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 :

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

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

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


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

		- Ordinary Time -
Mon	12	S^t Ælred, Cistercian Abbot, † 1167
Tue	13	S^t Hilaire, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 367
Wed	14
Thu	15	S^ts Maur and Placid, Disciples of our Father S^t Benedict, † 6^th century
Fri	16
Sat	17	S^t Anthony, Abbot, † 356
Sun	18	2^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	19
Tue	20
Wed	21	S^t Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, † 305
Thu	22
Fri	23
Sat	24	S^t Francis de Sales, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1622
Sun	25	3^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	26	S^ts Robert, Alberic et Stephen, founder Abbots of Cîteaux
Tue	27
Wed	28	S^t Thomas Aquinas, Priest and Doctor of the Church, † 1274
Thu	29
Fri	30
Sat	31	S^t John Bosco, Priest, † 1888


Sun	1
Mon	2	the Presentation of the Lord
Tue	3
Wed	4
Thu	5	S^t Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, † 251
Fri	6	S^t Paul Miki, Priest and Companions, Martyrs, † 1597
Sat	7
Sun	8
Mon	9
Tue	10	S^te Scholastica, Virgin † v.547
Wed	11
Thu	12
Fri	13
Sat	14	S^ts Cyril, Monk, † 869, and Methodius, † 885, Bishop, Patrons of Europe
Sun	15
Mon	16
Tue	17

		- The Season of Lent -
Wed	18	Ash Wednesday
Thu	19
Fri	20
Sat	21	S^t Peter Damian, Bishop and Doctor of the Churc, † 1072
Sun	22	1^st Sunday of Lent
Mon	23
Tue	24
Wed	25
Thu	26
Fri	27
Sat	28


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


Wed	1

		- The Paschal Triduum of the Passion and Resurrection of the Lord -
Thu	2	The Sacred Paschal Triduum MAUNDY THURSDAY : THURSDAY OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Fri	3	GOOD FRIDAY : FRIDAY OF THE PASSION OF THE LORD
Sat	4	HOLY SATURDAY : THE EASTER VIGIL IN THE HOLY NIGHT
Sun	5	EASTER SUNDAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE LORD

		- The Easter Season -
Mon	6
Tue	7
Wed	8
Thu	9
Fri	10
Sat	11
Sun	12	2^nd Sunday of Easter (Divine Mercy)
Mon	13
Tue	14
Wed	15
Thu	16
Fri	17
Sat	18
Sun	19	3^rd Sunday of Easter
Mon	20
Tue	21	S^t Anselme, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1109
Wed	22	B^l Maria Gabriella, Virgin and Cistercian , † 1939
Thu	23
Fri	24
Sat	25	S^t Mark, Evangelist
Sun	26	4^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	27	S^t Rafael Arnáiz Barón, Oblate O.C.S.O. † 1938
Tue	28	S^t Louis Grignion de Montfort, Priest, † 1716
Wed	29	S^t Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church, Patron of Europe, † 1380
Thu	30


Fri	1
Sat	2	S^t Athanasius, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 373
Sun	3	5^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	4
Tue	5
Wed	6
Thu	7
Fri	8	B^l. Christian de Chergé and his Companions, religious, the Algerian martyrs, † 1996
Sat	9
Sun	10	6^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	11	S^ts Abbés de Cluny, † X-XX^e siècles
Tue	12
Wed	13
Thu	14	The Ascension of the Lord
Fri	15	S^t Pachomius, Abbot, † 346
Sat	16
Sun	17	7^th Sunday of Easter
Mon	18	S^t Yves, Priest, † 1303
Tue	19
Wed	20
Thu	21	S^t Patern, first Bishop of Vannes
Fri	22
Sat	23
Sun	24	Pentecost Sunday

		- Ordinary Time -
Mon	25	Mary, Mother of the Church
Tue	26
Wed	27	S^t Augustine of Canterbury, S^t 604 or 605
Thu	28
Fri	29
Sat	30
Sun	31	the Most Holy Trinity


Mon	1	S^t Justin, Martyr, † v. 165
Tue	2
Wed	3	S^t Charles Lwanga and Companions, Martyrs, † 1886
Thu	4
Fri	5	S^t Boniface, Bishop and Martyr, † 754
Sat	6
Sun	7	the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ
Mon	8
Tue	9
Wed	10
Thu	11	S^t Barnabas, Apostle
Fri	12	the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sat	13	The Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sun	14	11^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	15	the Most Holy Trinity
Tue	16	S^t Lutgard, Cistercian, Virgin
Wed	17	B^l. Joseph Mary Cassant, Cistercian Priest, † 1903
Thu	18
Fri	19
Sat	20
Sun	21	12^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	22
Tue	23
Wed	24	Nativity of S^t John the Baptist
Thu	25
Fri	26
Sat	27
Sun	28	13^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	29
Tue	30


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


Sat	1	S^t Alphonsus Mary Liguori, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 1787
Sun	2	18^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	3
Tue	4	S^t John Mary Vianney, Priest, † 1859
Wed	5
Thu	6	the Transfiguration of the Lord
Fri	7
Sat	8	S^t Dominic, Priest, † 1221
Sun	9	19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	10	S^t Lawrence, Deacon and Martyr, † 258
Tue	11	S^t Clare, Virgin, † 1253
Wed	12
Thu	13
Fri	14	S^t Maximilian Mary Kolbe, Priest and Martyr, † 1941
Sat	15	Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sun	16	20^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	17
Tue	18
Wed	19	B^l. Guerric, Cistercian Abbot, † 1157
Thu	20	S^t Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux and Doctor of the Church, † 1153
Fri	21	S^t Pius X, Pope, † 1914
Sat	22	The Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sun	23	21^st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	24	S^t Bartholomew, Apostle
Tue	25
Wed	26
Thu	27	S^te Monica, † 387
Fri	28	S^t Augustine, Bishop and Doctor of the Church, † 430
Sat	29	the Passion of S^t John the Baptist
Sun	30	22^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	31


Tue	1
Wed	2
Thu	3	S^t Gregory the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, † 604
Fri	4
Sat	5
Sun	6	23^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	7
Tue	8
Wed	9
Thu	10
Fri	11
Sat	12
Sun	13	24^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	14	the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Tue	15
Wed	16	S^ts Cornelius, Pope,† 253, and Cyprien, Bishop, † 258, Martyrs
Thu	17
Fri	18
Sat	19
Sun	20	25^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	21	S^t Matthew, Apostle and Evangelist
Tue	22
Wed	23	S^t Pio of Pietrelcina (Padre Pio), Priest, † 1968
Thu	24
Fri	25
Sat	26
Sun	27	26^th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	28
Tue	29	S^ts Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, Archangels (Michaelmas)
Wed	30	S^t Jerome, Priest and Doctor ot the Church, † 420


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


Sun	1	All Saints
Mon	2	The Commemoration of all the Faithful departed (All Souls' Day)
Tue	3
Wed	4	S^t Charles Borromeo, Bishop, † 1584
Thu	5
Fri	6
Sat	7
Sun	8	32^nd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	9	Dedication of the Lateran Basilica
Tue	10	S^t Leo the Great, Pope and Doctor of the Church, † 461
Wed	11	S^t Martin of Tours, Bishop, † 397
Thu	12
Fri	13	All Saints of the Benedictine Family
Sat	14
Sun	15	33^rd Sunday in Ordinary Time
Mon	16
Tue	17
Wed	18
Thu	19
Fri	20
Sat	21	The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Sun	22	Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
Mon	23
Tue	24	S^t Andrew Dúng-Lạc, Priest, and his Companions, Martyrs, † 1845-1862
Wed	25
Thu	26
Fri	27
Sat	28

		- The Season of Advent - .
Sun	29	1^st Sunday of Advent - Year B
Mon	30	S^t Andrew, Apostle