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

Refer to the website

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)

Refer to the website

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

		- the Season of Advent - .
Sun	1	1^st Sunday of Advent - Year C
Mon	2
Tue	3	S^t Francis Xavier, Priest, † 1552
Wed	4
Thu	5
Fri	6
Sat	7	S^t Ambrose, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 397
Sun	8	2^nd Sunday of Advent
Mon	9	the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Tue	10
Wed	11
Thu	12
Fri	13	S^t Lucy, Virgin and Martyr
Sat	14	S^t John of the Cross, Priest and Doctor of the Churc, † 1591
Sun	15	3^rd Sunday of Advent
Mon	16
Tue	17	- O Sapientia -
Wed	18	- O Adonai -
Thu	19	- O Radix Iesse -
Fri	20	- O Clavis David -
Sat	21	- O Oriens -
Sun	22	4^th Sunday of Advent : - O Rex Gentium -
Mon	23	- O Emmanuel -
Tue	24

		- the Christmas/Epiphany Season -
Wed	25	the Nativity of the Lord
Thu	26	S^t Stephen, the first Martyr
Fri	27	S^t John, Apostle and Evangelist
Sat	28	the Holy Innocents, Martyrs
Sun	29	the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph
Mon	30
Tue	31


Wed	1	Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God
Thu	2	S^ts Basil the Great, † 379 and Gregory Nazianzen, † around 389, Bishops and Doctors of the Church
Fri	3
Sat	4
Sun	5	the Epiphany of the Lord
Mon	6
Tue	7
Wed	8
Thu	9
Fri	10
Sat	11
Sun	12	the Baptism of the Lord

		- Ordinary Time -
Mon	13	S^t Hilaire, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 367
Tue	14
Wed	15	S^ts Maur and Placid, Disciples of our Father S^t Benedict, † 6^th century
Thu	16
Fri	17	S^t Anthony, Abbot, † 356
Sat	18
Sun	19	2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	20
Tue	21	S^t Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, † 305
Wed	22
Thu	23
Fri	24	S^t Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1622
Sat	25	the Conversion of S^t Paul the Apostle
Sun	26	S^ts Robert, Alberic et Stephen, founder Abbots of Cîteaux
Mon	27
Tue	28	S^t Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church, † 1274
Wed	29
Thu	30
Fri	31	S^t John Bosco, Priest, † 1888


Sat	1
Sun	2	the Presentation of the Lord
Mon	3
Tue	4
Wed	5	S^t Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, † 251
Thu	6	S^t Paul Miki, Priest and Companions, Martyrs, † 1597
Fri	7
Sat	8
Sun	9	5^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	10	S^te Scholastica, Virgin † v.547
Tue	11
Wed	12
Thu	13
Fri	14	S^ts Cyril, Monk, † 869, and Methodius, † 885, Bishop, Patrons of Europe
Sat	15
Sun	16	6^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	17
Tue	18
Wed	19
Thu	20
Fri	21	S^t Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Churc, † 1072
Sat	22	the Chair of S^t Peter, Apostle
Sun	23	7^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	24
Tue	25
Wed	26
Thu	27
Fri	28


Sat	1
Sun	2	8^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	3
Tue	4

		- The Season of Lent -
Wed	5	Ash Wednesday
Thu	6
Fri	7
Sat	8
Sun	9	1^st Sunday of Lent
Mon	10
Tue	11
Wed	12
Thu	13
Fri	14
Sat	15
Sun	16	2^nd Sunday of Lent
Mon	17
Tue	18	Dedication ot Vannes Cathedral (1499)
Wed	19	S^t Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Thu	20
Fri	21
Sat	22
Sun	23	3^rd Sunday of Lent
Mon	24
Tue	25	the Annunciation of the Lord
Wed	26
Thu	27
Fri	28
Sat	29
Sun	30	4^th Sunday of Lent, Lætare
Mon	31


Tue	1
Wed	2
Thu	3
Fri	4
Sat	5	S^t Vincent Ferrier, Priest, † 1419
Sun	6	5^th Sunday of Lent
Mon	7	S^t Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, Priest, † 1719
Tue	8
Wed	9
Thu	10
Fri	11
Sat	12
Sun	13	Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord
Mon	14
Tue	15
Wed	16

		- The Paschal Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord -
Thu	17	HOLY THURSDAY : THURSDAY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Fri	18	GOOD FRIDAY : FRIDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD
Sat	19	HOLY SATURDAY : THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT
Sun	20	EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

		- The Easter Season -
Mon	21
Tue	22
Wed	23
Thu	24
Fri	25
Sat	26
Sun	27	2^nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)
Mon	28	S^t Louis Grignion de Montfort, Priest, † 1716
Tue	29	S^t Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patron of Europe, † 1380
Wed	30


Thu	1
Fri	2	S^t Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 373
Sat	3	S^ts Philip and James, Apostles
Sun	4	3^rd Sunday of Easter
Mon	5
Tue	6
Wed	7
Thu	8	B^l. Christian de Chergé and his Companions, religious, the Algerian martyrs, † 1996
Fri	9
Sat	10
Sun	11	4^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	12
Tue	13
Wed	14	S^t Matthias, Apostle
Thu	15	S^t Pachomius, Abbot, † 346
Fri	16
Sat	17
Sun	18	5^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	19
Tue	20
Wed	21	S^t Patern, first Bishop of Vannes
Thu	22
Fri	23
Sat	24
Sun	25	6^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	26
Tue	27	S^t Augustine of Canterbury, † 604 or 605
Wed	28
Thu	29	The Ascension of the Lord
Fri	30
Sat	31	the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary


Sun	1	7^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	2
Tue	3	S^t Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs, † 1886
Wed	4
Thu	5	S^t Boniface, Bishop and Martyr, † 754
Fri	6
Sat	7
Sun	8	Pentecost Sunday

		- Ordinary Time -
Mon	9	Mary, Mother of the Church
Tue	10
Wed	11	S^t Barnabas, Apostle
Thu	12
Fri	13	S^t Anthony of Padua, Priest and Doctor of the Church, † 1231
Sat	14
Sun	15	the Most Holy Trinity
Mon	16	S^t Lutgard, Cistercian, Virgin
Tue	17	B^l. Joseph Mary Cassant, Cistercian Priest, † 1903
Wed	18
Thu	19
Fri	20
Sat	21	S^t Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious, † 1591
Sun	22	the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Mon	23
Tue	24	Nativity of S^t John the Baptist
Wed	25
Thu	26
Fri	27	the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sat	28	Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sun	29
Mon	30


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


Fri	1	S^t Alphonsus Mary Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1787
Sat	2
Sun	3	18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	4	S^t John Mary Vianney, Priest, † 1859
Tue	5
Wed	6	the Transfiguration of the Lord
Thu	7
Fri	8	S^t Dominic, Priest, † 1221
Sat	9	S^te Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Virgin and Martyr, Patron of Europe † 1942
Sun	10	19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	11	S^t Clare, Virgin, † 1253
Tue	12
Wed	13
Thu	14	S^t Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, † 1941
Fri	15	Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sat	16
Sun	17	20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	18
Tue	19	B^l. Guerric, Cistercian Abbot, † 1157
Wed	20	S^t Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux and Doctor of the Church, † 1153
Thu	21	S^t Pius X, Pope, † 1914
Fri	22	The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sat	23
Sun	24	21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	25
Tue	26
Wed	27	S^te Monica, † 387
Thu	28	S^t Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 430
Fri	29	the Passion of S^t John the Baptist
Sat	30
Sun	31	22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time


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


Wed	1	S^t Thérèse of the Child Jesus, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, † 1897
Thu	2	the Holy Guardian Angels
Fri	3
Sat	4	S^t Francis of Assisi, † 1226
Sun	5	27^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	6	S^t Bruno, Priest and Hermit, † 1101
Tue	7	Our Lady of the Rosary
Wed	8
Thu	9
Fri	10
Sat	11	S^t John XXIII, Pope, † 1963
Sun	12	28^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	13
Tue	14
Wed	15	S^t Theresa of Jesus, Virgin and Doctor ot the Church, † 1582
Thu	16
Fri	17	S^t Ignatius, Bishop and Martyr, † towards 107
Sat	18	S^t Luke, Evangelist
Sun	19	29^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	20
Tue	21
Wed	22	S^t John Paul II, Pope, † 2005
Thu	23
Fri	24
Sat	25
Sun	26	30^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	27
Tue	28	S^ts Simon and Jude, Apostles
Wed	29
Thu	30
Fri	31


Sat	1	All Saints
Sun	2	The Commemoration of all the Faithful departed (All Souls' Day)
Mon	3
Tue	4	S^t Charles Borromeo, Bishop, † 1584
Wed	5
Thu	6
Fri	7
Sat	8
Sun	9	Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Mon	10	S^t Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, † 461
Tue	11	S^t Martin of Tours, Bishop, † 397
Wed	12
Thu	13	All Saints of the Benedictine Family
Fri	14
Sat	15	S^t Albert the Great, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1280
Sun	16	33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	17
Tue	18
Wed	19
Thu	20
Fri	21	The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sat	22	S^t Cecilia, Virgin and Martyr, 1^st century
Sun	23	Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Mon	24	S^t Andrew Dúng-Lạc, Priest, and his Companions, Martyrs, † 1845-1862
Tue	25
Wed	26
Thu	27
Fri	28
Sat	29
Sun	30	1^st Sunday of Advent