day, after all these days, we will re-enter the Father of fathers to be
begotten anew in eternal life.
And everything, in a new Being, will begin again.
