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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260505
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260506
DTSTAMP:20260504T084044
CREATED:20260503T215243Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260503T215243Z
UID:14878-1777939200-1778025599@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from \nST AUGUSTINE \n◊◊◊ \nYour Graces will have noticed when the book of the Acts of the Apostles \nwas being read that Paul was talking at Athens. The Athenians enjoyed a great \nreputation among other peoples for every kind of learning. The city was the \nnative home of great philosophers. From it had spread through the rest of \nGreece and other countries of the world a complex variety of philosophies. \nThat’s where the Apostle was talking\, that’s where he was proclaiming Christ \ncrucified\, to the Jews indeed a stumbling block\, to the nations folly; but to \nthose who are called\, Jews and Greeks alike\, Christ the power of God and the \nwisdom of God. \nWhen he finished his address and they heard mention of the resurrection \nof the dead\, which is the most distinctive point of the faith of Christians\, some of \nthem scoffed\, while others said\, We will hear you again on this matter. \nNow\, there is one overriding concern common to all philosophers within \nwhich they divide up into five different sets of special opinions. In common\, all \nphilosophers strive by dedication\, investigation\, discussion\, by their way of life\, \nto lay hold of the blessed life. This is their one reason for philosophizing; but I \nrather think the philosophers also have this in common with us. I mean\, if I were \nto ask you why you became Christians\, every single one of you would answer me \ntruthfully: ‘For the sake of the blessed life.’ \nTherefore the urge for the blessed life is common to philosophers and \nChristians\, and I would even say common to the whole human race. People who \nare good\, after all\, are good in order to be happy\, and those who are bad would \nnot be bad unless they hoped they would thereby be made happy. \nNow set before your eyes Epicureans\, Stoics\, and the Apostle; that is: \nEpicureans\, Stoics\, and Christians. Let’s first question the Epicureans on what \nthing it is that makes life happy. They answer\, ‘Bodily pleasure.’ The Stoic \nanswers: ‘A virtuous mind.’ The Christian: ‘The gift of God.’ And so brethren\, in \nfront of our very eyes Epicureans and Stoics are debating with the Apostle\, and \nteaching us by their debate what we should reject and what we ought to choose. \nA virtuous mind is something very praiseworthy; but tell me\, Stoic\, where \ndo you get it from? It is not really your virtuous mind that makes you happy\, but \nthe one who has given you virtue\, who has inspired you to desire it\, and granted \nyou the capacity for it. There is no life that deserves the name\, to be called life\, \nbut a blessed life; and there can be no blessed life that is not eternal. This is what \neverybody wants: truth and life. \nBut how is one to get to such a great possession\, such a grand fortune? The \nphilosophers have worked out for themselves ways that go wrong. They have \nmissed the true way\, because God opposes the proud. We would also miss it\, \nunless it had come to us. That’s why the Lord says\, I am the way… \nThis is the doctrine of Christians; certainly not something to be set beside \nthe doctrines of the philosophers\, but to be set incomparably above them\, \nwhether the sordid one of the Epicureans\, or the arrogant one of the Stoics.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-427/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260506
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260507
DTSTAMP:20260504T084044
CREATED:20260503T215349Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260503T215349Z
UID:14880-1778025600-1778111999@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “The Life in Christ” by \nNICHOLAS CABASILAS \n◊◊◊ \nAfter receiving the Sacrament of Chrismation\, we approach the Holy \nTable\, the consummation of our life in Christ\, which leaves no further happiness \nto be desired. Now it is no longer a question of sharing in Christ’s death or burial \nor in a higher kind of life\, but of welcoming the risen Lord himself. It is no longer \nthe gifts of the Spirit that we receive\, insofar as we are able\, but our benefactor \nhimself\, the very temple that enshrines all gifts. \nChrist is present in each of the Sacraments: he himself confirms us and \ncleanses us\, and he is our food. He is present to those receiving the Sacraments \nof initiation\, though in different ways. In Baptism he takes away the stain of sin \nand imprints his own image on the baptized. In Chrismation he brings into \naction the gifts of the Holy Spirit\, of which his own flesh is the repository. But \nwhen he leads communicants to his Table and gives them his body to eat he \ncompletely transforms them\, raising them to his own level. This is the last \nSacrament we receive because it is impossible to go beyond it or to add to it \nanything whatever. \nWe remain imperfect even after Baptism has produced in us its full effect \nbecause we have not yet received the gifts of the Holy Spirit\, which are given in \nChrismation. Those baptized by Philip did not receive the Holy Spirit simply by \nthe grace of Baptism: it was necessary for John and Peter to lay their hands on \nthem. As Scripture says\, the Holy Spirit had not yet come down on any of them; \nthey had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and \nJohn laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. \nYet even among those who had been filled with the Spirit and who \nprophesied\, spoke in tongues and displayed other such gifts\, there were some in \nthe time of the Apostles who were so far from being divine and spiritual as to be \nguilty of envy\, rivalry\, contention\, and other similar vices. This is what Paul \nreferred to when he wrote to them: You are still unspiritual and are living on a \npurely human plane. They were indeed spiritual by reason of the graces they \nhad received\, but these graces did not suffice to free them from all sinfulness. \nWith the Eucharist\, however\, it is different. No such charge can be \nbrought against those in whom the Bread of Life\, which has saved them from \ndeath\, has had its full effect and who have not brought to this feast any wrongful \ndispositions. If this Sacrament is fully effective it is quite impossible for it to \nallow the slightest imperfection to remain in those who receive it. \nIf you would know the reason for this\, it is because through communion\, \nin fulfilment of his promise\, Christ dwells in us and we in him. He lives in me\, he \nsaid\, and I in him. When Christ lives in us\, what can we lack? When we live in \nChrist\, what more can we desire? We at once become spiritual in body and soul \nand in all our faculties because our soul is united to his soul\, our body to his \nbody\, our blood to his blood. The consequence is that the higher prevails over \nthe lower\, the divine over the human. As Paul says\, referring to the \nResurrection: What is mortal is swallowed up by life. And elsewhere he writes: \nIt is no longer I who live: it is Christ who lives in me.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-428/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260507
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260508
DTSTAMP:20260504T084044
CREATED:20260503T215511Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260503T215511Z
UID:14882-1778112000-1778198399@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “The Life in Christ” by \nNICHOLAS CABASILAS \n◊◊◊ \nThe purpose of Chrismation is to enable us to share in the power of the \nHoly Spirit. This anointing brings the Lord Jesus himself to dwell in us\, our only \nsalvation and hope. Through him we are made sharers in the Holy Spirit and are \nled to the Father. Unfailingly it procures for Christians those gifts that are \nneeded in every age\, gifts such as faith\, reverence for God\, prayer\, love\, and \npurity. It does so even though many are unaware of having received such gifts. \nMany do not know the power of this Sacrament or even that there is a Holy \nSpirit\, as it says in the Book of Acts\, because they were anointed before reaching \nthe age of reason and afterward they blinded their souls by sin. Nevertheless\, \nthe Spirit does in truth give the newly initiated his gifts\, distributing them to \neach one as he wills; and our Lord\, who promised to be with us always\, never \nceases to shower blessings on us. \nChrismation cannot be superfluous. We obtain the remission of our sins \nin Baptism and we receive the body of Christ at the Altar. These Sacraments will \nremain until the unveiled appearance of their author. It cannot be doubted\, \nthen\, that Christians also enjoy the benefits that belong to this holy anointing \nand receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit. How could some Sacraments be fruitful \nand this one without effect? How can we believe that Saint Paul’s words: He \nwho promised is faithful\, apply to some Sacraments but not to this one? If we \ndiscount the value of any Sacrament we must discount the value of all\, since it is \nthe same power that acts in each of them\, it is the immolation of the same Lamb\, \nit is the same death and the same blood that gives each of them its efficacy. \nThe Holy Spirit is given to some\, as St Paul says\, to enable them to do good \nto others and to edify the Church by prophesying\, teaching revealed truth\, or \nhealing the sick by a mere word. The spirit is given to others for their own \nsanctification\, imparting to them a shining faith and reverence for God\, or \nmaking them outstanding in purity\, charity\, or humility.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-429/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260508
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260509
DTSTAMP:20260504T084044
CREATED:20260503T215635Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260503T215635Z
UID:14884-1778198400-1778284799@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading - Bl Christian de Charge
DESCRIPTION:A reading on the life of \nCHRISTIAN DE CHERGÉ \n◊◊◊ \nIn its early stages\, monastic life was interpreted in various ways. Not a few \nunderstood monasticism as an authentic martyrdom. The martyr\, the monk and \nthe mystic are people who have oriented their lives toward mystery and entered \ndeeply therein. They long for one thing only: to enter into communion with their \nLord in death in order to be joined with him in the Resurrection. \nChristian de Chergé was born on January 18\, 1937 at Colmar into a \ndistinguished family of eight children. His father was a military man\, as would \nbe his older brother later on. During his childhood he spent three years in \nAlgeria during the Second World War. From the time of his childhood he always \nremained impressed by the Muslim’s way of approaching God. \nOn October 6\, 1956\, at the age of nineteen he entered the seminary of the \nCarmelites in Paris. His studies were interrupted in 1959 when he had to report \nfor military service. Set on becoming an officer\, he took the required courses \nand in July of the following year he was made second lieutenant. That same \nmonth\, at the time of the war of independence\, he arrived in Algeria at the age of \ntwenty-three. \nAn event occurred during this time that left its mark on him for the rest of \nhis life. He had made friends with an Algerian who worked as a warden under \nthe French authorities\, a position that made him susceptible to the violence of \nthe National Liberation Army. Mohamed tried to be faithful at one and the same \ntime to his Christian friend\, to his Islamic faith\, and to his own people. It so \nhappened one day that they were involved in a scuffle in the street. Mohamed \nprotected his friend and tried to pacify his aggressors. The following day\, he was13 \nfound dead. This painful episode was never to be forgotten. Christian came back \nto it in later years\, writing: “I know at least one beloved brother\, a convinced \nMuslim\, who gave his life for love of another\, in a concrete way\, by spilling his \nown blood. Indeed\, since then\, in my hope for communion of all the elect in \nChrist\, I can fix my eyes on this friend who lived\, even in his death\, the one \ncommandment.” \nFor Christian de Chergé all of this was a foundational experience and the \nseed of a vocation. In the blood of his friend\, assassinated for not having wanted \nto bargain with hatred\, Christian said in 1982: “I knew my calling to follow \nChrist would end up living itself out sooner or later in the same country where \nI had been given the pledge of the greater love\, ‘shed for you and for many’”. \nOn March 21\, 1964\, he was ordained a priest and shortly thereafter was sent to \nAlgeria and to the monastic life. On September 14\, 1976\, he made his perpetual \nvows. In it he expressed his desire to “live in Prayer in the service of the Church \nof Algeria\, listening to the Muslim soul\, God willing\, until the final gift of my \ndeath.” \nChristian was elected Titular Prior of Atlas monastery in 1984. He was \nalready deeply involved in the interreligious dialogue. On May 21\, 1996\, united \nwith his six brothers of the community\, he sealed with his blood the witness of \nhis life.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-bl-christian-de-charge/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20260509
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20260510
DTSTAMP:20260504T084044
CREATED:20260503T215749Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260503T215749Z
UID:14886-1778284800-1778371199@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Vigils Reading
DESCRIPTION:A reading from “The First Apology in Defense of the Christians” by \nST JUSTIN MARTYR \n◊◊◊ \nNone may share the Eucharist with us unless they believe that what we \nteach is true; unless they are washed in the regenerating waters of Baptism for \nthe remission of their sins; and unless they live in accordance with the \nprinciples given us by Christ. \nWe do not consume the eucharistic bread and wine as ordinary food and \ndrink\, for we have been taught that as Jesus Christ our Saviour became a man of \nflesh and blood by the power of the Word of God\, so also the food that our flesh \nand blood assimilates for its nourishment becomes the flesh and blood of the \nincarnate Jesus by the power of his own words contained in the prayer of \nthanksgiving. \nThe Apostles in their recollections\, which are called Gospels\, handed \ndown to us what Jesus commanded them to do. They tell us that he took bread\, \ngave thanks and said: Do this in memory of me\, this is my body. In the same \nway he took the cup\, he gave thanks and said: This is my blood\, and he \ndistributed it only to them. Ever since then we have constantly reminded one \nanother of these things. The rich among us help the poor and we are always \nunited. For all that we receive we praise the Creator of the universe through his \nSon Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit. \nOn Sunday we have a common assembly of all our members\, whether they \nlive in the city or in the outlying districts. The recollections of the Apostles or the \nwritings of the prophets are read as long as time permits. When the reader has \nfinished\, the president of the assembly speaks to us\, urging everyone to imitate \nthe examples of virtue we have heard about in the readings. Then we all stand up \ntogether and pray. \nOn the conclusion of our prayer\, bread and wine and water are brought \nforward. The president offers prayers and gives thanks to the best of his ability\, \nand the people give their assent by saying\, ‘Amen’. The Eucharist is distributed\, \neveryone present communicates\, and the Deacons take it to those who are \nabsent. \nThe wealthy if they wish may make a contribution\, and they themselves \ndecide the amount. The collection is placed in the custody of the president\, who \nuses it to help the orphans and widows and all who for any reason are in distress\, \nwhether because they are sick\, in prison\, or away from home. In a word\, he takes \ncare of all who are in need. \nWe hold our common assembly on Sunday because it is the first day of the \nweek the day on which God put darkness and chaos to flight and created the \nworld\, and because on that same day our Saviour Jesus Christ rose from the \ndead. For he was crucified on Friday and on Sunday he appeared to his Apostles \nand disciples and taught them the things that we have passed on for your \nconsideration.
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/vigils-reading-430/
CATEGORIES:Vigils Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20260509T090000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20260509T120000
DTSTAMP:20260504T084044
CREATED:20260406T153956Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260406T154454Z
UID:14796-1778317200-1778328000@laycisterciansofgethsemani.org
SUMMARY:Chicago LCG 9:00 am CDT
DESCRIPTION:All are welcome \n  \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# US
URL:https://laycisterciansofgethsemani.org/event/chicago-lcg-900-am-cdt/
CATEGORIES:LCG Local Community Meetings,LCG open events
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