Carmelite Book Studies ~ The Book of the Foundations ~ St. Teresa of Avila ~ Teresa of Jesus: The Carmelite Rule - Discussion - S. Teresa of Jesus - St. Teresa of Avila

Monday, November 21, 2011

The Carmelite Rule - Discussion - S. Teresa of Jesus - St. Teresa of Avila - The Book of the Foundations

The Carmelite Rule - Discussion -

St. Teresa of Avila - S. Teresa of Jesus

Discussion of the Carmelite Rule

( Sanctioned For Those

Of The Monastery

Of The Picture

At Alcala )

S. Teresa of Jesus

of the Order of our Lady of Carmel

█ The Carmelite Rule

■ Adapted for the Nuns

■ Regarding this version

and its Source:

◦ Derived from the Rule of St. Albert

◦ Later with "corrections and mitigations"

■ Regarding the Time

of the adaption / writing

__________________________

█ Regarding the Background of

the Monastery at Alcala de Henares

▀ Maria of Jesus

▀ The Foundation at Alcala de Henares

of the reformed Carmelite Monastery

■ Regarding the observance

of the primitive Carmelite Rule at

the Monastery at Alcala de Henares

◦ Problems in adapting

the primitive rule

◦ St. Teresa is asked to help

the convent at Alcala

■ The Carmelite Rule and Constitution

of the Teresian Reform

are brought to the Monastery

of Alcala de Henares in 1567.

■ The Authorization

of the (Teresian) Constitution at

the Monastery at Alcala de Henares:

■ Jurisdiction of the Monastery

at Alcala de Henares

■ Afterward

___________________________

■ St Teresa said of Maria of Jesus

__________________________

█ St. Teresa and the Carmelite Rule

■ Envisioning the primitive Rule

as adapted for the Nuns

■ Authorization of the

Reformed Monasteries

and Constitution

■ Observing the Constitution

■ Promulgating the Reformed Carmelite

Way of Life

■ St. Teresa's Diligence and Zeal

for the Constitutions

█ Regarding this writing,

'The Carmelite Rule',

( 'The Rule of the Nuns

sanctioned for those

of the Monastery of the Picture

at alcala') "

The Introduction of

'The Book of the Foundations',

which includes this writing, states:

■ Adapted for the Nuns from

"the rule as sanctioned
by (Pope) Innocent IV"
"Given at Lyons,
in the year of our Lord" 1247.

"The Carmelite Rule
is translated and
placed in this volume
as it is in the edition of Don Vicente,

for the purpose of throwing light

on the Constitutions of the Saint.

The Rule was drawn up in the beginning

for friars,

not for nuns,

...an adaptation of the Rule

of the friars

to the condition of nuns"

[ Foundations: Introduction]

■ Regarding this Version

and its Source:

"Don Vicente has not been able to find

the original MS. of the Saint's constitutions,

and has therefore printed those

of the monastery of Alcala,

about the genuineness

of which there can be no reasonable doubt"

[ Foundations: Introduction]

"the Rule

printed in this volume,

as it was taken from the book

which Don Vicente had

from the monastery of

the venerable Maria of Jesus

in Alcala de Henares,

is an adaptation of the Rule

of the friars

to the condition of nuns"

"The Constitutions

printed in this volume

were obtained by Don Vicente de la Fuente

from the Monastery of the Picture

in Alcala de Henares"

[ Foundations: Introduction]

"The compiler of it

changed the word ' friars ' into ' nuns,'

and,

making the necessary changes

in the text,

fashioned the rule

to the use of the Carmelite nuns.

The Preface, however,

has not been changed,

and

the Rule is addressed still

to Brocardo and the friars,

while the first paragraph

speaks of nuns.

It is probably an oversight

- that Brocardo is mentioned again in

and

- that the paragraph remains unchanged,

the words ' office of prior '

not being altered into

' office of prioress.' "

(as in paragraph #15 )

[ Foundations: Introduction]

◦ Derived from the Rule of St. Albert

"The primitive rule

given by Albert,

patriarch of Jerusalem...

confirmed by Honorius III

in the year 1226..."

[ Foundations: The Carmelite Rule:

Foot Note # 1 ]

"The Rule of the Nuns

sanctioned for those

of the Monastery of the Picture

at alcala" ]

◦ Later with "corrections and mitigations"

"Two friars of the order...

were instructed to beg Innocent IV,

in 1247,

to make certain

corrections and mitigations

of the rule.

The Pope commissioned

Hugh of S. Cher,

Cardinal of Santa Sabina

and

the Bishop of Tortosa,

both Dominicans,

to make the corrections required,

as may be seen

in his letters of confirmation.

[ Foundations: The Carmelite Rule:

Foot Note # 1

"the rule

as sanctioned by Innocent IV"

"Given at Lyons,

in the year of our Lord 1248,

in the fifth year

of the pontificate

of Innocent IV, Pope,

on the first day of September.

[ Foundations: The Carmelite Rule:

Foot Note # 2 ]

"correspond to 1247 not 1248

[ Foundations: The Carmelite Rule:

Foot Note # 28 ]

◦ Note: The rule was further mitigated

at the time of Pope Eugenia IV
in 1432

In 1432 Eugenius IV

mitigated the rule again,

and the rule as explained by him

was in force

when S. Teresa made her profession

in the monastery of the Incarnation.

[ Foundations: The Carmelite Rule:

Foot Note # 1

"The Rule of the Nuns

sanctioned for those

of the Monastery of the Picture

at alcala" ]

■ Regarding the Time

of the adaption / writing

According to this version of

'The Book, of the Foundations':

◘ the date of the adaption

by St. Teresa

may be in the early part of the 1560's

since the Monastery of

St. Joseph at Avila

was governed by them.

This convent was founded in 1562.

◘ There were problems

in assigning an exact date

to the adaption and writing due to:

⌂ The original text

of the Rule and Constitutions

which were adapted for the Nuns

had not been located:

"Don Vicente has not been able

to find the original MS.

of the Saint's constitutions"

[ Foundations: Introduction]

Therefore, the Alcala de Henares version

was used

(which St. Teresa provided

to that convent in 1567)

⌂ Later commissions, editions,

and the chapter of Alcala of 1581

omitted St. Teresa's name

and other historical data

regarding the earliest adaptions.

"The constitutions of the nuns

had been already drawn up

by S. Teresa,

by authority given her

by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IV,

who had approved of them

as did also the General."

"She conceals the fact

that she had written them herself,

and says most truly that

the later monasteries received them

as the constitutions of the general."

[ Foundations: Chapter 23:

Foot note # 14]

⌂ The Monastery of St. Joseph in Avila

was initially under the jurisdiction

of the Bishop of Avila,

not the Carmelite Order.

So the date of authorization

by the Carmelite General

would not be related to the actual writing.

"The General, also,

approved of them,

(the Constitutions)

and

ordered them to be allowed

in subsequent foundations

for he had no jurisdiction then

over that of S. Joseph's at Avila

which was subject to

the Bishop of the diocese,

Don Alvaro de Mendoza.

[ Foundations: Introduction]

"1577

July.

Goes from Toledo to Avila

to arrange for the transference

of St.Joseph's (Monastery)

from the jurisdiction of the Ordinary

to that of the Carmelite Order.

[Complete Works of

St. Teresa of Avila Volume 1

'An outline of the Life of St. Teresa'

Transl by Edgar Allison Peers]

▪ While the editor provides references to 1568,

"The Constitutions...

are said to have been given

by the General of the order in 1568"

[ Foundations: Introduction]

"1568. The General approves

the Constitutions of the nuns.

[ Foundation: Introduction

'Annals of the Saint's Life' ]

▪ the adapted constitution was already

in effect in the foundations

at Avila, Medina del Campo, and Alcala.

The editor continued:

" but that ( the dating of 1968)

is clearly not true in the letter.

◦ In the first place

- the Saint in 1567

speaks of the constitutions

as being then in force in Avila,

and

◦ in the second place

- the General of Carmel had no jurisdiction

over the monastery

of the venerable Maria of Jesus

in Alcala de Henares.

S. Teresa

- went in November 1567

to that monastery

(Alcala de Henares)

and

- gave it her own constitutions,

which, no doubt,

she had shown to the General

when he visited her in Avila in April

of that year." (1567)

[ Foundations: Introduction]

"1567 (April 27)

Carmelite General, P. Rubeo

visits St.Teresa,

authorizing her to found

further convents of the Reform...".

[ Complete Works

St. Teresa of Avila

Volume 1

'An outline of the Life of St. Teresa'

Translated by Edgar Allison Peers ]

"The two first patents

granted by the

(Carmelite General Fr. Rubeo)

to S. Teresa

bear the dates

Avila, 27th April 1567,

and

Madrid l0th (or 16th) May.

These include authorization

"to found convents of nuns..."

"This same patent mentions the

'Primitive rule

and our Constitutions,'

as the rule of life

of the new convents.

During his sojourn in Spain

he made certain regulations

which he refers to

in the Constitutions published

in 1568"

[Foundations: Ch 2:

Foot Note #5 ]

The editor continues to assert:

"They must have been written

soon after she began to live

in her new house in Avila,

for the nuns in Avila

were governed by them,

as we learn from her

in her account of the foundation

of her second monastery,

which was Medina del Campo."

[ Foundations: Introduction]

Regarding the nuns

of the foundation

of Medina del Campo,

founded 15 August, 1567,

St. Teresa stated

that they served the Lord

"after the manner observed

in S. Joseph's of Avila,

(founded 8/24/1562 )

for the rule and constitutions

in both places

were the same,

[Foundations: Ch.3: #17 ]

"She gave them

( Maria of Jesus and the Monastery

at Alcala de Henares Nov 1567)

the constitutions

which she had drawn up

for her houses in Avila and Medina."

[Foundations: Ch.3:

Foot Note #23 ]

"It seems, then,

that...the constitutions of the nuns,

(was) written by her

during her rest in her monastery

— in 'the most tranquil years of my life,'

as she says in the first chapter

of the Foundations."

[Foundations: Introduction]

"I remained five years

after its foundation

in the house of S. Joseph, Avila,

and I believe,

so far as I can see at present,

that they were the most tranquil years

of my life"

[ Foundations: Ch 1: #1]

"1562-7

At St. Joseph's, Ávila

("The most restful years of my life"

August 24.

Foundation of Convent

of St. Joseph, Ávila .
[ Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila

Volume 1

'An outline of the Life of St. Teresa'

Transl by Edgar Allison Peers ]

█ Regarding the Background of

the Monastery at Alcala de Henares

▀ Maria of Jesus

◦ "a widow

◦ became a novice in the

Carmelite monastery in Granada,

( of the mitigated rule)

and during her novitiate had revelations,

...about a reform of the Order.

◦ ...she then referred them
to Fr. Gaspar de Salazar,

He approved of them

◦ Maria left the novitiate,

and went to Rome..."

[ Life: Chapter 35: Foot note # 511]

"...went to Rome to obtain
the necessary faculties"

[ Life: Chapter 35: # 1]

"Pope Pius IV heard her prayer,
and,

said to her,

'Woman of strong courage,
let it be as thou wilt.'

She returned to Granada,

but both the Carmelites and the city

refused her permission

to found her house there.

[ Life: Chapter 35: Foot note # 511]

▀ The Foundation at Alcala de Henares

of the reformed Carmelite Monastery

◦ "It is called

the Monastery of the Picture

of the Immaculate Conception"

[ Foundations: The Carmelite Rule:

Foot Note # 2

"The Rule of the Nuns

sanctioned for those

of the Monastery of the Picture

at alcala" ]

◦ "Dona Leonor de Mascareñas

gave (Maria of Jesus) a house

in Alcala de Henares,

of which she took possession

Sept. 11, 1562;

◦ but the house was formally constituted

July 23, 1563,

◦ and subjected to the Bishop ten days after..."

[ Life: Chapter 35: Foot note # 511]

■ Regarding the observance

of the primitive Carmelite Rule

at the Monastery at Alcala de Henares

St. Teresa wrote:

"The other house,

which the holy woman...

[ Maria of Jesus ]

laboured to establish,

has been also blessed of our Lord,

and

is founded in Alcala:

...I know that all duties of religion

are observed in it,

according to our primitive rule.

[Life: Ch. 36: #29 ]

◦ Problems in adapting the primitive rule

Maria of Jesus was inspired to found

a reformed Carmelite convent.

But her intention to follow

the primitive Carmelite Rule

resulted in the adoption

of harsh mortification practices.

"Maria de Jesus... went to such lengths

in the austerities

which she imposed ...in her convent..."

[ Life: Ch.36: Foot Note #327

Translated by Peers ]

"Maria of Jesus had founded her house

in Alcala de Henares;

but the austerities practised in it,

and the absence of the religious mitigations

which long experience had introduced,

were too much for the fervent nuns

there assembled."

[ Life: Ch.36: Foot note #559"

Translated by D. Lewis ]

______________________

◦ St. Teresa is asked to help

the convent at Alcala

"Maria of Jesus begged

Dona Leonor de Mascarenas

to persuade St. Teresa

to come to Alcala.

The Saint went to the monastery,

and was received there with joy,

and even entreated to take the house

under her own government"

[ Life: Ch.36: Foot note #559"

Translated by D. Lewis ]

"She left Madrid

20th November 1567,

with Dona Maria de Mendoza

who had been asked

by Dona Leonor

to take her to Alcala de Henares.

Having arrived there,

she was received

by the venerable Maria of Jesus

and her nuns

as if she had been

their foundress and superior.

S. Teresa found the convent

on the verge of ruin,

as the foundress

with more zeal than discretion

had insisted on austerities

that were

not only above human nature

but even contrary to reason.

[ Foundations: Ch 3:

Foot Note # 23 ]

"1567

August 15

Foundation of Convent

at Medina del Campo...

November....

goes to Alcala de Henares,

consults P. Banez

and stays till February 1568.

[ Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila

Volume 1

'An outline of the Life of St. Teresa'

Transl by Edgar Allison Peers ]

"1567

(November 25th)

She left Madrid, 25th November,

and went to Alcala de Henares

for the purpose of visiting and settling

the monastery of the venerable

Maria of Jesus.

She remains two months in Alcala.

[ Foundation: Introduction

Annals of saints life ]

■ The Carmelite Rule and Constitution

of the Teresian Reform

are brought to the Monastery

of Alcala de Henares in 1567.

◦ In 1567, St. Teresa is asked to visit

the monastery at Alcala

to instruct and assist in the prudent modulation

of its governance,

particularly in the area of austerities.

"in 1567 St. Teresa had to visit it

in order to put things straight,

which she did by giving the nuns

the same Constitution

as that of St. Joseph's."

[ Life: Ch.36: Foot Note #327

Translated by Peers ]

"The keys of the house were given to her,

and the whole community offered itself to her

to be guided and instructed by her.

She gave them the constitutions

which she had drawn up for her houses

in Avila and Medina."

[ Foundations: Ch 3:

Foot Note # 23 ]

"Perhaps the venerable Maria of Jesus

adopted the constitutions in 1567,

when the Saint was there."

[ Foundations: Introduction]

_____________________

■ The Authorization

of the (Teresian) Constitution

at the Monastery at Alcala de Henares:

"The Constitutions of that monastery

were approved of

by the Archduke Albert,

Cardinal Archbishop of Toledo,

and ordered by him to be observed

under the penalties imposed by them,

being, as he says,

'the very constitutions

which the Mother Teresa of Jesus,

founder of the said Order

of Barefooted Carmelites,

made in her lifetime

for the government of the same.' "

[ Foundations: Introduction]

___________________

■ Jurisdiction of the Monastery

at Alcala de Henares

"This Alcala convent, however,

never came under

the jurisdiction of the (Carmelite) Order..."

[ Life: Ch.36: Foot note #327

Translated by Peers ]

"The Saint (St. Teresa)

wished the community

to place itself

under the jurisdiction

of the (Carmelite) Order,

as she had placed her foundation in Medina;

but the nuns and the Bishop disliked the change,

and Fray Dominic Banez,

at that moment in Alcala,

advised her not to press the matter

(Reforma, bk. 11. ch. x. ).

[ Foundations: Ch 3: Foot Note # 23 ]

_________________________

■ Afterward

◦ (1585) Continuation of

Teresian reform Constitution

F. Ribera, S. J.,

- visited the monastery of Maria of Jesus

in 1585,

and

- found the constitutions and directions

of S. Teresa

fervently observed therein (i. 16).

[ Foundations: Ch 3:

Foot Note # 23 ]

◦ 1599

"The monastery...founded in the same city

(by) the nuns of S. Teresa in 1599...

is called the Monastery

of Corpus Christi"

[ Foundations: The Carmelite Rule:

Foot Note # 2

"The Rule of the Nuns

sanctioned for those

of the Monastery of the Picture

at alcala" ]

"...the (Carmelite) order

which in 1599 founded a convent

of its own there,

known as Corpus Christi"

[ Life: Ch.36: Foot note #327

Translated by Peers ]

■ St Teresa said of Maria of Jesus:

"When I was staying with this lady,

( Dona Luisa de la Cerda

1562—January-July )

whose house I remained

more than six months,

our Lord ordained

that a holy woman of our Order

...should hear of me...

Our Lord had moved her

in the same year, and

in the same month of the year,

that He had moved me,

to found another monastery

of the Order;

and as He had given her this desire,

she...went to Rome to obtain

the necessary faculties.

...a woman of great penance and prayer,

one to whom our Lord

gave many graces; and

Her progress

in the service of our Lord

was so much greater than mine...

She showed me Briefs

she brought from Rome,

and during the fortnight

she remained with me

we laid our plan for the founding

of these monasteries."

[ Life: Chapter 35: # 1]

"This holy woman,

taught of our Lord,

perfectly understood

-- though she could not read --

what I was ignorant of"

[ Life: Chapter 35: # 2]

"and God never fails those

who serve Him.

In short,

I was weak in faith;

but not so this servant of God.

[ Life: Chapter 35: # 3]

"1562

January-July

Stays with Doña Luisa de la Cerda

at Toledo.

[ Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila

Volume 1

'An outline of the Life of St. Teresa'

Transl by Edgar Allison Peers ]

Convent	Avila	Alcala de Henares
Founder	St Teresa	Venerable Maria of Jesus
Authorized by Rome	July 1562 (dated 2/7/1562	prior to summer 1562
Brief of	Pope Pius IV	Pope Pius IV
Took possession of building		09/11/1562
Founded	08/24/1562	07/23/1563
Jurisdiction	Bishop of Avila Don Alvaro de Mendosa; Later under Carmel	Bishop of Alcala de Henares
Monastery of	St. Joseph	The Picture of the Immaculate Conception
Observance of the Primitive Rule		circa 1563
Adaption of the primitive rule for Nuns	circa 1562	circa 1567

▀ St. Teresa and the Carmelite Rule

■ Envisioning the primitive Rule

as adapted for the Nuns

"Until I spoke to her,

(Maria of Jesus)

I never knew

that our rule,

before it was mitigated,

required of us

that we should possess nothing"

[ Life: Chapter 35: # 2]

"The sixth chapter of the rule is:

' Nullus fratrum sibi aliquid proprium,

esse dicat,

sed sint vobis omnia communia."

[ Life: Chapter 35:

Foot Note # 512]

"7. No sister shall have anything of her own,

but everything shall be in common"

[ Foundations: The Carmelite Rule: #7

"The Rule of the Nuns

sanctioned for those

of the Monastery of the Picture

at alcala" ]

(It is the 7th rule in this version

which was adapted for the Nuns]

"This holy woman,

taught of our Lord,

perfectly understood

-- though she could not read --

what I was ignorant of,

notwithstanding my having read

the Constitutions so often;

and when she told me of it,

I thought it right"

[ Life: Chapter 35: # 2]

"The Constitutions

which the Saint read

in the Monastery of the Incarnation

must have been the Constitutions

grounded on the Mitigated Rule

which was sanctioned by Eugenius IV"

[ Life: Chapter 35:

Foot Note # 514]

"it would have been my great joy

to think that I was observing

the counsels of Christ our Lord;

for His Majesty had already given me

great longings for poverty.

[ Life: Chapter 35: # 2]

■ Authorization of her

Reformed Monasteries

and Constitution

"1562

July.

Brief (of Pope Pius IV ) (dated February 7)

authorizing

the foundation of St. Joseph's

received from Rome...

The Bishop is persuaded

by St. Peter of Alcantara

to sanction the foundation.

August 24.

Foundation of Convent

of St. Joseph, Avila"

[ Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila

Volume 1

'An outline of the Life of St. Teresa'

Transl by Edgar Allison Peers ]

"The constitutions of the nuns
had been already drawn up

by S. Teresa,

by authority given her

by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IV,

who had approved of them

as did also the General."

[ Foundations: Chapter 23:

Foot note # 14]

"1567 (April 27)

Carmelite General, P. Rubeo (Rossi)

visits St.Teresa,

authorizing her to found

further convents of the Reform...",

[ Complete Works St. Teresa of Avila

Volume 1

'An outline of the Life of St. Teresa'

Translated by Edgar Allison Peers ]

"The two first patents

granted by him to S. Teresa

bear the dates

Avila, 27th April 1567,

and

Madrid 10th (or 16th) May. 1567

The former empowers S. Teresa

to found convents of nuns

anywhere throughout

the kingdom of Castille,

...under the immediate jurisdiction

of the General and commissioners"

"They were to conform themselves

to that of S. Joseph at Avila

with regard to

- the observance of the primitive rule,

- the customs, and

- the habit worn by the nuns.

...The second faculty explains

that the term ' kingdom of Castille '

refers both to Old and New Castille,

while Andalucia is explicitly excluded."

[Foundations: Ch 2:

Foot Note #5 ]

"This same patent mentions the

'Primitive rule and our Constitutions,'

as the rule of life

of the new convents.

During his sojourn in Spain

he made certain regulations

which he refers to

in the Constitutions

published in 1568

...the words used

in the patent appear to allude

to special constitutions,

in accordance with the Primitive rule.

...

It therefore seems more probable

( at least to the present writer,

for others are of a different opinion )

that he had in view

the special constitutions

drawn up by S. Teresa

with the authority of Pius IV,

and

approved by Rubeo,

so that he was well entitled

to call them ' our Constitutions.' "

[Foundations: Ch 2:

Foot Note #5 ]

"Rubeo did not content himself

with granting the Saint powers

to found these two convents,

for he also drew up,

probably with her assistance,

special constitutions for them.

These two documents which are

of the highest importance

- are fully discussed

in the Introduction and

- are printed for the first time

in the Appendix No. 1 and 2. "
(of the Book of the Foundations)

[Foundations: Ch 2:

Foot Note #6 ]

■ Observing the Constitution

"We keep the rule

of our Lady of Carmel,

• not the rule of the Mitigation,

• but as it was

settled by Fr. Hugo

Cardinal of Santa Sabina, and

given in the year 1248,

in the fifth year of the pontificate

of Innocent IV., Pope."

[ Life: Ch. 36: #27 ]

"And now,

though the rule be somewhat severe,

-- for we

◊ never eat flesh

except in cases of necessity,

◊ fast eight months in the year, and

◊ practise some other austerities besides

according to the primitive rule, [558] --

yet the sisters think it light on many points,

and so they have other observances,

which we have thought necessary

for the more perfect keeping of it.

And I trust in our Lord

that what we have begun

will prosper more and more,

according to the promise of His Majesty.

[ Life: Ch. 36: #28 ]

"Jejunium singulis diebus, exceptis Dominicis,

observetis a Festo Exaltationis Sanctae Crucis

usque ad diem Dominicae Resurrectionis,

nisi infirmitas vel debilitas corporis,

aut alia justa causa, jejunium solvi suadeat;

quia necessitas non habet legem.

Ab esu carnium abstineatis,

nisi pro infirmitatis aut debilitatis

remedio sint sumantur."

That is the tenth section of the rule."

[ Life: Ch. 36: Foot Note #558 ]

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Blogger's rough translation:

Observing daily fasting, except Sundays,

from the feast of the Exaltation

of the Holy Cross

to the day of the Resurrection

of the Lord (Easter Sunday)

excluding those

who are sick or weakened of body

or for any just cause the fast is broken;

because necessity does not have law.

Abstain from all meat,

excluding those sick or weakened,

which are taken as a remedy.

■ Promulgating the Reformed Carmelite

Way of Life

"Fray John of the Cross had the means

of learning our way of life,

so that he might clearly

understand everything,

- both the mortifications we practise

and

- the sisterly affection

with which we treat one another,

and

- how we all come to recreation together,

which is so modestly carried on

that it

◦ helps us to discover

the shortcomings of the sisters,

and

◦ is some slight comfort to ourselves,

enabling us to endure

the severity of the rule.

...I only showed him the way

in which the sisters live.

[ Foundations: Chapter 13: #5 ]

"She was directed by our Lord

on one occasion

to take the rule and constitutions with her,

( See Foundations: Ch.17: #3)

[ Foundations: Introduction]

"When (Mariano of S. Benedict)

had recounted to me

his way of life

I showed him the primitive rule

of the order"

[ Foundations: Chapter 17: # 8]

"S. Teresa gave a copy of the rule

to Mariano,

who took it with him

to his lodging

where he read it aloud,

and explained it to Juan de la Miseria,

his companion.

Before he had gone through it

he cried out,

'Brother John,

we have found

what we are seeking for;

that is the rule we should keep.'

[ Foundations: Chapter 17:

Foot note # 11]

The general,

by letters dated Barcelona,

14th August 1567,

authorized the provincial,

Fray Alonso Gonzalez

and the ex-provincial

Fray Angel de Salazar,

then prior of Avila,

jointly to accept two houses of friars,

in which the primitive rule

was to be observed.

[ Foundations: Chapter 13:

Foot note: #8 ]

"Our Lord sent the father-master

Fray Jerome of the Mother of God

to our relief,

for he was made commissary apostolic

and had to rule and govern

both the friars and the nuns

of the barefooted Carmelites.

He made the constitutions of the friars

we had ours already

from the most reverend our father-general,

and thus it was

that he made none for us,

only for them,

in virtue of his apostolic authority

and of the good gifts,

as I said before,

which our Lord had given him."

[ Foundations: Chapter 23: #13]

The nuncio, Monsignor Ormaneto,

in 1575

made Fray Jerome,

superior of the Carmelites in Spain,

and accordingly in his visitation

in that year the constitutions were made

which Fray Jerome

gave to the friars to observe.

The constitutions of the nuns

had been already drawn up

by S. Teresa,

by authority given her

by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pius IV,

who had approved of them

as did also the General.

She conceals the fact

that she had written them herself,

and says most truly

that the later monasteries received them

as the constitutions of the general."

[ Foundations: Chapter 23:

Foot note # 14]

■ St. Teresa's Diligence and Zeal

for the Constitutions

"The Constitutions are frequently referred to

by the Saint

in the Book of the Foundations

and

in her letters;

and even on her deathbed

she begs her children

to observe them carefully."

[ Foundations: Introduction]

"Importance of keeping

the Constitutions.

What the superior has to insist on

is the keeping of the constitutions:

and

wherever there shall be a prioress

who...shall take so great a liberty

as to break the constitutions,

...thinking the observance of them

...to be a matter of little moment,

let it be clearly understood

- she is doing the community

a grievous wrong, and

- time will show it,

This is the reason

why monasteries, and even orders

are so fallen in some places"

[ Foundations:

"The Visitation of the Nunneries" #20 ]

"the chief reason

why (the prioresses) are in office is

- that they are to see

that the rules and constitutions

-- are kept;

-- not to take away from them

-- nor to add to them..."

[ Visitation of the Nunneries: #21 ]

"that the nuns

who shall come after us

may know how great

are their obligations

to make progress in perfection

when they find

that (which is) made easy to them

has cost so much to us

who are now alive."

[ Foundation: Ch. 28: #4 ]

"All the trouble we had to go through,

as it seems to me,

will have been endured to good purpose."

[ Life: Ch. 36: #27 ]

"Danger of slight relaxation.

let those

who are to come after us,

who will find everything easy,

for the love of our Lord

never allow any observance

tending to perfection

to fall into disuse.

Let them never give men

occasion to say of them

what is said of some orders,

'Their beginning was praiseworthy '

— and we are beginning now —

but let them strive to go on

from good to better.

Let them consider

that the devil,

by means of very slight relaxations,

makes an opening

by which very great ones

may creep in.

Let it never happen to them

to say,

'This is nothing — these are extremes.'

O my daughters,

everything is important

if it does not help us onwards.

I beseech you

for the love of our Lord

to keep in mind

- how soon everything passes away,

and

- how good our Lord has been to us

in bringing us to the Order,

and

- how severely she shall be punished

who shall be the first

to be lax in anything.

Do you direct your eyes

to the race of those holy prophets

from whom we are descended

— what saints we have in heaven

who wore this habit !

Let us dare

with a holy boldness,

by the grace of God,

to be ourselves like unto them.

[ Life: Ch. 29: #26 ]

End of the Discussion of

the Carmelite Rule

S. Teresa of Jesus

of the Order of our Lady of Carmel