Wednesday of the Third Week in Ordinary Time

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Day of Prayer for Peace in Ukraine

Saints: Saints Alberic, Robert and Stephen, Abbots of Citeaux and Founders of the Cistercian Order (12th century); Saints Timothy and Titus, Companions and Helpers to Saint Paul the Apostle

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 7:5-9 Humility

Mass for the Solemnity of our Founders: Sirach 44:1, 10-15; Hebrews 11:1-2, 8-16; Mk 10:24b-30

Mass for Ferial Day: 2 Tm 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5; Resp Ps 96; Lk 10:1-9

Proclaim God's marvelous deeds to all the nations.

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD,

OUR LADY OF CITEAUX,

PRAY FOR US.

Your way of acting should be different from the world's way;

the love of Christ must come before all else.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 4:20-21) 

Now I will praise those godly men, our ancestors, each in his own time (Sirach 44:1). Join us as we commemorate Saints Alberic, Robert and Stephen, great Abbots of Citeaux and Founders of the Cistercian Order. Among the wealth of information about our Order that can be found on our website, ocso.org, the interested reader will find this under History, The Cistercian Order, Early Citeaux: "The founders of Citeaux centered their ideals on their desire for authentic monastic simplicity and evangelical poverty. They believed that their inspiration for this renewal could be found in a more literal interpretation of St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries", otherwise known as the Rule of Saint Benedict. And I am all over that. Turn to the Holy Rule today for wisdom and guidance.

We Cistercians, the founders of this church, by the present document are notifying our successors how canonically, with what great authority, and also by whom and by what stages their monastery and tenor of life took their beginning, so that, with the sincere truth of this matter made public, they may more tenaciously love both the place and the observance of the Holy Rule there initiated somehow or other by ourselves, through the grace of God; and that they may pray for us who have tirelessly borne the burden of the day and the heat; and may sweat and toil even to the last gasp in the straight and narrow way which the Rule points out; till at last, having laid aside the burden of flesh, they happily repose in everlasting rest.

(Prologue, Exordium Parvum, 12th century Cistercian document that includes the early history of Citeaux, including official letters and documents with narrative)

Idleness is the enemy of the soul. Therefore, the brothers should have specified periods for manual labor as well as for prayerful reading ...

Let them prefer nothing whatever to Christ, and may He bring us all together to everlasting life.

(Rule of Saint Benedict, 48:1; 72:11-12)

SAINTS ALBERIC, ROBERT AND STEPHEN,

SAINTS TIMOTHY AND TITUS,

MARY, QUEEN OF ALL SAINTS,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: This image is from our Order's website, ocso.org, and is of an icon from the Cistercian nuns at Arevalo, Spain, Monasterio de Santa Maria la Real.

© Gertrude Feick 2022