BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey - ECPv6.15.18//NONSGML v1.0//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
X-WR-CALNAME:Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Lay Cistercians of Gethsemani Abbey
REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H
X-Robots-Tag:noindex
X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H
BEGIN:VTIMEZONE
TZID:America/New_York
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20240310T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20241103T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20250309T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20251102T060000
END:STANDARD
BEGIN:DAYLIGHT
TZOFFSETFROM:-0500
TZOFFSETTO:-0400
TZNAME:EDT
DTSTART:20260308T070000
END:DAYLIGHT
BEGIN:STANDARD
TZOFFSETFROM:-0400
TZOFFSETTO:-0500
TZNAME:EST
DTSTART:20261101T060000
END:STANDARD
END:VTIMEZONE
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251123
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251124
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251122T143653Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251122T143653Z
UID:14280-1763856000-1763942399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Christ the King
DESCRIPTION:IN THE STEPS \nOF THE MARTYRS \nFrom a homily by St Augustine \n◊◊◊ \nLet us not imagine that in keeping the feast of the Martyrs with great \nsolemnity\, we are benefiting them. They who are in the joy of heaven with the \nangels have no need of our honors and if they rejoice with us\, it is at being \nimitated\, not at being honored. However\, though this veneration does not \nbenefit them\, it is useful for us: but to honor them without imitating them\, \nwould be lying flattery. If then these solemnities have been instituted in the \nChurch of Christ\, it is only to unite all the members of Christ and to enlist them \nas followers in the steps of the martyrs of Christ. Such is the fruit of today’s \nfestival; there is no question of any other. \nWhen\, in fact\, we propose God himself as our example\, human weakness \nreadily answers that it is above its power to imitate him to whom it cannot be \ncompared. In that case Jesus Christ our Lord will be proposed to it as model \nwho\, being God\, clothed himself in mortal flesh in order the better to persuade \nus also clothed in this same flesh\, adding word to example; Christ\, it is written\, \n“suffered for our sake\, and left you his own example; you were to follow in his \nfootsteps”. \nYet will not frail humanity reply again: “What comparison is there \nbetween me and Christ? He was one of us\, but he was God. He took flesh\, but \nwithout ceasing to be the Word\, assuming a new nature without losing that \nwhich was proper to him. For\, as St Paul says\, “God was in Christ\, reconciling \nthe world to himself”. Once again\, how can I compare myself with Christ? \nTherefore\, to remove all pretext from the faithlessness of the weak\, the \nMartyrs have made a broad way for us. It was necessary that the foundation \nshould be solid as stone\, in order that our footsteps should be steady: they have \ncemented it with their blood and their testimony\, and finally\, reckoning nothing \nof their bodies\, they have thrown them under the feet of Christ as he advances to \nthe conquest of the heathen\, as\, On Palm Sunday\, the people threw their \ngarments under the feet of the ass on which he rode. Who would be ashamed to \nsay: “I am inferior to God”? I grant you are very much so. “I am inferior to \nChrist”? Yes\, certainly\, and even to his humanity. \nBut Peter was what you are; so was Paul\, and the Apostles and Prophets \nwere all what you are yourself. If the example of our Lord alarms you\, at least \nimitate those who are like you his servant. They go before you in dense crowds: \nno more excuse for your lukewarmness. Will you say to me again: “I am very far \nfrom Peter and Paul”? Are you then also far from truth? There where the \nilliterate receive the crown\, there is no excuse for vanity. Are you less than \nchildren? \nWatch then…that in celebrating the sufferings of the Martyrs you fill \nyourself with the desire to imitate them. They knew that they must choose a \ngood cause if their work was to be made fruitful. They remembered that not \nonly had our Lord said: “Blessed are the persecuted”\, but: “blessed are those \nwho suffer persecution in the cause of right”. Choose yourselves the good cause\, \nand do not be disturbed by what you suffer in so doing.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-christ-the-king/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251124
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251125
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251122T143827Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251122T143827Z
UID:14282-1763942400-1764028799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Andrew Dung-Lac & Companions
DESCRIPTION:IN THE STEPS \nOF THE MARTYRS \nFrom a homily by St Augustine \n◊◊◊ \nLet us not imagine that in keeping the feast of the Martyrs with great \nsolemnity\, we are benefiting them. They who are in the joy of heaven with the \nangels have no need of our honors and if they rejoice with us\, it is at being \nimitated\, not at being honored. However\, though this veneration does not \nbenefit them\, it is useful for us: but to honor them without imitating them\, \nwould be lying flattery. If then these solemnities have been instituted in the \nChurch of Christ\, it is only to unite all the members of Christ and to enlist them \nas followers in the steps of the martyrs of Christ. Such is the fruit of today’s \nfestival; there is no question of any other. \nWhen\, in fact\, we propose God himself as our example\, human weakness \nreadily answers that it is above its power to imitate him to whom it cannot be \ncompared. In that case Jesus Christ our Lord will be proposed to it as model \nwho\, being God\, clothed himself in mortal flesh in order the better to persuade \nus also clothed in this same flesh\, adding word to example; Christ\, it is written\, \n“suffered for our sake\, and left you his own example; you were to follow in his \nfootsteps”. \nYet will not frail humanity reply again: “What comparison is there \nbetween me and Christ? He was one of us\, but he was God. He took flesh\, but \nwithout ceasing to be the Word\, assuming a new nature without losing that \nwhich was proper to him. For\, as St Paul says\, “God was in Christ\, reconciling \nthe world to himself”. Once again\, how can I compare myself with Christ? \n2 Sermon 325. Trans.\, Lectionary and Martyrology\, ed. Encalcat Abbey\, 1956\, 509-510.5 \nTherefore\, to remove all pretext from the faithlessness of the weak\, the \nMartyrs have made a broad way for us. It was necessary that the foundation \nshould be solid as stone\, in order that our footsteps should be steady: they have \ncemented it with their blood and their testimony\, and finally\, reckoning nothing \nof their bodies\, they have thrown them under the feet of Christ as he advances to \nthe conquest of the heathen\, as\, On Palm Sunday\, the people threw their \ngarments under the feet of the ass on which he rode. Who would be ashamed to \nsay: “I am inferior to God”? I grant you are very much so. “I am inferior to \nChrist”? Yes\, certainly\, and even to his humanity. \nBut Peter was what you are; so was Paul\, and the Apostles and Prophets \nwere all what you are yourself. If the example of our Lord alarms you\, at least \nimitate those who are like you his servant. They go before you in dense crowds: \nno more excuse for your lukewarmness. Will you say to me again: “I am very far \nfrom Peter and Paul”? Are you then also far from truth? There where the \nilliterate receive the crown\, there is no excuse for vanity. Are you less than \nchildren? \nWatch then…that in celebrating the sufferings of the Martyrs you fill \nyourself with the desire to imitate them. They knew that they must choose a \ngood cause if their work was to be made fruitful. They remembered that not \nonly had our Lord said: “Blessed are the persecuted”\, but: “blessed are those \nwho suffer persecution in the cause of right”. Choose yourselves the good cause\, \nand do not be disturbed by what you suffer in so doing.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-andrew-dung-lac-companions/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251125
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251126
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251122T143928Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251122T143928Z
UID:14284-1764028800-1764115199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - St Catherine of Alexandria
DESCRIPTION:ST CATHERINE OF ALEXANDRIA \nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints \n◊◊◊ \nSince about the tenth century\, veneration of St Catherine of Alexandria \nhas been marked in the East\, but from the time of the Crusades until the 18th \ncentury her popularity was even greater in the West. Numerous churches were \ndedicated in her honor\, including the parish church of Gethsemani Abbey at \nNew Haven\, KY. She was venerated as patroness of maidens and women \nstudents of philosophers\, preachers and apologists. Adam of St Victor wrote a \npoem in her honor; hers was one of the heavenly voices heard by St Joan of Arc. \nBut not a single fact about her life or death has been established. \nIt is said in her Acts that she belonged to a patrician family of Alexandria \nand devoted herself to learned studies\, in the course of which she learned about \nChristianity. She was converted by a vision of Our Lady and the Holy Child. \nWhen Maxentius began persecuting Christians\, Catherine went to him and \nrebuked him for his tyranny. He could not answer her arguments against his \ngods\, so summoned fifty philosophers to oppose her. These confessed \nthemselves convinced by the learning of this Christian girl\, and were therefore \nburned to death by the infuriated emperor. \nThen he tried to seduce Catherine with an offer of a consort’s crown\, and \nwent off to inspect a camp. On his return he discovered that his wife and an \nofficer had gone to see Catherine out of curiosity and had both been converted\, \ntogether with two hundred soldiers of the guard. They accordingly were all slain \nand Catherine was sentenced to be killed on a spiked wheel. When she was \nplaced on it\, her bonds were miraculously loosed and the wheel broke\, its spikes \nflying off and killing many of the onlookers. Then she was beheaded. \nAll the texts of the “acts” of Catherine state that her body was carried by \nangels to Mount Sinai\, where a church and monastery were afterwards built. In \n527 the Emperor Justinian built a monastery for hermits of the place\, and the \nbody of Catherine was said to have been taken there in the 8th or 9th century. \nThe monastery has borne her name since then. \nThe great monastery of Mount Sinai still claim the alleged relics of St \nCatherine\, in the care of the monks of the Eastern Orthodox Church. \nArchbishop Falconio of Santa Severina said that the meaning of the “angels” is \nthat her body was carried by the monks of Sinai to their monastery. Tradition \nhas referred to the monastic life as “the angelic life”. This is still a current \nexpression in Eastern monasticism.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-catherine-of-alexandria-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251126
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251127
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251122T144033Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251122T144033Z
UID:14286-1764115200-1764201599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:OF TOMBS AND GARDENS \nFrom the writing of Blessed Guerric of Igny \n◊◊◊ \nWhose voice is fittingly heard in the assembly of brethren and friends\, \nthat is\, in the Church of the saints\, the Bridegroom himself indicates when he \nsays: “You who dwell in the gardens\, friends are listening; let me hear your \nvoice.” \nIt is not I to whom this should be said; I am not one who dwells in gardens \n—I seem to myself rather to be of those who dwell in tombs. For what are the \nbodies of sinners but tombs of the dead. Therefore they who are devoted to their \nbodies dwell not in gardens\, but in tombs and exasperate God until he who leads \nforth prisoners in strength cries with a loud voice: “Lazarus\, come forth”; and he \ngives his disciples the command: “Loose him and let him go free.” \nTo be sure there is a great difference between tombs and gardens. The \nformer are full of every filth and of dead men’s bones\, the latter are full of \nflowers or fruits in all their sweetness and grace. What if tombs are sometimes \nseen in gardens – for the Lord was buried in a garden? \nIf there are tombs in a garden surely there are not gardens in tombs. Yet \nperhaps there are\, but in the tombs of the just. There indeed a certain most \nagreeable pleasantness which belongs to gardens will flourish as in spring\, the \nspringtime\, that is\, of their resurrection when their flesh will blossom again. \nNot only the bones of the just man will sprout like grass\, but also the whole of the \njust man will sprout like a lily and bloom forever before the Lord. \nNot so the godless\, not so. They are buried with the burial of an ass. \nWithout any hope of a better resurrection\, they are subject to corruption\, as a \nforetaste of their future fate. Concerning their tombs I had begun to say that as \ngreat as is the difference between their filth and the beauty of gardens in flower\, \nincomparably greater is the difference between the delight of spiritual men and \nthe pleasure of carnal joys. \nIt is you then\, if I am not mistaken\, who dwell in gardens\, you who \nmeditate on the law of the Lord day and night” and walk about in as many \ngardens as you read books\, pick as many apples as you select fine thoughts. And \nblessed are you for whom all the apples\, both old and new\, are kept\, that is\, for \nwhom the words of the prophets\, evangelists and Apostles are laid up\, so that to \neach of you those words of the Bride to the Bridegroom seem to be said: “All the \napples\, new and old\, my Beloved\, I have kept for you.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-368/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251127
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251128
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251122T144210Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251122T144210Z
UID:14288-1764201600-1764287999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Thanksgiving
DESCRIPTION:THE FULLNESS \nOF THANKSGIVING \nBy Xavier Léon-Dufour \n◊◊◊ \nThe first reality of biblical history is the gift of God\, gratuitous\, \nsuperabundant\, without return. The encounter with God does not put human \nbeings simply in the presence of the absolute; it completes them and transforms \ntheir lives. Thanksgiving appears as the response to this progressive and \ncontinual grace which one day should blossom in Christ. At the same time there \nis an intense awareness of the gifts of God\, a spirit of soul permeated with \nwonder because of God’s generosity\, a joyous recognition before the divine \ngreatness; thus thanksgiving is essential in the Bible because it is a fundamental \nreligious reaction of creatures when they discover\, in a tremor of joy and \nveneration\, something of God’s greatness and glory… \nAt the time of the New Covenant thanksgiving truly breaks forth\, \nbecoming present everywhere in the prayer and the life of the Christians as it \nhad never existed before among the just of the past. Biblical thanksgiving is \ntruly and essentially Christian. It is not exclusively Christian\, however\, to the \nextent that\, as was written in the Old Testament\, “Israelites praise without \ngiving thanks.” If the Old Testament does not yet know the fullness of \nthanksgiving\, it is because it has not yet tasted the fullness of grace. \nIf praise\, more spontaneous\, more exteriorized\, holds therein perhaps a \ngreater place than thanksgiving properly so called\, more reflective\, more \nattentive to God’s actions and self revelation\, it is because the most holy God is \nrevealed only progressively\, unveiling little by little the amplitude of the action \nand the depth of the gifts of God. \nBecause it is the revelation and the gift of perfect grace\, in the person of \nthe Lord\, it is also the revelation of the perfect thanksgiving rendered to the \nFather in the Holy Spirit. The supreme act of the Lord is thanksgiving; the \nsacrifice which Jesus made of His life in consecrating it to the Father in order \nthat He may sanctify His own is our Eucharist. At the last supper and on the \ncross\, Jesus reveals the drive of all His life and that of His death: thanksgiving \nfrom the heart of the Son. \nThe passion and death of Jesus were necessary that He might fully glorify \nthe Father\, but all His life was an incessant thanksgiving\, which sometimes was \nmade explicit and solemn\, to draw all to believe and return thanks to God with \nJesus. The essential object of this thanksgiving is the work of God\, the \nMessianic realization\, notably manifested by miracles\, the gift of His word \nwhich God has made to everyone. \nThe gift of the Eucharist to the church expresses an essential truth: only \nJesus Christ is our thanksgiving\, just as He alone is our praise. It is He first of all \nwho gives thanks to the Father\, and Christians afterwards in Him. In Christian \nthanksgiving\, Christ is the sole model and sole mediator. In the heavenly \nJerusalem\, with the Messianic work fulfilled\, thanksgiving becomes pure praise \nof glory\, dazzling contemplation of God and the eternal marvels.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-thanksgiving-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251128
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251129
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251122T144317Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251122T144317Z
UID:14290-1764288000-1764374399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE GENTLENESS OF CHARITY \nFrom “The Mirror of Charity” by St Aelred of Rievaulx \n◊◊◊ \nLet anyone who finds it pleasant to enjoy his friend see to it that he enjoy \nhim in the Lord\, not in the world or in pleasure of the flesh\, but in joyfulness of \nspirit. But\, you ask\, what does it mean to enjoy ‘in the Lord’? About the Lord\, the \napostle Paul said: By God he has been made for us wisdom\, sanctification\, and \njustice. Since the Lord is wisdom\, sanctification\, and justice\, to find enjoyment \nin the Lord is to find enjoyment in wisdom\, sanctification\, and justice. By \nwisdom worldly vanity is banished\, by sanctification the vileness of the flesh is \nforsworn\, and by justice all flattery and fawning are checked. \nThen it is charity\, if it comes\, as the apostle says\, from a pure heart\, a clear \nconscience\, and unfeigned faith. A pure heart accepts wisdom\, modesty calms \nthe conscience and unfeigned faith adorns justice. There are those who take \nenjoyment in vain and ludicrous things\, in worldly pomp and mundane \nspectacles\, in the pursuit of vanity\, and in reveling in falsehood. They do not \nenjoy themselves in wisdom\, nor in him who is the strength of God and the \nwisdom of God. Others\, although not worse\, are certainly more vile. In them \nthere is almost nothing human. Obscene depravity has transformed them into \nbeasts who find enjoyment in self-indulgent banqueting and impure desires. \nSince they do not enjoy themselves in the sanctification which consists of the \ngentleness of charity\, they do not\, of course\, enjoy the Lord who was made our \nsanctification by God. \nThere are others who take enjoyment in flattery\, patting each other on the \nback and conniving with each other. While taking care not to offend one \nanother\, they incur each other’s ruin because they do not enjoy themselves in \nthe liberty of justice or in the Lord. \nIf our mutual exchange of words is delightful\, let our talk therefore be \nabout our habits and about Scripture. Let us now grieve together over the \nmiseries of the world\, now rejoice together in the hope of future happiness. Let \nus now refresh one another by confiding our mutual secrets\, now long together \nfor the blessed vision of Jesus\, and for heavenly well-being. \nIf we relax our tense spirits with some pleasant and less lofty subjects\, as \nis sometimes useful\, let these moments of relaxation be filled with rectitude and \nfree of frivolity. Although these subjects may not be weighty\, let them never lack \nconstructiveness. Let us enjoy one another in sanctification\, so that each may \nknow how to possess his vessel—that is to say\, his own body—in sanctification \nand honor\, and not in the passion of desire. Let us take enjoyment in justice\, so \nwe may mutually encourage one another in the spirit of freedom. Let us correct \none another\, knowing that wounds from a friend are better than an enemy’s \ndeceitful kisses.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-369/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251129
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251130
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251122T144426Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251122T144426Z
UID:14292-1764374400-1764460799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Memorial of BVM
DESCRIPTION:MAIDEN AND MOTHER \nFrom “The Son’s Course” by Gerald Vann \n◊◊◊ \nIn the Church’s devotion to Mary great emphasis is laid on the fact that in \nher motherhood she yet remained a maiden as well; and we shall miss all the \nrichness of the mystery if we think of this insistence as being purely or even \nprimarily concerned with physical conditions. Motherhood produces \nfundamental psychological changes in a woman: it means the loss of some \nqualities and the acquisition of others\, a different mentality\, a different outlook. \nThe mother has known the deep experience of love and joy\, of pain and danger \nand sorrow: we think of her as the symbol of wisdom because she has known in \nher own body the mysteries of good and evil. \nThe girl on the other hand is the symbol of opposite qualities: of a \nfreshness and spontaneity and purity of heart which comes precisely from \ninexperience\, knowing that reality can be ugly\, not yet made wise through \nlessons of sorrow: her courage\, her strength\, her wisdom\, her joy\, are from other \nsources. In Mary alone\, the Maiden-Mother\, these opposite sets of qualities co- \nexist; it is this that gives her personality a richness which is unique; and it is \nbecause of this richness that she can teach us so much. \nMary’s life then is a song at once of innocence and of experience; and as \nthis double richness means a double fear so it means also a double love; and the \nlove in its turn produces a double wisdom\, a double trust\, and therefore a double \ncourage. Mary pondered all these things in her heart: it is her song of \nexperience\, and the source of her wisdom. She knew how He-that-is-mighty \nhad done great things in her; she knew the overshadowing power of the Most \nHigh; she knew the gradually unfolding self-revelation of her Son; and knowing \nthese things she could sense of the resurrection through the cross\, the joy \nthrough the pain\, the triumph through failure; and so she could find the courage \nto meet the sword. \nBehold the handmaid of the Lord: there\, on the other hand\, is her song of \ninnocence: whatever may come it will be well because it is his will\, because he is \nLove: hers are eyes too that can look out untroubled on a future which is veiled\, \nsimply because she has implicit trust in the God she loves\, even before the trust \nhas been justified by experience; and as the mother can say\, I can do all things \nin him who has strengthened me\, so the girl can say\, I can do all things in him \nwho will strengthen me.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-memorial-of-bvm-20/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251130
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251201
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251129T230231Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251129T230231Z
UID:14305-1764460800-1764547199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema\, 1st Week of Advent
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n1st Week of Advent\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nNovember 30\, – December 6\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n30\nMon\n1\nTue\n2\nWed\n3\nThu\n4\nFri\n5\nSat\n6\n\n\nOffice\n1st Sunday of Advent\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\nSt Francis Xavier\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\n\n\nVigils\nIsa 6:1-13\nIsa 7:1-17\nIsa 8:1-18\nIsa 9:7-20\nIsa 10:5-21\nIsa 11:1-16\nIsa 13:1-22\n\n\nLauds\nMicah 7:14-20\nIsa 1:10-18\nIsa 1:21-27\nIsa 2:6-11\nIsa 2:12-21\nIsa 3:8-15\nIsa 5:1-7\n\n\nMass\n1\n175\n176\n177\n178\n179\n180\n\n\n1st\nIsa 2:1-5\nIsa 4:2-6)\nIsa 11:1-10\nIsa 25:6-10a\nIsa 26:1-6\nIsa 29:17-24\nIsa 30:19-21\, 23-26\n\n\n2nd\nRom 13:11-14\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 24:37-44\nMatt 8:5-11\nLuke 10:21-24\nMatt 15:29-37\nMatt 7:21\, 24-27\nMatt 9:27-31\nMatt 9:35-10:1\, 5a\, 6-8\n\n\nVespers\nRev 22:12-21\nRom 1:1-12\nRom 1:13-17\nRom 2:1-11\nRom 2:12-16\nRom 2:17-24\nRom 3:21-26
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-1st-week-of-advent/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251130
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251201
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251129T231247Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251129T231247Z
UID:14307-1764460800-1764547199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:1st Sunday in Advent
DESCRIPTION:CHRIST’S TWOFOLD COMING\nFrom a commentary by Paschasius Radbertus 1\n◊◊◊\nWatch\, for you do not know the day or the hour. Like many other scriptural texts\, the admonition is addressed to all of us\, though it is formulated in such a way that it would seem to concern only Christ’s immediate audience. We can all apply it to ourselves because the Last Day and the end of the world will come for each of us on the day we depart this present life. This means we must make sure we die in the state in which we wish to appear on the Day of Judgment\, Bearing this in mind each of us should guard against being led astray and failing to keep watch\, otherwise the day of the Lord’s return may take us unawares. If the last day of our life finds us unprepared\, then we shall be unprepared on that day also. \nI do not for a moment believe the apostles expected the Lord to return in judgment during their own lifetime. All the same there can be no doubt that they took every care not to be drawn from the right path. They kept watch\, observing the universal precepts their master had given to his disciples so as to be ready when he came again. \nConsequently we must always be on the lookout for Christ’s twofold coming\, the one when we shall have to give an account of everything we have done\, and the other when he comes day after day to stir our consciences. He comes to us now in order that his future coming may find us prepared. If my conscience is burdened with sin what good will it do me to know when the Day of Judgment will be? Unless the Lord comes to my soul beforehand and makes his home with me\, unless Christ lives in me and speaks his word in my heart\, it is useless for me to know if and when his coming will take place. Only if Christ is already living in me and I in him will it go well with me when he comes in judgment. If I have already died to the world and am able to say\, The world is crucified to me\, and I to the world\, then\, in a sense\, his final coming is already present to me. \nConsider also our Lord’s warning: Many will come in my name. It is only the Antichrist and his members who\, albeit falsely\, claim the name of Christ\, though they lack his works and his true doctrine and wisdom. You will never find the Lord in Scripture actually declaring\, “I am the Christ.” His teaching and miracles revealed it clearly enough\, for the Father was at work in him. Louder than a thousand acclamations his teaching and mighty works proclaimed: “I am the Christ.” And so whether or not you find him describing himself in so many words\, the works of the Father and his own message of love declared what he was\, whereas the false christs who possessed neither godly deeds nor holy doctrine loudly claimed to be what they were not. \n1\nJourney with the Fathers – Year A – New City Press – New York – 1992 – pg 16
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/1st-sunday-in-advent/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251201
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251202
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251129T231811Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251129T231811Z
UID:14309-1764547200-1764633599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Advent Weekday
DESCRIPTION:THE MISSION OF CHRIST\nBy Pope St John Paul II 2\n◊◊◊\nIn Christian discipleship and love for the person of Christ there are a number of points concerning the growth of holiness in the consecrated life which merit particular emphasis today. In the first place\, there is need for fidelity to the founding charism and subsequent spiritual heritage of each Institute. It is precisely in this fidelity to the inspiration of the founders and foundresses\, an inspiration which is itself a gift of the Holy Spirit\, that the essential elements of the consecrated life can be more readily discerned and more fervently put into practice. \nFundamental to every charism is a threefold orientation. First\, charisms lead to the Father\, in the filial desire to seek his will through a process of unceasing conversion\, wherein obedience is the source of true freedom\, chastity expresses the yearning of a heart unsatisfied by any finite love\, and poverty nourishes that hunger and thirst for justice which God has promised to satisfy. Consequently the charism of each Institute will lead the consecrated person to belong wholly to God\, to speak with God or about God…so that he or she can taste the goodness of the Lord in every situation. \nSecondly\, the charisms of the consecrated life also lead to the Son\, fostering an intimate and joyful communion of life with him\, in the school of his generous service of God and neighbor. Thus the attitude of consecrated persons is progressively conformed to Christ; they learn detachment from externals\, from the tumult of the senses\, from all that keeps man from that freedom which allows him to be grasped by the Spirit. As a result\, consecrated persons are enabled to take up the mission of Christ\, working and suffering with him in the spreading of his Kingdom. \nFinally\, every charism leads to the Holy Spirit\, insofar as it prepares individuals to let themselves be guided and sustained by him\, both in their personal journeys and in their lives of communion and apostolic work\, in order to embody that attitude of service which should inspire the true Christian’s every choice. \nIn fact\, it is this threefold relationship which emerges in every founding charism\, though with the specific nuances of the various patterns of living. This is so because in every charism there predominates a profound desire to be conformed to Christ to give witness to some aspect of his mystery. This specific aspect is meant to take shape and develop according to the most authentic tradition of the Institute\, as present in its Rule\, Constitutions and Statutes. \nInstitutes of Consecrated Life are thus invited courageously to propose anew the enterprising initiative\, creativity and holiness of their founders and foundresses in response to the signs of the times emerging in today’s world. This invitation is first of all a call to perseverance on the path of holiness in the midst of the material and spiritual difficulties of daily life. But it is also a call to pursue competence in personal work and to develop a dynamic fidelity to their mission\, adapting forms\, if need be\, to new situations and different needs\, in complete openness to God’s inspiration and to the Church’s discernment. But all must be fully convinced that the quest for ever greater conformity to the Lord is the guarantee of any renewal which seeks to remain faithful to an Institute’s original inspiration. \n2\nJohn Paul II\, Post-Synodal Exhortation Vita Consecrata\, 36-37.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/advent-weekday/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251202
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251203
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251129T232326Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251129T232326Z
UID:14311-1764633600-1764719999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Advent Weekday
DESCRIPTION:THE COMING OF CHRIST\nFrom a treatise by St John Chrysostom 3\n◊◊◊\nThe prophets foretold not only that God would become man but also they predicted the manner of his coming. He was not going to come in the midst of thunder\, lightning\, earthquake\, or tumult from the heavens. He was not going to stir up any consternation. His birth struck no man with fear\, for he was born with no one to witness it\, without tumult or confusion\, in the house of a carpenter\, in an ordinary and undistinguished home… \nFor Micah said: “And you\, Bethlehem\, the land of Judah\, are by no means the least among the princes of Judah. For out of you will come the leader who will shepherd my people\, Israel: and his going forth is from the beginning\, from the days of eternity.” Micah was pointing out both the divinity and the humanity of Christ. When he said: “His going forth is from the beginning\, from the days of eternity\,” he revealed his existence before all ages. When he said: “There will come the leader who will shepherd my people\, Israel\,” he revealed Christ’s birth in the flesh. \nAnd notice here that he makes clear another prophecy. Micah not only said where Christ would be born but also that the place would become well known even if it was a little town and little known. For he said: “You are by no means the least among the princes of Judah.” So it is that now the whole world rushes to see Bethlehem\, where he was born and laid in a manger. The place became famous\, and there is no other reason than this why people go there. \nAgain\, another prophet made clear the time of his coming\, when he said\,… “A chief shall not depart from Judah\, nor a ruler from his loins till he come for whom it is reserved\,” meaning Christ. For the first registration was held just at the same time that he was born\, and this was after the Romans had conquered the Jewish nation and had brought them under the yoke of their empire. Something further is meant by the words: “Even he is the expectation of the nations.” For after he had come\, he did draw all the nations to himself. \nAnd Isaiah when on to tell of other marvels and showed how Christ cured the lame\, how he made the blind to see\, and the mute to speak: “Then will the lame man leap like a stag\, and the tongue of those with impediments of speech will be clear and distinct.” And this did not happen until his coming. \n3\nDemonstration Against the Pagans That Christ is God. Trans. Paul W. Harkins\, Fathers of the Church Series\, vol. 73. Washington\, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press\, 1985. pp. 197ff.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/advent-weekday-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251203
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251204
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251129T232850Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251129T232850Z
UID:14313-1764720000-1764806399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:St. Francis Xavier
DESCRIPTION:ST FRANCIS XAVIER\nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints 4\n◊◊◊\nFrancis Xavier was born in Spanish Navarre at the castle of Xavier\, near Pamplona\, in 1506\, the youngest of a large family. He entered the college of St Barbara and in 1528 gained the degree of licentiate. It was here that he met Ignatius Loyola\, and later joined with him in the first band of seven who vowed themselves to the service of God at Montmartre in 1534. With them he received the priesthood at Venice three years later and in 1540 Ignatius appointed him to join Fr Simon Rodriguez on the first missionary expedition the Society sent out to the East Indies… \nThey arrived at Goa\, India on May 6\, 1542\, after a voyage of thirteen months. Francis opened the mission with the Christians of Goa\, instructing them in the principles of religion and forming the young to the practice of virtue. He walked through the streets ringing a bell to summon the children and slaves to catechism. He offered Mass with lepers each Sunday. For the instruction of the very ignorant or simple he versified the truths of religion to fit popular tunes\, and this was so successful that the practice spread till these songs were being sung everywhere\, in the streets and fields and workshops… \nBut before he left he heard about Japan for the first time from Portuguese merchants. The next fifteen months were spent in endless traveling between Goa\, Ceylon and Cape Comorin\, consolidating his work and preparing for an attempt on that Japan into which no European had yet penetrated. In April 1549 Francis set out\, accompanied by a Jesuit priest and lay-brother and three Japanese converts. On the feast of the Assumption they landed in Japan\, at Kagoshima on Kyushu. \nFrancis set himself to learn Japanese. A translation was made of a simple account of Christian teaching\, and recited to all who would listen. The fruit of twelve months labor was a hundred converts\, but then the authorities began to get suspicious and forbade further preaching. So\, leaving one of the Japanese converts in charge of the neophytes\, Francis pressed further with his companions and went by sea to Hirado\, north of Nagasaki… Twelve years later the Jesuit lay-brother\, Luis de Almeida\, found these isolated converts still retaining their first fervor and faithfulness. \nAt Hirado the missionaries were well received by the ruler and they had more success in a few weeks than they had had at Kagoshima in a year. Xavier’s objective was Miyako (Kyoto)\, then the chief city of Japan. In due time he was able to be received by the authorities\, who gave him permission to preach and provided an empty Buddhist monastery for a residence. He preached with such fruit that he baptized many in that city. \nFrancis decided to revisit his charge in India\, from whence he hoped to extend his mission to China. After dealing with matters in India\, Xavier set sail for China. In august 1552 the convoy reached the desolate island of Shang-chwan\, half-a-dozen miles off the coast and a hundred miles south-west of Hong Kong. Here Xavier fell sick with a fever and died on December 3. He was buried on the island\, but his body which was found to be incorrupt\, was later moved to Goa. He was canonized in 1622 at the same time as Ignatius of Loyola. \n4\nButler’s Lives of the Saints – revised edition – Harper – San Francisco – 1991 – p 398f.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/st-francis-xavier/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251204
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251205
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251129T233223Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251129T233223Z
UID:14315-1764806400-1764892799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Advent Weekday
DESCRIPTION:A SIMPLE SURRENDER TO GOD\nFrom the Spiritual Conferences of John Tauler 5\n◊◊◊\n“You shall be witnesses unto me in all Judea.” Judea means “to confess God” or “to praise God.” We are to be God’s witnesses by confessing God in all our actions\, behavior\, and intentions. And this not merely when all goes well with us\, when we are full of joy and delight and natural enthusiasm. People find it easy enough at such times to think that they are confessing God very well. They seem to know and love God well enough as long as things go according to their own will; but as soon as they meet with terrible assaults\, they begin to wonder what they have been about. They have completely lost their bearings now that suffering has come upon them. \nNow we can see clearly what has been at the root and foundation of their confession: not God\, but their feelings. This is an unstable foundation built on shifting sands. God’s true witnesses\, on the other hand\, stand firm\, rooted in God and in God’s will\, in love and in suffering\, no matter what God gives or what God takes away. Nor do they set great store by practices of their own. \nIt often happens that when people have successfully undertaken some pious practices\, they give much thought to the business of planning them and carrying them out; and so they place great reliance on them and exercise their own activity to the utmost. But God\, in an inalienable love\, often breaks down whatever rests on such a foundation as this by frequently arranging things which run contrary to our desires. If we want to keep vigil\, we are obliged to sleep\, against our will; if we like to fast\, we are made to eat; if we would like to be quiet and at rest\, we have to do quite otherwise. In this way everything that we cling to crumbles at our touch\, so that we may be brought face to face with our own bare and naked nothingness. \nThus we should learn to place all our reliance upon God\, confessing God alone in a simple and uncompromising faith\, and resting upon nothing else at all. For just as worldly and sinful persons are seduced by sensual pleasures\, so these people are held back by a complacency in what they do or what they feel\, and are thus hindered from an absolute and simple surrender to God and from the true poverty of spirit which God wants of them. \n5\nSpiritual Conferences\, John Tauler O.P.\, Herder: St. Louis 1961. pp.97-98.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/advent-weekday-3/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251205
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251206
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251129T233633Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251129T233633Z
UID:14317-1764892800-1764979199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Advent Weekday
DESCRIPTION:NOTHING LESS THAN LOVE\nFrom a letter by Hadewijch of Flanders 6\n◊◊◊\nI will tell you without beating about the bush: be satisfied with nothing less than Love. Give reason its time\, and always observe where you heed it too little and where enough. And do not let yourself be stopped by any pleasure through which your reason may be the loser. What I mean by “your reason” is that you must keep your insight ever vigilant in the use of discernment. Never must any difficulty hinder you from serving people\, be they insignificant or important\, sick or healthy. And the sicker they are\, and the fewer friends they have\, the more readily must you serve them. And always bear with aliens willingly. As for all who slander you\, contradict them not. And be desirous to associate with all who scorn you\, for they make the way of Love broader for you. \nLeave not anyone in need out of spite. And never fail to ask about any wise teaching you are ignorant of\, out of spite or shame that you do not know it. For you are bound before God to acquire a knowledge of all the virtues and to learn them by exertion\, questioning\, study\, and earnest purpose. \nAnd if by your fault you have offended anyone\, wait not too long to set it right. You are bound to this by the death of our Lord\, in order to content him. Take whatever means you think the quickest and best to make peace with the one you have offended. \nDo not become so stubbornly attached to anything that God may\, in consequence\, refuse you grace. Do not\, through pride\, spare any service. Do not\, through pride\, refrain from giving gifts to the poor. Do not\, through pride\, fail to ask for anything you need and cannot well do without. Do not\, through pride\, be ashamed that you are hungry\, thirsty\, drowsy\, or cold\, or be ashamed of a repulsive illness\, or of having shown a lack of good understanding or courtliness. For it is great honor and the finest courtly behavior if one acknowledges outwardly what one is ashamed of; but it is great pride not to tell it; and it is outrage and shame to see [in anyone] more evil than is truly to be seen. \nMoreover toward God\, our Beloved\, it is guileful insincerity and odious infidelity. For it is the law of high [promise] and love that the loved one be revealed to the beloved in all that he or she is\, lowly or sublime. \n6\nHadewijch\, The Complete Works\, trans. Mother Columba Hart\, OSB; New York: Paulist Press\, 1980\, pp. 103-104.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/advent-weekday-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251206
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251207
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251129T234249Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251129T234249Z
UID:14319-1764979200-1765065599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Advent Weekday
DESCRIPTION:THE ONE RIGHT WAY\nBy St John Henry Newman 7\n◊◊◊\nIt takes a long time really to feel and understand things as they are; we learn to do so only gradually. Profession beyond our feelings is only a fault when we might help it; when either we speak when we need not speak\, or do not feel when we might have felt. Hard insensible hearts\, ready and thoughtless talkers\, these are they whose unreality\, as I have termed it\, is a sin; it is the sin of every one of us\, in proportion as our hearts are cold\, or our tongues excessive. \nBut the mere fact of our saying more than we feel is not necessarily sinful. St Peter did not rise up to the full meaning of his confession\, “Thou art the Christ\,” yet he was pronounced blessed. St James and St John said\, “We are able\,” without clear apprehension\, yet without offense. We ever promise things greater than we master\, and we wait on God to enable us to perform them. Our promising involves a prayer for light and strength. And so again we all say the Creed\, but who comprehends it fully? All we can hope is\, that we are in the way to understand it; that we partly understand it; that we desire\, pray\, and strive to understand it more and more. Our Creed becomes a sort of prayer. Persons are culpably unreal in their way of speaking\, not when they say more than they feel\, but when they say things different from what they feel… \nWhat I have been saying comes to this – be in earnest\, and you will speak of religion where\, and when\, and how you should; aim at things\, and your words will be right without aiming. There are ten thousand ways of looking at this world\, but only one right way. The person of pleasure has his way\, the man of gain his\, and the man of intellect his. Poor people and rich people\, governors and governed\, prosperous and discontented\, learned and unlearned\, each has its own way of looking at the things which come before it\, and each has a wrong way. \nThere is but one right way; it is the way in which God looks at the world. Aim at looking at it in God’s way. Aim at seeing things as God sees them. Aim at forming judgments about persons\, events\, ranks\, fortunes\, changes\, objects\, such as God forms. Aim at looking at this life as God looks at it. Aim at looking at the life to come\, and the world unseen\, as God does. Aim at “seeing the King in His beauty.” All things that we see are but shadows to us and delusions\, unless we enter into what they really mean. \nIt is not an easy thing to learn that new language which Christ has brought us. He has interpreted all things for us in a new way; He has brought us a religion which sheds a new light on all that happens. Try to learn this language. Do not get it by rote\, or speak it as a thing of course. Try to understand what you say. Time is short\, eternity is long… \n7\nParochial and Plain Sermons\, John Henry Newman. Ignatius Press\, San Francisco 1987. pp.977-978.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/advent-weekday-5/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251208
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251207T144334Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251207T144334Z
UID:14336-1765065600-1765151999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n2nd Week of Advent\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nDecember 7 – 13\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n7\nMon\n8\nTue\n9\nWed\n10\nThu\n11\nFri\n12\nSat\n13\n\n\nOffice\n2nd Sunday of Advent\nImmaculate Conception\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\nOur Lady of Guadalupe\nSt Lucy\n\n\nVigils\nIsa 14:1-21\nRom 5:12-21\nIsa 29:13-24\nIsa 30:15-26\nIsa 32:1-20\nProv 8:32-9:11\nIsa 35:1-10\n\n\nLauds\nIsa 4:2-6\nJudges 6:34-40\nIsa 9:1-6\nIsa 12:1-6\nIsa 55:6-12\nSir 4:11-18\nIsa 11:10-16\n\n\nMass\n4\n689\n182\n183\n184\n690A\n186\n\n\n1st\nIsa 11:1-10\nGen 3:9-15\, 20\nIsa 40:1-11\nIsa 40:25-31\nIsa 41:13-20\nRev 11:19a; 12:1-6a\, 10ab\nSir 48:1-4\, 9-11\n\n\n2nd\nRom 15:4-9\nEph 1:3-6\, 11-12\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 3:1-12\nLuke 1:26-38\nMatt 18:12-14\nMatt 11:28-30\nMatt 11:11-15\nLuke 1:39-47\nMatt 17:9a\, 10-13\n\n\nVespers\nRom 5:1-11\nRom 8:28-39\nRom 8:18-27\nRom 6:16-23\nRom 7:14-25\nGal 3:23-29\nRom 8:9-17
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-135/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251207
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251208
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251207T144612Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251207T144612Z
UID:14338-1765065600-1765151999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils reading - 2nd Sun of Advent
DESCRIPTION:THE TIME FOR FAITH \nFrom a commentary by St Augustine \n◊◊◊ \nThe gospel tells us that some people were rebuked by the Lord because\, \nclever as they were at reading the face of the sky\, they could not recognize the \ntime for faith when the kingdom of heaven was at hand. It was the Jews who \nreceived this reprimand\, but it has also come down to us. The Lord Jesus began \nhis preaching of the gospel with the admonition: Repent\, for the kingdom of \nheaven is at hand. His forerunner\, John the Baptist\, began in the same way: \nRepent\, he said\, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Today\, for those who will \nnot repent at the approach of the kingdom of heaven\, the reproof of the Lord is \nthe same. As he points out himself\, You cannot expect to see the kingdom of \nheaven coming. The kingdom of heaven\, he says elsewhere\, is within you. \nEach of us would be wise therefore to take to heart the advice of his \nteacher\, and not waste this present time. It is now that the Savior offers us his \nmercy; now\, while he still spares the human race. Understand that it is in hope \nof our conversion that he spares us\, for he desires no one’s damnation. As for \nwhen the end of the world will be\, that is God’s concern. \nNow is the time for faith. Whether any of us here present will see the end \nof the world I know not; very likely none of us will. Even so\, the time is very near \nfor each of us\, for we are mortal. There are hazards all around us. We should be \nin less danger from them were we made of glass. What is more fragile than a \nvessel of glass? And yet it can be kept safe and last indefinitely. Of course it is \nexposed to accident\, but it is not liable to old age and the suffering it brings. \nWe therefore are the more frail and infirm. In our weakness we are \nhaunted by fears of all the calamities that regularly befall the human race\, and if \nno such calamity overtakes us\, still\, time marches on. We may evade the blows \nof fortune\, but shall we evade death? We may escape perils from without\, but \nshall we escape what comes from within us? Now\, suddenly\, we may be attacked \nby any malady. And if we are spared? Even so\, old age comes at last\, and nothing \nwill delay it.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-2nd-sun-of-advent/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251208
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251209
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251207T144740Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251207T144740Z
UID:14340-1765152000-1765238399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils reading - Immaculate Conception
DESCRIPTION:THE FAVORED ONE \nFrom a commentary by Sophronius of Jerusalem \n◊◊◊ \nHail full of grace\, the Lord is with you. Truly blessed are you among \nwomen\, for you have changed the curse of Eve into a blessing and caused Adam\, \nonce accursed\, to be blessed through you. Truly blessed are you among \nwomen\, for it was through you that the Father’s blessing dawned on humankind \nand freed it from the ancient curse. Truly blessed are you among women\, for \nthrough you your ancestors will be saved\, since you are going to bear the Savior \nwho will gain them God’s salvation. Truly blessed are you among women\, for \nwithout seed you produced the fruit that brings blessing to all the earth\, \nreleasing it from the curse that made it bear thorns. Truly blessed are you \namong women\, for though by nature you are a woman\, you will in very truth \nbecome the mother of God: if he who is to be born of you is truly God incarnate\, \nthen\, since you will be giving birth to God\, you will with perfect justice be called \nthe mother of God. \nDo not be afraid\, Mary\, for you have found favor with God that can \nnever be lost. You have won from God a most glorious favor\, a grace long \ndesired\, a grace of great splendor\, a saving grace\, an unfailing grace\, a grace that \nwill last for ever. Many before you have been holy\, but no one has been as \nfavored as you\, no one as blessed as you\, no one as perfectly sanctified as you\, no \none as highly praised as you. No one else has like you been possessed from the \nfirst by purifying grace\, no one else has been enlightened like you\, or exalted like \nyou\, for no one has approached so close to God as you\, or been enriched with \nsuch divine gifts\, or endowed with such heavenly grace. \nYou surpass all human desire; you surpass all the gifts given by God to the \nwhole human race\, for God’s dwelling within you has made you richer than all \nothers. No one else has been able to contain God as you do; no one else has been \ncapable of receiving God as you have; no one else has deserved to be so \nenlightened by God. And therefore you have not only received God\, the Creator \nand Lord of the universe\, but He has in an unheard-of way taken flesh from you; \nyou bear him in your womb\, and will later give birth to him who will redeem \nhumankind from the Father’s sentence\, and confer on it eternal salvation.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-immaculate-conception-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251209
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251210
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251207T144836Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251207T144836Z
UID:14342-1765238400-1765324799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils reading
DESCRIPTION:THE ADVENT OF GOD \nFrom “Pathways in Holy Scripture” by Dom Damasus Winzen \n◊◊◊ \nThe word Advent had for the people of old a magic sound. It put before \ntheir eyes the glorious scene of the king’s return from a victorious war. Preceded \nand followed by the might of his arms\, carrying with him the spoils of victory\, \nthe hosts of the captives\, the treasures of the enemy\, he stands on his chariot\, \nvested in the purple of triumph\, the golden wreath of victory on his head. The \nwhole city is in a delirium of joy. The festive throngs of the citizens line the \nstreets. They greet their king with the royal shout\, acclaiming him as savior and \nkyrios with incense and hymns. In the evening thousands of lights appear on \nwindows and doorways\, on temples\, gates and palaces\, for the light is come\, and \nthe glory of the king is risen upon the city. \nThe Advent of our Ecclesiastical Year does not celebrate the triumphant \nentry of an earthly king into his capital\, but it sees the King of kings whose might \ncovers the earth like a cloud\, returning to the world which He had left because of \nits sin\, crushing His enemies\, extirpating sin and establishing a kingdom of \npeace for those who believe in Him. This is the Divine Action of salvation which \nconstitutes the real meaning of history\, although it may take centuries and \ncenturies to be accomplished. That the birth of Mary’s little babe in the humble \nmanger of Bethlehem is the beginning of this glorious Advent would be hidden \nfrom the eyes of men\, had the glad tiding not been announced from heaven and \nhad the Holy Spirit not spoken in times past to the fathers by the prophets. \nIt is really the vision of the prophets which opens the eyes of the faithful to \nsee beneath the humble form of man the glory of God\, and to realize that Christ’s \nFirst Coming in patience and charity is the beginning of the Day of judgment \nwhich will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven to receive the \nEternal Kingdom from the hands of the Father. It is the unique gift of the \nprophets to see sign and reality\, the human and the divine\, the present and the \nfuture in their compenetration. Therefore\, they “rendered service not so much \nto them selves but to us\,” [as it is written in the first letter of Peter\, us] who \ncelebrate the Advent of God in that incomparable compenetration of visible sign \nand divine reality which is the liturgy of the Church.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-370/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251210
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251211
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251207T144946Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251207T144946Z
UID:14344-1765324800-1765411199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils reading
DESCRIPTION:SAINT AND MISSION \nFrom “The World of Prayer” by Adrienne von Speyr \n◊◊◊ \nA saint’s standing before God with a community within is no plain and \nsimple fact. The saints can be in God’s presence in such a personal way that\, \ninvoluntarily or even voluntarily\, they forget their mission. And between these \ntwo poles there is a whole spectrum. It may happen involuntarily when God \nalone wishes it so because he wants to have his saint to himself. It happens \nvoluntarily when the saint feels it right on this occasion to be alone in God’s \npresence\, leaving the particular mission out of focus in the background. \nThere is another extreme in relation to these two forms of prayer\, namely\, \nthe prayer of those saints who never appear before God except in the very midst \nof their mission\, whether because God wills it so or because the saint will not \nhave it otherwise. Here too there are gradations. One is inclined to a certain \nsuspicion of those who always do everything completely deliberately and of \ntheir own free will\, choosing whether to go before God with or without the \nmission entrusted to them\, whereas there can be no grounds for suspicion in the \ncase of the saint who\, involuntarily and only as God requires\, is always standing \nbefore God in one sense or another. In general\, however\, there is an alternation: \nThere are times and moments in which the saint is more important to God than \nthe individual mission\, and others when the mission itself is the most important \nthing. \nIf the saints themselves make no choice\, God can work in them or in their \nmission or in both\, within the relationship he chooses. But if the saint and the \nmission constitute a single unity as willed by God\, God’s shaping influence on \nthe one will always benefit the other. \nIt can happen\, then\, that when a particular mission begins to make itself \nfelt it brings difficulties for the saint in standing before God in prayer. But these \ndifficulties and their mastery contribute to the saint’s fruitfulness. They never \ntake the form of insuperable obstacles but of a gain at a higher level\, be it a \ndeeper insight or a better adaptation to God’s will or a closer integration of saint \nand mission. Mission here always means an embodiment of the community. It is \nwhat\, in the saint\, is of and for the community: the seed of community\, a task \nwithin the community\, a fruit entrusted to the community. This fruit is greater \nthan the I; it is the Thou\, in all its manifold forms\, which has been entrusted to \nthe I. Ultimately this multiplicity belongs to the Church and indeed can be the \nChurch.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-371/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251211
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251212
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251207T145049Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251207T145049Z
UID:14346-1765411200-1765497599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils reading
DESCRIPTION:MY HEART IS READY \nFrom a sermon by Blessed Guerric of Igny \n◊◊◊ \nDo you want to hear more explicitly about the confession you should \nmake in preparation for the coming of the Lord? “A just man is the first to accuse \nhimself\,” says the Scripture. And what follows? His Friend comes\, who before \nthe accusation was withdrawing farther away\, estranged. For when he said: “I \nwill confess against myself my injustice to the Lord\,” the Lord forgave him. “He \ncomes and shall search him.” Indeed he shall search him like a strong draft \nsearching the heart and the reins\, reaching into the division of the soul and the \nspirit\, drawing out all impurity from the recesses of the soul and the deep \ncaverns of the mind\, purging love that it may bring forth more fruit. God the \nFather\, the husbandman\, rejoices already over the first-fruits of that confession. \nHowever\, he who – after such confession – is present sometimes even \nbefore he is called on\, at other times waits for you to invite him. And in order to \nincrease your merits he often dissimulates for a long time so that by being more \nattentive at the psalmody and more instant in prayer you may in your gentle \nviolence compel him to enter. If you do not\, the prophet laments that the cities \nof the south are shut up\, with none to enter them. \nWhen therefore you can say: “My heart is ready\, O God\,” because it is \nemptied of evil\, “my heart is ready\,” because it is full of holy desires\, then busy \nyourself with what follows: “I will sing and recite a psalm.” And whatever may \nbe your voice\, singing or reciting\, let this intention be in your mind: “Arise\, my \nGlory\, arise at my coming\, for as far as it is in me [to go\,] I have gone to meet \nyou.” \nO good Jesus\, how swift and prompt\, how full of joy and gladness are you \nin running to greet such devotion as this. How cheerful do you show yourself in \nthese ways. As Isaiah says: “You have met him that rejoices and does justice: in \nyour ways they shall remember you.” For if you sing wisely in the way of \nintegrity\, coming he will come and will bring to light what is hidden from you so \nthat you may understand the mysteries of the Scriptures you do not at present \nknow. Then it will be as you say: “I will sing and I will understand in the \nunspotted way when you shall come to me.” Stir up\, Lord\, your power\, which at \nyour coming stirs up our sluggishness\, and come to save us\, O Savior of the \nworld\, who live and reign\, God for ever and ever.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-372/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251212
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251213
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251207T145211Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251207T145211Z
UID:14348-1765497600-1765583999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils reading -Our Lady of Guadalupe
DESCRIPTION:THE APPEARANCE OF THE \nBLESSED VIRGIN MARY \nAT GUADALUPE \nFrom the first written Aztec account of the apparition6 \n◊◊◊ \nUpon his reaching the top of the hillock\, Juan Diego catches sight of a \nwoman\, one who has been taking her stand there. She beckons him to come on\, \ncloser up to herself. Upon reaching her presence\, he greatly marvels at her \nextreme\, her surpassing\, her perfect wonderfulness. \nHer garments are as the sun\, gleaming\, glittering. Even the boulder\, the \ncrag\, on which she takes her stand sparkles in resplendence\, like fine emerald \njade or a bangle when it shines\, like the swarming glow of a rainbow in the \ngloom. Even the soil\, the brambles and prickles and the rest of the varied weeds \nthat struggle to survive there are shining like emerald\, like divine turquoise\, to \nthe tip of every leaf; are glittering like the golden scourings of the gods up every \nstalk and twig and thorn. \nIn her presence he prostrates; he listens to her utterance\, her declaration. \nThese are as of one who sets others at ease\, one whose manner is to attract\, one \nwhose attitude is to esteem. She addresses him: “Do listen to me\, my littlest one\, \nJuanito!… “Do know this\, do be assured of it in your heart\, my littlest one\, that I \nmyself\, I am the entirely and ever Virgin Saint Mary\, Mother of the True \nDivinity\, God Himself: Because of Him\, life goes on\, Creation goes on; His are \nall things afar\, His are all things near at hand\, things above in the heavens\, \nthings here below on the earth. How truly I wish it\, how greatly I desire it\, that \nhere they should erect me my temple! Here would I show forth\, here would I lift \nup to view\, here would I make a gift of all my fondness for my dear ones\, all my \nregard for my needy ones\, my willingness to aid them\, my readiness to protect \nthem. For truly I myself\, I am your compassionate mother\, yours\, for you \nyourself\, for everybody here in the land\, for each and all together\, for all others \ntoo\, for all folk of every kind\, who do but cherish me\, who do but raise their \nvoices to me\, who do but seek me\, who do but raise their trust to me. \nFor here I shall listen to their groanings\, to their saddenings; here shall I \nmake well and heal up their each and every kind of disappointment\, of \nexhausting pangs\, of bitter aching pain… Therefore\, to realize all that my \nclemency claims\, go to the palace of the Bishop of Mexico\, and say that I sent you \nto make manifest to him my great desire; namely\, that here in the valley a temple \nshould be built to me. Tell him word for word all that you have seen and heard and \nadmired. Be assured that I shall be grateful and that I will reward you\, for I will \nmake your life happy and cause you to become worthy of the labor you have taken \nand the trouble you perform to do what I enjoin you. Now you have heard all my \nbidding\, least of my sons. Go and do your utmost.’ \n“At this point he bowed before her and said\, ‘Lady\, I go to do your bidding. \nAs your humble servant\, I take my leave of you.’ Then he went on to accomplish \nher will\, taking the causeway that leads directly to Mexico City.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-our-lady-of-guadalupe-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251213
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251214
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251207T145311Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251207T145311Z
UID:14350-1765584000-1765670399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils reading - St Lucy
DESCRIPTION:ST LUCY \nFrom Butler’s Lives of the Saints \n◊◊◊ \nSt Lucy is said to have been a Sicilian\, born in the city of Syracuse of noble \nand wealthy parents and brought up a Christian. She wished to devote her life to \nGod and to give her fortune to the poor\, but during the Diocletian persecutions a \nman\, usually represented as a Roman soldier\, tried to rape her\, and she resisted. \nHe denounced her as a Christian\, and she was arrested\, tortured and killed. \nThough these traditions have no ascertainable historical basis\, her \nconnection with Syracuse and the existence of an early cult connected with her \nname are well established. A fourth-century inscription mentioning that a girl \ncalled Euskia died on Lucy’s feast-day survives at Syracuse. Lucy was honoured \nat Rome in the sixth century as one of the most illustrious virgin martyrs whose \nlives the Church celebrates. Her name is included in the Canons of the Roman \nand Ambrosian rites and occurs in the oldest Roman sacramentaries\, in Greek \nliturgical books\, and in the marble calendar of Naples. \nChurches were dedicated to her in Rome\, Naples\, and eventually Venice. \nIn England two ancient churches were dedicated to her\, and she has certainly \nbeen known since the end of the seventh century… \nPossibly on account of her name\, which has connotations of light and \npurity (in Latin Lux and Lucia)\, legends have long gathered around St Lucy. \nSome of the legends and many paintings relate to her eyes. One gruesome story \nis that she tore her eyes out rather than surrender to her attacker\, and she is \nsometimes shown offering them to him. Oddly\, she is the patron saint of those \nwith eye trouble\, and a gentler interpretation is that this is because the eyes are \nthe source of our awareness of light. Her feast-day had long been the occasion \nfor special ceremonies connected with virginity. It occurs near the shortest day \nof the year and is especially celebrated in Sweden as a festival of light\, with a \nprocession of young girls dressed in white and crowned with lighted candles. \nThe song “Santa Lucia” celebrates her memory.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-st-lucy-4/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251214
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251215
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251213T202423Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T202423Z
UID:14373-1765670400-1765756799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Skema
DESCRIPTION:Biblical Readings for Office and Mass\n3rd Week of Advent\n\n\nMass Readings: Sunday (A)\, Weekdays (II)\nDecember 14 – 20\, 2025\n\n\n\nSun\n14\nMon\n15\nTue\n16\nWed\n17\nThu\n18\nFri\n19\nSat\n20\n\n\nOffice\n3rd Sunday of Advent\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\nAdvent Weekday\n\n\nVigils\nMicah 4:1-14\nMicah 5:1-14\nMicah 7:7-20\nIsa 40:1-11\nIsa 40:12-31\nIsa 41:8-20\nIsa 41:21-29\n\n\nLauds\nZech 2:10-17\nIsa 24:21-25:5\nIsa 52:1-7\nIsa 42:1-9\nIsa 45:1-8\nIsa 45:18-25\nIsa 46:5-13\n\n\nMass\n7\n187\n188\n193\n194\n195\n196\n\n\n1st\nIsa 35:1-6a\, 10\nNum 24:2-7\, 15-17a\nZeph 3:1-2\, 9-13\nGen 49:2\, 8-10\nJer 23:5-8\nJudg 13:2-7\, 24-25a\nIsa 7:10-14\n\n\n2nd\nJas 5:7-10\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGospel\nMatt 11:2-11\nMatt 21:23-27\nMatt 21:28-32\nMatt 1:1-17\nMatt 1:18-24\nLuke 1:5-25\nLuke 1:26-38\n\n\nVespers\nRom 9:1-8\nRom 10:1-13\nRom 11:13-20\n1 Thess 5:16-24\nPhil 1:3-11\nPhil 3:17-21\nPhil 4:4-9
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/skema-136/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251214
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251215
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251213T202613Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T202613Z
UID:14375-1765670400-1765756799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - 3rd Sunday Advent
DESCRIPTION:THE ONE WHO IS TO COME \nFrom a commentary by Thomas of Villanova \n◊◊◊ \nThe gospel narrative tells of a question which John the Baptist\, who was \nin prison\, put to the Lord through his disciples. Are you the one who is to come\, \nor are we to look for someone else? John himself was in no doubt about the \nmatter. Even from his mother’s womb he had recognized Jesus\, and at the \nJordan he had borne his testimony; but he sent this embassy for two reasons. \nIn the first place\, John wished to instruct his disciples. He knew that his \nown death was imminent and\, like the good leader and teacher he was\, he made \nprovision for his disciples\, to ensure that they would have a teacher and \nprotector. He wanted to see them safe under Christ’s wing and in his care. \nJohn’s second and paramount motive\, however\, was to draw attention to \nChrist. He knew that he had been sent to bear witness to Christ\, and although he \nhad given his testimony at the Jordan\, few had accepted it. Knowing now that \nhis death was near he devised a profitable and very prudent plan: he would put \nthis question to Jesus publicly and thus bring him into the limelight\, so that in \nreplying to the question Jesus would at the same time bear witness about \nhimself\, and thereby reveal himself to the people. John knew that the Lord’s \nreply was bound to be very fruitful\, and events proved him right. \nThe disciples approached Jesus\, and in front of the crowd put to him the \nsame question which the Jews had put to John. Everyone eagerly awaited his \nreply\, for there had already been a rumor among the people that he might \nindeed be the Messiah. The Lord gave no immediate answer\, but delayed a little\, \nand in their presence worked wonderful\, mighty miracles. Then he invited \nthem\, Go and report to John what you have heard. The blind are receiving \ntheir sight\, the lame are walking\, lepers are cleansed\, the deaf hear\, the dead \nrise again\, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor. \nHe did not give an answer to them in so many words\, but pointed to his \ndeeds\, as much as to say\, “The works that I am doing are my witness. These are \nthe works I am performing; judge for yourself whether I am the Messiah.” This \nwas an admirable reply\, for he not only claimed by means of his works that he \nwas the Messiah; he also proved it. \nIsaiah had uttered three prophecies about the Christ. The first was this: \nThen shall the eyes of the blind be opened\, and the ears of the deaf unsealed\, \nand the lame man will leap like a stag. The second was\, The Spirit of the Lord is \nupon me… he has sent me to announce good tidings to the poor. The third \ndeclared\, He shall be a stone for stumbling over\, and a rock of scandal as well\, \nfor both houses of Israel. The Lord fulfilled these prophecies before their eyes\, \nand implicitly quoted them in his reply: the first\, by saying\, The blind are \nreceiving their sight\, the lame are walking … the deaf hear; the second in his \nclaim that the good news is proclaimed to the poor; and the third by saying\, \nBlessed is anyone who takes no offense at me.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-3rd-sunday-advent-2/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251215
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251216
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251213T202719Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T202719Z
UID:14377-1765756800-1765843199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:CREATED TO DO HIS WILL \nBy St 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 \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-373/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251216
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251217
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251213T202823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T202823Z
UID:14379-1765843200-1765929599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:CONFIDENCE IN GOD’S POWER \nBy Fr Romano Guardini \n◊◊◊ \nElizabeth calls the Virgin Blessed because she had faith – for everything \nwould happen as the Lord had told her; through the power of the Holy Spirit she \nwould become the Mother of the Redeemer\, and in this find the fulfillment of \nher life and salvation. To be assured of this was not always easy. When the \nGospel speaks of Mary and her son\, one perceives a great love\, but also a \nremoteness. \nThe answer of the twelve-year-old boy in the temple; the answer Jesus \ngave at the wedding feast of Cana; his words to the bystanders\, when Mary\, at \nthe door\, asks for him; what he said to the woman who exalted his Mother; and \nhis last testament in which he committed her to the care of the disciple – in each \nof these\, something is revealed that removes him from her\, and we always sense \nthe possibility that she might have become perplexed about God’s guidance. But \neach time her confidence increased and she placed all into his hands. Mary lived \ncompletely through her confidence in God’s power\, a power that is capable of \nconsummating all\, even in darkness and opposition. \nHope is confidence in God’s power to accomplish all things. He has \npromised that we shall become new persons\, and that his creation shall be a \n“new heaven and a new earth”. This is gainsaid by the impression made on us by \nworldly things; by the course our life is taking; by the opinions of people around \nus; by our own daily insufficiency and sin – by everything. Hope is the \n“nevertheless” of faith. In spite of all contradiction\, the new life is within us\, and \nGod will complete it if we trust in him despite all opposition. But that is difficult\, \nsometimes impossible. So we must ask again that the Lord “may strengthen our \nhope.”
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-374/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251217
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251218
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251213T202935Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T202935Z
UID:14381-1765929600-1766015999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH \nFrom the Second Vatican Council’s document “Lumen Gentium” \n◊◊◊ \nThe Church\, whose mystery is set forth by this sacred Council\, is held\, as a \nmatter of faith\, to be unfailingly holy. This is because Christ\, the Son of God\, \nwho with the Father and the Spirit is hailed as “alone holy\,” loved the Church as \nhis Bride\, giving himself up for her so as to sanctify her; he joined her to himself \nas his body and endowed her with the gift of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God. \nTherefore all in the Church\, whether they belong to the hierarchy or are \ncared for by it\, are called to holiness\, according to the apostle’s saying: “For this \nis the will of God\, your sanctification”. This holiness of the Church is constantly \nshown forth in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful and so \nit must be; it is expressed in many ways by the individuals who\, each in his or \nher own state of life\, tend to the perfection of love\, thus sanctifying others; it \nappears in a certain way of its own in the practice of the counsels which have \nbeen usually called “evangelical.” This practice of the counsels prompted by the \nHoly Spirit\, undertaken by many Christians whether privately or in a form or \nstate sanctioned by the Church\, gives and should give a striking witness and \nexample of that holiness. \nThe Lord Jesus\, divine teacher and model of all perfection\, preached \nholiness of life (of which he is the author and maker) to each and every one of his \ndisciples without distinction: “You\, therefore\, must be perfect\, as your heavenly \nFather is perfect”. For he sent the Holy Spirit to all to move them interiorly to \nlove God with their whole heart\, with their whole soul\, with their whole \nunderstanding\, and with their whole strength\, and to love one another as Christ \nlove them. \nThe followers of Christ\, called by grace\, and justified in the Lord Jesus\, \nhave been made sons and daughters of God in the baptism of faith and partakers \nof the divine nature\, and so are truly sanctified. They must therefore hold on to \nand perfect in their lives that sanctification which they have received from God. \nThey are told by the apostle to live “as is fitting among saints”\, and to put on “as \nGod’s chosen ones\, holy and beloved\, compassion\, kindness\, lowliness\, \nmeekness\, and patience”\, to have the fruits of the Spirit for their sanctification. \nBut since we all offend in many ways\, we constantly need God’s mercy and must \npray everyday: “And forgive us our debts.” \nIt is therefore quite clear that all Christians in any state or walk of life are \ncalled to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love\, and by this \nholiness a more human manner of life is fostered also in earthly society.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-375/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251218
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251219
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251213T203106Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T203106Z
UID:14383-1766016000-1766102399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:THE GIFT OF FAITH \nBy Catherine de Hueck Doherty \n◊◊◊ \nWhat is faith? Some say they have lost it. Some hunger for the first taste. \nSome are indifferent to whether they have it or not. Others fight against it\, hate \nit\, and want to destroy it in others. What is faith? A Catholic can easily answer \nfrom early catechetical instructions in childhood. Faith is a free gift from God\, \ngiven to a person at Baptism. A Catholic will say too that no one can really \nacquire faith by his own efforts. He will repeat over and over again that it is \nindeed a free gift from God. \nYes\, faith is a free\, loving gift of God to us. Faith is the cradle of love and of \nhope. But this gift given to us at Baptism can grow\, must grow\, must be \nincarnated into our lives\, must become part of us\, must become\, like breathing\, \nan utterly integral part of us. \nHow can it become all these things? By prayer. God never refuses a prayer \nfor the deepening and growth in faith. Prayer is the food that will make faith \ngrow\, strengthen it\, root it with deep and lasting roots into human hearts. Faith \ngrows by living it out. Faith is a pilgrimage toward the Absolute. Faith gives \nevery Christian sandals and a pilgrim’s staff and bids him to arise and go in \nsearch of him whom every Christian longs for – God. \nFaith appears to be blind sometimes but in reality it sees very deeply. It \nalone can walk in utter darkness. It alone can fold the wings of the intellect when \nnecessary and open them when it needs to. Chasms\, abysses\, steep mountains \npresent no problem or difficulty to faith. On the contrary\, all of life – pains\, \nsorrows\, joys symbolized by these chasms – becomes its food and its \nnourishment. Faith grows until it leaves all darkness behind and walks like a \nchild bathed in the light of God’s love. \nNo one can keep or hide faith for himself alone. It will escape and extend \nitself to others. Faith never walks alone\, but always walks with love and hope. \nFaith can be transmitted by words\, but it is best communicated by actions. Faith \ncries out to be lived\, to be incarnated\, incarnated in love. For love is a Person\, \nlove is God\, and faith is his gift to us. The hands of faith are filled with gifts for \nthose who embrace her. Gifts of peace\, love\, joy and strength. Gifts of courage \nand laughter. Faith is a child who smiles at theologians and at human wisdom. \n  \nTHE GOSPEL WITHOUT COMPROMISE \, Catherine de Hueck Doherty (Ave Maria Press IN 1976) pp. 127-128.11 invites them to come and play with God. \n 
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-376/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251219
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20251220
DTSTAMP:20260404T084804
CREATED:20251213T203211Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251213T203211Z
UID:14385-1766102400-1766188799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:PREPARE THE WAY OF THE LORD \nFrom a homily by Origen \n◊◊◊ \nWe read in the Old Testament\, in the prophet Isaiah: “A voice of one \ncrying in the wilderness…” For the Lord wishes to find in you a way prepared \nbefore him\, where he may enter in\, and have there a right-of-way. Prepare for \nhim this path\, of which it is written: “Make straight his path.” \nThe Voice cries: “Prepare the way of the Lord.” First the voice strikes \nupon the year\, then after the voice\, indeed together with the voice\, the word \npenetrates the mind. In this way was Christ announced by John. Let us then \nhear what the Voice announces concerning the Word. “Prepare\,” it says\, “the \nway of the Lord.” Which way shall we prepare for the Lord? A way on the earth? \nCan the Word of God travel such road? Or rather must we not prepare the way \nwithin us\, setting up in our hearts a straight and true way? \nThis is the way through which the Word of God enters\, and comes to rest \nwithin the bounds of the human body. And great indeed is the heart of man\, \nwide and spacious as if it were a world in itself. Do you wish to know how great \nand how profound it is? Behold what a sweep of divine knowledge it can \nembrace: “For he has given me true knowledge of the things that are: to know \nthe disposition of the whole world\, and the virtues of the elements\, the \nbeginnings and the endings and midst of the times\, the alterations of their \ncourses\, and the changes of the seasons\, revolutions of the year\, and the \ndispositions of the stars\, the natures of living creatures\, and the reasonings of \nmen.” \nSee then that the heart of man\, which can contain so much\, is no small \nthing. And see also that its greatness is not in bodily quantity\, but in the power \nby which it can receive such knowledge of the truth. Let me recall to you a \nsimple example from our daily life\, so that you may see how great is this power. \nLet us consider this: through whatever cities we may have passed\, we have still \nwithin our minds the style and the shape of their squares and houses and walls \nand buildings\, stored in our memory. We keep within us\, as in the picture\, the \nroads we have traveled. The sea we have voyaged over we can recall in moments \nof quiet recollection. No small thing\, as I have said\, is the heart of man. \nIf it then can contain so much\, and is not something small and narrow\, \nthen let a way for the Lord be prepared in it\, and let his path be made straight\, so \nthat the Word of God and his Wisdom may enter there. Prepare this way by a \nworthy manner of living\, and with good works make straight the path\, so that \nwithout hindrance the word of God may tread this way to you\, and give you \nunderstanding\, both of his coming and of his mysteries\, to whom be glory and \nempire forever and ever.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-377/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR