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 PREMONSTRATENSIAN

388

PREMONSTRATENSIAN

active. The third is taken from monastic orders, succurrendum, wear the white scapular under their

The fourth and fifth are characteristic of the Nor- secular dress and have certain prayers to say. The

bertine Order, to which these special devotions were spirit of the Third Order must evidently be the spirit

bequeathed by the founder. The title of the first of the order itself. The members should possess zeal

chapter of the "Statuta", " De tremendo altaris Sac- for souls, love mortification, and practise and pro-

ramento", seems to indicate that devotion to the mote an enlightened devotion to the Holy Eucharist

Holy Eucharist as a sacrifice and sacrament should and to the Immaculate Conception. As a modern

have the first place in the heart of a son of St. Norbert. author (Duhayon, S.J., " La Mine d'or", c. v) St. Norbert wrote an

Office in honour of the Immaculate Con- ception which con- tained these words: "Ave, Virgo quaj Spi- ritu Sancto prceser- vanf e, de tanto primi parentis peccato tii uniphasti irmovia' The third chapter of the "Statuta begm', with these w or 1 "Horse DeiparT \ ir ginis Maria' can li li ordinis nostri piti nse singularis ct Guerenus writes m his commentaries on tht Canticle of Cantick "St. Norbert with his holy Order was

Monday E France

"By the institution of the Third Order in the midst of the stream of temporal anxieties St. Norbert ha.s introduced the re- ligious life into the family circle. No- body before St. Nor- bert had conceived the idea of realizing in the Church a state

f life which should be midway between the cloister and the world, or in other w jrds a religious or-

1 r which should pen- i tr ite into the Chris- ti in homes. . . . \ftf r his death it was imitated by other

raised up by Divine Pro\idcnce to render conspicuous foundirs, especiallj bj St. FrancLs and St. Dominic' in his day two mysteries, the Blessed Sacrament of the Propagatio.v of the Order. — The order increased Holy Eucharist and the Immaculate Conception of very rapidly and, in the words of Adrian 1\, it spread Our Lady". its branches from sea to sea. Before the death of As to the second end, zeal for souls, the preface to Hugh of Fosse, the first abbot general, a hundred the "Statuta" says: "Our order is the propagation of and twenty abbots were present at the general chap- God's glory; it is zeal for souls, the administration of ter. Of the_ first disciples, nearly all became abbots the sacraments, service in the Church of God. Our of new foundations, and several were raised to the order is to preach the Gospel, to teach the ignorant, episcopal dignity. Development was chiefly effected to have the direction of parishes, to perform pastoral through the foundation of new abbeys, but several

duties, etc." At the time of St. Norbert the clergy were not numerous, often badly prepared for their ministry, and disso- lute. Besides, there ■were numerous vil- lages without church or priest. What was needed was clerical training to imjiart piety and learning. The order has had its share in the carrj-ing out of this good work, and the Norbertine Abbeys have been called, by popes and bishops, seminaries of missionaries and par

Abbey of Tepl, Bi

religious communities tihvady in existence "ished to adopt the ■iistitutions of Pre- i^iitrO and wereaffil- uiud to and incorpo- rali-d with the order. We have already mentioned the names of abbeys foun<led in i'lance, Belgium, and CuTinany, but colo- nies of the sons of St. Norbert were sent to nearly every country of Europe and even to Asia. In 1130 King .Slc])hen gave them his cast Icon the River Kcrcs, and tlius was founded the Abbey of

ish priests. From its beginning the order has accepted St. Stephen, the first of nuraerou.s monasteries in Hun- parishes which were, and are still, in many cases ad- gary. Almaric, who had shared in St. Norbert's apo.s- ministered by Norbertine priests. That the Order of folate, a famous preacher in aid of the Crusades, was Pr6montr6 may obtain benefices and administer par- requested by Innocent II to preach in Palestine. At ishes was again decided by Benedict XIV by the the head of a chosen band of Norbertines he set out in Bull "Oneroso" of 1 Sept., 17.50. 1130 for the Holy Land, where he was hospitably re- CoMPOSiTiON OF THE Order. — The order is com- eeived by Fulco of Anjou, King of Jerusalem, and by posed of three classes: (1) priests and clerics under an William, Patriarch of the Holy City. In the following abbot or provost; (2) nuns who embrace the Rule of year Almaric founded the Abbej' of St. Abacuc. St. Norbert; (3) members of the Third Order of St. Henry Zdik, Bishop of Olmiitz, made a pilgrimage to Norbert. Both priests and nuns have a two years' Jerusalem. He visited St. Abacuc and was so much novitiate and make solemn vows. In some countries touched by what he saw that he asked to be received Norbertine nuns are now bound by simple vows only, into the order. Having obtained some religious, he In the monasteries there are laybrothers and lay- returned to Bohemia and founded the Abbey of Mount Bisters who likewise make their vows. The members Sion at Strahov, Prague. This abbey flourished so of the Third Order, originally called /ra(res et sorores ad much that it was called the seminary of bishops, hav-