Talk 4

The Rules of the Society of Charity

Rosmini drew on the Regulae Societatis Jesu for inspiration in drawing up his own Rules for the Institute.

Rules of the Company of Jesus
Contents (144 pages) / Rules of the Institute of Charity
Contents
1.Summary of the Constitutions;
2. Common Rules;
3.On Modesty;
4. Instruction on the Manifestation of Conscience;
5. List of Masses and prayers prescribed for our brethren;
6. Rules of Pilgrims;
7. Of the Scholastics of our Society;
8. Letter of our Holy Father Ignatius on Obedience;
9. Formula of simple vows;
10. Rules of the priests;
11. Of the preachers;
12. Of those who go on missions. / Besides the Spiritual Instructions, (Maxims of perfection), Instructions of Meditation, On the Examination of Conscience, On the Order of our Petitions to God; the Rules consist of:
1. The Memorial of the First Probation;
2. The Memorial of the Second Probation;
3. The Common Rules
4. Rules For the Running of the House;
5. Rules of Behaviour;
6. Instruction on the Manifestation of Conscience;
7. The Common Rules of Superiors;
8. Of the Rector of the House;
9. Of the Minister;
10. Of the Examiner;
11. Of the Master of Novices;
12. Of the Perfect
13. Of the lay brethren devoted to mechanical arts;
14. Of the Prefect of the Library;
15. Of the Caller;
16. Of Pilgrims;
17. Of Professors of Grammar;
18. Of the Scholastics of the Society;
19. Of the Temporal Coadjutors concerned with mechanical arts;
20. Of the Portinaio;
21. Of the Cook;
22. Of the Dispenser;
23. Of the Refectorian;
24. Of the Wardrobe keeper.

The abundance and minute details of the rules which specifically regulate all the activities of every religious is certainly surprising. It is the fundamental principle of obedience that marks them out and they have for their task to govern every office according to the spirit of the Institute.

The most important part of the Ignatian text is the Sommario (Summary) in which Ignatius summarises (in 52 paragraphs) the Constitutions of the Society of Jesus in regard to the spiritual formation and the interior life of the Jesuit religious; while in the Regoli Comuni (49 paragraphs) he deals especially with the external discipline of the individual and the houses. Both the Summary and the Common Rules are developed in paragraphs, explained later, but without subdivision into chapters

therefore the logical connection and order of the topics treated does not stand out straightaway.

Rosmini on the other hand distinguishes his text, into chapters.

1.The End of the Society;

2. Justice;

3. Love of God;

4.The Spirit of Understanding;

5.Love among the Brethren;

6.The Universal Love of our Neighbour;

7.Obedience;

8. Poverty;

9.Chastity;

10. Our Life in Practice;

11.On looking after our Health;

12. The Observance of the Rules.

We shall examine: The Common Rule

Rules on Modesty

Instruction on the Examination of Conscience

in the Rosminian text in comparison with the Summary of the Constitutions and The Common Rules of the Ignatian text.

Rosmini prefaces his common rules with the quote from St Paul to the Ephesians ‘Rooted and grounded in love’, recalling the epithet proper to the Institute whose content and spirit is simply charity in all its complete meaning. St Ignatius begins with the prologue (Summary 1) in which he records the necessity of a written Constitution, appealing to collaboration with Divine Providence, to the precept of the Vicar of Christ, to the example of the saints, to the demand of reason itself. Rosmini, on the other hand, after having said that ‘it is by the internal law of love and the most active charity which the holy Spirit impresses on our hearts that God in his mercy brings us, the least of his servants, to salvation, and perfection’ he repeats the necessity of written laws, but for different reasons, that is, ‘the dullness of our understanding’, ‘the sluggish will’ ‘and our short memory’, or rather the effects left in the nature of man by original sin. We can stress here the reference to his teaching on the origin of fault and on the impairment which it has generated on our innermost human nature which he treats to profoundly in the Supernatural Anthropology and in the Treatise on Moral Conscience.

Common Rules

1. The End of the Institute

The end of the Company of Jesus is ‘not only to attend with divine grace to the salvation and perfection of our own souls, but likewise to devote oneself generously to the salvation and perfection of our neighbour. These then are placed on the same level. Both activities are the primary and essential end of the Society.

Rosmini starts from another angle: in order to attend to the salvation of the souls of others, an explicit calling of Providence, who governs the world and moves the heart of all, is necessary. This might be bound up with an obligation arising from one’s ministry, or by an explicit indication of the divine will but it is certain that we have a strict duty to save and perfect our own soul. This is the explicit will of God ‘This is the will of God your sanctification’[1]; but it is not certain that in actual fact one should attend to the sanctification of others. Therefore the end of the Rosminian religious is indicated in the concise statement of rule 2; ‘The end of this Society is the salvation and perfection of our souls’. This does not exclude the salvation and perfection of our neighbour which become the indispensable means and end at the same time as one devotes oneself with all one’s strength to the divine will as is more completely indicated in the Constitutions. ‘ The end of this Society , therefore, is to care lovingly for the sanctification of the members who compose it and, by means of their sanctification, to spend whatever longings and strength it has in all works of charity, and especially for the eternal salvation of every one of its neighbours’. [2] From the different statement of the end are determined the other rules and over all their significance and value.[3]

2. Justice

In the second chapter, regarding justice Rosmini states that the end of the Society which is the salvation of our souls, is obtained by justice which he defines as ‘freedom from sin’ is the foundation of the whole Society. There follows on this the exhortation, ‘Let every brother then strive, day by day with much perseverance and reliance on God’s grace, to cleanse ever more and more his soul from sin’(rule 3). Rosmini returns to this very often in his letters. There is nothing corresponding in the Ignatian text. The other 5 numbers prescribe daily works of piety: examination of conscience; prayer; meditation; Mass; spiritual reading sermons confession; manifestation of conscience (rules 4-6). He recommends an upright conscience (rule7) and resisting temptations (rule 8). All these are taken literally from St Ignatius: 4,5,6 from nn.1,2,3, of the Common Rules of Ignatius (see also nn. 5,6,7,of the Summary[4] n. 7 from n.17; n. 8 from n. 14 of the Summary.

3. The Love of God

To abstain from sin is what we call a negative attitude, perfection on the other hand is a positive attitude. All perfection, all good consists in charity as Rosmini states in chapter 3,regarding the love of God. ‘The soul’s perfection consists in the love of God raised to a superlative (exquisite) degree’. The emphasis here is on the word ‘exquisite’, because there is a certain degree of love at the beginning of the work of purification of conscience. Rosmini carries on in n.9 ‘this charity is the greatest commandment, the totality, perfection and end of the whole law’.[5] He concludes ‘The very nature of this Society obliges us to try to foster in ourselves an unbounded love of God, and to beg this of him with great importunity’ There is no comparison to this in St Ignatius while he takes literally from n. 16 of the Summary (also cf. 21) the tenth rule which exhorts us to ‘acquire solid and perfect virtues and apply themselves to spiritual things’ and to rate these far more important than ‘learning or other natural human endowments’ for ‘it is from our inner spiritual life that external gifts derive any value in the pursuit of the end we have in view’. Rosmini distinguishes clearly between the perfection of the person and the perfection of nature in his philosophical thought.[6]

The first paragraph of Rule. 11 is specifically Rosminian the chief and most solid work of piety consists in striving by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to carry out more perfectly day by day all that is required of us by our state or grade. so as to join our lives ever more closely to God our Lord, in order that they may eventually become a continual service ns a total sacrifice to his divine majesty. This sublime statement of commitment derives directly from the end of the Institute, the salvation and perfection of our own souls, which is union with God. The second part of it comes literally from n. 19 of the Summary and regards the generosity with which we should give ourselves to God and be united closely to him.

Rule 12 proper to Rosmini describes how we should pray ‘with actual attention to and understanding of the sentiments expressed by the words which they address to God. Rosmini teaches that action is one thing, awareness is another. Awareness makes the action conscious, personal and therefore truly meritorious.

Rule 13 is taken from n.22 of the Summary of Ignatius and admonishes us to be on our ‘guard against the deceits of the devil in our spiritual exercises’ and to learn that of combating them and overcoming them. The two great masters of the spirit are positive and realistic and certain are not inclined to indulge in pious fantasies, they aim at solid and true virtues, they devote themselves to complete progress: ‘there one desire must be to make progress in the service of God.

4. On the Spirit of Intelligence (Understanding)

Chapter 4 regarding the spirit of understanding has five numbers. The stress given to the spirit of understanding is a Rosminian characteristic and recalls the VI Maxim To direct all the actions of one’s life with a spirit of understanding. What does this mean in practice? We can summarise it as follows: To know how to read in circumstances, the will of God and to comport ourselves in everything and through everything according to the will of God in full abandonment to divine providence. Rosmini puts it thus: One of our greatest duties to God is faith in his providence and goodness. All our brethren and the whole Society must be ready to be moved and guided by this Providence. This is an act of faith. The indications of Providence must be investigated and interpreted. The divine will is made known to us by external circumstances if we study these by the light of reason and grace. Note the order: the light of reason for Rosmini is a ray of God in man, it is the first moral law, but it is subject to the light of grace, which is the Word itself of God, essential and personal truth impressed on the soul in the supernatural life. This (Rule 14) is proper to Rosmini and not taken from Ignatius as also:

Rule 15 where an example is given of the spirit of intelligence, with which we must govern the religious life of charity. We have to wage war against all that is selfish and purely human; he insists on the need to avoid instinctive and subjective impulses, for it is reason that must enlighten, and grace which must prevail. If he feels moved by his natural passions or subject to temptation, he should make no decision or change what he had proposed to do as long as these last; but instead put himself in the presence of God and pray humbly and perseveringly. Only when the temptation has passed and he has regained his calm of mind should he make a decision and do what he judges to be conformable to God’s will, instead of following his own inclinations and feelings.

Having laid down these principles in Rule15 he gives an immediate and practical explanation in Rule 16. All the brethren should be at peace in God and remain content in the state in which they find themselves, praying to God and blessing him without looking for anything else of their own accord, even things good in themselves The second paragraph is taken from the Summary n. 20. and it is like an appendix So when someone has been received into a grade in our Society he should not be concerned to have a higher grade but rather try to perfect himself in his present one, devoting himself to the honour and glory of God. For the Company of Jesus grade means ‘Professed’, ‘Coadjutor’. Rosmini, in the Maxims, states: It is a common feature of worldly people to be dissatisfied with their situation and engage in a continual struggle to improve their condition.[7]

Consistent with this is Rule 17, No one should questions others, out of curiosity, about what superiors have to do and arrange or make guesses about these things in his conversation’. Each person should attend to his own job, calm and abandoned to the loving providence of God. More specifically Rule 18 No one should interfere in the sphere of others. In fact no one should go into a room assigned to someone else’s workplace without permission of the Superior or the person in charge of that place, if necessity requires such a visit. (Rules 17 and 18 are taken from Ignatius Rules nn 21, 32).