The Premonstratensian Rite or Norbertine Rite is the

liturgical rite Christian liturgy is a pattern for worship used (whether recommended or prescribed) by a Christian congregation or denomination on a regular basis. The term liturgy comes from Greek and means "public work". The majority of Christian denominatio ...

, distinct from the

Roman Rite The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...

, specific to the

Premonstratensian The Order of Canons Regular of Prémontré (), also known as the Premonstratensians, the Norbertines and, in Britain and Ireland, as the White Canons (from the colour of their habit), is a religious order of canons regular of the Catholic Church ...

Order of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

History

The Norbertine rite ("Norbertine" is another name for the Premonstratensians) differs from the

in the celebration of

Mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

, the

Liturgy of the Hours The Liturgy of the Hours (Latin: ''Liturgia Horarum'') or Divine Office (Latin: ''Officium Divinum'') or ''Opus Dei'' ("Work of God") are a set of Catholic prayers comprising the canonical hours, often also referred to as the breviary, of the ...

and the administration of the Sacrament of Penance. Its

liturgical book A liturgical book, or service book, is a book published by the authority of a church body that contains the text and directions for the liturgy of its official religious services. Christianity Roman Rite In the Roman Rite of the Catholic ...

s were reprinted by order of the general chapter held at Prémontré in 1738. A new edition of the Missal and the Breviary was issued after the General Chapter of Prague, in 1890. In 1902 a committee was appointed to revise the Gradual, Antiphonary etc. and was encouraged by the

motu proprio In law, ''motu proprio'' (Latin for "on his own impulse") describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term ''sua sponte'' for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a do ...

Pope Pius X Pope Pius X ( it, Pio X; born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto; 2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914) was head of the Catholic Church from 4 August 1903 to his death in August 1914. Pius X is known for vigorously opposing modernist interpretations of C ...

on church music. The General Chapter of Tepla, Austria, in 1908, decided to edit the musical books of the order as prepared, in accordance with ancient manuscripts by this committee.

Mass

The Premonstratensian Missal was not arranged like the Roman Missal. While the canon was identical, with the exception of a slight variation as to the time of making the sign of the cross with the

paten A paten or diskos is a small plate, used during the Mass. It is generally used during the liturgy itself, while the reserved sacrament are stored in the tabernacle in a ciborium. Western usage In many Western liturgical denominations, the p ...

at the "Libera nos", the music for the Prefaces etcetera differed, though not considerably, from that of the Roman Missal. Two alleluias were said after the "Ite missa est" for a week after Easter; for the whole of the remaining Paschal time one alleluia was said. A full account of the Premonstratensian rite of Mass, as it was before the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

can be found a
The Premonstratensian Rite
which reproduces the text of Chapter Three in Liturgies of the Religious Orders by Archdale King (Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A.; 1953).

Liturgy of the Hours

The Norbertine

Breviary A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times. Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such a ...

differed from the Roman Breviary, not only in its calendar (which is different for every order and diocese), but also in its arrangement and in the manner of reciting it. Some saints on the Roman calendar were omitted. The principal community Mass and the Divine Office were celebrated with special solemnity during

Easter Week The Octave of Easter is the eight-day period, or octave, that begins on Easter Sunday and ends with the following Sunday. In Christian churches that celebrate it, it marks the beginning of Eastertide. The first seven of these eight days are als ...

and the vespers on these days concluded with a procession to the baptismal font. Besides the daily recitation of the

canonical hours In the practice of Christianity, canonical hours mark the divisions of the day in terms of fixed times of prayer at regular intervals. A book of hours, chiefly a breviary, normally contains a version of, or selection from, such prayers. In ...

Premonstratensians were obliged to say the

Little Office of Our Lady The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, also known as Hours of the Virgin, is a liturgical devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, in imitation of, and usually in addition to, the Divine Office in the Catholic Church. It is a cycle of psalms, ...

, except on triple feasts and during octaves of the first class. In choir this was said immediately after the Liturgy of the Hours.

Administration of the Sacrament of Penance

The form of

absolution Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness imparted by ordained Christian priests and experienced by Christian penitents. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the pra ...

differed from the Roman Ritual. The following was the Norbertine formula: "Dominus noster Jesus Christus te absolvat, et ego auctoritate ipsius, mihi licet indignissimo concessa, absolvo te in primis, a vinculo excommunicationis ... in quantum possum et indiges", etc. {{Latin Church Liturgy of the Hours Latin liturgical rites