Prayer | Notre-Dame de Timadeuc Abbey

The Monks' Prayer

"To devote oneself frequently to prayer."

The Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 4.

The Monks' Prayer

The Cistercian monk is a man who knows he is called to a life of prayer.

Prayer takes various forms in his life.

There is the so-called prayer of the Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours. It is the great prayer of the Church which the monastic community celebrates, from Vigils in the heart of the night :

"Lord, you will open my lips; and my mouth will proclaim your praise."

until Compline before retiring for the evening.

Besides, in the morning and in the evening, with the Major Hours of Lauds and Vespers, monks join the prayer of the Church, the people of God called to praise and supplication.
Monks also celebrate the Little Hours (Terce, Sext, None) which express how much all of life is imbued with prayer.

Finally, all brothers are assembled in the choir for the Eucharist which is the heart of the monastic day, the source and the culmination of all the life of the Church, of the Work of God.

Each monk also devotes time during the day to personal prayer often called orison.

It is definitely a deep and intimate experience, giving oneself up into the Father’s hands, intimacy with the Lord Jesus, a smooth and peaceful submission to the Holy Spirit. It is up to each monk to let himself be led into that prayer to which he is called through his baptism.

In his continuous search of God, the monk also goes to the scriptorium for Lectio Divina, where he is supported by the silent presence of his brothers. It is first and foremost a spiritual meditative reading of the Word of God written in the Bible and also of the words of men and women who have brought it within our reach, the Doctors of the Church and of the monastic tradition, past and present.

All of that naturally leads the monk to live his days in what the elders called "continuous prayer" which is usually a jaculatory prayer springing forth spontaneously as a cry of love :

"Jesus, have mercy on me !"
"Glory to you, O Lord !"

The fruit of those various forms of prayer is to lead the monk, little by little, into inner silence where words are no longer needed : there is only the whisper of the Spirit in the heart of the monk in whom the Holy Spirit dwells.

Cistercian Hymns

"And no one shall presume to sing or read
unless he can fulfill that office in such a way as to edify the hearers."

The Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 47.

Cistercian Hymns

Here is what the General Instruction of the Divine Office says about hymns :

"A very ancient tradition gives hymns the place in the office that they still retain. By their mystical and poetic character they are specifically designed for God's praise. But they also are an element for the people ; in fact more often than the other parts of the office the hymns bring out the proper theme of individual hours or feasts and incline and draw the spirit to a devout celebration. The beauty of their language often adds to this power. Furthermore, in the office hymns are the main poetic element created by the Church" (n°173).

The liturgical reform precisely allowed the writing of new hymns and that is the reason why the "Commission Francophone Cistercienne" (CFC) got started into writing, together with other authors.

For example, Brother Paul has composed hymns and we sing some of them at the office :

Au fond du désert (Les Moines et les Ermites/1 Hymnes)
lire le commentaire de cette hymne par frère Paul

Aujourd'hui, revêtu de lumière (Temps du Carême/Hymnes propres au dimanche)

Fondateurs de solitude (jan 26/Hymnes)

La création dans la ténèbre (Hymnes de semaine/1 Vigiles)

Lumière du soir dans nos cœurs (Hymnes de semaine/5 Vêpres)

Mendiant d'amour (Temps du Carême/Hymnes propres au dimanche)

Ne pleurez pas les ruines du passé (Hymnes de semaine/2 Vigiles Laudes Vêpres)

Si tu as peur de trahir (Temps du Carême/Hymnes de Vigiles, Laudes ou Vêpres)

Silence du tombeau (SAMEDI SAINT/1-Hymnes)

Prayer Requests

"And never despair of God's mercy."

The Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 4.

Prayer Requests

Very often people say to us :

"Pray for me ; pray for my family"

In that request, lies the firm belief in the role of monks and especially in the ministry and the service of prayer. Thus, we invite you to send us your prayer requests. They will be brought to the brothers’ attention during our liturgical service. This way we express our deep communion and our solidarity with the people of God.

You can send us your prayer requests by Mail : intentions.prieres@abbaye-timadeuc.fr or

Complete the form

Also, if you ask for it, a priest-monk can include a prayer request in the Eucharist. For instance a mass for a deceased person, a relative, a friend.

Or else a Thanksgiving mass for a golden or silver wedding, a priestly jubilee or a particular intention such as a recovery.

The celebration of mass is free of charge and is priceless. But the faithful, from the start, have wanted to show that sharing the Eucharist involves the whole being, just as Christ fully committed himself, giving his life to free us from sin and from death and to offer us eternal life. Hence their offerings, either in kind (the origin of the Offertory) or in cash in order to provide for the expenses of worship, to support the priests and the life of the Church.

Currently, the amount of the stipend is 17 € for a request for a mass. You can also ask for a novena (9 masses in a row : 170 €) or for Gregorian masses (30 masses on 30 consecutive days : 600 €).

Download the Mass Intention Form

CISTERCIAN ORDO

"NOTHING IS TO BE PREFERRED TO THE WORK OF GOD."

The Rule of Saint Benedict, chapter 43.

Cistercian Ordo

Fri	1
Sat	2
Sun	3	1^st Sunday of Advent
Mon	4
Tue	5
Wed	6
Thu	7	S^t Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 397	Memorial
Fri	8	the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Solemnity
Sat	9
Sun	10	2^nd Sunday of Advent
Mon	11
Tue	12
Wed	13	S^t Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, † 1^er siècle	Memorial
Thu	14	S^t John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Churc, † 1591	Memorial
Fri	15
Sat	16
Sun	17	3^rd Sunday of Advent, de Gaudete : - O Sapientia -
Mon	18	- O Adonai -
Tue	19	- O Radix Iesse -
Wed	20	- O Clavis David -
Thu	21	- O Oriens -
Fri	22	- O Rex Gentium -
Sat	23	- O Emmanuel -
Sun	24	4^th Sunday of Advent
Mon	25	the Nativity of the Lord	Solemnity
Tue	26	S^t Stephen, the first Martyr	Feast
Wed	27	S^t John, Apostle and Evangelist	Feast
Thu	28	the Holy Innocents, Martyrs	Feast
Fri	29
Sat	30
Sun	31	the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph	Feast

Mon	1	Mary, Holy Mother of God	Solemnity
Tue	2	S^ts Basil the Great, † 379 and Gregory Nazianzen, † around 389, Bishops and Doctors of the Church	Memorial
Wed	3
Thu	4
Fri	5
Sat	6
Sun	7	the Epiphany of the Lord	Solemnity
Mon	8	the Baptism of the Lord	Feast
Tue	9
Wed	10
Thu	11
Fri	12	S^t Aelred of Rievaulx, Cistercian Abbot, † 1167	Memorial
Sat	13
Sun	14	2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	15	S^ts Maur and Placid, Disciples of our Father S^t Benedict, † 6^th century	Memorial
Tue	16
Wed	17	S^t Anthony, Abbot, † 356	Memorial
Thu	18
Fri	19
Sat	20
Sun	21	3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	22
Tue	23
Wed	24	S^t Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1622	Memorial
Thu	25	the Conversion of S^t Paul the Apostle	Feast
Fri	26	S^ts Robert, Alberic et Stephen, founder Abbots of Cîteaux	Solemnity
Sat	27
Sun	28	4^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	29
Tue	30
Wed	31	S^t John Bosco, Priest, † 1888	Memorial

Thu	1
Fri	2	the Presentation of the Lord	Feast
Sat	3
Sun	4	5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	5	S^t Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, † 251	Memorial
Tue	6	S^t Paul Miki and Companions, Martyrs, † 1597	Memorial
Wed	7
Thu	8
Fri	9
Sat	10	S^te Scholastica, Virgin	Memorial
Sun	11	6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	12
Tue	13
Wed	14	Ash Wednesday
Thu	15
Fri	16
Sat	17
Sun	18	1^st Sunday of Lent
Mon	19
Tue	20
Wed	21
Thu	22	the Chair of S^t Peter, Apostle	Feast
Fri	23
Sat	24
Sun	25	2^nd Sunday of Lent
Mon	26
Tue	27
Wed	28
Thu	29

Fri	1
Sat	2
Sun	3	3^rd Sunday of Lent
Mon	4
Tue	5
Wed	6
Thu	7
Fri	8
Sat	9
Sun	10	4^th Sunday of Lent, Lætare
Mon	11
Tue	12
Wed	13
Thu	14
Fri	15
Sat	16
Sun	17	5^th Sunday of Lent
Mon	18	the Dedication ot Vannes Cathedral (1499)	Feast
Tue	19	S^t Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Solemnity
Wed	20
Thu	21
Fri	22
Sat	23
Sun	24	Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Mon	25
Tue	26
Wed	27
Thu	28	The Sacred Paschal Triduum MAUNDY THURSDAY : THURSDAY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Fri	29	GOOD FRIDAY : FRIDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD
Sat	30	HOLY SATURDAY : THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT
Sun	31	EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

Mon	1
Tue	2
Wed	3
Thu	4
Fri	5
Sat	6
Sun	7	2^nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)
Mon	8	The Annunciation of the Lord	Solemnity
Tue	9
Wed	10
Thu	11
Fri	12
Sat	13
Sun	14	3^rd Sunday of Easter
Mon	15
Tue	16
Wed	17
Thu	18
Fri	19
Sat	20
Sun	21	4^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	22	B^l Maria Gabriella, Virgin and Cistercian , † 1939	Memorial
Tue	23
Wed	24
Thu	25	S^t Mark, Evangelist	Feast
Fri	26
Sat	27	S^t Rafael Arnáiz Barón, Oblate O.C.S.O. † 1938	Memorial
Sun	28	5^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	29	S^t Catherine of Siena, Virgin, Lay Dominican and Doctor of the Church, Patron of Europe, † 1380	Feast
Tue	30

Wed	1
Thu	2	S^t Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 373	Memorial
Fri	3	S^ts Philip and James, Apostles	Feast
Sat	4
Sun	5	6^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	6
Tue	7
Wed	8	B^x Christian de Chergé and his Companions, religious, the Algerian martyrs, † 1996	Memorial
Thu	9	The Ascension of the Lord	Solemnity
Fri	10
Sat	11	S^ts Abbots of Cluny, † X-XII^e centuries	Memorial
Sun	12	7^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	13
Tue	14	S^t Matthias, Apostle	Feast
Wed	15	S^t Pachomius, Abbot, † 346	Memorial
Thu	16
Fri	17
Sat	18
Sun	19	Pentecost Sunday	Solemnity
Mon	20	Mary, Mother of the Church	Memorial
Tue	21
Wed	22
Thu	23
Fri	24
Sat	25	S^t Bede the Venerable, Priest and Doctor of the Church, † 735	Memorial
Sun	26	the Most Holy Trinity	Solemnity
Mon	27	S^t Augustine of Canterbury, † 604 or 605	Memorial
Tue	28
Wed	29	S^t Paul VI, Pope	Memorial
Thu	30	S^te Jeanne d'Arc, Virgin † 1431	Memorial
Fri	31	the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Feast

Sat	1	S^t Justin, Martyr, † towards 165	Memorial
Sun	2	the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ	Solemnity
Mon	3	S^t Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs, † 1886	Memorial
Tue	4
Wed	5	S^t Boniface, Bishop and Martyr, † 754	Memorial
Thu	6
Fri	7	the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus	Solemnity
Sat	8	The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Memorial
Sun	9	10^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	10
Tue	11	S^t Barnabas, Apostle	Memorial
Wed	12
Thu	13	S^t Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church, † 1231	Memorial
Fri	14
Sat	15
Sun	16	11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	17
Tue	18
Wed	19
Thu	20
Fri	21	S^t Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious, † 1591	Memorial
Sat	22
Sun	23	12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	24	the Nativity of S^t John the Baptist	Solemnity
Tue	25
Wed	26
Thu	27	S^t Cyril of Alexandria, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 444	Memorial
Fri	28	S^t Irenæus, Bishop and Martyr, † v. 201	Memorial
Sat	29	S^ts Peter and Paul, Apostles	Solemnity
Sun	30	13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mon	1
Tue	2
Wed	3	S^t Thomas, Apostle	Feast
Thu	4
Fri	5
Sat	6	the Dedication of Timadeuc abbey (1899)	Solemnity
Sun	7	14^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	8	B^l Eugene III, Cistercian Pope, † 1153	Memorial
Tue	9
Wed	10
Thu	11	Our Holy Father S^t Benedict, † 547, Patron of Europe	Solemnity
Fri	12
Sat	13
Sun	14	15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	15	S^t Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1274	Memorial
Tue	16	Our Lady of Mount Carmel	Memorial
Wed	17
Thu	18
Fri	19
Sat	20
Sun	21	16^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	22	S^t Mary Magdalene (Fondation of the abbey in 1841)	Feast
Tue	23	S^t Bridget, Religious, Patron of Europe, † 1373	Feast
Wed	24
Thu	25	S^t James, Apostle	Feast
Fri	26	S^t Anne...,	Feast
Sat	27	... and S^t Joachim, Parents of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Memorial
Sun	28	17^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	29	S^ts Martha, Mary and Lazarus, Hosts of the Lord	Memorial
Tue	30
Wed	31	S^t Ignatius of Loyola, Priest, † 1556	Memorial

Thu	1	S^t Alphonsus Mary Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1787	Memorial
Fri	2
Sat	3
Sun	4	18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	5
Tue	6	the Transfiguration of the Lord	Feast
Wed	7
Thu	8	S^t Dominic, Priest, † 1221	Memorial
Fri	9	S^te Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein), Virgin and Martyr, Patron of Europe † 1942	Feast
Sat	10	S^t Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, † 258	Feast
Sun	11	19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	12
Tue	13
Wed	14	S^t Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, † 1941	Memorial
Thu	15	the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Solemnity
Fri	16
Sat	17
Sun	18	20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	19	B^l Guerric, Cistercian Abbot, † 1157	Memorial
Tue	20	S^t Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux and Doctor of the Church, † 1153	Solemnity
Wed	21	S^t Pius X, Pope, † 1914	Memorial
Thu	22	The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Memorial
Fri	23
Sat	24	S^t Bartholomew, Apostle	Feast
Sun	25	21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	26
Tue	27	S^te Monica, † 387	Memorial
Wed	28	S^t Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 430	Memorial
Thu	29	the Passion of S^t John the Baptist	Memorial
Fri	30
Sat	31

Sun	1	22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	2
Tue	3	S^t Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, † 604	Memorial
Wed	4
Thu	5
Fri	6
Sat	7
Sun	8	23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	9
Tue	10
Wed	11
Thu	12
Fri	13	S^t John Chrysostom, Bishop and Doctor ot the Church, † 407	Memorial
Sat	14	the Exaltation of the Holy Cross	Feast
Sun	15	24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	16	S^ts Cornelius, Pope,† 253, and Cyprien, Bishop, † 258, Martyrs	Memorial
Tue	17
Wed	18
Thu	19
Fri	20	S^ts Andrew Kim Tae-go˘n, Priest, and Paul Cho˘ng Ha-sang, and Companions, Martyrs, † 1839-1864	Memorial
Sat	21	S^t Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist	Feast
Sun	22	25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	23	S^t Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Priest, † 1968	Memorial
Tue	24
Wed	25
Thu	26
Fri	27	S^t Vincent de Paul, Priest, † 1660	Memorial
Sat	28
Sun	29	26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	30	S^t Jerome, Priest and Doctor ot the Church, † 420	Memorial

Tue	1	S^t Thérèse of the Child Jesus (of Lisieux), Virgin and Doctor of the Church, † 1897	Memorial
Wed	2	the Holy Guardian Angels	Memorial
Thu	3
Fri	4	S^t Francis of Assisi, † 1226	Memorial
Sat	5
Sun	6	27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	7	Our Lady of the Rosary	Memorial
Tue	8
Wed	9
Thu	10
Fri	11	S^t John XXIII, Pope, † 1963	Memorial
Sat	12
Sun	13	28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	14
Tue	15	S^t Theresa of Jesus (of Avila), Virgin and Doctor ot the Church, † 1582	Memorial
Wed	16
Thu	17	S^t Ignatius, Bishop and Martyr, † towards 107
Fri	18	S^t Luke, Evangelist	Feast
Sat	19
Sun	20	29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	21
Tue	22
Wed	23
Thu	24
Fri	25
Sat	26
Sun	27	30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	28	S^ts Simon and Jude, Apostles	Feast
Tue	29
Wed	30
Thu	31

Fri	1	All Saints	Solemnity
Sat	2	The Commemoration of all the Faithful departed (All Souls' Day)
Sun	3	31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	4	S^t Charles Borromeo, Bishop, † 1584	Memorial
Tue	5
Wed	6
Thu	7
Fri	8
Sat	9	The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica	Feast
Sun	10	32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	11	S^t Martin of Tours, Bishop, † 397	Memorial
Tue	12
Wed	13	All Saints of the Benedictine Family	Feast
Thu	14
Fri	15	S^t Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 397	Memorial
Sat	16	S^t Gertrude the Great, Cistercian Virgin, † towards 1302	Memorial
Sun	17	33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	18
Tue	19
Wed	20
Thu	21	The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Memorial
Fri	22	S^t Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr, 1^st century	Memorial
Sat	23
Sun	24	Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe	Solemnity
Mon	25
Tue	26
Wed	27
Thu	28
Fri	29
Sat	30	S^t Andrew, Apostle	Feast