GRANGE. A group of farm buildings with a chapel and living quarters generally tenanted by lay-brothers working in outlying parts of the monastery farm. These “granges” were necessary in the Middle Ages when the monasteries owned much more land and when communications were difficult.
HEBDOMADARY. A monk deputed to a certain function for an entire week. St. Benedict speaks of the “Hebdomadary Cook,” the “Hebdomadary Reader” (in the refectory), etc. Today the term is only applied to the priest who is appointed to sing the Conventual Mass for the week.
HERMIT. A person dedicated to a life of absolute solitude, for the sake of prayer, penance, recollection and closer union with God.
HOST. A small wafer of unleavened bread used in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
INDULT. A decision of the Holy See granting certain rights, privileges or exemptions to an individual or a community.
INFUSED PRAYER or CONTEMPLATION. The term infused, applied to prayer, contemplation, knowledge, love, etc., is generally synonymous with “mystical,” and signifies an effect that is directly produced in the soul by God without active intervention on the part of the soul, which is moved passively to a knowledge or love of God completely transcending all the faculties of human nature. However, when speaking of “infused” virtues, whether moral or theological, Catholic writers use the term in a broader sense, to signify habits produced in the soul by God gratuitously, since they are supernatural, but in which the active cooperation of the soul plays an influential part.
LAVABO. A ceremony in the Mass, in which the priest washes his fingers reciting part of the 25th Psalm, beginning with the words “Lavabo inter innocentes manus meas . . .” It symbolizes the purification of body and soul with which he must approach the most sacred and essential part of the Mystery.
LAXIST. A moral theologian who excels in finding ways to evade moral obligations, and is so excessive in this respect that he cannot safely be followed by a Christian conscience.
LAY-BROTHER. A member of a religious Order who, though he makes simple or solemn vows, remains technically a layman in the sense that he is not destined to the clerical state, or Holy Orders, or at least to the public celebration of the Divine Office. Lay-brothers devote to labor the time that monks and clerics spend in prayer and study.
LITANY. A long prayer consisting of a series of invocations and responses. Traditionally, a Litany is supposed to be sung in a moment of special need.
LITURGY. The system of prayers and sacred texts and ceremonies established by the Church as the official vehicle of her public worship of God precisely as a group, or, better, as the mystical body of Christ. The Liturgy is essentially official, social and symbolic. It 1$ also essentially concerned with the Mysteries of the Christian Cult, which are the chief and most immediate means by which both individuals and society are sanctified and brought into intimate participation in the life and contemplation of God. Quite distinct from the Liturgy are private and even public devotions which do not have this official and symbolic character and are not directly concerned with the Sacred Mysteries.
MASS. The central Mystery of the Christian Faith. It is the liturgical action in which the priest, as the representative of Christ, renews the offering to God of Christ’s own Sacrifice of Himself on Calvary, Christ Himself being present on the altar, under the species of bread and wine, by virtue of the words of consecration.
MATINS. The canonical hour which is chanted soon after midnight. The longest of the hours.
MEDITATION. Mental Prayer. A process which aims to bring the soul to a closer union with God by means of thought, reflection and affective activity of the mind and will, cooperating with ordinary grace. Mental Prayer is prescribed, as a matter of duty, in the religious Orders and Congregations and in clerical life. It is essential to an integral Christian life and therefore should be practised by laymen also.
MISERERE. The fiftieth psalm. It begins with the words “Miserere met Deus . . .” (Have mercy on me, O Lord!)
MISSAL. Book containing the prayers and readings prescribed in the celebration of Mass.
MITER. Ceremonial headdress of bishops and abbots. The average dictionary will endeavor to show you what a miter looks like.
MONASTIC ORDER. The term “Monastic Order” is used in two ways: first to signify the whole structure of monasticism, and second to signify a religious Order whose members are monks. Monasticism, the life of the monastic religious Orders, is distinguished from other forms of religious life by the relative stability and the patriarchal and agricultural character of the vocation. The Monastic vocation implies retirement from the world and from the active ministry (at least to a great extent), and permanent residence in a family of monks dwelling in the country, governed by a Superior elected tor life, living by the labor of their hands, in poverty, with common ownership of all property, and having as their principal purpose the Liturgical praise and contemplation of God, not only for the sanctification of their own souls, but as representatives of the whole Church before the throne of God.
MONK. A religious dedicated to God by vow in the monastic life. Essentially the word monk implies the contemplative rather than the active life. The term monk is only correctly applied to the members of the monastic Orders, Benedictines, Carthusians, Cistercians, etc. Members of the Mendicant Orders, dedicated to the life of teaching and preaching, like the Dominicans, Franciscans and Carmelites, are properly called Friars. Other Orders, designed for the active life, and in which common exercises and the community life are considerably reduced (for instance the Jesuits) do not use the name “monk” or “friar” for their members. These are simply called “religious.”
MORTIFICATION. The virtue by which we “mortify”—that is “put to death”—the rebellious desires and appetites of our soul in order to liberate our potentialities for good, that they may be elevated to high perfection by the action of God’s efficacious grace.
MYSTICISM. A way of prayer, or of contemplation, or simply of living, in which the direct action and influence of God tend to dominate and absorb the activity of our natural faculties, raising them to a habitually supernatural level. The characteristic external mark of true Christian mysticism is not a succession of flamboyant experiences and phenomena, but a life of constant peace, recollection, absorption in God, charity, humility and, last but not least, balance and common sense, even in the midst of great trials, distracting duties, or heroic suffering.
NIGHT OFFICE. The psalms, hymns, lessons and other prayers chanted or recited by the monks during the hours between midnight and dawn. This usually includes the canonical hours of Matins and Lauds. Distinguished from the “Day Hours.”
NONES (or NONE). The fourth of the “Day Hours,” an office that should, properly speaking, be chanted in the early afternoon. It is the office of the “Ninth Hour” (2:30 or 3:00 P.M.).
NOVICE. An aspirant to vows in a religious Order who has been canonically admitted to the prescribed course of training in the novitiate.
NOVITIATE. The house or part of a house assigned to the novices as their place of residence and training.
NUN. Strictly speaking a “Nun” (nonna, Latin equivalent of the title “Mother”) is a religious woman who has taken solemn vows in an Order. Religious women professed in Congregations, and having only simple vows, are more properly called “Sisters.”
OBLATE. A lay-person who desires to share, to some extent, in the life of prayer and the spiritual benefits of a monastic Order. In the Cistercian Order, oblates live in the monastery and lead the life of the monks, with certain small modifications and without any vows or other formal religious obligations. Many Trappist monasteries receive young boys as oblates and give them their primary and secondary education, as a preparation for the religious life. This is not done in any of the monasteries of the United States.
OCTAVE. The prolongation of a liturgical feast over a period of eight days.
OFFICE. The sum of daily prayers, psalms, lessons, etc., to which the monk or cler
ic is bound as a duty (officium). The term may refer to the whole public prayer of the Church at large. It may refer to the special prayers assigned to a given day: “the Office of the day.” It may refer to a particular canonical hour: “the Office of Prime.” It may refer to those prayers which are a matter of immediate obligation to an individual: “I must go and say my Office.”
ORDER. A religious society established under the authority of the Holy See, and in which the members are bound by solemn vows. This is the point which distinguishes an Order from a Congregation. In the latter the members only take simple vows. (Code of Canon Law, C. 488.) All Orders are approved directly by the Holy See. Congregations may have only diocesan approval.
PARISH. The fundamental territorial unit in the Catholic Church. It is a district, having its own Church and Pastor, who may be a secular priest or a member of a religious Order. A parish forms part of a diocese (Code of Canon Law, C. 216).
PENANCE. The virtue by which one endeavors to destroy the effects of sin or moral disorder by self-correction and amendment and reparation to God. In another sense, we speak of a penance, meaning a penalty imposed by a confessor or ecclesiastical superior in reparation for a fault. By virtue of the communion of all Christians with one another through sanctifying grace and incorporation in the Mystical Body of Christ, certain members of the Church who may, themselves, be without serious sin, can do penance for others, vicariously. This will not wipe out the sins in the souls of others, but it can congruously merit grace for them to make the necessary acts of repentance themselves. In any case it will serve as a reparation for their sins in the sight of God.
PONTIFICAL HIGH MASS. A High Mass celebrated with the pomp and rites reserved to a Pontiff (Bishop, Archbishop). Abbots of monastic Orders have the privilege of celebrating Mass Pontifically.
POSTULANT. One who has applied for admission to a religious Order. A postulant is usually received into the Guest-House and then into the community for an initial period of trial, before the novitiate begins.
PRÉAU. See Garth.
PRIME. The first of the “Day Hours,” supposed to be chanted about dawn (the “first hour”).
PRIOR. There are two kinds of Priors in the Cistercian Order: i) Titular Priors, who are the highest superiors in independent Priories. 2) Cloistral Priors, who are second superiors, appointed by the Abbots in their own Abbeys.
QUIETISM. A heresy which distorted the Catholic teaching on contemplation by asserting that the way to sanctity was to abandon all interior and exterior activity whatever and remain completely inert, empty and passive without thinking or desiring anything, even eternal salvation.
REFECTORY. Place where members of a religious community gather for meals.
ROSARY. A method of prayer combining meditation with the recitation of the Hail Mary and Our Father, in honor of the chief events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In order that the counting of vocal prayers may not complicate the meditation of the mysteries, the one saying the rosary passes a string of beads through his fingers as he recites the vocal prayers, one bead for each prayer. Each meditation is accompanied by ten “Hail Marys” and it is easy to tell when to pass on from one subject to another by a glance at the beads.
SALVE REGINA. (“Hail, Holy Queen.”) An antiphon in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the Cisterician Order it has been the custom since the thirteenth century to sing the Salve Regina after Compline, every evening, before the monks retire to the dormitory.
SECULAR. Anyone or anything not associated with the religious state. A secular priest is one who is not a member of a religious Order or Congregation, but is subject to a Bishop and works among Catholics in the world.
SEXT. The third of the “Day Hours,” chanted about nine o’clock in the morning (the “third hour”).
USAGES. A set of monastic customs, determining ceremonies and conduct in all the aspects of communal monastic life.
VESPERS. The most important of the “Day Hours.” Vespers is chanted in the late afternoon.
VOCAL PRAYERS. Prayers in which words are actually spoken, or at least vocalised without sound.
VOWS. Promises made to God to perform a virtuous act or embrace a higher state of life. A dedication of one’s self or one’s actions to God. Solemn and perpetual religious vows are made publicly in the presence of representatives of the Church and impose a serious obligation upon the one who makes them. The obligation of Simple vows is less onerous, juridically speaking, than that of solemn vows. In either case, public vows involve a contract between the individual and the Church, with mutual obligations, and all vows, public or private, bind the individual to God by a special tie of religion. Vows may be dispensed by a competent authority. The more public and solemn they are, the more difficult it is to obtain a dispensation. Thus a private vow may ordinarily be dispensed by a confessor, but solemn religious vows can be dispensed only by the Holy See.
Index
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
Abbey: Cistercian, 119
definition of, 359
Abbot, definition of, 359
Abbot general, 359
Abel, Brother, 312–313, 329
Achel monastery, 223, 224
Acquisition, misfortune of, 334
Active life, xxxii
Advent, 296
Africa, Cistercians in, 154, 155 ff.
Ailred, St., 277, 298
Alberic, St., 11
Allen, James Lane, 136, 165
Aloysius, Brother, 140
Alsace, monasteries in, 225
Alvaro, Father, 215, 217
Ambo, definition of, 359
Ambrosian hymns, 13
Amedeo, Father, 218
Angel, Brother, 217
Ann, Mother, 67
Anthony, St., 3–4
Antiphoner, definition of, 359
Antoine, Dom, 102 ff.
Antonio, Frater, 217
Apostate, definition of, 359
Aquinas, St. Thomas, xxi, xxiii f., 4, 336
Aragon, Gstercians in, 33
Architecture of monasteries, 14 f., 274 ff.
Arts and crafts, 14
Asceticism: definition of, 359
De Ranee and, 47, 303 f.
St. Benedict and, 5 f.
Trappist, xvii, 21, 349
Assise, Dom François d’, 310 ff.
Athanasius, St., 3
Augustin, Father, 50, 52 ff.
Austerity, xxiii, 30, 280, 333
B
Badin, Father, 64, 67 ff.
Bail, Dom Anselme le, 192, 201, 223
Bâillon, Dom Alexis, 251
Barrière, Jean de la, 33
Basil, St., 5
Batz, Monsignor Leonard, 167
Bautista, Father Juan, 218
Beauregard, Dom Antoine de, 102 ff.
Belgium, Trappists in, 58, 223
Bellefontaine, 60, 81, 91, 143, 170, 219 f.
Benedict, St., of Aniane, 6 f.
Benedict, St, of Nursia, 5 f., 9, 20 f., 22 f.
Rule of (see Rule of St. Benedict)
Benedictine fast, mitigation of, 151
Benedictine Observance, 27
Benedictines, 45
Benefice, definition of, 359
Benezet, Father, 108, 119
Berchmans Piguet, Mother Mary, 323 ff.
Berger, Dom Mary Benedict, 128 f., 132–133, 160
Bernard, Father, 221
Bernard of Clairvaux, St, xxii, 13, 22 f.
love of nature, 267 f.
on charitable compassion, 24 f.
sermons of, 269
theology of, 327
Bernardines, 35 ff.
Berno, St., 7
Bible, the, 297–298
Big Tracadie, 89, 93
Bonaventura, St., xxiii
Bon Conseil, nuns of, 187
Bonnecombe, monks of, 182
Bonneval, monastery of,
271
Bosnia, Trappists in, 154 f.
Boulogne, priory of, 41
Brackenridge, Henry, 77–79
Brazil, monastery in, 189
Breviary, definition of, 359
Bricquebec Abbey, 222 f., 314–315
Brook Farm, 114
Bruijn, Father Anthony de, 203
Brunei, Father Francis Xavier, 55
Bruno, St, 7, 8, 267
Burgundy, Duke of, 270
C
Cabet, Etienne, 114 ff.
Canada: Cistercians in, 143, 152
Trappistine nuns in, 186 ff.
Trappist monasteries in, 152, 180, 182–183, 189, 310 ff.
Canonical hours, 360
Canticle of Canticles, The, xxiii, 25
Caramuel, John, 32
Carlier, Frater Maxime, 191 ff.
death of, 199
in World War I, 195 ff.
Carmelites of Lisieux, 204 f.
Carroll, Bishop, 106
Carthusian rule, 8
Carthusians, 8, 172
Casamari, Italy, 148, 150
Cassant, Father Joseph, 317–323
Cassian, 3, 4
Castille, congregation of, 33
Cenobites, 4, 344 ff., 360
Chabannes, Mother Augustin de, 184–185
Chaix-Bourbon, Dom Edward, 160 ff., 163, 187
Chapter, definition of, 360
Chapter of faults, 360
Chapter room, 275
Charitable compassion, 24 f.
Charlemagne, 6
Charmoye Abbey, 33
Charterhouse, 9 (see also Grande Chartreuse):
definition of, 360
Chatillon Abbey, 33
Chautard, Dom Jean Baptiste, xxiv, 46, 150, 172–173, 189
Chenevriere, Dom Etienne, 317
Chezzetcook, Acadia, 88
Chimay, monastery of, 191 ff., 219
taken by Nazis, 223
China, Cistercians in, 148, 249 ff.
Chouteau, Dom Jean-Marie, 144
Christ, love of, 291 ff., 298, 337
Christmas, 296
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