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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260830
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260831
DTSTAMP:20260830T011952Z
CREATED:20260830T011952Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T011952Z
UID:15419-1788048000-1788134399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n22nd Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nAugust 30 – September5\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n30\nMon\n31\nTue\n1\nWed\n2\nThu\n3\nFri\n4\nSat\n5\n\n\nOffice\n22nd Sunday\nWeekday\nWeekday\nWeekday\nSt Gregory the Great\nWeekday\nMemorial of the BVM\n\n\nVigils\n1 Mac 12:1-23\n1 Mac 12:24-38\n1 Mac 12:39-53\n1 Mac 13:1-30\n1 Mac 13:31-53\n1 Mac 14:1-15\n1 Mac 14:16-35\n\n\nLauds\nMic 4:1-5\nMic 4:6-8\nMic 4:9-14\nMic 5:1-5\nMic 5:6-8\nMic 5:9-14\nMic 6:1-8\n\n\nMass\n124\n431\n432\n433\n434\n435\n436\n\n\n1st\nJer 20:7-9\n1 Cor 2:1-5\n1 Cor 2:10b-16\n1 Cor 3:1-9\n1 Cor 3:18-23\n1 Cor 4:1-5\n1 Cor 4:6b-15\n\n\n2nd\nRom 12:1-2\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 16:21-27\nLuke 4:16-30\nLuke 4:31-37\nLuke 4:38-44\nLuke 5:1-11\nLuke 5:33-39\nLuke 6:1-5\n\n\nVespers\nJas 1:19-27\nJas 2:1-13\nJas 2:14-17\nJas 2:18-26\nJas 3:1-5a\nJas 3:5b-12\nJas 3:13-18
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-166/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260830
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260831
DTSTAMP:20260830T012139Z
CREATED:20260830T012139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T012139Z
UID:15421-1788048000-1788134399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 22nd Sunday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST AUGUSTINE \n◊◊◊ \nOur Lord’s command seems hard and heavy\, that anyone who wishes to \nfollow him must renounce himself. But no command is hard and heavy when it \ncomes from one who helps to carry it out. That other saying of his is true: My \nyoke is easy and my burden is light. Whatever is hard in his commands is made \neasy by love. \nWe know what great things love can accomplish\, even though it is often \nbase and sensual. We know what hardships people have endured\, what \nintolerable indignities they have borne to attain the object of their love. What \nwe love indicates what sort of people we are\, and therefore making a decision \nabout this should be our one concern in choosing a way of life. Why be surprised \nif people who set their hearts on Christ and want to follow him renounce \nthemselves out of love? If we lose ourselves through self-love we must surely \nfind ourselves through self-renunciation. \nWho would not wish to follow Christ to supreme happiness\, perfect peace\, \nand lasting security? We shall do well to follow him there\, but we need to know \nthe way. The Lord Jesus had not yet risen from the dead when he gave this \ninvitation. His passion was still before him; he had still to endure the cross\, to \nface outrages\, reproaches\, scourging; to be pierced by thorns\, wounded\, \ninsulted\, taunted and put to death. The road seems rough\, you draw back\, you \ndo not want to follow Christ. Follow him just the same. The road we made for \nourselves is rough\, but Christ has leveled it by passing over it himself. \nWho does not desire to be exalted? Everyone enjoys a high position. But \nself-abasement is the step that leads to it. Why take strides that are too big for \nyou – do you want to fall instead of going up? Begin with this step and you will \nfind yourself climbing. The two disciples who said: Lord\, command that one of \nus shall sit at your right hand in your kingdom and the other at your left had \nno wish to think about this step of self-abasement. They wanted to reach the top \nwithout noticing the step that led there. The Lord showed them the step\, \nhowever\, by his reply: Can you drink the cup that I am to drink? You who aim \nat the highest exaltation\, can you drink the cup of humiliation? He did not \nsimply give the general command: Let him renounce himself and follow me but \nadded: Let him take up his cross and follow me. \nWhat does it mean to take up one’s cross? It means bearing whatever is \nunpleasant – that is following me. Once you begin to follow me by conforming \nyour life to my commandments\, you will find many to contradict you\, forbid \nyou\, or dissuade you\, and some of these will be people who call themselves \nfollowers of Christ. Therefore if you meet with threats\, flattery\, or opposition\, \nlet this be your cross; pick it up and carry it – do not collapse under it. These \nwords of our Lord are like an exhortation to endure martyrdom. If you are \npersecuted you ought\, surely\, to make light of any suffering for the sake of \nChrist.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-22nd-sunday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260831
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTSTAMP:20260830T115847Z
CREATED:20260830T115847Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T115847Z
UID:15424-1788134400-1788220799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nWILLIAM OF ST THIERRY \n◊◊◊ \nTo the devil who was tempting him to blasphemy and saying: All this I \nwill give you if you will fall down and adore me\, the Doctor of truth [Jesus] \nopposed only the shield of truth and authority\, saying: It is written: you will \nworship the Lord your God\, and him only will you serve. But in the Book of \nKings\, when the minions of the Assyrian king blasphemed the Lord\, Hezekiah \nordered his own\, saying: Give them no answer! \nFor we must not answer the spirit of blasphemy in any way or converse \nwith it\, but only oppose to it the shield of faith. Its virulent malice tries to pollute \nwhatever you bring against it. It does not do this to get a satisfying answer\, but is \nonly putting on pressure to sadden the conscience of the believer or somehow to \ncorrupt the purity of his faith. \nThese are twin evils; one is the sting of the flesh\, the other that of the soul. \nAmong lazy persons they are both like a natural reminder which takes its origin\, \nas I have said\, from [Adam\,] the one who yearned to be like God because of the \nincantation of the old serpent. Immediately given over to the yearnings of the \nflesh\, he blushed at himself and covered those parts of the body which He\, who \nhad created them\, created without any need for covering. Each vice must have \nits own antidote. The same remedy does not apply to all members. What heals \nthe head does not heal the foot\, nor can what heals the weakness of the soul heal \nthe weakness of the flesh. \nTemptation of the flesh needs afflictions of the flesh and physical labors\, \nbut temptation of the soul cries out for the help of prayer\, reading and \nmeditation and any other spiritual study there may be. In particular one never \nacquires purity of faith except by true and profound humility of heart\, dutiful \ndevotion and unflagging perseverance in prayer. We must pray frequently\, \ntherefore\, and must say: Lord\, increase in us our faith! Often those who are \nadvancing in it\, if they do not have the grace that helps them\, suffer a natural \nuneasiness. \nRationality\, in itself restless and impudent\, often assaults faith there\, \nwhere it possesses the faculty of reasoning\, although with no intention of \ncontradicting it; not so that it can run against faith but so that it can run with \nfaith. As human reason is accustomed to act in human realities through\, as it \nwere\, the unavoidable medium of believing\, so it tries to break through into the \nrecognition of divine realities. But since it mounts from a different direction\, it \nslips\, it stumbles\, it sinks until it turns back to the door of faith\, to him who said: \nI am the door. And once humbled beneath the yoke of divine authority\, as it is \nmore humble\, so more securely does it enter in.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-460/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260901
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260902
DTSTAMP:20260830T115945Z
CREATED:20260830T115945Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T115945Z
UID:15426-1788220800-1788307199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nISAAC OF STELLA \n◊◊◊ \n“Jesus\, when he saw how great was their number\, went up to the \nmountainside.” Today\, dear friends\, we see our heaven-sent Physician \nunsealing the precious perfumes that he has brought with him from the bosom \nof the Father; brought to heal the wounds of the man who\, on his way down \nfrom Jerusalem to Jericho\, fell in with robbers. This unnamed man on his way \ndown represents Adam and all his descendants. It was only right that he should \nfall in with robbers\, he was but paying for the freely chosen folly of his journey. \nHad he but chosen it\, Adam could have remained in the happy state bestowed \non him at his creation\, in that wealth of good things safe from all loss. He freely \nfell because he chose to do so\, and because he journeyed down\, he fell into the \ngrip of the ruthless. He had to endure what he did not wish precisely because he \nrefused to stay where suffering could never have touched him. \nThese malicious robbers are not only the evil spirits\, but also the many \npassions of our bodies and spirit that wounded the Psalmist and made him \ngroan\, “Oh\, how often you have burdened me with bitter trouble.” Yes\, he \nsuffers unwillingly although deservedly; the price (I beg to repeat) of his freely \ndeciding to descend was his meeting robbers and suffering at their hands. Never \nwould the Lord of mercy have allowed man to fall into such cruel hands had not \nman by his own personal and conscious wickedness first deserted him to whom \nhe should have looked for strength. Man forsook God\, man went his way down\, \nand because he went down\, he was forsaken by him who did not go down. \nForsaken by God\, man fell into the power of him to whom such power was \npermitted\, the devil. He showed no pity\, but robbed\, wounded\, and left him \nhalf-dead. He who is altogether dying left man half-dead\, in other words \nhalf-alive. And such is the life of mortal man: a living dying. The devil’s dying\, \non the other hand\, is completely deadly\, leaving no room for recall to life. The \nangels’ living in its turn\, is fully vital\, having no tendency toward death. \nMortal man\, then\, is left half-dead — though alive\, he tends inevitably \ntowards death\, though dead\, he is open to cure. “They wounded him\,” the \nGospel tells us. We must look into this\, see what these wounds are\, even if our \nsituation teaches us what it means far better than any explanation. In addition \nto the weaknesses and afflictions of the body\, themselves “past all numbering”\, \nthe wounds inflicted on and infecting mankind\, in and from our first parent\, are \nof seven kinds\, of many species\, and beyond all counting. The infections that \nstem from Original Sin and afflict us all are only seven\, but they beget a \nwayward\, viper-like brood that caters to all sorts of sinful tendencies.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-461/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260902
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260903
DTSTAMP:20260830T120046Z
CREATED:20260830T120046Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T120046Z
UID:15428-1788307200-1788393599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nFR KARL RAHNER \n◊◊◊ \nWhat must we do in order to avoid stifling the Spirit? This is a dark and \ndifficult question. If it could ever be thought easy to answer it would be no \nquestion at all. The real answer to it is itself a factor in the movement and \nguidance of the Spirit\, who himself ensures that he shall not be stifled. It can be \nfound\, in the last analysis\, not by the reflexive processes of theory and \nspeculation\, but rather\, at basis\, through the sureness of instinct to be found in \nChristian living. \nThe first thing that we could do\, and do with all our hearts\, would be to \nacquire an attitude of caring; of recognizing with anxiety that it is possible to \nstifle the Spirit. The Spirit can be stifled not indeed throughout the entire \nChurch\, but still over so wide an area\, and to such a terrible extent that we have \nto fear that judgment which begins with the house of God. And for this reason \nwe must all face the possibility with fear and trembling that we could be the ones \nwho stifle the Spirit – stifle him through that pride in ‘knowing better’\, that \ninertia of heart\, that cowardice\, that unteachableness with which we react to \nfresh impulses and new pressures in the Church. \nHow different many things would be if we did not so often react to what is \nnew with a self-assured superiority\, an attitude of conservatism\, adopted as a \ndefense not of the honor of God and the teaching and institutions of the Church\, \nbut of our own selves\, of what we have always been accustomed to\, of the usual\, \nwith which we can live without daily experiencing the pain of the new metanoia. \nBut if we realized\, and with burning conviction\, that we can also be judged \nfor our omissions\, for a general obtuseness and inertia of heart which\, though \nindefinable\, extends over all spheres of our lives\, for our culpable lack of \ncreative imagination and boldness of spirit\, then we should lend a sharper ear\, \nkeener eye\, a livelier anticipation to the slightest indication that somewhere that \nSpirit is stirring whose inspiration is not merely confined to the official \npronouncements and directives of the Church\, or to the holders of official \npositions in her. \nThen we should be eagerly on the watch to see whether charisms were not \nappearing\, of which only a glimpse and a feeling can initially be obtained. Then \nwe would not make it a condition for admitting those charisms which the Spirit \nwills to impart (a condition to which\, however\, we do not subject our own lives \nand activities) that such charisms must have no element of the human in them\, \nnothing which has not yet been purified out. For this is not possible in view of \nthe fact that even the fire of the Holy Spirit burns up from the thorn-bush of our \nhuman – all too human – nature.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-462/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260903
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260904
DTSTAMP:20260830T120203Z
CREATED:20260830T120203Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T120203Z
UID:15430-1788393600-1788479999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Gregory the Great
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST GREGORY THE GREAT \n◊◊◊ \nThere is in contemplation a great effort of the mind\, when it raises itself \nup to heavenly things\, when it fixes its attention on spiritual things\, when it tries \nto pass over all that is outwardly seen\, when it narrows itself that it may be \nenlarged. And sometimes indeed it prevails and soars above the resisting \ndarkness of its blindness\, so that it attains to somewhat of the unencompassed \nLight by stealth and scantily; but for all that\, to itself straightaway beaten back it \nreturns\, and out of that light into which panting it had passed\, into the darkness \nof its blindness sighing it returns. \nIn the wrestling of Jacob with the Angel\, the Angel symbolizes the Lord\, \nand Jacob\, who contends with the Angel\, represents the soul of each perfect one\, \nwho exercises contemplation. Such a soul\, when it strives to contemplate God\, \nas if placed in a wrestle\, now comes uppermost\, because by understanding and \nfeeling it tastes somewhat of the unencompassed Light; and now falls \nunderneath\, because in the very tasting it faints away. Therefore\, so to say\, the \nAngel is worsted when by the innermost intellect God is apprehended. \nAlmighty God\, when He is now known through desire and intellect\, dries \nup in us every fleshly pleasure; and whereas before we seemed to be both \nseeking God and cleaving to the world\, after the perception of the sweetness of \nGod\, the love of the world grows feeble in us\, and the love of God alone waxes \nstrong; and while there increases in us the strength of inmost love\, without \ndoubt the strength of the flesh is weakened. \nThe sweetness of contemplation is worthy of love exceedingly\, for it \ncarries away the soul above itself\, it opens out things heavenly\, and shows that \nthings earthly are to be despised; it reveals things spiritual to the eyes of the \nmind\, and hides things bodily. \nBut we must know that so long as we live in this mortal flesh no one so \nadvances in power of contemplation as to fix the mind’s eyes as yet on the \nunencompassed ray itself of Light. For the Almighty God is not yet seen in this \nbrightness\, but the soul beholds something beneath it\, by which refreshed it \nmay progress\, and hereafter attain to the glory of the sight of Him. When the \nmind has made progress in contemplation it does not yet contemplate that \nwhich God\, but that which is under Him. But in that contemplation already the \ntaste of interior quiet is experienced.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-gregory-the-great-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260904
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260905
DTSTAMP:20260830T120330Z
CREATED:20260830T120330Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T120330Z
UID:15432-1788480000-1788566399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from the Encyclical “Ut Unum Sint” by \nPOPE ST JOHN PAUL II \n◊◊◊ \nPassing from the obligations of the Christian conscience to the actual \npractice of the ecumenical journey toward unity\, the second Vatican Council \nemphasizes above all the need for interior conversion. The second Vatican \nCouncil indicated as a dimension of renewal the ecumenical task of uniting \ndivided Christians\, “There can be no ecumenism worthy of the name without a \nchange of heart”. \nThe Council calls for personal conversion as well as for communal \nconversion. The desire of every Christian Community for unity goes hand in \nhand with its fidelity to the Gospel. Each one therefore ought to be more \nradically converted to the Gospel and\, without ever losing sight of God’s plan\, \nchange his or her way of looking at things. Thanks to ecumenism\, our \ncontemplation of the “mighty works of God” has been enriched by new horizons\, \nfor which the Triune God calls us to give thanks: the knowledge that the spirit is \nat work in other Christian Communities\, the discovery of examples of holiness\, \nthe experience of the immense riches present in the communion of saints\, and \ncontact with unexpected dimensions of Christian commitment. \nIn a corresponding way\, there is an increased sense of the need for \nrepentance: an awareness of certain exclusions which seriously harm fraternal \ncharity\, of certain refusals to forgive\, of a certain pride\, of an unevangelical \ninsistence on condemning the “other side”\, of a disdain born of an unhealthy \npresumption. \nThus the entire life of Christians is marked by a concern for ecumenism; \nand they are called to let themselves be shaped\, as it were\, by that concern. By \nengaging in frank dialogue\, Communities help one another to look at \nthemselves together in the light of the Apostolic Tradition. This leads them to \nask themselves whether they truly express in an adequate way all that the Holy \nSpirit has transmitted through the apostles. The unity willed by God can be \nattained only by the adherence of all to the content of revealed faith in its \nentirety. In matters of faith\, compromise is in contradiction with God\, who is \nTruth. \nIn the Body of Christ\, “the way and the truth and the life”\, who could \nconsider legitimate a reconciliation brought about at the expense of truth? Even \nso\, doctrine needs to be presented in a way that makes it understandable to \nthose for whom God himself intends it. Because by its nature the content of faith \nis meant for all humanity\, it must be translated into all cultures. Indeed\, the \nelement which determines communion in truth is the meaning of truth. The \nexpression of truth can take different forms. The renewal of these forms of \nexpression becomes necessary for the sake of transmitting to the people of today \nthe Gospel message in its unchanging meaning. \nAll this is extremely important and of fundamental significance for \necumenical activity. Thus it is absolutely clear that ecumenism. The movement \npromoting Christian unity\, is not just some sort of “appendix” which is added to \nthe Church’s traditional activity. Rather\, ecumenism is an organic part of her \nlife and work\, and consequently must pervade all that she is and does; it must be \nlike the fruit borne by a healthy and flourishing tree which grows to its full \nstature.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-463/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260905
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260906
DTSTAMP:20260830T120441Z
CREATED:20260830T120441Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260830T120441Z
UID:15434-1788566400-1788652799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST ELIZABETH OF THE TRINITY \n◊◊◊ \n“The Virgin kept all these things in her heart”: her whole history can be \nsummed up in these few words! It was within her heart that she lived\, and at \nsuch a depth that no human eye can follow her. When I read in the gospel “that \nMary went in haste to the hill country of Judea” to perform her loving service \nfor her cousin Elizabeth\, I imagine her passing by so beautiful\, so calm and so \nmajestic\, so absorbed in recollection of the Word of God within her. Like him \nher prayer was always this: “Ecce\, here I am!” Who? “The servant of the Lord\,” \nthe lowliest of his creatures: she\, his Mother! Her humility was so real for she \nwas always forgetful\, unaware\, freed from self. And she could sing: “The \nAlmighty has done great things for me\, henceforth all peoples will call me \nblessed.” \nThis Queen of virgins is also Queen of martyrs; but again it was in her \nheart that the sword pierced\, for with her everything took place within! Oh! \nHow beautiful she is to contemplate during her long martyrdom\, so serene\, \nenveloped in a kind of majesty that radiates both strength and gentleness. She \nlearned from the Word himself how those must suffer whom the Father has \nchosen as victims\, those whom he has decided to associate with himself in the \ngreat work of redemption\, those whom he “has foreknown and predestined to \nbe conformed to his Christ\,” crucified by love. She is there at the foot of the \nCross\, standing\, full of strength and courage\, and here my Master says to me: \n[“Behold your Mother”] – He gives her to me for my Mother. \nAnd now that he has returned to the Father and has substituted me for \nhimself on the Cross so that “I may suffer in my body what is lacking in his \npassion for the sake of his body\, which is the Church\,” the Blessed Virgin is \nagain there to teach me to suffer as he did\, to tell me\, to make me hear those last \nsongs of his soul which no one else but she\, his Mother\, could overhear.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-bvm-23/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260906
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260907
DTSTAMP:20260906T130029Z
CREATED:20260906T130029Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T130029Z
UID:15443-1788652800-1788739199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n23rd Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nSeptember 6 – 12\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n6\nMon\n7\nTue\n8\nWed\n9\nThu\n10\nFri\n11\nSat\n12\n\n\nOffice\n23rd Sunday\nWeekday Labor Day\nNativity of the BVM\nSt Peter Claver\nWeekday\nOffice for the Dead\nSt Peter Tarentaise\n\n\nVigils\n1 Mac 14:36-49\n1 Mac 15:1-24\nGen 3:8-20\n1 Mac 15:25-41\n1 Mac 16:1-23\nSong of Songs 1:1-17\nSong 2:1-17\n\n\nLauds\nMic 6:9-16\nMic 7:1-6\nBaruch 5:1-9\nMic 7:7-13\nMic 7:14-20\nNahum 1:1-8\nNahum 1:9-2:1\n\n\nMass\n127\n437\, 559\n636\n439\n440\n441\n442\n\n\n1st\nEzek 33:7-9\n1 Cor 5:1-8\nMicah 5:1-4a\n1 Cor 7:25-31\n1 Cor 8:1b-7\, 11-13\n1 Cor 9:16-19\, 22b-27\n1 Cor 10:14-22\n\n\n2nd\nRom 13:8-10\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 18:15-20\nMatt 13:54-58\nMatt 1:18-23\nLuke 6:20-26\nLuke 6:27-38\nLuke 6:39-42\nLuke 6:43-49\n\n\nVespers\nJas 4:1-4\n—-\nRom 8:28-39\nJas 4:5-12\nJas 4:13-17\nJas 5:1-6\nJas 5:7-12
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-167/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260906
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260907
DTSTAMP:20260906T130213Z
CREATED:20260906T130213Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T130213Z
UID:15445-1788652800-1788739199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 23rd Sunday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST JOHN CHRYSOSTOM \n◊◊◊ \nThe Apostle says: Whether you eat or drink\, or whatever you do\, do it all \nfor the glory of God. You will be doing everything for the glory of God if\, when \nyou leave this place\, you make yourselves responsible for saving a brother or \nsister\, not just by accusing and rebuking him or her\, but also by advising and \nencouraging\, and by pointing out the harm done by worldly amusements\, and \nthe profit and help that come from our instruction. You will also be preparing \nfor yourself a double reward\, since as well as greatly furthering your own \nsalvation\, you will be endeavoring to heal a fellow member of Christ’s body. It is \nthe Church’s pride\, it is the Savior’s command\, not to be concerned only about \nour own welfare\, but about our neighbor’s also. \nThink to what high honor you raise yourself when you regard someone \nelse’s salvation as a matter of extreme importance. As far as is humanly possible \nyou imitate God Himself\, for listen to what he says through the prophet: \n“Whoever leads another from wrong to right will be as my own mouth.” In other \nwords\, “Whoever tries to save those that are negligent\, and to snatch them from \nthe jaws of the devil\, is imitating me as far as a human being can.” What other \nwork can equal this? Of all good deeds this is the greatest; of all virtue this is the \nsummit. \nAnd this is perfectly reasonable. Christ shed his own blood for our \nsalvation; and Paul\, speaking of those who give scandal and wound the \nconsciences of people seeing them\, cried out: Because of your knowledge a \nweak brother or sister is destroyed – someone for whom Christ died! So if your \nLord shed his blood for that person\, surely it is right for each of us to offer at \nleast some words of encouragement and to extend a helping hand to those who \nthrough laxity have fallen into the snares of the devil. \nBut I am quite certain that you will do this out of the tender love you bear \nyour own members\, and that you will make every effort to bring your neighbors \nback to our common Mother\, because I know that through the grace of God you \nare able to admonish others with wisdom.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-23rd-sunday-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260907
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260908
DTSTAMP:20260906T130519Z
CREATED:20260906T130339Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T130519Z
UID:15447-1788739200-1788825599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST JOHN HENRY NEWMAN \n◊◊◊ \nGod was all-complete\, all-blessed in Himself; but it was His almighty will \nto create a world for His glory. He is Almighty\, and might have done all things \nHimself\, but it has been His will to bring about His purposes by the beings He \nhas created. We are all created to His glory – we are created to do His will. I am \ncreated to do something or to be something for which no one else is created; I \nhave a place in God’s counsels\, in God’s world\, which no one else has; whether I \nbe rich or poor\, despised or esteemed by man\, God knows me and calls me by \nmy name. \nGod has created me to do Him some definite service; He has committed \nsome work to me which He has not committed to another. I have my mission – I \nnever may know it in this life\, but I shall be told it in the next. Somehow I am \nnecessary for His purposes\, as necessary in my place as an Archangel in his – if\, \nindeed\, I fail He can raise another\, as He could make stones children of \nAbraham. Yet I have a part in this great work: I am a link in a chain\, a bond of \nconnection between persons. He has not created me for naught. I shall do good\, \nI shall do His work; I shall be an angel of peace\, a preacher of truth in my own \nplace\, while not intending it\, if I but do keep His commandments and serve Him \nin my calling. \nTherefore I will trust Him. Whatever\, wherever I am\, I can never be \nthrown away. If I am in sickness\, my sickness may serve Him; in perplexity\, my \nperplexity may serve Him; if I am in sorrow\, my sorrow may serve Him. My \nsickness\, or perplexity\, or sorrow may be necessary causes of some great end\, \nwhich is quite beyond us. He does nothing in vain; He may prolong my life\, He \n2Meditations and Devotions. John Henry Newman\, Longmans\, Green & Co.\,1954\,p.216-217.5 \nmay shorten it; He knows what He is about. He may take away my friends\, He \nmay throw me among strangers\, He may make me feel desolate\, make my spirits \nsink\, hide the future from me – still He knows what He is about.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-464/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260908
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260909
DTSTAMP:20260906T130631Z
CREATED:20260906T130631Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T130631Z
UID:15450-1788825600-1788911999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Nativity of the BVM
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nBLESSED GUERRIC OF IGNY \n◊◊◊ \nAs the vine I have brought forth a pleasant odor. Today we celebrate the \nbirthday of the blessed Virgin Mother from whom the Life of all things took his \nbirth. Today is the birthday of that Virgin from whom the Savior of all men \nwilled to be born in order that he might give to all who were born to death the \npower to be reborn to life. Today is the birthday of that new Mother who has \ndestroyed the curse brought by the first mother\, so that all those who through \nthe fault of the first had been born under the yoke of eternal condemnation \nmight instead\, through her\, inherit a blessing. \nShe is indeed the new Mother\, for she has brought new life to her children \nalready hardening with age and has healed the defect of both inborn and \nacquired senility… She is the new Mother\, who by an unheard of miracle has \ngiven birth in such a way that\, becoming a mother\, she has not ceased to be a \nVirgin. And she has given birth to the Child who created all things\, even the \nMother herself. \nIt is indeed a wonderful new thing\, this fruitful virginity\, but far more \nwonderful is the novelty of the Child born of it. No one who admits that the \nChild was God\, finds any difficulty in believing his Mother remained a Virgin. \nHis birth in no way could injure the physical integrity of his Mother\, this Child \nwho went about making even the diseased whole. Nor could the reality of the \nbody he assumed be thought to limit the power of the Creator as if he could not \nretain for himself what he gives to many of his creatures. For you find not a few \ncreatures that are born without any harm to the integrity of the parents. In their \nown way all these bear witness to their Creator’s own immaculate birth. \nBut the Mother herself\, who was quite aware of the mystery surrounding \nher\, has spoken and taught us how and what she brought forth. She speaks \nhowever not in contemporary or recent arguments but in the ancient oracles of \nprophecy\, because\, as the Apostle Peter tells us\, the word of prophecy is a \nstronger witness than miracles. Indeed what is less open to deceit or suspect of \nfalsity than the testimony from heaven about one not yet born? \nLong before her birth therefore the Spirit\, who would later make his \nabode in her\, borrowed Mary’s voice to defend both the divinity of the Child and \nthe integrity of the Mother – all his own handiwork – against the blasphemies of \nunbelievers. In her person…he uttered the words: As the vine\, I have brought \nforth a pleasant odor.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-nativity-of-the-bvm-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260909
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260910
DTSTAMP:20260906T130740Z
CREATED:20260906T130740Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T130740Z
UID:15452-1788912000-1788998399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Peter Claver
DESCRIPTION:A reading from Butler’s Lives of the Saints on \nST PETER CLAVER \n◊◊◊ \nHe was born in Catalonia\, about 1581… He graduated with distinction \n[and entered] the Society of Jesus. He left Spain forever in April 1610\, and was \nordained priest at Cartagena\, in what is now the republic of Colombia. By the \ntime of his ordination the slave trade had been established in the Americas for \nnearly a hundred years\, and the port of Cartagena was one of its principal \ncenters… \nAt this time the leader of the work among the Negroes was Father Alfonso \nde Sandoval\, a great Jesuit missionary who spent forty years in the service of the \nslaves\, and after working under him Peter Claver declared himself “the slave of \nthe Negroes forever”. Although by nature shy and without self-confidence he \nthrew himself into the work with method and organization. He enlisted bands \nof assistants\, and as soon as a slave-ship entered the port… St Peter Claver \nplunged\, with medicines and food\, bread\, brandy\, lemons\, tobacco to distribute \namong the Negroes\, some of whom were too frightened\, others too ill\, to accept \nthem. “We must speak to them with our hands\, before we try to speak to them \nwith our lips”\, Claver would say. \nWhen he came upon any who were dying\, he baptized them\, and then \nsought out all babies born on the voyage that he might baptize them. He had a \nband of seven interpreters\, one of whom spoke four Negro dialects\, and with \ntheir help he taught the slaves and prepared them for baptism\, not only in \ngroups but individually. He made use of pictures\, showing our Lord suffering \non the cross; above all he tried to instill in them… some idea that as redeemed \nhuman beings they had dignity and worth\, even if as slaves… \nIt is estimated that in forty years St. Peter Claver instructed and baptized \nover 300\,000 slaves… He took the same trouble to teach them how properly to \nuse the sacrament of penance\, and in one year is said to have heard the \nconfessions of more than five thousand. Many of the stories both of the heroism \nand of the miraculous powers of St. Peter Claver concern his nursing of sick and \ndiseased Negroes\, in circumstances often that no one else\, black or white\, could \nface. \nIn 1650… sickness attacked his emaciated and weakened body\, and he \nwas recalled to the Jesuit residence at Cartagena. But here a virulent epidemic \nhad begun to show itself\, and one of the first to be attacked among the Jesuits \nwas the debilitated missionary… After receiving the last sacraments\, he \nrecovered\, but he was a broken man… \nOn September 6\, 1654 he was taken very ill and became comatose. The \nrumor of his approaching end spread round the city\, everyone suddenly \nremembered the saint again\, and numbers came to kiss his hands before it was \ntoo late. His cell was stripped of everything that could be carried off as a relic. \nSt. Peter Claver never fully recovered consciousness\, and died two days later on \nthe birthday of our Lady. The civil authorities who had looked askance at his \nsolicitude for mere Negro slaves\, and the clergy\, who had called his zeal \nindiscreet and his energy wasted\, now vied with one another to honor his \nmemory… He was canonized in 1888 and was declared by Pope Leo XIII patron \nof all missionary enterprises among Negroes.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-peter-claver-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260910
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260911
DTSTAMP:20260906T130847Z
CREATED:20260906T130847Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T130847Z
UID:15454-1788998400-1789084799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nWILLIAM OF ST THIERRY \n◊◊◊ \nNow we on our part hold you dear by the affection of Love which you have \nimplanted in us. But how is it with you? Do you\, the Creator of all things\, both of \nthe good dispositions and of souls that are to be affected by them\, do you love \nthose whom you do love by some extraneous\, incidental activity? And are you\, \nthe Maker of all people and all things\, in some way\, in some respect\, affected in \nso doing? It is unthinkable! It would be ridiculous and contrary to faith to \nimpute such a thing to the Creator of all! \nWell\, then\, how do you love us\, if you do not love us with love? But\, O you \nwho are the One supremely good and the ultimate Goodness\, your love is your \ngoodness\, the Holy spirit proceeding from the father and the Son! From the \nbeginning of creation he has been borne upon the waters – on the tossing souls \nof mortals\, that is – offering himself to all\, drawing all to himself. And by \nbreathing into and upon them\, by warding off things harmful and supplying \nthings useful\, he unites God to us and us to God. Your Holy Spirit\, who is called \nthe Love\, and the Unity\, and the Will of the Father and the Son\, dwells in us by \nhis grace and implants in us the charity of God; and through that charity he \nreconciles God to us. And thus he unites us to God through the good will that he \nbreathes into us. And with us this vehement good will goes by the name of love\, \nby which we love what we ought to love\, namely you. For love is nothing other \nthan a vehement\, well-ordered will… \nWe first hoped\, because we knew your name\, O Lord; we gloried in you as \nLord and loved the name of the Lord in you. But now\, through the grace \ninbreathed into us by the Spirit of your adoption\, we have confidence that all \nthat the father has is ours also. So\, through the grace of adoption\, we invoke you \nnow under the same name as your only Son invokes you by right of nature. But \nbecause all this derives exclusively from you\, O sovereign Father of lights\, for \nwhom to love is to do good and from whom comes every good endowment and \nevery perfect gift\, you\, I say\, love yourself in us\, and us in yourself\, when we love \nyou through you. \nWe are…God’s offspring\, we\, all of us\, are gods and children of the Most \nHigh through a kind of spiritual kinship. We claim for ourselves a closer \nrelationship with you\, because through the Spirit of adoption your Son does not \nscorn to be known by the same name as we\, and because with and by him\, taught \nby saving precepts and schooled by God’s ordinance\, we are bold to say: “Our \nFather\, who art in heaven.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-465/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260911
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260912
DTSTAMP:20260906T130949Z
CREATED:20260906T130949Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T130949Z
UID:15456-1789084800-1789171199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Office for the Dead
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nCARDINAL JEAN DANIELOU \n◊◊◊ \nThe Christian Life is altogether an act of waiting. Christians know that \nthey are made for greater things. They feel acutely the misery of their present \ncondition. They aspire to be relieved of the weight of animal life and its \nservitude. “I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ”. While the carnal in us \ngrasps desperately at pleasures and possessions\, the Christian lives already in \nthe order of being\, detached\, free\, making use of time\, so long as it is given\, to \nperform works of charity towards all – an activity invisible to the eyes of the \nworld. The Christian life is a hidden life. \nBut when the world is folded up like a tent\, the reality that has been \nhidden until that moment will be clearly revealed. It is to prepare oneself for this \nsolemn act\, which is the entry of every person into the heavenly Temple\, \nthrough the veil that still conceals it\, that one’s whole life must be devoted. \nThat life consists for the Christian in being endowed little by little with \ndivine manners. And the education that proceeds till the hour of death – for all \nlife is only an adolescence – consists\, as Jean Guitton says\, “in that discipline by \nwhich we prepare the child for temporal life\, the adult for eternal life\, so that \nwhatever we see\, we feel we have seen it already.” We must not be without a \ncountry on our arrival in heaven. Our life is an apprenticeship. It is a matter of \nlearning the rudiments of what we shall have one day to do. \nSo let us already try in prayer to stammer what will later be the \n‘conversation in heaven’ with God and his angels; so we must try to make less \ncrude this intellect of ours\, which is so immersed in the world of time and space\, \nand to acclimatize it gradually to heavenly things through the action of the gifts \nof the Holy Spirit. Thus charity itself is the clumsy beginning of that complete \ncommunion which will embrace all the saints. So doing\, we begin to do what we \nhave always to do. It is our real life which is being mapped out. Let us begin it.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-office-for-the-dead-29/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260912
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260913
DTSTAMP:20260906T131058Z
CREATED:20260906T131058Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260906T131058Z
UID:15458-1789171200-1789257599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Peter Tarentaise
DESCRIPTION:A reading from Butler’s Lives of the Saints on \nST PETER OF TARENTAISE \n◊◊◊ \nSt Peter of Tarentaise was born near Vienne in the French province of the \nDauphine. He early displayed a remarkable memory\, coupled with great \ninclination for religious studies\, and at the age of twenty he entered the abbey of \nBonnevaux. After a time\, his father and the other two sons followed Peter to \nBonnevaux\, while his mother\, with the only daughter\, entered a neighboring \nnunnery. \nHe was not quite thirty when he was chosen superior of a new house built \nat Tamie\, in the desert mountains of Tarentaise. It over looked the pass which \nwas then the chief route from Geneva to Savoy\, and the monks were able to be of \ngreat use to travelers. There\, with the help of Amadeus III\, Count of Savoy\, who \nheld him in high esteem\, he founded a hospice for the sick and for strangers\, in \nwhich he was wont to wait upon his guests with his own hands. \nIn 1142 came his election to the archbishopric of Tarentaise\, and Peter \nwas compelled by St Bernard and the general chapter of his order\, though much \nagainst the grain\, to accept the office. He found the diocese in a deplorable state\, \ndue mainly to the mismanagement of his predecessor\, an unworthy man who \nhad eventually to be deposed. In place of the cathedral clergy whom he found lax \nand careless; St Peter substituted canons regular of St Augustine. He undertook \nthe constant visitation of his diocese; recovered property which had been \nalienated; appointed good priests to various parishes; made excellent \nfoundations for the education of the young and relief of the poor; and \neverywhere provided for the due celebration of the services of the Church.. \nIn 1155\, after he had administered the diocese for thirteen years\, Peter \nsuddenly disappeared. Actually\, he had made his way to a remote Cistercian \nabbey in Switzerland\, where\, he was accepted as a lay-brother. Not until a year \nlater was he discovered. His identity having been revealed to his new superiors\, \nPeter was obliged to leave and return to his see\, where he was greeted with great \njoy. He took up his duties more zealously than ever. He rebuilt the hospice of the \nLittle St Bernard and founded other similar refuges for travelers in the Alps… \nIt was not granted to the saint to die among his mountain flock. His \nreputation as a peacemaker led Alexander III to send him in 1174 to try effect a \nreconciliation between King Louis VII of France and Henry II of England. St \nPeter\, though he was old\, set out at once\, preaching everywhere on his way. As \nhe approached Chaumont in the Vexin\, where the French court was being held\, \nhe was met by King Louis and by Prince Henry\, the rebellious heir to the English \nthrone. The latter\, alighting from his horse to receive the archbishop’s blessing\, \nasked for the saint’s old cloak\, which he reverently kissed. \nBoth at Chaumont and at Gisors where he interviewed the English king\, St \nPeter was treated with utmost honor\, but the reconciliation for which he labored \ndid not take place until after his death. As he was returning to his diocese he was \ntaken ill on the road near Besançon\, and died as he was being carried into the \nabbey of Bellevaux. This St Peter was canonized in 1191.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-peter-tarentaise/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260912T120000
DTSTAMP:20260707T150106Z
CREATED:20260707T150106Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260707T150106Z
UID:15161-1789203600-1789214400@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Chicago Zoom September 9:00am CDT
DESCRIPTION:All are welcome to join our meeting via Zoom at: \nJoin Zoom Meeting \nhttps://us02web.zoom.us/j/86028356465 \nMeeting ID: 860 2835 6465 \nOne tap mobile \n+13126266799\,\,86028356465# US (Chicago) \n+13092053325\,\,86028356465# USC
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/chicago-zoom-september-900am-cdt/
CATEGORIES:LCG Local Community Meetings,LCG open events
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260913
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260914
DTSTAMP:20260913T105424Z
CREATED:20260913T105424Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T105424Z
UID:15460-1789257600-1789343999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n24th Week in Ordinary Time\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nSeptember 13 – 19\, 2026\n\n\n\nSun\n13\nMon\n14\nTue\n15\nWed\n16\nThu\n17\nFri\n18\nSat\n19\n\n\nOffice\n24th Sunday\nExaltation of the Holy Cross\nOur Lady of Sorrows\nSS Cornelius & Cyprian\nWeekday\nWeekday\nWeekday\n\n\nVigils\nSong 3:1-11\nIsa 52:13-53:12\n2 Macc 7:20-41\nSong 4:1-5:1\nSong 5:2-6:3\nSong 6:4-7:6\nSong 7:7-8:4\n\n\nLauds\nNahum 2:2-8\nIsa 45:21-25\nBaruch 4:9b-20\nNahum 2:9-14\nNahum 3:1-7\nNahum 3:8-13\nNahum 3:14-19\n\n\nMass\n130\n638\n639\n445\n446\n447\n448\n\n\n1st\nSir 27:30—28:7\nNum 21:4b-9\nHeb 5:7-9\n1 Cor 12:31-13:13\n1 Cor 15:1-11\n1 Cor 15:12-20\n1 Cor 15:35-37\, 42-49\n\n\n2nd\nRom 14:7-9\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 18:21-35\nJohn 3:13-17\nJohn 19:25-27\nLuke 7:31-35\nLuke 7:36-50\nLuke 8:1-3\nLuke 8:4-15\n\n\nVespers\nJas 5:13-20\nGal 6:14-18\nCol 1:21-24\n1 Peter 1:1-7\n1 Pet 1:8-12\n1 Pet 1:13-16\n1 Pet 1:17-21
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-168/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260913
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260914
DTSTAMP:20260913T105600Z
CREATED:20260913T105600Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T105600Z
UID:15462-1789257600-1789343999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading-  24th Sunday
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST AUGUSTINE \n◊◊◊ \nThe Lord puts the parable of the unforgiving debtor before us that we may \nlearn from it. He has no desire for us to die\, so he warns us: This is how your \nheavenly Father will deal with you if you\, any of you\, fail to forgive your \nbrother or sister from your heart. \nTake notice now\, for clearly this is no idle warning. The fulfillment of this \ncommand calls for the most vigorous obedience. We are all in debt to God\, just \nas other people are in debt to us. Is there anyone who is not God’s debtor? Only \na person in whom no sin can be found. And is there anyone who has no brother \nor sister in his debt? Only if there be someone who has never suffered any \nwrong. Do you think anyone can be found in the entire human race who has not \nin turn wronged another in some way\, incurring a debt to that person? No\, all \nare debtors\, and have others in debt to them. Accordingly\, God who is just has \ntold you how to treat your debtor\, because he means to treat his in the same \nway. \nThere are two works of mercy which will set us free. They are briefly set \ndown in the gospel in the Lord’s own words: Forgive and you will be forgiven\, \nand Give and you will receive. The former concerns pardon\, the latter \ngenerosity. As regards pardon he says: “Just as you want to be forgiven\, so \nsomeone is in need of your forgiveness.” Again\, as regards generosity\, consider \nwhen a beggar asks you for something that you are a beggar too in relation to \nGod. When we pray we are all beggars before God. We are standing at the door \nof a great householder\, or rather\, lying prostrate\, and begging with tears. We \nare longing to receive a gift – the gift of God himself. \nWhat does a beggar ask of you? Bread. And you\, what do you ask of God\, \nif not Christ who said: I am the living bread that has come down from heaven? \nDo you want to be pardoned? Then pardon others. Forgive and you will be \nforgiven. Do you want to receive? Give and you will receive. \nIf we think of our sins\, reckoning up those we have committed by sight\, \nhearing\, thought\, and countless disorderly emotions\, I do not know whether we \ncan even sleep without falling into debt. And so\, every day we pray; every day we \nbeat upon God’s ears with our pleas; every day we prostrate ourselves before \nhim saying: Forgive us our trespasses\, as we also forgive those who trespass \nagainst us. Which of our trespasses\, all of them or only some? All\, you will \nanswer. Do likewise\, therefore\, with those who have offended you. This is the \nrule you have laid down for yourself\, the condition you have stipulated. When \nyou pray according to this pact and covenant you remember to say: Forgive us\, \nas we also forgive our debtors.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-24th-sunday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260914
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260915
DTSTAMP:20260913T105716Z
CREATED:20260913T105716Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T105716Z
UID:15464-1789344000-1789430399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Exaltation of the Holy Cross
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST JOHN HENRY NEWMAN \n◊◊◊ \nAs the doctrine of the Cross\, though it be the true interpretation of this \nworld\, is not prominently manifested in it upon its surface\, but is concealed; so \nagain\, when received into the faithful heart\, there it abides as a living principle\, \nbut deep\, and hidden from observation. Religious people\, in the words of \nScripture\, “live by the faith of the Son of God\, who loved them and gave Himself \nfor them:”but they do not tell this to all; they leave others to find it out as they \nmay. \nOur Lord’s own command to His disciples was\, that when they fast\, they \nshould “anoint their head and wash their face.” Thus they are bound not to make \na display\, but ever to be content to look outwardly different from what they are \nreally inwardly. They are to carry a cheerful countenance with them\, and to \ncontrol and regulate their feelings\, that those feelings\, by not being expended on \nthe surface\, may retire deep into their hearts and there live. \nAnd thus “Jesus Christ and He crucified” is\, as the Apostle tells us\, \n“hidden wisdom;” — hidden in the world\, which seems at first sight to speak a \nfar other doctrine\, — and hidden in the faithful soul\, which to persons at a \ndistance\, or to chance beholders\, seems to be living but an ordinary life\, while \nreally it is in secret holding communion with Him who was “manifested in the \nflesh\,” “crucified through weakness\,” “justified in the Spirit\, seen of Angels\, and \nreceived up into glory.” \nThis being the case\, the great and awful doctrine of the Cross of Christ\, \nwhich we now commemorate\, may fitly be called\, in the language of figure\, the \nheart of religion. The heart may be considered as the seat of life; it is the \nprinciple of motion\, heart\, and activity; from it the blood goes to and fro to the \nextreme parts of the body. It sustains us in our powers and faculties; it enables \nthe brain to think and when it is touched\, we die. And in like manner the sacred \ndoctrine of Christ’s Atoning Sacrifice is the vital principle on which the \nChristian lives\, and without which Christianity is not. Without it no other \ndoctrine is held profitably; to believe in Christ’s Divinity\, or in His manhood\, or \nin the Holy Trinity\, or in a judgment to come\, or in the resurrection of the dead\, \nis an untrue belief\, not Christian faith unless we receive also the doctrine of \nChrist’s sacrifice… \nThe heart is hidden from view; it is carefully and securely guarded; it is \nnot like the eye set in the forehead\, commanding all\, and seen of all: and so in \nlike manner the sacred doctrine of the Atoning Sacrifice is not one to be talked \nof\, but to be lived upon; not to be put forth irreverently\, but to be adored \nsecretly; not to be used as a necessary instrument in the conversion of the \nungodly\, or for the satisfaction of reasoners of this world\, but to be unfolded to \nthe docile and obedient; to young children\, whom the world has not corrupted; \nto the sorrowful\, who need comfort\, to the sincere and earnest\, who need a rule \nof life; to the innocent\, who need warning; and to the established who have \nearned the knowledge of it.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-exaltation-of-the-holy-cross-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260915
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260916
DTSTAMP:20260913T105824Z
CREATED:20260913T105824Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T105824Z
UID:15466-1789430400-1789516799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Our Lady of Sorrows
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nAMADEUS OF LAUSANNE \n◊◊◊ \nWith deep calling to deep\, two loves had come together into one and from \nthe two loves was made a single love when the Virgin mother gave to her Son the \nlove she gave to God\, and showed her love for her son in loving God. Therefore \nthe more she loved\, the more she grieved and the greatness of her love brought \nthe increase of her suffering. \nWhat was she doing when she stood on Calvary and saw the cross\, the \nnails\, the wounds of the One who was dying in innocence and the insatiable \ncruelty of the Pharisee afire with malice? [Jesus] hung there atoning not for his \nsins but for ours\, and the Pharisees with the Scribes\, mocking him\, struck him \non the head and offered to his lips vinegar mingled with gall that there might be \nfulfilled the prophecy of David\, saying in the person of Christ\, ‘They added to the \npain of my wounds.’ \nIn the midst of this the Mother of God was distressed in mind\, and \nsorrows seized upon her as upon a woman in childbirth. There are groans\, sobs\, \nsighs\, sorrow\, grief\, agony\, distress of heart\, fires\, a death more cruel than \ndeath. There life is not taken away yet the bitterness of death is suffered. O \nmemory to be revered\, full of devotion and tears\, to recall how that glorious holy \nsoul suffered\, and what anguish she endured in the death of Christ. The pale \nface of Jesus reflected the bloodless face of his mother. He suffered in the flesh\, \nshe in her heart. \nFinally the insults and scoffing of the wicked came back upon his mother’s \nhead. The Lord’s death was to her more bitter than her own [would have been]. \nAlthough\, taught by the Spirit\, she would not doubt the resurrection\, yet she had \nto drink the Father’s cup and to know the hour of her own passion. Concerning \nthis\, the venerable Simeon prophesied to her: ‘A sword shall pierce your soul.’ O \nLord Jesus\, terrible in your counsels beyond the sons of men\, you did not spare \nyour mother from the sword piercing her soul. By this road must we all pass by \nthe fiery sword turning this way and that to the tree of life which is in the midst \nof paradise. \nBut to return: Blessed Mary was able to cry out that which was especially \nappropriate to Christ: ‘O all you who pass by\, behold and see if there is any \nsorrow like my sorrow. What a sorrow and how great! And in that sorrow what \nwas Mary like? Alas\, as she was then\, how different from the girl who had once \ntended her son amid a choir of angels while shepherds worshiped and Magi \nadored him with an offering of mystic gifts. Very different\, not indeed in virtue \nbut in sadness\, not in grace but in grief. For she increased in virtue and grew in \ngrace. For set in the midst of adversity she neither relaxed her modesty nor lost \nthe strength of her constancy.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-our-lady-of-sorrows-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260916
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260917
DTSTAMP:20260913T105948Z
CREATED:20260913T105948Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T105948Z
UID:15468-1789516800-1789603199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - SS Cornelius & Cyprian
DESCRIPTION:A letter from St Cyprian to \nST CORNELIUS \n◊◊◊ \nCyprian sends greetings to his brother Cornelius. My very dear brother\, \nwe have heard of the glorious witness given by your courageous faith. On \nlearning of the honor you had won by your witness\, we were filled with such joy \nthat we felt ourselves sharers and companions in your praiseworthy \nachievements. After all\, we have the same Church\, the same mind. The same \nunbroken harmony. Why then should a priest not take pride in the praise given \nto a fellow priest as though it were given to him? What brotherhood fails to \nrejoice in the happiness of its brothers wherever they are? \nWords cannot express how great was the exaltation and delight here when \nwe heard of your good fortune and brave deeds: how you stood out as a leader of \nyour brothers in their declaration of faith\, while the leader’s confession was \nenhanced as they declared their faith. You led the way to glory\, but you gained \nmany companions in that glory; being foremost in your readiness to bear \nwitness on behalf of all\, you prevailed on your people to become a single \nwitness. We cannot decide which we ought to praise\, your own ready and \nunshaken faith or the love of your brothers who would not leave you. While the \ncourage of the bishop who thus led the way has been demonstrated\, at the same \ntime the unity of the brotherhood who followed has been manifested. Since you \nhave one heart and one voice\, it is the Roman Church as a whole that has thus \nborne witness. \nDearest brother\, bright and shining is the faith which the blessed Apostle \npraised in your community. He foresaw in the spirit the praise your courage \ndeserves and the strength that could not be broke; he was heralding the future \nwhen he testified to your achievements; his praise of the fathers was a challenge \nto the sons. Your unity\, your strength have become shining examples of these \nvirtues to the rest of the brethren. \nDivine providence has now prepared us. God’s merciful design has \nwarned us that the day of our own struggle\, our own contest\, is at hand. By that \nshared love which binds us closely together\, we are doing all we can to exhort \nour congregation\, to give ourselves unceasingly to fastings\, vigils and prayers in \ncommon. These are the heavenly weapons which give us strength to stand firm \nand endure; they are the spiritual defenses\, the God-given armaments that \nprotect us. \nLet us then remember one another\, united in mind and heart. Let us pray \nwithout ceasing\, you for us\, we for you; by the love we share we shall thus relieve \nthe strain of these great trials.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-ss-cornelius-cyprian-5/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260917
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260918
DTSTAMP:20260913T110051Z
CREATED:20260913T110051Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T110051Z
UID:15470-1789603200-1789689599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from the Rule of \nST BENEDICT \n◊◊◊ \nIn choosing an abbot\, the guiding principle should always be that the man \nplaced in office be the one selected either by the whole community acting \nunanimously in the fear of God\, or by some part of the community\, no matter \nhow small\, which possesses sounder judgment. Goodness of life and wisdom in \nteaching must be the criteria for choosing the one to be made abbot even if he is \nthe last in community rank. \nMay God forbid that a whole community should conspire to elect a man \nwho goes along with its own evil ways. But if it does\, and if the bishop of the \ndiocese or the abbots or Christians in the area come to know of these evil ways to \nany extent\, they must block the success of this wicked conspiracy\, and set a \nworthy steward in charge of God’s house. They may be sure that they will receive \na generous reward for this\, if they do it with pure motives and zeal for God’s \nhonor. Conversely\, they may be equally sure that to neglect to do so is sinful. \nOnce in office\, the abbot must keep constantly in mind the nature of the \nburden he has received\, and remember to whom he will have to give an account \nof his stewardship. Let him recognize that his goal must be profit for the monks\, \nnot preeminence for himself. He ought\, therefore\, to be learned in divine law\, so \nthat he has a treasury of knowledge from which he can bring out what is new \nand what is old. He must be chaste\, temperate and merciful. He should always \nlet mercy triumph over judgment so that he too may win mercy. He must hate \nfaults but love the brothers. When he must punish them\, he should use \nprudence and avoid extremes; otherwise\, by rubbing too hard to remove the \nrust\, he may break the vessel. He is to distrust his own frailty and remember not \nto crush the bruised reed. By this we do not mean that he should allow faults to \nflourish\, but rather\, as we have already said\, he should prune them away with \nprudence and love as he see best for each individual. Let him strive to be love \nrather than feared. \nExcitable\, anxious\, extreme\, obstinate\, jealous or oversuspicious he must \nnot be. Such a man is never at rest. Instead\, he must show forethought and \nconsideration in his orders\, and whether the task he assigns concerns God or the \nworld\, he should be discerning and moderate\, bearing in mind the discretion of \nholy Jacob\, who said: If I drive my flocks too hard\, they will all die in a single \nday. Therefore\, drawing on this and other examples of discretion\, the mother of \nvirtues\, he must so arrange everything that the strong have something to yearn \nfor and the weak nothing to run from. \nHe must\, above all\, keep this rule in every particular\, so that when he has \nministered well he will hear from the Lord what that good servant heard who \ngave his fellow servants grain at the proper time: I tell you solemnly\, he said\, he \nsets him over all his possessions.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-466/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260918
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260919
DTSTAMP:20260913T110203Z
CREATED:20260913T110203Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T110203Z
UID:15472-1789689600-1789775999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “Faith and Theology” by \nFR MARIE-DOMINIQUE CHENU \n◊◊◊ \nThe Christian is always haunted by the memory of the primitive Church \ncommunity in which “the multitude of the believers were of one heart and one \nsoul\, and not one of them said that anything he possessed was his own\, but \nthey had all things in common”. In this the Christian sees the ideal blueprint of \nthe Church\, the new-born foundation\, fresh from the breath of the Spirit in the \ncandid youth of a first love. \nDid the attempt fail? Some may believe so\, but I will not! That sacred fire \nwas never extinguished; throughout the centuries the Church has supported\, \nprotected and exalted those of her members who have practiced this ideal of \ncommon life and borne witness to the truth of its revelation. I believe this with \nall my heart\, for despite the many failures\, I see its success and I experience it \ndaily. The irrepressible leaven always makes the bread rise\, and the great stages \nof the Church\, her great successes – not her political or military victories for \nthese are not important and they are far from the spirit of the Gospel – her true \ntriumphs are characterized by revivals of this fraternity which blossoms amid \nthe thorns of conflict\, for it is in conflict\, by a divine paradox\, that this ideal finds \nits daring and its authenticity. \nA universal society? A chimera to the economist\, a dream to the politician\, \na mystical illusion to a reasonable person! And I would be inclined to \nagree…had not God one day become the first-born among brothers. \nWe retract nothing of this fraternal mystique\, and if there is folly in it\, we \nprefer its excess to the folly which in peoples\, nations\, races or classes\, \ncondemns humanity to falsehood\, hate and despair. But we believe that\, far \nfrom supplanting the structures and the solidarities which the economist\, the \nsociologist and the political scientist observe\, this fraternity requires them; we \nbelieve that this mystical fraternity\, if it is to be realized in practice\, must \npenetrate these social values and orders in their own autonomous reality. To \nfulfill its purpose this fraternity incarnates\, and is incarnated by\, the love of \nGod\, the prototype of its own universal love.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-467/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260919
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260920
DTSTAMP:20260913T110344Z
CREATED:20260913T110344Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260913T110344Z
UID:15474-1789776000-1789862399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST BERNARD OF CLAIRVAUX \n◊◊◊ \nDo you not see what heaven the Church possesses within her\, and that she \nherself\, in her universality\, is an immense heaven\, stretching out “from sea to \nsea\, and from the river to the ends of the earth?” Consider therefore\, to what \nyou may compare her in this respect\, provided you do not forget what I \nmentioned a short while ago concerning the heaven of heaven and heavens of \nheavens. Just like our mother above\, this one\, though still a pilgrim\, has her own \nheaven: spiritual men outstanding in their lives and reputations\, men of \ngenuine faith\, unshaken hope\, generous love\, men raised to the heights of \ncontemplation. \nThese men rain down God’s saving work like showers\, reprove with a \nvoice of thunder\, shine with a splendor of miracles. They proclaim the glory of \nGod\, and stretched out like curtains over the earth\, make known the law of life \nand knowledge written by God’s finger into their own lives\, “to give knowledge \nof salvation to his people.” They show forth the gospel of peace\, because they \nare the curtain of Solomon. In these curtains then we must discern the likeness \nof those heavenly figures whom we have just described as part of the \nBridegroom’s adornment. We must recognize too the queen standing at his \nright hand\, decked with ornaments similar\, though not equal\, to his. For \nalthough she is endowed with no small share of glory and beauty even where she \nsojourns as a pilgrim\, as well as in the day of her strength amid the splendors of \nthe saints\, yet the fullness and perfection of the glory of the blessed crowns her \nBridegroom in a way that is different. \nIf I do refer to the bride as perfect and blessed\, she is not wholly so. In part \nshe resembles the tents of Kedar; but she is also beautiful\, both in that part of \nher which already reigns in heaven\, and in those illustrious men whose wisdom \nand virtues grace her journey through the night\, like a heaven spangled with \nstars. Hence the Prophet’s words: “The wise leaders shall shine like the bright \nvault of heaven\, and those who have guided the people in the true path shall be \nlike stars for ever and ever.” \nHow lowly! Yet how sublime! At the same time tent of Kedar and \nsanctuary of God; an earthly tent and a heavenly palace; a mud hut and a royal \napartment; a body doomed to death and a temple bright with light; an object of \ncontempt to the proud\, yet the bride of Christ. She is black but beautiful\, \ndaughters of Jerusalem: for though the hardship and sorrow of prolonged exile \ndarkens her complexion\, a heavenly loveliness shines through it\, the curtains of \nSolomon enhance it. If the swarthy skin repels you\, you must still admire the \nbeauty; if you scorn what seems lowly\, you must look up with esteem to what is \nsublime. \nIndeed you must note the prudence\, the great wisdom\, the amount of \ndiscretion and sense of fittingness generated in the bride by that controlled \ninterplay of lowliness and exaltation according as occasion demands\, so that \namid the ups and downs of this world her sublime gifts sustain her lowliness lest \nshe succumb to adversity; while her lowliness curbs her exaltation\, or good \nfortune will bring it toppling down. These poles of her life act so harmoniously. \nThough of their nature opposites they will work with equal effectiveness for the \ngood of the bride. They subserve her spiritual welfare.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-468/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
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