Liturgy

Let my prayer come before you like incense, the raising of my hands like an evening oblation (Ps.140:2).



Cistercian monks spend a number of hours daily in church celebrating the Eucharist and singing the Divine Office. They listen to God’s Word and are healed and strengthened by it. The liturgy or the ‘worship of God’ is a sacrifice of praise offered to God the Father; it is a sharing in the mystery of Christ; through it the Holy Spirit perfects the work of holiness.

If you find your delight in the Lord, he will grant your heart’s desire (Ps. 36:4)



E

Eucharist

At the centre of the monk’s life is the Eucharist. It forms the basis of his communion with Christ and with his brothers. Daily as a community we gather round the "table of the Lord" to partake of the one bread and the one cup. For the monk as for every Christian the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian and spiritual life. Father, you are holy indeed, and all creation rightly gives you praise (Eucharistic Prayer 3)

S

Sacred liturgy of the hours

We believe that the divine presence is everywhere and that in every place the eyes of the Lord are watching the good and the wicked(Prov 15:3). But beyond the least doubt we should believe this to be especially true when we celebrate the divine office. (Rule of St.Benedict Ch. 19)

St.Benedict says in his Rule that "nothing is to be preferred to the Work of God" (RB 43:3). This is a community celebration of the Divine Office, a fulfilment of Christ's priestly function of offering to God a sacrifice of praise and making intercession for the salvation of the world. Our constitutions describe the Liturgy of the Hours as "a school of continual prayer and an outstanding component of the monastic way of life."