GENERAL NORMS' FOR THE CISTERCIAN CALENDAR, and MISSAL

This Booklet should be retained permanently* in order to supplement the indications given in the current Ordo for the Cistercian Breviary and Missal.

1988 THE WORK OF GOD I. THE CALENDAR A. GENERAL REMARKS 1. In the current Ordo, the celebrations are designated in keeping with the General Monastic Calendar approved for our Order according to the terms of the decrees is- sued by the Sacred Congregation fro Divine Worship on April 27, 1972 and July 31, 1972. 2. All of our Order are to follow this Ordo, to which should be added those proper celebrations speci- fied by the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, as well as by the Instruction De Calendars-is particular-thus atque Offi-oiorisn et Missarum Propri-is Re- oognosoendiSj issued by the Sacred Congregation for Di- vine Worship on June 24, 1970. B. CELEBRATIONS TO BE ADDED IN THE LOCAL CALENDAR The following are to be added to the above mentioned General Monastic Calendar: 1. Local Celebrations a) solemnity of the principal patron of the town or city; b) feast of the principal patron of the diocese, re- gion or province, nation or wider territory; c) feast of the anniversary of the Dedication of the cathedral church. Note: The memorial of a secondary patron of the town or city, region or province, nation or wider territo- ry, is obligatory only for the diocesan .. 2. Celebrations Proper to Each a) solemnity of the anniversary of the dedication of the church; b) solemnities of the title (that is, the titular saint, provided that this saint is not Our Lady) or of the Founder of the church; Note: Only one solemnity may be inscribed in the Calendar, So often as there is question of two solemnities, only one is celebrated as a solem- 7. Feasts of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of the saints nity, the other as a feast. If a Founder is only in the General Calendar beatified rather than canonized, he is given a 8. Proper feasts, namely: feast rather than a solemnity. a) Feast of the principal patron of the diocese c) other feasts proper to this church; b) Feast of the anniversary of the dedication of the d) the memorial of a Saint or Blessed whose body is cathedral preserved in the monastery church; c) Feast of the principal patron of the territory, e) other memorials proper to this church. province, country, or more extensive territory d) Feasts of the Abbot Founders of Citeaux and of C. TABLE OF LITURGICAL DAYS arranged according to order St Bernard—provided that these are celebrate un- of precedence: der the rite of a feast rather than that of a I solemnity e) Other feasts proper to the individual monastery 1. triduum of the Lord's passion and resurrection (as that of a beatified Founder) 2. Christmas, , Ascension, and Pentecost. f) Other feasts listed in the Ge al Calendar of The Sundays of Advent, Lent, and the season of Easter our Order Ash Wednesday 9. Weekdays of Advent from December 17 to December 24 Weekdays of , Monday to Thursday inclusive inclusive Days within the octave of Easter Days within the octave of Christmas 3. Solemnities of the Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, Weekdays of Lent and saints listed in the general calendar. III All Souls1 Day (which, however, yields to a Sunday that falls on Nov 2) 10. Obligatory memorials in the General Calendar of the Church 4. Proper solemnities, namely: a) Solemnity of the principal patron of the place, 11. Proper obligatory memorials, namely: a) Memorial of a secondary patron of the place, dio- city, or state cese, region or province, country, or more exten- b) Solemnity of the dedication and anniversary of the sive territory (on condition that these are listed dedication of a particular church in the particular Calendar) c) Solemnity of the titular saint of a particular b) Other obligatory memorials proper to an individual church (unless this titular saint is Our Lady) church d) Solemnities in the General Calendar of our Order, c) Other obligatory memorials listed in the General that is: St Benedict, the Abbot Founders of Ci- teaux, St Bernard—provided that the latter two Calendar of our Order are celebrated under the rite of a solemnity rather Note; As regards the Saturday Memorial of Our than that of a feast Lady, which, without derogation to the rights of e) Solemnity of the (canonized) Founder of the monasery Particular Calendars, the General Chapter has rendered obligatory, see below under Section E. II 5. Feasts of the Lord in the General Calendar 12. Optional memorials may be celebrated, though in a special form, even on the days indicated in n. 9. 6. Sundays of the Christmas season and Sundays in ordi- nary time In the same manner oblicatory memorials may be 4. If on the same day of the current Office and celebrated as optional memorials if they happen to First Vespers of the following day are to be celebra- fall on the Lenten weekdays* ted, the Vespers of the day holding the higher rank 13. Weekdays of Advent up to Dec 16 inclusive in the Table of Liturgical Days takes precedence; if Weekdays of the Christmas season from Jan 2 until both days are of the same rank, Vespers of the current the Saturday after Epiphany day takes precedence. Weekdays of the Easter season from Monday after the E. THE SATURDAY MEMORIAL OF OUR LADY octave of Easter until the Saturday before Pentecost inclusive In keeping with the statute of the General Chapter of Weekdays in ordinary time our Order, on Saturdays in ordinary time unimpeded by an obligatory memorial, we celebrate the Memorial of Our La- For a just reason, however, in a particular monastery dy, provided that some celebration of Our Lady has not a calendar entry may be celebrated under a rank higher already taken place during the preceding week. than the one assigned it in the General Calendar of the Accordingly, in the current Ordo, these Saturday Church or in the General Calendar of our Order. Memorials that occur in ordinary time are inscribed as D. THE OCCURENCE OF CELEBRATIONS ON THE SAME DAY obligatory; and they take precedence over any other op- __ tional memorial which might fall on the same day. 1. If several celebrations fall on the same day, the one that holds the higher rank according to the above ta- ble is observed, but without derogation to n. 2, as II. THE DIVINE OFFICE follows: OR 2. In cases of perpetual occurence of several celebra- A. GENERAL NORMS [Decree of the S,C. for Divine Worship, tions on the same day, the impeded solemnities, feasts n. 1554/74, for the Cistercian Order of the Strict and memorials of the Particular Calendar are assigned Observance] to the nearest day not impeded by a solemnity or 1. These [General Norms or] "Praenotanda" in no way mean feast (unless, for pastoral reasons, the proper or to provide the doctrinal background of the Liturgy of particular celebration should be observed in prefer- the Hours; nor do they mean to explain the importance ence to the one in the General Calendar); but memori- of the Liturgy of the Hours in the life of the Chris- als of the General Calendar impeded by a celebration tian. All these things are to be found treated in listed in a Particular Calendar are simply omitted. abundant detail in the Rule of St Benedict, the docu- 3. If in a given year a solemnity is impeded by a litur- ments of Vatican Council II, as well as in the General gical day enjoying precedence, the impeded solemnity Instruction for the Liturgy of the Hours [= GILH]. is transferred to the next day that is free of days Our purpose here is only to indicate especially those listed in the Table of Liturgical Days, nn. 1-8. particular points that call for greater precision, so However, solemnities falling on the Sundays of Advent, that the Liturgy of the Hours may better correspond Lent and the Easter season are anticipated on Satur- to the concrete situation of the monks and nuns of our day. Should the Saturday be likewise impeded, the transferred solemnity is assigned to the nearest un- Order. impeded day, in keeping with the general norm* Other 2. Even though monastic communities are not 'particular impeded celebrations are simply omitted that year. Churches1 in the strict sense, and even though they are not made up exclusively of clerics, they never- theless represent the praying Church in a special man- ner; for they manifest in a fuller way the model of the Abbot General, with the consent of his permanent the Church, which without intermission praises the Council, can allow one or two of the Little Hours to Lord with concordant voice; and they carry out the be omitted. duty of 'working* first and foremost by means of If an Hour of the Office is celebrated in connection prayer for the up-building and increase of the whole with another Hour or with the Mass, the prescriptions Mystical Body of Christ, and for the good of the par- ticular Churches. of GILH, nn. 93-99, are to be followed. The Liturgy of the Hours should be so structured as 3. In the Liturgy of the Hours as arranged by monastic always to have a , psalmody, then a longer or communities, the Church recognizes her own voice, and shorter reading from Scripture, and then the prayer through the authority of the hierarchy ceaselessly (or prayers) . As regards the manner of performing keeps watch to see that this same prayer, while re- the psalmody, the prescriptions of GILH, nn. 121-125, sponding to the particular exigencies of the individu- are to be followed. Since Gregorian chant is the chant al communities, nevertheless always maintains its ef- proper to the Roman liturgy, it will be given pride of ficacy as a means of expressing the Christian mystery. place—all things being equal. If the Liturgy of the 4. The prescriptions for the Liturgy of the Hours origi- Hours is celebrated in the vernacular, the traditional nally formulated by the Rule of St Benedict ad after- elements, and in particular the music, can be adapted wards by ecclesiastical legislation envisage the per- to the genius of the language and the nature of the formance of the Liturgy—whether sung or recited—in individual community. choir. It pertains to the solicitude and right of Since (.the morning prayer) and Vespers (the even- the Abbot, however, to determine the manner in which ing prayer) have been handed down by the venerable age- each member of the community participates in it. old tradition of the Church as the two hinges on which 5. The Liturgy of the Hours is arranged according to the the turns, these are to be considered the prescriptions of the Rule of St Benedict, which chief Hours, and are to be celebrated as such* To the through past centuries nourished the prayer life of extent possible, they should be sung. monks, and which in our own day are no less able to Vigils, however, retains its proper nature of night foster that same life of prayer. Nevertheless, the praise, to be celebrated before dawn. possibility of adapting these prescriptions to the circumstances of the present day is recognized—cir- 9. If deemed prudent, an optional period of silence may cumstances which differ from region to region, and be inserted after each psalm, as was the custom in which are experienced diversely. past ages—especially if a psalm-collect concludes the period of silence; and after the readings, whether 6. Since the Liturgy of the Hours has the purpose of long or short ones. sanctifying the day and all its human activity, the monastic community intends to attain this end by the 10. The distribution of can be done in these ways: celebration of these Hours handed down to us by the - as prescribed in the Rule of St Benedict; Fathers. - according to one of the schemata approved by the Ho- Nevertheless, the Hour of can be omitted. ly See for use in our Order; - or according to some other schema, so long as the I.VH-M i hoiit'.h the Little Hours may be celebrated outside psalms are recited within a two-week period; • (HI 11 , t lu-y are nevertheless always to be celebrated - moreover, those schemata officially approved for us In i IMIIIIHHI. Win-re, however, special circumstances ren- by the Holy See may be modified according to local • Ifi i IM . .IHH-I v.-mi-i- id i li (M | Hi inscription difficult, circumstances, 8 11. The two-year cycle of biblical readings drawn up - Responsory for the Liturgy of the Hours may be fol- - Hymn Te Deum (the last part may be omitted, if lowed, should this seem opportune (cf. GILH, nn. deemed opportune) 145-146). - : of the Resurrection, or of the Sunday, or of another part of the yearly cycles of readings, 12. A Supplement containing readings from the Fathers or of the solemnity or feast and ecclesiastical authors, but different from those - Te deoet laus in the Roman Rite Office, is in preparation for use in monasteries. Moreover, the Abbot, with the assent B- One or three Canticles with suitable of the community, may select still .other texts—but - Hymn Te Deion only in keeping with the norms issued by the Holy See - Gospel, as above, and r/ Amen for the choice of reading. - Te deoet laus - Homily from the Monastic or by the B. ORDINARY OF THE DAILY LITURGY OF THE HOURS Abbot [Decree of the S.C. for Divine Worship, as above] - Responsory 1. Vigilis C- One or three Canticles with suitable antiphon ~* - Gospel, as above, an r/ Amen a) Introduction - Facultative patristic reading or homily by Abbot v/ Domine, labia mea aperies, '- , - Te Dewn r/ Et os mewn anmcntiabit laudem tuam. Gloria Pa- The Te Dewn* however, is not said on Sundays tri .... during Lent. Invitatory: Ps 94 or another, according to the k) Memorials and weekdays schema followed, with its antiphon, which is re- Kyrie, eleison ...j or Short Litany—i.e., for our peate" d after each strophe of the psalm. absent brethren, for the departed, and for others b) Hymn ; ; '-' 1) Oremus (silence), concluding prayer c) Psalmody m) Benedicamus Domino and r/ Deo gratias. d) Versicle and response e) Scripture reading with its responsory; a faculta- 2. Lauds and Vespers tive period of silence may be inserted before or a) Introduction after the responsory. : v/ Deus> in adiutoriivn meitm intende3 f) Psalmody . r/ Domine, ad adiuvandwn me festina. g) Versicle and response h) Reading from the Fathers or ecclesiastical writers, b) Hymn with its responsory as above, e. c) Psalmody i) On Sundays, solemnities and feasts, the following d) Scripture reading (short reading or long) with its elements are added, to be arranged according to short responsory any one of the structures described below; this e) Canticle from the Gospel, with its antiphon structure can be simplified on feast days when f) Conclusion of the Office: we work, - Concluding prayers of the sort found in the Roman A- One or three Canticles with suitable antiphon Rite Liturgy of the Hours - Versicle and response : - The Lord's Prayer said by everyone, and preceded - Homily from the Monastic Lectionary or by the by a brief monition Abbot 11 10 In the case of the Office said by an individual in - Final prayer (without Opemus) of the day, or private, either the Calendar of the place or the of the Hour, or of the Saint, according to the proper Calendar can be used, except on proper so- rubrics - Blessing lemnities and feasts. 2. According to the variety of the liturgical days, 3. Little Hours and in keeping with the spirit of GILH for the Ro- a) Introduction, as at Lauds man Rite, in celebrations of either the Mysteries b) Hymn proper to the Hour of Our Lord or of the Saints, the parts of the Of- c) Psalmody fice may be chosen and arranged as follows: d) Short reading from Scripture a) On Sundays and weekdays: e) Versicle and response everything is said as in the Ordinary, in the Psal- f) Conclusion of the Office: ter, and in the Proper, according to the liturgical - Kypie, eleison ...., or Short Litany—i.e., for season and the custom of the monastery; our absent brethren, for the departed, and for others moreover, Sunday has 1st and 2nd Vespers. - Opemus (silence), concluding prayer b) On solemnities: - Benedieamus Domino and r/ Deo gpatias At Vespers I, Vigils, Lauds and Vespers II, as much 4. as possible everything is said as in the Proper or Common, according to the custom of the monastery; a) Introduction, as at Lauds b) If deemed opportune, an examination of conscience. at the Little Hours, the antiphon, short reading This is done either in silence, or in the framework (with its responsorial verse) and prayer as in the of a penitential rite based on the Missal formulas. Proper or Common. c) Hymn c) On feasts: d) Psalmody Vespers I are said only for feasts of Our Lord e) Short reading from Scripture f) Versicle Custodi nos ... and its response; which fall on Sunday; or else the short responsory In rnanus tuas. at Vespers, Vigils and Lauds, as much as possible, g) Song of Simeon, with its antiphon and in keeping with the custom of the monastery, h) Conclusion of the Hour and of the day: everything is said as in the Proper or Common; - Kyrie3 eleison ...., or Short Litany, as at the at the Little Hours, the short reading (with its Little Hours responsorial verse) and the prayer only are taken - Oremus (silence), concluding prayer of the Hour from the proper or the Common; the psalms and an- - Blessing Uoctern quietcon ... tiphons (unless proper ones are available) are - Antiphon Salve Regina those of the current weekday. C. THE CALENDAR TO BE FOLLOWED d) On memorials: AND THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE OFFICE At Vigils, Lauds and Vespers, the prayer is of the memorial, but the psalms with their are 1. The Office in choir and in common is performed ac- those of the current weekday; the invitatory anti- cording to the proper Calendar of the monastery phon, , short readings (with their responso- where the celebration takes place. ry), antiphons fox the Benedictus and the Magnifi-