The Rule Of The Order
Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel
Includes:
"The Rule of the Nuns Sanctioned for those of the Monastery of the Picture at Alcala" |
| Contents
1. Election of prioress. —
2. Houses. —
3. Cells and refectory. —
4. Cell of the prioress.- —
5. Prayer. —
6. The divine office. —
7. Possessions. —
8. Oratory. —
9. Chapter. —
10. Fasts. —
11. Flesh meat allowed at times. —
12. Everything to be done for God. —
13. Avoid idleness. —
14. Silence. —
15. Humility. —
16. Reverence for superiors. —
17. Discretion;
|
THE CARMELITE RULE
The Rule Of The Order
Of Our Lady Of Mount Carmel
Innocent, Bishop,
servant of the servants of God,
to His beloved children
the prior and brethren,
hermits of Blessed Mary of Mount Carmel,
health and the apostolic blessing.
Whatever is
for the honour
of the Creator of all things,
and
for the profit of souls,
is to be upheld by the might
of perpetual strength,
especially that over which the authority
of the Apostolic See exerts
its salutary providence.
Inasmuch as we,
at your earnest prayer, [1]
at your earnest prayer, [1]
have caused, by our beloved son Hugh,
Cardinal Priest of Santa Sabina,
and
our venerable brother William,
Bishop of Tortosa,
certain matters in your rule
which were doubtful
to be explained and corrected,
and also
certain austerities therein prescribed
of our compassion to be mitigated,
as is more fully set forth in the letters
on that occasion issued:
We, consenting to your pious desires,
do by our Apostolic authority
confirm,
and by the protection of these letters
maintain,
the explanation, mitigation, and
correction aforesaid,
the contents of which letters
we have caused to be inserted
word for word in these present letters,
and they are as follows : —
Friar Hugh,
by the Divine compassion
Cardinal Priest of Santa Sabina,
and
Friar William,
by the same compassion
Bishop of Tortosa,
to our most dearly beloved in Christ,
the prior-general and
the definitors of the general chapter
of the order of the friars
of blessed Mary of Mount Carmel,
health in the Health of all.
Two clerics, friars of your order,
Reginald and Peter,
have on your behalf had recourse
to the Apostolic See,
humbly begging our lord the Pope
graciously to explain and correct
certain matters of your rule
formerly delivered unto you
by Albert, of happy memory,
patriarch of Jerusalem,
and at the same time to mitigate
certain austerities therein prescribed:
and our lord the Pope
having heard
their devout supplication, and
having commissioned us
as his delegates to make such
explanation, correction, and
mitigation
as we might judge to be
for the good estate of the order
and the salvation of the friars:
We command you,
in virtue of that authority
wherewith we are clothed,
to receive devoutly and
to observe carefully
the rule
corrected, explained, and mitigated
by us according to our judgment, and
to correct all your other rules
by this which we send you
by the same friars in this form : —
THE RULE OF THE NUNS
SANCTIONED FOR THOSE
OF THE MONASTERY
OF THE PICTURE
AT ALCALA [2]
Albert, by the grace of God
patriarch of Jerusalem,
to our beloved children in Christ,
Brocard and the other brethren, hermits,
who live under his obedience
by the well of Elias on Mount Carmel,
health in Jesus Christ,
and the blessing of the Holy Ghost.
The holy fathers have taught
in many ways and
by divers methods
how every one,
in whatever order or institute
he may be,
or whatever kind of religious life
he may have chosen,
has to live and maintain
the true obedience of Jesus Christ,
and
how to serve Him faithfully with
a pure heart and a good conscience;
but, considering that you ask us
to give you a
certain rule and
way of life,
in accordance with your intentions,
which you are to keep and observe
in all time to come —
OF THE THREE VOWS,
AND
THE ELECTION OF A PRIORESS
AND
THE ELECTION OF A PRIORESS
1. Election of prioress. —
1.
We decree and ordain, in the first place,
that you have one of yourselves as prioress,
chosen for that office
chosen for that office
by common consent,
either with the goodwill
of all
or
of the greater number of you,
or
of the more discreet,
unto whom the others, every one of you,
shall promise obedience,
and when you have made the promise
you shall keep it in word and deed,
[observing chastity and poverty,
also under the same conditions]. [3]
2. Houses. —
2.
[You may have sites and places
in the deserts, or
wheresoever they may be given you,
fitting and proper
for the observance of your rule]. [3]
3. Cells and refectory. —
3.
[Each of you shall have her own cell
in the place
wherein you shall have made up your minds
to dwell,
separated and apart each
from the other,
as it shall have been assigned you
by the prioress and the community,
or by the greater part thereof;
but whatever may be given you
as alms for your support
you shall take ordinarily
in the refectory,
while some part of the HolyWritings
are read, and ] [3]
none of the sisters
may change the place and cell
assigned her,
or
make an exchange with another,
without leave from the prioress
for the time being.
4. Cell of the prioress.- —
4.
The cell of the mother prioress
shall be near the entrance
into the monastery,
in order
that she may be
the first to receive those
who come in,
and
that everything done in the house
may be according
to her order and judgment.
5. Prayer. —
5.
The sisters shall be always
in their cells, or near them,
meditating and occupying their thoughts
day and night
in the law of God,
and
watching in prayer,
unless otherwise employed
in just and reasonable duties,
and the recitation of the divine office.
6. The divine office. —
6.
Those who are able to say the office
shall say it
in the form prescribed
in the rules and ordinances
of the holy fathers,
and
according to the custom
sanctioned by the rule.
Those, who cannot say it,
shall say
instead of matins
the paternoster twenty-five times,
except on Sundays
and other holy days of obligation,
when it must be doubled
— that is,
they must say the paternoster fifty times;
instead of lauds
they shall say it seven times,
and seven times for every other hour,
except vespers,
when they shall say it fifteen times.
OF OWNING NOTHING
7. Possessions. —
7.
No sister shall have anything of her own,
but everything shall be in common;
and let every sister have
what she requires
given her through the hands of the prioress
[or of her who takes her place],
the age and necessities of each sister
being most carefully considered.
[But we readily allow you
to have in common
cattle and poultry
for your maintenance
according to your wants.]
8. Oratory. —
8.
In the midst of the cells
shall be built an oratory or chapel,
in the best
and most convenient form possible,
wherein you shall assemble
every morning for prayer
when it can be conveniently done.
9. Chapter. —
9.
On Sundays, or on other days,
whenever necessary,
you shall consult about
the keeping of your order [4]
and
the salvation of souls:
then also the faults and excesses
of the sisters,
if any be discovered,
shall be charitably corrected.
10. Fasts. —
10.
You shall fast daily,
Sundays excepted,
from the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross
to the day of our Lord's rising again,
unless illness or weakness,
or someother good reasons,
move you to break the fast,
for necessity has no law. [5]
11. Flesh meat allowed at times. —
11.
You shall eat no flesh
unless it be for relief
of [sickness or] weakness,
or when you are on a pilgrimage
or on a journey
— for it is often necessary for you to beg;
that you may not be a burden
to your hosts,
when you are away
from your own houses
you may have meat soup
with green herbs therein,
and in the same way,
at sea,
when making a voyage,
you may eat flesh.
And as the life of man upon earth
is a continual temptation, [6]
and all
who will live godly in Christ Jesus
shall suffer persecution, [7]
because our adversary the devil,
roaring as a lion,
goeth about seeking whom to devour, [8]
you must in all carefulness
strive to put on the armour of God,
that you may be able to withstand
the deceits of the devil; [9]
you must gird your loins
with the girdle of chastity; [10]
you must strengthen your hearts
with holy thoughts,
for it is written, [11]
'a holy thought will be thy safeguard;'
you must put on the breastplate of justice,
[12]
that with
your whole heart, and
your whole soul, and
your whole mind, and
your whole strength,
you may love the Lord your God
and your neighbour as yourselves; [13]
you must always take
the shield of the faith,
with which you may be able
to quench all the fiery arrows
of the hellish foe, [14]
because it is impossible
to please God without faith. [15]
You must also put on
the helmet of salvation, [16]
that you may hope for salvation
from our Saviour only,
who has
saved His people, and
delivered them
from the prison- house of their sins.
12. Everything to be done for God. —
12.
Let the sword of the Holy Ghost,
that is, the word of God,
dwell and abide
for ever in your mouths and hearts,
and,
whatever you may have to do,
let it be always done
the name and in
the power of the word of God.
13. Avoid idleness. —
13.
You shall always have some work to do,
that the devil may
ever find you busy,
and
be unable to enter in
through your idleness
to tempt you;
and herein you have the blessed S. Paul
both as instruction and example, by
whose mouth spoke Jesus Christ,
and
whom God set up
as the teacher and preacher
of the nations in faith and truth,
whom if you follow,
you cannot go astray.
'We were among you in toil and labour,
working night and day
that we might be a trouble or a burden
to none among you
— not that we had not
authority and power for that end,
but that we might give you
in your conversation
an example and pattern,
so that you might follow in our way:
for when we were with you,
and conversed among you,
we told you this and taught it
that if there be any one
that will not work
he may not eat;
for we hear and understand
that there are some among you
who are lazy and wicked,
without any occupation or employment;
now these, and all those
who thus live and act,
we warn and entreat,
in Jesus Christ our Lord,
to work in silence, and
eat their own bread: ' [17]
This is the good and holy road:
walk ye therein.
The apostle recommends silence
when he bids us work in silence;
and to the same effect
one of the prophets has said,
the 'adornment of justice is silence,' [18]
and in another place,
'in silence and in hope
shall your strength be.' [19]
14. Silence. —
14.
We, therefore, ordain
that you keep silence
[ from the end of compline
to the end of prime
on the following day] :
during the rest of the time,
though the observance of silence
is not so strictly enjoined,
still you must be
very careful and watchful,
that you may avoid much talking;
for,
as it is written and experience shows,
' in much talking
there shall be no lack of sin,' [20]
and
' he who is thoughtless in his speech
shall suffer much evil,' [21]
and, in another place,
' he who useth many words
does it to the ruin of his soul.' [22]
And our Lord in the Gospel saith,
of every idle word
that men shall speak,
that they shall give an account of it
in the day of judgment: [23]
' make, therefore, every one of you,
a balance for your words, and
a most strong bridle for your mouth,
that you may not
make a slip with the tongue,
and fall,
and your fall be incurable unto death:' [24]
With the prophet,
keep your ways,
that you may not sin with the tongue; [25]
Keep a careful ward and watch
over yourselves in silence,
which is
the crown and adornment of justice,
as well as
its safeguard.
15. Humility. —
15.
And thou,
Brother Brocard, and
whosoever shall be chosen after thee
into the office of prior,
keep in mind and observe
that which our Lord says
in the Gospel —
' Whosoever will be greater among you,
let him be your minister;
and he who will be first,
let him be your servant.' [26]
16. Reverence for superiors. —
16.
And do you, also, the rest of the sisters,
honour the prioress in all humility,
looking unto Christ
— who has given her to you
to be your superior, and
has set her over you —
rather than unto her;
seeing that Christ himself
said to superiors,
' he who hears you hears me,
and
he who despiseth you despiseth me '
[27]
that you may never be
condemned for contempt,
but rather by your obedience
merit the wages
of the everlasting payment.
17. Discretion;
17.
We have written briefly,
ordaining and appointing
a certain order and way of life,
which you are bound to observe,
and according to
which you are bound to live.
But if any one shall do
more than is enjoined in the rule,
our Lord when He cometh will repay him;
but let such an one use discretion,
for that is the ruler of virtues.
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. [28]
This our deed of confirmation
none may violate or rashly transgress
in any way whatever;
and if any one shall dare to do so,
let him know
that he thereby incurs the wrath
of Almighty God, and
of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.
Given at Lyons,
October 1,
in the fifth year of our pontificate.
Foot Notes:
[1] Bullarium Carmelitanum,
Rome 1715, t. i, p. 7.
The primitive rule
given by Albert,
patriarch of Jerusalem,
who was murdered in 1214,
was confirmed by Honorius III
in the year 1226.
Two friars of the order,
Reginald and Peter,
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.
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.
_______________
[2]
This rubric, with the others,
is of course not to be found in the rule'
as sanctioned by Innocent IV,
which was drawn up for men.
The changes in the language
rendered necessary by its application
to religious women
may have been made by the Saint.
The Monastery of the Picture
was that founded by Maria of Jesus,
mentioned in the Life,
ch. XXXV. I ; and
ch. xxxvi. 29.
It is called the Monastery
of the Picture
of the Immaculate Conception,
to distinguish it from the monastery
founded in the same city
of the nuns of S. Teresa in 1599,
which is called the Monastery
of Corpus Christi
[ Reforma, bk, i. ch, Ivi. 6, 8].
_______________
[3]
The clauses placed between [ ]
were not expressed in the rule given
by the patriarch Albert
but were inserted by the revisers in 1247.
_______________
[4]
La guarda de vuestra orden.
Thomas of Jesus,
in his commentary on the rule,
explains it thus:
Ordinis vero custodia nihil aliud sonat
quam observantiam
et disciplinam regularem reficere.
The expression is to be found
in the Way of Perfection, ch. x. 4.
. . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog's rough translation
But nothing else expresses
the custody / safekeeping
of the Order
than the observance and restoration
of regular discipline.
_______________
[5]
This paragraph in the copy
of Don Vicente de la Fuente
was placed at the end of § 3,
but we placed it here
that it might occupy the place
corresponding with the same clause
in the rule of the friars.
________________________
[6]
Job vii. 1 :
Militia est vita hominis super terram.
... . . . . . . . . . .
Blog note:
Warfare is the life of man upon the earth
_____________
[7]
2 Tim. iii. 12:
Et omnes qui pie volunt vivere
in Christo Jesu
persecutionem patientur.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog note:
And all who will live dutifully
in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
____________
[8]
1 S. Pet. v. 8 :
Quia adversarius vester diabolus,
tamquam leo rugiens,
circuit quaerens quem devoret.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog note:
your adversary the devil,
like a roaring lion, about seeking whom he may devour.
______________
[9]
Ephes. vi. 2:
Induite vos armaturam Dei,
ut possitis stare adversus insidias diaboli.
strive to put on the armour of God,
that you may be able to withstand
the deceits of the devil;
_________________
[10]
S, Luc. xii. 35:
Slnt lumbi vestri praecincti.
Ephes. vi. 14.
State ergo succincti lumbos
vestros in veritate.
_________________
[11]
Prov. ii. 11:
Prudentia servabit te.
The words of the rule, however, are,
Cogitatio sancta servabit te,
which is a translation,
as also in the quotation
from Job, note 6,
of the version of the LXX ...
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Blog note
Prov. ii. 11:
Prudentia servabit te.
Prudence shall preserve thee
Cogitatio sancta servabit te,
( Blog note: holy thought will save you )
________________
[12]
Ephes, vi. 14:
Induti loricam justitiae
________________
[13]
S. Marc. xii. 30:
Diliges Dominum Deum tuum
ex toto corde tuo,
et ex tota anima tua,
et ex tota mente tua et
ex tota virtute tua.
____________
[14]
Ephes. vi. 16:
In omnibus sumentes scutum fidei,
in quo possitis omnia tela
nequissimi ignea extinguere.
____________
[15]
Hebr. xi. 6:
Sine fide autem impossibile est
placere Deo.
____________
[16]
Ephes. vi. 17:
Et galeam salutis assumite.
___________
[17]
2 Thessal. iii. 8-12 :
In labore et in fatigatione, nocte et die
operantes, ne quern vestrum gravaremus.
Non quasi non habuerimus potestatem,
sed ut nosmetipsos formam daremus vobis
ad imitandum nos.
Nam et eum essemus apud vos,
hoc denunciabamus vobis,
quoniam si quis non vult operari nec
manducet.
Audivimus enim inter vos quosdam
ambulare inquiete, nihil operantes,
sed curiose agentes.
Iis autem qui ejusmodi sunt,
denunciamus et obsecramus
in Domino Jesu Christo,
ut cum silentio operantes suum panem
manducent.
___________
[18]
Isai. xxxii. 17:
Cultus justitias silentium.
______________
[19]
Id. XXX. 15 :
In silentio et in spe erit fortitudo vestra.
______________
[20]
Prov. X. 19 :
In multiloquio non deerit peccatum.
_____________
[21]
Id. xiii. 3 :
Qui autem inconsideratus est
ad loquendum, sentiet mala.
_____________
[22]
Ecclus. XX, 8 :
Qui multis utitur verbis laedet
animam suam.
_____________
[23]
S. Matth. xii. 36 :
Quoniam omne verbum otiosum
quod locuti fuerint homines reddent
rationem de eo in die judicii.
_____________
[24]
Ecclus. xxviii. 29, 30 :
Verbis tuis facito stateram,
et frenos ori tuo rectos:
et attende ne forte labaris in lingua,
et cadas in conspectu inimicorum
insidiantum tibi,
et sit casus tuus insanabilis in mortem.
_____________
[25]
Ps. xxxviii. I.
Custodiam vias meas, ut non delinquam
in lingua mea.
_____________
[26]
S. Matth. XX. 26, 27.
Quicunque voluerit inter vos major fieri,
sit vester minister.
Et qui voluerit inter vos primus esse,
erit vester servus.
_____________
[27]
S. Luc. X. 16.
Qui vos audit, me audit,
et qui vos spernit, me spernit.
_____________
[28]
The first
of September
and
of October
of the fifth year of Innocent IV
correspond to 1247 not 1248
as is frequently,
though erroneously,
stated.
|
End of
the Carmelite Rule
of the Order of Our Lady of Mt Carmel |
