Suchergebnisse

Issue 39.3 of the Review for Religious, May 1980. ; REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS (ISSN 0034-639X), published bi-monthly (every two months), is edited in collaboration wilh faculty members of the Dbpartment of Theology of St. Louis University. The editorial offices are located at Room 428:3601 Lindell Blvd.: St. Louis, MO 63108. It is owned by the Missouri Province Educational Institute; St. Louis, MissQuri, © 1980. By REVIEW FOR REL~O~Ot~S. Composed. printed and manufactured in U.S.A. Second class postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. Single copies: $2.00. Subscription'U.S.A.: $8.00 a year: $15.00 for two years. Other countries: $9.00 a year, $17.00 for two years. For subscription orders or change of address, write REVIEW FOR RF.L~CaOt~S: P.O. Box 6070: Duluth, Minnesota 55802. Daniel F. X. Meenan, S.J. Robert Williams, S.J. Dolores Greeley, R.S.M. Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Jean Read Editor. Associate Editor Associate Editor Questions and A nswers Editor Assistant Editor May, 1980 Volume 39 Number 3 Correspondence with the editor and the associate editors, manuscripts and books for review should be sent to REVlF.W FOrt RELIGIOUS; Room 428; 3601 Lindell Blvd.; St. Louis, MO 63108. Questions for answering should be sent to Joseph F. Gallen, S.J.; Jesuit Community; St. Joseph's College; City Avenue at 54th Street; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19131. "Out of print" issues and articles not re-issued as reprints are available from University Microfilms International; 300 North Zeeb Road; Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106. A Check on Our Availability: The Examen George A. Aschenbrenner, S.J. Father Aschenbrenner is engaged in campus ministry, and at the same time, working nationally with priests and religious. He resides at Scranton University, Scranton, PA 18510. [n an earlier issue (January, 1972, "Consciousness Examen") I had written about a renewed understanding of the traditional lgnatian exercise of the daily examen. In that article I preferred to talk of an "examen of con-sciousness," because most of us had come to understand "conscience" in a narrowly moralistic sense. This had turned the examen into a fairly negative practice, soon discarded when we got into the typically busy apostolic life. To set aside specific time each day to see what we did wrong was not very much help. Nor did the practice enrich our apostolate much, because it gradually turned God into Someone always catching us .doing something wrong--and thus we wrought havoc on our self-esteem. A good sense of self-value, an ef-fective apostolate, and our image of God are always intimately connected. A Positive~ Understanding of the Examen .~: The formal examen should rather be a time of prayer about how much God has loved me in the yery existential details of my day, and how he could have loved me more in certain situations if my inner spiritual decisiveness and external presence had been a bit different. This is not just a different articula-tion of the meaning of the examen. Rather, it leads to an enormous difference attitudinally and effectively. A healthy self-esteem has to be ultimately and ir-revocably rooted in our Father's love, climaxed in his victory in Jesus. This neither excessively highlights, nor denies, my daily sinful weakness. Rather it leads to a consoling humiliation, found in a Father's forgiveness that is con- 321 :322 / Review for Religious, V~olume 39, 1980/3 stantly available in Jesus as my personal savior. In this way, the daily effect of my sinful condition is not to tear down self-worth, but to build up true apostolic humility, which itself is the source of genuine self-esteem. This positive understanding of the examen helps avoid another fallacy. Many times the full, rich prayer of the consciousness examen shrinks into a quick, superficial reflection over the day, and the five traditional elements of the examen thus collapse into the third element by itself--a general survey of the day's activities. The formal examen, however, was never intended to be just a quick thinking-over of the day. It is supposed to be prayer--and that within a fairly specific form, one related to the daily contemplation but not identical with it. And if the examen is to be chiefly about God's love for me, then gratitude should play a major affective role. Of course, it is the gratitude of a sinner who is at peace with the nothing he can do on his own, because he is still wonderfully learning how our Father's love turns everything to good--even his own sinfulness. The Examen Is Essential to Availability In the conclusion of his letter to the Society. of Jesus on "apostolic availabi_lity," Father General Pedro Arrupe made thi~ statement: To become partly immobile through lack of availability on the part of individuals and the consequent fear of superiors to give them the missions called for by our apostolate today, would constitute a most serious threat to the very existence of our vocation . lgnatian availability is the guarantee and the conditio sine qua non of our practice, which leads to salvation, and alone is of interest to the Society and the Church. A strong claim! My central point here is that the daily examen is the primary means to maintain this disposition of Ignatian and, indeed, of all apostolic availability. Even so, why should a brief period of prayer assume such great impor-tance? This leads us to another insight often neglected in the past. The formal examen-prayer, with its five elements, (usually) lasting about a quarter-hour, is always a means to the informal examen, which is a special faith-sensitivity that is with one all through the day. Often in our early years, we have turned the formal examen-prayer into an end-in-itself, giving to it a rigid fidelity that corrupted its significance. Of course it would be illusory to imagine that we can grow into living the informal examen=sensitivity without the early development of habitual practice of the formal examen and a con-tinuing adaptation of our involvement with this type of daily prayer. Through the informal examen, a person acquires a special ability for discerning (or examining) "presence" in everything. For Ignatius, this quality-presence was more important and extensive than the formal examen-prayer, inasmuch as this presence helps the person to recognize ,the grace of apostolic availability and flexibility that is being'offered in every situation. Apostolic availability is a profound faith-experience that roots one's iden-tity and security in God's love. When a person's security is too rooted in a job The Check on Our A vailability: The Examen / 323 or a place, or even a certain reputation, there results a stubborn rigidity that undermines his availability, just as availability canequally be undermined by a disordered need for change and variety--as when a person is so superficially committed that he really doesn't care whether he's changed or where he's assigned. In that same letter, Father Arrupe pointed up some of the challenges for what we have termed apostolic availability that are especially present in the new directions, institutional involvements and types of service that are re-quired in the modern world. What is fundamental; though, is that availability ¯ is primarilya readiness and sensitivity of heart, not simply a changing of job and/or place. In the heart of a person serving for many years.in the same mis-sion there can be an availability that is very apostolic and invigorating~--and often more difficult than the "availability" that leads to a new assignment. Apostolic availability and genuine perseverance in the same task orplace can never be opposed. In the formal examen, we hold up our day to be seen against the light of God's love. Sometimes this will be more instructive for us than was the experience itself., We may appreciate what we didn't even see in the actual experien.ce. At other times, we can savor the depths implicit in our sensitivity in the actual experience of the day. The continuing informal examen makes us sen-sitive in every situation to a Father's love that is always available, makes us ready to respond in filial 10ve to the Father's desire, as Jesus was--especially on Calvary. At such a point of insight, we see how often our cowardice or disordered desires reveal us to be persons of the "Second Class" (Spiritual Exercises, 154), who seek to make God come to what we desire. This is precisely backwards: consolation and greater apostolic service are to be found in our coming to what God desires. The sensitivity of apostolic availability distinguishes the heart ofa person of the "Third Class" from one of the "Second Class." The difference can become very subtle in one's interior af-fective life, but what~is always at issue is nothing less than better service for the justice of God's kingdom. Availability and Discernment In our sinful human condition, apostolic availability does not at all come naturally to us, but often is born of our decisive dealing with desolation in ac-cordance with the principles of Ignatian discernment. The seven capit.al sins, as inner affective experiences (.before we intentionally act on them), are each a type of desolate violence endemic to our sinful condition. They infringe on, and restrict the freedom of our availability. In decisively going against this desolate violence (see Exercises319), we become interiorly available to God's loving and consoling attractiveness, which a!ways frees us for whatever his Heart desires of us now. In this way, Jesus' own decisive availability to his 324 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 Father, in service to our world, is gradually born in our affectivity through our careful living, with all the subtlety of discernment, in the face of our inner, desolate violence. The daily examen is the most practical and regularmeans to practice, this discernment for availability. Our particular examen could then focus on the flaw or weakness that now is most keeping us from this fuller apostolic availability. What is that flaw or weakness? It is not so much something that we decide on, but rather what God will reveal: to us in his loving concern that all of us should belong to him ~ver more totally. By responding to his call through the particular examen, and directing our attention and effort primarily against that flaw or weakness, we are allowing ourselves to be drawn more into the apostolic availability of Jesus where he and we best find the Father. The Examen: An Action-Reflection Model Apostolic renewal is not simply being able to get more done. Apostolic ac-tivity is not measured simply in quantity, but must respond to the dictates of a wise sensitivity in the zealous lover of God. A certain degree of.reflectivity is essential to the growth of this sensitivity. Although in the beginning this reflectivity may seem labored and artificial, as one matures in the Spirit it becomes more integrated, less obvious, and part of the "presence" one has everywhere. There is much talk about various action-reflection models to help renew our apostolic presence, and, indeed, some such model can be an essential instrument and method for apostoli~ religious formation from the novitiate onward. I suggest that the examen is precisely such an action-reflection instru-ment, one that is built right into our daily life, and capable of fostering apostolic availability as a whole way of life open to service to the needs of our world for God's greater glory. In these models, we reflect on our experience, hoping that the reflection will lead us to better quality in our apostolic efforts. Hence the reflection is never for itself, nor directed to a self-centered sanctification, Often in the past, the examen did not have an hpostolic orientation, ~but tended to a suf-focating introspection. As we mature in outpractice Of the examen, the separate steps of action-reflection-action integrate into a sensitivity of presence in the activity that makes us available in everything for the call of our Father's love, in whatever way he desires for his greater glory in our world. Just as the routine and regularity of the daily order help to keep the con-templative monk attuned to God, so the examen can keep the apostolic religious, who is both active and contemplative, a~ttuned to God's love, and allow us, mortified by apostolic availability, to find in everything of this world a son's filial, loving service of his Father. Missionary Prayer and the Problem of Inculturation Carl F. Stark/off,' S.J.~ Father Starkloff's last article in our pages, "Oppression, Death and Liberation: Thoughts in a Context," appeared in the issue of November, 1978. He continues as superior and director of St. Stephens Indian Mission; P.O. Box 294; St. Stephens, WY 82524. The', title of the recently published National CatecheticalDirectory--Sharing The Light of Faiths'is more provocative than one might think upon first sight, if one reads it as a missionary statement. It can be interpreted in the light of a eatechesis that is meant tO instruct Catholics in the faith handed on through baptism. But if we examine those places in the DireCtory that dis'cuss the relationship between faith and culture,' we may be sufficiently disturbed to make us probe more deeply the rfieaning of what it is to share our faith. To speak of the missionary apostolate brings to mind the turbulent history of the exegesis of the so-called "Great Commission" in Matthew 28:18-20, which is placed on the lips of the risen Christ as he sends forth his joyous (though not yet spiritually rejuvenated) disciples to teach all nations about the source of their joy. This gospel mandate began a missionary enterprise that sent preachers of the Good News throughout the known world and outward to the barbarians of northern Europe, the East and to the far-off British Isles. J. Verkuyl points out that the early reformers, probably because of their sense of urgency to establish their movement among European Christians, wanted (mistakenly) to restrict Jesus' mandate to the time of the Apostolic Age.2 The ~ Sharing the Light of Faith: National Catechetical Directory for Catholics of the I~lnited States (Washington: United States Catholic Conference, 1979). See especially pp. 7-16; 85-98; 116-119. 2 j. Verkuyl, Contemporary Missiology: An Introduction, tr. Dale Cooper (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1978), pp. 18-19. 325 326 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 nineteenth century, however, witnessed phenomenal growth in mission activi-ty among all Christian denominations, and the confident expansionist attitudes of the period endured up to the mid-point of, our own century. Today, however, there is a widespread "malaise" among missionaries, as Walbert Buhlmann puts it, though he is careful to note that such a condition is one environment that can nurture hope.~ In any case, there is a c'risis of confidence in the Church's self-image as a "sent" community, and the crisis extends back from the mission frontiers into families and communities, and into individual souls, as Christians question their right and duty to "spread the Gospel." This is a cultural and theological crisis that offers promise of much growth in understanding of the relationship between faith-proclamation and cultural sharing, or, to view it from the dark side, between preaching the Good News and cultural imperialism. A great quantity of material is flowing, from the pens of missiologists about this prob-lem, and there are various theories dealing with the faith-culture question. I have shared in this effort elsewhere. This article, however, is an attempt at a "spirituality" that might further an experiential approach to faith and culture as it is rooted in the life of prayer. Fundamentally, prayer is at the root of this crisis that touches catechesis in the "established" Church, and ,even touches relationships between parents and children. Chesterton wrote somewhere that to deny the right of parents to teach religion to their children is to deny them the right to teach them anything. If our prayer lacks conviction, we are easy prey to dp~bts about this right and duty. In this article, I do not intend to discuss whether there should be missions; I happen to believe there should be. Nor do I intend to take up the much-debated question of a "moratorium on missions"; 1 happen to believe that missions are part and parcel of Christianity. That "mission" should be done differently, with consideration of mutual'resources and values between the missionary and the local culture is beyond iluestion.And that mission should cease to be mission and become church is a prominent New Testament value articulated by St. Paul in his dealing~ with theJocal churches. But amid all the discussion of liberation and oppression, of imperialism and colonialism, of faith and culture, there shines the Light at the center, who is Jesus Christ--the only ultimate justification for all missions. The love of God as manifested in him must be preached-- no doubt in a~.growing way much more by Africans and Asiatics and Other third world people t.o p~eople of the first and second worlds. But they, too, must heed their calling to be transparent mes~sengers. The transparency of which I speak is primarily a question of the missionary's "spiritual life, and that is the subject of this article. A recent b~ok on mission spirituality stresses the importance of the mis-" sionary's life-style for his or her witness to the Gospel. Michael Reilly writes: ~ Walbert Buhlmann, O.F.M., Cap., The Coming of the Third Church, trans. Ralph Woodhall, S.J. (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1977), p. 405. Missionary Prayer and the Problem of Inculturation / 327 How can the life-styles of these countless men and women who did so much to spread Christianity in the early centuries be described? There is no lack of testimony and evidence on this point. It can be summarized under five categories: the transformation and moral uprightness of their personal lives, their fellowship and social concern for others, their joy, their endurance under hardship and persecution, and the power which they exercised by virtue of their faith.' This iri general speaks of the awesome demands laid upon the missioi~er. Certainly no mission labors c~in be sustained without these qualities, to which we will more explicitly add perseverance in profound daily prayer, even and especially amid the many "dark nights" that cultural conflicts can create or intensify. The growih in a person's ~n spiritual life should be a continuing conv'er-sion in the intellectual, moral and religious orders, of which Bernard Lonergan writes in the transcendental phenomenology of his theological method.~ Missionaries above all, because they confront so many new and challenging experiences, must undergo such conversion, which is fed by, and, in return, nourishes a gospel-centered awareness. The,apostle must have also that unqualified, unreserved "being in love with God" that Lonergan calls religious faith,6 and this faith should be anchored in the historical reality that is:Christianity. Lonergan writes: ""There is a personal entrance of God himself into history, a communication of God to his people, the advent of God's word into the world of religious expression.'" The missionary will have to apply this dynamic of constant growth to cultural realities and religious values, as well as to his or.her own sources of spiritual power, experiencing these with both.pas-sionate involvement and prayerful detachment. The title "missionary" is not only audacious and shocking; it is unforgivably arrogant unless one assumes in it the motive that stems from the experienCed knowledge of Jesus Christ as the embodied presence of God's love in the world. This love incarnate becomes most explicit in the various' gospel texts that order the proclamation of salvation to all peoples. To preach eternal salvation is fundamental to all missionary zeal. But because salvation is incarnate for the Christian, his preaching cannot merely" project salvation into eternity, disembodied and unattached. The Good News calls people to ex-perience God's love and kindness within temporal existence, Otherwise, why take creation with any seriousness, at all? Our reading of the various reports of the life. and work of Jesus of Nazareth has been conditioned by our catechetical upbringing. We have learned to see Jesus as laying down his life when.he wills to do so, meanwhile battling with the scribes and pharisees in their apparent hypocrisy and their intransigent insistence on external conduct. But it is to the credit of the Michael Collins Reilly, S.J., Spirituality For Mission (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 1978), p. 53. Bernard J. F. Lonergan, Method in Tti'eology (New York: Herder and Herder, 1972), pp. 3-25. Ibid., p. 105, ' Ibid., p. 119. 32~1 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 "liberation theologians" that they have forced us to become aware of the pervasive and persistent struggle of Jesus to win for the poor of Yahweh a humane existence, snatching their lives from the hands of powers that oppress them with needless burdens and joyless, unwarranted submissiveness to human domination. Thus missionary zeal is summoned to examine itself about its concern for a basic humaneness of life; it should feel great pain whenever the Good News is kept from persons because they are humiliated and demeaned, when they suffer oppression or oppress one another. Indeed, our spiritual resources must be strong enough to make us believe that faith can thrive under oppression, but our contemplation of the Gospel also shows us that Jesus fought conditions that enslaved people, Jesus' mission, and that of the Church, is to work for the conditions that permit a joyous and free wor-ship of God. This is a profound social dimension of the Gospel that more and more who read it are coming to perceive. For the prayerful and devout Christian, one of the most urgent motives-- perhaps the motive--for mission.activity, at least in the year~; of Catholic and Protestant missions since the sixteenth century, has been the brooding con-templation of countless hordes of souls going to hell because they did not con-fess Jesus Christ. With the reflective work of modern theology and Vatican Council 1I (rooted incidentally in some very good and very old "natural theology"!), we may still have concern for our neighbor's salvation, but there is also the opportunity for a more enlightened appreciation of the values to be found in the religious traditions of all peoples, and for a more modest assess-ment of the spiritual condition of the non-Christian. This appreciation of the spiritual values of other religion, along with the sense of a Gospel permeated with social values, leaves mission theorists with the task of formulating new attitudes towards the mission apostolate. In fact, this qualifying of the sense of missionary urgency has led to a growing spiritual crisis for many church people, most especially those in an active mission apostolate. Toward a Missionary Spirituality The approach to prayer that I hav~ chosen to discuss here is one that might help the follower of Christ to find "seeds of the word" and a means of salva-tion in the religions of non-Christians or in elements of tribal spirituality not explicitly Christian. At the same time, however, it seems to me a nullification of the Christian vocation to deny or to bypass the person of Jesus Christ, taken both historically and in the Pauline cosmic dimension, as the fullness of divine grace intended to be the Father's greatest gift to humanity. 1 do not say this as a scriptural or dogmatic fundamentalist: the praying Christian should also be an inquirer into the more sophisticated areas of comparative religion and scripture scholarship. Still, whatever level of hermeneutics we may under-take, the New Testament constantly reminds us that courteous dialogue with non-Christians is only part of our calling. The prayerful realization of what Christ means in my life can do no less than move me to tell my dialogue Missionary Player and the Problem of Inculturation / 329 partner how utterly central Christ is for me. What the other does with his ex-perience of my witness is a matter of his personal decision, always to be respected. But that person should know that my life of prayer has shone out through my personal testimony and conduct. Juan Luis Segundo has proposed a helpful approach to the centrality of Christ and tile witness of the Church. He reminds us that the principle "no salvation outside the Church" should not be taken as a matter of church boundaries but rather that it deals with the mediatory role of the Church.8 Segundo calls the Churcha reality at once particular (pertaining to cultural realities), since it is a historical movement serving as a sacrament, and univer-sal, since it serves as a medium of salvation: "It is the expression of the mystery of Christ himself.''9 In Christ the missionary preaches God's love to people, and if he feels unable to broadcast the triumphalistic boast that no one outside the Church will be saved, he is still conscious of the unique gift of Christ. Segundo calls the Christian "one who knows"-- knows Christ as the beginning of the Father's plan that moves into the future and permeates all of time. The Christian is not the only one to enter into this plan, but he is the one who knows it through Revelation.'° This is anything but a revival of primitive gnosticism; it is rather a consciousness (grounded in prayer) of the gift of sav-ing knowledge and the acceptance of a calling found through hearing the Word of God. Such a "knowledge" given.to the Christian is the content as well as the experience of conversion, a living faith that Lonergan calls an "other-worldly falling in love."" What the Christian knows then becomes the driving force for the labor of proclamation. It is, for one thing, a deeply biblical spirituality, for our encounter with the Word of God in Scripture and preaching is our summons to mission. However, I have chosen here to offer a more particular approach or method based on resources within my own Jesuit order, hoping that these resources will serve others in developing a mission-centered prayer life. Recent documents of the Society of Jesus remind us that the Jesuit's self-knowledge is found in the sense of being a sinner who is nonetheless called to be a companion of Jesus.'2 We redeemed sinners are by vocation a "com-munity of dispersion," ready to be sent on mission." The basic dynamic of this vocation, paralleling similar resources in other communities, is the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius o( Loyola, which, made, serve to mediate the gospel-conversion-mission experience. Examining the experience of conversion and mission, we immediately con- 8 Juan Luis Segundo, S.J., Tr. John Drury, A Theology For Artisans of a New Humanity (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1973), Vol. I, p. 76. 9 Ibid., p. 78. ,o Ibid., p. 13. " Lbnergan, Op. Cit., p. 240, ,2 See Documents of The 31st and 32rid General Con.gregations of the Society o f Jesus (St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1977), p. 401. ,3 Ibid., p. 405. 330 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 front the problem/mystery of Christ and culture, of the universal sway and dominion of the Risen Christ .and the particular authenticity of cultural values. Indeed, the Exercises are themselves a partictilar cultural phenomenon within which the Christian faith is rekindled and nourished, and which have proved themselves to contain certain universal values. One who truly receives the liberating love of God in the Exercises comes in touch with the sovereign God in a discovery so powerfully expressed by Karl Barth: The love of God stands where there is disclosed, beyond and above and in the twofold negation, the preeminent affirmation--Jesus Christ, the .Resurrection and the Life~ Blessed discovery! God stands in light inaccessible. Blessed discovery! All flesh is as grass and all the glory of men is as the flower of the field. When, in spirit and truth, one of these discoveries is made, the other is involved in it, for both are in fact operations of the One God, whose universal majesty is the "Yes" in the"No.'"' The gift of a knowledge0of the love of God is so moving and powerful (perhaps in a very quiet way), that it is no wonder that enemies of the lgnatian Exercises have called them a brainwashing. The radical freedom of Christian conversion, as Barth so stirringly tells it above, calls us into a permanent state of tension. This tension is made up of what, to borrow from a number of spiritual writers, we might call "moments" of the Exercises--the two moments of conversion and of mission, I call them moments in the sense that they are kairoi, transcendent of any chronological order; they are experienced in an interweaving rather than in succession, and not merely in time of retreat but in the insertion into comrhunity and ministry. In the Exercises, the first truth one comes to grips with is God's sovereign-ty over one's life and destiny. One has to wrestle with and deeply assent to the fact that we are created to praise, reverence:and serve God, and thus come to salvation. I use the word "wrestle" here because the ascesis of,the Exercises contains much wrestling (though in the end we seethe folly of all this muscle!); no human being readily surrenders his or her own sovereignty andautonomy to anyone, even to God. Nor should they readily surrender. We are persons gifted with dignity, and until we realize that this dignity can be brought to final perfection in God alone, through obedience rather than abject slavery (an important reflection in ministry to the oppressed), we should not sur-render our autonomy. Yet we finally do have to surrender to God as Chris-tians, having,wrestled with him and been so wounded that we manifest in our very steps, as Jacob did, the divine-human struggle that eventuates in our ob-taining his blessing. Then the believer, too, becomes an Israel who realizes that all this effort was part of a foolish bout with God's love. I wish to return to this matter of conversion later, for it is the genuine source of crisis (under-stand "decision") in the missionary's grasp'of problems of culture and social justice. Karl Barth, The Epistle to the Romans, tr. Edwyn Hoskyas (London: Oxford University Press, 1965), p. 321. Missionary Prayer and the Problem of lnculturation / 331 Once the Christian has yielded to divine sovereignty (or arrived at a stage of acceptance, for the faith-choice that expresses this yielding occurs many times in "becoming a Christian"), he has again accepted the reality of his own sinfulness--the disobedience, the recalcitrance, the anger at God's insistence on submission. There goes with this an even more difficult acceptance of divine love, for within our sinfulness we find an inability to let ourselves be loved, and even glory in perversely thinking about God's "No" to us and fear His "Yes." With the opening to grace we rejoice in that essential Christian ex-perience of acceptance of self as loved by God. The loving power of Christ is the "tree of life" that nourishes our circle of existence at its very center--a powerful Amerindian image that indicates a wholeness of life based on devo-tion to its source. But the moment of conversion is hardly complete with repentance, or with the return of the prodigal. The once-lost younger son will discover now the meaning of mature membership in his father's household, that it is shared life and companionship, but also involvement in the labor and the suffering. Such a call to deeper filial piety may well bethe sequel to the Prodigal Son parable, in which the erring but more attractive younger son is equalized with the dour older brother who we all quietly tend to scorn. The sin in all of us resists true belonging. Thi~ is why the SpiritualExercises lead the Christian to understand what it is for Christ to be a "King" in our lives, for him to have a loving sovereignty 'rather than by an imperious and aloof barking of orders that avoids deeper ih~,olvement. David Fleming describes the Meditation on the Kingdom of Christ as the placing of oneself into a "mythical situation, or the kind of story-truth of which fairy tales are made."'~ One seeks to know Christ in whatever fashion one may need in ~order to bring home the fact of his lord-ship. The meditation on Christ's kingdom is thus thematic forall contemplation of the life, death and. resurrection of Christ. All the while meditating on the ministry of Jesus, a retreatant prays for the grace to know him more intimately, to love him with grea~er intensity and to follow him more closely. One can begin to attempt this radical Christian prayer, having first meditated on the mystery of the Incarnation, which we shall later take as the basic model for the missionary apostolate. St. Ignatius presents the Incarnation con~ templation as a mental trylStich, representing the Godhead in heaven, humani-ty struggling on earth, and the young woman of Nazareth who assents to the mysterious calling to' archtypically stand for every Christian's response to God. This meditation enters into the second moment, or moment of mission, but first of all it reminds the Christian that the essential grace to be gained from meditating on the life of Christ is "an interior knowledge of the '~ David L. Fleming, SoJo The Spiritual Exercises: A Literal Translation and a Contemporary Reading (St. Louis: Institute of Jesuit Sources, 1978), p. 65. 332 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 Lord, who for me has become man, that I may more love and follow him.'''6 This "for me" (so dear to St. Ignatius-- as well as to Martin Luther!) is the ex-pression of faith in a God who never remains for himself alone but perpetually gives of himself. It is the expression of the love of a missionary God. As the Christian enters more deeply into the mystery of the Incarnation, he realizes how much of the sinner hangs on, and how the moment of conversion is ever-present. As the Meditation on the Two Standards or Two Leaders-- Christ and Satan- shows us, the threat of fear and pride and exaltation of the false self is never far away. Within the gospel accounts one also contemplates types of persons who experience different degrees of submission to God, and so asks himself in what way this reflection applies personally to one's life. As the dread reality of St. Luke's journey to Jerusalem looms up, the Christian is made to realize, along with St. Matthew's newly appointed head of the Church, the still unconverted :Simon Peter, that each one of us shares in that journey. Somewhere within this period of meditation, St. Ignatius' Three Modes of Humility challenge the follower of Christ with the call not merely to avoid all sin, but to enter into his poverty and humiliation and suffering-~-to share fully in his mission. The Third Week of the Exercises is an entering into the fullest meaning of the passion of Christ, not merely with tears of empathy but with readiness for full association. The apostolic moment of the Exercises is mysteriously present here: one comes to sense the many possible challenges that could in the future demand a personal appropriation of the kenosis of the Son of God. Once again, the Christian may fear Christ and remain_ sitting outside the Garden of Olives, only to fall asleep, to avoid the grim strain of apprehension. Or, the disciple might insist with Peter that he will never betray Jesus, and almost in the same moment deny even being with him. We thus discover that it was a relatively simple matter to love God in a childish way as our understand-ing Father, in contrast to our acceptance of his Son as an intimate friend. Friendship can demand so much, and we fear the maturity that it requires, especially when we find that the Son of God, in his hour of greatest need, calls his disciples "friends." This is the opportunity to pass even more dramatically through the ever-deepening dying of "becoming a Christian," which, as Kierkegaard wrote, is all that we ever do in relation to Christ; we never fully "arrive" in this life. But if the Christian perseveres in prayer, there may come, finally, the gift of identification ~,ith Christ in which the cloak of sinfulness falls away and true companionship is accepted. If the Christian embraces the mystery of the cross (according to his or her own personal vocation), there comes that peace which pervades one's prayer at the. entrance to the sepu!chre. A true Christian is a child of the Resurrection, an heir to the joys of the Ibid., p. 70. Missionary Prayer and the Problem of Inculturation / 333 triumphant Christ, and a bearer of that joy. The Christian contemplates and absorbs the spirit of the risen life as the spirit of his own life, and, according to Ignatius, reaches holiness through sharing the joy of the Friend who has defeated death. It should be no surprise that this experience, too, is a conver-sion in the intellectual, moral and religious dimensions of life. We do not easily accept joy in our lives, or the fact that we are created for joy, as C. S. Lewis was astonished to discover. In the face of the grief in the world (and, if we are idealistic missionaries or social activists, our own tenden-cy to take too seriously our personal warfare with all this grief), we find it hard to transform our, solemn frowns into laughter of rejoicing. Perhaps we cannot but think of God as the Ruler of Olympus who becomes jealous of our hubris at thinking we might ever simply be happy. And there is that temptation to sadness in the anticipation of apostolic struggles. So conversion to Christian joy, and the mission to share that joy, are again telescoped into two moments of one experience. St. Ignatius did not leave us simply to contemplate the Resurrection with the first disciples. He has bequeathed to us the Contemplation for Obtaining Divine Love, which is summed up in God's desire to share himself with his friends. There is given here a recapitulation of all good gifts that descend from the Father of Lights in whom there is no shadow, (Jm 1:16-17). We consider all gifts received, and more, we affirm ourselv~es as gifts of God's favor. A joy-filled Christian can thus say: Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty, my memory, my intellect, and all my will--all that 1 have and possess. You gave it to me;to you, Lord, 1 return it. All is yours, dispose of it according to your will. Give me only your love and grace, for this is enough for me." This contemplation also expresses an aspect of the apostolic moment, both in the call to offer one's gifts in the divine Service, and in the vision of God dwelling in and giving life to all creatures. The consideration of the labor of God within all things helps to feel his presence as the very life of the ministry. There is here, too, a profound theodicy that enlightens the missionary about the working of the Holy Spirit in all created reality, where the Word is somehow present before his preaching even begins. It is a great blessing for an aspiring young missionary (or an older one seeking renewal) to be able to sum up his spiritual experience with the vision of all good gifts descending from above--the gifts of justice, goodness, pity and mercy--"as from the sun des-cend the rays, from the fountains the waters." This is ongoing conversion in the highest sense. The Translation of Prayer Into Mission Let us get "practical" about all of this. Where does one go missiologically Ibid., p. 140. 334 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 with the experience of conversion-mission? If I am a redeemed sinner, saved by God from my own self-oppression as well as from the,oppression of false spirits, l am under a mandate t~ p.roclaim that experience to all people. Fur-ther, as Barth has written, we have surrendered our old way of thinkingto the divine "No" and thus ~have been .renewed in a life of grace through His "Yes." To believe that one is saved is the ultimate experience of freedom, and if one has been gifted with a share in God's holiness, he may even sense a call to relinquish homeland and culture in order to announce that freedom to others. Such a state of soul is a great gift and a great mystery; it is also a great problem, and without ongoing intellectual conversion, can leave one open to many deceptions. There is hidden in this experience the danger that the con-verted Christian will interpret some of the chltural trappings of his conversion as essential to conversion itself. In fact, I woul,d venture the guess that much of the zeal to save "savages" has arisen from an uneducated state of mind in x, relation to what one sees as their "unhappy and primitive state." Metanoia in its most profound etymological sense must be part of any missionary prepara-tion and part of an ongoing learning process. Perhaps the most helpful spiritual approach to a missionary openness to foreign experiences is faith in the Incarnation as a continuing contemplation. So St. Ignatius' Meditation on the Incarnation might well serve as the fun-damental reflection of the apostolic moment of the Exercises.lncarnational theology has, of course, been thematic in the thought of theologians and in Church documents since Vatican Council II. Its frame of reference is the historical context of gospel proclamation, which stresses the service of Christ and his Church to .the temporal order, and the hope this service offers to humanity for a more truly di~,ine-human life. A healthy incarnationalism is also eschatoiogical, and in its optimism does not forget the reality of sin. It realizes that God's becoming human does not empty him of his transcendence but rather gifts humanity with a share in that transcendence. In simple w~ords, the Incarnation has its total fulfillment outside history and awaits the kingdom of God in faith even as it expresses its presence already. In. the con-rex: of missiology, incarnational theology proclaims the en-flesh-ment of God within cultures, and challenges all cultures to reach beyond themselves. Ignatius Loyola was a man of great sensitivity to the ways in which the Gospel is to be received humanly, as his instruction for the use of the senses in prayer attests. The Contemplation on the Incarnation is an experience of the divine entering history, of the Good News transforming human cultures and confronting the evils that threaten what is truly of God's creation in them. ln-culturation does pose a tension, if not even a dilemma, for the Christian, as I have already indicated. The zealous missionary who is filled with a desire to show Christ's love to the world iS a person who has acquired the gift of detach-ment from a familiar environment, though perhaps not to the degree he may think he has acquired it. Even the most dedicated Christian carries his or her native culture along as mental and affective baggage, and tends to extend that Missionary Prayer and the Problem of Inculturation / 335 culture, along with the Gospel, to other peoples. To offer the good things of one's own culture to others is a natural and authentic aspiration, if one is aware that these things are not coextensive with the Good News of Christ. This awareness can come only from a deep study'of the culture and from a "participation" in it to whatever degree is compatible with Christianity. Another factor of great importance is the relationship the Christian, has towards the people to whom he is missioned,. There is a danger that one will project one's own degree of commitment into these people, and thus expect of them too soon that same kind of response. Likewise, to compare one's own "surrender" or submission to God, acquired with the help of many cultural blessings and advantages, to the enslavement of oppressed peoples and its concomitant apathy or resistance, is of course a tragic confusion of entirely different experiences. Worse yet, one might even miss the signs of a people's dedication simply out of a failure to comprehend their ways of expressing it. However, meditation on the Incarnation, if we supplement it with proper cultural training, inserts us into the saving love°of the Godhead as well as into the infinite patience and empathy of Jesus Christ, who met people "where they were," living with them in their struggles and calling them to converison. Christ never destroyed or shattered a person's life, however great a shock he may have dealt, but rather uplifted and sanctified the life of every person. In the Contemplat!on on the Incarnation, St. Ignatius in. structs the retreat-ant to "see" the various persons in the eye of the imagination: "those on the surface of the earth, in such variety in dress and in actions; some white and others black; some in peace and others in war; some weeping and others laughing; some well, others ill; some being born,, and others dying . ,,,8 One is to continue by imagining how so many live in blindness, how they swear and blaspheme, how th6y kfli and go down to hell. And in the same mental exer-cise, we are shown how Father, Son and Holy Spirit conspire to work out the salvation of the suffering human race, and how the messenger Gabriel goes to speak to the Virgin of Nazareth. Whatever Ignatius had in mind as he described the misery of our race (in his own cultural terms!), and however we may have evolved in our attitudes about,how many benighted pagans are going into damnation, a sensitive response to his vision of a suffering humanity draws one deeply into a sharing of the human condition. The point here is that human beings have always injured and oppressed one another in various ways; but the much stronger aspect of this truth(See St. Paul'spollo mallon in Romans 5.) is that all types and cultures, all races and .nationalities, enter into the divine compassionate vision and its willto save and transform. Those who are to be saved will be saved as black or white or red or yellow, whether they wear three-piece-suits or loincloths or nothing at a!l, whether their music is rendered by pipe organs or jazz bands or ancient drums. We do not really know what God has in mind to Ibid., p. 72. 336 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 do with diversity in the kingdom of heaven; we do know that he has a total disregard for differences as far as the equal dispensation of his kindness is concerned. Thus a meditation on the Incarnation, if carried through with full involve-ment, takes a missionary into the midst of the culture he serves. It prods him to study anthropology and sociology and comparative religion, both in books and in lived exp~erience, as well as to do all that is necessary tomake him atten-tive, intelligeni, reasonable and responsible. It serves as the affective nourish-ment of all the intellectual and procedural efforts one may bring to work in a foreign culture. It would seem, therefore, that a missioner's own prayer life would change, to some degree, along cultural lines: An openness and sensi-tivity to the people will lead to a sharing of indigenous forms of prayer and worship. No matter how hard 1 may try, I will never become a Native American or South African black or campesino, especially if the culture I serve has a history of deep Wounds inflicted by the very society and church I represent. This should in fact be an initial experience of inculturation--to realize that onb is a foreigner or guest, or better, a pilgrim, and that one naturally resists becoming part of a new culture, especially in its startling and strange aspects. But still, we ~can take on many qualities of our environment, and should do so if they insert us better into the life of the people and help us to grow personally. Generally, the first experience of mission life for the outsider is one of conflict. This is emphatically true of all who enter into work among societies suffering from powerful structures and histories of persecution or cultural invasion. To become part of a wounded culture is to absorb inevitably the feel-ings of frustration, anger and despair; to experience the "diminishment" that occurs within as one responds again and again to expressions of these negative feelings. There may also be a deep dissatisfaction with oneself over the failure to remain tranquil and "understanding" in the face of such assaults. The mis-sionary must then turn, in a way perhaps never before experienced, but anticipated in earlier prayer, to the reality of a suffering and dying Savior, who himself knew pain and rejection and the feeling of being an outsider. When'the Word pitched his tent among us, he certainly had to live as an alien in our midst, with disciples who failed to understand, with authorities who re-jected him, with hangers-on who melted away in the face of conflict. The mis-sionary can be helped spiritually, through intellectual resources and the study of the history of injustice or persecution in the area of hi~ activity. For exam-ple," in studying the near genocide of a number of ti'ibal cultures at the hands of invaders who made these people aliens in their own lands, the missionary can learn to approprihte the sense of weakness often felt by Christ himself in the face of the burdens of history. However, even in a badly wounded culture, one can experience gifts in greater number. Among many of the more traditional, or "primal," societies Missionary Prayer and the Problem of Inculturation / 337 of Africa or Asia or the Americas, can be found spiritual attitudes remarkably resonant with the Christian experience: creative suffering, prayer, contempla-t! on, worship forms, acceptance of death, ascetical practices. One can learn to appreciate the reverence of the people, the sense of appreciation for nature, the deep respect for spiritual realities. It is possible to learn to enjoy the music, the dance, the language, the good times, as they occur in a natural cycle of tribal events. Perhaps the missioner will even find in the new culture (not because he hates his own but because he loves it too) a new"sacred space" in which to be at home. As this occurs, one finds oneself both proclaiming and experiencing conversion. Missionary prayer is then truly coming to birth according to the mystery of the Incarnation. To sum up, then, Christian conversion is not a narrowing experience. While it focuses our gaze upon Christ as the Father's unique expression of love, it also constantly opens our horizons and leads us to greater social and cultural understanding. But the conversion process must be a composite of in-tellectual, moral and religious growth. Prayer alone will not achieve this, but without prayer the missionary is merely another cultural invader. A strongly incarnational prayer reminds one constantly that in Christ the Father has reconciled the divine and the human, and that we can indeed preach a transcendent faith that finds roots in local cultures. "When Did We See You?" Donald Macdonald, ,S. M.M. Fr. Ma~cdonald, master 6f novices for the Montfort Fathers, is stationed at the house of Maria Bhavan; D.R. College P.O.; Bangalore 560029; India. ~ watched a group of sisters, out walking, slowly pass a row of hovels. Out-side one of them, a little girl was squatting, cutting wood. Seeing the sisters approach, she put down her knife, joined her hands in the Indian way of greeting, and gave them a lovely smile. The sisters (presumably) never saw her. Three other sisters were walking some five or six yards further back, and I thought that perhaps one of them would have seen what happened, and so stop for a moment to make a fuss over the child. They, too, walked past. I still see the quizzical look on the child's face. Clearly, mistakes are easily made. It is also unfair and invalid to draw a general conclusion from a particular instance. But from years spent in pastoral ministry, not least with religious, I suggest that there may be more in that incident than many of us would care to see. Such insensitivity may be the rule rather than the exception. Those sisters may be like that even with each other. They just do not see. This same lack of insight may be a consistent feature of their everyday world: They may never really live in the present moment, and so miss so much of what is happening about them. If the mature person is "one whose center of gravity is where he actually is," it may explain the immaturity of some religious lives." What is needed is the ability to be both part of, and apart from, the present moment, to give oneself wholly in the present as an expression of a mature Christian faith. So much of religious life, especially as one gets older, can be so unsatisfactory for so many, because they are never really "alive." Any one, for example, who has ever been in the company of the present Holy Father, might judge that he is in fact a great parish priest of the time when such men 338 "'When Did We See You?" really knew their people. He is always aware of what is happening. Though he may be unable to speak to everyone individually, yet he neglects no one, regardless of how many are about him. What steps, therefore, can the religious take to try to become fully alive to the present as an expression of a mature Christian faith? Listen Like a Disciple Once upon a time, most religious began the day with a "morning offering." I suggest that this once-common custom should be revived to help give a precise focus to our day. A line adapted from Is 50:4 makes an ideal morning prayer: O Lord, give me a disciple's tongue. So that 1 may know how to reply to the weary, provide me with speech. Each morning, wake me to hea~, to listen like a disciple. We should pray that we may speak only what we have learned of God--a disciple's tongue. We beg that we may never ignore the weary, and so have something to say ~to the child, the~neglect of whom began these reflections. Ideally, we want to be able to answer the questions people dare not ask. We want to offer not just sympathy but empathy,, the ability to feel for and with these persons of our world. We must have time for those that n'o one else has time for. So important is this approach to the present moment, that we should ask God to wake us each morning to hear. But, more than that, we should ~vant to listen like a disciple. In whatever circumstances we are placed, we want to be aware of all that is happening, to assimilate our experience. The whole world is sacrament. Thus we are eager to listen like a disciple, to try and catch every, nuance and inflection of the world in which we live. Most of us share a com-mon degree of hearing and vision. What separates us one from another is insight, or the ability to respond to the unspoken word or gesture. Our prayer, therefore, should be that God would give us the sensitivity to be fully alive in our global village. Our center of gravity is ~vhere we actually are. A day begun with ~suCh a reflective prayer to God can ~urely help give definition to our approach to the present. If our minds progressively assimilate the assumptions underlying the prayer, experience, in whatever form it comes, will be integrated into our lives in God. Through Love in His Presence The religious may further deepen that basic insight, by attempting to share the grasp of reality found in the superb opening prayer of the letter to the Ephesians. There Paul's present situation is prison. The future prospects, in his estimate, probably included death by execut~ion.The past, an apostolic life of mixed fortunes, was evidently drawing to a close. In such circumstances :340 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 notice the approach of a mature Christian faith, and the astonishing balance given by such a center of gravity: "Blessed be God the Fathe~ of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all the spiritual blessings of heaven in Christ" (Ep 1:3). There, the first move is to God. And what a God--"the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ," who has given us everything. This, from a man in prison, towards the end of his life; no self-pity, nor justified disappointment, nor even the pretence of whistling in the cemetery to pretend he is not scared. His perspective is anchored in "God the Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ." Whata marvelously expansive opening to a prayer from a man shut in, and about to lose his career and his life. Then his faith, grasping reality,, takes him almost beyond the limits of imagination to the point of saying: "before the world was made he chose us, chose us in Christ" (Ep 1:4). The sense of awe and wonder is evident as it dawns on him, "the very least of all the saints" (Ep 3:8), that these moments of life have been given him by God. The immediate present is received as a gift from God in Christ offered before even the world was made. How does one quantify love on a scale like that? From this perspective, the present moment is an expression of the depth of the love of God for us that is quite literally beyond computation. One just receives and adores. To the extent that I can share this outlook, I allow God to love me in the present moment. Receiving life as so charged with the love of God, 1, too, deepen my capacity to love. I do not know when I first knew God, but from "before the world was made" God knew and loved me. The present moment is the focus of such love, where I "live through love in his presence" (Ep 1:4). This, l suggest, can be the center of gravity of a mature Christian faith. His Spirit Living in You Following Saint Paul, the religious can go still deeper into the present moment. "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you?" (l Co 3:16). Individually or collectively, God is present among us in the only way that is real to us--through knowledge and love. Anything else is superficial. The point is given added emphasis when we remember that the word translaied "temple" i~s no(our word for Church, b~t rather, "tabernacle." "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit which has been given to us" (Rm 5:5). Religious, aware of God so present to them and in them, could only respond in wonder and awe. Their very personality would reflect adoration. "Your body, you .know, is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you since you received him from God" (l Co 6:19). If the religious truly listened like a disciple to words like that, the love of God, found in the present moment, would take them to !he heights, and give them "the strength to grasp the breadth and the length, the height and the depth, until knowing the love of Christ which is beyond all knowledge, ~you are filled with the utter fullness of God" (Ep 3:19). "When Did We See You?" / 341 For the Praise of His Glory Despite possible appearances to the contrary, the above approach to reality, stemming from an understanding of baptism, is simplicity itself. It has to be if it is to center on the present moment. Here the religious is never in the position of the harassed motorist driving at night, and trying to cope with all the signals he is receiving at a busy road junction. Nor is it an artificial con-struct pieced together from a possibly outdated literary-form. Quite simply the religious is aware that he is loved by God. He has always been present to God. Life is God's gift to him, moment by moment. In responding to life so given, all that is deepest in him echoes awe, adoration and love. Thus does he begin to sound the depths of "the unfathomablk riches of Christ" (Ep 3:8). Aware of the presence of God within him, he believes that with that gift he has received everything (see Rm 8:32). As the reality of this dawns on him, the love of Christ overwhelms him, as he begins to see that "for anyone who is in Christ, there is a new creation" (2 Co 5:14,17). His center of gravity is moving gradually from self to Christ. Inescapably, and often at a level beyond words, his faith expresses itself in love, adoration, gratitude. In time, as he continues to allow God to 10ve him,his "life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col 2:3), so that, however imperfectly, he realizes, as a baptized Christian, "I live now not with my own life but with the life of Christ who lives in me" (Ga 2:20). Thus he tries to allow God full play in his life. As many religious know, such an approach to the present moment comes to be as natural as breathing. It is the normal, prosaic everyday basis of his life. It is the common coin he uses moment by moment. Living therefore in Christ in a sacramenthl world, one lives in the presence of God, not at some degree removed from him, as though he were a spectator. The smile and greeting of the child which provoked these reflections, can be seen as an expression of the love of God. Her puzzlement as she was ignored was surely an echo of the rejection of the love of God. The insensitivity of the religious presented a glimpse of Christ handicapped, unable to express his love for the child in that instance (see Ph 3:18). Attempting to listen like a disciple to what God might be saying in an incident that was over in seconds, one realizes all too well that, in addition to the above, there may be other inferences. Lord, in the child and the religious do I see you and me? Do I see your love always expressing itself in the most unlikely situations--and my response? Again, is that how I am to the people who come into my life? This reflection does not depersonalize the child, nor take from her her integrity as a human being. She is not a cipher. But viewed from the stand-point of Christian baptism, which is the basis and point of religious life, it is surely not illegitimate for us to deepen the realiz~ation that we are loved by God, that, as a result, we must "owe no one anything, except to love one another" (Rm 13:8). We are in debt, therefore, to everyone we meet, as we can never adequately repay love. There is perhaps no more exacting test of the authenticity of one's faith. The Threat and,the Thrill of Dominion Labour# Beneviile, S.C.C. Sister Labour~ teaches at Delone Catholic High School; S. Oxford Ave.; McSherrystown, PA 17344 Let us m~ike man in our image, after our likeness. Let him have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and the cattle, and over all the wild animals and all the creatures that crawl on the ground (Gn 1:26). In the light of the Genesis account, we know ourselves to be the hallmark of the creative power of God who transformed the darkness over the a~yss; the God who shaped the formless waste which was the earth; the God who made light to dispel the darkness; the God whose touch brought forth vegetation and seeds of every kind. Custodians of creation, we are challenged to find joy and fulf!llment in this awesome burden of nurturing the universe. To do so, however, we must discern the subtleties of our behaviorand try to strip away any repressive thought patterns which distort our presence to reality. By un-consciously excluding that which is painful, fearful, or even sublime, repres-sion is the ego's means of scaling down life-- that is, of reducing ffc~th terror and ecstasy to something within our control. From infancy on, we have been schooled to block out that which either threatens or diminishes our own stature; thus anxiety is minimized and we are able to move through life with a kind of equilibrium. 'Capstones of God's creative power, we are marked by an ambivalence which suffers from the pain of finitude as well as from the glorious burden of mirroring Infinitude. We live simultaneously on the brink of obliyion and the brink of infinity. Because the possibility of both destruction and transcendence are threatening, we too readily settle for the protection which illusion offers. But truth and ultimate fulfillment demand that we live face to face with the realization that the universe is teeming with wonder and danger 342 The Threat and Thrill of Dominion / 343 of colossal proportion; and we cannot let our consciousness of this inure us to the utter magnificence of that which has been entrusted to us. Instead of deflecting the wondrous mysteries of the world, we must so sensitize ourselves to our task and privilege that the fullness of God's glorious creation opens up before us, and thus we can revel in the inestimable joy to which we are heirs. ". mountainsand hills shall break out in song before you, and all the trees of the countryside shall clap their hands" (Is 55:12). The innate fear by which we resist the greatness to which we are called-- a Jonah complex according to psychologists--prompts us to entrench ourselves in mediocrity, security and conformity rather than bear the risk of the superlative. In the depth of our souls we glimpse our godlike possibilities, but quiver at the thought of having our potentials actualized. Intensity hurts. Pain--albeit a "nice" pain--is the counterpart of intense living. "We are only the earthenware jars which'hold this treasure to make it clear that such an overwhelming power comes from God" (2 Co 4:7). Our spiritual and.emo-tional yearning often seems to exceed our human capacity to withstand. Repression of the sublime is the defense which enables us to maintain our balance in a universe which would sweep.us off our feet if we were totally sen-sitive to it. Ecstatic moments, for instance, are too charged to be endured for long. Because we lack the strength to bear the miraculousness and force of life at its fullest, we cut back to an idle; we moderate the degree to which we will let ourselves experience the grandeur of it all. Closing ourselves off to the possibility of unlimited greatnessthus enables us to remain intact, untouched in the face of an overwhelmingness which might otherwise be devastating. In Thornton Wilder's Our Town, Emily perceives the truth of life only after she returns from the grave: "Oh, earth, you're too wonderful for anybody to realize you. Do any human beings ever realize while they live it--every, every minute?" The stage manager answers: "The saints and poets, maybe--they do some." Just as the fear of greatness keeps us walled up, so does the fear of little-ness. In contrast to the rest of creation, we are at best miniscule, and that's ter-rifying. Man, the self-aware capstone of creation, is, in fact, insignificant. Our fragile position in a mighty world began with our helpless condition at birth. Despite unconscious efforts of denial, none of us can ever quite forget the fact that we were once dirty-faced, cry-baby kids who needed another even to change our diapers. As a species we may have been given dominion, but as individuals our personal histories are at best embarrassing. Unlike animals, we are endowed with a self-awareness which makes the truth of our fragility even more terrifying. "It means to know that one is food for worms., to have emerged from nothing, to have a name, consciousness of self, deep inner feel-ings, an excruciating inner yearning for life and self-expression-- and with all this yet to die.''t Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death (New York, 1973), p. 87. :344 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 Paradoxically, it's this very terror of our own nothingness which has generated such self-assumed authority, such egoism. The instinct for self-worth and self-preservation has sparked the fantasies and repression which delude us about our true condition. Unable to cope with the reality of our littleness, we have let our egos construct vast networks of illusions by which we assert and argue our own value. Without these lies to feed off, life would be nightmarish. The rose-colored vision which repression insures protects us from the omnipresent bogeyman whose terrors would disarm us: if we ever dropped the mask of importance. According to Kierkegaard, the lies perpetrated by the ego are: the most natural ,defense against the anxieties of life. Dread would be overwhelming without the escape hatch which repression offers. Fantasizing about one's role or place in the cosmos is a comforting ex-ercise by which the emerging person obscures the truth which lies at the root of the human condition. The egoism which dominates us doesn't ring of pride as much asit does of escapism. It's weak man's instinctual defense against his smallness; against . total negation in an apparently capricious and topsy-turvy universe. Let's face it, over and above the natural disasters which threaten us, the evils We heap on one another are staggering: the haunting memory of six million Jews exter-minated; the wake of Three Mile Island and the threat of nuclear extinction; four hundred thousand boat people drowned; incessant wars and rebellions which decimate the hopes of nations. Rather than live vis-a-vis our fragile position, we prefer, in fact, to pull the wool over our own eyes. The crux of our failure to resonate with the challenge of dominion, then, is two-edged: a fear of greatness and a fear of littleness. Repression serves to protect us from a double apprehension about the latent power which might be unleashed in us, as well as from a sense of feebleness in the face of a vast universe. By blocking out any mystery or terror which dwarfs our stature, we live comfortably with the illusion of control. Repression makes the dark so cozy that we forget our need for the light. The price of this illusion, though, seems to be a lobotomy of the soul. We have anesthetized our spirits as a means of maintaining our balance. Undoubtedly, to have been made in the image of the Creator and subsequently entrusted with undisputed authority is a fearful heritage. If we are to attain our true stature, however, we must be persons who accept their creaturehood and are brave enough to live without the facade of power or righteousness or control. We will enjoy the thrill of dominion and minimize its threats only to the degree we can live with our own vulnerability--that is, to the degree we can shed the protective armor which has shielded us from so much of life. Thus psychology and religion merge as we relinquish the security blanket of egoism, which has so falsified our percep-tions, and posit our faith in the God who created us. The formula for such faith is basically simple: "One is a creature who can do nothing, but one exists over against a living God for whom 'everything is The Threat and Thrill of Dominion / :345 possible.' -2 The Scriptures clearly delineate the nature of this call to faith: faith in a God who has told us every hair on our head is numbered; faith in a God who knows when every sparrow falls to the ground; faith in a God who feeds the birds of the air and clothes the grass of the field with splendor; faith in a God who has said,. "No one who comes to me shall ever hunger and no one who believes in me shall ever thirst" (Jn 6:35); faith in a God who himself conquered death through resurrection. Such faith is the death knell to all the claims which the ego has so jealously guarded. Instead of making our own arrogant assertions the touchstone, our fundamental identity with Ultimate Power gives us our significance. Creaturehood is no longer a liability--rather, it's a hotline to the Creator. The very One who has called us into existence and given us authority stands behind us and before us. The secret fears which once eroded our joy and op-timism are dissipated the moment we see creatureliness as our claim to the Creator. Similarly, the inner yearning to proclaim ourselves and to experience the something more of life takes on new meaning as we accept our role as capstones of God's creative power. Our identity lies in imaging the Father and in nurturing that which his loving touch has brought forth. No longer is our personal worth determined by social and cultural norms; on the contrary, our individual worth is affirmed by our link with the transcendent God who created us and gave us dominion. Love has shared Itself. We have been made in his image. "Before you were born, 1 called you by name," The mystery at the heart of each of us makes sense and finds fulfillment only in relation to the Mystery at the heart of creation. ~ Becker, p. 90. Towards Mutuality in Ministry Sally Kenel, D. W. Sister Sally serves in the pastoral ministry of St. Mary, Gate of Heaven Parish. She resides at 85-28 Forest Parkway; Woodhaven, NY 11421. Which do you identify with more? A typewriter or a piece of paper? Santa's bag or a Christmas stocking? ~ These either/or questions attempt to indicate a basic tension that exists in identifying oneself as either a "giver" or a "receiver." We religious engaged in ministry probably tend toward the giver option. It is true that mfnistry requires service, but a forced choice between giver and receiver can set up a dualistic I-as-opposed-to-you dynamic. This dynamic, in turn, can be d block to the growth of the minister. Much of our training in religious life has reinforced the notion that "it is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Evidence of our working out of this framework can be found in such everyday responses to people as, "What can 1 do for you?" Immediately, the giver/receiver dualism is established. It is my contention that it is blessed to give and to receive; that the clear cut distinction between giver and receiver does not exist in reality; that there can be, indeed must be, mutuality in ministerial relationships. Since this belief was brought home to me in my ministry with the elderly, reflection on this concrete experience is what will give shape to much of this article. However, mutuality in ministerial relationships can exist between people of different ages, backgrounds, sexes, and so forth. In fact, all our relationships offer the possibility of blurring the lines that separate us, plunging us into that unity of all things in Christ. At first cons'ideration, the elderly may seem an. unlikely group to demonstrate that mutuality in ministry is possible. Often, our culture tends to focus only on the losses and depreciation of old age. Economically, in terms of the relationship Of expenditure to production, the aged person is viewed as Acts 20:35 346 Towards Mutuality in Ministry / 347 a liability. From the viewpoint of the dominant values of medicine, the process of human aging is considered to be totally negative. Moreover, the experiences of many people attest to the losses of aging: loss of income, loss of role, loss of status, loss of affection, loss of competency, loss of power-- to name a few.2 .Certainly, the elderly seem to be a group with serious needs, and meeting these needs can become an all encompassing task. However, to look only at the negative aspects of aging and to focus solely on the needs of the aged, starts us ministers on the road to that dualistic l-as-opposed- tozyou mentality. If mutuality is to be a possibility, we must get beyond the needs to the person. As we meet the person, it is my experience that we will find that revelation continues to take place, that we can receive. "What we like best about your visits, Sally, is that they help us to remember." This comment of one of our parishioners personalized what Becker describes as the special function of the pastoral minister, that is . to "bring up to date," so to speak, the treasury of accepting relationships in the life of the older person. The personal relationships which the pastor activates in the contem-porary history of the elderly will help them to "remember" (anamnesis) the past mercies of God, the past loving, unconditional acceptance of family, friends and members of the household of faith (hopefully)? ~ Becker goes on to indicate that this remembering is biblical in nature. It takes on the import that it has in the Scriptures especially in the Old Testament where "remembering was understood not merely in the sense of recall, but in the sense of reliving, reactualizing by recollection.'" Thus, in listening to the story of a~person's life, often we hear an individualized, unique version of salvation history; a testimony tothe action of God i'n the life of that person. ~ Nouwen says that the "great vocation of the minister is to continuously make connections between the human story and the divine story.''~ Several of the elderly people with whom I have had contact have made,these connections themselves during the course of their lives. From them 1 have learned much about their individual lives, much about the mystery of life, and much about the God who informs all our lives. From them, too, I have learned much about m~own humanity and my identity as a religious. That I would learn about the htiman condition 'from the elderly did not surprise me; in fact, 1 expected to learn from those who had experienced so much more of life~ However, 1 was unprepared for the fact that the lives of the elderly would have so much to say about religious,life, Yet, aging thrusts a person into new relationships with poverty, 10helines~ and oppression, the very conditions to which the vows speak. Thus,. 1 found that the elderly stand with us religious in witnessing to 2 Evelyn E. Whitehead, "Religious Images of Aging", in Aging and the Elderly, Spicker et al., eds., p. 37. ~ ~ Arthur H. Becker, "Judgment~and Grace in the Aging Process", Pastoral Psychology, XXVII (Spring 1979), p. 188. ' Ibid., p. 188. ~ Henri J. M. Nouwen, The Living Reminder (New York: Seabury Press, 1977), p. 24. 3411 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 common values. Let us explore this a little more deeply. According to Johannes Metz: Poverty as an evangelical virtue is a protest against the tyranny of having, of possessing and of pure self-assertion. It impels those practicing it into practical solidarity with those poor whose poverty is not a matter of virtue, bui is their condition of life and the situa-tion exacted of them by society.6 Actually, many middle-class people are impelled into practical solidarity with the poor by old age. Living on a fixed income in our inflation-ridden society does not allow some elderly people even modest comforts. For these, poverty is a new experience which can either be creative or devastating. It is creative for those who, during the course of their lives, have realized that the quality of a person's life is not determined by possessions or achievements. On the other hand, if a person's life has been completely caught up in amassing more money and possessions, the poverty that old age brings will be devastating. Those who deal with their new poverty in a creative way have much to say to those of us who accept poverty willingly. These people demonstrate how poverty can open the heart to surprise, wonder and delight in the simple things of life. Consider, eighty-nine-year-old Bernie whose eyes sparkled as she showed me a jar of grape jelly, the gift of her granddaughter. The jar of jelly represented much more than a welcome addition to her diet; it told her that she was loved and remembered. To Bernie, it was a confirmation of the goodness of people, and ultimately, the goodness of God. Faced with this sincere gratitude for such a little thing, I find myself becoming more'and more aware of the many gifts I have been given. Material possessions fade in mean-ing next to such gifts as good health, friends, and joy in living. It is with people such as Bernie that we religious can grow "to recognize, even celebrate, a deeper truth-- that no one ever earns his way, that life's meaning is more a gift than a reward.'" However, while appre~:iating the qualities such as gratitude which the elderly manifest, we must not lose sight of the poverty in which' they are rooted. This poverty is real. It is the kind of poverty that makes three meals a day a luxury and has the elderly counting out their last bit of change in the supermarket. It is the kind of poverty that keeps the house cold all winter long because utility costs are skyrocketing. It is the kind of poverty that isolates because traveling is impossible and a telephone is beyond their means. In short, it is the kind of poverty that invades one's very being; If we allow ourselves to see poor people like these, to meet them and to be touched by them, 1 believe that we religious will be challenged. What the outcome will be in terms of living out poverty will be up to each of us. But the elderly will have ministered to us, repeating the words of Christ: "There is one thing more you must do. Go and sell what you have and give to the poor; yow will have 6 Johannes B. Metz, Followers of Christ (New York: Paulist Press, 1978), p. 49. ' Whitehead, op. cir., p. 45. ~ Towards Mutuality in Ministry treasure in heaven. After that, come and follow me.''8 Metz goes on to define celibacy:. . celibacy as an evangelical virtue is the expression of an insatiable longing for the day of the Lord. it impels toward solidarity with those unmarried people whosecelibacy (that is to say loneliness; that is to say not having anyone) is not a virtue but their social destiny, and towards those who are shut up in lack of expectation and in resignation.9 ~' Along with poverty, old age often brings a new form of loneliness. Distance from family and friends becomes a foe too formidable for the decreasing energy of the elderly to overcome. Opportunities for making new friends are often more severely limited than before. Ultimately, death itself provides the final separation. With the realization that much more of one's life lies in the past than in the future, loneliness can assume new proportions. Only when they are older do some ~people seem to realize how lonely their lives have been. John, a single adult of seventy-six, admits that now he is fascinated by children. He loves to be with them, to talk with them, to play with them, to watch them. He claims that in his younger days I~e never reflected on what it would mean to "live on" through children. Now, he sees this as a definite lack in his life, a choice that he drifted into rather than con-sciously made. Loneliness has made him a~are of his lack of responsibility for his life and he regrets what might have been. However, his new awareness of the fact that life is meant to be lived with and for others has led him into caring for his older sister who is handicapped. Thus, loneliness for John, has led not to resignation but to service. Our loneliness which results from our celibate way of life can lead to ser-vice also. However, this is different from using ministry to neutralize one's loneliness. Just as John has moved from the experience of loneliness to that of being with and for another, so too, must we religious come in touch with our loneliness in order that we may capture its implications for service. For some people, the lonelines~ of old age is a new experience, one which can make them more vulnerable. Consider eighty-nine year old Bill who, in the nice weather, spends most of his time enjoying the warmth of the sun in front of his house. One day he was approached by a well-dressed man who claimed to be a friend of his son. After some pleasant conversation, Bill in- ViCed him into his home where the man proceeded to rob him. Bill's hurt and outr,age stemmed not so much from the loss of mbney but from the fact that "he came as a friend, but in reality was a crook." Yet, Bill was willing to risk again. He opened his door to me, another stranger, and invited me to share a part of his life. For him, loneliness helped to keep alive the hope that relation-ships are possible. This willingness to risk is an important quality for us religious to cultivate. What is the point oi" celibacy if we surround ourselves with people who protect us from meeting strangers? Our celibacy demands that we also be open to Mark 10:21. Metz, op. cir., p, 60. ~150 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 others in ways that manifest the hope that relationships are possible. Such openness calls for risks, and the elderly who often have been separated from their life-long companions can show us how to take such risks. The loneliness of the elderly, which is accentuated by a new awareness of death, can lead them to greater depths of faith and hope. If the, lives of the elderly tell us that relationships with people are possible, so too do they announce the reality 6f ~ relationship with God. Moreover, this relation.ship with God is not merely limited to the present, but has eternal dimensions as well. The elderly 1 have come in contact with have revealed a variety of ways of relating to the Lord in prayer. For some, recitation of formal prayers like the rosary is very comforting. Others have discovered fgrms of contemplative prayer. One woman, unable to leave her home, said tl~at at first she missed attending church, but then came to the conviction that the whole worldis a cathedral and that God is truly present everywhere. She looks forward to experiencing this presence in a new way after death. For me, her faith~an~d hope serve as a reminder of Jesus' words: "I am the resurrection. If, anyone believes in me, even though he dies he will live, and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'''° It is in union with people such as these that our "longing for the day of the Lord" takes on corporate dimensions. It is in union with people such as these that we religious can break out of our own "lack of expectation and resigna'- tion." It is in union with people such as these that we religious can penetrate into the true meaning and value of our celibacy. Finally, Metz defines the ex~angelical virtue of obedience as: the radical and uncalculated surrender of one's life to God the Father who raises up and liberates. It impels one to stand close to those for whom obedience is not a matter of virtue, but the sign of oppression and of being placed in tutelage, and to do this in a prac-tical way.'t Growing older changes relationships, and often the elderly find themselves the victimsof oppression. A well-meaning son or daughter becomes convinced that the aged parent cannot live alone, and forces a move either to a relative's home or to a nursing home. An irate landlord, angered by the low rent an elderly person pays, refuses to make needed repairs. Doctors who refuse to make house calls make more frequent hospital stays necessary. The violent who prey uppn frail older persons can turn a routine trip to the bank in.:io a traumatic experience, and cause a person to live locked at home in fear. It is much the way Jesus put it to Peter: "When you were young you put on your own beet and walked where you liked; but when you grow old you will stretch out your hands, and somebody else will put a belt around you and take you where you would rather not go.'''2 Recently, I received a phone call from a woman whose children and grand- John I 1:25-26. Metz, op. cit., p. 67. John 21:18. Towards Mutuality in Ministry / 351 children were trying to move her to another state to be with them. "Please, please save me from their clutches." Her cry touched me deeply. Several days later I visited her. The pain of moving, the pain of leaving what had been home for forty-five years, the pain of separating from friends and neighbors, the pain of uncertainty about the future, were all still .there. However, something else was there, too. "They want me to move because they love me, and so I am going," she told me. Love was able to penetrate through her pain and make surrender a positive action. It is from this woman that 1 have learned much about "letting go," a characteristic so necessary for obedience. This attitude does not act as a sedativ~ for the pain that can result from having our desires and plans thwarted. It is not a withdrawal from life, a giving up because we cannot have what we want. Rather, it involves an active acceptance of what is, embracing the pain along with the joy. "Letting go" calls for seeing things in true perspective without the warping that our own fears and prejudices can bring to a situation. When we cannot let go of something it is usually because we wish that it were other than it is. We hold on to a relationship after its vitality is gone, wishing that it could return to its former intimacy. We insist on our way of ministering to others, wishing that their needs matched our own gifts a little more closely. We hold on to our anger and hurts, savoring them, but wishing that we were not so fragile and vulnerable. And yet, the wishing changes nothing. Our former friend moves out of our life. The ways in which we are asked to serve are often not what we would choose. We remain vulnerable people. It is in the difficulties that We experience in "letting go" that we religious are most closely united to those subject to oppression. Neither situation is easily remedied; both requi~e struggle. Yet the struggle itself is not sufficient to achieve liberation. This remains the gift of God. "If the Son makes you free you will be free indeed.'''~ And so, while we continue to struggle, we learn from others that the love which makes surrender possible is available to us. The elderly can teach us that liberation is a real possibility. In conclusion, as I have~ been ministering to the elderly, they in turn have ministered to me in a variety of ways. They have helped to bring about a new awareness and sensitivity in my ministry. I have become more conscious of the mutuality, in relationships, more apprec~ia~ive of the role of others in my life. "Giver" and "receiver" no longer seem like isolated, opposed ways of being. In fact, I understand to a greater degree how "it is in giving that we receive." This understanding helps me to approach others with more'humility and respect. No matter in what ways I minister to others, I am aware that they also are ministering to me. Mutuality in ministerial relationships offers oppor-tunities for growth that few of us, if any, can afford to pass by. John 8:36. Come and See: The "Cottage Program" M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O. Father Pennington's last article, "The Vocation of the 'Vocation Father,' "appeared in the May, 1979 issue. He continues to be "Vocation Father" at St. Joseph's Abbey; Spencer, MA 01562. The "Cottage Program" is an instrument of our cooperation in the mystery of the genesis of a vocation that I wanted to share with you through these pages. In our times, as it had been in the eleventh or in the fourth century, or in the time of Christ himself, serious-minded young men and women seek a teacher, a guide, a master-- someone who could give a fuller meaning to their lives. Andrew and John had traveled south, taking time off from their work. They had heard tell of a teacher, a prophetic man of God, on the banks of the Jordan, and joined the stream of seekers heading in that direction. They listened, they learned, they understood--perhaps more deeply than most, because, when the teacher pointed to another, they followed him. And he asked them: "What do you seek?" Ultimately,. that is the question the Lord addresses to each one of us. And the answer we give is the most significant decision of our lives, the decision that, consciously or unconsciously, decides all else that we do. If we listen to the deepest ye~arning of our hearts, we, too, will respond, "Master, where do you dwell?" Master!. Yes. Be our master, our teacher, our guide, and let us abide with you, wherever that may be for us. And he replies, "Come and see!" It is when we experience this presence of God, speaking to our deepest hearts, that we know we have found our Master, our Way, our Life. Some years ago I was in Rome taking part in a vocation conference sponsored by the Sacred Congregation for Religious. There were brothers and 352 Come and See: The "'Cottage Program" / 353 sisters, priests and lay religious from many nations taking part in the conference. One of the modern features of this conference was that each par-ticipant was :free to speak in his or her own language. One evening in the course of the program we had a question box. Archbishop Paul Philippe, the Secretary of the Congregation, was presiding, reading out the questions found in the box, and inviting answers from the floor. "Now, here is an interesting question," he said. "How do you get across to a young person the idea of the contemplative life?" A little priest from Brazil, a Salesian with an Irish name like McHale, jumped up. In rapid-fire Portuguese he explained that the only way one can convey to a person the nature and meaning of the contemplative life is to bring him or her into con-tact with it, and let him or her discover its meaning, l think Father was right. And I believe that is equally true of any way of religious life or anylife of a transcendent nature. "Come and see." That is the thinking behind theCottage Progr.am. There is on the property of St. Joseph's Abbey (near Spencer, Massachusetts) a small stone house with six rooms in all. It was built in the 1920's, hut the lodge-like living room boasts beams over two-hundred years old, taken from a barn that stood in the days of Ethan ~llen, the onetime owner of the property. The kitchen and dining-room have been converted into bedrooms. The garage is now a chapel, dedicated to St. John the Baptist, the 'first vocation director. In an icon over the altar he points to Christ in the tabernacle. Standing in the shadow of the recently built abbey, the cottage offers young men interested in monastic life the opportunity to "come and see." It is usually full, and at times more than full ("full" means five men, but the rooms can accommodate two, and there is also the attic. There is always room for one more!). Those staying at the cottage follow very much the same schedule as the monks. They' form a little community of their own, so they won't feel strange or lost in the large monastic community, but they do join the monks for the Office, the Eucharist and work. The men are welcome to come for a day, a weekend, a week, or sometimes even 'longer-- whatever seems good for them. They are encouraged to think of the cottage as their home--a sort of spiritual home base. They may come whenever they wish. To date, no one has abused this open hospitality. The first visit is usually preceded by some reading about life .in the monastery. Each evening the candidates (or "cottagers," as they are sometimes called) gather around the great stone hearth for a colloquium or a conference with the Vocation Father, where they can learn of the wisdom and ways of the monks and have their questions answered. In the course of his visit, each young man is given practical instructions on how to do spiritual or faith reading and how to meditate. If he already has a method of meditation which has proved fruitful for him, he is encouraged to continue in it. If it is one learned from an Eastern master, he is helped to see how to place it in a Christian framework so as to open it to the Spirit, to faith, 354 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 and to love, so that it can truly be prayer. Before he leaves, the candidate is asked to formulate his own rule of life and to go over it with the Vocation Father. Our method for this is simple: After reflecting prayerfully on l Corin-thians 2, the candidate takes four sheets of paper. On the first; he tries to ex-press as succintly as he can the present goals of his life as he sees them. On the second, he lists as fully as possible the things he has to do to attain these goals. On the third, he lists the things he sees have been preventing him from moving toward his objectives. And, finally, on the fourth, he formulates a daily pro-gram for himself, and also a weekly and monthly schedt~ie of particulai: events.* This gives the candidate a concrete, practical support for bringing into his everyday life something of what he has learned and experienced as he shared the monks' life accordin.g to their Rule. Such an experience helps the young man to recognize and foster' the grace of vocation he is receiving. In some chses, it may be a long time before an individual can enter the monastic community. The qottage, though, already gives him a sense that in some way he already belongs, that he has his place in the monastery and a'spiritual father who cares for him. In some cases, the cottage experience puts the young man in touch with the contemplative dimen-sion of his life and shows him how to develop it, even as he moves on to some other vocation. It is not as easy for active religious communities to provide a Cottage Program as it is for monastic communities whose life is centered in a stable fashion in one place. But it is not impossible, and I think it can be, in some way or form, very useful. Let me suggest what I think could be an ideal form for an active religious institute. Obviously, the ideal always has to be adapted as it finds its ieal incarnations. It has been my experience over the years that there are a significant number of active religious who feel the call to a more contemplative form of life, either on a temporary or a permanent basis. It seems sad that they must, in most cases, think of going outside their own communities to realize this. :Far better would it be I think, if, ea~:h province or congregation had its own contem-plative house or house of prayer. Here a core group of members, committed for varying periods of time, could live the spiritual dimension of the particular charism of the community in a fuller way, and devote time.to a deeper study of the institute's proper ~:harism. It would be a place where the other members of the community could come, for days of recollection or longer retreats, to get more deeply in touch with their shared charism, their own deepest spirit. Such a house of prayer or contemplative center would, of cours~e, form a very precious and enriching adjunct for the novitiate and house of formation. It could also greatly encourage and inspire the retirement community as the seni6r members live out their life commitment in a more c0nte.mplative way. Here, though, I am thinking of such a house as a context within which the o *For a fuller treatment of this method, see°the Epilogue of my book, Daily We Touch Hhn. Come and See: The "'Cottage Program'" / 355 vocation father or mother could offer the ministry of hospitality. The aspirants would be able to perceive in the core group,a good expression of the spiritual and communal aspects of the life of that community. It is precisely an attraction to these aspects that often leads ~ oung men and women to explore the possibility of living out their commitment to Christ and his Body in a religious community. There would always be a group of professed religiou~ there with whom the candidates could pray and work. These would normally be members more reflectively conscious of the charism of their community, of their own participation in the grace of the founder. And so they would be able to help the aspirants to identify the grace stirring in their own hearts. Such an arrangement-- a vocation program within the context of a house of prayer or contemplative center--will not always be possible, or even desirable in some cases. Another alternative for a Cottage Program would be the house of formation or novitiate, if the vocation father or mother could find a bit of space there; a few rooms, for the candidates and themselves, and a common room are enough. The formation team could be the "stable com-munity" providing the lived experience for the aspirants. And these young men or women could readily identify with the young people in the formation or novitiate program. Whatever the arrangements, the ingredients that seem to contribute to the makimal success of such a program are:" 1. The presence of a professed community which obviously lives the spiritual aspects of the vocation., though thi~ does not exclude involvement in active .apostolates. 2. Access to the younger members of the community who have recently embarked on this life and with whom the candidates can easily identify. 3. A vocation father/mother willing and able to function as a spiritual father/mother, to instruct in the spiritual arts, to pray with the candidates, and to pray for them. 4. Practical instruction in spiritual reading, meditation (we usually use Centering Prayer), and the art of receiving spiritual guidance. Merton's little book, Spiritual Direction and MeditatiOn, published by Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, is good for this. 5. A rule of life. 6. An open and welcoming hospitality. We have found that frequently candidates tell others of their experience at the cottage and are eager to have them share ira this program. This has added to the almost geometric increase of caffdidates we have experienced since we have inauguratedthe Cottage Program. There are many other programs underway~in different religious orders and congregations, which include~ one or othi~r of the aspects of the Cottage Program. I do not propose this program as the only way or the best way, but simply share it as one way, a way that has worked very well for us. I believe it 356 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 has been not only successful in fostering vocations for our own community (we have seventeen in the novitiate at the moment), butin making a contribu-tion to other religious communities, and to the Church at large. This year more than three hundred fifty have stayed at the cottage. All have found it a beneficial experience. Each learned at least a little more~ about prayer; about community, about Christ our Lord and his great love for each one of us. Such fruit makes a Cottage Program more than worthwhile. Now Available As A Reprint Celibate Genitality by William F. Kra[t Price: $.50 per copy, plus postage. " Address: Review for Religious Am 428 3601 Llndell Blvd. St. Louis, Missouri 63108 Vocations: Identity and Commitment M. Marceiline Falk, C.PP.S. Sister Marcelline teaches at Bishop DuBourg High School; 5850 Eichelberger; St. Louis, MO 63109. Clearly we are living in times of crises. There are financial and political crises that make the front pages of our daily papers and evening newscasts. But there is another crisis, one that is becoming, or should be, of great interest and concern to those who love the Church of.Christ: that is the crisis of voca-tions to women's religious communities. " For centuries women religious, by their consecrated lives and devoted labors have fulfilled an important mission in the Church. Will they be able to continue that mission? Only if they are able to maintain their membership in sufficient numbers to continue in existence and so perform the apostolic ser-vices that the Church has entrusted to them. The severe drop in the number of vocations to women's religious com-munities is well-known. It is interesting to observe that both the sudden drop in religious vocations and the massive exodus of religious women engaged in active apostolates occurred at the same time that many communities were discarding religious habits, leaving earlier apostolates for other forms of ser-vice, and adopting life-styles more nearly !ike those of their secular counter-parts. Is there a causal relationship or at least a significant correlation between these concurrent phenomena? Are commitment to a specific apostolate and a readily perceived identity important factors in the viability of religious com-munities, as they are in other groups and organizations? Does a distin-guishable garb help to build an identity, promote a visibility which encourages vocations, make known that a religious woman is somehow different? Does a specific apostolic commitment attract the generosity of young women? Are 357 358 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 external life-style practices related to the number of vocations that a religious community can expect? If the answer to these questions is "Yes" then perhaps this will be instructive in our efforts to reverse the trend of too few vocations. In an attempt to find answers to the above questions, to ascertain the percentage of youthful members' in communities, and to establish a possible correlation between youthful membership and some readily observable life-style characteristics, 1 conducted a survey during the spring and summer of 1978. The results of this survey indicate that, indeed, the answer to these ques-tions is in the affirmative~ The results clearly show that religious communities which have kept a readily identifiable religious habit, however modified, and which engage in well-defined community apostolates do have more vocations. Many have adopted modified habits, but they are still readily identifiable as religious women~ Further, the term, "a definite community apostolate," need not preclude other works of charity being undertaken by the community in response to real need, when the work is not contrary to the spirit of the com-munity, and does not detract from the primary apostolate. The following questionnaire was sent only to major superiors of 300 active religious communities.2 The names were selected in a random manner from approximately 800 listed in the 1975 Catholic Directory. Responses were received from 223 or 74°70 of the sample. Of these, two were incomplete. The questionnaire used follows: Survey on Religious Life-style Practices A. 1. Nameofcongregation (or province) 2. Number of final professed sisters " 3. N~mber of sisters in temporary commitment 4. Number of novices of postulants 5. Number of other types of formation (pleasespecify) B. Policy of Congregation in regard to the following: 1. Is there a (superior, coordinator, Yes.____, No___. 2. 3. 4. .) in charge in each local house? Is this person elected , appointed ., other Other types of local government Are personnel appointments made a) __ by direct appointment.'?, ~. b) __ by choice of individual? c) __ by assignmer~t after consultation with the sister d) __ other (specify) Does your congregation have a definite commitment to a specific apostolate in the Church? Yes , No ? What is/are the principal apostolate(s) your sisters serve? Does your congregation have an official, d~stmctive habit? Yes " , No~__. ' Youthful membership includes sisters in temporary profession or promises and novices. Total membership includes final professed, temporary professed and novices. 2 Very small communities and contemplative communities were not included. Vocations: Identity and Commitment / 359 8. Does your congregation permit the use of secular dress? Yes~, No__. a) At the sister's own discretion? b) With thepermission of the major superior? c) Other (please specify) 9: Do the sisters have the use of a personal bridget? Yes~, No~. a) Is there a fixed amount? b) For what purpose may this budget be used? The questions in Part A we~:e used to provide information about the number of religious, and to determine the percentage of youthful membership in the congregations surveyed. The percentage of youthful membership can be used as an indicator of viability or numerical stability. Data from questions in l~art A were analyzed, and results are given in the following table. Com-munities were divided into nine groups, according to the percent of youthful members: Table I Group 07o Youthful Members No. of Communities % of Total Sample I Over 10% 18 8.1 o10 11 9.9-6.00/o 19 8.6°1o 111 5.9-4.507o ' 23 10.4070 IV 4.4-3.5070. " 28 12.6070 V 3.4,2.0070 29 13.1 070 VI 2.4-2.0% 29 13.107o VII 1.9-1.5°/0 23 10.40/o VIII 1.4-1.00/o 27 12.2% IX Less than 1 070 25 I 1.3% Let us assume that an average of about 10%0 of young members will allow a religious institute to maintain its membership,3 and that about five years elapse between entrance into the novitiate and final profession. This would mean that an average yearly entrance rate of about 2% would be required to maintain a numerically stable community.' If we accept this percentage of new members as necessary for the maintenance of numerical stability in the community, it takes into account an expected loss of 2% due to death or departures. Communities, then, which can categorize 10% of their population as "young," and which also have an influx of new members at the rate of 2% per year, would have a numerically stable, or even increasing membership. If a community can only describe 5% of its membership as young, this would indicate that it has been receiving new members at a rate of about 1%. A youthful population of 2% would suggest admissions at the rate of 0.4% annually. In each of these instances, given the typical 2% proportion of change due to death and departure, losses to the total membership would be statistically predictable: 1% and 1.6% respectively. The same predictability ' "Religious in the World (Statistics up to Dec. 31, 1974)," Consecrated Life I, No. 1 (1977). ' For example, a community of 500 would need an average of ten new members per year to main-tain a stable membership. 360 / Review for Religious, l/olume 39, 1980/3 would pertain to each of the nine categories of communities in our sampling. On the basis of these calculations, Group I would be expe.cted to maintain or increase its total membership. Communities in Groups II find IlI could be expected to have progressively slightly reduced membership. If the present trend continues for groups IV, V, and VI, their membership would probably be halved in three to five decades, while those in Groups VII, VII1 and IX might well cease to exist in about three decades. Obviously these calculations are premised on present trends. Factors, however, coulffchange in the future, and this could retard the fulfillment of these predictions-- or accelerate them. Part B of the questionnaire is concerned with som~ external, behavioral characteristics. The characteristics chosen are different from those usually associated with ~ecular life-styles, and traditionally have been common characteristics among active communities of religious women. Numbers one and two have to do with community governance. Numbers three through six are concerned with apostolate and personnel assignment. Numbers seven and eight deal with the matter of religious habit, and nine, with the question of personal budget. In each of thes~ areas, change became evident after the Second Vatican Council. One of the purposes of the survey was to explore the possibility that these changes had an influence on the incidence of vocations to the respective communities. To this end, the number and percentages of communities which evidenced a particular characteristic were tabulated, and compared against the percent-age of young members each community enjoyed. My fullest hopes in pursuing this investigation were not realized. Nothing could be concluded about postulants, or persons in other types of formation. Responses to questions 2 and 3B, concerning local governance, proved ambiguous, and indications concerning amounts and usages in the matter of personal budgets were too varied to admit of interpretation. Therefore, for purposes of our study, only Part A and questions 1, 4, 7, 8 and 9 of Part B proved useful for our analysis. In the tables which follow, the responses to the various items are grouped on the basis of .the proportion of youthful me.rnbers, i.e., on the basis of how those communities have succeeded in draw-ing new members to join them. Table 2 Percent of Communities With a Person in Charge at the Local Level Number in Group % of Group 10070 15 out of 18 83.3%0 9.9-6.007° 16 out of 19 84:2°/0 5.9-4.5070 18 out of 23 78.3070 4.4-3.5070 20 out of 28 71.4%0 3.4-2.5% 17 out of 29 58.4% 2.4-2.0% 18 out of 29 62.1% 1.9-1.5o/0 17 out of 23 73.9°70 1.4-1.0% 15 out of 27 55.6% Less than I% 21 out of 25 84.0% :Vocation~: Identity and Commitment / 361 Table 3 Percent of Communities with Personnel Placement After Consultation Number in Group °/o of Group 10% 16 out of 18 88.9% 9.9-&0%o 16 out of 19 84.2070 5.9-4.5°7o 17 out of 23 73.9°/o 4.4-3.5¢/0 24 out of 28 85.7%0 3:4-2.5%0 18 out of 29 62.1°/0 2.4-2.0%o 24 out of 29 82.8% 1.9-1.5%0 14 out of 23 60.9% 1.4-1.0% 20 outof 27 70.1% Less than 1% 20 out of 25 80.0% Table 4 Percent of Communities With Specific Community Apostolic Service Number in Group a/o of Group 10% 15 out of 18 83.3% 9.9-6.0% 16 out of 19 84.2% 5.9-4.5% 19 out of 23 82.6% 4.4-3.5% 23 out of 28 82. 1% 3.4-2.5% i4 out of 29 48.3% 2.4-2.0% 15 out of 29 51.7% 1.9-1.5% 14 out of 23 60.9% 1.4-1.0% 12 out of 27 44.4% Less than 1% 12 out of 25 48.0% Table 5 Percent of Communities with a Distinctive Habit Number in Group °/o of Group 10% 16 out of 18 88.9% 9.9-6.0% 15 out of 19 80~0% 5.9-4.5% 13 OUt of 23 56.5% 4.4-3.5% 23 out of 28 82.1% 3.4-2.5% 14 out of 29 48.3% 2.4-2.0% 14 out of 29 48.3% 1.9-1.5% 11 out of 23 47.8% 1.4-1.0% 8 out of 27 29.6% 1.0% 13 out of 25 52.0% Table 6 Percent of Communities Permitting Secular Dress at Sister's own Discretion Number in Group ~o of Group 10% 2 out of 18 I1.1% 9.9-6.0% 4 out of 19 21.0% 5.9-4.5%0 6 out of 23 26.1% 4.4-3.5% 9 out of 28 32.1% 3.4-2.5% 15 out of 29 51.7% 2.4-2.0% 17 out of 29 58.6% 1.9-1.5% 15 out of 23 65.2% 1.4-1.0% 19 out of 27 70.4% 1.0% 17 out of 25 68.0% 362 / Review for Religious, 'Volume 39, 1980/3 Table 7 Percent of Communities Using a Personal Budget Number in Group % of Group 10% 5 out of 18 27.8%0 9.9-6.0% 10 out of 19 52.6%o 5.9-4.5% 16 out of 23 69.6%0 4.4-3.5%o 22 out of 28 78.6%0 3.4-2.5% 27 outof 29 93.1% 2.4-2.0% 28 out of 29 96.6% 1.9-1.5% 20out of 23 ¯ 87.0% 1.4-1.0% 26 out of 27 96.3% 1.0% 25 out of 25 100.0% These tables indicate that the characteristics of a specific community apostolate and a distinctive habit do have a strong influence on the number of youthful members, and therefore, on the number of vocations to a com-munity. To test the degree of relationship between the given characteristic and the percent of youthful membership, a statistical analysis of the data given in the previous tables was made. The usual instruments of the Spearmann cor-relation coefficients and significance tests were used to demonstrate statistical correlation between the percentage of youthful members and .the various characteristics with the following results,~ The correlation between youthful membership and the characteristic of having "a person in charge at the local level" did not show any 'appreciable significance. The correlation was 38.33.07o with a corresponding significance of ¯ 154. This is evident from the data, which do not show much variation. Most communities reported a person in charge. Answers to the questionnaire on this point were frequently qualified by such statements as: "Yes, but not in smaller houses," or: "No, except in the larger houses." The correlation between youthful membership and the use of a personal budget is even less, at -31.67070, having a significance of .203. The negative correlation indicates that there is some slight decrease in the use of the budget as the percentage of youthful members increases. Again, although most com-munities indicated the use of a personal budget, the amount and kinds of restrictions on its use varied from very small amounts for the purchase of small, personal items to large amounts with practically unrestricted use. It was interesting to note that the use of th.e personal budget was least evident among communities which did not permit secular dress. Personnel placement after consultation with sisters shows a somewhat higher correlation, of 60.0°70, and a significance of .044. Possibly there is a ~ Spearmann correlation percentages, based on O- 100%, measure the tendency of two variable~ to vary ~together, that is to show a relationship to each other. Significance tests decide whether dif-ferences between values obtained from the samples and theoretical expeclations could be due to chance. A low significance factor indicates that the relationship studied could not be due to chance. Vocations: Identity and Commitment / 363 relationship between community apostolate and the placement of personnel in areas of community commitment. Of significance is the very high correlation between the number of young members and the existence of a specific community apostolate (90.0°7o and a significance of .001). This strongly suggests that a community commitment to a specific service in the Church has a strong influence on vocations. Such apostolic services were not necessarily limited to only one area of the apostolate. Many communities, in fact, indicated a wide range of apostolic services. But they were community apostolates, and not left to individual choice. A distinctive religious habit is also a significant factor in the number of youthful religious in a community. In this case, the correlation percent is 77.8070, with a significance factor of .007. The most highly significant correlation was the inverse ratio between the number of youthful members and the use of secular clothes at the sister's own discretion. Here a-98.33070 correlation coefficient, and a significance of .001 clearly indicate the negative influence of this characteristic on vocations.6 Ap-parently commun~ities having an open option for secular clothes fail to attract many young women. The characteristics analyzed in this study cannot be the only ones which in-fluence the number of vocations, and so affect the numerical stability of a religious community. Neither are they necessarily a measure of the internal fervor, or of the importance of a particular community's contribution to the Church and the People of God. Other aspects, such as the quality ofcom-munity prayer life, the kind of apostolate, the geographic location,ethnic origin, time of founding--as well as many other intangibles, such as com-munity spirit, understanding of the vows, and other internal characteris-tics- will certainly also have an effect on the overall picture. However, the statistical analysis of the data obtained in the questionnaire does clearly indicate that, generally, communities with a specific and well-defined apostolate, and those which retain the visible sign of the habit do have a significantly greater number of young members. Apparently these two fac- . tors do, in large measure, provide the initial visibility, the instant recognition of "Who We Are," and "What We Do" that are capable of drawing new members to the communities that possess them. 6 The negative percent means that the use of secular dress has a strong adverse effect on religious vocations. 364 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 Since these characteristics, a reasonably specific apostolic service and a distinctive habit (or nonuse of secular clothes) does seem to show such a high significance, it might be interesting to apply the conclusions to a real community. I made an analysis of membership trends for one particular community. This community changed its apostolic thrust from education to an open-ended .apostolate, according to which its present policy is to permit new members to choose their own apostolic field of service. The use of secular dress was also left to the discretion of each sister. A comparison of the membership of this community between the years 1961 and 1978 shows the following:' Table 8 1961 1978 Nurfiber of Final Professed 513 458 Number in Temporary Vows 47 1 I Novices 48 3 Total Membership 608 472 In 1961, the youthful membership (novices and "juniors") was 95, or 15.6% of the total. In 1978, these numbered only 14, or 3% of the total membership. This represents a net los's of 136 sisters during this seventeen year period, a 22% loss. During this same period, 94 sisters died, and there were 80 new admissions. There were also over 100 departures. The major loss due to departures and a decline in admissions began in 1968, when the policies of individual choice of apostolic service and the use of secular dress became effective. At this time, a new formation program was introduced, placing a strong emphasis on self-fulfillment and promoting individual choice of apostolic service and of the mode of dressing. The median age in 1961 was about forty-eight years. In 1978, it had risen to about 63 years. In 1961, about half the community was professed less than twenty-five years. By 1978, half the community was professed for forty or more years. During the last ten years, since the new policies of self-choice in apostolic service and the use of secular dress went into effect, only fourteen sisters made first profession. Surely this would indicate that the rise in median age is rather due to a lack of new vocations, and of departures, than to a ¯ general rise in the median age of the population at large. Further, it is clear that the median age of this particular community is much too high for com-placency about the future. The following table shows the shift which took place in the median age of this community: ' The year 1961 was chosen as starting date because it was the last year before Vatican ll; 1978 is the latest date for which statistics were available. Vocations." Identity and Commitment / 365 Table 9 1961 1978 Number of Years Number of % Number of % of Professed Sisters Total Sisters Total More than 53 18 3.0 61 13.0 48-52 22 3.6 44 9.3 43-47 30 4.9 65 13.8 38-42 40 6.6 79 16.7 33-37 55 9.0 42 8.9 28-32 65 10.7 32 6.7 23-27 78 12.8 37 7.8 18-22 65 10.7 32 6.7 13-17 39 6.4 40 8.5 8-12 48 7.9 15 3.1 4- 7 54 8.9 8 1.7 3 or less (Including Novices) 95 15.0 14 3.0'- Prognostications from this table make it clear that if the trends continue, and are not somehow reversed, it will become increasingly difficult for this particular community to continue its service to the Church, that, indeed, it faces a struggle for survival in the not too distant future. The. decrease in religious vocations is a grave concern for the whole Church, as the following statement of Paul VI in an address to religious women indicates: ~ In truth, here again we have to" make a double observation that is not a happy one. Religious vocations, for women, too, are falling off; yet both the Church and secular society have a gro.wing need for these vocations. This is one of th~ problems of our time, for whose solution we must work and pray? The importance of identity and apostolic commitment in fostering voca-tions is stressed by Cardinal Pironio, Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for' Religious and Secular Institutes: In a serious study of consecrated life--particularly in evaluating certain attitudes and concrete activities--there is no doubt that many things would change if we responded with loyalty to this question: "What do Christ, the ecclesial community, and the world in which we live expect of us?" At any rate, there are three aspects in consecrated life which it would be well to emphasize: The Church expects religious to be faithful to their identi-ty, to their essential values, and to their evangelical relevance . Religious are, before all else, Christians, but they are religious in a way that is unmistakably distinct . Religious identity d0es not segregate religious from the rest of the members of the People of God, nor does it remove them from the world; on the contrary, it identifies them and involves them in the world with their own, unmistakable specificity . The loss of identity is one ~ Pope Paul VI, "New Horizons for Women Religious," address given to women religious on the feast of the Nativity of our Lady, 1964, Documents on Renewal for Religious, Daughters of St. Paul, 1974, p. 57. 366 / Review for Religious, Volume 39, 1980/3 of the causes today of the drop in vocations to consecrated life. When an institute's iden-tity disappears, or is jeopardized, it is only logical for young people to lose their en-thusiasm and become disoriented. Being faithful to one's self is therefore to take on a strong commitment with God and with men. it is the essence of our vocation, and of our consecration, and of our mission.~ I The words of our Holy Father, John Paul II, spoken to mothers general on November 16, 1978, just one month after his election, are particularly significant: And if your consecration to God is really such a deep reality, it is not unimportant to bear permanently its exterior sign which a simple and suitable habit constitutes; it is the means to remind yourse!ves constantly of your commitment which contrasts strongly with the spirit of the world; it is a silent, but eloquent testimony that our secularized world needs to find on its way, as many Christians, moreover, desire. 1 ask you to turh this over carefully in your minds. '° This study of external behavioral characteristics as related to vocations is an attempt to contribute to a serious study of possible causes for the evident decline in the number of religious vocations to active communities of women in the United States. While it is true that this is only part of the total picture, it is hoped that a spirit of openness would encourage communities to consider seriously the impact of these external behavior patterns on the perception of what religious life is all about. The interior spirit of a community is of the ut-most importance, but the external manifestation of that spirit of dedication, the willingness to be recognized by a religious habit and the having of a specific apostolic commitment to the service of Christ in the Church and the world is also important. These externals advertise for all to see: "We are religious! We do believe that our.being and our service are essential to our specifically religious witness." 9 Eduardo Cardinal Pironio, "Th~ Joy of Fidelity," Consecrated Life Ill No. ~, 1979. ,o Pope John Paul 11, "Be True Daughters~ of the Church, Not Orily in Words But in Deeds," Strain Forward, Vol. 12, No. 1, January 1979. How About a Semi-Sermon Sometime? M. Eucharista Ward, O.S.F. Sister Eucharista teaches at St. Ladislaus Higl~ School; 2697 Caniff Ave.; Hamtramck, M 148212. It was hard to imagine how God could add to a spiritual nurturing that for ten years had seemed almost the equivalent of hothouse conditi

Issue 32.3 of the Review for Religious, 1973. ; Review ]or Religious is edited by faculty members of the School of Divinity of St. Louis University, the editorial offices being located at 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. It is owned by the Missouri Province Educational Institute; St. Louis, Missouri. Published bimonthly and copy-right ~) 1973 by Review /or Reqgious. Composed, printed, and manufactured in U.S.A. Second class postage paid at St. Louis, Missouri. Single copies: $1.25. Sub-scription U.S.A. and Canada: $6.00 a year; $11.00 for two years; other countries, $7.00 a year, $13.00 for two years. Orders should indicate whether they are for new or renewal subscriptions and should be accompanied by check or money order payable to Review ]or Religious in U.S.A. currency only. Pay no money to persons claiming to represent Review ]or Religious. Change of address requests should include former address. R. F. Smith, S.J. Everett A. Diederich, S.J. Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Editor Associate Editor Questions and Answers Editor May 1973 Volume 32 Number 3 Renewals, new subscriptions, and changes of address should be sent to Review for Religious; P.O. Box 6070; Duluth, Minnesota 55802. Correspondence with the editor and the associate editor together with manuscripts, books for review, and materials for "Subject Bibliography for Religious" should be sent to Review for Religious; 612 Humboldt Building; 539 North Grand Boulevard; St. Louis, Missouri 63103. Questions for answering should be sent to Joseph F. Gallen, S.J.; St. Joseph's Church; 321 Willings Alley; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19106. The Anointing of the Sick Paul VI The following is an English translation of an apostolic constitution dated November 30 1972 but not made publicly available until January 18 1973. The constitution represents updated provisions for the administration of the sacrament of the anointing of the sick. Subtitles in the following have been added by the editor. The Catholic Church professes and teaches that the sacred anointing of the sick is one of the seven sacraments of the New Testament, that it was in-stituted by Christ, and that it is "alluded to in Mark (Mk 6: 13) and recom-mended and promulgated to the faithful by James the Apostle and brother of the Lord. "If any of you is ill," says James, "he should send for the elders of the Church, and they should anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord and pray over him. The prayer of faith will save the sick man and the Lord will raise him up again; and if he has committed any sins, he will be for-given (Js 5:14-5).1 Ancient Testimonies From ancient times testimonies of the anointing of the sick are found in the Church's tradition, particularly her liturgical one, both in the East and in the West. Especially worthy of note in this regard are two testimonies: The letter which Innocent I, our predecessor, addressed to Decentius, Bishop of GubbioZ; and the venerable prayer used for blessing the oil of the sick: "Send forth, O Lord, your.Holy Spirit the Paraclete," which was inserted 1Council of Trent, Session XIV, De extrema unctione, Chapter 1 (see also ibid., Canon 1): CT, VII, 1, 355-6; DS, 1695, 1716. ZThe letter Si instituta ecclesiastica, Chapter 8: PL 20, 559-61; DS 216. 465 466 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 into the Eucharistic prayer:~ and is still preserved in the Roman Pontifical? In the course of the centuries in the liturgical tradition the parts of the body of the sick person to be anointed with holy oil were more explicitly defined in different ways, and there were added various formulas to accom-pany the anointings with prayers which are contained in the liturgical books of the various Churches. During ~the Middle Ages there prevailed in the Roman Church the custom of anointing the sick on the five senses using the formula: "Per istam sanctam unctionem et suam piissimam misericordiam indulgeat tibi Dominus quidquid deliquisti" ["Through this holy anointing and His most loving mercy, may the Lord pardon whatever wrong you have committed"], followed by an adaptive addition for each sense.'~ Conciliar Teaching In addition, the doctrine concerning sacred anointing is expounded in the documents of the ecumenical councils, namely the Council of Florence and in particular the Council of Trent and the Second Vatican Council. After the Council of Florence had described the essential elements of the anointing of the sick,'~ the Council of Trent declared its divine institution and explained what is given in the Epistle of St. James concerning the sacred anointing, especially with regard to the reality and effects of the sacra-ment: "This reality is in fact the grace of the Holy Spirit whose anointing takes away sins, if any still remain to be taken away, and the remnants of sin; it also relieves and strengthens the soul of the sick person, arousing in him a great confidence in the divine mercy, whereby being thus sustained he more easily bears the trials and labors of his sickness, more easily resists the temptations of the devil 'lying in wait' (Gn 3: 15), .and sometimes re-gains bodily health, if this is expedient for the health of the soul.''~ The same Council also declared that in these words of the apostle it is stated with suffi-cient clarity that "this anointing is to be administered to the sick, especially :~Liber sacramentorum Romanae Ecclesiae ordinis amti circuli ed. L. C. Mohlberg, ~'Rerum ecclesiasticarum documenta, Fontes," IV, Rome, 1960, p. 61; Le Sacra-mentaire Gregorien ed. J. Deshusses, "Spicilegium Friburgense," v. 16, Fribourg, 1971, p. 172; and see La Tradition Apostolique de saint Hippolyte ed. B. Botte, "Liturgie-wissenschaftliche Quellen und Forschungen," v. 39, Miinster in W., 1963, pp. 18-9; Le Grand Euchologe du MonastOre Blanc ed. E. Lanne, Patrologia orientalis, v. XXVII1/2, Paris, 1958, pp. 392-5. 4See Pontificale Romanum: Ordo benedicendi oelum catechumenorum et infirmorum et conficiendi chrisma. Vatican City, 1971, pp. 11-2. '~See M. Andrieu, Le Pontifical Romain au Moyen-Age, v. 1, Le Pontifical Romain du Xlle siOcle, "Studi e testi," v. 86, Vatican City, 1938, pp. 267-8; v. 2, Le Pontifical de la Curie romaine au XIIle sikcle, "Studi e testi," v. 87, Vatican City, 1940, pp. 491-2. C'Decretum pro Armenis. G. Hofmann, Council of Florence, I/I1, p. 130; DS 1324f. ~Council of Trent, Sessio XIV, De extrema unctione, Chapter 2: CT, VII,. I, 356; DS 1696. The Anointing ol the Sick / 467 those who are in such a condition as to appear to have reached the end of their life, whence it is also called the sacrament of the dying.''s Finally, it declared that the priest is the proper minister of the sacrament.9 The Second Vatican Council adds the following: " 'Extreme Unction,' which may also and more fittingly be called 'anointing of the sick,' is not a sacrament for those only who are at the point of death. Hence, as soon as any one of the faithful begins to be in danger of death from sickness or old age, the appropriate time for him to receive this sacrament has certainly already arrived.''1° The fact that the use of this sacrament concerns the whole Church is shown by these words: "By the sacred anointing of the sick and the prayer of her priests, the whole Church commends those who are ill to the suffering and glorified Lord, asking that he may ligthten their suffering and save them (cf. James 5:14-6). She exhorts them, moreover, to con-tribute to the welfare of the whole People of God by associating themselves freely with the passion and death of Christ (cf. Rom 8:17; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 2:11-2; 1 Peter 4:13).''11 Revision ot the Rite All these elements had to be taken into consideration in revising the rite of sacred anointing, in order to better adapt to present-day conditions those elements which were subject to change?'-' We have thought fit to modify the sacramental formula in such a way that, in view of the words of St. James, the effects of the sacrament might be better expressed. Further, since olive oil, which hitherto had been prescribed for the valid administration of the sacrament, is unobtainable or difficult to obtain in some parts of the world, we decree, at the request of "numerous bishops, that in the future, according to the circumstances, oil of another sort can also be used provided it is obtained from plants, thus being closer to the oil de-rived from the olive. As regards the number of anointings and the parts of the body to be anointed, it has seemed to us opportune to proceed to a simplification of the rites. Therefore, since this revision in certain points touches upon the sacra-mental rite itself, by our apostolic authorit3~ we decree that for the future the following is to be observed in the Latin Rite. SIbid., Chapter 3: CT, ibid; DS 1698. 'albid., Chapter 3, Canon 4: CT, ibid.; DS 1719. 1°Vatican Council II, Constitutio Sacrosanctum Concilium, 73: AAS, LVI (1964), pp. 118-9. 11Ibid., Constitutio Lumen gentium, ll: AAS, LVII i1965), p. 15. ~See Vatican Council II, Consiitutio Sacrosanctunt Conciliutn, 1: AAS, LVI (1964), p. 97. Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 The Future Rite The sacrament of the anointing of the sick is administered to those who are dangerously ill by anointing them on the forehead and hands with olive oil, or, if opportune, with another vegetable oil properly blessed, and by saying once only the following words: "Per istam sanctam unctionem et suam piissimam misericordiam adiuvet te dominus gratia Spiritus Sancti, ut a peccatis liberatum te salvet atque propitius allevet" ["Through this holy anointing and His most loving mercy, may the Lord assist you by the grace of the Holy Spirit so that when you have been freed from your sins He may save you and in His goodness bring you relief"]. In case of necessity however it is sufficient that a single anointing be given on the forehead or, because of the particular condition of the sick per-son, on another more suitable part of the body, the whole formula being pro-nounced. This sacrament can be repeated if the sick person, having once received the anointing, recovers and then again falls sick, or if, in the course of the same illness, the danger becomes more acute. Promulgation and Conclusion Having laid down and declared these elements concerning the essential rite of the sacrament of the anointing of the sick, we, by our apostolic au-thority, also appi'ove the Order of the anointing of the sick and of their pas-toral care, as it has been revised by the Sacred Congregation for Divine Worship. At the s, ame time, we revoke, where necessary, the prescriptions of the Code of Canon Law or other laws hitherto in forqe, or we abrogate them; other prescriptions and laws, which are neither abrogated nor changed by the above mentioned Order, remain valid and in force. The Latin edition of the Order containing the new rite will come into force as soon as it is pub-lished. The vernacular editions, prepared by the episcopal conferences and confirmed by the Apostolic See, will come into force on the day which will be laid down by the individual conferences. The old Order can be used until 31 December 1973. From 1 January 1974, however, the new Order only is to be used by all those whom it concerns. We desire that these decrees and prescriptions of ours shall, now and in the future, be fully effective in the Latin Rite, notwithstanding, as far as is necessary, the apostolic constitutions and directives issued by our predeces-sors and other prescriptions, even if worthy of special mention. Given at Saint Peter's in Rome, on the thirtieth day of November, in the year 1972, the tenth of our Pontificate. PAUL VI Candlemas Address to Sisters Paul VI I~[irihg the ceremony of the presentation of candles celebrated on February 2 1973, tHh Holy Father gave a talk on religious women presented here in the English trans-l~.[ ion published in Osservatore romano, English language edition, February 15 1973, pp. 3, I0. Oc~ursus, in Latin, Ypapant~, in Greek, was the name given to this festivity ifi ~he early Oriental Church. It meant the meeting, that is, the fact of meet-iO~ the infant Jesus, taken to the Temple of Jerusalem forty days after His bii:th, according to the law of Moses, to be offered to God, as belonging to Hiin. We all know that it was during this legal and religious rite that there tdok place the meeting with old Simeon, who, inspired by the Holy Spirit, r6~bgnized in Jesus the Messiah and proclaimed Him "a light for revelation t6 the Gentiles." Immediately afterwards there also took place the meeting with the venerable prophetess Anna, eighty four years old, who "came to give thanks to God, and spoke of the child to all who were looking for the r6demption of Israel" (Lk 2:38). A Me~;sianic meeting, therefore, which uil~s on prophetic significance and historical voice, and which publicly in-augurates the era of Christ, in-the very place sacred to worship of the one triJe God, and to the chosen People's awareness of its mysterious destiny. A Matter of Loyalties ,Well, let us begin our pious ceremony by giving the meeting, which gathers us here, the religious and spiritual significance which reflects, from s6ihe points of view, the one that the liturgy has us commemorate today. Ybh come here to carry out.an act of recognition of the mission entrusted t6 bur humble person, namely to implement and continue in time the mis- 469 470 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 sion of Jesus Christ, the light and salvation of the world. It is a meeting that expresses mainly two sentiments of yours, one of faith, faith in Christ, in His Gospel and His Church; the other of open adherence in filial respect to the Pope, your Bishop, to the apostle Peter, to whom the Lord entrusted the keys, that is, the authority of the kingdom of heaven, and at the same time the pastoral function over the whole Church. Aware of our human limits, we would be tempted to avoid this meeting, but the investiture of the apostolic office, transmitted to us in legitimate succession, forbids us to do so; in fact it lays upon us the important and sweet obligation to welcome it wholeheartedly. Yes, blessed by this meeting which offers us the welcome opportunity to have around us such a full, varied, and devoted assembly as the one that now surrounds us, which we ourself wished to see carefully arranged, in this monumental and holy basil-ica, not in our honor, but in yours, beloved and venerated sons. The meet-ing means unity, it means harmony, it means awareness of the hierarchial and organic society, which is at the same time religious and spiritual, that we together make up, love, and serve. The meeting means the Church, and here the Roman Church, the apostolic Church. Candle Rich in Symbolism This common awareness is made real and, as it were, experienced owing to the double fact of the presence of the representatives of so many ecclesial bodies, living in the same City, but not easily brought together in the same place and in the same ceremon3~; and the fact that each of these representa-tives comes bearing the offering of a candle, a symbo, l rich in multiple mean-ings, first and foremost the heartfelt bond whereby every institution repre-sented wishes to be connected in faith and charity with us, now brings us deep spiritual joy. We are honoring Christ together; together for Him and with Him we are honoring the Church. What else could make us so happy and bring us such consolation? We often think now that the great event, for which our century will be remembered, the Ecumenical Council recently concluded, was intended to serve, in the intentions of divine Providence, to revive, deepen, and harmo-nize that sense of the Church, which the conciliar doctrines have nourished with splendid themes, and which the evolution of the times requires to be more limpid and strong than ever. We are therefore full of joy and confi-dence when we have some almost tangible experience, however rapid and particular, of this "sense of the Church." How happy and moved we are to enjoy now with you, the ecclesial communion of our diocese! How easy it is for us to suppose that the Apostles, its founders, that its martyrs and its saints, with the Blessed Virgin, salus Populi Romani, are assisting us at this significant moment of spiritual meeting; nay more, to think of the mystery of the secret presence among us of Christ Himself, who promised to be in the midst of those gathered together in His name (Mt 18:20). Candlemas Address to Sisters / 471 Esteem |or Sisters We cannot fail to draw attention to a circumstance that characterizes this ceremony, and confers on it a splendid note of piety and solemnity. Do you see who has the larger and the better part in the Basilica today? It is the religi6us women. It is our sisters, it is the virgins and widows, consecrated to the Lord, living in Rome and belonging to our community. Greetings to you, beloved Daughters in Christ! You blessed religious, who have accepted our invitation to this meeting, whose purpose, as we said, is to gather us round the Messianic mystery of the presentation of the infant Jesus in the Temple and thus express the network of spiritual and canonical bonds which gives form and substance to religious and social unity in the Church of Rome. Why did we wish the "Roman" sisters (the fact that. they live or even are temporarily staying in our Diocese, qualifies them as such), to have a distinguished place in this assembly today? Oh! For many reasons! We will mention some of them. It is our wish that the diocesan community should have an opportunity for once to show its esteem and affection for these chosen daughters, humble and strong. They are not out on the fringe, no, they are the flowers of its garden. It is our wish that the style of their "evangelica testificatio," of their evangelical testimony, should be honored and vindi6ated in view of the devaluation of laicism which would like to secularize even the most ardent souls, those following most faithfully in Christ's footsteps. It is our wish that a reawakened gen-erous sensitivity of the community of the faithful should not forget the needs of the poorer sisters, often without the means of subsistence. It is our wish that the ascetic, contemplative tradition of religious life, or the active one, should be recognized by everyone, by the ecclesial community particular~ly, as valid and relevant updated as it must be according to the spirit of the recent Council and according to the norms suggested by the documents of this apostolic See, in conformity with ihe renewing effort that the individual religious families have succeeded in imparting to their own way of life, some-times wearisome and purely formal, by means of the wise revisions of their statutes, studied and carried out in their recent general chapters. It is our wish that the specific vocations which qualify religious institutes such as pray.er and penitence, isolation and silence for the purpose of more intense inner absorption in the pursuit of convers'ation wit'h God, or tireless dedica-tion in arduous and providential educational work, or in expert assistance to the sick or the various social needs, or with regard to the Catholic missions, and according to the inventive genius of their piety and their charity--it is our wish that these vocations should be given an honorable and organic place in the ecclesial structure, even, perhaps, by means of some sacred initiation. It is our wish, furthermore, to promote and perfect .the assignment of sisters, when they so desire and are qualified to do so, to cooperation in the pastoral ministry, particularly where there is a shortage of the clergy, or in parishes engaged in religious and moral assistance in popular districts and 472 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 poor suburbs, or in the desolate countryside. We want them to be together with the praying, teaching, operating, ~uf-fering, evangelizing Church, these generous and courageous daughters of ours, these pious and hard-working sisters of ours, these simple, dignified women, always exemplary, and, according to the title attributed to sincere members of the early Christian communities, holy! Following Mary's Way Oh yes! Beloved daughters of holy Church, let the spirit of communion by which she lives enter your houses, beyond the gates of your cloisters, into your souls, instilling the breath of the renewal desired by the Ecumenical Council, and giving you too, nay rather you especially, a vision of the great divine plans at work among mankind and marking its destiny with regard to its supernatural and eschatological salvation, just as they present to us our duties and our resources for the help necessary for the elevation of ~he world, its concord and peace. And here you have understood, blessed daughters, no less than eccles.ias-tics and laymen, and following the steps of the Blessed Virgin along the evangelic.al path interpreted by the liturgical rite we are celebrating, you come to the altar bearing, you, too, your symbolic gift, your candle. Y~ou make us think of the parable of the virgins of the Gospel of St. Matthew. You remind us of the many meanings that ritual and spiritual language at-tributes to the pure and primitive source of light, the candle. You give us the idea of recommending that you should make the candle the symbol of your persons" because of its uprightness and its sweetness, the image of innocen.c.e and purity; because of its function of burning and illuminating, for which the candle is destined, realizing in itself the definition of your life enti.rely destined for the one love, burning and complete, of the Father, for Christ, in the Holy Spirit, a fire-love. It is a love which, with prayer, example, action, providentially illuminates the room and the path of the Church and of the surrounding world. Finally, the candle is destined to consume itself in sile.nce, like your life in the now irrevocable drama of your consecrated heart: t~.he sacrifice, like Christ on the Cross, in a sorrowful, happy love, which will n.ot be extinguished on the last day, but surviving will shine forth forever in the eternal meeting with the divine Bridegroom. For you, for all those present, our Apostolic blessing, with affection_ate gratitude. The Supreme Court on Abortion' A Dissenting Opinion Patrick T. Conley and Robert J. McKenna Patrick T. Conley is associate professor in the Department of History at Providence College; Providence, Rhode Island 02918. His specialty is Constitutional History with degrees in both history and law. Robert J. McKenna is associate professor of Politics at Salve Regina College; Ochre Point Avenue; Newport, Rhode Island 02840. He is also a State Senator from Newport and is a specialist in Church-State relations. In the decade of the 1850s one of the most vexing constitutional questions concerned the status of slavery in the federal territories. For reasons which historians have not yet fully fathomed, this issue became a vent for the economic, emotional, psychological, and moral disputes generated by the institution of slavery itself. During this acrimonious debate three basic posi-tions emerged: ( 1 ) the pro-slave argument which held that Congress had a positive duty to protect a slave owner's property rights in the federal terri-tories; (2) a diametrically opposed view, advanced by anti-slavery Northern-ers, stating that Congress must ban slavery from the territories; and (3) the middle ground of "popular sovereignty" which left the decision on slavery to the residents of the areas in question. Then, in 1857, a Southern-dominated Supreme Court attempted toresolve this morally-charged dispute in what it considered to be a rational and impartial manner. The result was the Dred Scott Decision in which the Court novelly employed the procedural Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to vindicate the Southern position. But it did so in disregard of historical precedents which made that view un-tenable. To compound its error, the Court contended that Negroes could not attain citizenship because such status contravened the intent of the founding fathers. The Dred Scott Decision did not resolve the great moral dispute over slavery and the status of the Negro in American society. It was so patently 473 474 / Review ]or Religious, Volutne 32, 1973/3 unsound that it was overridden--both by subsequent events and by the less violent process of constitutional amendment. The Decision of January 22, 1973 On January 22, 1973, the United States Supreme Court, in magisterial fashion, undertook to resolve another moral controversy in the case of Roe v. Wade, and a companion decision, Doe v. Bolton. These decisions con-cerned abortion, and here a right more fundamental than citizenship was at stake--in issue was the right to life. The Dred Scott analogy to Roe v. Wade is not an exercise in hyperbole; not only was a more basic right in-volved, but a much larger class was affected. In 1857, approximately 4,100,000 blacks and their descendants were judicially attainted; in 1973 alone about 5 million living human fetuses will be shorn of their natural right to life for at least the first six months of their existence. Unlike the Biblical decree of Herod, however, Roe v. Wade does not mandate a slaughter of the innocents. The Court, in fact, explicitly denied the contention of appellant Jane Roe (a fictional name) that a woman's right to an abortion is absolute and that she is entitled to terminate her preg-nancy at whatever time, in whatever way, and for whatever reason she alone chooses. "With this we do not agree," said Justice Blackmun for the major-ity. His statement was echoed by the Chief Justice: "Plainly, the Court today rejects any claim that the Constitution requires abortion on demand," affrmed Mr. Burge'r. Even the libertarian Justice Douglas admitted that "voluntary abortion at any time and place regardless of medical standards would impinge on a rightful concern of society. The woman's health is part of that concern; as is the life of the fetus after quickening." But though the decision was not a total victory for the abortion advo-cates, it was a substantial victory nonetheless. In essence, the Court con-cluded that a state criminal abortion statute, like that of Texas, which "ex-cepts from criminality only a life saving procedure on behalf of the mother, without regard to a pregnancy stage and without recognition of the other in-terests involved, is violative of the Due Process Clau~e of the Fourteenth Amendment." Mother's Alleged Right of Privacy The so-called right which the Texas abortion statute allegedly infringed upon was the expectant mother's right of privacy. In deference to maternal privacy the Court then proceeded to formulate the following abortion schedule: (a) "For the stage prior to approximately the end of the first trimester [the first three months], the abortion decision and its effectuation must be left to the medical judgment of the pregnant woman's attending physician; (b) for the stage subsequent to approximately the end of the first trimester [the second three months], the State, in promoting its interest in the health of the mother, may, if it chooses, regulate the abortion proce- Abortion / 475 dure in ways that are reasonably related to maternal health; (c) for the stage subsequent to viability [the final three months] the State, in promoting its interests in the potentiality of human life, may, if it chooses, regulate, and even proscribe, abortion except where it is necessary, in appropriate medical judgment, for the preservation of the life or health of the mother." Such was the fiat of the Court--a formidable pronouncement indeed. Justice Blackmun's rationale and argumentation, however, were not sufficient to support the Court's foray into the legislative domain because the decision contained several dubious moral, logical, biomedical, and legal contentions. The Question of Life First, the Court explicitly admitted that it "need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins . the judiciary, at this point in the develop-ment of man's knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer." Later it took notice of the fact that the Catholic Church, "many non-Catho-lics," and "many physicians" believed that life began at conception. In view of these considerations and the Court's candid admission of its own igno-rance, it seems incredible that the Court could proceed with confidence to schematize abortion according to the trimester system. It chided Texas for arbitrarily selecting conception as a basis for that state's abortion law, and then, in an equally arbitrary manner chose viability as the basis of its own formula. In effect, the Court said: "We do not know if human life exists prior to viability, but even if it does we choose not to protect it, and we bar the states from protecting it also." It has often been the practice of the Court when it could not resolve or define a key issue before it (like the nature of a "republican form of govern-ment") to declare the matter a political question and therefore nonjusti-ciable. If ever the doctrine of political question should have been invoked, it was when the Court asserted that the question of life's commencement was beyond its ability to resolve. To proceed in the face of that admission was reckless folly. It was, as stated by Justice White in his dissent, "an exercise in raw judicial power"; an "improvident and extravagant exercise of the power of judicial review." White could find "no constitutional warrant" for the Court's action, nor could he accept "the Court's exercise of its clear power of choice by interposir~g a constitutional barrier to state efforts to protect human life and by investing mothers and doctors with the constitu-tionally protected right to exterminate it." The Court did rush in, however, armed with its nescience regarding the origins of human life, and the results were disastrous. Rights of a Person and the Fetus Having thus disposed of the question of life, the justices examined four main theories regarding the point in time when the rights of a person at-tach to a human fetus, namely (I) conception, (2) quickening or first 476 / Review [or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 movement, (3) viability, or (4) birth. Justice Blackmun concluded that "the word 'person,' as used in the Fourteenth Amendment, does not include the unborn." Here the Court buttressed its contention with formidable but not insurmountable evidence. With equal effort it could have reached the opposite conclusion, especially in view of the fact that no evidence was adduced to show that the drafters intended to exclude the unborn when they utilized the word "person" in the various sections of the Constitution where it appears. In the absence of a clear constitutional intent, arising ho doubt from t, he fact that the particular problem raised in Roe v. W~ide never oc-curred to previous constitutional draftsmen, the Court should have exercised restraint. Compelling State Interest The Court has applied the "compelling state interest" standard to those legislative acts which have set up classifications or categories, the members of which have been deprived of equal protection of the law. In several recent opinions a majority of the Court asserted that the strictness of the standard for decision in cases involving classifications made by legislative bodies ¯ varies according to the nature of the right placed in jeopardy; the more fundamental the right involved, the greater was the judicial requirement to "carefully and meticulously scrutinize" thc classification in the light of the following principles: (a) As ihe right in jeopardy becomes more fundamental, the more perfect must be the relationship between the classification excluding a human group from the en-joyment of the right and the purpose for which the classification is made. (b) As the right involved becomes more ftmdamental, the more "compelling" the state or governmental interest must be in making a classification exc!iading certain human groups from the enjoyment of the right. In Roe v. Wade the Court has not practiced what it preached. In effect, it has established a judicial classification consisting of those unborn' humans who have not reached the stage of viability and has deprived thes6 individ-uals of their right to life by making them fair game for the abbrti0nist. Several learned anti-abortionists who presented an amicus curiae brief to the Court for its consideration made this valid observation. They argued that "because of the fundamental nature of life, the most compellin~ of all interests would have to be shown on the part of the Court in order to carve out such a classification, which would exclude the lives of unborn huinans from the protection of the law." The Court's Rationale The Court did, indeed, advance a rationale to justify its conclusions by claiming that "the right of personal privacy" is "broad enough to encompass a woman's decision whether or not to terminate her pregnancy," though ad-mitting that the right was "not unqualified and must be considered against Abortion / 477 important state interests in regulation." When the Court tried to explain why this alleged right of privacy was fundamental enough to override a state's in-terest in the protection of fetal life, the shallowness of its value system was glaringly revealed. Justice Blackmun justified abortion on the grounds of privacy because "maternity, or additional offspring, may force upon the woman a distressful life and future," cause psychological harm, bring "distress for all con-cerned," or place a social "stigma" on the unwed mother. These were the "weighty reasons" for excluding the unborn from the enjoyment of the right to life. Justice Douglas, in a concurring opinion arising out of Roe v. Wade and its companion case involving a Georgia abortion law (Doe v. Bolton), went to more ridiculous extremes. Childbirth, said Douglas, "may deprive a woman of her preferred life style and force upon her a radically different and undesired future." She would be required "to endure the discomforts of pregnancy; to incur the pain, higher mortality rate, and aftereffects of child-birth; to abandon educational plans; to sustain loss of income; to forego the satisfactions of careers; to tax further mental and physical health . . . and, in some cases, to bear the lifelong stigma of unwed motherhood." One could scarcely imagine a more amoral and hedonistic rationale. For the highest. court in a land which professes spiritual values and claims foundation "un-der God" to use such criteria to justify the extermination of human life is a tragic occurrence in every sense of the word. Here is humanism incarnate-- man has become God. Selfishness and Self-love The Court and the absolute abortionists, who occupy a more extreme position than the high tribunal itself, are essentially concerned about the "quality of life." Adolf Hitler had the same concern. It is both ironic and appalling that many individuals and groups who vociferously deplored Hit-ler's misguided attempts to improve the quality of life in Nazi Germany are in the vanguard of the current genocidal attack upon the unborn. The justifications for abortion expressed by Justices Blackmun and Doug-las are the epitome of human selfishness and self-iove. The countervailing evils of easy abortion were thrust aside by the Court. Among these baneful effects, according to Dr. Paul Marx, are "the denigration of the traditional sexual morality distilled from centuries of wisdom, the abandonment of self-control as an indispensable human virtue, the substitution of subjective whim for the priceless heritage of human knowledge, the enthronement of ultili-tarianism over principled morality, the devaluation of life itself, the ruina-tion of the moral basis of natural human rights, and the obvious opening to euthanasia." A society that countenances the brutality of aborticn is one in which psychological ills, irreverence for life, and sexual promiscuity are likely to proliferate. In sum, therefore, we have paid an exhorbitant price to sustain a woman's right to per, sonal privacy. 478 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 Right to Privacy a Fiction That alleged right, however, is more a judicial fiction than a verifiable fact. Even Justice Douglas frankly confesses that "there is no mention of privacy in our Bill of Rights," nor is the type of privacy claimed in Roe v. Wade specifically mentioned in any other section of the Federal Constitution. The Court invented this right in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) when it held that a state law forbidding the use of contraceptives was unconstitu-tional in as far as the law applied to married persons. The Court advanced the so-called "penumbra" doctrine which held that various guarantees in the Bill of Rights impliedly create zones of privacy. In Roe v. Wade a woman's personal decision to abort her child was placed inside that judicially pro-tected private zone. In their attempt to vindicate this alleged right appellants used a scatter-gun approach by claiming that the Texas statute abridged rights of personal privacy protected by the First, Fourth, Fifth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Amend-ments. One of these random shots found its mark when the high court held that the right claimed by the appellants was "founded in the Fourteenth Amendment's concept of personal liberty." In recent years, the Court has developed a complex formula to protect those rights which it uncovers in the mysterious recesses of the Constitution from invasion by the states. The test traditionally applied to state social and economic legislation is whether or not the law (for example, the Texas abor-tion statute) has "a rational relation to a valid state objective." Had this test been employed in Roe v. Wade the state statute may have been upheld. How-ever, the Court devised a more stringent standard in Shapiro v. Thompson (1969) which held that as the right involved becomes more fundamental, the more "compelling" the state interest must be in passing a law which abridges that right. In Shapiro and subsequent rulings the "compelling state interest" standard was used only in situations involving the equal protection provision of the Fourteenth Amendment. Justice Harlan attacked this new criterion when he asserted in a Shapiro dissent that "when a statute affects only matters not mentioned in the Federal Constitution and is not arbitrary or irrational" the Court is not entitled "to pick out particular human activities, characterize them as 'fundamental,' and give them added protection under an unusually stringent equal protection test." Such action, concluded Harlan, "would go far toward making this Court a 'super-legislature.' " Yet the Court went even beyond this in Roe v. Wade--it not only held a woman's private right to abort her unborn child to be "fundamental"; it also expanded the stringent "compelling state interest" test in a novel way to embrace the Due Process Clause (shades of Dred Scott!). Dissenting Opinions The majority's decision regarding the fundamental nature of the particu-lar right of privacy asserted in this case was vigorously and persuasively at- Abortion / 479 tacked by Justice Rehnquist in a dissenting opinion: "The fact that a ma-jority of the States, reflecting., the majority sentiment in those states, have had restrictions on abortions for at least a century seems . . . as strong an indication as there is that the asserted right to an abortion is not., funda-mental. Even today, when society's views on abortion are changing, the very existence of the debate is evidence that the 'right' to an abortion is not so universally accepted as the appellants would have us believe," concluded Rehnquist. In support of this latter statement he could have cited with telling effect the results of the 1972 abortion referenda in Michigan and North Da-kota. In the former state the pro-life advocates polled 61% of the vote, while in North Dakota their total was an overwhelming 79%. The right of privacy asserted by the Court is not only absent from the express provisions of the original Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and later Amendments, it is not generally recognized by law, by custom, or by major-ity opinion. How could such an alleged right, therefore, be "so rooted in the traditional conscience of our people to be ranked as fundamental." The Court does not satisfactorily explain its startling judgment. It "simply fashions," says dissenting Justice White, "a new constitutional right for preg-nant mothers and, with scarcely any reason or authority for its action, in-vests that right with sufficient substance to override most state abortion statutes." Unalienable Right to Life The Court with equal effort could have "discovered" the unborn's right to life, invested it with "fundamental" status, and clothed it with judicial protection. This right is not explicit in any part of the Constitution, but, un-like the right to abort, it is recognized by law, by custom, and by majority opinion. It can also be inferred from the phraseology of no less a document than our Declaration of Independence: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Li[e, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." Traditionally the term "creation" is applied to conception rather than to the other definable stages of fetal life. This line of argumentation is at least as formidable as the privacy doc-trine which the Court concocted, but unfortunately the Court used its legal legerdemain to uphold the right of privacy at the expense of the unborn's right to life--a strange choice indeed, especially in view of the solicitude shown by the Court for criminals under a death sentence in Furman v. Georgia (1972). A Flaw in Argumentation Such was the decision of tile Court in Roe v. Wade and its companion Doe v. Bolton. Almost as an afterthought, however, the Justices alluded to a serious flaw in the arguments of those who sought to uphold state abortion 480 / Review [or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 restrictions. The state appellees in Wade and Bolton asserted that the un-born's right to life was constitutionally protected by the due process clauses of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments. Yet the state statutes which they defended, especially Georgia's more "modern" law, allowed abortion in special circumstances: (1) if the life or health of the mother were endan-gered (this was the extent of the Texas statute); (2) if the fetus would very likely be born with a grave, permanent, and irremedial mental or physical defect; or (3) if the pregnancy resulted from forcible or statutory rape. As Justice Douglas was quick to observe, the Georgia statute permits fetal de-struction in several instances without regard for due process or the develop-mental stage of the fetus. Justice Blackmun in a footnote in Roe v. Wade also spotted the dilemma. Despite a broad proscription on abortion, an exception exists in every state, at least to save the life of the mother. "But if the fetus is a person who is not to be deprived of life without due process of law, and if the mother's condition is the sole determinant, does not the Texas exception appear to be out of line with the Amendment's command," queried Blackmun, "and why is the woman not a principal or an accomplice" to the killing? This in-consistency can only be effectively resolved by recourse to the position that any direct taking of the life of the fetus is a moral and legal crime for all involved. Our dissenting opinion to the Court's abortion ruling would be merely an intellectual catharsis and an exercise in frustration if the Court's action could not be overriden. Our purpose thus far has been to show that the decision was patently unsound from either a logical, biomedical, moral, or legal perspective. Hopefully this knowledge of the decision's infirmity will provide an incentive to secure its reversal. Thus, in conclusion we offer guidelines for those who wish to challenge the ruling and vindicate the rights of the unborn child. Guidelines for Action At the State level the legislature has several plausible options. First, it can take advantage of the Court's failure to resolve "the difficult question of when life begins." It can declare as a conclusive presumption "that life commences at the instant of conception." This legislative finding of fact will reestablish protection for the unborn child, at least until the issue is settled as to whether or not the Court will accept a legislative determination in this area. Abele v. Markle (342 F. Supp. 800), in which this issue is raised, is now pending on appeal. Second, the legislature can memorialize Congress to adopt a constitutional amendment to protect the unborn child. Third, the legislature can petition Congress to call a constitutional convention to act on this issue and on others where the Court has overstepped its proper juris-diction. Fourth, it can require that the father's rights be protected in those cases where he does not agree to have his child killed. North Carolina has Abortion / 481 enacted such a provision. Fifth, it can and should provide that no person or institution shall be required to assist in any way with an abortion if such an act violates the values of that person or institution. Despite these State remedies, however, the most effective counter-mea-sures can be wielded by Congress. For example, the Congress can adopt and propose to the states a constitutional right-to-life amendment. While this is a time-consuming remedy it is also one that would be decisive and relatively enduring. It is the best course of action to pursue. Second, Congress can pass an act to establish the start of life at the instant of conception and thus answer the key question sidestepped by the Court. Third, the Congress can also remove the power of the Supreme Court to hear appeals in this area by altering the Court's appellate jurisdiction. There is precedent for such a move in the case of Ex parte McCardle (1869) and in the OPA cases of the World War II era. Such a course of action may seem drastic, but the Court's abortion ruling demands a vigorous and effective response. The Dred Scott Decision's denial of the Negro's right to citizenship was only overcome by the concerted and forceful effort of those who thought the Court's opinion morally, historically, and legally unsound; can we do less for those living yet unborn than to vindicate their right to life itself? How to Write Good Constitutions Ladislas M. Orsy, S.J. Ladislas M. Orsy, S.J., is professor of theology and canon law at Fordham University; Bronx, New York 10458. To write constitutions for religious communities is a difficult job. It requires a great deal of grace and common sense. No document with pious generali-ties would do; something more practical is necessary. No wonder that great and good constitutions for religious are few and far between. The following rules for writing good constitutions are not exhaustive, but they can be of some help to those who are wrestling with the task of finding new bottles for the new wine that is presently fermenting in the Church and in religious communities. 1. Good Constitutions Respond to Present Needs and Give Stability for the Future A basic rule is that constitutions should incorporate lasting values. The writers should look beyond the present and should design structures which will uphold the community's spiritual inspiration for many years to come. Sound organization brings stability without stifling natural evolution. Let us take an example from secular history. The crisis and upheavals that many European states suffered in modern history were due largely to their constitutional instability. Unsatisfactory and weak structures contrib-uted to divisions and unrest and did not allow for healthy evolution. The relative stability and continuity that the United States experienced from the beginning is the fruit of the wisdom of th~ founding fathers who gave the country a reasonable instrument of government, broad enough to accommo- 482 How to Write Good Constitutions / 483 date developments, yet strong enough to keep the nation togetherl While European states were changing and rewriting their constitutions with an alarming rapidity, the United States remained faithful to the original one. Surprisingly, the constitutions conceived for the emancipated colonies re-main an excellent instrument of balance for a modern powerful industrial nation. Had the first drafters been clearer about the relationship of the States to the Union, maybe the Civil War could have been avoided--or it would have been fought under other pretext than the issue of the right to secede. Yet, even though the Civil War happened, the fact stands: Substan-tial stability was given to the nation through a well-designed constitution which did not hamper good developments. To incorporate lasting values means to look beyond our own times. Much that is up-to-date and fashionable today will look hopelessly out-of-date to future generations. Constitutions should achieve a certain timelessness. This can be done only by those who have some knowledge of past history. By looking back they have another point of reference than the present; their horizon is broadened. Of course, I am not suggesting that the past should be copied or codified in the constitutions; but I am suggesting that those who know the present and the past are better forecasters and planners for the future than those who are limited by the narrow vision of the present. If you are on the high seas and have no other point of reference than the spot where the boat is, you cannot plan any safe course for your future journey. Writers of constitutions who do not know the history of religious orders are like navigators who did not absorb the common pru-dence and learning of their ancestors. They did not learn the trade; they may rock the boat. No one should conclude, however, that the constitutions should not be a response to present needs. They should--with an eye on the past and the future. 2. The Constitutions Must Reflect the Spirit of the Gospel but They Must Contain Specific Provisions for a Given Community It is easy to write new constitutions by paraphrasing the Gospels, and leave it at that. The trouble with such constitutions is that whatever they say, it has been said much better, and usually more concisely, by the evangelists. Why should anyone bother to go to second hand sources about Christian life when he can go to the original ones? Good constitutions cer-tainly reflect the spirit of the Gospel; they should not be soulless legal docu-ments. Yet what makes them constitutions is that they integrate spiritual principles with practical rules and structures suitable for a given community. Lofty doctrine should lead to sensible rules that free the community for the service of God and men, and create a harmonious human and Christian en-vironment. It is right to speak about the beauty of community life, but that beauty should not be lost in chaos and confusion when it comes to vital decisions. Down to earth practicality is the mark of good constitutions. 484 / Review for Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 3. The Constitutions Should be the Codification of a Way of Life That Has Proved Itself, Not a Blueprint Conceived in the Abstract and to Be Imposed on the Community When we reflect on the beginnings of religious orders and congregations, we do not find that the founders first wrote abstract constitutions and then looked for some persons who were prepared to try them out. Rather, they first gathered a group for a specific way of life, for a particular apostolic task, and when it all worked out and the group was forged together into one community, they committed into writing what they lived and experienced so intensely. Therefore, a community should not be afraid of letting good customs de-velop without any kind of fixed rules. If the love of Christ is alive among them and they have enough common sense, such a process should be possi-ble. A good system of planned and controlled experiments is more important in these years than the writing of new norms. But the experiments should be controlled; there should be a good machinery for the critical evaluation of new enterprises. The whole process of experiments is meaningful in the context of an ongoing conversion only. If the members are not moving toward Christ, but are just asserting rights and liberties without reference to Him, what started as renewal can end up as disintegration. Freedom in Christ is necessary for developing sensible practical rules. 4. The Constitutions Should Contain a Balance between Light and Dark-ness, Joy and Sorrow, Life and Death; They Should Be Similar to the Gospels We explain this rule by contrasting two mentalities. The one wants to put into the constitutions all the negative sides of Christian life, such as mortifi-cation, abnegation, penance, and so forth. A most depressing document would ensue; enough to scare away any healthy individual. The other wants to speak about the positive sides only, such as peace, joy, exultation, and so forth. A most uplifting document would follow--with hidden deception in it. Both mentalities are one-sided. The right approach is in a harmony that we find so well expressed in the Gospel of St. John. The light is there, but so often it is surrounded by darkness. Life is there, but it must go through the baptism of death. Also, the harmonious blend of frustration and enrichment is manifest in the Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." Poverty and wealth go hand in hand. Incidentally, such balance is necessary in our liturgical celebrations" too. There we commemorate the whole life of Christ, His death and His resurrec-tion. The uninterrupted, one-sided celebration of joy can become inhuman and unchristian; in this life we need the quiet rhythm of sorrow and joy, darkness and light, to prepare us for the great final acts of death and life. How to Write Good Constitutions / 485 5. Keep in Mind that Faith, Hope, and Love Have No Measure; Everything Else Must Be Measur~ed A Christian can n.eve,,r. '.'exaggerate" in faith, hope, and love. He knows no limits to believing in God, to trusting and loving Him, because these "vir-tues" are gifts of grac~ ari.d, they originate m God's boundless generosity. Of course a man can distorf'tlie meaning of the gifts, he can express them one- ~,' sidely, he can even refu.s:e.them. But if he is open to the Spirit, there is a movement in his heart ffia( has no limit; it can expand indefinitely. Faith, hope, and love have an affimty with God's infinityi their growth is not sub-ject to any human measure. In all other virtues arid" actions, there is a measure. There is no limitless progress. There is a point b'eyond which the movement of construction be-comes the demon of destruction. In other terms, change is not equivalent to progress. A community b~ifit on change regardless of measure will eventu-ally destroy itself. R~al~,[ogress consists in finding the right amount of change at any given tithe, ~d no more¯ There is an obvious comparison: If you drive and do not press the ac-celerator enough, you db hot move, you crawl; if you oress ~t too much you are heading for disa~t6r. Movement and speed alone do not guarantee safe arrival. The history of religious life would offer olentv of examples to illustrate this truth. Let us g~ve lU.~t One. St. Franms of Assxs~ certa.inly loved poverty. He went far m giving a@a~.y, what he had, even to the point of deposmng h~s clothes at the feet of his '~.]]gry father. He became a pilgrim with no shelter over h~s head. But he d~d not sell himself into slavery as he could have done w~th a little ingenuity. Nor did he give his time away; in fact, he jealously guarded it. He estabfi'~he~d ~a measure in poverty, his own measure no doubt, but a measure nonetti~le~.°]-lad he not done so, had he been bent on giving all by selling himself ~'tl~b infidels as a slave on some galley, he would not have been free enough to start a great religious movement, he ould not have had ume and leigure t6 wander around and compose the Canticle o~ the Sttn.! ~"" After Vatican Council 1I many religious communities made great prog-ress in renewal, but s~n6~of them never thought of finding the right measure in change. They become intoxicated with new things and the movement that began under the ~nsplranon of the Spirit may eventually carry them too far, to the very bnnk of d~s~ster. A good question }"o¯r "~a' "c~onstitutional assembly, or for a general chapter, concerning every single 'i~ss uce is: What is the right measure in this matter? The measure, of course, '~oes change from time to time; no community should become static. But even if the measure changes, there is always a measure. The rule should be.~. a~plied. . to community life, to prayer, to apostolic 486 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 work--to everything, except faith, hope, and love. In those three the com-munity should open itself to the Spirit of God who can fill the members with His gifts beyond their desire and expectation. 6. Remember That Rules Are Necessary, but Persons Give Life to a Community Paradoxically, we could say that good persons can prosper even if the constitutions are bad, or, that good constitutions lead nowhere without the right persons to apply them. This is not to demean good constitutions. They work marvels with good persons. And bad constitutions can harm people. Rather, the paradox is a way of stressing that persons, not rules, give life to a community. Many religious institutes worshipped their own structures before the Council; the slightest infringement to the rule was considered a disgrace be-fore God and man. Today they understand better that the rules are means to open our hearts to faith, hope, and love and therefore there is nothing ab-solute about them. But structure-worship does not change easily; mentalities survive longer than we care to admit. Much of the naive belief in the mysteri-ous saving quality of the rule has been transformed into a utopian trust in the redeeming strength of committees. Committees are all right, although with measure. The greatest inspira-tions in the history of mankind never came from a committee. Legend has it that the camel owes its shape to a committee that wanted to design a horse. Be that as it may, the camel is a useful animal if you want to cruise in the desert. Yet we would hesitate to entrust the reshaping of this creation to a committee; it is frightening to think what would happen to the graceful flight of the seagull, to the playful nature of the chipmunk, or the trunk of the elephant. Government by committees is not well suited to the care of .persons. Who can open himself fully to a committee? Person to person relationship is necessary in religious government. Not on the pattern of father and child, or mother and daughter, but on the pattern of a wise and trusted companion caring for another. Therefore, in religious life there should be a way of recurring to a person above and beyond all committees. Take the example of a religious who has a serious personal problem--not the type he cares to preserve on files. He needs a change, perhaps a different job, at a different place. How can be ex-plain it all to a personnel board? 7. Good Constitutions Assure Both Broad Consultation and Efficient Action Good government in apostolic religious institutes is based on broad con-sultation among the members and on efficient action by the one in authority when it is needed. There must be in the community an upward movement of ideas. Every member has a right and duty to contribute to the welfare of How to Write Good Constitutions / 487 all. Therefore, at the base there must be a structure to assure that each can speak his mind and is listened to with respect. The result of this initial con-sultation process will be a mixed bag of ideas. Some will be excellent, some harmless, some to be discarded; in all they will be a fair representation of divine inspiration and human limitation. Therefore, some way must be found to screen them. This happens through the system of chapters. At the pro-vincial chapter elected representatives choose some ideas and proposals out of many. Eventually, an even smaller group, such as the general chapter, selects the best suggestions and makes them into guidelines and constitu-tional rules for the whole institute. Why this complex procedure? Because each has a right to speak, and God can speak through the smallest ones. But religious life is inspired by un-reachable ideals; therefore you want to choose the best of all suggestions. The clue to succcss is a wise combination of democracy and selectivity. The whole upward movement of ideas is a slow process. It involves long con-siderations and discussions. It is the proper field for committee activity! The application of the abstract policies and of constitutional guidelines to concrete individual cases is a different matter. The movement should mostly originate at the top where a trusted person leads and presides; he is the superior general. He is there to translate the norm into everyday actions. He should act with prudence, with the help of qualified counsel, and he should be swift and e~ficient too. He deals with particular communities and with individual persons. They need decisions, and they need them without much delay. The superior general's government can be spoiled in two ways. First, by distrust. The community may impose the duty on him of endless consulta-tions and impose all sort of checks, all to avoid a mistake. The result is a hesitant temporizing administration. Second, by cluttering up the line of ex-ecutive government by committees. They are never good for action; they are necessary for sorting our ideas, for setting policies. The superior general should be accountable. He should be responsible to the general chapter and should give a full account of his stewardship when-ever it meets. He should be removable; but as long as he is in once, he should be. trusted and free to take intelligent risks. Sbme communities built so many safeguards around their superiors that no intelligent and inspired initiative can be expected from them anymore; the safeguards from real or imagined tyranny will assure mediocrity for some time to come. Authori-tarianism was bad enough, but slowness and indecisiveness on the executive" level does not promise well for the future either. Let us remember also that a bad decision given with speed is frequently better than a good decision given with delay. Decision means movement; if it is a bad choice it can be corrected as long as there is life. No decision means lack of movement and lack of life. It cannot even be corrected. In all, we propose a healthy cycle, intended mainly for apostolic corn- 488 / Review [or Religious, Volume 32, 197~,/3 munities. It begins with full consultations; it gives the ultimate power to the chap(er; yet it retains person to person relationships in government. But we do not propose this pattern with any rigidity. Its basic simplicity allows many variations according to the traditions and desires of different communities; it can even be combined with other systems. 8. Community Means Unity in Diversity; Diversity without Unity Destroys the Community How far can a community go in pluralism without destroying its cohe-sion? To answer this question, consider the unity in diversity that you find in an orchestra. The players have different instruments; they even play different melodies. Yet, the product is a symphony with depth and harmony. Har-mony is possible because there is a limit to this diversity. Pluralism in a religious community can be interpreted in two ways. It may mean differences that contribute to the unity of the group; or, it may mean differences, that do not have an internal finality toward unity. The former makes the community, the latter destroys it. It follows that before talk begins about pluralism and its extent, the com-munity must define the type of unity they desire to maintain. Once the mem-bers know how united they want to be in their life style, in their apostolic endeavor, they can determine how much pluralism they can allow. There is no general rule for the extent of pluralism a community can bear; the unity they need is the measure of it. 9. You Will Know the Tree by Its Fruit, but Remember Some Trees Take a Long Time to Bear Fruit The constitutions should provide for an ongoing evaluation of the com-munity, in particular of the new experiments. Chapters on local, 'provincial, and general levels can be good instruments of evaluation. Each session should begin with an examination of conscience: how far in fact the com-munity lived up to its ideals. Most chapters are looking into the future; they are planning sessions. They should give equal time to the past, not in the form of debate, but in the form of a prayerful examination of conscience. They should give a good critical look at the fruit that was recently produced. The word experiment underwent many changes. Often it is used for change, an illegitimate use. We all would gain by restoring its primal mean-ing which is "to test something under controlled circumstances so that the process can be judged and evaluated." If we need change, by all means let us have it, but we must not call it experimentation; if we need experiments, let us do them properly. But experiments in religious life are not the same as those performed by physicists. The stakes are high in religious life; the faith, hope, and love of the members can be affected. Besides, fruits mature slowly because the ulti-mate test for any experiment is its contribution to a climate in which the How to Write Good Constitutions / 489 community is more open .and receptive to the grace of God. Often many years will be necessary to know the value of an experiment. Early judgments can be rash judgments. Take the issue of formation. No one can fully evaluate a particular pro.gram of formation until those formed have gone through many tests and trio!s in their religious vocation. I0. Good Constitutions Cannot Be Composed under Stress Peace of mind and he.a.rt is a necessary condition for wisdom and inspira, tion. Polarization and division in the community is an obstacle to grace and to human creativity. The c_0mmunity must be healed before it can produce. A community not .at p.eace may be tempted to write constitutions by way of reaction to past or t.o pre.sent trends, or to search for a feasible compromise which will not represent any high ideal. A disturbed group should not write constitutions. Peace i~ ne~e~sary to receive the Spirit and to create good and lasting structures. A group's first duty is to create life in harmony and attend to the task of writing .afte.r they have found peace with God, with the C. hurch, and with each other. Conclusion Good constitutions a.re. a blend of spiritual wisdom and shrewd practical judgment. The form.e.r is given by God, the latter is the result of human creativity. Constitutions .c.a.,nnot take the place of faith, hope, and charity, but they can be a powev.f.ul instrument to keep the process of conversion alive in a community, The Nature and Value of a Directed Retreat Herbert F. Smith, S.J. Herbert F. Smith, S.J., a well known spiritual writer and director of retreats, is sta-tioned at St. Joseph's College; City Avenue at 54th Street; Philadelphia, Pennsyl-vania 19131. During the last decade there has been a rebirth of the directed Ignatian re-treat. The directed retreat is a marked departure from the familiar preached retreat in which we customarily spent some two hours a day hearing the word of God as it was spoken and interpreted by the retreat master. Origins in Experimentation The successful return of the directed retreat can almost certainly be credited to that widespread phenomenon of our day, the passion for experi-mentation. The experimental approach springs from a twofold conviction: that we can produce something better; and that, in an age wherein proliferat-ing options are overloading our decision-making powers, we must discover what is most relevant. We have all benefited from the experimental approach. Consider agri-culture. Ten years ago there was widespread talk of the impossibility of feeding the world's people. Today there is not. That is largely because, in the interval, agricultural experimentation was carried on in the Philippines to produce a new strain of wheat. The first objective was to produce a better wheat, one that would give a greater yield per acre. The second objective was produce a more relevant wheat, one hardy enough to flourish on poor land in cold climates. The result is 1R-3. It is revolutionizing the growth of wheat, turning traditionally wheat-importing countries to wheat exporters. In the field of religion, we have similar problems and similar inclinations. How can we raise up better Catholic Christians, people more in contact with 490 Directed Retreat / 491 God, more committed to Him, more faithful to the Church, more productive in the service of the kingdom? How can we form more relevant Catholic Christians, people who can responsibly handle the increased responsibility laid on each today? Enterprising men and women in the Church are pre-senting the directed lgnatian retreat as one answer. Is it? I think it is, but my objective here is not to give proof of that. My objective is rather to give information concerning the nature of a directed retreat. Judgments can come later. What is a directed retreat? I will proceed to answer that question by giving a series of progressively improving definitions until we ultimately reach the most illuminating definition I can provide. One-to-one Relationship The directed retreat is a retreat made neither alone nor in a large group; ]urthermore, it is made without the help of several talks a day. This incom-plete definition is meant to clarify the manner in which the directed retreat departs from the familiar preached retreat. The directed retreat involves one director and one retreatant operating in a one-to-one relationship. The di-rector may or may not be directing other retreatants simultaneously, but in any case he guides each retreatant as though he alone were on retreat. Of course, there may be some interplay between retreatants. They may cele-brate Mass together. They may do shared prayer. Smallest Possible Community The directed retreat is a concerted effort to seek God in the smallest possible community. In a directed retreat, everything is set up and directed to help the retreatant find God. All irrelevant and distracting persons and entities are withdrawn. That leaves us with the smallest possible community, a community of three, in the likeness of the Trinity. The community of three which results can be described in various ways. It can be seen as composed of the retreatant, God, and His Spirit; God is the goal, and the Holy Spirit is the agent. He guides the retreatant to God, and He is the Love between the retreatant and God. There is, from another viewpoint, the triad of the retreatant, the director, and the Holy Spirit. The retreatant and the director work out the retreat in concert, and the Holy Spirit is the one Guide of both. From a still more comprehensive viewpoint, the tripartite community is made up of the retreatant, God, and the Church (whom the director em-bodies and represents). The reason for setting up this smallest possible community is to promote the total personalization of the /etreat. All transactions are aimed directly at the one retreatant and his unique personal needs here and now. While it is true that God always can and does work as personally with an individual in a group as with an individual off by himself, the retreat director cannot. And conversely, the retreatant cannot. The fact that God can is the saving grace Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 197~//.~ of group retreats. The fact that retreatant and d~tector cannot is the reason there is at times no substitute for a directed retreai; The tiny directed retreat community favors ~nt,~ate contact that helps the retreatant to come to know his God, himself, and .his Church in an intimate new way. By intimacy I mean an attentive, h~!thy, open, and receptive relationship with another that is productive of a ifilJ~aal identification in joys and sorrows. Directed to Spiritual Exercising The directed retreat is the engaging in sptr~tua.l exercises under the daily guidance oJ a di'rect6r who h'as the twoJold rDi~ ol retreat director and spiritual direc'tor. The function of the retreatant ~ ~o do spiritual exercises. The function of the director is to guide and mo,ri~tor the exercises. In the directed retreat, there is emphasis on ttlE aiztivity of the retreatant. We have all seen the retreat master of the prea@fid retreat deliver his four and five talks a day, hear confessions, hold interviews, and stagger out of the house exhausted six days later. The directed r~ii:Eat, bn the contrary, de-mands much more of the retreatant and focuseg bn what the retreatant is doing more than on what the director is saying. !f tti( rctreatant's activity still involves a great deal of active listening, it i~ ndt a human being he spends a lot of time listening to, it is God. St. Ignatius himself stresses the activity of th~ i'etr~atant, whom he calls the exercitant. He introduces his little book for r~ii'eat Jig "spiritual exercises Which have as their purpose the conquest of self iind t~ie regulation of one's life in such a way that no decision is made under: th~ influence of any in-ordinate attachment" (#21 ). The director gives the retreatant daily guidani~i~. Generally, the two meet once a day. The director provides spoken or writieh ~5oints for meditation, and they are generally given very briefly. If the iziirEctdr has more than one retreatant, he may give points in common to savd time, where this is not to the disadvantage of the retreatants. The retreatant gives the director a faithful afifi~Sufi~ of the inner experi-ences and responses which take place in the coti~se 6i' his meditations. He tells of joy or sadness, peace or unrest, hope 0i: [6ai'; and so on. This ac-count of one's personal experiences is always gi~,(h ili a private interview. This account is at the heart of the directed retiE~ii, as is the response the director makes to it. The practice of making ttiis reiSort develops the re-treatant's ability to discern the movements of ~.Sbd ~ind evil that play in man's mind, heart, and feelings. The guidance dt~ [he ~tirector helps the re-treatant learn how to distinguish between the godi:l ~iri~i evil influences more successfully. Most important, it helps him distili~iiist] the divine call from every other influence on him. This knowledge frdE~ iaiih from old slavery to whims and emotions and nagging feelings of guilt: ii h61ps him to put on the mind of Christ. Directed Retreat / 493 Functions of the Director From what has just been said, it becomes manifest that the director of the directed retreat has two clearly distinct functions. First, like the director of a preached retreat, he provides the retreatant with input for the meditations. Let it be added that, both in the brief way he provides this material and in the selection of the material he provides, he himself is guided in a general way by his source material, The Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius. The director feeds in this input in harmony with the retreatant's actual accomplishments, thus moderating the advance and flow of the retreat in a fully personalized way. The director is fully aware that the graces sought in each meditation are necessary graces which have to be built up in their proper order like the parts of a building: sorrow for sin is the excavation, forgiveness the founda-tion, and so forth. This careful control of the process of the retreat is cer-tainly one of the great advantages of a directed retreat. Second, the retreat director is the retreatant's spiritual director. The great religions of the world, even in their most mystical traditions, all teach the need of a guide, be he a guru, a starets, a roshi, a spiritual director. Without a director, there can be no making of the Spiritual Exercises, as a reading of the introductory observations will establish. Without a director there has not been set up the necessary mini-community described in the second definition. The Discerning Process The director helps the retreatant to discern the mysteries of the interior life in a practical way that is meant to lead to practical decisions and practi-cal service of Christ. The retreatant himself is always the primary discerner, and the director the auxiliary discerner. Only the retreatant is present to his own inner experiences. Unless he gives a good and faithful report, the aux-iliary discerner cannot give the help he is meant to give. The retreatant, then, is the subjective discerner. The director is the objec-tive discerner. As objective discerner, he interprets the experiences of the retreatant in accord with the Biblical and doctrinal expressions of revelation as it is guarded and developed and handed on by the whole Church. If the retreatant too is learned in theology, and sometimes even if he is not, he may be able to interpret his experiences quite authentically himself. But in accord with the wisdom of the Church and of revelation, the People of God do not rely on themselves individually, but depend on one another in the effort to understand the meaning of God's communications, even the individual and personal ones. If the retreatant is guided by the Holy Spirit to come to a cer-tain decision, the director can hope to be guided by Him to confirm the decision. The Priest-confessor and the Retreat Director The role of the director as auxiliary discerner is made even clearer if we consider the distinction between the role of the priest-conJessor and the role 494 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 of the retreat spiritual director. The confessor in the sacrament of penance is concerned primarily with the moral order, with the person's conscious, sin-ful rebellions against God's will. The retreat spiritual director is concerned with the retreatant's inner experiences, his moods, attractions, and repulsions, even before he has made any deliberate free responses to them. The con-fessor wants to know what a man has done of good and evil. The director wants to know to what seeming good and what seeming evil the retreatant is being drawn through his inner experiences in prayer and meditation. St. Ignatius himself makes this distinction, and even makes it clear that the retreatant' should feel free to go to a confessor other than the director: While the one who is giving the Exercises should not seek to investigate and know the private thoughts and sins of the exercitant, nevertheless, it will be helpful if he is kept faithfully informed about the various disturbances and thot~ghts caused by the action of different spirits. This will enable him to propose some spiritual exercises in accordance with the degree of progress made and suited and adapted to the needs of a soul disturbed in this way (#17). It might be pointed out here that the director need not be a priest. He or she need only be a spiritually gifted person experienced in living the spiritual life, possessing the developed capacity to guide others, having a good knowl-edge of the faith, and knowing the Spiritual Exercises through exercise in them. This is a fact,to be underscored, since if the one-to-one retreat is to proliferate, many directors will have to be drawn from religious men and women and other members of the laity. Sisters and laymen are in fact al-ready active in directing retreats. The retreatant needs openness and courage to give his director the neces-sary account. Still he does not need to steel himself to bare his whole soul, as he sometimes finds it necessary to do with his regular spiritual director, and certainly finds it necessary to do with his confessor. Direct Communication with God .4 directed retreat is a retreat in which one is guided by a director to do spiritual exercises which will purge him, illumine him, and dispose him Jor direct communication and communion with God, direct guidance Jrom Him, and the readiness to do His will. This final definition gives a comprehensive idea of the directed retreat. The Ignatian directed retreat is divided into four parts or weeks. It was Ignatius' hope that the retreatant would really spend a whole month, apart from all other business, in making his retreat. Thirty-day retreats are being conducted today. More often, however, the retreat is condensed and made in a period of eight days. The first week provides spiritual exercises of purgation. The second week provides spiritual exercises of illumination which call the retreatant to a more wholehearted commit-ment to Jesus. The third and fourth weeks invite one to share Jesus' ex-perience of passion and resurrection as a preview of one's own future in His Directed Retreat / 495 service and life. In everything, Christ is the retreatant's life, his light, his salvation, his motivation. The directed retreat is a search for direct communication and communi-cation with God. To miss this would be to miss the meaning of the directed retreat. The preacher of the preached retreat is not really replaced by the director. He is replaced by God who Himself gives His message to the re-treatant here and now. The retreatant hears God, not by words in his ears, but by the various movements in his inner life which have been described in this article as the experiences which call for discernment. To come into a retreat with this expectation calls for deep faith in both the director and the retreatant. No doubt this faith frequently falters in both, perhaps most when they are least aware of the fact. Some directors may not even have the conviction that this direct communication and communion with God should take place, but then they are betraying their trust, for it is inescapably clear that this is the expectation and absolute conviction of the author of the Exercises. He writes: The director of the Exercises ought not to urge the exercitant more to poverty or any promise than to the contrary, nor to one state of life or way of living more than another. Outside the Exercises, it is true, we may lawfully and meritoriously urge all who probably have the required fitness to choose continence, virginity, the religious life, and every form of religious perfection. But while one is engaged in the Spiritual Exercises, it is more suitable and much better that the Creator and Lord in person communicate Himself to the devout soul in quest of the divine will, that He inflame it with His love and praise, and dispose it for the way in which it could better serve God in the future (# 15). What Ignatius expects is that the retreatant will, by making the Exercises, repeat some of his own experiences of God guiding him. Those experiences were so vivid that Ignatius called God his "Schoolmaster." Let me point out here by way of example that we customarily describe the attraction to the priesthood as a "vocation," a "call" from God. St. Ignatius is simply broadening the base of that belief by affirming that God calls us directly to many things, to little things, every day, if we can hear His voice and if we will respond to it. God's call is experienced through the inner movements of love, joy, peace, attraction to a better way, and so forth. According to Karl Rahner, S.J., this is a case of grace breaking into consciousness. In essence, therefore, the directed retreat is meant to be a mystical retreat. It is a series of spiritual exercises and prayers and contem-plations in search of the experience of God and the reading out of His will. It is a transcendental relationsh!p breaking into consciousness. Directed versus Preached Retreat It should be of help to add a brief comparison of the directed and the preached retreat. The directed ~'etreat is the authentic presentation of the 496 / Review [or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 Spiritual Exercises. This is a fact of history, but it also stands from an ex-amination of the introductory observations in the Spiritual Exercises. Still, that does not mean that the directed retreat is always best for everyone, in every set of circumstances. St. Ignatius makes it clear in the Exercises them-selves that not everyone is suited for them or ready for them. Nor are they necessarily better for anyone, year after year. They have a certain inherent advantage in that they guide the retreatant to listen directly to God Himself. On the other hand, there are times when God Himself sends us to men, as He did Paul after his conversion experience. Many factors must be weighed in determining which type of retreat will be best: the level of human ma-turity; the level of religious maturity; the personal needs at the moment, such " as the need of making a decision concerning a state of life; the level of gen-erosity, of restfulness, of vitality. The preached retreat remains of immense value when it is well con-ducted. I support this simply by appeal to the years of experience which most of us have had in making such retreats and which some of us have had in con-ducting them. Furthermore, preached retreats are excellent opportunities for hearing the word of God, and men always remain bearers of that word. There is no substitute for the preached word of God, iust as there is no sub-stitute for the inner experience of God. Then, too, the preached retreat is an opportunity to share the personal faith vision and synthesis of the retreat master who can often communicate his experience with the help of some specialized theological, sociological, or psychological competence. What it comes to is that the preached and the directed retreat are two species of retreat. Each has its own unique value, and each addresses itself to unique needs. 3-he directed retreat is of unsurpassed value for times when serious decisions have to be made. It is also of unsurpassed value in provid-ing a guided and formative experience in living the interior life. It has great value in helping a person find direct communication with God and in coming to other primary religious experiences. The preached retreat is especially valuable for broadening .and articu-lating our knowledge and vision of the faith. This helps us overcome our per-sonal limitations and biases, so that we can formulate a more comprehensive response to God. It helps us supply for our personal lack of initiative in over-coming our deficiencies. It can stir new faith in us, for belief is communi-cated by believers; and it can stir new love of God in us, for love is com-municated by lovers. In brief; the preached retreat is especially valuable in those times when for one reason or another, we need the word of God preached to us through the agency of men. Editor's Note: For other treatments of the directed retreat and of the Spiritual Exer-cises of St. Ignatius Loyola, see Sister Margaret Baker, H.V.M., "My Experience of a Directed Retreat," Review Jot Religious, July 1972, pp. 573-7: William A. Barry, SJ., Directed Retreat / 497 If this information and these norms do not yet make it clear which retreat you should prefer, I would offer one piece of advice. Experiment. Try th~ one you haven't experienced. For St. Ignatius, the need for experimentation was one of the fundamental principles of the spiritual life. "The Experience of the First and Second Weeks of the Spiritual Exercises," Review ]or Religious, January 1973, pp. 102-9; William Connolly, S.J., "Story of the Pilgrim King and the Dynamics of Prayer," Review ]or Religious, March 1973, pp. 268-72; and William A. Barry, S.J., "Silence and the Directed Retreat," Review ]or Religious, March 1973, pp. 347-51. Father Smith's present article, "The Nature and Value of a Directed Retreat," is available (at 20 cents per copy plus postage) from Review for Religious; 612 Hum-boldt Building: St. Louis. Missouri 63103; a previous article by the same author, Method for Eliminating Method in Prayer," is also available from the same address at 25 cents a copy plus postage. The Healing of Memories Francis Martin Father Francis Martin, a member of Madonna House; Combermere, Ontario KOJ 1LO; Canada, is presently completing his doctorate in Scripture in Rome. Our memory is a mysterious thing. St. Augustine, in his Confessions (Bk 10) spoke of "the fields and vast palaces of memory," and "the huge court of my memory." In his Treatise on the Trinity, Augustine saw man as an image of the Trinity because in his one interior being there were the three realities of memory, understanding, and will. Memory is compared to God the Father because it is an image of eternity, because it is the point out of which spring understanding and love, and in relation to these it has no be-ginning. Growth in Spirituality and Growth in Memory The vast universe of inner being has its spiritual origin in what we call today "awareness" or "consciousness." It is this that St. Augustine called "memoria." In some ways his term is better than ours since it points to the mysterious fact that memory is the principle of continuity. In my awareness of myself, I know myself to be the same man who yesterday lived through a certain series of experiences--I answer to the same name; and the reason for this is memory. Thus, awareness of ourselves always involves knowing "where we come from" not only in the sense of our past, but also in the sense of our Source, our Creator. We come from our past since we are at any moment of our lives the person who has lived through and been affected by a whole concatenation of experiences which we recall only imperfectly. We come from God since He has made us and at this moment is present to us, holding us in existence, though we are most often unaware of this. There is a way, then, in which it is true to say that growth in spirituality is growth in memory: it is an increasing awareness of where we come from. 498 The Healing o] Memories / 499 A deep awareness of God present to us, creating, saving, and sanctifying us, is an intimate and essential dimension of self-awareness, just as, on the other hand, our memory of the experiences which have made us who we are is a necessary part of our total awareness of who we are in God. Since this is so, there come moments in our lives when those experiences which have hurt us and twisted us somewhat must be brought to awareness and healed so that our life of prayer may deepen and our presence to God be-come more conscious. This process is called the healing of our memories or the healing of our inner being. Memory as the Sacrament of God's Presence It is not that memory only serves to retain those wounds of the past that are imperfectly healed. Our memory also carries deep within it those effects of God's action in our lives, those moments that in a special way make up our own salvation history. In allowing ourselves to enter once again into those recesses of our being where the awareness of God's action is still a living thing, we put our present experience into perspective. Deeper than this, through this memory, this action of God still living in us as a sacrament of His presence, we enter into a knowledge of where we come from: our past itself becomes the chalice containing our awareness of God. The Psalmist sings: "God, you are my God; 1 long for you, my soul thirsts for you . Upon my bed 1 remember you, in the watches of the night I dwell on you. Yes, you are my Help; in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. My soul clings to you, your right hand holds me" (Ps 63: 1, 7-9). The remembering of God brings us to songs of joy as we find ourselves protected by the vast expanse of His overshadowing wings. In this sense our memory is our access to awareness of the presence of God: He who has made us and saved us, for whom there is no time, and who is at this moment holding us in existence and giving us His life, is He who "is and was and is to come" (Rev 1:4). Our memory of what God has done brings us to the awareness that the effects of His saving acts exist in us by the mystery of His presence. Thus, though we name God by what He has done, we are speaking to Him who is present, and we know that when we shall see Him as He is, we will recognize Him as He who has always' been with us. The command of Jesus in connection with the Eucharist applies to all prayer both in com-mon and in the secret of our own heart: "Do this in memory of me." Obstacles to Living Memory But what are the obstacles to this living memory of the past upon which faith is founded, and this living memory of the future which is the inner face of hope? The greatest obstacle is our inability to "remember" because our memory is protecting itself from the wounds it carries within it. The wounds inflicted by others and the effects of our own sins still lie hidden in our inner being. These wounds are like so many "black and blue marks" on 500 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 our psyche: they are areas too sensitive to touch and yet they impede our movement. Our Lord wants to heal those wounds, either by taking them completely away or by taking away our fear of them enabling us to live in simple acceptance of our weakness and limitation. No matter what the source of these wounds, they can be the means of our union with Jesus whose wounds still shine gloriously in heaven. Even now our weakness makes the glory of God all the more manifest: "About this thing, I have pleaded with the Lord three times for it to leave me, but he has said, 'My grace is enough for you: my power is at its best in weakness.' So I shall be very happy to make my weaknesses my special boast so that the power of Christ may stay over me. " (2 Cor 12:8-10). Consciousness and Forgiveness This healing from inner wounds and from the fear of them, this healing of our memories, takes place most often through a process of consciousness and forgiveness: consciousness removes the protective but smothering layers of forgetfulness and opens that area of our being to the light and air of God, and forgiveness is a healing balm that eases pain and fosters restoration. We should speak about this process for a minute. We are aware, sometimes more forcefully than others, that there are ob-stacles that prevent us from being at ease with the Lord. We attribute this uneasiness to our sinfulness, especially to those sins and infidelities of which we are conscious. We know, really, that having sinned is no obstacle to find-ing joy in the Lord's presence: we often quote to others and to ourselves those incidents in the Gospels where Jesus goes out of His way to "welcome sinners and eat with them" (Lk 15:2). We have the constant testimony of the lives and words of the saints, and we see many people around us who bear this same witness. Still, when we are alone with the Lord, we are un-easy. Sometimes, even in deep prayer when we are aware of our Lord draw-ing close to us, we can find our minds starting to wander, almost trying to create distractions because of a fear of His presence. There can be many reasons for this, but basically we instinctively know, as we do in any love relationship, that unconditional love once accepted from the beloved obliges us to the same commitment, and we are afraid. We fear for ourselves in a commitment that takes from us the control over our own lives and future: when once we admit that we are so loved, we are no longer "free." One of the fears occasioned by charismatic manifestations of our Lord's presence is precisely this: that the Lord, through these signs of His nearness and His love, becomes too real and too obviously committed to us to be kept at a distance by our careful rationalizations and our well-apportioned times for prayer. Such initiative on the Lord's part demands conversion from us. We are called to receive the kingdom of God like a littlc child (see Mk 10: 15), but we prefer that illusion of autonomy we have so carefully created for ourselves. The Healing o] Memories / 501 However, for most of us, our Lord exercises too great an attraction to be put completely behind the bars of our self-centered caution. As we become more familiar with His presence and a little more faithful to His Spirit in us, we are less uneasy. But we must go further. Very soon in a serious life of faith we must renounce our bondage to darkness, we must be freed from our attachment to those things that hold us back from a pure surrender to the action of God in us. We must live out totally those renunciations we made at our baptism and which we ratify at every Easter Vigil. And it is here we find great difficulty and meet with the obstacles of selfishness, sensuality, ambi-tion, resentment, pride, fear, and so forth. Healing Our Memories Now the source of some of these blocks that we notice in ourselves, some of that fear of God and shame before others, as well as our attempts to com-pensate for these feelings, can be traced, as has been said, to unhealed wounds left in our inner being by incidents of our past. Of some of these we are conscious, of some but half-conscious, and of others we may be no longer conscious at all. How does one proceed in allowing our Lord to heal these memories? There are three things to be done: inner prayer; a sharing, in some degree at least, with another; and faith contact with the Body of Christ. In other terms we could describe these three this way: we enter into the sanctuary of our inner being and allow our wounds to become conscious; we pray with another who, as bearing within himself the mystery of Christ and His healing power, can be an instrument of peace; and we open ourselves, through forgiveness of others and the discipline of authentic personal re-lationships within the sacramentalized context of a truly human community, to the truth that sets us free. The first step is individual prayer; the second is confession which achieves a particular power if it is sacramental; and the third is community whose deepest source and most powerful presence is the Eucharist. Renouncing Our Resentments Let us begin with inner prayer. When we are alone at prayer, we should quite simply and directly ask our Lord to heal our memories. This may be a very general prayer at first, and may remain so for many days as we re-peat this request in our prayer. Our prayer may go something like this: "Lord Jesus, may You be praised for the love and mercy You have shown me all my life; I praise You and I thank You for that love with which You died for us and with which You share the radiance of Your risen life. Lord, You see into the depths of my soul; You know that I am wounded. The reality of evil has touched me in my own sin and in the sins and imperfec-tions of others. Lord, heal me of these wounds, let the power and beauty of Your life shine in me. I renoun(e attachment to my resentments, I forgive anyone who has ever hurt me, and I pray for them. Jesus, I join myself to 502 / Review for Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 that act of forgiveness in which You died, and I love all those people who have entered my life; I embrace them with the same love and tenderness You have for them. I hold them up before Your face, O Lord, that You may bless them and be kind to them." It may happen during this prayer that certain people or incidents arise in our memory, and we re-experlence all the hurt and anger we first knew when the event occurred. It may be our parents or some other adults during our younger years: teachers, priests, some authority figure. It may be someone in our mature years: friend, husband, wife, employer, .superior, someone who betrayed us. Or it may be something quite abstract: "the system," the Church, my education, society, though these latter abstractions are usually evasive symbols covering a person we do not wish to think about. In any case, when someone particular comes to mind, we should stop our prayer and gently, without forcing ourselves, take this person into our heart. Do not be surprised at the degree of repugnance such an interior gesture meets with. Go gently, but firmly. Resolve very quietly that you will to be de-tached from this resentment. It is better to go gently over a period of a few days with a clear awareness of the issue and a determination to share Jesus' love for this person, than to make a violent, emotional "act of the will" that only harms your own heart and is but counterfeit love for the other. When this person is in your heart, then look at Jesus and say in the name of both of you who have now become one in love, "Lord have mercy." In such a gesture, we admit our need for mercy and pray for the other person with the same desire for their well being as we have for our own. The Lord always hears this prayer. Offering the Fullness of Forgiveness It is very important in this prayer that we do not waste our time in some sort' of amateur self psychoanalysis. We are praying for our own healing with the faith-knowledge that we can never be healed without the healing of our relationships and this includes, of course, desiring that others be healed. A large part of our own personality is made up of our relations to others. We are truly and maturely persons when both the individual and the social dimensions of our being are in contact and harmony with Jesus Christ. It was this realization that led Origen to posit among the seven ways that sins are remitted, "that we forgive our brothers their sins." For, as this great teacher goes on to say: "Our Lord and Savior himself told us this when he said, 'If you forgive others their offences, your heavenly Father will forgive you, but if you do not forgive others then neither will your Father forgive you your offences.' Then too, the Lord taught us to say in prayer, 'Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven those who are in debt to us' " (Homily 2 on Leviticus). There are many emotional blocks to the fullness of the forgiveness we offer to others as they dwell in our hearts, but with prayer, honesty, and The Healing o] Memories / 503 gentleness with ourselves our Lord can heal these. This sanctification of our emotional relationships is an aspect of the way the Body of Christ "builds itself up in love" (Eph 4: 16). Since this healing pertains to the mystery of the Church in its reality as a divinization of that complex web of relation-ships by which all men are, in some deep way, linked to one another, it often happens that our Lord's action within us as we pray alone leads us to see that for deeper healing we should go and pray with another. In and through this other human being, we contact Christ, and thus also every other person in this world. We should go to someone in whom we have confidence and share with that person our burden to the degree of explicitness that the Lord leads to, as both of us pray. This is one way that we carry out that injunc-tion of St. Paul to "serve one another in love," and is a practical realization of that mutual care for one another that he describes as "carrying one anothers' burdens" (see Gal 5: 13, 6:2). Sharing Our Wounds with Others Early Christians often went to the holy men to share with them the wounds of their soul and to receive their blessing and their prayers for heal-ing. In ancient monastic life thig "manifestation of thoughts" (both good and bad) to one's spiritual father was a daily practice. Other Christians went to these men of th.e Spirit for a confession of healing whenever they felt the need. Often, but not necessarily, these spiritual fathers were priests. For, be-sides those upon whom the Church has conferred in a special and explicit way the power given her by the Lord for inner healing, there are many other people who receive this gift from the Lord by another kind of action of the Holy Spirit: "There are different ministries but the same Lord" (1 Cor 12:4). While it is always possible to share our burden with friends and pray with them for healing and have them lay hands on us, there are times when we should go to someone whom the Lord seems to have endowed in a particular way with gifts of discernment and healing. Such people, accord-ing to the unanimous witness of tradition, are recognizable by their humility, their gentleness and patience with others, and their chaste, other-centered love. In the early Church we find them described as "someone who encour-ages the brethren" or again, "a pool where the liv.ing waters ofGod's love for man are gathered." In their hearts, the love of Christ has worked a puri-fication which has brought the gift of understanding hearts and of healing them to a certain stability and power. Other Facets of the Obstacles in Our Souls As someone with whom we have shared our burden begins to pray with us, we may become aware of many other facets of the obstacles in our soul, blocking us from true freedom with the Lord. We should quietly renounce attachment to these obstacles; this is especially importantin the areas of sen-sual pleasure, anger, and resentment. Again, let the truth be strong and 504 / Review for Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 undiluted in our soul, but let the truth come from theLord and not from our self-hate, fear, or shame. Perhaps our Lord will enlighten us by giving words of prophecy to the person or persons praying over us. Most often these words have an intensely personal content for us, unsuspected by the other: his message shows us our attachment to sin or calms and heals our fear. In either case, when it is the Lord who is acting, we experience the liberation and strengthening of hearing "the truth in love." Though most of the time the healing takes place through a certain remembering of past incidents that have wounded us and a consequent conferring and receiving of forgiveness, this is not always the case either in private prayer or in prayer with others. Sometimes the Lord heals us without bringing the wound to consciousness at that moment, or at all. This is why it is so important we do not attempt to force things from our memory, but simply be willing to see and acknowl-edge anything, no matter how painful or embarrassing, that occurs to us as we pray in this way. Mark the Hermit, in one of his maxims, reminds us that unhealthy concentration on our past sins "brings sadness and banishes hope." This is true of undue preoccupation with our weaknesses and inner wounds: that ceaseless "search and destroy" drive we find in ourselves does not come from the Lord. As a matter of fact, to spend time in anxious worry and endless self-investigation is to act as though our Lord did not really appreciate how weak we are and could not help our compromised honesty to a greater degree of simplicity and truth. When we ask the Lord for healing, we are asking the Lord to heal us. He will usually do this by working in us a greater con-sciousness of our wounds and deeper capacity to trust Him and love and forgive others: our role is to agree to the action of God in us as He answers our prayer. His healing will be an inner touch and sometimes also an exterior word of discernment, encouragement, or revelation of what lies in our heart. Forgiving Sins by Healing Them The ancient Church in Syria reminded a bishop on the day of his ordina-tion that because he had been given the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins, he had been constituted a "healer of the Church of God." In the Byzan-tine rite of today there is mention of healing in the prayer for the ordination of both bishop and priest. This is but another reflection of the deep connec-tion the Eastern Church has always seen between ordination and the min-istry of healing. Origen advises his listeners to think carefully about "the doctor to whom you should make known the cause of your illness." He should be someone who "knows how to be sick with someone sick, to weep with one who weeps; who knows the discipline of grieving and suffering with another," and who can decide wisely whether or not "your illness should be brought out and healed in a meeting of the whole Church, so that others can be built up and you canbe healed the more easily" (Homily 2 on Psalm 37). The Healing o] Memories / 505 Healing and the Sacrament of Penance The above passage has its difficulties, but given the whole context of the accent on healing in connection with the forgiveness of sins in the Eastern Church, and other statements of Origen's elsewhere, we can see that the priest was looked upon as being able to forgive sins by healing them in their source and prescribing the proper remedy. This same thinking is reflected in many early commentaries on our Lord's words as reported in John 20:22-3: "He breathed on them and said, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.' " The link between the Holy Spirit and the for-giveness of sins was found in the active presence of love, and this in turn was manifested in the wisdom shown in healing the wounds of God's people. Healing is an act of the Spirit who is described in the Roman rite, in one of the Masses during the former octave of Pentecost, as being "Himself the forgiveness of sins." Thus, "therapeutic confession" and the presentation of one's sins before the bishop or his appointed representative in order to be re-integrated into the community by public penance, were not considered as completely dis-tinct. These two roles tended to blend, especially in the Western Church as the centuries progressed and, unfortunately, the legal preoccupation domi-nated. However, in the intuition of the faithful, it was most probably the desire for an inner healing that inspired people to practice regular confes-sion. This desire was only dimly realized and poorly expressed, but it was there. Today, a deeper understanding, on the part of both priest and peni-tent, of the healing power of penance could mean a greater presence within the Church of a ministry of inner healing. Father Michael Scanlon in his recent booklet, The Power in Penance (Ave Maria Press) has performed a great service in suggesting practical ways to exercise this ministry. Priests must pray deeply for a revitalizing of the healing power conferred on them at ordination. They must strive in their own lives to be mature men, those "seniores" described by the Rule of St. Benedict as men who "know how to cure their own and others' wounds without disclosing them in public" (Ch. 46). The Eucharist and Inner Healing Now that we have touched upon the sacramental dimensions of inner healing, it would be worthwhile to meditate, just briefly, on the role of the Eucharist in inner healing. The celebration of the Eucharist is the "source and summit of the whole work of preaching the gospel" according to Vatican 1I (On Priests, par. 5). It is in this reality that the Church expresses her own inner nature and realizes it ever more perfectly. If the community is truly gathered in love, then the mystery of the Church is vitally present: there is a sacred and living space of divine love, another pool where healing waters are gathered for all to drink. The authenticity of our mutual love and desire 506 / Review Jot Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 for reconciliation with God and with all men, and our praise of God and our prayer for ourselves and others, must be given a real and human expression. God expressed His love for us in a human way, and he does not expect us to be more "spiritual" or "interior" than He is. The deepest reason why the liturgy remains dead and unable to make present the mystery of Church is not so much a lack of faith, though this is an operative factor, as the fact that our human expressions of what the Spirit is working in and through us remain superficial, stilted, and dominated by human respect. Not only the sacraments, but the whole sacramental dimension of the Church exercises a causality by signifying something. When there is no sign at all, there is no sacrament--no bread, no Eucharist--and when the sign is not assimilated in faith but is merely something performed by rote, then the signifying power of the sacramental dimension is reduced to such a point that for most people nothing transpires at the conscious level of their being. On the other hand, when there is a living and beautiful human expression of what the Church as the primary sacrament really is, then the power of this mystery radiates to all, touching and transforming them. Christian Affection and Reconciliation In such a context, the dynamics already well perceived by psychology as necessary for human growth are caught up in a healing action of the Spirit. Love, thoughtfulness, acceptance, forgiveness, song, joy, friendship--all these become the mud and spittle rubbed on our eyes, so that when we wash, we see. The intimate union between body and soul has been so consecrated by the Incarnation that Tertullian could call the flesh "the hinge of salva-tion." For just as the water touching our body awakens our whole being and opens it to receive the action of the Spirit, so the psychological and physical reality of a true Christian community is an instrument of healing. To ignore the depth and power of true and chaste Christian affection and yet to expect the community gathered for worship to possess and confer an authentic reconciliation is like trying to baptize without water. In this atmosphere of love, we confess our sins, we praise God and pray for all men, and we hear in an intimately personal way those prophetic words that are contained in the Scriptures for all the Ch. urch for all time. The .words of the Scriptures enlighten, point out sin, encourage, and heal when they are heard with a heart that has already learned to set aside its fear and believe in the love of the Lord as He is expressing it through people gathered together. Memory and the Reception of Christ's Body And then we receive the Body of Christ. This is not only a touch with that flesh of Christ that healed so many, even,before the Resurrection and is now transformed by the fire of the Spirit; it is also an intimate, a mystical, union with all those who make up the Body of Christ. When our hearts are The Healing o[ Memories / 507 open, we receive and are reconciled in Christ to everyone in this world. Men may pray over us for the coming of the Spirit; Jesus enters into our body, and He is the source of the Spirit. This is the moment when our memories of the past blend with the passion of Jesus, and we forgive as He does; and we live, as He does, a life that is "unto God." Then memory becomes experi-ence of a healed past and a transformed future, somehow already present. Our inner being begins to know already the power of the Resurrection; the knowledge of where we come from, both as past and as God, becomes fused in a present awareness of Christ living in me. My memory becomes a living image of eternity where the name of God is uttered in awe and praise and the great deeds of God are proclaimed in the assembly of the faithful: "Yahweh, your name is forever; Yahweh, the memory of you is from gen-eration to generation!" (Ps 135: 13). A Community for Today and Tomorrow M. Basil Pennington, O.C.S.O. M. Basil Pennington is a Cistercian monk of St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachu-setts 01562. His most recent previous article in Review ]or Religious was "Christian Zen Retreat" in the September 1972 issue, pages 710-3. On my way to the annual Cistercian Studies Conference at Kalamazoo last May, I took the opportunity to visit the True House Covenanted Com-munity at Notre Dame. It was a very wonderful and gracefilled experience and I would like to try to share a bit of it with you. What I found and experienced at True House was quite different from what 1 expected. The press, Kevin Ranaghan's book, the annual conferences create a certain image, a good image, of Notre Dame, but something quite different from what one finds when he has the privilege of stepping into the True House Community. The popular image, at least as it strikes some of us back here in the East, leads one to expect a rather large movement, one made up mostly of students, a rather enthusiastic but changing scene. I was therefore surprised to find that the True House Community is a rather small group, including many non-students, quite structured and stabilized, and, apart from the annual conference which takes over the Notre Dame Campus when the students are not there, having relatively little apparent impact on campus. But what I "found, I must say, deeply impressed me. Quality of Life First of all and most fundamentally what impresses one is the quality of life. Here are men and women of different ages and backgrounds, truly committed in a very stable way to living as full Christians. Prayer is very much in the fabric of their lives. The Lord Jesus truly lives in them, in 508 A Community for Today and Tomorrow / 509 their hearts, in their households. Their day begins with prayer together. Or even before that, it begins with a personal get-together with the Lord as they slip, one by one, into the chapel to spend a few moments or an hour or two there before the household morning Office. Grace before and after meals is not a perfunctory duty fulfilled but a time--and time is really given to it--to praise the Giver of all good things. And in this community all strive to gather in the early evening to celebrate together a daily Eucha-rist. For one who comes from a scene where he hears mostly of people try-ing to break away from structures and tradition, it is a surprise to discover this charismatic community firmly holding on to the traditions of the Church universal. Apart from the beautiful outpouring of praise, thanksgiving, and petition at certain moments, a Catholic traditionalist would be delightfully at home with the morning prayer and evening Mass offered in the com-munity. Perhaps it is because of the immense freedom they have in the Spirit (which frees them from the need to react against structures to ex-perience freedom) and the satisfactory outlets which are wisely and with good order provided within the liturgy and at the prayer meetings, that the community feels no need to throw over the established structures. But I sensed something more positive present among them. There is alive in the community a wonderful sense of belonging to th~ Church. And, I be-lieve, they have a real need and desire to experience themselves as praying with the Church, spread across the world and through the centuries. Praise the Lord! This quality of life was not only present in their prayer and worship, it was evident in their whole way of life. "See how these Christians love one another"--and the stranger, or rather fellow Christian, who suddenly appears in their midst, like myself-~was a thought that constantly echoed in me during my visit with them, as it would again later when I was priv-ileged to spend a couple of days with the saints at Ann Arbor. As one moved about on the campus there was always a special quality presevt when one encountered and greeted another from the community. Sitting around the supper table, playing volley ball, or having a sandwich together at noon, there was present in the fabric of the very ordinary human give and take a weave of genuine love and reverence for a fellow Christian. Christ was always present. Praise Him! Structures I was perhaps most surprised to see how quickly and to what extent the charismatic community had been structured. But this is a very realistic thing. Men need structures to live together in justice and love. I only hope this and all charismatic communities, as they do realistically structure them-selves, learn at least one lesson from the traditional religious communities and never allow their structures to solidify and, instead of serving life, begin to dominate it. We must ever retain, even in our needed structures, the 510 / Review ]or Religious, Volume 32, 1973/3 freedom of the sons and daughters of God. This is a quality that is. visibly present in the True House Community. The community is divided into households. When ! was there there was the single men's household,, the single women's, the sisters, one married household, and a few on campus. New households, married and single and for guests, were in the planning. Each household off campus lived in an ordinary house, shared meals and chores, had a common exchequer, prayed together at different times during the day, and had its doors wide open to all the other members of the community and the community's guests. To their special contentment at least one of the households had the privilege of hav-ing their Lord live in their midst in His Eucharistic presence. The households on campus consisted of perhaps four, five, or six men living in the same dorm, who gathered daily for prayer and meals. As I have already men-tioned, the whole community gathers each evening for the Eucharist. Loving Concern The members of each household realize a special responsibility toward each other, one of very special loving concern. When the household is large, as the single men's household of ten, this breaks down into sub-groups, the three or four who share the same room. Herein it seems to me the True House ~ommunity is finding one of its special apostolates, or missions in the Church, one very much needed today. A vast number of our young people today have been hurt, damaged by the home they come from, with i~s lack of self-giving love and security. There needs to be healing before these young men and women can become fully mature and free Christians. And this healing can be brought about only by love. Within the context of a true Christian community this self-giving love can be administered. To effect this healing the love has to be very personal, direct, constant, and even in some real sense intimate. This the households and their sub-groups can make possible. In such a climate of concerned love, wounds are healed, a fully free Christian emerges. Then he or she can maturely and freely choose to follow the Lord and His way in marriage or in singleness for the Lord, in the community or elsewhere within the family of the People of God. Often today when a young man or woman graduates from college he or she is not yet ready for life decisions, and yet social pressures tend to demand them of them. The community provides a context where one, free from such pressures, can continue to grow as a free person in the Lord, until he is truly ready for such a decision. I think True House in its mission of healing through love and providing a context for Christian maturation is fulfilling and exemplifying an apostolate that is desperately needed in the Church today. The Sisters in the Community True House is singularly blessed in its leadership. In Jim Byrne it has a A Community [or Today and Tomorrow / 511 truly charismatic leader, one who inspires, in a very humble and Christlike way, real confidence and loyalty. I was privileged to spend a good bit of time with him and they were gracefilled hours. He is supported by real collaborators, men and women who are really with him. The community is especially blessed with the two sisters who form one of the households. I think, perhaps without their realizing it, they have something important to say to many religious today. One thing I would note in passing. The sisters are perhaps a full generation older then most of the community (Sor-ry to mention that, Sisters!), yet there is no trace of the well-known genera-tion gap. More important the sisters are playing a very important role in the heart of the community. I do not know if I can really express it accurately, and I probably will not express it the way they would; but as one looking from the outside in and seeing the whole, I might see it better than they. I think because they do stand as members of the community who do have a special consecration to the Lord, and in their particular household in some special way live this, without in any way withdrawing from full membership and participation in the life of the community, they say some-thing, minister something, more by life than by words, to the rest of the community. And I ask myself if they are not pointing toward the way in which in the future religious, other than those called by the Lord to go apart to seek his Face in monastic solitude, will find their place and fulfill their role in the Church by becoming fully integrated, yet specially conse-crated members of local Christian communities. The sisters have struggled to find how practically and meaningfully to live their commitment to two communities, the local community of True House, and their religious com-munity- and they seem to be succeeding well. The Priest and This Type of Community No word on True House Community would be complete if it did not speak of a man who is not officially a member of the Covenanted Com-munity yet is very much a part of it. I am sure that under God the quality of life at True Housc is due in great measure to the effective presence in their midst of a truly holy priest, Father Ed O'Conner. His ministry to the community at the daily Liturgy and through the many regular hours of personal spiritual direction is made powerful by the inspiring example of what he is and by his complete openness to

Issue 25.6 of the Review for Religious, 1966. ; Implementation of Vatican II by Paul VI Religious Community and the Primi-tive Church by Thomas Barrosse, A Reflection on Perfectae Caritatis by Gustave.Martelet, S.J. The Family Fallacy by Hilary Smith, O.G.D. Are Teaching Brothers Still Needed? by J. M. R. Tillard, O.P. Devouonal Confession by Dale Olen, O.F.M.Gap. Deepening Vocational Com~nitmen~ by Sister Marian Dolores, S'.:N.J.M. Humility and Pei'~onality by wali' s. S.S. Subli~nation~ by.Sister M. Rosalie, O.P. Religious and Gr~duate!!Studie~ by Michael P. 8heri~n, Blueprint.for Dialogue by Thomas Dubay, S.M. Survey of Roman DoE~uments Views, News, Previews QuesUons and ~nswers Book Reviews Indices for Volume 25, 1966 939' 971 986 1000 1018 1030 1042 1051 1055 1062 1070 1084 1088 ]092 1106 1127 VOLUME 25 N'UM~ER 6 ~Vovember 196~ Notice to Subscribers Because of constantly increasing costs, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS finds it necessary to increase the cost of its individual issues as well as of its sub-scriptions. The new rates, effective in 19(37, will be the following: (1) Individual issues of the REVIEW will cost one dollar; this price will apply not only to all issues beginning with 19(37 but also to all previously published issues. (2) Subscriptions in the United States, Canada, and Mexico will cost $5.00 per year; $9.00 for tw9 years. (~) Subscriptions to other countries will cost $5.50 per year; $10.00 for two years. (4) All the above prices are in terms of U.S.A. dollars; accordingly all payments must be made in U.S.A. funds. These prices wilI affect all individual issues sokl on or after January 1, 1967. The new subscription prices will be applicable to all subscriptions-- new and renewed--beginning with the January, 1967, issue of the REvmw. PAUL VI Implementation of Cer-tain Decrees of Vatican Council II The~ postconciliar administration of the Church clearly requires that there be established for the Church's affairs new norms and dispositions which correspond to the requirements of the Council and which are better adapted to the new goals and areas of the apostolate that the work of the Council has brought to the Church's at-tention as existing in the world of our time--a pro-foundly changed world that needs the full glow of light and longs for the supernatural warmth of charity. Because of these considerations, as soon as the Council was finished, We accordingly established study commis-sions to collect, each in its own area, information and to frame a practical program; the purpose of all this was that definite norms might be set down for the implemen-tation of the conciliar decrees which had already been granted a delay from imm. ediate execution. These com-missions, as We wrote with satisfaction in Our motu pro-prio letter, Munus apostolicum, of June 10, 1966, dili-gently occupied themselves with their assigned task; and at the assigned time they made known their findings to Us. After We had attentively considered their findings, We judged that it was now time for the aforementioned norms to be published. Since, however, the'entire mat-ter is one that pertains to discipline, an area to which ek-perience may be able to contribute further suggestions; and since, moreover, a separate commission is engaged in the revision and emendation of the Code Of Canon Law in which all the laws of the Church will be codified to-gether in a fitting, appropriate, and determined way; We * This is a translation of the motu proprio apostolic letter, Ecclesiae sanctae, issued on August 6, 1966; the translation was made [rom the Latin text as given in Osservatore romano, August 13, 1966, pp. 1-3~ 4. 4. 4, Implementation Vatican I1 VOLUME 25, 1966 have thought that it would be wise and prudent for Us to publish these norms for an experimental period. During this interval of time episcopal conferences may communicate to Us any observations and comments which the execution of these norms may convince them should be made; likewise, they can also propose new ideas to Us. Accordingly, after thinking the matter over carefully, on Our own initiative-and by Our apostolic authority, We decree and promulgate the following norms for the implementation of the decrees of the Council beginning with.the words: Christus Dominus (on the pastoral office of bishops in the Church), Presbyterorum ordinis (on the ministry and life of priests), Per[ectae caritatis (on the adaptation and renewal of religious life), and Ad genres divinitus (on the missionary activity of the Church); and We order them to be observed for an ex-perimental period; that is, until the new Code of Canon Law is promulgated unless in the meantime the Apostolic See should provide otherwise. These norms will begin to be effective on October 11, 1966, the Feast of the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the day on which four years ago the Council was solemnly inaugurated by Our predecessor of venerable memory, John XXIII. All the matters determined by Us in this motu proprio letter We order to be fixed and unalterable, all contrary things, even those worthy of very special mention, not-withstanding. Given at Rome at St. Peter's on August 6, 1966, the Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus Christ, in the fourth year of Our pontificate. Paul PP. VI ÷ ÷ ÷ Paul REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS NORMS FOR THE DECREES ON BISHOPS AND ON PRIESTS The episcopal office, which the Second Vatican Coun-cil has clarified in the dogmatic constitution, Lumen gen-tium, and in the decree, Christus Dominus, was divinely established for the building up of the Mystical Body of Christ which is the Church. For this reason these holy pastors must show a perse-vering zeal in the fulfillment of their duty of teaching, sanctifying, and shepherding the People of God. In doing this, they should generously share with the roman pon-tiff the solicitude of all the churches, they should ear-nestly provide for the good administration of the dio-ceses entrusted to them, and finally they should work together for the good of their several churches. In the direction of the dioceses e.ntrusted to them the bishops require helpers and counselors, the first of which are the priests; hence bishops should willingly listen to these latter and even be desirous of consulting ~hem, though in all matters there should always be retained as fixed the bishop's power of acting, freely, of setting up directives and norms, and of enacting laws in accord with his own conscientious concept of his office and with the principles of the government of the Church (see the dog-matic constitution, Lumen gentium~, n. 27). In order, therefore, that the bishops may be able to fulfill their pastoral duty more ea,sily and fittingly and in order that they might translate into practice the prin-ciples solemnly approved by the Council in the decrees, Christus Dominus and Presbyterorum ordinis, the fol-lowing norms are established. Distribution of the Clergy and Assistance to Dioceses (N. 6 of the decree, Christus Dominus, and n. 10 of the decree, Presbyterorum ordinis) 1. If it is deemed opportune, there should be set up at the Apostolic See a special committee the purpose of which will be to provide general ~rinciples for a better distribution of the clergy in the light of the needs of the various churches. ,, 2. It will be the duty of patriarchal synods and of epis-copal conferences, the prescriptionls of the Apostolic See being observed, to enact ordinances and to publish norms for the bishops by which there may be secured a fitting distribution of the clergy coming from their own terri-tory as well as of those coming fr6m other regions. Such a distribution should provide [orl the needs of all the dioceses of a given territory; the welfare of the churches in mission lands and in countries~ with a lack of clergy should also be cared for. Therefore, every episcopal con-ference should establish a commission whose work it will be to investigate the needs of the various dioceses of the territory as well as the possibilities of the dioceses for giving from their own clergy to other dioceses, to put into execution the determinations made and approved by the conferences with regard to the distribution of the clergy, and to convey these determinations to the bishops of the territory. ~ 3. In order that the transfer of clerics from one diocese to another be made easier--the p(actice of incardination and excardination being retame~d though ~n a form adapted to new circumstances--the following prescrip-tions are set down. § 1. Clerics in seminaries shoqld be trained so that they are solicitous not only for ithe diocese for whose service they are ordained but also for the entire Church + + + Implementation o~ Vatican Ii VOLUME 25, 1966 941 Paul VI REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS and so that with the permission of their own bishop they are ready to devote themselves to particular churches whose needs are great. § 2. Except in the case of genuine necessity in the home diocese, ordinaries and hierarchs should not refuse permission to go elsewhere to those clerics whom they know are prepared and whom they judge to be suited when such clerics ask to perform their sacred ministry in regions having a serious lack of clergy; however, they should see to it that the rights and duties of these clerics are defined by a written agreement with the lbcal ordi-nary of the region that has been asked for. : § 3. In the case of clerics 'intending to transfer from their own diocese to a diocese of another' country, the same ordinaries should see to it that they are adequately prepared to exercise the sacred ministry in such places; that is, they should see to it that such clerics .acquire a knowledge of th~ language of that region and that they have an understanding of its institutions, of its social conditions, and of its usages and customs. § 4. Ordinaries can grant their clerics permission to transfer to another diocese for a determined time, which caff also be renewed indefinitely; t.his should be done, however, in such a way that such clerics remain incardi-hated in their own diocese and enjoy, when they return to it, all the rights they would have if they had devoted themselves to the sacred ministry in it. § 5. A cleric, however, who has legitimately transferred from his own diocege to another is ipso iure incardinated into the latter diocese after five years if he has manifested in writing such an intention both to the ordinary of the diocese he is in and to his own ordinary provided that within four months neither of these has expressed in. writing a contrary opinion. 4. Moreover, for the accomplishment of special pas-toral or missionary activities for various regions or social groups which need special help, there can be usefully established by the Apostolic See prelatures which consist of specially trained priests of the secular clergy and which are under the direction of their own prelate and possess their own statutes. It will be the duty of this prelate to: establish, and di-rect a national or international seminary in which stu-dents are appropriately trained. This prelate also has the right of incardinating such students and of promot-ing them to orders under the title of service to the prel-ature. The prelate should provide for the spiritual life of those promoted under the aforementioned title, for their special training which should be completed without de-lay, and for their special ministry in the light of agree- ments made with the local ordinai'ies to whom the priests are sent. Likewise, he should pro~,ide for their decent sus-tenance which should be met by the agreements that have been made or by the goods 0[ the prelature itself or by other suitable means. Similarly, he should provide for those who because of poor health or for other reasons must give up the work entrusted to them. Provided agreements have been made with the prel-ature, nothing prevents laymen, whether unmarried or married, from dedicating themselves and their profes-sional experience to the service of the prelature's works and undertakings. Such prelatures are not to be established except after consultation with the episcopal conferences of the terri-tory in which the prelature will carry out its work. In doing its work, the prelature should take every care to observe the rights of the local ordinaries and to have close and continual relationships with the episcopal con ferences. 5. Finally, with regard to the use of ecclesiastical goods it is also within the co~npetency of patriarchal synods and episcopal conferences to enact ordinances by which, attention being paid first of all to the needs of the dio- 'ceses of the territory, there are imposed on the dioceses certain levies to be paid for the sake of apostolic or char-itable works or for the sake of churches which possess 'small resources or which for special reasons are in need. Power ol Bishops o[ Dioceses (N. 8 of the decree, Christus dominus) 6. The norms for the execution of number 8 have been established in the motu proprio apostolic letter, De episcoporum muneribus, dated June 15, 1966. Fostering Pastoral and Scientific Study (N. 16 of the de-cree, Christus Dominus, and n. 19 of the decree, Presby-terorum ordinis) 7. The bishops, either individually orin cooperation, should see to it that during the year after, ordination all priests, even those engaged in the ministry, complete a series of pastoral lectures and that they also attend at stated times other lectures which are to provide them with the occasion of acquiring fuller knowledge of pas-toral matters and of theological, moral, and liturgical science, of strengthening their spiritual life, and of com-municating in a mutual and fraternal way their apos-tolic experiences. The bishops or the episcopal conferences, according to the circumstances of each territory, should see to it that one or more priests of proved knowledge and virtue Implementation Vatican H VOLUME 25, 1966 943 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS ~944 be chosen as., directors of studies for the purpose of pro- . rooting and: organizing the pastoral: lectures as well as the other helps judged to be n.ecessary for the ~cientific and pastoral fqrma.tion of the~priests of a given territo~; such helps incl.ude st.udy centers, traveling libraries, cate-chetical, homiletic,: or liturgical congresses, and ~the like. Remuneration and Sbcial Wellare of Priests (N. 16 of the de~ree, Christus Dominus, and nos. 20-1 of the de-cree, Presb~?terorum ~dinis) 8. Patriarchal synods and episcopal conferences should see to it that norms be set up, whether for each diocese or for several dioceses in common or for the entire te~i-tory, by which appropriate provisions are made for the due sustenance of clerics who are or have been engaged in the service of the People of God. The remuneration to be made to clerics should be essentially the same for all in the same circumstances, due regard being had [or the nature of a given office and for circumstances time and .place; the remu.neration should be sufficient .to enable clerics to lead a decent life and also to be of help to the poor. ¯ ,The reform of the system of benefices is entrusted to the commission.for the revision of the Code of Canon Law. In the meantime bishops, after conferring with their council of priests, should take care to provide for a just distribution of goods including also the revenues coming from benefices. The same episcopal conferences should~see to it that at least in those regions where the sustenance of the clergy depends completely or in large part on the offer-ings of th'e faithful each diocese has a special fund in which off, rings for thi~ purpose are collected. The ad-ministrator of this fund should be the bishop of th~ dio-cese ,himself who can be ass!sted, however, by delegated priests and, when it is advantageous, by laymen experi-enced in financial'mhtters.' Finally, the same episcopal conferences should see~ to it that in each country, ecclesiastical and civil laws always being observed, there should be either interdioc-esan institutions or institutions coestablished [or vari-ous dioceses" or'a consociation for an entire country by which sufficient provision' may be. made' under the vigi-lance of °the hierarchy for an adequate health insurance and benefit program and for the sustenance of-clerics who are sick, injured, or aged; It will be left to the revision 0f the Code of Canon Law to set down conditions for the establishment in each diocese or region of another ,common fund by which bishops can meet other obligations to persons serv-ing ~the Chulch and provide [or other needs of the dio- cese and by which richer dioceses can also help poorer dioceses. Care o1 Special Groups (N. 1"8 of the decree, Christus, Dominus) 9. 'In consideration ~ of today's great numbers of emi-grants and' travelers, the episcopal conferences' are asked to entrust to a specially delegated, priest or to a special commission everything pertaining t.o the study and direc-tion of the spiritual care of th~s~ groups. Nomination of,Bishops (N. 20 of the decree; Christus Dominus) . ¯ 10. Wi~h full retention of the roman pontiff's right of freely nominating and constituting bishops and without prejudice to the discipline of the Eastern Churches, the episcopal conferences in accordance wi~h the norms given or to be given by the Apostolic See should each year consult in secret and with prudence about the pro-motion of ecclesiastical persons to the office of. bishop in their territory; and they should propose the names of candidates to the Apostolic 'See. Resigr~.ation of Bishops (N. 21 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 11. For the implementation of the prescription of number 21 of the decree, Christus Dominus, all bish-ops of dioceses as well as other persons comparable to them in law are 'earnestly requested that before the com-pletion of their seventy-fifth year~ and of their own accord they tender their ~resignation of their office, to the.c6m-petent authority which will provide for the matter after considering all the circumstances of each case. A bishop whose resignation from office has' been ac-cepted can maintain, if he desires, his residence in the diocese. Moreover, the diocese itself should provide an appropriate and worthy sustenafice for a resigned bishop. It is the duty of the conferences of bishops to determine in a general way 'the conditions according to which the dio(ese should fulfill this duty. Boundaries o[ Dioceses (Nos. 22--4 of the decree, Christus Domin~us) 12.- § 1. In order that the boundaries of dioceses can be duly revised, the episcopal conferences, each for its own territory, should examine the present territorial di-visions of. the churches, setting up, if necessary, a special commission for this. For this examination it is necessary that the status of the dioceses with regard to territory, persons, and things be duly investigated, Individual bishops who are directly affected as well as the bishops ÷ ÷ ÷ Implementation vatican 1I VOLUME 25, 1966 945 ÷ ÷ ÷ Paul VI REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 946 of the entire ecclesiastical province or region within whose limits the revision of dioceses takes place should be consulted; as far as possible there should be used the help of genuinely expert persons whether ecclesi-astical or lay; the intrinsic reasons suggesting the chang-ing of boundaries should be considered with calmness; there should be considered for possible introduction all the changes treated in numbers 22-3 of the decree,~ Christus Dominus; in the divisi6n or dismembering of dioceses care should be taken to achieve an equitable and suitable distribution of priests and of seminarians, regard being had for the needs of the ministry of salva-tion to be exercised in each diocese and for the special circumstances and wishes of the priests and seminarians. § 2 With regard to the Eastern Churches it is desira-ble that in determining the boundaries for eparchies account should also be taken of the greater closeness of those places in which the faithful of the same rite live. Faculties of Auxiliary Bishops (Nos. 25--6 of the de-cree, Christus Dominus) 13.-§ 1. Auxiliary bishops must be established for a given diocese whenever this is demanded by the genuine needs of the apostolat~ exercised there. In the matter of the power to be given to an auxiliary bishop the chief considerations to be kept in mind are the following: the welfare of the Lord's flock that is to b.e shepherded, the status of membership in the episcopal college with which the auxiliary is honored, and his effective cooperation with the bishop of the diocese. § 2. The bishop of the diocese should make his auxil-iary either a vicar general or syncellus or an episcopal vicar, dependent, however, in every case exclusively on the authority of the bishop of the diocese. § 3. In order that the common welfare of the diocese be sufficiently provided for and that the dignity of the auxiliary bishop be safeguarded, the Council desired to make known its wish that when a see is vacant those who possess the right of doing so should entrust the di-rection of the diocese to the auxiliary or, when there are more than one, to one of th~ auxiliaries. Neverthe-less, ~ unless in a given case some other arrangement be made by competent authority, an auxiliary bishop as vicar general or as episcopal vicar does not lose the powers and faculties he possesses by law when the see is occupied. When, therefore, an auxiliar)~ is not elected to the office of vicar capitular, he retains the power con-ferred on him by law until a new bishop takes possession of the see; he should exercise this power in full concord with the vicar capitular who is the head of the admin-istration of the diocese. Episcopal Vicars (N. 27 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 14. - § 1. The new office of episcopal vicar was legally instituted by the Council in order that the bishop through the increase of these new co-workers might be able to carry out his pastoral direction as well as possible. Therefore it is left to the free decision of the bishop of a diocese to constitute one or more episcopal vicars accord-ing to the special needs of the place; moreover, his fac-ulty remains intact of naming one or more vicars general according to the norm of canon 366 of the Code of Canon Law. § 2. Episcopal vicars who according to the bishop's nomination are such in a given part of the diocese or in,~a certain type of activities or with regard to the faith-ful of a given rite or to groups of persons possess the ordinary vicarious power which common law gives to the vicar general. Therefore, within the limits of their com-petency they have the habitual faculties granted by the Apostolic See to the bishop as well as the execution of rescripts unless something else has been expressly pro-vided for or was purposely reserved to the person of the bishop. Nevertheless, the bishop of a diocese is free to reserve matters that he chooses to himself or to the vicar general; likewise, he is free to confer on the episcopal vicar the special mandate prescribed by common law for certain matters. § 3. As a co-worker of the episcopal office the episcopal vicar should refer everything done or to be done to the bishop of the diocese; moreover, he should never act in opposition to the latter's mind and will. Furthermore, he should not neglect to institute frequent conferences with the other co-workers of the bishop--~specially with the vicar general in ways to be determined by the bishop of the diocese; the purpose of such conferences is to strengthen unity of discipline among the clergy and the people and to obtain greater results in the diocese. § 4. A request denied by a vicar general or by an epis-copal vicar cannot be validly granted by another vicar of the same bishop even though he has considered the reasons for the denial of the vicar who made it. Moreover, a request denied by a vicar general or syn-cellus or by an episcopal vicar and afterward obtained from the bishop is invalid if no mention was made of the previous denial; a request, however, denied by the bishop cannot be validly obtained from a vicar general or an episcopal vicar without the consent of the bishop even if the previous denial has been mentioned. § 5. Episcopal vicars who are not auxiliary bishops are nominated for a set time to be determined in the very act of establishing them; nevertheless, they can be re- + + + Implementation Vatican I1 VOLUME 25, 1966 947 + ÷ ÷ Paul Vl REVIE~V FOR RELIGIOUS moved at the will of the bishop. When the see is vacant, they lose their office unless they are auxiliary bishops; it is, however, advisable for the vicar capitular to use them as his delegates so that the good of the diocese will not be harmed. The Council of Priests and the Pastoral Council (N. 27 of the decree, Christus Dominus, and n. 7 of the decree, Presbyterorum ordinis) 15. The following points refer to the council of priests: § 1. In each diocese according to ways and forms to be determined by the bishop there should be a council of priests; that is, a group or senate of priests representing the priests as a whole; this senate is to be such that by its advice it can effectively assist the bishop in the admin-istration of the diocese. In this council the bishop should listen to his priests, consult them, and confer with them about matters pertaining to the needs of pastoral work and to the good of the diocese. § 2. Insofar as they have a part in the care of souls and in the works of the apostolate religious will also be able to be admitted among the members of the council of priests. § 3. The council of priests has only a consultive voice. 24. When the see is vacant, the council .of priests ceases unless in special circumstances authenticated by the Holy See the vicar capitular or the apostolic admin-istrator confirms it. However, the new bishop will establish his own new council of priests. 16. The following points refer to the pastoral council so highly recommended by the decree, Christus Dominus: § 1. The work of the pastoral council is to investigate and appraise all pastoral works and to make practical conclusions concerning such works. All this is to be done in such a way that conformity with the gospel be pro-moted with regard to the life and action of the People of God. § 2. The pastoral council, which has only a consultive voice, can be constituted in various ways. Ordinarily, even though by its nature it is a permanent institution, its membership and activity can be for a definite time, performing its work on given occasions. The bishop can convoke it whenever it will seem opportune to him. § 3. In the pastoral council clerics, religious, and lay persons, specially chosen by the bishop, have a part. § 4. In order that the purpose of this council be actu-ally achieved in practice, it is desirable that its work in common be preceded by previous stndy with the help, if the matter warrants it, of institutes or offices which are at work in the area of the council's purpose. § 5. When hierarchies of diverse rites are present in the same territory, it is strongly recommended that as far as possible the pastoral council be interritual; that is, that it consist of clerics, religious, and lay persons of the diverse rites. § 6. Other dispositions are left to the free determina-tion of the bishop of the diocese, account being taken of the matters mentioned in number 17. 17.-§ 1. In matters involving the council of priests, the pastoral council, and their relations to each other or to the committees already existing by reason of present law, it is advisable that the bishops, especially when they are met in their conferences, take common counsel and publish similar norms in all the dioceses of the territory. The bishops should also take care that all diocesan councils be coordinated as closely as possible by a clear-cut determination of competency, by mutual sharing of members, by common or successive sessions, and by other such means. §2. In the meantime until they are revised, the bishop's councils that are in existence by reason of ex-isting law, that is, his cathedral chapter, his group of consultors, and others of the same type if there be such, retain their own work and their own competency. Suppression of Rights and Privileges in the Conferral of O~ces and Benefices (N. 28 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 18.-§ 1. The good of souls demands that the bishop possess due liberty to confer offices and benefices, even those without the care of souls, in a suitable and equi-table manner on the clerics who are best fitted for them. The Apostolic See will no longer reserve to itself the conferral of offices or benefices, whether with or without the care of souls, unless they be consistorial; in the law of the formulation of every benefice those clauses will be eliminated in the future which restrict the freedom of the bishop with regard to the conferral of the benefice; non-onerous privileges, hitherto granted to physical or moral persons and involving the right of election, nomi-nation, or presentation for any non-consistorial office or benefice, are abrogated; also abrogated are customs and rights of nominating, electing, and presenting priests for a parochial office or benefice; the law of competitive examinations is suppressed for offices and benefices, in-cluding those without the care of souls. With regard to what are called popular elections, it is the duty of the episcopal conferences where such elec-tions exist to propose to the Apostolic See what seems ÷ ÷ + Implementation of Vatican I1 VOLUME 25, 1966 9,i9 ÷ ÷ ÷ Paul VI REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 950 most opportune with a view of abrogating them as far as possible. § 2. If, however, rights and privileges in this matter were established by reason of a convention between the Apostolic See and a nation or by reason of a contract made with physical or moral persons, the matter of the cessation of such rights and privileges must be taken up with the interested parties. Deans (N. 30 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 19.-§ 1. Among the closer co-workers of the bishop of a diocese are to be included those priests who exercise a pastoral function of a supraparochial nature; among such are vicars forane who are also called archpriests or deans and among Eastern Christians protopriests. For the exercise of this position there should be appointed priests who are outstanding for their knowledge and their apostolic activity and who, when they are given due faculties by the bishop, can suitably promote and direct common pastoral action in the territory entrusted to them. Accordingly, this office is not affixed to a deter-mined parish. 2. Vicars forane, archpriests, or deans are appointed for a set time to be determined by special law; however, they can be removed at the will of the bishop. In the case of the nomination, transfer, or removal of parish priests in the territory of which the deans are in charge, it is advisable that the bishop of the diocese consult them. Removal, Transfer, and Resignation of Pastors (N. 31 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 20.-§ 1. Without ~rejudice to the present law of religious, the bishop can legitimately remove any pastor from a parish whenever in the opinion of the bishop his ministry, even without any serious fault of his own, is made harmful or at least ineffective because of any of the causes listed in law or for similar reasons; until the revision of the Code the mode of proceeding in this matter is to be that laid down for irremovable pastors (cc. 2157-=61 of the Code of Canon Law), the law of the Eastern churches retaining its force. § 2. If the good of souls or the'need or welfare of the Church. demands it, the bishop can transfer a pastor from his parish in which he is successful to another parish or to any other ecclesiastical office. If, however, the pastor refuses, the bishop, in order that the transfer be validly enacted, should follow in every detail the way of acting noted above. § 3. In order .that the prescriptions of number 31 of the decree, Christus Dominus, can be put into execu- tion, it is requested of all pastors that of their own accord before the completion of their seventy-fifth year they submit their resignation to their own bishop who, hav-ing considered all the circumstances, will decide whether to accept or defer the resignation. The bishop should provide those who resign with suitable sustenance and habitation. Establishment, Suppression, and Change of Parishes (N. 32 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 21.-§ 1. Every effort should be made that there be suitable partitioning or division of parishes in which because of the excessive number of the faithful or the excessive extent of the territory or because of any reason whatsoever apostolic activity can be exercised only with difficulty or in a less than suitable way. Likewise, parishes that are too small should be united into one as far as the matter demands and circumstances allow. § 2. Parishes should no longer be united by full right to chapters of canons. If any are so united, after consul-tation with the chapter and the council of priests they should be separated and a pastor established-~selected either from the capitulars or not--who should possess all the faculties which belong to pastors .according to the prescriptions of law. § 3. By his own authority and after consultation with the council of priests the bishop of a diocese can es-tablish, suppress, and change parishes; however, he must do this in such a way that if there are conventions be-tween the Apostolic See and the civil government or if there are rights involved belonging to physical or moral persons, the matter be suitably adjuste~d with the pre~ ceding subjects by the competent authority. Religious (Nos. 33--5 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 22. The norms set forth here apply to all religious, men and women, of whatever rite, but without prejudice to the rights of the Eastern patriarchs. 23-§ 1. All religious, including .exempt ones, working in places where a rite different from their own is the only one or is so much greater with respect to the num-be of its faithful that in common estimation it is judged. to be the only one, are dependent on the local ordinary or hierarch in those things which involve the external works of the ministry; and they are subject to him ac-cording to the norms of law. § 2. Where, however, there are many local ordinaries or hierarchs, the same religious in discharging their func-tions among the faithful of different rites are bound by the norms which are given by the common consent of these ordinaries and hierarchs. VOLUME 25, 1966 951 Paul, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS , 24. Although. the exemption of religious within its own legitima.te confines also applies in mission localities, still, because of the special circumstances of the sacred ministry exercised in those places and according to the' mind of the decree, .dd gentes divinitus," the special stat-utes are to be observed that have been giv.en or approved by the Apostolic See with regard to the relationships be-tween the local ordinary and the religious superior, es-pecially in the case'of; a mission entrusted to a given institute. 25.-§ 1. All religious, including exempt ones, .are bound by the laws, decrees, and ordinances enacted by the local ordinary with regard, to the various works con-cerned with the exercise of the sacred apostolate as well as with pastoral, and social action pr~scribed or recom-mended by the local ordinary. § 2. They are likewise bound ,by the laws, decrees, and ordinances ~nacted by the local ordinary or by the conference of bishops regarding among other things~ the following matters: a) the public"use of all means of social communica-tion according to the norm of numbers 20 and 21 of the decree, Inter miril~ca; ~ . , b) attendance at public spectacles; c) membership or cooperati.on with societies or asso-ciations which the 'local. ordinary or the episcopal con-ference has declared forbidden; d) dccle~iasti~al garb, thqugh there remain in force canofi 596 6f the ~Code of Canon Law and canon 139 of the Code of Canofi Law f6r. the East'.ern Church; the matter of ecdlesiastic.al g~.,rb 'is to include the following regulation: The l'6dal, ordinary or the episcopal confer-ence, in order ~6'~ ~oid'scarid~ilizin'g the faithful, can prohibit, the clergy, both secular and religious, including the exempt,,on~s., from publi,cly wearing lay garb. ¯ 26. Furthermore, the sarape ~r$1igio~us are bound by the laws and decrees' efia~teff by the local ordinary with re-gard to the public exercise 6f -~orship. They "are bound to this in their 6wn churches" ~nd in their public as well as their semipublic oratories if the faithful ordinarily attend them, without prejud.ic~, however,, to the rite iegitimately used f~r theirs.,, own c.ommunity only and account bei.ng taken of ~the o'rdo for the choral Divine Office and for the. sacred functions pertaining to the spe-cial purpose ~f"the institute. 27.-§.1. The epis.copal .conference of each nat.ion, having consulted the religious superiors involved in the matter, can determine norms with regard to the soliciting Of donations;, the~ norms must be observed by all reli-gious, not excluding those who by reason of their insti-. tute are called and are mendicants, without prejudice, however, to their right to beg. § 2. Likewise, religious should not begin the collec-tion of funds by means of a public ,subscription without the consent of the ordinaries of the places in which the funds are collected. ~ 28. The proper or special ~vorks of ~ach institute are those which with the approval of the Apostolic See have been undertaken from its foundation or on account of venerable traditions and which accordingly have been defined and regulated by the constitutions and other proper laws of the institu.t_e. These works, should be zealously fostered by' re!igious, special account being made of the spiritual necessities of the dioceses and fra-ternal concord being maintained with the diocesan clergy and with other institutes engaged in similar works. 29.-§ 1. The.proper or special works exercised in the institute's houses, even those that are rented, are de-pendent on the superiors of the institute who should direct and regulate them according to the constitu-tions. Nevertheless, works of this kind are also subject to the jurisdiction of the local ordinary according to the norm of law. § 2. However, works, ' even though proper and special to the institute, which are entrusted to it by the local ordinary are subject to the ordinary's authority and direction, there being retained, however, the right of religious superiors to watch over the life of their mem-bers as well as to watch over, together with the local ordinary, the execution of the functions entrusted to them. 30.- § 1. ~)ther matters of law being observed, a writ-ten agreement should be made between the local ordi-nary and the competent superior in the case of,the com-mitting of a work of" the apostolate to an institute by the local ordinary. This agreement among other things should clearly define details concerning the work to be done, the members to be .devoted to it, and its financial aspects. § 2. For these works genuinely fitted religious should be selected by their proper ,religious superior after mu-tual consultation with the local ordinary; and if it is a question of an ecclesiastical office to be conferred on a member, the religious should be nbminated by the local ordinary himself, with the presentatibn or at least the assent' of his proper superior and for a period of time determined by mutual consent. 31. Even when'a task is to' be entrusted to a given religious by the "local ordinary or by the episcopal con-ference, this should he"done with the consent of his superior and through a written agreement. ÷ ÷ ÷ Implementation oJ Vatican H VOLUME 25, 1966 953 Paul VI REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 954 32. For a serious reaSon any religious can be removed from the work entrusted to him both at the wish of the commissioning authdrity after the religious superior has been advised arid at the wish of the superior after the one commissioning ~has been advised. In this matter both have parity in law and the consent of the other is not required; neither one is bound to disclose, and much less to prove, t6 the other the reason for his decision, without prejudice, however, to non-suspensive appeal to the Apostolic See. 33.-§ 1. The local ordinary by his own authority and with the consent of the competent religious superior can entrust a parish to a religious institt~te even by erecting it in a religious church of the institute. This commis-sioning of a parish can be done permanently or' for a def-inite period of time; in either case it should be done by m~ans of a written agreement between the ordinary and the comp'etent superior of the institute; in this agreement among other matters there should be expressly and clearly set forth mat'ters pertaining to the work to be done, the persons to be assigned it, and to the finances involved. § 2. With the permission of the proper superior the local ordinary can constitute a religious as pastor of a parish not entrusted ~to the inStitute; in this case a spe-cially adapted agreement should be made with the com-petent superior of the ~nstltute. 34. - § 1. A religious house, whether formal or nonfor-mal; pertaining to an exempt institute cannot be sup-pressed without the consent of the Apostolic See and without consultation of the local ordinary. § 2. Religious superiors should not be hasty in seek-ing to suppress for whatever reason a house or a work; for they Should r~member that all religious have the duty to work hard and diligently not only for the build-ing up and increase of the entire Mystical Body of Ch'rigt but also for the welfare of the particular churches. § 3. When, however, suppression Of a house or work is asked for by superio?s, especially when the reason is lack of persons, the local ordinary should consider the peti-tion in a benignant way. 35. Even.when established by the Apostolic See, asso-ciations 'of the faithful which are under the leadership an~ direction of a religiou.s institute are under the juris-diction and vigilance of the local ordinary who has the right and duty of visiting them according to the norms of the sacred canons. If they are engaged in the external works of the apostolate or in .the promotion .of divine worship, they must observe the prescriptions made in these matters b9 the local ordinary or the episcopal conference. 36.-§ 1. The apostolic zeal of the members of the in-stitutes of perfection who do not profess a purely con-templative life should not be limited to works proper to each institute or to others that are occasionally as-sumed in such a way that local ordinaries, having con-sidered the special characteristics of each institute and with the consent of the competent religious superior, can-not call on not only priest religious but also on all men and women members to assist in the various ministries of the dioceses or regions because of the needs of souls and lack of clergy. § 2. If in the judgment of the local ordinary the help of religious is thought necessary or highly useful [or ex-ercising the multiple work of the apostolate and for fos-tering undertakings of a pastoral nature in secular par-ishes or in diocesan associations, religious superiors should as far as they can furnish the desired help when the same ordinary asks for it. 37. In all churches as well as in all public or semi-public oratories belonging to religious which as a matter of fact and habitually are open to the faithful, the local ordinary can order that episc6pal documents be publicly read and catechetical instructions be given and that spe-cial offerings be collected for specified parochial, dioc-esan, national, or universal purposes, all of which offer-ings are to be carefully sent to the episcopal curia. 38. If the faithful ord!narily attend them, the local ordinary has the right of visiting the churches and ora-tories, even semipublic ones, of religious, including the exempt ones, in order to assure the observance of the gen-eral laws and of the episcopal decrees with regard to di-. vine worship. If it happens that abuse is noted in this area and if warnings given the religious superior have been without effect, he himself can take care of the mat-ter by his own authority. 39. - § 1. In accord with the norm of number 35, 4, of the decree, Christus Dorninus, the general ordering of the. Catholic schools of religious institutes, their right of directing them being safeguarded as well as the norms given in the decree, number 35, 5, concerning the previ-ous mutual consultations between bishops and religious superiors, involves the overall distribution of all Catholic schools in the diocese, their, intercooperation, and their supervision to see to it that they are no less suitable than other schools for the achievement of their c~fltural and social purposes. § 2. With the exception of purely internal schools open exclusively to members of an institute, the schools, colleges, oratories, recreation centers, homes, orphanages of religious institutes as well as other similar institutions of theirs for works of religion or of charity, whether ÷ ÷ ÷ Implementation Vatican I1 VOLUME 25, 1966 " "" 955 spiritual or temporal, can be visited by the local ordinary either personally or through another in accord with the norm of the sacred canons." 40. The norms for the inclusion of religious in dioce-san works and ministries to be exercised under the direc-tion of the bishop should also be applied, suitable adapta-tions being made, to other works and ministries which exceed diocesan boundaries. + ÷ + Paul VI REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 956 Episcopal Conferences (N. 38 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 41. - § 1. The bishops of countries or territories in which an episcopal conference is not yet had should act promptly to establish one in accord with the norm of the decree, Christus Dominus; and they should frame statutes for it and send them to the Apostolic See for examination. § 2. Already established episcopal conferences must draw up their own statutes according to the prescrip-tions of the Council; or, if they already have a set of statutes, they should revise them in accord with the mind of the same Council and submit them for examination to the Apostolic See. § 3. Bishops of countries in which it is difficult to es-tablish a conference, after consultation with the Apostolic See, should join that conference which best fits the needs of the apostolate of their own nation. § 4. Episcopal conferences 6f many nations, that is, international ones, can be established only with the ap-proval of the Holy See whose right it is to establish special norms. Moreover, whenever any projects or plans of an international nature are undertaken, the Holy See should be advised about them beforehand. § 5. Relationships between episcopal conferences, es-pecially those of neighboring countries, can be main-tained in an opportune and suitable way by the secre-tariats of the conferences. The secretariats can among other matters be concerned with the following activities: a) to communicate the principal ways of proceeding especially in pastoral matters and activity; b) to send written reports giving the decisions of the conference or to send the proceedings or documents which are issued by the common agreement of the bishops; c) to point out various undertakings of the apostolate that have been proposed or recommended by the epis-copal conference and that may be useful in similar cases; d) to propose serious matters which in modern times and in particular circumstances seem to be of the greatest importance; e) to indicate dangers or errors in the country that may creep into other nations, making this indication so that suitable and opportune means can be taken to prevent, remove, or limit them; and to do other similar things. Boundaries of Ecclesiastical Provinces or Regions (Nos. 39-41 of the decree, Christus Dominus) 42. The conferences of bishops should attentively study whether the better achievement of the welfare of souls a) requires a more suitable determination of the boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces or b) indicates the establish-ment of ecclesiastical regions. If the answer to these points is affirmative, the conferences should send to the Holy See the ways by which needed revisions of the boundaries of ecclesiastical provinces and the needed establishment of regions are to be enacted in law. More-over, they should indicate to the Holy See the ways in which those dioceses in the territory should be aggregated which up to now have been immediately subject to the Holy See. Pastoral Directories (N. 44 of the decree, Christus Domi-nu$) 43. With regard to pastoral directories, patriarchal synods and episcopal conferences are asked to be prompt in studying the general and special questions to be treated in the directories and to communicate their advice and desires as soon as possible to the Apostolic See. II NORMS FOR THE DECREE ON RELIGIOUS LIFE In order that the effects of the Council may be care-fully brought to maturity, religious institutes should first of all promote a newness of spirit and then in a prudent but inventive way see to the suitable renewal of life and discipline by carefully studying the dogmatic constitu-tion, Lumen gentium (Chapters 5 and 6) as well as the decree, Perfectae caritatis, and by putting into effect the teaching and norms of the Council. The following norms, which apply and give insistence to the decree, Perfectae caritatis, hold with suitable adaptation for all religious, Latin as well as Eastern; they describe a way of proceeding and lay down certain pre-scriptions. PART I THE WAY TO PROMOTE A SUITABLE RENEWAL OF RELIGIOUS LIFE I. Those Who Should Promote a Suitable Renewal 1. The principal role in the renewal and adaptation of religious life pertains to tbe institutes themselves; they + ÷ ÷ Im~lementation o] Vatican 11 VOLUME 25, 1966 957 ÷ ÷ ÷ Paul REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 958 will achieve this especially through general chapters or, in the case of the Eastern Churches, through synax~es. The work of the chapters will be achieved no~t only by passing laws but even more so by promoting ~piritual and apostolic vitality. 2. The cooperation of all superiors and members is necessary, to renew religious life in themselves, to prepare the spirit of the chapters, to complete their work, and to faithfully observe the laws and norms enacted by the chapters. ~ 3. In order to promote a fitting renewal in each in-stitute, within two or at most three years there should meet a specia! general chapter, ordinary or extraordinary. If the chapter itself so decides by a secret vote, the chapter can be divided into two parts separated in time by an interval of generally not more than a,.year. 4. In: preparing for this chapter the general council should make suitable provision for extensive and free consultation of the members and it should put the re-stilts of this consultation into a usable form in order that the work of the chapter may be helped and orientated. This can be done, for example, by consulting conventual and proVincial~ chapters, by establishing comniissions, by issuing questionfiaires, and so forth. ~ 5. In the case of stauropegiac monasteries [Eastern monasteries with' a special type of exemption] it will be the duty of the patriarch to enact norms for achieving this consultation. 6. This general Tchapter has the right to change for experimental purposes .given noinns of the constitutions or, in the case of the Eastern churches, of the typica pro-vided that the purpose, nature, and characteristics of the institute are retained.,. Experimentations in things agaihst the general law, a matter t6 be done with prudence, will be gladly permitted by the Holy See as opportunity war-rants. These experimentations can be extended until the next ordinary general chapter which will itself have the power to again extend .them but not beyond the immediately following chapter. 7. The general council will enjoy the same power in the time period between these chapters according to con-ditions to be determined by them; in the case of the East-ern churches, this power will be had in independent monasteries by the hegoumenos with the lesser synaxis. 8. Definitive approbation of the constitutions is re-served to the competent authority. 9. With regard to the revision of the constitutions of nuns, each monastery after the fashion of a chapter or also the nuns individually should express their opinions which, in order that the unity of the religious family may be fostered according to its own characteristics, should be collected by the supreme authority of the order if there is one and otherwise by a delegate of the Holy See or, in the case of Eastern religious, by the patriarch or the local hierarch. Opinions and advice can also be ob-tained from consessions of federations or from other legitimately convoked meetings. 10. If in monasteries of nuns certain experimentations for a time with regard to observances should be judged opportune, they can be permitted by the general superiors or by delegates of the Holy See and, among the Eastern churches, by the patriarch or the local hierarch. Neverthe-less, account should be taken of the mentality and atti-tudes of cloistered persons who have need for stability and security. 11. It will be the duty of the authorities mentioned above to see to it that the text of the constitutions is re-vised with the advice and help of the monasteries them-selves and that they are submitted for the approval of the Holy See or the competent hierarchy. 1I. Revision of Constitutions and Typica 12. The general laws of each institute (whether called constitutions, typica, rules, or. any other name) should include the following elements: a) gospel and theological principles concerning the religious life and its union with the Church as well as pertinent and specific declarations in which "are recog-nized and preserved the spirit and characteristic aims of the founders as well as the sound traditions- all of which constitute the heritage of each institute" (n. 2, b) of the decree, Per[ectae caritatis); b) the juridical norms necessary for clearly defining the characteristics, purposes, and means of the institute; these norms should not be overmultiplied but should al-ways be expressed in an adequate way. 13, The union of both these elements--the spiritual, namely, and the juridical--is necessary in order that the principal documents of the institutes may have a stable foundation and that a genuine spirit and a vitalizing norm pervade them; hence care should be taken to avoid composing a text that is only juridical or merely exhorta-tory. 14. From the fundamental document of institutes there should be excluded those matters that are already obsolete or changeable according to the customs of a given age or reflect merely local customs. Those norms which reflect the present age, the physical and psychic, status of the, members, and ,the special char-acteristics of today should be placed in secondary docu- 4- 4- Implementation o/ Vatican I! VOLUME 25, 1966 959 Paul REVIEWFOR RELIGIOUS 96O ments which are called "directgries," custom books, or some other such title. " IlL Criteria of(SuitableRenewal 15. The norms and the spirit to which a suitable re-newal should correspond '~hould be derived not,only from the decree, Perfectae caritatis, but .also from the other documents of the Second Vatican' Council, especially from Chapters" 5 and 6 of the ,dogmatic constitution, Lumen gentium. 16. Institutes should see to it that the principles es-tablished in number 2 of the decree, Perfectae caritatis, generally inform the renewal of their Own religious life; therefore: - , § 1. The sLudy and meditation of Scripture should be deeply fostered in all the members from the novitiate on. Likewise, care should be taken that all ,the members ~hare by' fitting means in the mystery and life: of .the Church. § 2. The doctrine of religious life in all its various aspects (theological, historical, canonical, and so forth) should be investigated 'and explained. § 3. In order to secure the good of the Church, in-stitutes should strive for a full. knowledge of their origi-nM spirit so that, this spirit having been faithfully pre-served in the adaptations that are decided on, religious life may be purified 6f alien elements~and freed from ob-solete matters. , ~ ~ 17. Those things are~ to be regarded, as obsolete which do not constitute the nature and purpose of the institute and, having lost'their significance and relevance; no longer truly help religious, life, account,~however, being taken of the witness which the religious state should pro-vide according to its own function., ' , . '~ 18. The way ~of governing should be such that "~hap-ters and councils., each in their,:own ,way should ex-press the shared responsibility of all thd members for the welfare of the entire community" (n. 14 iof the decree, Per[ectae caritatis);,,this will be principally,achieved if tlie members have a truly effective part in. the selection of the'membership bf-chapters and councils. Similarly, the way of governing should be such that 'in~ accor~d.with the demands of modern times~ the exercise of authority is made more efficacious and more unencumbered. Hence superiors of ever.y level should be given adequate powers so that useless or overly freqiaent recourse to!higher au-thorities is not multiplied. 19. Moreover; a suitable renewal cannot be made once and for all but must be fostered in a continuous way by the help of the fervor of the members and by the solici-tude ~of chapters and superiors. PART II MATrER$ FOR ADAPTATION AND RENEWAL I. The Divine O~ice o]'Brothers and Sisters (N. 3 of the decree, Perfe~ctge caritatis) 20. Although religious who recite a 'duly approved Little Office are engaged in the public prayer of the Church (see the 'consfitution, 'Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 98)., still it is highly recommended to institutes that in place of a Little Office 'they recite either in ~part or in whole the Divine Office so that they may take more in-umate part in the liturgical life of the Church. However, Eastern'members should recite the doxologies, and the divine praises in accord with their own typica and cus-toms. II. Mental Prayer (N. 6 of the decree, Perfdctae caritatis) 21.'In order that reli~gious may participate more inti-mately a.nd fruitfully in the sacred mystery of the Eucha-rist and that their life be nourished riaore abundantly, greater place should be given to mental prayer in prefer-ence to a multiplicity of vocal prayers, there being main-tained,, however, the exercises of devotion commonly re-ceived in the Chui~ch and du~ care being taken that the members are diligently instructed in the conduct of"~he spiritual life. ' III. Mortification (Nos. 5 and 12 of the decree, Per]ectae caritatis) 22. Religious more than the rest of the f~iitfiful should be devoted to works of penance and mortification. How-ever," the ,special penitential observances~ of institutes .should, as far as there is need, be r~evised so that, du9 con-sideration having been given to the traditions of the East .or the West and to modern conditions, the .members can actually put them into practice together with new forms taken from today's mode of living. IV. Poverty (N. 13 of the decree, Per]ectae caritatis) 23. Institutes, especially through their general chap-ters, should diligently and concretely promote the spirit and practice of poverty in accord with the mind of num-ber 13 of the decree, Per[ectae caritatis; in accord with their distinctive nature they should also seek and insist on new forms of poverty which will make the exercise and witness of poverty more efficacious for the present time. 24. Institutes of simple vows should themselves decide in their gdneral chapter whether there should be intro-duced into the constitutions a renunciation of patrimony + + ÷ Implementation 'Vatican II VOLUME 25, 1966 961 already acquired or to be acquired and, if it is decided to do so, whether it should be obligatory or voluntary and when it should be done, that is, whether before perpetual profession or after some years. Paul VI REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 96~ .V. Common Life (N. 15 of the decree, Perfectae caritatis) 25. In institutes devoted to works of the apostolate .common life, since it is of great importance if the mem-bers as a family united in Christ are to reactualize their brotherly fellowship, should be promoted by every means in a way that is fitted to the vocation of the institnte. 26, In institutes of this kind the daily order can often not be ~the same in all the houses nor at times in the same house for. all its.members. However, it should also be so arranged that the religious besides the time given to spiritual matters and to work may have some time for themselves and caw enjoy suitable recreation. 27. General chapters and synaxes should investigate ways in which those members who are called lay brothers, cooperators, or some other name can gradually obtain active voice in specific acts of the community and in elections as well.as passive voice with regard to certain positions; in this way they will become more closely .joined to the life and works of the community, and priests .will be able,to devote themselves with more freedom to the ministries. 28. In monasteries which have come to the decision of ¯ having,'Only one class of nuns, choir obligations should be specified in the constitutions, consideration being .giye.n to the diversity of persons which the distinction of works and special vocations requires. 29. Sisters devoted to the exte~'nal service of monas-teries, called oblates or some other name, should be gov-erned by special statutes in which consideration should be given to their vocation which is not purely contempla-tive and to the exigencies of the vocation of the nuns in ufiion with whom they live even though they are not nuns. The superioress of the monastery has a serious'respon-sibility to,take solicitor's care of them, to provide them .w.ith a suitable religious formation, to treat them with a g~nuine spirit of love, and to foster their bond of fellow-ship with the community of nuns. VI. The Cloister of Nuns (N. 16 of the decree, Perlectae caritatis) 30. The papal cloister of monasteries is to be consid-ered as an ascetical institution which is specially linked to their'distinctive vocation since it is a sign, defense, and special form of their withdrawal from the world. Nuns of the Eastern rites should observe their own kind of cloister in the same spirit. 31. This cloister is to be adapted in such a way that material separation from the' outside is always retained. However, each family according to its own spirit can de-termine and specify in the constitutions particular norms for this material separation. 32. Minor cloister is abrogated. Nuns, therefore, who by their institute are devoted to external works should define this cloister in their constitutions. But nuns who, t~hough contemplat.ive by reason of their institute, have nevertheless under'taken external works, should, after a sufficient amount of tJ.me granted them for deliberation, either give UP their external works and retain papal cloister or retain the works and define their own cloister in the constitutions, their status as nuns bein~ retained. ' VII. The Training of,Religious (N. 18 of the decree, Perfectae caritatis) 33. The training of members from the novitiate on should not be conducted in the. same way in all institutes, but rather consideration should be given to the distinc-tive nature of each institute. In revising and adapting training, an adequate and prudent place should be given to experience. . 34. The matters set down in the decree, Optata.m totius (on the training of priests), should be suitably, adapted in accord with the nature of each insti.tute.and faith-fully observed in the way of training religious clerics. ¯ 35. Further training to be given after the novitiate, in a way. suited to the individual institute is necessary for all members even those of the contemplativ, e life, for brothers in lay institutes, and for sisters in institutes de-voted to apostolic works. This training; already in. exist-ence in many institutes under the name of juniorate, scholasticate, or some other title, should in general ex-tend for the entire period of; temporary vows. 36. This training should be given in suitable houses; and, lest it be merely thebretical, it should be comple-mented by an apprenticelike exercise of the works and functions that are in accord with the characteristics and circumstances of each institute so that the ones being trained may be gradually introduced to the life which they will live thereafter. 37. Without prejudice to the characteristic formation in each institute, when individual institutes cannot suffi-ciently provide academic or technical training, this can be supplied by a fraternal collaboration of a number of them. This can take different forms and ways: common lectures or courses, the lending of teachers, even the con-solidation of teachers and equipment in a common Implementation Vatican II VOLUME 25, "1966 963 school to be attended by members of a number of insti-tutes. Institutes which are provided with the necessary means should willingly give help to others. 38. After adequate experimentation, it will be the duty of each institute to draw up its own adapted norms for the training of members. VIII. The Union and. Suppression of Institutes (Nos. 21-2 of the decree, Perfectae caritatis) 39. The promotion of union of any kind among in-stitutes presupposes an adequate spiritual, psychological, and juridical preparation in accord with the mind of Perfectae caritatis. To achieve this it will often be advan-tageous for institutes to be helped by an adviser approved by the competent authority. 40. In the cases and circumstances just mentioned, the good of the Church is to be looked for, due consideration, however, being given to the special nature of each in-stitute and to the freedom of individual members. 41. After all circumstances have been considered, the following when found together should retain a specie/1 place among the criteria which can contribute to form-ing the judgment to suppress an institute or a monas-tery: a small number of religious relative to the years of existence; lack of candidates over a number of years; ad-vanced age of the greater part of the members. If sup-pression is decided on, provision should be made that the suppressed institution be joined "if it be possible, to an-other, more vigorous institute or monastery which is not very different in purpose and spirit" (n. 21 of the decree, Perfectae caritatis). Each religious, however, should be previously consulted; and everything should be done in charity. Paul Vl REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 964 IX. Conferences and Unions of Majqr Superiors and Superioresses (N. 23 of the decree, Perfectae caritatis) 42. Care should be taken that the union of superiors general and the union of superioresses general be able to be heard and consulted by means of a commission estab-lished with the Sacred Congregation of Religious. 43. It is of the greatest importance that the national conferences or unions of major superiors and of major superioresses should confidently and respectfully cooper-ate with the episcopal conferences (see n. 35, 5 of the decree, Christus Dominus; n. 33 of the decree, Ad gentes divinitus). Hence it is hoped that matters pertaining to both sides will be treated in mixed commissions composed of bishops and major superiors or superioresses. CONCLUSION 44. These norms, which apply to religious of the en-tire Church, leave intact the general laws of the Church, whether of the Latin Church or of the Eastern Churches, as well as the specific laws of religious institutes unless these norms change them explicitly or implicitly. III NORMS FOR IMPLEMENTING THE DECREE ON MISSIONARY ACTIVITY Vatican Council II's decree, ,4d genres divinitus (on the missionary activity of the Church), should be es-teemed by the entire Church and be faithfully observed by everyone so that the entire People of God should be-come genuinely missionary and conscious of its mission-ary obligation; local ordinaries should see to it that the decree comes to the knowledge of all the faithful: there should be clergy conferences and sermons to the people to explain and emphasize the common obligation of all with regard to missionary activity. In order to make the application of the decree easier and more faithful, the following enactments are given: 1. The theology of missions should be included in the theological doctrine that is to be taught and progressively deepened; this is to be done in such a way that the mis-sionary nature of the Church is clearly visible. More-over, the ways of the Lord in His preparation for the gospel and the possibility of salvation for those not evangelized should be considered; and emphasis must be given to the necessity of evangelization and of incorpora-tion into the Church (Chapter 1 of the decree, Ad gentes divinitus). All these matters should be kept in view when studies in seminaries and universities are newly organized and duly ordered (n. 39). 2. Episcopal conferences are invited to propose to the Holy See as soon as possible general questions abont the missions which can be considered in the coming meeting of the synod of bishops (n. 29). 3. To increase the missionary spirit in the Christian people, prayers and daily sacrifices should be fostered in such a way that the annual Mission Day shonld appear as a spontaneous indication of that spirit (n. 36). Bishops and episcopal conferences should compose petitions for the missions to be inserted into the Prayer of the Faithful at Mass. 4. In each diocese a priest should be designated for the effective promotion of missionary undertakings, and he should also be a member of the pastoral council of the diocese (n. 38). ÷ ÷ ÷ Implementation o! Vatican 1I VOLUME 25, 1966 965 + ÷ ÷ Paul REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 966 5. To promote the missionary spirit students in semi-naries and young people of Catholic associations should be encouraged to have contacts with seminary students and similar associations in the missions so that a mutual understanding may foster in the Christian people a mis-sionary and ecclesial consciousness (n. 38). 6. Being aware of the urgency of the evangelization of the world, bishops should promote missionary voca-tions among their clerics and young people; and to in-stitutes engaged in 'missionary work they should furnish the means and opportunities by which they may make the needs of the missions known in the diocese and. may arouse vocations (n. 38). In arousing vocations for the missions care should be taken to set forth the mission of the Church to all peoples and the ways in which various types (institutes, priests, religious, and lay persons of both sexes) try_ to achieve this mission. Chiefly, however, .the special missionary vocation "for life" (nos. 23, 24) should be extolled and illustrated by examples. 7. The Pontifical Missionary Works should be pro-moted in all dioceses; and their statutes, especially those with regard.to the transmission of assistance~ should be duly obser.ved (n. 38): 8. Since.the .offerings given to the missions by the faithful of their own accord are not nearly sufficient, it is recommended that as soon as possible there .be enacted a set contribution, proportioned to the revenues of each, which both the diocese and the parishes and other group-ings of the diocese should pay each year and which should be distributed by the Holy See, all other obligations of the faithful remaining (n. 38). 9. Episcopal conferences should have an episcopal' com-mission for the missions whose, work it will be to foster among the dioceses missionary activity and consciousness and an abiding attitude of cooperation, to be .in contact with other episcopal conferences, and to, investigate ways in which as far as possible equitable arrangements of missionary help may be safeguarded (n. 38). 10. Because missionary institutes remain very neces-sary, all should acknowledge that they have had the work of evangelization entrusted to them by ecclesiastical au-thority in order to carry out the missionary dutyof the entire People of God (n. 27). 11. Bishops should also use missionary institutes in order that they might enkindle the faithful with a desire for missionary activity; bishops should also furnish them opportunities, right order being observed, of arousing and fostering in young people vocations to the missions and of asking for contributions (nos. 23, 37, 38). In order, however, that greater unity and effectiven&s be achieved, the bishops should use a national or regional missionary council which will consist of the directors of the Pontifical Works and of the missionary institutes existing in the country or region. 12. Each missionary institute should as soon as possible take care of its own adaptation and renewal especial!y with regard to its methods of evangelization and of Chris-tian initiation (nos. 13, 14) as well as to its way of living in communities (n~ 3 of the decree, Perfectae caritatis). 13. - § 1. It is necessary that for all missions there be only one competent curial, department; namely, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith. Since, however, certain missions for special reasons are still subject temporarily to other curial departments, there should be established in these other departments a missionary section that should have close relations with the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith in order that in the organizing and directing of the mis-sions a completely constant and uniform norm can be had (n. 29). § 2. To the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith are subject the Pontifical Missionary Works; namely, the Pontifical Work for the Propagation of the Faith, the Work of St. Peter for native clergy; the Union of the Clergy for the Missions, and the Work of the Holy Childhood. 14. The president of the secretariat for fostering the unity of Christians is by reason of his office a member of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith while the secretary of the same secretariat is included among the consultors of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (n. 29). Similarly, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith should be represented at the secretariat for fostering the unity of Christians. 15. In the direction of the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith twenty-four representatives take part with a deliberative vote unless in individual cases the supreme pontiff should decide otherwise; namely, twelve prelates from the missions and four, from other regions, four from superiors of institutes, four from the Pontifical Works; all of these shonld meet twice a year. Members of this board are appointed for five years with almost a fifth part being changed every year. When they have finished one term, they can be appointed for an-other five years. In accord with norms to be sent as soon as possible from the Apostolic See, episcopal conferences, institutes, and the Pontifical ~rorks should propose to the supreme pontiff the names of those from whom the supreme pontiff may select the representatives mentioned above as + .+ + Implementation oS Vatican II VOLUME 25, 1966 .967 Paul REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 968 well as the names of those, including persons living on the missions, from,whom consultors can be selected. 16. Representatives of religious institutes on the mis-sions and of regional works for the missions as well as of councils of laymen have a part in the meetings of this congregation with consultive vote (n. 29). 17. After consulting the episcopal conferences and mis-sionary institutes, the Sacred Congregation for the Propa-gation of ,the Faith should delineate .as soon as possible the general principles according to which agreements should be made between local ordinaries and mission in-stitutes with regard to" the regulation of their mutual, re-lationships (n. 32). In making these agreements consideration', should be given both. to the continuance of missionary work andoto the needs of the institutes (n. 32). 18. Because~ it is desirable that episcopal.conferences be joined intooorganic groups along socio-cultural lines, the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Fi~ith (n. 29) should promote such coordinations of episcopal conferences. " Together with the Sacred Congregation for.the Propa-gation of the Faith, the work of these conferences~ will be the following: 1°. To seek ways, including new ones, in which by joint effort- the faithful and the missionary institutes may insert themselves into the peoples and groups among whom they live or to whom they are sent (nos. 10, 11) and :with whom they should conduct a dialogue of salvation. 2°. To establish study groups who should investigate peoples' ways of thinking about the universe, about man, and about man's interior attitude toward God and who should subsume for theological consideration'whatever is good or true. Such theological study should furnish the necessary foundation :for making adaptations, the consideration ~of which should also be a duty of the aforementioned study groups. Among other 'matters these adaptations should be concerned with. methods of ~vangelizing, liturgical forms, religious life, arid ecclesiastical legislation (n. 19). As far as methods of evangelization and of catechesis ~a~e concerned, the Sacred Congregation for the Propaga-tion of the Faith should promote close cooperation with advanced-level pastoral institutes. As far as liturgical forms are concerned, the study groups should send documents and opinions, to the Com-mittee for the Implementation of The Constitution on the Liturgy. ~As far as the religious ~state is concerned (n. 18), care should be taken that external form (exemplified by ex- ternal appearances, clothing, arts, and so forth) not be given more attention than the religious characteristics of peoples which should be assumed or assimilated to evan-gelical perfection. 3°. To promote at determined times meetings of those teaching in seminaries in order, after consultation with the study groups already mentioned, to adapt courses of study and to mutually exchange information so that better attention be directed to today's needs in the matter of priestly training (n. 16). 4°. To examine the best way in which manpower (priests, catechists, institutes, and so forth) can be dis-tributed in the territory and especially the way in which care can be taken of the scarcity of manpower in places that are highly populated. 19. In distributing resources a suitable part should be reserved each year for the formation and sustenance of the local clergy, the missionaries, the catechists, and the study groups mentioned in number 18. Bishops should send reports about these matters to the Sacred Congrega-tion for the Propagation of the Faith (nos. 17, 29). 20. A pastoral council should be duly established; its work will be, in accord with number 27 of the decree, Christus Dominus, "to investigate, appraise, and draw practical conclusions about matters pertaining to pastoral works," to do its share in preparing the diocesan synod, and to take care of the execution of the statutes of the synod (n. 30). 91. On the missions there should be established con-ferences of religious men and unions of religious women in which the major superiors of all institutes of the same nation or region should take part and by which their undertakings may be coordinated (n. 33). 22. According to possibilities and needs scientific in-stitutes should be multiplied; they should cooperate by common consent in order that the work of investigation and specialization be well organized; and duplication of works of the same nature should be avoided in the same region (n. 34). 23. In order that immigrants from mission countries be duly received and assisted by suitable pastoral care on the part of bishops of countries who have long been Christian, cooperation with missionary bishops is neces-sary (n. 38). 24. With regard to lay persons on the missions: § 1. Urgent emphasis should be put on the following: sincere intention of serving, the missions, maturity, suit-able preparation, professional specialization, and a suffi-ciently long time to be spent on the mission. ÷ 4. 4- Implementation 'Vatican 11 § 2. Consociations of lay persons for the missions should be effectively intercoordinated. § 3. The bishop of the mission locality should be so-licitous [or such lay persons. § 4. The social security of such lay persons should be safeguarded (n. 41). ,÷ ÷ Paul Vi REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 97~ THOMAS BARROSSE, C.S.C. Religious Community and the Primitive Chul'ch In the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles St. Luke describes how the Church began her life. The Spirit came. The Apostles preached. The gospel was believed. The believers were baptized, and the Church had come into existence. At the end of Chapter 2, Luke furnishes a vignette of life in the primitive Christian community. In Chapters 3 and 4 he introduces the threat of persecution and opposition. Then, once more, at the end of Chapter 4, he provides a sketch of life in the earliest Church. These pictures presented in Acts 2 and 4 are somewhat idealized. In Chapters 5 and 6, he will. quite frankly fill the shadows in: the deceit of Ananias and Sapphira and the grumbling of the Diaspora Jewish Christians against their Palestinian fellow believers. But he wishes first to present the life of the primitive community in its best light so that the memory of the earliest Apostolic Chureh can haunt his Christian readers down through thd years as a model they will want to emulate. ~ The casual, or even the careful, present-day reader of the Gospels of Mark and Luke might form for himself a rather individualistic conception of the ideal Christian: a person who believes (for "he who believes and is baptized will be saved"--Mk 16:16), who loves (for to the questioia, "What must I do to possess eternal life?" thd answer' is, "You must love the Lord your God. and your neighbor --Lk 10:25-7), who is completely detached (for "he who does not renounce all that he possesses cannot be my dis-ciple"-- Lk 14:33), who remains faithful through tribula-tion (for "he who perseveres to the end will be saved"m Mk 13:13). This conception is false, of course, and the Book of Acts, which shows how what the Lord Jesus pre-pared by His ministry and effected by His sufferings and Thomas Barrosse, C.S.C., is on the staff of the general-ate of the Congre-gation of the Holy Cross; Via Aurelia Antica, 391; Rome, Italy. VOLUME 25, 1"966 " ÷ + ÷ Tho~mas Barrosse, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS glory actually came to be, makes it very clear that the work of Christ was the creation of a communily of faith, of love, and of hope in the midst of tribulations. Here is the picture Luke paints in Chapter 2 (vv. 41-5): "Those who received [Peter's] word [with faith] were bap-tized"-- a community constituted by faith and baptism. "They were persevering in the teaching of the Apostles" --a community that maintained itself in existence by nourishing its faith. But also a community of love--for "they were persevering., in the common life--hoin6n[a --[which manifested itself in] the breaking of the bread [--the common, eucharistic meal--] and the [common] prayers" but which manifested itself too in their sharing of material goods since "the believers., considered all things common and were selling their property and be-longings and dividing up the proceeds among all accord-ing as anyone had need." Their love was not restricted to the group: they were an open community since "they were persevering daily in the temple., and enjoying favor with all the people." This same picture recurs in Chapter 4 (vv. 32-5): "The whole multitude of believers were one heart and one soul, and no one said any of his belongings were his own, but all things were common for them . " The shadow of the cross, which already falls across the community in Chapter 4 when Peter and John are ar-rested and threatened, gradually crystallizes into a princi-ple of life. It is finally formulated in 14:22 when Paul points out that only "through many tribulations must we come into the kingdom of God." Let us see how much the thought of this ideal Christian community depicted by Luke in Acts influenced the origins of religious life. Students of Christian monasticism (a way of life that would diversify and proliferate into the many forms of religious life which we know today) usually find its be-ginnings in fourth century Christian Egypt. Before that time there existed in the Church both celibates (especially virgins and widows) and "ascetics" (literally, "exercisers" or "practicers"). The celibates felt that it was given to them to forego married life for the sake of the kingdom of heaven (Mr 19:11 f.) or that they had the gift of re-maining unmarried to give undivided attention to the Lord (1 Cot 7:7 and 32-5). The ascetics applied certain New Testament passages--like Jesus' advice to the rich young man to sell all his belongings if he wanted to be perfect (Mr 19:21)--quite literally to themselves in their attempts to live a full Christian life. But the Christian ideal--or the ideal Christian--was the martyr. The martyr was the believer who by his total self-re-nunciation showed his perfect love--and even the celi- bates and ascetics hoped and prayed for the great favor of undergoing martyrdomA Clement of Alexandria in the third century could echo Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna in the second in saying: "We call martyrdom perfection (telei6sis) not because the man has reached the end (telos) of his life, as others do, but be-cause he has displayed the perfect (tdleios) work of love." e For this reason, it was the martyr who was considered the Christian most resembling Christ and the Apostles. "The Lord," says Clement of Alexandria again, "was the first to drink the cup . In imitation of him, the Apostles as. perfect men suffered for the churches which they founded." 3 Even before, but especially after, the age of martyrs ended, the Church fathers tried to show that other ideal Christians could be found. They pointed out how espe-cially the celibates and the ascetics were, like the martyrs, "athletes" or "soldiers" of Christ who showed their per-fect faith and love by their perfect self-renunciation. If martyrdom might be called a second baptism, so might profession of the celibate or ascetical life.4 In fourth century Egypt St. Anthony turned the private initiative of scattered ascetics into an organized mass movement. Undertaking the life of an ascetic, he learned this virtuous and prayerful way of life from other Christians who lived it more or less in retirement. He came to appreciate from them how he might more literally put the various suggestions and injunctions of the New Testament into practice in his own life. Then after twenty years of solitude and struggle for mastery over himself, he became, at their request, the teacher of large numbers who were stirred by his example. His contemporary and acquaintance, St. Athanasius, in Chap-ter 1 of his Li~e o~ Anthony describes how the Lord "gave Anthony grace in speech so that., he induced many to choose the solitary life." The biographer con-tinues: "From that time there have been monasteries [that is, hermitages] even in the mountains, and the desert was made a city by monks . " ~ Anthony's dis-course on the ascetic life in Chapters 16 to ~ of this work has even been called the first rule of life for monks. x See St. Athanasius, Life of Anthony, Chapters 46 and ~t7, in Early Christian Biographies, trans. Sister Mary Emily Keenan (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1952), pp. 177-8. a Stromata 4, 4 (translated and commented by E. Malone, The Monk and the Martyr [Washingtou: Catholic University, 1950], p. 5). Religious ~ Stromata 4, 9 (translated [and here slightly adapted] in E. Ma- Community lone, The Monk and the Martyr, p. 6). * Malot~e, The Monk and the Martyr, Chapters Three to Six. ~Athanasius, Life o[ Anthony, in Keenan, Early Christian Biog-raphies, p. 149. VOLUME 25, 1966 973 ÷ ÷ Thomas Barrosse, C,.S.C. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 97,1 At times these "monks" (that is, "solitaries") lived two or more together.~ But their association remained limited and voluntary. They were basically hermits (that is, "des-ert"- dwellers) or anchorites (that is, people in "retire-ment"). This sort of life in modified form has continued on in the Church to the present day--in the West among the Carthusians and the Camaldolese, for example, and in communities of semi-solitaries in the East. It won the ad-miration of the' western European writers of the patristic age, and many of them looked upon it as a higher life than the one to which we now turn. While Anthony lived in northern Egypt, another as-cetic, Pachomius, was organizing the ascetical life on another pattern to the south. After some training in the life under another, older man, he began to gather dis-ciples and train them. He organized them into a com-munity-- koin6nla--the very word that Luke uses in Acts 2:42 to describe the "common life" of the primitive Church. He composed a detailed rule for these cenobites (that is, men with a "common life"). Theodore, close disciple and successor of Pachomius, presents it as a "model for whoever desires to bring souls together ac-cording to God in order that they may become perfect." 7 We must not think of it merely as a practical measure to train fervent individuals. If we read on in Pachomius' life, we find that he worked gradually to dispose his disciples "to bind themselves to one another in perfect community after the manner of what stands written in Acts of the believers: 'They were a single heart and a single soul, and all goods belonged to them in common; there was no one who said of what belonged to him, "It is mine.' . s In addition, they referred to one another as "brothers," the term the Book of Acts and the New Testament epistles use to designate the relationship of early Christians to one another. One of his early lives even describes a visit of Pachomius' disciples to Anthony after their master's death, in which the latter declares "that he gathered souls around him in order to offer them pure to the Lord is a fact which shows that he is su-perior to us and that the way he followed is the Apostle's way, that is, the koin6nia" 9 When Pachomius~ disciples press Anthony with the question: "If the common life . is the higher way of the Apostles, then why did you not live in community.?" the anchorite answers that elbid., Chapters 11 and 91, in Keenan, Early Christian Biogra-phies, pp. 145 and 213. * L. Lefort (ed.), Les vies coptes de saint Pachdme (Louvain: Mu-s~ on, 1943), pp. 60-1. s Ibid., p. 276. 0 Ibid., pp. 3 and 65. he had no choice when he became a monk: there were no communities to join.1° This idea that the common life was, in its original inspiration, an attempt to create an ideal Christian com-munity on the pattern of the primitive Church of Acts 2 and 4 recurs frequently and emphatically in the teach-ing of Pachomius' successors. Theodore, for example, says: "It is by a favor of God. that the holy koin6nla ap-peared on earth., by which he made the Apostolic life known to men desirous of modeling themselves after the Apostles . ,, n The idea is found decades later even among the anchorites of the north. When John Cassian, who clearly regarded the eremitical life as superior to the cenobitic, visited the monks of northern Egypt, them-selves anchorites, he learned their conviction that the cenobitic way of life was the Apostles' own foundation! He cites one of the anchorites he interviewed: The system of Cenobites took its rise in the days of the preaching of the Apostles. For such was all that multitude of believers in Jerusalem which is thus described in the Acts of the Apostles--[he then cites Acts 4:32-5 and 2:45]. The whole Church, I say, was then such as now are those few who can be found with difficulty in coenobia. But when at the death of the Apostles the multitude of believers began to wax cold . those who still maintained the fervour of the apostles, mindful of that former perfection, left their cities and intercourse with those who thought that carelessness and a laxer life was per-missible to themselves and the Church of God, and began to live in rural and more seqnestered spots, and there, in private and on their own account, to practise those things wlfich they had learnt to h~ve been ordered by the apostles throughout the whole body of the Church in general . He goes on to explain how they are called "monks" (that is, "solitaries") because of their retirement and "cenobites" because of their community life. He con-cludes: That then alone was the earliest kind of monks, which is first not only in time but also in grace, and which continued un-broken for a very long period up to the time of Abbot Paul and Anthony; and even to this day we see its traces remaining in strict coenobia. The anchorites, he says, began only with Paul the Hermit and Anthony, who were the "flowers and fruit" of the common life.~2 The monastic life, especially in its Antonian form, spread over Palestine and Syria. After the mid-fourth 10 Ibid., pp. 268 and 323. n H. Bacht, "Pakh6me et ses disciples," in Thdologie de la vie mo1n.aos tCiqoune f(ePraernics:e A18u,b Ciehr,a 1p9te6r1 5), (ptr.a 6n7s.lated by E. Gibson in .4 Select Library o[ Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2od series, v. 11 [New York: Christian Literature Company, 1894; reprinted Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1955], pp. 480-1. . ¯ ÷ ÷ ÷ Religious Communit~ VOLUME 25, 1966 975 ÷ Thomas, BarrCo.sSs.eC, . ~EVIEW FO~ ~ELIGIOU$ 976 century it existed in Cappadocia (what is today south central Turkey) in a form that in many ways strikingly resembles the Pachomian pattern but quite ~possibly without any dependence on Egypt. It found an important organizer and legislator in St. Basil the Great. Cappadocian monasticism was exclusively cenobitic, and Basil's Longer Rules tell us why.13 These rules, more a commentary on monastic life and usages than a set of regulations, .begin (Preface) with the question "Why have we come together?" The answer is: "To live the devout life'S---or "To do what God wants." What he wants, he himself tells us(qq. 1-3): "You must love the Lord your God with your whole heart., and your neighbor." Basil goes on to explain the life of monks as an attempt to prac-tice this love. He emphasizes the need of some degree of retirement from possible distractions and the desirability of association with. like-minded companions (qq. 6-7), but he explicitly rejects a solitary life because the love Christ taught us does not permit each p.erson to look simply after his own. concerns while the solitary life, he says, does just this (q. 7). He buttresses his argument on the need for community by numerous New Testament citations on fraternal charity and union as the distinctive marks of those who are one with Christ. He climaxes his remarks by pointing out that life in community preserves what was "characteristic of the saints, of whom it is recorded in the Book of Acts: 'And all they that be-lieved were together and had all things common,' and again: 'And the multitude of believers had one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that aught of (he things which he possessed was his own, but all things were com-mon tinto them' " (q. 7).14 So important does Basil consider this' union that he will not permit more than one community-one "fra-ternity" or "brotherhood," ag he prefers to say--in any one town (q. 35). Once more, his climactic argument against division into several communities is the 'ideal picture of the close-knit primitive Church sketched in Acts 2 and 4, to which he joins Paul's description of the Church in Ephesians 4. The Basilian community is not so close-knit as to be cl6sed in on itself. If the Egyptian hermits and communi-ties worked not only to support themselves b~t also to be able to give alms?5 the Cappadocian fraternities ran hospices for the sick and the poor, orphanages, and ~Translated in Saint Basil, Ascetical Works, trans. Sister M. Monica Wagner (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1950), pp. 223- 37. 1~ Ibid., p. 252. ~Athanasius, Life of Anthony, Chapter 43, in Keenan, Early Christian Biographies, pp. 174-5. schools, and considered work for the community or for the outsiders more important than austerities.1° They were in a sense "the nucleus and the elite of the 'parish,' and [their] liturgy seems [to have been] identical with that of the local church, but with this difference that the ordinary Christians did not participate in it except to only a quite limited extent." 17 In the Africa that lay west of Egypt the ascetical lif9 was also known. St. Augustine's name is associated with its organization not only because he was among the firs~ bishops to have his clergy live a monastic life with him but because of the letter (n, 211) in which he prescribes observances for a community of women in his diocese and which seems to be the source of the Rule of St. Augustine. In all his efforts to organize monastic li'fe, lie looked to forming an ideal Christian community after the pat7 tern of the primitive Church of Acts 2 and 4. The com-munity of lay monks that he organized shortly after his conversion had as its model, his early biographer Pos-sidius tells us, the "common life" (societas) lived "under the holy Apostles" in Acts. The monastic organi~zation of his clergy in the bishop's house at Hippo had as its purpose, Augustine himself explains, "that, as far as we can, we may imitate the saints of whom the book of the Acts of the Apostles speaks," and he quotes Acts 4.is In his letter to the community of women mentioned above, he begins: "This is what we prescribe that you observe in the monastery in which you live. In the first place, since this is the reason for your coming together, you must live in unity in the house, and you must have a single soul and a single heart turned toward God. You must not speak among yourselves of personal goods, but rather have all things in common." 10 He continues: "It is thus that you read in the Acts of the Apostles that 'all things were common unto them, and distribution was made to everyone according as he had need.' "20 These texts of Acts depicting the life of the primitive Church haunted Augustine.21 He returns to them no less than fifty-three times in his different works. An examina- 18 C. Butler, Benedictine Monachism (2nd ed.; London: Longmans, 1924), pp. 16-7; J. Gribomont, "Saint Basile," in Thdologie de la vie monastique, p. 113. x7 p. Salmon, The Breviary through the Centuries (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1962), pp. 130-1, footnote 4. xs For citations and references see M. Verheijen, "Saint Augustin," in Thdologie de la vie monastique, pp. 201-2~ a9 Ibid., pp. 203-4. ~See the entire letter in Saint Augustine, Letters, trans. Sister Wilfrid Parsons, v. 5 (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1956), pp.- 38-51. The passage cited occurs on pp, 41-2. ~ For most of the following statistics and details see Verheijen, "Saint Augustin," pp. 204--12. + + 4- Religious . Community VOLUME 25, 1966 tion of these passages shows that he recognized in this vignette of the early Church a picture of the community of love which Christians on earth should be, made one in Christ by the presence of the Holy Spirit, Himself infinite love--a unity which is at the same time an antici-pation and beginning of the fuller community of love which the Church will be throughout eternity. The life of communities of monks, clerical or lay, and the life of communities of virgins was simply the realization of this ideal by these people in a way not possible for the gen-erality of Christians. Whet/we examine early European monasticism, we dis-cover a heavy Egyptian influence. All over ancient Christian Europe the eremitical life was known and praised. So was the cenobitic. The great organizer of western monasticism concerned himself only with draw-ing up a rule for cenobites. He organized and modified. Up to the time of St. Benedict, Abbot Cuthbert Butler explains, monks, though looked upon as bound, whether by vows or without them, irrevocably to the practice of the monastic life, so that to abandon it was considered an apostasy, still were not tied to a particular monastery or community, but were allowed with little difficulty to pass from one house to another. St Benedict's most special and tangible contribution to the de-velopment of monasticism was the introduction of the vow of stability . [By this means] he put a stop to such liberty of passage from monastery to monastery and incorporated the monk by his profession in the community of his own monastery. St Benedict thus bound the monks of a monastery together into a permanent family, united by bonds that lasted for life.'~ ÷ ÷ 4- Thomas Barrosse, .S.C. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS In examining his Rule the casual reader may feel he finds relatively little beyond Chapter 63 (on the order of the community) about the relations of the monks with one another. Several points, however, deserve attention. It is quite clear that all the "brothers"--that is, all the monks--have a voice in the running of the community. The abbot must submit all important matters for the ad-vice of all the brothers, and in even minor matters he must get the advice of at least the older members of the community (Chapter 3). It is clear too that the common life means not only living in the same monastery and praying and eating together but also having all material goods in common--hence, a really extensive sharing of life. In this context the Rule cites Acts 4 three times over.23 .~o ~B Iunt lCerh,a Bpetenresd 3ic3ti n(we hMeothnearc hmisomn,k psp s. h2o7u-8ld; have anything of their own), 34 (whether all should receive necessities in equal measure), and 55 (on the brothers' clothing and footwear). The Benedictine Rule (Prologue) declares as its pur-pose to establish a "school of the Lord's service"--not, however, in the sense of a place one leaves (for example, for eremitical life) when he has learned what is taught there. It is written (as the Prologue goes on to say) for those who will "persevere in the monastery until death." The expression "school" occurs of the Church itself in Christian literature of the patristic period (for example: the school of Christ as opposed to the schools of the philosophers).~4 It is not at all unlikely that it is meant to designate the monastery simply as a community where the Christian life can be lived progressively bett6rmand, of course, the Christian life is radically altruistic. The original Benedictine community was by no means closed in completely on itself. Chapter 53 of the Rule (on the reception of guests) has made BenediCtine hospi-tality proverbial. The monks', readiness to evangelize the countryside around their monasteries (for example, at Monte Cassino) and to go on foreign missions (for ex~- ample, Augustine and his companions, who went to England at Gregory the Great's behest) as well as to open monastic schools shows that they were disposed to work for the larger Christian community both outside their monasteries and in themY~ In short, in this respect the Benedictine community resembled the Basilian--Bene-dict says (Rule, Chapter 73) he owes much to his eastern predecessor--and even surpass~ed it. We may sum up what we have seen so far. Th~ phe-nomenon we call religious life originated in fourth century Egypt where Anthony and Pachomius gave as-cetics an organized way of life to follow. It assumed two forms: the eremitic or solitary form (Anthony's) ' and the cenobitic or community form (Pachomius'). The latter developed remarkably--perhaps independently of Egypt --in Cappadocia under Basil. It also found a great fifth century African organizer in Augustine and a sixth century European organizer in Benedict. Pachomius, Basil, and Augustine found the model of what they ,d~re trying to create in the idealized sketch of the primitive community of faith and fraternal love which Luke pre-sents in Acts 2 and 4. Though the inspir~ition of this vision is not so evident in B~nedict, his Rule, by its introduction of stability, mdr~ effectively provided for ~ permanent community in which the Christian life could be lived to the full, Now let us ask briefly about the other three.elements which today, with the common life, form the canonical -°4 See La R~gle du Maitre, ed. Adalbert de Vogii~, v. 1 (Paris: Cerf, 1964), pp. 115-6. = Butler, Benedictine Mona~hism, pp. 389-90, nuances this state-ment. Religious ~ommunity VOLUME 25, 1966 ÷ Thomas Barrosse, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 980 minimum for the religious state: poverty, chastity, and obedience. How were they viewed by the great organizers? It has been customary for centuries to look upon these three--religious poverty, celibacy, and obedience--as an asceticism meant to counter the obstacles to love, in which, of course, the perfection .of the Christian life consists,zn Today, when it has become the style to dis-parage asceticism, this conception has lost appeal. We must recognize quite frankly, however, that in the early centuries of organized monastic life celibacy and poverty and obedience were repeatedly presented as an asceticism --that is, as a tangible expression of that readiness to leave all for Christ which we can call detachment and which is the necessary condition for love. But--what is of more importance for us at the moment--they were also looked upon as being in themselves expressions of love and means to create the ideal Christian community. The case of poverty is clearest. It is true that we can find numerous passages in the sources we have been con-sidering in which the abandonment of material posses-sions appears as a renunciation--a giving up--of material goods. It appears as a means to cast off "anxiety for the morrow" (Mt 6:24). It is presented as getting rid of one's goods preliminary to the following of Christ (Mt 19:21). But even in the case of the anchorites--for example, Anthony himself--disposing of one's goods usually takes the form of selling them to give the proceeds to the poor in accord with Jesus' counsel to the rich young man (Mr 19:21).27 Even more, after the initial renunciation, the cenobite's possession of anything as his own is r~gularly exchtded by our sources as being opposed to a truly common life. Citations from Acts 2 and 4 freque.ntly serve to exclttde private possessions precisely as infidelity to full community of life. Many of the passages examined above will illustrate this if they are reexamined. Let us, instead, examine one other. St Augustine in his treatise on the Work of Monks indicates both renunciation and community as involved in monastic poverty.~s First, renunciation. He writes: Let us suppose a person is converted to this life from a life of luxury, and that he is afflicted with no physical infirmity.,Are we so incapable of understanding the sweetness of Christ that we do not know how great a swelling of deeply rooted pride is healed when, after the removal of the superfluities with ~See John Cassian, Conference 1, Chapter 6 (in Gibson, Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, 2nd series, v. I1, p. 297); Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae 2-2, q.186, a.7. ~rAthanasius, LiIe o] Anthony, Chapters 2 and 3, in Keenan, Early Christian Biographies, pp. 135-6. ~ Chapter 25, translated in Saint Augustine, Treatises on Various Subjects, trans. Sister Mary Sarah Muldowney (New York: Fathers of the Church, 1952), p. 377. which his spirit was fatally possessed, the humility of the worker does not refuse to perform lowly labors to obtain the few supplies which remain necessary for this natural life? Secondly, community. He continues: If, however, a person is converted to this life from poverty, let him not consider that he is doing merely what he used to do, if, turning from the love of increasing his own private fortune, however little, and no longer seeking what things are his own but rather those of Jesus' Christ, he has devoted him-self to the charity of common life, intending to live in com-panionship with those who have one heart and one soul in God, so that no one calls anything his own but all things are held in common. Celibacy, of course, was practiced by Christians from the New Testament period itself. The motive St. Paul assigns for it in 1 Cor 7:35 is contemplative: to provide "undivided attention to the Lord." The motive Jesus as-signs in Mt 19:12: "for the sake of the kingdom of heaven" (which means "for the sake of the reign of God") can be considered apostolic: that is, celibacy to devote oneself wholly to the spread of God's reign by the preach-ing of the gospel. After all, injunctions to go out to pro-claim the kingdom without delaying even to bury one's father or to take leave of one's relatives occur in the Gospel (Lk 9:57-62; see Mt 8:19-22). Among the Pachomians, Theodore says: "Let us pre-serve the gift [a reference perhaps to the 'gift' of celibacy mentioned in 1 Cor 7:7 or possibly Mt 19:11] which has come to us beyond the deserts of our efforts. Let. us preserve the law [of the koin6nla], each one of us being a subject of edification for his neighbor." And a recent commentator remarks: The edification of one's neighbor--which means, immedi-ately, of one's brothers--is an essential element of the law on which the koin6nla rests. The realization of this law can-not be attained except when the bonds of purely natural love 'according to the flesh' have been broken and all the brothers bound together in a spiritual love. From this source come repeated regulations prescribing separation from one's family and controlling relations witl~ those who are related by blood.-~ Basil too--one more text will have to suffice--sees the renunciation of one's own family--and even more of a family of orie's own--aS a means to be "brother" equally to all members of the brotherhood. He writes: ÷ Superiors should not allow those who have been perma- ÷ nently admitted to the community to be distracted in any + way--by allowing them either to leave the company of their brethren and live in private on the pretext of visiting their Religious relatives or to be burdened with the responsibility of caring Community for their relatives according to the flesh. The Scripture abso-lutely forbids the words "mine" and "thine" to be uttered ~ Bacht, "Pakh6me,'" pp. 67-8. VOLUME 25, 1966 among the. brethren, saying: "And the multitude of believers had but one heart and ~ne soul; neither did anyone say that aught of the things which he possessed was his own." The par-ents or brothers of a membe; of the community, therefore, if they live piously should be treated by all the brethren as fathers or other relatives possessed in common: "For whosoever shall do the will of my Fathe~ that is in Heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother," says the Lord. In our opinion, moveover, the care of these persons would devolve upon the superiOr of the community.so + + + Thomas Barrosse, C.S.C. REVIEWFOR RELIGIOUS We may find this position somewhat extreme by our standards. The basic understanding of celibacy is what makes the text important to us at the moment, and that basic understanding is clear: the. foregoing of family re-lationships is .the means to effect a more perfect com-munity of life with a larger number of fervent Ghristians. Obedience is more difficult. The anchorite placed him-self under a master or teacher to be trained in overcoming self-will but especially to be educated to the ascetical life. Obedience was an asceticism or a disciple-master re-lationship. The' arrangement was voluntary. The leader-ship of communities was Charismatic: Pachomius' virtue explains the following he had, and after his death his community almost disintegrated more than once until his disciples could agree that the successor was equipped to guide them as Pachomius had been. For Basil, the role of the superior (or the superiors--since there can be several in one "brotherhood"---qq. 26 f.) is to direct and guide the individual "in everything." So too in Augustine (Letter 211). The superior, in short, appears as a sort of rnagister. 'Before thee introduction of stability, the monk could move to another community if he was not satisfied with the gu, idance he was given. When the community became fixed and the superior-ship more institutional, the situation changed somewhat. It~must be admitted that superiors were elected--presum-ably for their leadership qualities. But if the choice was limited to members of the community or other considera-tions Anfluenced the voting, obedience might possibly place a monk under a poor master, and remaining in-definitely under his authority would then be nothing more than ~an indefinitely prolonged asceticism. But perhaps we have missed an important aspect of the superior's role more implied than explicitly stated in our sources--that is, the position of the superior as the center of unity for the community. From the end of the very first Christian century we have a heavy emphasis on the head of the local Christian community, the bishop, as the foctts of the Church's unity, This seems to be the so Question 32, translated by Wagner in St. Basil, Ascetical Wor. ks, p. 295. meaning of Ignatius of Antioch's axiom: "Where the bishop is, there is the church." 81 We must reflect for a moment on this third and perhaps principal dimension of authority as a necessity for any and all community and of obedience as being first and directly the insertion of oneself into a community---or gift of oneself to a communitywand only secondarily and consequently the placing of oneself under a su-perior's authority. The extent of any superior's au-thority is determined by the nature of the community in which it is exercised. If the authority of superiors is so extensive in religious life, it is precisely because the gift we make of ourselves to the community is so extensive: we undertake the sharing of practically the whole of our lives with others--prayer, work, responsibilities, material goods, and so forth. How the authority is exercised--for example, by frequent peremptory commands or by dis-cussions in which a superior usually agrees with the con-sensus reached--is quite incidental to this aspect of re-ligious obedience (though it is less so, of course, to obedience as an asceticism). It might be pointed out parenthetically, however, that the way in which the highest (episcopal) authority was actually exercised in the patristic Church and the way Basil and Benedict speak of superiors exercising their attthority suggests a procedure closer to the second than to the first of these two extremes,a2 Looking ttpon obedience as being sub-stantially the gift of oneself to a community means look-ing upon it in a very ancient and traditional way and perceiving it as an influence over the individual religious in his whole community life, even when the superior actually intervenes only rarely. We have been all too brief in our consideration of poverty, celibacy, and obedience. But perhaps we have 21 See V. Corwin, St. Ignatius and Christianity in Antioch (New Haven: Yale, 1960), pp. 80-7, 192-8, 214, and 256-7. Ignatius phrases it slightly differently in his letter to the Smyrneans 8, 2. Why else is nothing to be done "apart from" the bishop and only that Eu-charist is to be considered valid over which he presides or someone named by him (Ad Smyrn. 8, 1)? He is certainly not thinking of a "power of orders" to confect sacraments or of a "power of jurisdic-tion" if we are to judge from the main thrust of his arguments. There is no church apart from the bishop because he is its "center of unity," to use the phrase Vatican II applies to him in its Decree on the Missionary Activity o~ the Church, n. 30 (just after urging all missionary workers to have but one heart and one soul in accord with Acts 4:32). Interestingly, the Rule of Taiz~ (Taiz~: Presses de Taiz~, 1965), p. 55, opens its treatment of the prior (which is its treatment of obedience) with a brief paragraph on the need for nnity; then it explains: "The prior focuses the u6ity of the commu-nity." ~See Y. Congar, "The Hierarchy as Service," in his Power and Poverty. in the Church (London: Chapman, 1964), pp. 15-79, espe-cially from p. 40 on. + ÷ ÷ Religi~s Community 98-3 ÷ ÷ ÷ Thomas Ba~rosse, C.~.C. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS 984 spent enough time on them to show that all the essential elements of canonical "religious life as we know it in the Church today can be conceived of just as the cenobitic life as a whole was at its origins: as part of the attempt to create an ideal Christian community on the model of that idyllic picture of the primitive Apostolic Church which St. Luke presents in the opening chapters of Acts. That the apostolates of the active communities can be fitted into this picture too should be clear from what we have seen of the openness to the needs of the Church of their times exhibited by the Basilian, Augustinian, and Benedictine communities. To show that this concept has not been lost between the origins and our own day, let us conclude with two texts. The Pontificale Romanum, dating substantially from the Middle Ages, contains a ceremony for the profession of an abbot--to be used before he is blessed in case a novice or someone not a member of the order in question should be elected. At the end of the Ceremony, the pre-siding bishop gives a short explanation of what he has done in accepting the profession: Although all of us through th~ grace of baptism are brothers in Christ and have one Father in heaven if, to the best of our ability, we do what he commands, without any doubt we are most closely united when we join ourselves to one another in ~common] prayer and mutual service just as we read the holy tathers in the primitive Church, who had but one heart anal one soul, did. Many of them, their hearts inflamed with the love of Christ, sold their posSessions and material belongings, gathered the proceeds together, and brought them in joy (o t~e Apostles. The Apostles took these proceeds and distributed them to all in accord with the needs of each. So it is that this man [newly professed], under God's inspiration and encouraged by their example, desires to be joined to the community of the religious of [this order]. We grant him

Issue 19.1 of the Review for Religious, 1960. ; Review For Religious Volume 19 1960 Editorial O[[ice ST. h~ARY'S COLLEGE St. Marys, Kansas Publisher TIlE QUEEN'S WORK St. Louis, Missouri EDITOR R. F. Smith, S.J. ASSOCIATE EDITORS Augustine G. Ellard, S.J. Henry Willmering, S.J. ASSISTANT EDITORS John E. Becker, S.J. Robert F. Weiss, S.J. DEPARTMENTAL EDITORS Questions and Answen Joseph F. Gallen, S.J. Woodstock College Woodstock, Maryland Book Reviews Earl A. Weis, S.J. West Baden College West Baden Springs, Indiana Published in January, March, May, July, September, November on Ihe fifleenlh of Ihe monlh. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS is Indexed in Ihe CATHOLIC PERIODICAL INDEX. Act of "Dedication of the Human Race to Christ the King Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary IOn July 18, 1959 (Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 51 11959~, 595-96), the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary issued a new text of the act of dedication of the human race to the Heart of Christ the King. The text has been revised according to the directives of John XXIII who has also accorded a number of indulgences to the revised prayer. The following is a translation of the new text of the prayer together with the indulgences granted for its recital.I SWEET JESUS, Redeemer of the human race, look do~vn upon us humbly kneeling before Your altar.~ We are Yours and Yours we wish to be; but in order to be still more firmly united to You, today each one of us freely dedicates himself to Your most Sacred Heart. There are many indeed who have never known You; many others have rejected Your commandments and have repudiated You. Be merciful to all of them, 0 kind Jesus, and draw them all to Your holy Heart. Be king, 0 Lord, not only of the faithful who have never abandoned You, but also of the prodigal children who have left You; bring them back quickly to their Father's house lest they die of misery and hunger. Be king of those who have been deceived by erroneous ideas or have been separated by discord; bring them back to the harbor of truth and to the unity of faith so that soon there may be a single fold and a single shepherd. Bestow upon Your Church, 0 Lord, security, liberty, and safety; give to all nations the tranquillity of order; and grant that from one pole of the earth to the other there may ring out the cry: Praise to the divine Heart which brought forth our salvation; to It be glory and honor forever. Amen. July 18, 1959 His Holiness, John XXIII, after abrogating the prayer as given in the Enchiridion Indulgentiarum [Manual of Indulgences], 1952, n. 271, graciously granted the following indulgences: 1) A partial indulgence of five years to the faithful who devoutly recite the above act of dedication with contrite heart. 2) A plenary in- 1When the prayer is recited outside a church or oratory, "in Your presence" should be said instead of "before Your altar." ACT OF DEDICATION dulgence once a month, if they have recited the prayer devoutly every day for a whole month, provided they go to confession, receive Communion, and make a visit to a church or a public oratory. 3) The faithful may gain a partial indulgence of seven years if on the Feast of Christ the King they are present in any church or oratory, even a semi-public one (in the case of those legitimately attending it), when the act of dedication tn the Sacred Heart of Jesus according to the formula given above and the Litanies of the Sacred Heart are recited before the Blessed Sacrament solemnly exposed; moreover, they may gain a plenary indulgence if, besides fulfilling the above conditions, they have gone to confession and Communion. All contrary provisions not withstanding. N. Card. CANALI, Major Penitentiary L. ~I, S. I. Rossi, Secretary Living /aters Frederick Power, $. J. pius XII in his encyclical Haurietis aquas on devotion to the Sacred Heart urges us to"-study diligently the teachings of Scripture, the fathers, and the theologians--the solid founda-tions on which devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus rests." For the Holy Father is "firmly convinced that we can rightly and fully appreciate the incomparable excellence and inexhaustible store of heavenly gifts of this devotion only when we study its nature in the light of divinely revealed truth." The encyclical itself begins with a text from Isaiah: "You shall draw waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains" (Is 12:3). A few lines further on the Holy Father returns to the idea of the "Saviour's fountains" when he refers to the scene in the Temple at Jerusalem on the Feast of Tabernacles as recorded in John's Gospel, Chapter 7:37-39. The words of our Lord on this occasion are numbered among the principal te~ts which establish the biblical foundation of the devotion. A closer study of this text will be most rewarding and will reveal the appropriateness of the text as the general theme of the encyclical. When the Feast of Tabernacles was at hand, our Lord had declined to go to Jerusalem with His relatives but afterwards went up by Himself "not publicly but as it were privately." The Feast of Tabernacles was held towards the end of Sepo tember after the grain harvest and the vintage and the gathering of the autumn fruit crop. Originally an agricultural festival in-stituted to give thanks to God for the fruitfulness of the soil, it later included the commemoration of the forty years spent by the Hebrews in the desert. In memory of the latter event all Jews of free status except the sick, women, and children lived for the week in huts made from the leafy branches of trees. These huts reminded them of the tents or tabernacles pitched in the wilder-ness of Sinai, a period kept ever fresh in their minds as one in which God gave them the great gifts of the manna and of the water from the rock. The desert ever afterwards remained in Jewish tradition as the place of God's protective presence. Two elaborate ceremonies added to the gaiety of the feast: the procession to the fountain of Siloe and the torch-light illumi-nation of the Women's Court. It is the first of these ceremonies that is of interest for the present article. FREDERICK POWER Review for Religious Each morning the multitude organized into a procession. The people lined the route leading to thepool of Siloe and crowded into the Temple and the surrounding courtyards and porches. Then a procession of priests and Levites descended the valley as far as the pool of Si|oe. Those assisting at the ceremony held a citron fruit in the left hand and in the right a palm branch twined with shoots of myrtle and green willow. The Levites chanted the group of festive psalms called the great Hallel; and the multitude, keep-ing time with the refrain, vigorously waved the fruit and palm branch in token of joyfulness and triumph. The officiating priest carried a golden ewer, and at the pool of Siloe he filled it with water to carry back to the altar of holo-causts. This liturgical act was both a commemorative symbol and a dramatized hope. It recalled the miraculous water that gushed forth from the rock of Horeb beneath the rod of Moses, and it was a figure of the outpouring of graces proper to Messianic times. As the celebrant drew the water of Siloe, the choir repeated the verse of Isaiah: "You shall draw water with joy out of the Saviour's fountains" [12:3), a verse which refers to the blessings promised for the days of the Messiah. This symbol of a spring bursting forth and of water flowing from a fountain was well known to those present, for it is one of the most frequent in the Bible; and in a land afflicted by drought and water scarcity, it was a readily understood symbol of divine blessings. Accordingly, the miraculous event in the desert, when Moses struck the rock with his rod and water gushed forth, was remembered with gratitude in the people's liturgical ceremonies. Moses himself had prayed before the Ark of the Covenant: "O Lord God, hear the cry of this people and open to them thy treasures, a fountain of living water, that being satisfied they may cease to murmur" (Num 20:6). In this text and elsewhere in Scripture "living water" is water flowing from a spring as opposed to the stagnant water of cisterns. It was this symbol of living waters that the prophets used to signify divine blessings. Jeremiah even calls God the fountain of living waters: "For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and have digged to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water" (Jer 2:13). In the last part of the book of Ezekiel, the prophet describes the vision of the holy waters issuing from all sides of the Temple. The desert through which they flow becomes extremely fertile; the trees on their banks have healing power and bear fresh fruit January, 1960 LIVING WATERS monthly. Such is the virtue and dynamism of Yahweh's holy presence in the Temple that it radiates0grace and blessings over the land. Zechariah, too., in speakingof the time of the Messiah, remarks: "In that day there shall be a fountain open to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem" (Zech 13:1). The prophets, then, looked on water poured out upon parched land as an image of the new spirit that was to be characteristic of the time of salvation. In .the words of Isaiah: "I will pour out waters upon the thirsty ground, and streams upon the dry land; I will pour out my spirit upon thy seed, and blessing upon thy stock" (Is 44:3). In these texts we see some examples of how the blessings of God and the future blessings of the Messianic era are portrayed under the symbol of living waters, and the passages provide some introduction to the scene in Jerusalem on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. After the drawing of the water the procession wended its way up the slope from the pool of Siloe, the officiating priest carry-ing the golden pitcher of water, the Levites chanting psalms, and the crowd singing the refrain. As the procession approached the temple, the people became more enthusiastic, shouting out their response of Hallelu-Yah--Praise Yahweh--with ever greater vehe-mence. It wasin this way that they manifested their deep-felt conviction that Yahweh was their own God who had brought them out of the land of Egypt and had led them safely through the desert. The procession went up to the altar of holocausts just at the moment when the parts of the victim immolated that day were being placed upon it. The priest was greeted by the sacred trumpets and was met at the altar by another priest carrying the wine for the libations. While the people continued their enthusiastic shout-ing, the two pitchers were emptied into conduits that led to the foot of the altar. By this libation it was intended to thank God for the two occasions when He made water flow from a rock to satisfy the thirst of His people in the wilderness. By the same rite the attention of the people was directed to the Messianic promise of living waters and also to the expectation of the fulfillment of the promise which was symbolically signified. For the people were expecting a Messiah who would bring salvation and who was to be another Moses. When the liturgical rite was finished and the singing ended, a silence descended over the throng. Our Lord, who had been 7 FREDERICK POWER Rewew for Rehgmus present among the crowd, now took advantage of this opportunity to reveal His true mission. Mounting a step he cried out to the Jewish people: "If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink; he who believes in me, as the Scripture says, 'From his heart there shall flow rivers of living water.' " By these words He revealed Himself as the one in whom all the abundant graces of the Messianic period are to be found, the object of the Messianic expectation, the Messiah himself. He is the rock from which the water of life flows; indeed, He is the fountain itself. He is the spring from which anyone who thirsts may quench his thirst. The effect of faith in Him would be the reception and communication of living water. This text requires the explanation of two important points. First, the text as a whole has been interpreted in two ways: that the fountain of living water flows from the one who believes in Christ, or that the fountain flows from Christ, the one in whom we believe. The Holy Father understands the text in the second way in his encyclical; this use, without doubt, holds the richest and profoundest sense, one more in agreement with the Old Testament prophecies given above. It is also more in agreement with the theology of St. John. Secondly, an explanation must be given for the use of the word heart in the text. The Latin edition of the encyclical follows the Vulgate version of the text, the literal translation of which would be: "Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water." The Latin phrase used is de ventre eius, which literally means "out of his belly." This translation would also be a literal trans-lation of the Greek and Aramaic versions of the text. The trans-lation, however, would not be a correct interpretation of the idea intended. Those who are experts in the Aramaic language agree that for the Hebrews the viscera or the belly was regarded as the seat of the emotions in the same way as we regard the heart. Accordingly a proper translation of the phrase used by our Lord would be "from his heart." Such a translation, though not a literal one, is the proper way to express the idea in terms we understand today. It is what our Lord meant, though He expressed it in the idiom of His own day. It is with this understanding that authorities place this text among the fundamental texts of Scrip-ture regarding devotion to the Sacred Heart. On this occasion of our Lord's revelation of His Sacred Heart, He appeals to Scripture as being fulfilled in His person. He does not refer to one particular text but rather to that whole class of January, 1960 LIVING WATER~ texts from the Old Testament which we considered earlier. The people who heard these ~o.~s could take only one meaning: The man before them was definitely claiming the fulfillment of these prophecies in Himself; He was claiming it and at the same time promising untold blessings to those who would recognize this claim. Certainly St. John is impressed by the words, for he pauses to comment upon them. He tells us that they were prophetic and that they were fulfilled in the final glory of our Lord whicb, for ~John, is our Lord's passion, death, and subsequent transfiguration: "He said this, however, of the Spirit whom they who believed in~ Him were to receive; for the Spirit had not yet been given, seeing that Jesus had not yet been glorified" (Jn 7:39). The Spirit here means the Holy Spirit and includes the abundance of Mes-sianic goods and the gifts of redemption which the Holy Spirit brings to those who believe in Christ. But before the living water would flow, Christ had to be glorified; this was a condition that had yet to be fulfilled. That our Lord's glory was concerned with His passion is seen in His priestly prayer after the Last Supper: "Father, the hour has come! Glorify thy Son, that thy Son may glorify thee, even as thou has given him power over all flesh, in order that to all ,that thou hast given him he may give everlasting life" (Jn 17:2). By sacrificing Himself the Redeemer would cause the Spirit to flow and to open up the "fountain of living water." And this would happen when at the death of the Messiah His Heart would be pierced ~with a lance. The life-giving power of the living waters would find its source in the Blood of Christ as it gushed forth from the wounded Heart of Christ. It is, however, necessary to make here some distinctions between the piercing of Christ's side and the pouring forth of the Holy Spirit. The piercing is not of the same nature as the visible mission of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost. Nevertheless there is an ancient tradition, attested to among others by St. Augustine, that the Church was born from the pierced side of Christ. As Eve was taken from the side of the sleeping Adam, so also the Spouse of Christ, the Church, sprang from the pierced side of the dead Christ, the new Adam in His sleep of death being the source of the new Eve, the Church. And this Church is the Mystical Body of Christ whose soul is the Holy Spirit. FREDERICK POWER Review for Religious That the living waters promised to those who believe in Christ spring from the pierced side of the dead Saviour is also attested to by the common interpretation that for John the water and blood are signs of the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Eucharist. In his encyclical Plus XII puts it this way: "From this wounded Heart the grace of the sacraments, from which the children of the Church draw supernatural life, flowed most pro-fusely . " And the Holy Spirit is included in the sacrament of Baptism, for the new birth to be effected by Baptism is brought about by "water and the Spirit" as our Lord told Nic~demus. So it is that the prediction of John in Chapter 7 concerning the flowing rivers to come after Christ's glorification was fulfilled when on the cross a soldier "opened his side with a lance, and immediately there came out blood and water" (Jn 19:34). The streams of blood and water are certain signs that now have been fulfilled the Scriptural prophecies of Messianic grace. Now the living water has begun to flow; now the Spirit is given, but only in blood; grace is given but only from the pierced Heart on the cross. Unless the spiritual rock that is Christ had been struck, the waters would nol~ have ~ome forth. And John in his Gospel insists that this incident of the soldier declining to break our Lord's legs and instead opening His side was a momentous event. He emphasizes his own role as an eye-witness of the event: "And he who saw it has borne witness, and his witness is true: and he knows that he tells the truth, that you also may believe" (Jn 19:35). And he puts further emphasis on the event by telling us that by it two prophecies were fulfilled: "Not a bone of him shall you break," and "They shall look upon. him whom they have pierced." The first of these prophecies speaks of the paschal lamb. Now in the concluding events of the passion of Christ it is fully revealed that Christ is the true Lamb of God; accordingly none of His bones were broken. This symbol of the Lamb recalls the mag-nificent theology of the Apocalypse concerning the "Lamb who was slain" (Apoc 5:12). In the Lamb we see the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah who suffers 'and is glorified in His sufferings: "The Lamb . . . is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings" (Apoc 17:14). The redeemed are the "bride, the spouse of the Lamb" (Apoc 21:9). In the blood of this Lamb the faithful are able to be cleansed--to be filled with the living waters of the Spirit. And from the fact that the rivers flow forth from the 10 January, 1960 LIVING WATERS wounded Heart of the Lamb, we are led to those passages in the Apocalypse which depict the fulfillment of the prophecies of Isaiah and Ezekiel: "For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them, and will guide them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Apoc 7:17); ". he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming forth from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Apoc 22:1). Thus the act of redemption is enshrined, as it were, in a celestial garden and the redeemed are forever made joyous at the Saviour's fountains. The second prophecy, which is concerned with the piercing of our Lord's side, is from Zechariah: "And I will pour out upon the house of David and upon Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of prayers: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son" (Zech 12:10). In this passage God speaks about Himself. As man, He will be the first-born, one for whom they mourn and weep and at whom they gaze although they have pierced Him. God Himself in His human nature brings about the redemption and is the one who gives the living water of the Spirit. He pours forth the Spirit at the moment when the lance opens His Heart. At that moment the Spirit begins to flow and the Messianic work will be prolonged to the end of time when Jesus will come again in glory. In the words of the Apocalypse: "Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also who pierced him" (Apoc 1:7). Our Lord, then, standing above the throng gathered for the Feast of the Tabernacles, revealed Himself as the long awaited Messiah, the rock of salvation, the fountainhead of all the bless-ings of the Messianic times. For the most part, He was not ac-cepted. A few believed in Him, so John tells us, but only a few. For He is the "stone which the builders rejected." But He is also the rock which will be struck anew for the salvation of the newly chosen people. He will give of His sub-stance to give birth to the new people that He will acquire for Himself. From His pierced side will spring the fountain of eternal life, the rivers of living waters, the Spirit of love, the Church, the new Jerusalem, Baptism and the other sacraments, all the graces of the "last days." The Litany of the Sacred Heart sums it all up in the invocation: "Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness." 11 A Catechism on Obedience of Judgment Paul W. O'Brien, S. J. QWhat are the necessary presuppositions for every act of obedience? A. That the superior has authority and that what he commands is not certainly sinful. Q. Could the superior sin while commanding something not sinful? A. Yes, through sinful motives, for example, envy, injustice, or serious imprudence. Q. What is the formal motive of obedience? A. Authority. Q. Is obedience an act of the will or intellect? A. Obedience of the will is an act of the will; obedience of judgment is formally an act of the intellect, but like faith, is commanded by the will. Q. What is obedience of judgment? A. The conforming of my judgment to the judgment of the superior-because he has authority. Q. To what judgment do I conform? A. Not necessarily to his theoretical (speculative)judgment, that is, something to believe, but to his practical judgment, that is, something to do. The Abbot John did not have to believe that the dry stick would grow into a tree; he had only to believe that God wanted him to water it (for His own mysterious reasons). Q. How would you express this practical judgment? A. Given the order of the superior, I must judge that this is what God wants done (that is, God sanctions with His authority the perhaps mistaken decision of my superior) and that it is best according to the ultimate mysterious plan of God (not necessarily best for the immediate purpose intended by the superior). Q. When I cannot agree with the speculative judgment of the superior and must carry out his practical judgment, how should I obey? A. Not just materially, by merely executing the order (and in such a way as to sabotage the project, emphasizing and dis- 12 O[~EDIENCE OF JUDGMENT playing the weakness of the order, proving the superior wrong); but loyally entering into his, views (without blinding myself to his error), covering up its weaknesses before the public, trying my best to make it succeed. Q. Should I judge the order of the superior to be the will of God because of the reasons of the superior? A. No, but only because he has authority. Q. Then obedience of judgment does not imply that I agree with the reasons of the superior? A. No, it does not imply this. Q. Is it possible to have perfect obedience of judgment and the firm assurance that the superior's order is the will of God for me, while still hesitating over the reasons of the superior? A. Yes. Obedience is specified by authority, not by reasons. Q. Will my obedience of judgment be more perfect in propor-tion as I bring myself into agreement with the reasons of the superior? A. No, though the desire to agree will indicate a more perfect disposition. Q. Then why try to make my reasons agree with the reasons of the superior? A. It helps remove the psychological obstacles to obedience of judgment and chiefly of execution. It is easier to act if humanly speaking I agree with the policy. It is the proper disposition in the face of God's representative. Q. Do I suspend my act of perfect obedience of judgment while I am trying to bring myself to agree with the reasons of the superior? A. No, no more than you suspend your act of faith while you study your catechism or theology. Q. When I have brought myself to agree with all the reasons of the superior, do I have more assurance of doing God's will? A. No. The security that comes from authority (in the line of faith) will always be sufficient and greater than that which comes from the weight of human reasons. (Actually both the superior and I may be agreeing in wrong reasons.) Q. What is "blind obedience"? A. Supposing the two presuppositions of all obedience, I blind myself to the qualities and reasons of my superior, that is, I exclude the consideration of these reasons and motivate my obedi-ence by authority alone. Q. What is the difference between obedience of judgment and 13 PAUL W. O'BRIEN blind obedience? A. There is no difference in the act of obedience. But while obedience of judgment merely states the fact, blind obedience connotes the approach: the exclusion of the consideration of the reasons. Q. Is blind obedience a help to obedience of judgment? A. Yes. It makes obedience of judgment easier and safer for though I could have perfect obedience of judgment while consider-ing, and even while rejecting the reasons, still it is much easier to by-pass these reasons and look simply to authority. Q. Is blind obedience always better? A. No. Even though easier and safer, it is often good and sometimes necessary to consider the reasons of the superior (even while excluding them from the motivation of obedience), for they may: (a) help me to profit by the experience of my elders, (b) enlighten me on the spirit of my community, (c) be necessary to relieve psychological blocks to action, (d) be necessary for the understanding of the mind of the superior in view of carrying out his order more intelligently. Q. What should be my attitude toward the reasons of the superior? A. I should be well-disposed towards them. They are given to help me. I should use them as far as they help. If they trouble me, I should prescind from them and practice blind obedience, But even while using them, I should keep them in second place and unite myself to God through authority. 14 The Theology of Religious Women Yves M.-J. Congar, 0. P. This article was a conference given July 10, 1958, to a convention of French priests charged with the care of religious women. It will ~ppear as a chapter in a book to be entitled Le r61e de la religieuse dans l'Eglise (Paris: Cerf, 1960), a volume in the series Probl~mes de la religieuse d'aujourdhui. The article was first printed in Suppldment de la Vie Spirituelle (1959), 316:42. The present translation is by John E. Becker, S.J. Basic Notions: The Church and the World THE WORLD was set on,its way reality by the creative act. Its story is humanity s quest atos, ,ba e fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it" (Gen 1:28). For all practical pur-poses, the world, the temporal, history, the drive to civilize are equivalent ideas; the reality they have in common is the effort of man to perfect himself by subjecting, for his advantage, the re-sources inherent in himself and in material creation. And this effort has a direction, a direction which is completely dependent on the facts of Adam's existence: he was at one and the same time both image of God and sinner. As Tennyson said very well, it is only at the end of this great adventure that one can say that man is complete. The Church is something other than this inherent movement of the world or of history even if, as is the case, she envelops it and Ultimately guarantees it. For she does not emerge out of the resources deposited within the first creation. She is placed in the realm of reality by a new initiative of God, properly supernatural, that is to say, an initiative in which God commits and gives Himself (this is the meaning of grace). She is an order of sanctity and sanctification positively instituted from above, a creation of the divine positive law issuing from the priestly, prophetic, and redemptive kingship of Christ. Still she has her existence and, as it were, her proper stability within human societies. Divine insti-tution that she is, she herself creates and shapes according to her needs and her spirit institutional forms proper to herself. On the other hand, the Church is not made to be an end in herself. She is made for God and for the world -- even for the world, to save it by the grace which God has given her to dispense: 15 YvEs M -J CONGAR Rewew for Rehgmus "In it [the faith of the Church] is contained union with Christ.''1 The Church is a new creation of God, and a supernatural one; but she has a mission in and for the world. This mission consists in two things: first, to convert men by making them disciples, that is to say by bringing them into herself, giving them in this way the regeneration of a second birth; and then to sanctify them by communicating to them the grace of the Lord, by forgiving their sins, and by teaching them to conform their lives to the holy and sanctifying will of God;2 second, to operate within temporal life itself in order that in accordance with God's plan it may be directed and oriented towards God to the fullest possible extent. The Church here reveals especially the healing power of grace which, by giv-ing back to nature her primitive orientation, conforms her to the will and to the image of God while at the same time restoring her t'o herself. The Church seeks, by all sorts of initiatives and under-takings, to remold the world according to the plan of God, which is neither the pursuit of self nor the pursuit of power nor egoistic hardness of heart, but on the contrary, service, brotherhood, justice, peace, communion, sharing, helping the poorest, combating all the degrading miseries of body and soul. This is why, from one end to the other of her history and growth, the Church has created ministries inspired by charity. Some of them, more involved with the work of the world and its battles, such as the fight for social justice, are more the role of the laymen within her whom she forms and inspires for this work. Others, more strictly pertinent to her spiritual nature and to her primary office of sanctification, can remain more properly eccle-siastical ministries; such is the case in particular with the corporal works of mercy or the spiritual works such as teaching. "As long as you did it for one of these, the least of my brethren, you did it for me" (Mt 25:40). Basic Notions: The Church in Herself One can consider the Church as the great sacrament of salva-tion and distinguish in her two aspects. She is both the reality of grace or sanctity and she is the means of grace or sanctification: reality and sacrament. Images for comparison are not lacking. However, as with every .image, they are very inadequate, and risk losing through excessive schematization what they gain in clarity. 1St. Ir~naeus, Adversus Haereses, III, 24, 1. ~Mt 28:19-20; Mk 16:15 ft.; Jn 3:3 ft.; 20:21 ff.; Col 1:13; etc. 16 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN For example, the Church as a holy reality may be considered to be. a tower or a temple; as a means of. sanctification, to have the instrumental power of a pick, a mining car, a windlass, a scaffold, and all of those things which are necessary ~to bring the rough stone from the mines to the finished building where each has its place and its proper finish (see the hymn for the dedication of a church). Does not St. Augustine distinguish the "society of the sacraments" and the "society of the saints," the former being ordered to the latter? Does he not also write: "The architect builds a permanent edifice with temporary machinery"?'~ To see in the Church the holiness already rooted in souls is not only to consider the depths of her life, it is to see in her that which will always be. "Charity never passes away" (1 Cor 13:8). To live through charity the life of holiness is really to live as a citizen of the eternal and heavenly City of God. In heaven, one might say, there will be nothing else but that. That city knows no hierarchy other than that of holiness or of love. The Virgin Mary is at its pinnacle. In the Church of this world she had neither a function nor a hierarchical dignity. It could readily be said of her that she was a member, the first member, of the laity if there were not the danger of belying by this way of speaking her per-fection as a consecrated member of the faithful. Mgr. Journet says well, following St. Thomas, that the Virgin Mary has per-fectly achieved the highest holiness, not the highest hierarchical dignity.~ She is-the type, or better, the perfect personification of the Church, but of the Church as final end, not as means. Mary is the "eschatological eikon of the Church.''~ That which in the Church is "sacrament" in the wide sense of the word -- instrument or means of grace -- is as such related to her as a wayfarer. This is true in the first place of her sacraments properly speaking, but also of her dogmatic formulas, of her organizations, and of her ecclesiastical hierarchy which has the care of all these matters. If it were necessary to point out a type or a personification of the Church here, it would not be the Virgin Mary but rather the Apostle Peter. But this would be to consider 3Sermo 362, 7 (Patrologia Latina, 39, 1615). 4St. Thomas, In I Sent., d. 16, q. 1, a. 2, ad 4; Summa Theologiae, 3, 27, 5, ad 3; Albert the Great, In IV Sent., d. 19, a. 7; Charles Journet, L'Eglise du Verbe incarnd, 2 (Paris, 1951), 422; 441; 456, note 2. ~This striking expression is from L. Bouyer, Le culte de la M~re de Dieu (Chevetogne, 1950), 33; Le trSne de la sagesse (Paris, 1957), 188. See also O. Semmelroth, Die Kirche als Ursakrament (Frankfort, 1951), 176-85. A beautifu] and rich meditation on the theme of Mary as perfect spiritual type of the Church is to be found in H. Rahner, Marie et ~'Eglise (Paris, 1955). 17 YvEs M.-J. CONGAR Review [or Religious only one part of the reality, to reduce the power of the Church as means of grace or of sanctification to "institutions" alone. But as a matter of fact the whole life of the Church in time is a means of grace tending to produce that interior fruit of holiness which will always remain. Still, if the distinction which we have proposed is valid -- it is a classical one -- it is very necessary to guard against pushing it to the point of separation or disjunction. The Church in the concrete, the existential Church on earth is at the same time both means of sanctification and sanctity. In terms of the image used above, we should say that she is at the same time the building and the construction works by which she is built; or, using another image, she is the ear of wheat, full of the grain of which the host will be made, and at the same time the root and stem necessary to bear and nourish the wheat until the harvest time. This is why in the Church holiness and means of sanctification interpenetrate. The sacraments are holy; but also the reality of the interior holiness of the members is a powerful means of leading other members and the whole body either to conversion or to greater holiness. There is a spiritual mothering of holiness, or, if holiness seems too broad, of the life of faith, of prayer, and of charity; and perhaps this mothering is too little studied, theoretically undervalued in the Church, even though it is extremely real, a factor of everyday life. We shall return to this point later. It would also be inexact to make a complete separation be-tween holiness and visibility. Holiness manifests itself. It is even a "note" of the Church, that is to say a mark which "notifies" and permits the true Church to be recognized. As instigator and end of all the visible works of the Church, terminus and interior direction of all the instrumentality of grace, intimate soul of all the historical life of the Church, holiness gathers all of these func-tions together to constitute that sign of the Kingdom of God which the Church must be for the world. During His earthly life, Jesus made men sensible of the approach of the Kingdom of God and unveiled something of its proper mystery by "signs" just as He opened up the ways of the Good News in parables. After the Ascension of the Lord, it is the Church which by the grace of Pentecost is the sign for the world. But the different manifesta-tions of her historical life are signs of the Kingdom of God, signs of the charity of Christ, only because they incorporate and radiate holiness. Otherwise they might be signs of power, of legal right, even of greatness; they would not be signs of the Kingdom of God 18 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN and of the charity of Christ. They would not draw the world to the faith. Basic Notions: Religious Life The Church is a body which is organic, organized, and.there-fore composed of different elements. She embraces the infinity of individual differences which are the foundation of the gifts, altogether interior ~and spiritual or exterior and public, of each one: what a variety among men, what a variety in the world of the saints! All this is the rainbow of grace. But there are also larger differences in the Church, delimited categories, groups charac-terized by a particular social structure, even constituted as such by law. These are those major differences of condition which affect Christian life in that profound and permanent as well as public and manifest way by reason of which one may speak of them as states. Christian antiquity and the Middle Ages used the expression orders for any group, and the encyc.lical Mystici corporis of June 29, 1943, reintroduced this idea into its broad theology of the Church as the Body of Christ. Once more it speaks, for example, of the "order of the laity.''~ The fathers spoke of the order of preachers or of prelates, the order of clerics, of monks, of virgins, of the continent, of widows, of deaconesses, of married people. If we consider only the most general divisions of states in the Church, we find ourselves faced with a double distinction, that between clerics and the laity, and another between seculars and regulars or religious (see below, note 50). If we recall what was said above about the Church, we will be able to relate the first distinction more to that ~aspect according to which the Church is means of sanctification, since this difference is between the simple members of the people of God and those members who are destined to exercise some sacred function and are endowed with powers appropriate to the prac.tical application of the means of grace. The second distinction pertains more to the aspect of the Church according to which she is a mystery of holiness; for the "state of perfection," even though it is a means of sanctification, is nor-mally an approach towards a more perfect life in Christ. In both cases, the state ~or particular ecclesiastical position of the cleric and of the regular is a deprivation of the greater liberty legiti-mately given those in the world in view of their conditio.n of life and .activity in the world; the purpose of this deprivation is the better service of God, whether this be more on the plane of per- SActa Apostolicae Sedis, 35 [1943), 200-01. 19 YVES M.-J. CONGAR Review for Religious sonal spiritual life (religious life) or more on the plane of admin-istering the Church's means of sanctification (clerical, priestly state). It would be superfluous to spend time here defining religious life. Let us recall merely the simple and vigorous manner in which St. Thomas Aquinas characterized it in relation to the Christian life of the simple faithful.7 Each member of the faithful is com-mitted by his baptism, to renounce sin as well as Satan and his temptations. By religious profession, a Christian man or woman commits himself to renounce the world as the context of his life in order to belong more entirely, more definitively to God and to His work; for the world is an ambiguous milieu to live in; it is full of occasions of evil; it is engrossing, distracting, and filled with demands which hinder one from belonging to God completely and of temptations which turn one away from Him. This is why it is essential to the religious life, not only to detach oneself from the earthly and to consecrate oneself to God by vows, but through the rule to separate oneself from the conditions of life in the world. A point of view less individual and more ecclesiological might present the same realities in the following way.s The difference between religious and the simple faithful need not be viewed as a difference between the consecrated and the non-consecrated. This opposition exists, of course; but it should be located between the Church and the world, between the people of God and those who are not, between Christians and non-Christians (see 1 Pet 2:10). In the people of God as such, in the Body of Christ, all is sacred. The faithful are consecrated; their whole life as Christians, in so far as it is Christian, is sacred, not profane. All that religious can ambition is to be more consistently, more integrally Christian, and to embrace more perfect means toward this end." Laymen, or the ordinary faithful, live in the world. It is their precise charac-teristic to serve God in the way that is determined by their natural mission into the world.~° But the world is something other than 7Contra impugnantes religionem, c. 1. 8We employ here a suggestion of R. Carpentier, S.J. in his Life in the City o[ God: An Introduction to the Religious Life (New York, 1959). Compare the same author's "Les instituts s~culiers," Nouvelle Revue Thdologique, 77 (1955), 408-12, in particular, 409, 411. ~Since Dom G. Morin's L'iddal monastique et la vie chrdtienne des premiers jours (Maredsous, 1912), it is better known that religious life is merely the Christian life more fully expressed. 1°There is more and more agreement on this positive and theological definition of the lay state: Y. M.-J. Congar, "Qu'est-ce qu'un laic?" Suppld-ment de la Vie Spirituelle, 1950, 363-92; this article is the first chapter in the same author's Lay People in the Church Westminster, 1957). See also K. 2O January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN the Church. If the Church has its inner consistency and its proper demands, the world has too, Even prescinding from the ambiguity inherent in the enterprises of men and in the tendency toward sin which adheres to the tissue of the world, it is still necessary to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's. For this reason even those laymen who seek only to love and serve God, whose personal lives are surrendered to God, and whose hearts are wholly intent upon Him find it difficult to exert themselves and to carve out their way in that world, a world which is not surrendered to God. "And he is divided" (1 Cor 7:33-34). The life of the Christian in the world is, unhappily, a divided one. The religious is the Christian who, in the desire to belong totally and irrevocably to God,~ leaves the world and enters a life built up and organized for the service of God, something which the world is not. The religious life in so far as it is a social frame-work for living is actually a creation of the Church for the pur-poses of the Church -- the service of God, Throughout the len.gth of her history.the Church has striven to achieve through religious life that which she tried to do as soon as she entered the world" by the grace of Pentecost; it was something that had been tried' be-fore her, for example in the monasticism of the Essenes on the shores of the Dead Sea. Her aim has been to constitute a way of life which responds perfectly, even as a social or juridical structure, to the communal and fraternal demands of the Gospel and which allows one to be at the exclusive service of God. In fact, through-out the whole history of the religious life one finds references back to the tentative attempt at communal living in the primitive Church at Jerusalem.~- Moreover, it is by expressl.y referring to Rahner, "L'apostolat des la~cs" in Nouvelle Revue Thdologique, 78 (1956), 3-32; a digest of this article may be found in Theology Digest, 5 (1957-58), 73-79. ~St. Thomas: "So that he may not turn back" (Summa Theologiae, 2-2, 186, 6, ad 1; see also Contra Gentiles, 3, 131). l~See Acts 2:44 and 4:32. Some references on this point are: F~r St. Pach-omius see L.Th. Lefort, Les vies coptes de saint Pach6me et de ses premiers successeurs [Louvain, 1943), 3, 30, and 65, 25; for St. Basil, see his Regulae brevius tractatae, int. 148, 187 (Patrologia Graeca, 31, 1180 and 1208) as well as his Regulae [usius tractatae, int. 7 (Patrologia Graeca, 31, 933); for St. Augustine see his En~arrationes in Psalmos, 132, 2 (Patrologia Latina, 37, 1729 ff.), his Sermo 355 and 356 De vita et moribus clericorurn suorum ( Patrologia Latina, 39, 1568 ff.), his De opere monachorum (C.S.E.L., 41, 529 ft.), his Regula (see below, note 21), and A. Zumkeller's Das M6nchtum des hl. Augus-tinus (Wiirzburg, 1950), 129 ft.; for St. Ambrose Autpert, see his In Cant. (Bibl. Max. Patrum, 13, 442); for St. Odo of Cluny, see his Occupatio 6 (Patrologia Latina, 133, 572) and J. Leclercq's "L'id~al monastique de saint Odon d'apr~s ses oeuvres," in A Cluny. Congrbs scientifique, 1949, 227 ff.; for St. Peter Damian, see his Opusculum 24, Contra clericos regulares proprietarios (Patrologia Latina, 145, 482-90). From the time of the reform 21 YvEs M.-J. CONGAR Review [or Religious this historical archetype that all reforms, all renewals of the religious life have been carried out. The "type" of Jerusalem, the City of Peace, the city "where all together make one body" (Ps 122:3), the place of God's habitation, has always been, for the various institutes of religious life, a kind of ideal, or "myth" in $orel's sense of the word. The religious life is a kind of earthly anticipation of the City of God. The chief forms of the religious life derive, even in those things which differentiate them, from the following principle com-mon to all: The religious life is a total consecration which is carridd out on the social level and publicly approved by the Church and which aims at the pursuit of the perfection of charity on the basis of a renouncement of that which hinders this totality, and this renouncement is made in such a way as to close to oneself the possibility of turning back. Within the bounds of this essential principle common to all, religious institutes differ from one another according to that pre-. eminent work of charity to which each one specifically devotes itself. A first overall distinction arises, for this reason, between institutes vowed to the service of the love of God alone, in Him-self, and immediately -- the contemplative life, monasticism, the eremetical life -- and institutes vowed to the service of the love of God in the exterior exercise of love and of service to the neigh-bor -- institutes specifically vowed to the works of mercy, corporal (hospitals), or spiritual (teaching), or the two together (the greater part of the missionary congregations).13 Contemplatives or monks also contribute to the salvation of the world, but only from above and in the context of the mystery of the Communion of Saints, from which comes in its secret forms that spiritual maternity which we have already mentioned and to which we shall return. From the point of view of effective activity they seem to leave the world to its damnation.Nevertheless, this is a historical fact: it is the monks who have made Christianity; of the llth and 12th centuries the references 'to Acts increase; see the studies of Ch. Dereine and others. See also J. Leclercq, La vie parfaite (Turnhout, 1948), 82-108. M.-D. Chenu, La thdologie au xii'~ si~cle (Paris, 1957), 227 ff. 13As is well known there exists a third category, that of the apostolic life, which is sometimes given the strange and little justified name of the "mixed life." In this life the superexcellent work of charity is identical with that of that agape which implies service, self-giving, apostolate, mission. It implies living in the light of faith and love to the extent of communicating them to others by means of the apostolate. But this apostolic life is almost exclusively reserved to men; and in its fullness it demands the priesthood of the Gospels. 22 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN monasticism has been --it is still, it will continue to be in the future -- preeminently the educator who teaches men not only what it is to be a Christian, but also what it is.to be human. In this way it has been the creator of much that is beautiful. It is impossible to accept grace without its showing its healing power, impossible to seek first the Kingdom of God without all these other things being added on besides (Mt 6:33; Lk 12:31). Religious devoted to the works of mercy enter into the torrent of the world to perform the work of rescue. They participate more strictly than the monks in that which in the Church is not only repose in God but also anxiety for and with men; they participate in the Church not only as a harbor of grace and the inn of the good Samaritan, but as an effective rescue service with the difficult commitment to heal the wounded on a road infested with robbers. In the duality of the Church and of the world, the monks represent essentially the distinction or opposition of the two. The Church is not of the world; and in her monks she says to it: "Do not touch me!" But the duality of the Church and of the world is not only distinction and opposition, it is also a kind of coupling; it implies a dialectical and dramatic point of contact. Not only do the Church and the world coexist in the time between Eden and the Kingdom, they exist in a certain way one with the other and one for the other. The world is, for the Church, not only~ the quarry from which she gets her stones, but also a necessary partner in a dialogue, or better, a sort of separated partner, who opposes and tests her, but with whom she must remain joined in order to try to save it. The Church is different from the world, she is grace and salvation. But in the interim between Easter and the second coming, which is her time of wayfaring and of labor, she is joined to the world as the good Samaritan was to his wounded stranger while he lifted him up and carried him, or as a lifeguard is joined to the drowning person whom he attempts to bring to the shore.~ Basic Notions: The Role of Woman in the Church One can scarcely speak of the laws of God's work, for he would thus risk giving the meaning that rules are imposed upon God extrinsically and as necessities. But one may speak of con-stants which the work itself reveals to us. And one of these constants seems to be procedure by pairs or complementary polarities. The study of tradition throughout Scripture, the fathers, and ancient ~On this point read G. Bernanos, La libertd, pourquoi faire? (Paris, 1953), 267-69; and see H. Urs yon Balthasar, Le chr~tien Bernanos (Paris, 1956), 217. 23 YVES M~-J. CONGAR Review for Religious texts and records, has convinced us more and more that this idea has played a very great role in Christian thought and institutions.~5 Among these unified dualities or complementary polarities, the first is without doubt the division of humanity into man and woman. It reappears in the Church, with the reservation that will be noted later. It is the reason that today's relatively numerous studies of "the second sex" have their counterparts, frequently stimulating ones, in Christian publications which attempt to de-termine the particular role and assets of women and hence of religious women in the Church.~ This role and these assets are connected with these larger values: a) Woman stands for receiving, welcoming, consenting; she is the "spiritual vessel." To speak of passivity would be not quite exact; receptivity is vital and active. Recall the "fiat" of the Virgin Mary, the prototype of acceptance and of the faithfulness of the Church before the God who comes, calls, asks. b) It is also said of the Virgin that "she kept all things in her heart." Man has the initiative in producing life. Woman creates for it a milieu that is intimate and warm, a home. In the home she embodies that humble faithfulness which conserves, waits, wel-comes. Man is devoted to the risks of conflict on the outside; he is the victim of its aggression; he suffers change. But thanks to his wife he has a home where he can recover intact his better self, his inner self: the freshness and poetry of love, the faithfulness to memory and to conscience, the delicacy of attention and of care.'7 Man is specialized by work and by action. Woman is nearer 15The following examples have been chosen at random and hurriedly; nevertheless the meaning and the relationships of this theme of "pairs" were a matter of profound experience in the consciousness and texts of the ancients; they will be understood better if one keeps in mind the duality in unity which is at the basis of all the examples: Man and woman, soul and body, the two sides of the body (two eyes, two hands, etc.), sky and earth, sun and moon (the "two luminaries"), the two powers, pope and emperor, the two witnesses Peter and Paul, Moses and Elias, law and grace, the Church of the Jews and the Church of the Gentiles, head and body, Scripture and tradition, baptism and confirmation [Christ and the Holy ~pirit), com-munion under two species, the two columns of the temple of Jerusalem, the two cherubim of the Ark, etc. ~6For studies by Catholics see Gertrud von Lefort, Die ewige Frau ~Munich, 1935); Maura BSckeler, Das grosse Zeichen. Die Frau als Symbol g6ttlicher Wirklichkeit (Salzburg, 1941); D'Eve tt Marie, ou le destin de la Femme in L'Anneau d'or, 1954; F.J.J. Buytendijk, La femme, ses modes d'etre, de paratt)'e et d'exister (Paris, 1957). A Protestant study is Ch. von Kirschbaum's Die wirkliche Frau (Zurich, 1949). A Greek Orthodox study is: Paul Evdo-kimov, La femme et le salut du monde. Etude d'anthropologie chrdtient~e sur les charismes de la [emme (Paris, 1958). ~TThis role of woman is well illustrated in novels such as the following: Sigrid Undset, Kristin Lavransdatter: Elizabeth Goudge, Green Dolphin Street; A. J. Cronin, Th~ Citadel. See also Alice Oll~-Laprune, Liens immortels. 24 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN to the sources of life and of elementary realities, more humbly given over to daily occupations. She has also an instinctive sensi-bility which allows her to grasp things in a more concrete, simpler, more comprehensive fashion, to see things as wholes. She gives herself more simply, and perhaps more irrevocably, in committing herself more thoroughly and totally to these things. In this total commitment of woman there is a value attested to by experience which is expressed remarkably well in the con-secration of religious women. This consecration, for the faithful and even for the priesthood, stands as a kind of oasis, a reserve storehouse of the simple life, of total, unsophisticated faith; it stands for homesteads of inviolate faithfulness softened by a gentle delicacy. There are here, along with a beehive's thrifty efficiency, treasure houses of devotedness and all the strength of an abnegation that is without ambition or defense. We will not delay on this longer because we are not sure that this precisely feminine element is so very important in the religious life. The religious life would represent in the Church rather that condition in which woman becomes most active,, closest to assum-ing initiatives and activities comparable to those of men. So she proclaims in a special way a superiority over the differences of sex and over the other conditions which divide man in his "life in Christ.''~8 If femininity exists at this level, it is that of the whole Church who is, according to patristic tradition and its develop-ment of the indications of Scripture, the New Eve beside the New Adam, Christ. That which, in the Church, represents Christ as Master, Spouse, and Father, is not the male religious institute; it is the episcopacy and the priesthood. It is easy to relate these facts to that which was said above about the two aspects of the Church: that of goal or of holiness, alongside which religious life has its special place, and that of means, alongside which the dis-tinction between priests and simple faithful has its place. The Role of Religious Woman in the Church The religious life is, in the Church, the highest approximation of the City of God. It is, in the sphere of collective realities, that portion which is nearest to being the fruit of lasting holiness (reality), that which most closely pertains to the Church as "Com-reunion of Saints" and eschatological reality. This is what we shall consider first in itself and then in its inherent value as a sign. ~sSee Gal 3:28; Col 3:11. 25 YVES M.-J. CONGAR Review for Religious Religious life is first of all for God. It exists in the Church first of all as an area reserved for God. It represents the first fruits and their special worth as tokens of homage and as free gifts. Sometimes, in a corner of the countryside withdrawn from the traffic of men one finds a religious house which, humanly speaking, vegetates. But when one has become a regular visitor to such a community, one discovers that it is accomplishing an onerous duty of praise or of intercession, far from the notice or even the knowl-edge of men. "To what purpose is this waste?" ~Mt 26:8; Mk 14:4) It is the song of the bride meant only for her spouse; it is that part of the Church seen and known to God alone, to the Father "who sees in secret" (Mt 6:4; 6:18). Above and beyond all its external usefulness and all i~s ordination to extrinsic things, religious life remains a realization of the mystery of the Church or of the mystical body. It is im-possible to'emphasize this too much: before one can cooperate in the building up of the outside of the Church which is for others, it is necessary that it be built up within. A religious community is a cell of the Church; better, it is a Church in miniature.'9 It gives flesh to the mystery of the Church. The Rule of St. Augustine begins with these words, whose fulness of meaning and even whose technical validity arise out of the great Augustinian synthesis on the sacrifice of the "City redeemed as one":2° "A primary purpose for which you are gathered together in one community is that you live in the monastery with unanimity, having but one mind and one heart in the service of God.''~' Members join together in re-ligious life first of all to live the life of charity, to give reality to fraternal union according to the spirit of the Gospel. We cannot meditate too much on this truth, without which our communities will be nothing but a lie and a scandal.'-'~ The great lawgivers of ~On this theme see the valuable study of Dom Emmanuel yon Severus, "Das MSnchtum als Kirche," in Enkainia, ed. by H. Emonds (Dusseldorf, 1956), 230-48; also A. deVogu~, "Le monast~re, Eglise du Christ," in Studia Anselmiana, 42 (Rome, 1957), 25-46. ~'See De Civitate Dei, X, cc. 5 and 6. ~Patrologia Latina, 32, 1738. ~To stimulate reflection on this matter, I permit myself to cite here the two following texts which are hateful and terrible, but important: "Monks are people who bunch together without knowing each other, live together without loving each other, and die without regretting each other." ~Voltaire, L'homme aux quarante ~cus, VIII, Oeuvres completes, xxxiv, Paris, 1829, 60). "The love of God serves them as an excuse to love no one; they do not even love one another. Has anyone ever observed rea] friendship among the devout? But the more they detach themselves from men, the more they demand of men; and one could say that they do not raise themselves to God except to exercise his authority on the earth." (J.-J. Rousseau, Nouve~le Hdloise 6th Part, Letter 8). 26 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN the cenobitic life, St. Pachomius and St. Basil, expressly defended the primacy of this life over the anchoritic life on the basis of the fraternal charity and mutual edification (one of the great values in the Gospels) for which it gives the opportunity.~'~ One of the essential articles of the religious life is the achievement of a true fraternal relationship, the condition, complement, and fruit of a true relationship with God. If the Christian is an eschatological man because he is a fellow citizen with the saints, a member of the house of God (Eph 2:19), the monk is all the more truly a Christian. "But our citizenship is in heaven.''24 This is :said and it is true of all the people of God, for they are a people in exile journeying towards their fatherland. We have already received the pledge of the Spirit, the first fruits of our inheritance,2'' but only the pledge and the first fruits. We still live here below subject to the slavery of the flesh and the oppression of the devil, whom our Savior ~calls "the .Prince of this world"; all creation, subject to vanity, groans in the labor of its childbirth hoping for the glorious liberty of the children of God (Rm 8:19-23). The citizens of the heavenly city are, in this life, in the situa-tion of a people occupied by an enemy power. There are those who adjust themselves to it, there are even those who compromise and "collaborate." There are many who do not accept the enemy power, and in the midst of external conditions of servitude, they assert as far as they can their loyalty to their homeland. But some go farther and resist. They escape to the outskirts. There at least they advance With great labor the hour of liberation, they live already a life of liberty and they prepare for everyone the coming of the liberator. If the Church is like the outskirts of the world,'-'~ religious life is so in a more decided way. Religious have left their homes, their parents, their fields, the comforts of normal life, to be unburdened, free to serve the King of the Heavens. They are, by a more meaningful title, the first fruits of the new creation.~7 ~:~See H. Leclercq, "C~nobitisme," in Dictionnaire d'archdologie chrdtienne, II, 2, 3047-3248; 3093 is concerned with Saint Pachomius and 3149-50 with Saint Basil. See also Vie de Pach6me, cc. 3 and 4 in R. Draguet's Les P~res du ddsert (Paris, 1949), 90 ff., and Saint Basil, Regulae fusius tractatae, cc. 7 and 25-31 (Patrologia Graeca, 31,928 and 984 ft'.) and his Letter 295 (Patro-logia Graeca, 32, 1037). See also 0. Rousseau, Monachisme et vie religieuse d'apr~s l'ancienne tradition de l'Eglise (Chevetogne, 1957), 80 ff. 24Phil 3:20; Heb 11:13-16. ~SSee 2 Cor 1:12; Rom 8:1-30; Eph 1:14o ~See Yves M. J. Congar, Lay People in the Church (Westminster, 1957), 101. ~TSee Apoc 14:4, "the first fruits for God and for the Lamb." This idea of 27 YVES M.-J. COUGAR Review for Religious Each religious profession is like a guerilla victory by which the power of the occupying forces is checked; and without doubt Christ contemplates it with the sentiments which he expressed when the seventy-two disciples returned from their mission full of joy that the demons had given way before them: "I was watching Satan fall as lightning from heaven" (Lk 10:18). This idea of the religious life as an eschatological life~8 is fre-quently expressed in monastic tradition by the theme of the angelic life.2~ It is a perfectly valid theme. Whether one actually looks at the religious life under the aspect of virginity or under that of the spiritual marriage, which is fundamentally the same thing, or under the aspect of the perpetual praise of God (see in particular E: Peterson), or under that of the anticipation as far as possible of heavenly life, life in the presence of God, and even if one looks at this life in the details of asceticism such as vigils or fasting -- under all these aspects of religious life the theme of the angelic life is authentic, and we wish in no way to exclude it. We are convinced,, nevertheless, that certain expressions can be very dangerous and ought to be criticized in the name of biblical and Christian truth2° Historically these expressions have been somewhat distorted by influences coming from two areas: first, the assumption, without~ a critical attitude sufficiently inspired by the biblical point of view, of certain Platonic and Pythagorean ideas, in particular the idea that man consists of a soul, that the body is a tomb (a~/~a-~l/~a) from which one should free himself as much as possible with the result that perfection is made to consist in the contemplation (Oe¢op;~) of eternal, transcendent truths; second, the development of a wholly speculative theory concerning Adam and the state of paradise. We know how St. Gregory of Nyssa, for example, transposed, the final liberation from the oppo-the first fruits is especially emphasized by Dom Emmanuel von Severus, "Zu den bibiischen Grundlagen des MSnchtums," in Geist und Leben, 26 (1953), 113-22'; see also the same periodical, 27 (1954), 414 ff. -°SThis idea is developed in D. Thalhammer, S.J., Jenseitige Menschen. Eine Deutung des Ordensstandes, 2nd ed. (Freiburg, 1952); in J. Leclercq, La vie parfaite (Turnhout, 1948); in L. Bouyer, The Meaning of the Monastic Life (New York, 1955); and in O. Rousseau, op. cir. (footnote 23). ~Wexts on this are innumerable. The principal ones can be found in the works listed in the preceding note, to which the following may be added: E. Peterson, Le livre des anges (Paris, 1954); A. Lamy, "Bios angelikos," in Dieu vivant, n. 7 (1946), 59-77; J. C. Didier, " 'Angdlisme' ou perspectives eschatologiques?" in M~langes de science retigieuse, 11 (1954), 31-48; U. Ranke-Heinemann, "Zum Ideal der vita angelica im fr~ihen MSnchtum," in Geist und Leben, 29 (1956), 347-57; Emmanuel yon Severus, "Bios aggetikos," in Die Engel in der Welt yon heute, 1957, 56-70. 3°I hope to treat this problem later and on a larger scale with the needed precisions and justifications. 28 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN sition of the sexes (above, note 18) into the creative intention and held that sex had been a ~stranger to the nature of man as God had, or would have conceived of him, if He had not known ia advance that man would sin.'~ The result of this double influence, with which other factors certainly have concurred, has been not so much perhaps to give an orientation toward the recovery of a lost state of perfection, which is an eschatological expectation present in the New Testament; it has been rather to superimpose on (and perhaps to substitute for) the duality between this world and the other which is to come as the fruit of Christ's Passover, a duality between this earthly, bodily world and a celestial, in-corporeal world which is to be imitated as closely as. possible. But is the Christian ideal to be found in the condescension of God who for love entered human history as a suffering servant? Or is it instead an angelic perfection, situated in an ideal world of the spirit toward which the soul must elevate itself by certain degrees of ascension and sublimation thereby withdrawing itself progres-sively from the sensible world? We may well fear lest spirituality seek its place between heaven and earth and turn away from the history of the world and the commitment to be a savior to men's miseries, meanwhile adjusting itself to a theocracy in which the idea of subordination of body to soul ambiguously expresses itself as a basically political program of subjection of the "temporal" to the "spiritual." We find something of this, it seems, in the history of Citeaux at the height of its prosperity. At that very time the "They will be like the angels" (Lk 20:36; Mt 22:30) is transposed from eschatology to the condition of monks on the earth, something which had been completely avoided, for example, by St. Augustine2: But, on the other hand, for St. Bernard, the mysticism of that angelic life which can bear such doubtful fruits as we have just mentioned is balanced by an ardent mysticism of Christ in his humanity and of the imitation of Christ. What is important is to see, as St. Therese of Lisieux very brilliantly saw it and acted on it,'~'~ that the perfection of love con- 3*See De opificio hominis, cc. 16-17 (Patrologia Graeca, 46, 181 and 188-92). On the very subtle thought of Gregory see the Introduction of P. J. Laplace to La crdation de l'homme [Paris, 1943). St. Thomas criticizes this position in Summa Theologiae, 1, 98, 2. 3~See "Eglise et Cit~ de Dieu chez quelques auteurs cisterciens h l'~poque des Croisades," in Mdlanges Etienne Gilson [Paris, 1959) and "Henri de Marcy, abb~ de Clairvaux, cardinal-dv~que d'Albano et l~gat pontifical," in Analecta Monastica, 5 (Rome, 1958). 33See the studies of A. Combes [for example, his Saint Therese and Her Mission INew York, 1955]) and Ft. Heer, "Die Heilige des Atomzeitalters," in Sprechen wir yon der Wirklichkeit (Nuremberg, 1955), 177 ft. From the 29 YVES M.-J. CONGAR Review for Religious sists essentially not in the ascending movements of an increasing spiritualization, but in a descent by the paths and the steps of humble service to the point of emptying oneselfi34 One must come to the cross where the salvation of the world is worked out and where, by losing ourselves, we work out our own salvation also. This is scriptural and it is Christian, more .scriptural and more Christian than the theme of the angelic life, traditional and valid though it may be under the conditions which have just been detailed. This angelic theme is a monastic theme. Many modern con-gregations, as they are called, have little or no contact with the great sources of monastic spirituality. They are not, for all that, safe from missteps analogous to those which the theme of the angelic life risks causing. The spirituality proposed in these con-gregations, in so far as it is legitimate to reduce it to a common denominator, is largely inspired by Jesuit authors (Rodriguez) and by the spirituality of the French school, the great French moralists and preachers of the "Great Century." But these sources, valuable certainly and even powerful as inspirers of the true Christian life, seem to bear the mark of the two following influences: first, a certain stoic influence, of which Guillaume du Vair would be a particularly representative example35 (we do not mention him for any other reason and certainly not as one of the sources). This stoic influence, diffuse as it may be, is not negligible. Many mod-ern spiritual programs depend rather largely on Christian stoicism. Second: even the great spiritual men of the French school betray the orientation of the moralist, an insistence on those themes which aim to make man conscious of his baseness and his malice, an insistence on the theme of original sin and its consequences, on the wickedness of the world and of all its aims2~ It seems that this is far from the theme of the angelic life; but the two rejoin in certain eventual consequences. There are fruitful considerations in literary viewpoint see von Balthasar, Le chr~tien Bernanos, pp. 156, 160-61, 264 ff., 457-77, 484. '~4Phil 2:7. ~See F. Strowski, Histoire du sentiment religieux en France au xvii" si~cle, I (Paris, 1910), 18-125; and P. Mesnard, "Du Vair et le N6o-stoicisme," in Revue d'histoire de la philosophie, April, 1928, 142-66. Du Vair begins from original sin and the feelings of penance to arrive at a "life in God" by passing through the practice of the cardinal virtues. ~"Some remarks concerning the influence of this spirituality on the con-gregations of teaching religious may be found in J. G. Lawler, The Christian Imagination: Studies in Religious Thought (Westminster, 1955), 38 ft. It is also necessary here to refer to the Imitation of Christ with its moralistic and individualistic perspective of the opposition between the movements of grace and the movements of nature. 3O January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN all these areas, but scriptural monotheism implies another set of values, more thoroughly oriented toward life, toward history, toward the cosmic theme of salvation. The religious life, and more especially the religious life of women, realizes with a particular intensity and purity the voca-tion of the Church to be the Virgin Spouse of the Lord and thus to become spiritually a mother. The application to the Church of these three inseparable themes: virgin, spouse, mother, whose biblical sources are not only abundant, but situated at the heart of the economy of salvation, is frequent in Christian tradition27 To wish to compare them with themes more or less verbally analogous which have been gathered from the history of religions would be to close one's mind to this. Pagan religions are nature religions which transfer to so-called transcendent persons the relationships and needs of men. They sexualise the divinity. The God of biblical revelation is in no way sexualised; He is the living God who unites men to Himself by faith. The whole relationship of alliance and of union which He establishes with man consists in the spiritual relation of faith, and faith includes a total gift, and therefore is not fully realized except by love: "I will espouse thee to me for-ever: and I will espouse thee to me in justice and judgment and in mercy and in commiserations. And I will espouse thee to me in faith" (Hos 2:19-20). That which creates between God and our-selves, between the Church and God, a marital relation is nothing other than this completely spiritual communication in faith. But this communication supposes in us the sole response of a total giving, of receptivity to the coming of God: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word." So faith is the point of contact for an exchange of fidelity. "I will be your God and you will be my people." And therefore it is a point at which a relation of alliance is achieved, a marital union which is at the same time altogether virginal. It is altogether virginal be-cause the union is spiritual. It consists in nothing else than fidelity itself and is preserved by maintaining this fidelity, that is to say, by its very chastity. It is altogether virginal also because in this relationship of faith nothing which comes from the outside or from ~TThe bibliography is abundant; we will cite only the following: S. Tromp, "Ecclesia Sponsa, Virgo, Mater," in Gregorianum, 18 (1937), 3-29; O. Casel, "Die Kirche als Braut Christi nach Schrift, V~itern, und Liturgie," in The-ologie der Zeit, 1936, 91-111; CI. Chavasse, The Bride o] Christ: An Enquiry into the Nuptial Element in Early Christianity (London, 1940); J. C. Plumpe, Mater Ecclesia: An Inquiry into the Concept of the Church as Mother in Early Christianity (Washington, 1943); AI. Mfiller, Ecclesia-Maria: Die Einheit Marias und der Kirche (Fribourg, 1951); H. Rahner as cited above, n. 5. 31 YVES M.-J. CONGAR Review for Religious that which is lower enters in, nothing which breaks or mars its integrity. There is nothing of earthly eros here. Motherhood or fruitfulness comes to this virginal and marital union as its fulfillment. The fathers say and repeat that the Church (or the soul) becomes a virgin spouse by faith, and that she also becomes a mother by faith: virgin spouse by believing, mother by communicating the faith, by engendering men in faith. Again, the relationship is altogether spiritual. It consists in faith and this is why it is superior to every kind of carnal kinship2s Precisely because of this, the vocation of the Church to be both virginal spouse and virginal mother is achieved in all the members in proportion to their fervor. For, according to a theme equally familiar to the fathers and to spiritual authors, every soul is the Church. Nevertheless in so far as God is not fully "all in all" (1 Cor 15:28), the difference between man and woman exists not only as a reality of the world, but projects itself and intervenes in a certain manner in the body of Christ which is the Church. So there exist certain differences in the manner in which men and women exercise the spiritual motherhood of the Church. The priesthood, since it is a position of external authority, is reserved to the man. But this relates to the Church under her aspect as means of grace, and therefore does not touch the religious life. as such. In its external activity a religious institute can just as well exercise apostolic functions which also relate to the Church as means of grace and represent an explicit cooperation with the action of the hierarchy where the motherhood of the Church is achieved. But the religious life as such, the religious life purely and simply, belongs rather to the Church as eschatological realiza-tion of holiness. This devotes it to being the locus of a very pure and altogether spiritual realization of the twofold relationship of virginal marriage and of motherhood. All this is particularly true in the life of women religious be-cause woman is more a being of receptivity and of self-giving: because when she gives herself, and above all whe~ she gives her-self in the integrity of her heart and of her body, she gives herself in a more intense way, a more complete and irrevocable way than man; because having fewer exterior activities and acting less out of duty and more from her heart, she makes good with her fervor that which would have been lost to her in action. For all these ~Read in this sense Mt 12:48-50 (=Mk 3:33-35; Lk 8:21); Lk 11:28. In .the same way St. Paul calls those his brothers of whom he says that he has engendered them and is their father. See above, n. 18. 32 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN reasons religious women, consecrated virgins, play a choice role in the mystery of the Church as virgin spouse of the Lord. They play also their wonderful part in the Church's spiritual motherhood. It is extremely remarkable that this doctrine was recalled to us in a very striking way precisely in a religious woman, Therese of the Child Jesus, who having entered Carmel at the age of sixteen, having died at twenty-four, and having remained unknown by the world during her life, has become not only officially but really the patroness of all Catholic missions2'~ She became all this and remains all this solely in the order of the Communion of Saints. According to St. Augustine, it is pre-cisely the Church as a union of love and a communion of saints which exercises spiritual motherhood.4° And so without exterior activity we can in our prayer and in our laborious efforts at con-version (our penances) include intentions for other men and for all the world's miserable; and we can bear them in the womb of love which is the Church's heart of prayer and charity. It is a part of tradition also that in the Church the strong support the weak (there is no question at all here of any other strength than that which comes from God in faith). This spiritual motherhood is a very profound characteristic of the Church: we believe in the Com-munion of Saints. But experience comes frequently to the aid of our weakness of faith. Who has not appealed to this strength? Who would not be able to bear witness to its reality? The Role of the Religious Woman in the Church as a Sign St. Paul says, "We have been made a spectacle to the world, and to angels, and to men" (1 Cor 4:9). The Church gives a visible body to spiritual gifts. So, for example, the gift of unity in Christ which has been given her becomes the "note" of unity; and that of sanctification by the Holy Spirit, the "note" of holiness. Of all these notes that of holiness is the most insistent; it is'the most efficacious also as a witness to men that the Kingdom of God draws near and calls them. It is also the most directly meaningful note because from the fact of holiness to the presence of God the inference is direct and within the grasp of all. And in this mani- 3~See above, n. 33. Pius XII said that contemplative institutes are "fully and completely apostolic," Sponsa Christi, November 21, 1950 (Acta Apos-tolicae Sedis, 43 [1951], 14). See also the letter to Cardinal Piazza of June 29, 1955, (Acta Apostoltcae Sedis, 47 [~9551, 543). 4°See for example De sancta virginitate, cc. 3 and 5 (Patrologia Latina, 40, 398-99); Sermo Denis, 25, 7 (edition by G. Morin, 162-63); Sermo 215, 4 (Patrologia Latina, 38, 1074). 33 YVES M.-J. CONGAR Review for Religious festation of holiness which the Church constitutes throughout the course of history, the various expressions of religious life occupy a choice place.4~ Religious communities are living parables for men of the Kingdom of God. If we begin our consideration of this by treating what is more external in religious life, its institutions appear to us first of all as the freest and most genuine expressions of the spirit of the Church on the plane of her social manifestations. We know that the Church is an original institution put into the world by God; she proceeds from spiritual energies which come from above (Mr 16:17-18). But as this divine institution is made up of men and has a historical, terrestrial existence, she projects herself and expresses herself in creations equally historical in which, nevertheless, she injects the inspiration and the mark of her own proper genius. It would not be difficult and it would be extremely interesting to show how this special genius has from the beginning inspired institutions which are essentially communal, and at the same time respectful of the person and of his liberty, and marked with the character of service. There is truly a special Christian genius at the level of social creations.~- The religious life is perhaps the most pure and most represen-tative creation of the spirit of the Church in this area of social realities. It is not in vain that she has always loved to compare herself with the model of the first community of Jerusalem. It is marvelous to see how on the collective and judicial plane religious rules and canon law have known how to translate into institutions and laws thecommands and the inspirations of the Gospel. As a result, the institutions of religious life, just as in a certain degree the canonical life of the Church herself, become a kind of preach-ing of and witnessing to the Gospel. It is no mere coincidence that it is always the same men who fail to recognize the existence of divine positive law in the world, who deny to the Church the quality of being an institution of divine law, and who misjudge, attack, and seek to thwart or sup-press religious life. One thinks of Josephinism, of Jacobinism, of our own French laicism in its virulent form. So the religious life is not only a sign of the heavenly kingdom; it is also, along with the 4XSee Cardinal Dechamps, Entretiens, in Oeuvres, I, 467 ft.; Dora Gr~a, De l'Eglise et de sa divine constitution, II (Paris, 1907), 152. Vernon Johnson was converted by the fact of Therese of Lisieux. 42Chateaubriand and even Montalembert are dated. But there are more recent and more technical studies: E. Chenon, Le rSle social de l'Eglise and the six volumes of the Carlyle brothers, A History of Mediaeval Political Theory in the West. 34 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN sacraments and the hierarchy, a sign of the Church as a separated order, a social and public reality placed ,in the world in virtue of the right God has to affirm and to establish his reign.43 In a world which wishes to be completely autonomous, religious life, situated at the heart of the Church's garden, presents the example of a life totally "theonomous." But it is common, it is normal, that signs should be, according to the dispositions of those to whom they are shown, a call to conversion or a sign of contradiction, a sign of opposition. They can also be, even for well-disposed men, signs which scandalize if they become sign~ that lie, or signs that are simply inadequate for their mission and their aims. There is also, in the religious life, and we think particularly of the religious life of women, a human element -- sometimes too human, sometimes not human enough! Pettiness, legalism, authoritarianism, pharisaism, the spirit of ownership, hardness of heart, lack of fraternal com-munion and failure to share human misery, taste for power, a judaic spirit in the way of considering observances, especially the least important ones, precisely those from which the Gospel has liberated us. Among the causes which brought on the death of Christianity, the betrayal of their true spirit in the last centuries of the Middle Ages by a number of monastic and religious insti-tutions has justly been noted.4~ When it is authentic, the religious life is a sign that the spiritual exists. Heaven exists, and that takes the value out of the the goods and the joys of earth. Not that they are not truly goods, truly joys, but they are so relative! For "this world as we see it is passing away" (1 Cor 7:31). The religious life proposes, without the noise of words, the message of death which the Church addresses to the world, not a sorrowful message -- who is more joyful than the religious man, if not the religious woman? -- but a serious and an important one. Again, the religious life verifies in a singular manner the essence of all Christian life, which is an Easter life, a mystery of life and of death, comprehended within the message of 4'~In this connection I recall the beautiful text of A. Lamy, "Bios angelikos," in Dieu vivant, n. 7, 76: "The function of monachism in the Church seems to be to affirm the citizenship of the Christian in the city of the angels arid to affirm his rights there by the exercise of them." Religious life is one ele-ment of the eschatological right which the Church affirms and translates into the world. On this basis it could be said that religious life is of divine right, not in its various historical forms, but in its essential principle. It flows from the transcendence of the Church with respect to the world and from the right possessed by every Christian to leave the world and to thus affirm his eschatological and spiritual royalty. ~See Fr. Heer, "L'h~ritage Europe," in Dieu vivant, n. 27 (1954), 43. 35 Yvzs M.-J. CO~AR Review for Religious Ash Wednesday, "Remember that you are dust and that you will return to dust" and that of Easter Day, "Remember that you are spirit and that you will return to the Spirit." The religious life, by its mere existence, is a witness to the world that God exists; it calls the world to the obedience of faith. On either side of the chancel which closes in the choir at the abbey of Maria Laach one may read these words of St. Paul:" "I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, exhort you to walk in a worthy manner" (Eph 4:1). The religious life, therefore, has its part in the great kerygmatic function of the Church, that is, in its .lifelong exercise of the mis-sion of announcing the Good News of the Kingdom. It is like a lasting sermon against the spirit of the world. Against its freedom-worshipping and anarchical taste for liberty, religious life affirms that one can bind himself to God, that one can, in the Holy Spirit, make a spiritual thing out of that which is corporeal, and make something stable out of that which changes. Against the world's obsessive defeatism before the evil which it inflicts on itself, the religious life affirms that one can conquer the flesh and push back the empire of the devil. Finally if it is true that the very word ecclesia means con-vocation, a gathering of men in response to a call, the cal! of the Kingdom of God, the religious life situates itself at the very source of the mystery of the Church. For the religious life is, both in its substance as well as in the first act which draws one to enter into it, a total listening to God. It is a reality in the image of Mary, Mary herself being, we know, the type, and even better than the type: the perfect personification of the Church as holiness. It is possible to think that in the wide sense everything is a vocation, because everything is a response to the will of God. But there are vocations in the strict sense, and it is correct to speak of "religious vocation." In the Church, as we have seen, the strong support the weakest; docility in the following of that which is strictly a voca-tion is like a compelling example, a sign and a support for the difficult fidelity to vocations in their larger acceptation. The abso-luteness of the response of religious women to their call supports the response of all others. It is necessary that religious women know that they contribute in this way to the continuation of the whole Church, somewhat as each star in the firmament is necessary for the balance of the whole. Spiritually we all have family respon-sibilities. A last remark of some importance ecclesiologically on the subject of the religious life as a response to a special call. In the 36 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN beginnings of Christianity, baptism ratified a personal choice, an eventually dangerous one, of the faith. It was the term of a con-version. It was truly a second birth, not only in the dogmatic sense which is always true, but in the moral sense and on the psycho-logical plane. Psychologists distinguish, since Francis W. New-man, 4~ the "once born" and the "twice born": those who are simply what they were at their entrance into the world plus the results of their being" formed by it; and those who have known a revela-tion, had a decisive ~xperience, heard a call, and are truly, per-sonally, born a second time. A man baptised at the termination of a personal conversion is, psychologically and morally, a "twice born." But, in the general practice, almost universal and one might even say automatic practice of baptism of the newly born, the Church is no longer made up of the twice born except by way of exception. But it is necessary that their moral race always be represented in her midst. She is "twice born" individually by the more or less large number of faithful who are truly born of a second birth. She is "twice born" institutionally especially because of the religious life. Moreover, historically the fact has often been brought out46 that the monastic life developed at the moment when, with the end of persecution and danger and the beginning of the favor of the powerful, large masses of people entered the Church, en-dangering the strength of her leaven. The vocation to asceticism has after a fashion taken the place of the vocation to martyrdom; monks have in a way taken over the status of the martyrs as signs of an absolute response given to an absolute call. The Church's religious life always has this mission of signifying that the Christian life is a second birth whose principle is a call. We will not treat here -- we have already done it briefly elsewhere47 -- an interesting problem, but more theoretical than practical, which was posed by the researches of M. Weber and E. Troeltsch. According to these Protestant authors, religious orders answer within the Church to the needs and the religious tempera-ment which outside the Church produces sects. These would be, sociologically speaking, of the "sect" type, not of the "church" type in so far as they are groupings, first, of volunteers, men who 4~The Soul. Its Sorrows and Its Aspirations. 3rd ed., 1852, 89 ft. 4GFor example, see M. Viller, "Martyre et perfection," in Revue d'ascd-tique et mystique, 6 (1925), 4-25; L. Bouyer, op. cit. n. 28, 89 ft. and his Vie de saint Antoine (Fontenelle, 1950); J. Winandy, Ambroise Autpert, moine et thdologien (Paris, 1953), 56; Ed. E. Malone, The Monk and the Martyr: The Monk as the Successor of the Martyr (Washington, 1950). 47Vraie et [ausse r~/orme dans l'Eglise (Paris, 1950), 288-92 (includes bibli-ography). 37 YVES M.-J. CONGAR Review for Religious come together in a group on the basis of a personal decision and who thus do not presuppose the existence of the group but con-stitute it; second, men who have achieved a break with the world and prefer the Gospel's opposition to terrestrial life to its universal-ism which necessarily involves compromise. Troeltsch sees in religious orders an ecclesiastical naturalization of tendencies which outside the Church result in sects. There is much truth in the analysis of Troeltsch, but only on its own psycho-sociological plane. Both above and below this level it errs. Without prejudice to other of his well made points, we be-lieve we have shown from the inside, that is to say from the view-point of the Church herself, that it is the mystery of the Church which is found to be the essential element in the life of religious orders and of each of their members. By way of conclusion, we would like to answer a question which it is impossible not to put in the context of what we have been considering. Is the religious life or is it not of the essence of the Church, and if it is, by what title? Papal teaching furnishes an answer and it will suffice merely to present it and explain it. Faced with "Americanism," Leo XIII already affirmed that religious orders are of great importance to the mission of the Church.48 But it was necessary to connect their existence with the end of the Church. The Church would not fully fulfill her mission if the institutions of religious life were lacking. If the end of the "missions," in the strict canonical sense of the word, is to "plant the Church" in such a way that she has in a given country or among a given people all her essential institutions, all the means of existence and of action, one understands why Pius XI demanded that on the missions as many religious orders and congregations as possible should be instituted, and that they should be made up of indigenous elements created in new and better forms, where the need for such arose29 His Holiness Pius XII made the matter still clearer in the constitution Provida mater of February 2, 1947, the charter of secular instutes. The two states of cleric and layman, he said, exist by divine right and are necessary to the Church in so far as she is a society constituted and structured hierarchically; they pertain to the essential structure (to the building) of the Kingdom of God 4sSee his letter Testern benevolentiae to Cardinal Gibbons, January 22, 1899, in Actes de Ldon XIII (Paris: Bonne Presse), V, 322-25; also the letter of December 23, 1900 to Cardinal Richard, ibid., VI, 188-89. ~gSee the encylical Rerurn Ecclesiae of February, 1926, in Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 18 (1926), 74. 38 January, 1960 THEOLOGY OF RELIGIOUS WOMEN on earth.5° The Church recognizes a third state, the religious state, which is common to the two preceding states, since it includes members of the faithful who, canonically, belong to the clerical or to the lay state; this religious state is bound by a strict and peculiar relationship to the end of the Church, sanctification.5~ One can say, then, that the religious state is not essential to the Church considered in her formal elements or in her static constitutives. A bishop and faithful suffice for a Church. From this comes the well-known definition of St. Cyprian, "A people one with its priest and a flock adhering to its shepherd, these are the Church.''~ Nevertheless, as soon as the Church lives she exercises the activities for which she was put into the world. These are the activities of the sanctification of men, that is to say, of their sub-mission to the Kingdom of God and, by that fact, of their entry into her communion. Here it is that the religious life steps in as the social form of existence most strictly conformed to the needs and the conditions of the Kingdom of God. And the religious life was first seen historically under the form of the institution of con° secrated virgins. Evidently, looked at in one or other of its par-ticular forms, religious life is a creation of the Church and stands out in her history. But, looked upon in principle, that is to say as the call to live only for God and for His kingdom, it holds a place at the very heart of the Church. In her quality as bride of Christ, it is included in the obligations and the laws of holiness which this Church pursues as her proper end. ~°Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 39 (1947), 116. In his al]ocution Annus sacer, the Holy Father, citing canon 107, said that "on earth the structure of the Kingdom of God consists of a double element" (Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 43 [1951], 27). ~See Provida Mater Ecclesiae and also Annus sacer, Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 43 (1951), 28: "[The religious state] exists and is important, because it is closely connected to the proper end of the Church which is to lead men to the attainment of sanctity." ~2Epistula 66, 8 (Hartel's edition, p. 732; Patrologia Latina, 4, 406 where it is listed, however, as Epistle 69). 39 Survey of Roman Documents R. F. Smith, S. J. THIS ARTICLE will provide a summary of the documents which appeared in Acta Apostolicae Sedis (AAS) during August and Sep-tember, 1959. Throughout the article all page references will be to the 1959 AAS (v. 51). Encyclical on the Priesthood On August 1, 1959 (AAS, pp. 545479), Pope John XXIII issued the second encyclical of his pontificate. The encyclical was entitled Sacerdotii Nostri primordia (The First Days of Our Priesthood); oc-casioned by the Pontiff's desire to honor the hundredth anniversary of the death of St. John Vianney, Cur~ of Ars, the document is devoted to a consideration of the priesthood as exemplified in the life of the saint. The introductory paragraphs recall the temporal links between the official glorification of St. John and the Pontiff's own priesthood: the future saint was beatified shortly after the Pope's own ordination to the priesthood; the first bishop the Pope served, Bishop Radini- Tadeschi, was consecrated on the day of the beatification; and the Pope received the fullness of the priesthood in the year (1925) when the Cur~ of Ars was declared a saint. The Holy Father then lists the great papal documents on the priesthood that have appeared during the present century: Pius X's Haerent animo (Acta Pii X, 4, 237-64); Plus XI's Ad catholici sacerdotii fastigium (AAS, 28 ~19361, 5-53); Pius XII's Menti Nostrae (AAS, 42 [1950], 657-702); and the same Pontiff's three allocutions on the priesthood inspired by the canonization of Plus X (AAS, 46 119541, 313-17; 666-77). To these documents the Pope has now added his own in the hope that it may aid priests to preserve and increase that divine friendship which is at once the joy and strength of the priestly life. In expressing the purpose of the encyclical the Vicar of Christ remarked that he intended to retrace the chief traits of the holiness of the Cur~ of Ars, since these emphasize those aspects of the priestly life which, while always essential, are today so vital that the Pontiff has deemed it his apostolic duty to call attention to them. Priestly Asceticism and Mortification In the first of the three parts of the main body of the encyclical the Pope considered the priestly asceticism and mortification of the Cur~. To speak of the saint, he began, is to evoke the figure of an 4O ROMAN DOCUMENTS exceptionally mortified priest who for the love of God deprived himself of nourishment and sleep, practiced severe, penances, and exercised a heroic self-renouncement. His example, the Holy Father said, should recall to all the important place of the virtue of penance in the perfec-tion proper to the priesthood. While it is true that priests as such are not bound by divine law to the evangelical counsels, still this does not mean that the priest is less bound than religious to strive for evangelical perfection of life. Rather the accomplishment of the priestly functions "requires a greater interior sanctity than even the religious state does" (St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, 2-2, 184, 8, c). And if the evangelical counsels are not imposed on the priest by virtue of his clerical state, nevertheless they are offered to him, as to all Christians, as the safest road to the longed for goal of Christian perfection. The Cur~ of Ars, continued the Pope, is a model of evangelical poverty; he lived totally detached from the things of this world. Freed in this way from the bonds of material things, he could thereby be entirely open to all those who suffered and who flocked to him for solace. His disinterestedness made him especially attentive to the poor whom he treated with tenderness and respect, convinced that to con-temn the poor is to contemn God Himself. Priests, then, if they possess material things, should not cleave to them with cupidity; rather should they recall the directives of canon law (c. 1473) according to which what is left over from ecclesiastical benefices should be used in favor of the poor and of pious causes. The Pontiff, however, made it clear in the closing part of this section that he does not approve the abject poverty to which many priests in small towns and in the country are reduced, and he urged the faithful to cooperate with the bishops to see that the sacred ministers be not lacking in what is necessary for their daily sustenance. Turning to the second of the evangelical counsels, the Vicar of Christ then pointed out that all through his life the Cur~ was mortified in his body and that this was achieved by his constant and careful observance of chastity. His example, the Pope pointed out, is most necessary today; for in many places priests must live in an atmosphere of excessive license and pleasure. And at times they must live in such an atmosphere unsupported by the sympathetic understanding of the faithful they serve. In spite of these difficulties John XXIII called upon priests to show forth in their entire lives the splendor of the virtue of chastity, that noblest ornament of their sacred order, as Pius X called it. The chastity of the priest, he added, will not enclose him in a sterile egoism; for as the Cur~ of Ars himself once said: "The soul that is adorned with the virtue of chastity can not but love others; for such a person has found the source and origin of all love---God." The next component of the Cur~'s asceticism to be considered by the Holy Father was his obedience. The Pontiff emphasized that the 41 l~ F. SMtT~ Rewew for Rehgmus "I promise" of the Cur$'s ordination ceremony was the occasion of a permanent self-renouncement that lasted throughout forty years. From early youth the ardent desire of the Cur~ had been for solitude, and his pastoral responsibilities were a heavy burden preventing him from the fulfillment of this desire; many times he tried to be freed from his pastoral work but always remained obedient to the will of his bishop, convinced as he was of the Gospel phrase: "Whoever hears you, hears me" (Lk 10:16). The Vicar of Christ then expressed the hope that the priests of today would see in the Curg the grandeur of obedience and would recall the words of Pius XII: "Individual holiness as well as the efficacy of all apostolic work finds its solid foundation in constant obedience to the hierarchy." Accordingly priests should endeavor to develop in themselves the sense of the filial relationship by which they are united to Mother Church. Prayer and Devotion to the Eucharist In the second principal division of the document, John XXIII reflected on St. John as a model of prayer and of devotion to the Eu-charist. Prayer, he said, was as important in the saint's life as was penance and mortification. His love for prayer was shown in his long nightly vigils of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament; the tabernacle of his parish church became for him the center from which he drew the strength necessary for his own personal life and for the effectiveness of his apostolic endeavors. This example of the Cur6, the Vicar of Christ pointed out, is sorely needed by the priests of today; for they are keenly sensible of the effectiveness of action and hence easily tempted to a dangerous activism. The Cur~ of Ars should convince priests everywhere that they must be men of prayer and that they can be such, no matter how heavy the press of apostolic labors may at times become. The prayer of the Cur~, he continued, was especially a Eucharistic prayer; for nothing in the life of a priest can replace silent and prolonged prayer before the altar. Nor should it be forgotten that Eucharistic prayer in the fullest sense of the word is to be found in the sacrifice of the Mass. The celebration of the Mass is an essential part of the priestly life, for in what does the apostolate of the priest consist if not in the gathering together of the people of God around the altar? It is through the Mass that in one generation after another the mystical body of Christ that is the Church is built up. Moreover the entire sanctifica-tion of the priest must be modeled on the sacrifice he offers; the priest must make his own life a fitting sacrifice, a participation in the expiatory life of the Redeemer. It was for this reason that the Cur~ used to ob-serve that if priests lose the first fervor of their ordination it is because they do not celebrate piously and attentively. 42 January, 1960 ROMAN DOCUMENTS Pastoral Zeal In the third part of the encyclical the Vicar of Christ delineates the pastoral zeal of St. John Vianney. The Curg's life of asceticism, he observed, together with his life of prayer was the source from which flowed the effectiveness of his ministry; in him is verified once more the statement of Christ: "Without me you can do nothing" (Jn 15:5). As a result, the Curg was a model shepherd of souls who knew his flock, protected it from danger, and led it with authority and wisdom. His example, the Pope continued, included three points of utmost import-ance. The first of these was his keen appreciation of his pastoral re-sponsibilities. From the beginning he conceived of his pastoral work in heroic fashion and expressed his attitude in one of his early prayers: "Grant, O God, that~ the people entrusted to me may be converted. For this I am prepared to suffer all the days of my life whatever You may wish." Following the example of apostles of all ages he saw in the cross the one great effective means of saving souls; so it was that he could advise a fellow priest who was disappointed in the results of his apostolic endeavors that prayer, supplications, sighs, and groans were insufficient unless there was added to them fastings, vigils, and bodily chastisement. Besides his general sense of his pastoral responsibilities the Curg manifested his pastoral zeal by his interest and care for preaching and catechizing. Up to the time of his death St. John never ceased to preach, to instruct, to denounce evil, and to lead souls towards God. This should remind today's priests, the Pope said, that everywhere and at all times they must be faithful to their duty of preaching; for, as Pius X insisted, no task of the priest is more important than this. And in their reflections upon their duty to teach, priests should remember that they preach more by their lives than by their words. The third element in the pastoral zeal of the Cur~ of Ars was, according to the encyclical, his work as confessor. It was this form of his ministry that became the real martyrdom of his life. His fifteen hours a day in the confessional would have been difficult in any case; but these were spent by a man already exhausted by fasting, penances, and infirmities. It can be said, the Pope continued, that the Cur~ lived for sinners; their conversion and sanctification was the aim of all his thoughts and of all his activities. Like the Cur~ priests must devote themselves to the work of the confessional, for it is there that the mercy of God meets and overcomes the malice of men. And they must set their people a good example in this matter by their own regular and fervent use of the sacrament of penance. In the conclusion to the encyclical the Pontiff expressed the desire that the centenary of the Curg may arouse in all priests a desire to accomplish their ministry and especially their own perfection as gen-erously as possible. No problem facing the Church today, he added, 43 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious can be solved without priests. As Plus X said: "To promote the King-dom of Christ throughout the world, nothing is more necessary than a holy clergy." Similarly St. John himself pointed out to his bishop: "If you wish to convert your diocese, you must make saints of all your priests." The Pontiff went on to urge the bishops of the world to make the care of their priests their first solicitude; he exhorted the faithful to pray for priests and to contribute to their sanctification; and he pleaded with Christian youth to reflect that "the harvest is great, but the harvesters are few" (Mt 9:37) and that entire peoples are today enduring a spiritual starvation far greater than any hunger of the body. Allocutions, Addresses, Messages On July 29, 1959 (AAS, pp. 586-89), the Holy Father addressed a congress of the blind and those interested in assisting the blind of the world. Pointing out to his audience that in Jesus' ministry of healing the first place was reserved for the blind, the Pontiff went on to deliver a message of hope to the blind of the world. They must remember, he began, that they have a suffering to offer up to God. In spite of all efforts to ease the lot of the blind, they will always be subject to dis-couragement, loneliness, and the weight of sorrow that blindness carries with it. Yet they must recall that according to the Apostle (Col 1:24) men must fill up what is lacking to Christ's passion and that in the redemptive plan the Lord has need of the daily offering of suffering on the part of the blind. The Vicar of Christ also pointed out that the blind have a definite mission to perform in this world, the mission of silent example that only one thing matters in this world: the love with which the will of God is accomplished. And he added that nothing on tbis earth is loss, as long as conformity with God's will is present. In the concluding part of his address the Pope recalled to his listeners that their goal is that of eternal life and that their journey thither is supported by the words of Christ: "Whoever follows me walks not in darkness, but has the light of life" (Jn 8:12). Blindness, he ended, can prepare those afflicted with it for the shining luminosity which will come in the next life from the glorified Christ. On August 20, 1959 (AAS, 639-41), the Pontiff radioed a message to the Second World Sodality Congress held at Newark, New Jersey. He told the sodalists that they were in the first ranks of the Church's army and stressed in their lives the role of their consecration to the Blessed Virgin, a consecration which of its nature includes the proposal to keep it throughout life. From this consecration, he continued, arises the desire to wish for nothing except what is pleasing to God and the resolution to strive by prayer, action, and example to serve the Church and to work for the eternal salvation of souls. On July 21, 1959 (AAS, pp. 584-85), the Holy Father delivered an allocution to the Prime Minister of Japan on the occasion of that 44 January, 1960 ROMAN DOCUMENTS dignitary's official visit to the Holy See. On August 16, 1959 (AAS, pp. 638o39), he delivered a radio message to the people of.Honduras on the occasion of the official consecration of their nation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, telling them to strive to live in the grace of God, to preserve the sanctity of the family, and to maintain union and concord among themselves. On June 30, 1959 (AAS, p. 589), the Holy Father sent a written message to the Tenth World Boy Scout Jamboree held in the Philippine Islands. In the message he pointed out that the boy scout movement can produce admirable fruits in accordance with the ideals of Christian charity and universal brotherhood. Miscellaneous Documents By the apostolic letter, "Caritatis unitas," of May 4, 1959 (AAS, pp. 630-33), the Vicar of Christ approved the confederation of the various congregations of the Order of Canons Regular of St. Augustine. At the same time he also approved the general principles which are to govern the confederation and directed the members of the confedera-tion to draw up specific statutes for the confederation which should then be submitted to the Holy See for approval. A later apostolic letter, Salutiferos cruciatus Christi, dated July 1, 1959 (AAS, pp. 634-36), was directed to the Passionists. In the letter the Pontiff approved the revised form of the Passionists' constitutions and rules. He noted that the revision was undertaken in an effort to adapt the institute to the needs of the times and observed that in the revision the primary and fundamental characteristics of the institute had been reasserted, strengthened, and made more effective. On July 8, 1959 (AAS, pp. 592-93), the Sacred Congregation of Rites issued a decree approving the Office and Mass of St. Lawrence of Brindisi, confessor and doctor. The text of the Office, of the Oration of the Mass, and of the notices to be inserted into the martyrology is given in AAS, pp. 593-94. Another decree of the same Congregation was dated February 13, 1959 (AAS, pp. 590-92); this decree approved the introduction of the causes of the Servant of God Salvatore Lilli (1853-1895), professed priest of the Order of Friars Minor, and his companions, all of Whom were put to death in hatred of the faith. In the period under survey three documents of the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary appeared. Under the date of July 18, 1959 (AAS, pp. 595-96), the Penitentiary published the revised text of the act of dedi-cation to Christ the King as well as its attached indulgences. This document is given in full on pages 3 and 4 of the present issue of RE-VIEW FOR RELIGIOUS. On August 13, 1959 (AAS, pp. 655-56), the Penitentiary published the text of a prayer composed by the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities to be recited by semi-narians for their parents. Seminarians who devoutly and contritely recite the prayer for their parents may gain an indulgence of fifty 45 VIEWS, NEWS, PREVIEWS Review for Religious days; and once a month they may gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions provided they have recited the prayer for a whole month. On the same date (AAS, p. 656), the Penitentiary announced that the faithful who in a church, a public oratory, or (in the case of those legitimately using it) a semi-public oratory privately perform the pious exercise commonly called the holy hour in memory of the passion, death, and ardent love of our Lord Jesus Christ may gain a plenary indulgence, if they have gone to confession, received Com-munion, and prayed for the intentions of the Holy Father. This new concession of an indulgence for this practice is not intended to abrogate the partial indulgence of ten years mentioned in the Enchiridion in-dulgentiarum (Manual of Indulgences), 1952 edition, n. 168. On May 18, 1959 (AAS, p. 647), the Sacred Consistorial Congrega-tion appointed Archbishop Concha of Bogot~ military vicar of Columbia. Views, News, Previews IN A PREVIOUS issue (Review for Religious, 18 [1959], 237), the beginning of a new quarterly, Jesus Caritas, was noted. Response to the new magazine, which is devoted to the spirituality of P~re de Foucauld, has been sufficient to warrant the continuation of its publi-cation. The latest issue has been that of September, 1959. The yearly subscription price has been set at $1.00; in Canada and the United States subscription orders should be sent to: Jesus Caritas 700 Irving Street, N.E. Washington 17, D. C. The first congress of the Confederation of Benedictine Congrega-tions to be held since the promulgation of the confederation's laws by Pius XII in 1952 took place during the latter part of September, 1959. At the congress Dom Benno Gut, Abbot of Einsiedeln in Switzerland, was elected Abbot Primate of the Confederation. The new primate was born on April 1, 1897, was professed in 1918, and ordained in 1921. After studies and a teaching career at Sant'Anselmo in Rome, he was elected abbot of Einsiedeln in 1947. The Cassinese Benedictine Congregation, largest of the fifteen included in the Benedictine Confederation, in a general chapter at Subiaco during October, 1959, elected Dom Celestino Gusi, Abbot of Manila, as the eleventh Abbot General of the congregation. The Graduate Department of Religious Education, Immaculate Heart College, 2021 North Western Avenue, Los Angeles 27, Cali- 46 January, 1960 VIEWS, NEWS, PREVIEWS fornia, announces a two-week course in canon law for religious superiors, which will grant two units of graduate credit. The course, conducted by the Reverend Joseph F. Gallen, S.J., professor of canon law at Woodstock College, Maryland, will be open to major and local su-periors of all communities of sisters. It is scheduled for the afternoons of June 28 to July 9, 1960. The tuition is $32. The fourth course in the new program in ascetical theology, which is offered in the Graduate Department of Religious Education, Im-maculate Heart College, will be given by the Reverend Eugene Burke, C.S.P., professor of dogmatic theology at Catholic University of America, from July 11-15, 1960. The course is entitled "The Life of Grace and Growth of Virtue" and grants one unit of graduate credit. Sisters who did not apply for admission to the M.A. program when it began in October, 1959, may apply for admission now. Residence ac-commodations are available for the five-day course at Holy Spirit Retreat House in Los Angeles. All reservations must be made before June 1, 1960, and be accompanied by a ten-dollar deposit. Room and board is $20; tuition is $17.50. Inquiries should be directed to Sister Mary Thecla, I.H.M., Dean of the Graduate School, Immaculate Heart College. A new publication that should prove both interesting and important is the Seminary Newsletter, the first issue of which appeared in October, 1959: The Newsletter is issued by the Seminary Department of the National Catholic Educational Association and "is meant to be a clearinghouse of information about seminaries and seminary training, especially from the academic point of vigw; a clearinghouse of ideas, projects, and results of research." Included in the first issue of the Newsletter is an informative statistical report on Catholic seminaries in the United States. According to the report, during the academic year 1958-1959 there were 381 major and minor seminaries in the United States; of these 99 were diocesan institutions, the other 282 belonging to religious orders and congregations. The report notes "that 131 of the 381 seminaries in the United States have been founded since 1945; 108 since 1950. This means that 34% of the total number have been founded since World War II, 28% of them since 1950. It represents a 53 % increase in the number of seminaries since 1945 and a 40% increase since 1950." The report gives 38,503 as the total num-ber of young men studying for the priesthood in the United States. This number includes besides minor and major seminarians 2082 novices as well as 920 scholastics who have interrupted their seminary studies to teach. In REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, 18 (1959), 304-05, Father Gallen discussed the quest~ion whether more American congregations are be- 47 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Rewew for Rehgmus coming pontifical and presented some statistics on the matter covering the years 1943 to 1957. A study of L'attivit~ della Santa Sede nel 1958 (The Activity of the Holy See in 1958), published in 1959 by the Vatican Polyglot Press gives data from the year 1958 on the same matter. According to the report of the Sacred Congregation of Religious that is given in the volume, during 1958, fifteen institutes received the decree of praise; two of these were in the United States: the Missionary Servants of the Most Blessed Trinity (M.S.B.T.) of Philadelphia founded in 1916 and the Missionary Sisters of the Most Holy Trinity (M.S.SS.T.) of Washington founded in 1921. The Congregation also reported that during 1958 there were seventeen institutes which re-ceived the definitive approval of their constitutions; of these none was in the United States. The Congregation's report also contained informa-tion about secular institutes: two secular institutes were granted diocesan establishment, one received the decree of praise, and one, the decree of final approbation; none of these four was in the United States. During the same year the Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith granted the decree of praise to one institute in Ireland and gave definitive approval to the Daughters of Mary of Uganda, Africa. It is interesting to note that this last institute is the first pontifical African institute for women. ( uestions and Answers IThe following answers are given by Father Joseph F. Gallen, S. J., professor of canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland.] Our constitutions command the mistress to be with the novices always and, if she should be absent from the house, to learn on her return everything that happened during her absence. I do not think that any mistress has followed either injunction literally, but these two prescriptions have caused a highly exaggerated surveillance. Shouldn't the observance of both be tempered by intelligent prudence? Yes. The first injunction, that the mistress should be with the novices always, is in many constitutions, the second only in very few. The first injunction is also and unfortunately observed in many insti-tutes. This is an evidently false spiritual pedagogy. It simply does not work in any field of the development of character and it is unworthy of the religious state, which is a spontaneous, voluntary, and personal dedication of oneself to Christ. The fundamental purpose of the novice-ship is to give the novice a profound consciousness of God, not of the master or mistress. The novice is to be led to a convinced personal dedication of herself to God; her life is to be a personal committment, 48 January, 1960 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS not forced external observance; she is to be trained to think for herself, to personal decisions, and to a sense of responsibility and reliability. The noviceship should be a school that will equip the novice for the life she will actually have to live. She should be instructed and guided but allowed sufficient freedom of action; otherwise you will know what she appears to be but not what she is. She should be checked and corrected, and even more frequently than is commonly done; but this does not demand unceasing vigilance. The more a superior tries to see, the less he will learn. No superior has to try to see everything in order to learrL what he should know. I hazard the conjecture that reticence about interior matters increases in direct proportion to external observation. That the novice mistress or her assistant should be with the novices frequently is intelligent and prudent; that she should be with them always is simply destructive of the purpose intended. Only God. can see everything, and God as one's judge is not the motive of the religious life. The following quotation from a religious woman contains several thought-provoking observations. The principles for the formation of character in congregations are for the most part taken from a psychology of a distant past. This, in the case of women, only aimed at creating habits of will power, furnishing the mind with knowledge learnt by heart, and very little was done to appeal to the interest. They disregarded the education of the senses, any development of initiative and sense of responsibility and the deep needs of feelings. The new psychology seeks to develop the virtues and activities that they may adapt themselves and form personalities . Deeper problems lie in the change of the feminine way of living. In the depth of her being the woman is rather passive. In past centuries the life of a woman matched this interior disposition, but today matters have changed. Modern life forces woman to greater independent activity. She has had to take over responsible work both in private and public life. Her mode of living gets nearer to the masculine type, though at the expense of her individuality. (Sister Agnes, S.I-I.C., Religious Life Today, 162-63.) 2 Our constitutions do not mention at all the canonical requisites for a higher superior. You have already explained these partially. Will you please explain them fully? Canon 504 demands the three personal qualities listed below for the valid election or "appointment of any higher superior of men or women. Age is the only variable element among the three canonical requirements. All of these three impediments established in canon 504 are dispensable but only by the Holy See. The higher superiors in the sense of this canon are the abbot primate; abbot superior of a mon-astic congregation; the abbot .of an independent monastery, even if the monastery appertains to a monastic congregation; the mothers general and regional of federations and superioresses of monast

Issue 18.5 of the Review for Religious, 1959. ; ~ Review for Religious SEPTEMBER 15, 1959 Friendship'~ Among Religious By Columban Browning, C.P. 257 Conquering Serious Sin By John C. Schwarz, S.J. Perpetual Vows, ~ By Hugo j. Gerleman, S.J. Mother Anna Tabouret By Sister Mary Kenneth, H.H.M. 265 273 279 Survey of Roman Documents Views, Newsi Previe~ ~ Questions and Answers Book ReviewsEi" VOLUME 18 293. 3bo 303 °- NUMBEK 5 Volume 18 Septem.ber 15~ 1959 Number 5 OUR CONTRIBUTORS REV. COLUMBAN BROWNING is stationed at Mother of Good Counsel Seminary~ Warrenton, Missouri. REV. JOHN C. SCHWARZ is stationed at 892 W. Boston, Detroit 2, Michigan. REV. HUGO J. GERLEMAN is instructor of tertians at St. Joseph Hall, 2601 North Union, Decatur, Illinois. SISTER MARY KENNETH is stationed at 17435 Northwood Avenue, Lakewood 7, Ohio. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, Sept. 1959, Vol. 18, No. 5. Published bi-monthly by The Queen's Work, 3115 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis 18, Missouri. Edited by the .Jesuit Fathers of St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ec-clesiastical approval. Second class mail privilege authorized at St. Louis, Mis-souri. Copyright, 1959, "by The Queen's Work. Subscription price'in Ior. S. A. and Canada: 3 dollars a year; 50 cents a copy. Printed in U. S. A. Editor: R. F. Smith, S.J. Associate Editors: Augustine G. Ellard, S.J.; Gerald Kelly,, S.J.; Henry Willmering, S.J. Assistant Editors: John E. Becker, S.J.; Robert F. Weiss, S.J: Departmental Editors: Joseph F. Gallen, S.J.; E~arl A. Weis, S.J. Please send all renewals, new subscriptions, and business correspondence to: Review for Religious, 3115 South Grand Boulevard, St. Louis 18, Missouri. Please send all manuscripts and editorial correspondence to: Review for Religious, St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. Friendship Among Religious Columban Browning~ C.P. IT WOULD BE HARD to find a religious who has not been warned about the dan'ger of particular friendship. It would be equally hard to find a religious who has not experienced an amount of conflict in striving for a balanced attitude toward friendship. Most religious have heard the warning about particu-lar fr.iendship many.~times: in the novitiate, in retreats, in monthly conferences, and in spiritual books. The warning about false friendship is, of course, a very necessary one. There can be a real danger of forming an exclusive friendship that hinders a religious in the singular love of God that is the primary goal of the 'religious life. Such a friendship can even become a serious threat to the chastity that religious pro-fess. Religious souls sacrifice the normal outlets of their emotions which other young people find in the married state. Since com-plete adjustment to a life of chastity is not always easily attained, there is a natural tendency for religious to seek emotional com-pensation in those closest to them, namely, their fellow religious. The danger of this is greatly aggravated in one who is not fully mature in his emotional life. And it is often a common danger for those who are new in the religious life. These newcomers in the religious life are in a process of adjustment, and it is easy to understand that they may meet with an amount of emotional tension. This tension can easily seek relief in the exclusive attach-ment to a fellow religious. Our purpose here is not to repeat the age-old and ~¢ery neces-sary warning. Enough has been said about this already. The nature and signs of false friendship are sufficiently known to all: exclusiveness, jealousy, the need for signs of affection, daydream-ing about the 'friend,' and so on. We presume this knowledge, and we fully realize all the potential dangers involved. Our purpose here is to suggest that overemphasis of the dangers of particular friendship may perhaps produce a very harmful effect. And this effect is to make religious afraid to have any friends, It may even give rise to a general atmosphere in a 257 COLUMBAN BROWNING Review for Religious religious community in which all friendships are looked upon with an eye of suspicion. Corruption in the arts can tear down rather than build up, and so can the corruption of friendship. But just as we do not condemn beauty as such because of its abuses, so also we must not despise friendship just because it sometimes goes awry. Particular friendship is a characteristic of the emotionally immature religious. There can be a place in religion for those who are lacking somewhat in maturity though they may require more in the way of protection and guidance. But we feel that the greater number of religious are mature enough to avoid the corrupting force of particular friendship. And this being so, is it right that all religious be deprived of good healthy friendship just because for some it is a grave danger? In other words, it is a question of proper balance. If a sane and balanced view is not taken by superiors as well as individual religious, there is a serious danger that an atmosphere emerge in which human hearts must of necessity turn to granite. The result will be that the warmth of charity will vanish and a cold, im-personal spirit will chill the very life of the community. Friendship is an .integral and very necessary part of human life. It is one of the good and higher things of life that can be a positive help toward a more whole-hearted love for God. Just as music, art, literature, and beauty of all kinds are intended to lift up the mind and heart to God, so also is God's gift of friendship. The inspired word of God more than once praises the boon of friendship. We read in the Book of Sirach: "A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter; he who finds one find~ a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price, no sum can balance his worth. A faithful friend is a lifesaving remedy, such as he who fears God finds; for he who fears God behaves accordingly, and his friend shall be like himself." (6:14-17) This being so, surely good wholesome friendship should not be excluded from the religious life without a ,hearing. The lives of many religious saints strongly endorse the words of Sacred Scripture. As examples, we need only recall the strong bond of friendship that existed between St. Teresa of Avila and Mother Anne of Jesus or that between St. Therese and her three sisters in Carmel. The friendship of these holy souls was certainly 258 September, 1959" FRIENDSHIP AMONG RELIGIOUS not a hindrance but rather a. help to their more perfect love of God. That such has been the case in the lives of these great saints should be proof enough that friendship in itself is a gift of God for our sanctification. The Need for Human Friendship No human being can live a normal life without friendship. God made man a social being, and his entire life is lived in the company of others. God gave man this company because by his nature he needs it. This need is greater in a woman than in a man. A woman has greater emotional needs, and one of these needs is for support in her strivings. When a young persdn steps inside the door of a novitiate, he does not leave this basic need behind him. By that step he sacrifices the normal means of finding his support. But the need very definitely remains. Pope Pius XII singled out this fact in the words he addressed to the superiors general of religious women assembled in Rome in 1952. He said! And now dearest daughters, we pass on to exhort yo~ urgently on two points. First, motherly affection in the guidance of your Sisters. ¯ Psychologists say, and it is probably true, that when in authority it is harder for woman' than for man to find the exact balance between severity and kindness. This makes it all the more necessary fo.,r you to cultivate your motherly feelings. Remember that for your sisters, as for yourselves, religious life demands a great sacrifice. They have given up their families, the joys of married life and a home of their own. It is a sacrifice of great worth and importance for the apostolate of the Church, but it is none the less a sacrifice, and those possessed of greatness of soul and delicacy of sentiment feel it the most keenly . . . and you as superiors general should be the first to breathe into the common life of your sisters the warmth of family love. (Acta et Documenta, 1952, p. 333) When a young person enters the religious life, he is de-termined to surrender his whole heart and soul to God -- to find in Him the complete realization of all his ambitions. He is putting himself on the way to that goal. But he is not ordinarily capable of that whole-hearted love from the beginning. As he learns the first steps of religious life, he will need the strong support and encouragement of the Master or Mistress. Even when he finishes the novitiate, he will not be completely rooted in God, so that he will still need human support. To his dying day, in fact, he will most likely be very much on the way. He will, in other words, need strong human support all along. 259 COLUMBAN BROWNING Review for Religious He may find this support in his superiors, his confessor or spiritual director. But realism forces us to admit that a religious frequently does not find the most ideal support at these sources. Personalities enter in; there is fear of authority'that lurks in the minds of so many, to say nothing of the many other compli-cating, factors. Frequently, therefore, a religious may need the firm support that comes from friendship. And where should he look for this friend if not among his fellow religious? A true friend will not aggravate the burdens by agreeing with all com-plaints but will rather animate the confidant to bear his trials patiently and help him to reach higher in his spiritual ideals. It all comes down to this: When a religious is learning to love God with all his heart, and all his life he is learning this, he cannot live in an absolute vacuum. Being human, he will need the firm support of human friendship. If he tries to live without this or if circumstances force him to live without it for a long time, there is grave danger that his ideals will gradually diminish. From sheer lack of ability to "go it alone" he is apt to find him-s~ lf falling back rather than going forward. And in this situation he may find himself turning his attention back to the things that he has given up, and sooner or later he will realize that he no longer has any real desire to live all for God. We wonder how many ex-religious would still be happy religious today if they had had the support of true and loyal friends. From what has been said, it may appear that relying on the help of friends is a very imperfect thing in itself, and may be admitted only as a crutch for the beginner. But such is not the case. In God's plan of providence He has made man with a n~ed for friendship, and He intends that it be an important factor in his sanctification all through life. St. Aelred, who has written a beautiful treatise on this subject, makes this" clear. He says that friendship "is possible between the good, it makes progress between those who are better, and it is consummated between those who are perfect." He also says: "Wonderful must he be who can afford to do without friends and without love. More wonderful than God Himself." (De amore amicitiae) St. Teresa of Avila stresses the advantages of friendship in living a spiritual life when she says: It is a great evil for a soul to be alone in the midst of such great dangers . I would advise those who are giving themselves to prayer, particularly at first, to form friendships . . . with those who are doing 260 September, 1959 FRIENDSHIP AMONG RELIGIOUS the same thing. It is a matter of the last importance, even if it lead only to helping one another by prayer . Now, if in their dealings with one another, and in the indulgence of human affection not even of the best kind, men seek friends with whom they can refresh themselves. I know no reason why it should not be lawful for him who is beginning to love and serve God in earnest to confide his joys and sorrows to another. [Life of St. Teresa of Jesus, trans, by David Lewis (West-minster: Newman, 1943), ch. 7, pp. 54-55,1 From such ahthoritative statements it is evident that true friendship between human beings is patterned after God's own friendship with man and that its goal is closer union with God Himself. As the austere hermit St. Peter Damian so beautifully expresses it: "When I look on thy face, on thee who are dear to me, I lift my gaze toward Him Who, united to thee, I desire to reach" (Letters, 2:12). Still on the psychological plane, let us consider the matter in relation to the religious vow of chastity. Dangers to chastity are usually cited as the motive for avoiding particular friendship. But may we not say that true and healthy f~riendship can be one of the greatest protectors of chastity? The religious has sacrificed the normal emotional outlets. Keeping his basic emotional needs he is, in a sense, in a state of violence in the religious life. Here we must recall what we have already said -- that the religious is destined to find his all in God, but that reaching this goal is a life-long process. The warmth of well regulated fri~nd-ship is the normal and God-given support to help the religious to learn to live entirely for God. When he has the comfort of such friendship, he will ordinarily tend to regret less what he has given up. As a result he will find more contentment and natural joy in the religious life. Without this support he is apt to ex-perience a kind of emotional starvation. S~ch a state produces tension, and tension is a fertile source of unlawful desires. A tense religious is in danger of acting hastily and seeking com-pensation for what he is missing. Much of this tension could be avoided if the religious did not feel so alone and unwanted. True supernatural love and friendship, in other words, can give the religious a sense of dignity that fosters purity. Another thing that may be to the point here: There seems to be an ever increasing number of religious who suffer from what doctbrs call psychosomatic illnesses. Ailments develop for which the physician can find no physical cause. Doctors usually diagnose these ailments as being the effect of nervous tension. How many 261 COLUMBAN BROWNING Review for Religious of these poor religious feel that they have any real friends in the religious life? Must we not say that much of this could be avoided if the medicine of human friendship were in better standing? The best antidote to tension and nervousness is contentment. And human nature is ordinarily not contented and at rest without the warmth of human love that is the effect of friendship. Certain Qualifications Lest we appear to be a little too idealistic and too trustful of human nature, a number of qualifications may. be in place. The first has to do with the need for universal charity in religion. We know that charity toward all was one of the key doctrines of our Lord. And since the religious life is the embodi-ment of His teaching, it is obvious that supernatural, universal charity must always hold a prominent place in any religious community. At first sight our proposal may sound like a denial of this. If misunderstood and misinterpreted, it could .indeed become such. No religious can ever exclude anyone from his charity. As far as community life is concerned, a uniformity and consistency must be observed in all dealings with fellow religious. But at the same time it is contrary to human nature itself to expect a religious to feel the same toward all. Inevitably he will feel closer to some than to others, and he will be able to speak more freely and confidently to these. It is among these that he will normally be inclined to seek his friends. To expect otherwise would be to. do violence to human nature itself. And we need to recall that human nature is not destroyed but rather elevated by living a spiritual life. At the same time, preference for these few should never lead the religious to spend all his time with them or to form a clique with them. When this happens, we have a counterfeit of true friendship that is inconsistent with" the religious life. True friendship does not narrow the human heart but rather expands it and makes it capable of loving all more. When we think maturely, we judge things by their true nature rather than by their occasional abuses. Are we, therefore, to forbid all re-ligious to have any friends just because there is some danger of abuse? The occasional abuses should be dealt with individually 262 September, 1959 FRIENDSHIP AMONG RELIGIOUS rather than be considered a pretext to~condemn the entire tree because of a few bad fruits. Another necessary clarification pertains to superiors. It is a good and true principle that a superior should deal with all his subjects alike. It is a false principle, though sometimes quoted, that a superior should have no friends. A superior must maintain an equality in all his external dealings with his subjects. But he too is human and needs a friend -- perhaps more than does the ordinary religious. The very burdens he bears may require that he have some human support lest those burdens crush him. To deny him this outlet is to be cruel and inhuman. Of course, such a friendship in a superior contains potential dangers. There'is the danger of his showing preference for his friends in an external way, to the great detriment of peace and contentment in' the community. There is the further danger of his letting his friends determine his policies as superior, also a grave abuse. But again, are we to condemn something that is good and necessary in itself just because of a few abuses? The surest way to avoid such abuses is by appointing only those as superior who are mature enough to exercise prudence and good judgment. Very small houses present a problem all their own that needs to be considered. The fewer the number of religious in a house, the greater is the need for universal charity and: the greater need for one or two friends to avoid isolating themselves from the rest. There is no need to stress the severe trial of living in a small house that is divided. But again we must remember that this state of things is a counterfeit of true friendship, and the whole question of friendship should not be judged by such abuses. A religious who is assigned to a small house may find him-self in a situation in which close friendship is practically im-possible. His companions are few, and he may not be able to feel close to any of them. The same inability to make friends may arise from other circumstances, even in larger houses~ When such situations exist, the religious is forced to, do without what is ordinarily necessary for happy living. But the religious who has cultivated only healthy friendships will be able to meet this challenge and will accept this cross from the hands of God for his purification. If we are to be purified and made capable of loving God more, we must a~ept the crosses that God sends. 263 COLUMBAN ]~ROWNING And just as He sometimes cuts away other supports that are ordinarily considered basic necessities in order to purify us, so also in the case of friendship. The religious must therefore be prepared for such situations and must see them in the light of God's all loving providence for him. Bearing this cross patiently will expand the heart and equip the religious to be more mature in friendship when the opportunity for them arises again. Finally, lest we give the impression of overlooking in practice the real danger of friendship becoming particular and exclusive, another clarification is in place. Of course, there is always an amount of danger of this. Even a true and healthy friendship can deteriorate. But this is a matter to be dealt with in particular cases. For many there is practically no danger of particular friendship. For most the danger is remote. For some it may be called serious. These particular dangers should not determine the mentality of a community toward friendship so that every-one who has a friend is considered suspect. A community that adopts this attitude as a more or less official policy creates a situation in which Christian charity is severely paralysed. Instead of the religious "living together in unity" and working together in the charity of Christ, bickering, discontent, selfishness, and downright cruelty can become the order of the day. When religious are forced to live in such an atmosphere, the heroism that is so necessary for anyone to develop the fulness of Christ is frustrated, o ¯ Conclusion The religious life has as its goal the binding of human hearts more closely to the God of all love. In striving for this goal, ev.ery religious is held back by the limitations of fallen human nature. Because of these limitations and the consequent failings that somewhat mar the perfection of every religious soul, there is a tendency to emphasize the negative to the detriment of the positive elements of the religious life. When a general atmosphere of negativism arises in a religious community, the vital spirit of the members of that community is severely paralysed. We feel that this negativism too often shows itself in the attitude toward friendship. May God speed the day when His wonderful gift of friendship is judged, not by occasional abuses, but by the positive incentive it provides for a whole hearted search for God. 264 Conquering Serious Sin John Co Schwarz, S.J. INA MEMORABLE address to the clerical students and priests at the Catholic University some months after her entrance into the Church, Clare Boothe Luce commented on the singular importance of love in the service of God. "All the world they say, loves a lover . And never before have I been together with so many young men who are deeply in love, for the first and last times in their lives. For you are to be the truest of all lovers: the priests of God's altars." Her graceful words a~e easily extended to all who consecrate themselves to life with Christ, to life with Love. For the religious deeply feels that his or her vocation precisely consists in striving to be "the truest of all lovers." But lofty as such aspirations surely are, the weight of d~ill human nature remains a constant factor and a daily experience. The actions of no less a saint thaff His own first vicar drew from' our Lord the comment, "The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak." Thus serious sin, the sorry surrender of the high aspirations of love, remains a possibility even for men and women who have taken their place in the consecrated, protected ranks of religious life. Temptation, even sharp temptation, remains altogether possible. The free-living and often loveless world around us will attempt to turn that possibility into glittering reality. And the urges and impulses of fallen human nature, pressuring from within, may add further strain. Hence, this presentation of basic reflections, remedies, and counter-measures against serious sin may not be amiss. Because the flesh remains weak, therefore serious sin cannot yet be filed under "impossibilities," and forgotten. Moreover, the experience of mortal sin could prove as productive of be-wilderment as of remorse. Nor will sure counsel and direction always be at hand. Especially if the experience were to be com-plicated by the shock of repetition, the path ahead could become greviously entangled. Hence some considerations on this little-frequented area of religious life may be of interest even to "the truest of all lovers." Now even serious sin can produce some profit, if the ex-perience prods one into a necessary check-up on key points of 265 JOHN C. SCHWARZ " Review for Religious religious observance and consecratip~i~ As physical pains signal the need for medical care, perhaps heretofore ignored, so it is with conduct of which conscience has voiced flat disapproval. A deepened sense of authentic humility can also result, as well as an increased, practical sympathy for the trials which others are experiencing from time to time-- students, for instance. And one will surely learn that mere general exhortations to avoid temptation may help little when the danger is close and vividly felt. Check Fading Motives But to check the key points of one's ~eligious observance, a valuable technique for av.oiding mortal sinas well as for remedying it, will involve attention to far more than me.re.exterior regularity or promptitude. That does have its importance, definitely. But the giant-step forward will be taken with the realization that serious sin, especially when repeated, exposes the slow fading of true values in the mind. The key to decisive will power, as Father Lindwo~sky has so strikingly demons.t~a.ted,1 lies in the vital realm of motivation. One's spiritual motives or values may have become, distant relatives living in the suburbs of the mind, ac~n?wledged, recognizable -- but t~ken for granted. Such ¯ motives perhaps no longer m?tivate,, or at least are diminishing in their impact on daily thought a.nd conduct. New knowledge is not the primary need, nor some scheme for "developing will power" after the manner of strengthening a muscle. Rather, persuade those distant relatives to move once again into the immediate family, day by day and hour by hour. Deep., attentive meditation with our blessed Lord on the basic truths of existence becomes necessary. Such truths are presented to the mind and heart in the annual retreat when reflections are made on the purposes of the vows, on our origin and diVine destiny, on the practices of religious life, on Christ's love as the only. happiness for the religiou~ soul. Possibly medi-tation has been failing to cut through the too-familiar exteriors of truths considered, and examinations of conscience may have ¯ lagged in their role of providing re-nourishment at crucial points in the exhausting day. Perhaps bit by bit the mind has slipped into the heresy that what Christ asks first is service, action, ~Johann Lindworsky, S.J., The Training of the Will (Milwaukee: Bruce, 1929). 266 September, 1959 CONQUERING SERIOUS SIN results, success, achievement -- an attitude more "at home" in General Motors -- failing in daffy practice to see that what He seeks is my whole mind, my whole heart, my whole soul -- in a word, myself. For that is what He has offered to me: Himself!. Temptation Topples Weak Motives Amid the undeniably wearing regimen of a long year teach-ing or nursing, the intimate grasp of the mind on basic truths, and above all on Him whom we love can falter. All feel this in greater or lesser degree. Add a sizeable f~ding of spiritual values with a startling growth, on a particular occasion or over an ex-tended period of time, in vividness of some temptation and trouble may loom just ahead. Or again, if sound and cherished values fade, the onslaught of some unforeseen crisis -- whether with superiors, students, declining health, or something similar -- will find human nature subtly craving compensation. If Christ becomes remote, thickets of temptation will crop up close. These foregoing notions, largely based on the scientific research of Lindworsky, a renowned priest-psychologist, find an interesting echo in the distinguished spiritual author, Father Edward Leen: "We fail, not because our wills are irresolute "or our passions strong -- but because we allow our intelligence to be obscured as to the meaning and purpose of life.~ It is no~ s0~ much our will that is at fault as our intelligence.'"-' If such notions seem to some an overly-academic approach to a concrete problem of serious sin, it may be noted that there is little of novelty here. Christian philosophers have been teach-ing for centuries that the will, although capable of free action, is nevertheless deeply dependent on what the intellect points out as desirable or not desirable for me l~ere and now. If a religious decides on such a check of his or her sense of spiritual values, on exterior observance, and consequently on union with Christ our Lord, it will be well to review also habitual performance in .situations calling for patience, for consideration of the feelings of others. A sharp tongue, a trigger-quick temper, a habit of freely commenting on the actions and personalities of others (always a gentle boost to one's own hungry ego) -- these cannot be ignored when clear signs appear for a necessary 2E-~-war~ Leen, In the Likeness of Christ (London: Sheed and Ward, 1936), p. 223. 267 JOHN C. SCHWARZ Review for Religious strengthening in any area of a religious life. Just as in the physical side of human life health means the well-being of all .parts, so spiritual sickness is easily caused by the collapse of any single part with a resultant weakness poisoning the entire system. Prescription: over-all strengthening. Such an over-all strengthening may come at high cost. But let a religious take heart whatever the cost. Our companion on the way is He who three times lifted Himself in agony from the dust.y road in Jerusalem and did not falter even at the blood-dimmed view of Calvary rising before Him. And this for me! as Paul exclaims. Courage is Christ's, a precious gift available to all who come to Him for it. Let a religious take heart, moreover, in the realization ~hat his or her will remains a powerful faculty ready to serve. That will-power is not debilitated, not collapsed, not "weak." But motives may have grown pallid. The will itself remains in normal condition. One has perhaps previously read such small testings of will .power as, "Couldn't you refrain from this or that for-bidden action if you were assured of death in its next perform-ance?" Seriously reflecting on such a'n eventuality, one is generally prompt to concede that such a motive (note!) would prove a quite effective spur. The will would briskly respond. Motives of a social nature, for one consecrated to Christ, should hold a special attraction. Blessings for souls on earth or in purgatory can be merited abundantly by sacrifice of self. Hopeless millions in the nation's slums, prisoners languishing in Communist camps, the afflicted and confined in a tSousand in-stitutions -- to submit but a few examples -- all these need Christ; and all can be helped wonderfully by the powerful prayer of self-discipline for and with Christ. Alertness in Temptation A further point of considerable moment in combating an inclination drawing a person toward the vortex of sin: prudent, alert conduct in time of temptation. A down-deep reluctance to wrench oneself from an unlawful attraction of some sort or another or a habit of delaying, of dallying and wondering -- such are the gradual weakenings which are the prelude to collapse and inevitable anguish of soul. Said Byron: "There are no 268 September, 1959 CONQUEt~ING SERIOUS SIN pleasures which the world can give comparable to those it can take away." On conduct in temptation, Fr. Gerald Kelly, S.J., observes: "A not uncommon source of mental disquiet among religious is the fact that they develop the habit of 'playing close to the line,' of taking 'little chances' in their reading, their entertainment, and so forth. Half-heartedness in the observance of chastity induces interior conflicts, even when it does not lead to open mortal sin.''3 Here obviously is a point for serious self-examina-tion: has one a set policy of nog only avoiding, but shying far from that which tempts? The Sacred Heart spoke to Margaret Mary in unmistakable words of half-hearted religious. He is whole-hearted. It is essential to see clearly the occasion of sin which has proven dangerous, to have clearly in mind, honestly and openly, that this or that place, reading, time of day, situation, or com-bination of circumstances can cause temptation to grow intense. Facing this fact, the wise person will either exert every possible effort to trace a wide path around the trouble zone, or, if that be impossible, at least halt for a brief moment of recollection and prayer beforehand. Even staunch St. Peter experienced one of the great agonizing falls in Christian history when he lingered in a hostile courtyard. Such courtyards await in every life, but many wisely learn from Peter to shun them. Reaction to temptation, though without panic or nervous-ness, should be instinctive. I become suddenly aware that my hand rests on the sizzling stove. Do I calmly reason, debate the issue, "Well, should I keep it there or not?" Rather, the reaction is swift, instinctive. Let there be an equal, recoil before tempta-tion. Of a married man, sincerely devoted and faithful, novelist Stephen Vincent Bengt wrote: "And there comes a time, no matter what the intention, when a new face heaves into view and a spark lights. I'm no Adonis, God knows, but it's happened to me once or twice. And I know what I do then. I run. I run like a rabbit. It isn't courageous or adventurous or fine . But I run. Because, when all's said and done, it takes two people to make an affair and you can't have it when one of them's not there." 31954 Proceedings of the Sisters' Institute o[ Spirituality (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1955), p. 102. 269 JOHN, C, SCHWARZ Review for Religious. In time of difficulty and temptation some 'relief may be achieved by physical change, taking a "break" for a few moments, fresh air, getting up, walking ---all such sudden motion and switch of environment jars the growing mood with which tempta-tion fascinates the mind and paralyzes the will. This fracture of mood discourages temptation even when it does not dispel it altogether. If one is alone, a companion to talk with might be found. If one is.idle, a quick recourse to interesting work or some engrossing distraction of mind often helps. A handy book or periodic.al may assist. The airline pilot, warned of a storm area ahead, does not make a simple act of trust in the capacities of his ship. He alters his course, avoids heavy weather altogether if humanly possible. He knows too much is at stake for a gamble. A Prayer-in-Action Present-day psychiatrists wisely warn against excessive focusing on problems such as are under consideration here. A worrisome :preoccupation with such matters only adds to their damage. Psychiatrists suggest rather that at least equal attentiOn be turned to the person's general outlook on life some-what in the manner suggested earlier in this article (on the refreshing of motives and values). Everyone concedes the in-juriou~ effects-of brooding, for instance, over this or that possi-bl~ gyrhptom of illness. If you don't truly have the affliction, v~oric)i inay soon obtain it for you; and if you do have it, worry may double it. The same thing occurs in the spiritual life. But this is not to outlaw intelligent concern and intelligent attention go the meanS Of disciplining whatever conduct is intolerable in life. An aid in this direction will be a limited, reasonable plan of self-restraint. How might this be done? Suppose a religious determines to undertake some small denial of pleasure or inclination twice each morning and twice again in the second half of the day, each time offering the peaceful decision to our Lord as a prayer, a prayer-in-action, begging iiumbly the needed grace of selfconquest for His sake. This will impose no weighty burden, attract no attention, cause no morbid focusing on the problem. Bypassing some item at table, assisting another when inconvenient to do so, postponing a desired relaxa-tion for ten.minutes, knuckling down to a task for which attrac, tion is absent, and, perhaps best of all -- an appalling suggestion offer.e.d with apologies-- arising promptly with the unfriendly 270 September, 1959 CONQUERING SERIOUS SIN clamor of the morning bell! Each of these, c~upled with a short aspiration of loving prayer, will recall to mind and heart that my true motives .aim always in one direction only. This is not suggested as the fa~miliar development of virtue "by repeated will acts." Rather, this is the conscious development of intimacy with our Lord by offering deliberate expressions of love to Him repeatedly. These expressions of love are offered in actions, in which I place Him first, my own inclinations second. This is prayer-in-action. A check can profitably be made at noon and at night: "Did I make my prayer-in-action twice, or more?" Let this check be made strictly, renewing then the Morning Offering and the Mass offering as well -- and return happily to duties "through Him, and with Him, and in Him." A Loving Lord Within Our Catholic faith highlights God's revelation to us that when the soul is in the state of grace God Himself dwells in that soul in a very special, intimate manner. God is her.e: Fat, her,, Son, and Holy Spirit -- all Three; and my heart especially re-sponds to the presence of the eternal Son .whos, e perso.n.~al lo~y_e has changed and colored my entire life. He is here, right, here, in the truest sense, a companion, a source of strength, a fortress against loneliness and that illusion of isolation which tl~e shock. of sin can bring. Father DeJaegher's little volume, One With Jesus (Westminster: Newman, 1948), will provide powerful assistance to many in attaining a new depth of insight into what God's indwelling can mean for daily living. The basic fact that God Himself dwells within can and must be a source of that st.rength which only a person who loves and is loved possesses, in the face of tdmptation. The human heart craves love, to love and be loved with true concern, personal attention and attachment. Christ offers us such love if only we will look to Him, clearly seeing the Heart of hearts offered to us. For that love, every earthly sacrifice is paltry in comparison. Great singleness of heart, supercharged with" Christ'-s grace, releases within any human personality power otherwise unsuspected. Singleness of heart: a Frances Xavier Cabrini~ a Matt Talbott or Therese of Lisieux, a Cornelia Connelly or 271 Philippine Duchesne, an Isaac Jogues,. Charles de Foucauld, or Elizabeth of the Trinity. These had one love only. Even in secular life, models of astounding singleness of determination are readily found: a Charles Lindbergh on his epic Atlantic flight, fighting the deadly paralysis of fatigue, doing cramped calisthen-ics in his narrow cockpit, reciting endless multiplication tables, and triumphing. For love of our Lord, then, a blueprint has been submitted for constructing (or re-constructing) an interior citadel against the lethal foe, serious sin. That blueprint outlines four basic steps: (1) A general check on fundamental spiritual truths. Love needs reasons. Familiar truths must be revitalized; familiar motives must sink new roots. (2) Prudent, alert conduct in the presence of t.emptation. (3) A new plan of self-restraint as love's prayer-in-action. (4) Insistent recollection of God truly within. For Christ's love is our whole existence, and our love must flow into action. The apostles, recall, had fished all the night in vain, without the Lord. But when He appeared, it took only a word, a change of approach, and success overwhelmed them. Thus He proved once again that He is indeed the way, the truth, and the life. For religious most of all, Christ is our way, our truth, and surely our very life if we wish to be "the truest of all lovers." 272 Perpetual, Vows Hu~jo J. Gerleman, S.J. IN HIS POEM, "The Ballad. of the White H6rs~," G. K. Ches-terton probes into .the radical differences between the spirit of Christianity and the spirit of pagan]sin -- old and new. One of the marks that he sees in the true Christian is his fidelity to his plighted word: And whether' ye swear a hive of monks, Or one fair wife to friend, This is the manner of Christian men, That their oath endures th~ end. [Bk. V, ll. 2~6-79] Therefore, by this sign will men know. ~'the ba~bari~an come again," that he will be fickle, unstable in his i~romises, .untrue to his vows and oaths. There is no way of knowing exactly what generation of men Chesterton wished to brand with his characterization of the neopagan, but one wonders whether our present generation may not have been included in his vision. Certainly when we consider the present attitude toward the marriage vow, we see what was once regarded as a sa~red and lasting obligation made frequently a matter of a passing whim. There is no need to give the.statistics of divorces since they are so well known. We also know that to some extent even Catholics have been affected by this plague of inconstancy in marriage~ Has this easy attitude towards a sacred and serious promise infiltrated even into the religious life? I have no ready statistics in the matter, but I think it safe to say that even religious are not immune to the tendencies of the age in which they live. Certainly the standard of living in a country, the level at which luxuries and comforts are enjoyed, affects the poverty of religious. Likewise ff a spirit of independence and impatience of restraints prevails in an age, it will make its influence felt on the religious. So it would not be surprising if infidelity to marriage vows and a general restlessness and instability in the face of difficulties, both so noticeable in many. men and women in our times, would 273 HuGo J. GERLEMAN Review for Religious find a counterpart in the lives of religious. Rather it would be surprising if this were not the case. 'It seems in a true sense that the spirit that should enter into the making of a vow is counter to a spirit that is running through our age. One element expected in the spirit with which vows should be taken can be typified by the common expressions, "to burn your bridges behind you," "to put your back to the wall."~ .Those expressions are obviously taken from warfare, from-battle, from fight against strong forces. Those warriors who burn their bridges behind them and who put their backs to the-wall cut off all chance of retreat. To survive they must overcome the enemy that confronts them. They have said "no" to their fears and to any possible cowardice. They are giving themselves psychological support by cutting off avenues of escape which poor human nature is prone to take. They, as it were, .force themselves to be brave -- now they have to fight it out. Whe~a person makes a vow, he does a like thing. He freely promises God to do the better thing; at the same time he realizes that he will come upon difficulties in making good his promise. In order to forestall the weakness of vacillating human nature, he wants to assure:himself of an undeviating will that will secure the performance of-the act under all circumstances. For this purpose he freelyobinds himself under sin to carry out what he is promis: ing. In-thus stabilizing his will by the vow we may say that he is putting his back to the wall, that he is burning his bridges behind ,him He is ~now committed to bravery, to heroism, if need-be, in meeting the attacks on his resolve. There are;~of course, many other considerations that enter the mi'nd and' affect the heart of one taking a vow. The vow, after all, is a means to an end. Through it the person taking the vow certainly wishes to give special honor to .God, to bind him-self more closely to his Creator, to be united to Him more in-timately in charity, and so om But with all these there is the intention to establish himself enduringly in his resolution, to confirm his will when difficulties arise. Stability of will, fidelity to his .promise-iso-what he is seeking. This ~otive has a place in the taking of every vow, but it has a special place i'n the taking of perpetual vows. Why this is so is perfectly clear. A perpetual vow means that perpetually, ¯ for all :the days of life left to a man, he is bound under sin to keep 274 September, 1959 PERPETUAL VOWS his promise to God. He deliberately wanted this, .freely bound~ himself. It means that, as far as :his own will is~ c?ncerne~, no change can be made; he is free to move in .only on~ direc~tion. He must until his dying day (when it is a question .of .the vows of religion) will to be poor, chaste, obedient. If he does not, he is unfaithful to his promise. This finality of his exc.lusive, dboice is what makes his vows perpetual. . . Of course, there is the possibility ~that in ~spite of the firm will-set of the religious an objective difficulty becomes manifest that is an impediment to the perpetual living' of his vow~s. In that case there is place for a dispensation by competent authority. - But it is an objective difficulty; therefore, as far as the.will of the individual is concerned, it can tend in only one direction until it is clear that the will of God indicates another way of life. This is all very obvious, but it is ~trap~ely tr~i~'"'that in the day-to-day living of one's life a person can let even the° obVious become blurred or keep it in the far corner of consciousness.' There have been not a few religious who V~ere boundby perl~etual vows but who gradually, almost imperceptibly~ s~arted .thinking in another way and lettihg their will tend in the.wrong direction. With this they began veering off the true course Of the religious life and hardly noticed it. As they became comfortable moving in their new direction, they began to depart even more from their religious ideals and manner of life. After some time .they found: themselves fully conscious of thinking and moving in an entirely different direction from that in which they~ shbuld" h~e:been tending. And they found that they were quite content' to be" in this condition. The thought of the finality of their selfgiving to God by perpetual vows had lost meaning by_then.:_T.he, will had been drained of its original decisiveness to be faithful-to:the end: Then difficulties, temptations, counter-attractions became, argu-ments for giving up their way of life. They .ended .by wanting to be dispensed from their vows . "" When a religious comes to such a pass, it:.might seem that the only sensible thing to do is to get that dispensation. NoW it may very well be that on the part.of the institute this becomes desirable; for when a member has lost the spirit of-the 'religious life, when the ideals of an intimate following .of Christ_ ar.~ gone, when it seems that he will not be content in religi.on,~-then the congregation or order may well judge, that the individua! is no longer a desirable member. This on the part of the institute, ° 275 Hugo J. GERLEMAI~ Review for Religious However, it seems that the individual ought to have the following truth clearly pointed out to him. He still has his per-petual- vows and is under the obligation, if it is at all possible at the stage at which he is, to recapture the spirit he has lost, to refashion the ideals he has let fade, to win back his peace and happmess in the following of Christ. This will no doubt require a hard struggle with himself. It will require humility, true reliance on God. The religious will have to pray and pray sin-cerely for the one thing needed just now. He may have to endure days of darkness and distress until God deigns to restore the light and peace that he has forfeited. It may seem to him that this is asking too much, ~hat it is laying too great aburden on weak human nature. Yet this is precisely what the obligation of his perpetual vow would demand. He solemnly promised to remain firm under difficulties, even those that are wholly or partially self-made. For his courage and comfort he may reflect that others have worked themselves out of a similar difficulty and recovered their original view and generosity to go on in pgace and happiness to the end in their vocation. Some seem to'fall into the state described above because of a r~ther unrealistic outlook on the vows of religion. They seem to imagine-- even though they have often been told the contrary -- that with the pronouncing of the vows difficulties in keeping them disappear, or at least are of such negligible force that one hardly notices them. Such a view, bf course, manifests a radical misunderstanding of the true nature of religious vows. As was said earlier, in a true sense it is precisely because real difficulties are exp.ected in one's striving for perfection that. the vows are taken. They are con-cerned with strong, dedp, hnd abiding human passions. It may be that these are somewhat dormant at the time the vows are pronounced, but it is rather to be expected that in the life of every religious at some time instincts and passions will reassert themselves, that the passion of sex, the passion of self-will arid independence, the passion of acquisitiveness will clamor for fulfillment, and that vehemently. This does not indicate that it was a mistake to take perpetual vows. It proves rather that it Was riot a mistake to take them -- they are now being experienced as necessary supports of the will to remain constant and faithful in a life of sacrifice, of generous self-giving to God. Now is just the time when the remembrance of them should give that help which weak human nature needs, if the religious is to remain 276 September, 1959 PERPETUAL VOWS faithful to the way of life which he has pledged in all seriousness to God. Right from the beginning, along with the deep conviction of the dignity and value of his intimate following of Christ in the life of the counsels, the religious ought to cultivate a growing spirit of fidelity and loyalty to God through the observance of his vows. He should keep his face set toward the mountain top of final perser~ierance in his way of life, as Christ set His face toward Jerusalem and the sacrifice to be consummated there. "But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how distressed I am until it is accomplished" (Lk 12:50). " . . . he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem" (Lk 9:51-52). And when the dread hour of His crisis came upon Him, He told His disciples: "But he comes [the prince of the world] that the world may know that I love the Father and that I do as the Father has commanded me. Arise, let us go hence" (Jn 14:31 ). And He went all the way, even to death on the cross. It is hoped that what has been said makes clear how great an error it is to have recourse too readily to the thought of a so-called "temporary vocation" as an easy way out of the obli-gations of one's perpetual vows. Authors who use the term surely wish to have the nature of such a vocation carefully under-stood. We are dealing with fallen human nature. When the vision of faith grows dim and the motives which depend on it become weak so that the person is no longer willing to face the true nature of the religious life and its demands, he may be inclined to hide his want of fidelity by thinking of himself as having only a "temporary vocation." This is readily granted by all, I believe, that even after a person has pronounced his perpetual vows, it can become ap-parent that there is a clear, objective difficulty in the way of continuing his religious life. Some loyal, determined religious have found that God in the mysterious designs of His providence apparently does not want them to go on as religious in spite of their own sincere will in the matter. The religious may be in certain danger of losing his mental health; he may not be able to succeed in the studies required in the institute that he has joined; his leaving may be necessary to provide for his parents who are in serious need. These and other objective reasons may exist that give grounds for the legitimate withdrawal from the religious life. Oftentimes this is experienced as a real hardship 277 HUGO J. GERLEMAN and is done against his own will, in the sense that it is only because of the conviction that such is God's will that he can bring himself to accept a dispensation from his vows. Such persons, of course, have no reason for any fear or anxiety. God knows their heart and their fidelity to the promise made to Him. He Simply has other plans for them. In His wise and loving ~r'oqidende He has allowed them to live for a period under re-ligious vows for their own ultimate good. Such then are sometimes called temporary vocations. But to use the term "temporary vocation" in any other sense, when there is question of perpetual vows, would seem to be a misnomer -- even something of a mockery. Certainly the religious cannot of his own volition, when the going becomes hard or interest is waning, determine that he has only a temporary vocation. As soon as he becomes conscious of entertaining such a thought, he should immediately reflect that, as far as his own will is concerned, he has left himself only one legitimate choice, and that is to fulfill the obligations of his vows to the end with the help of God. His vows are perpetual. This perpetual engage-ment can be terminated only if God so wills it. If the religious is not careful right at the start to confirm himself in his true posi-tion, he may gradually let himself be beguiled into a wrong way of th!nking. From the very first days of his religious life he ought to orientate himself in one direction and all along make sure of maintaining this orientation lest he allow himself to be thrown off course by the winds of adversity. God's attitude towards the taking of vows is revealed in the book of Ecclesiastes, where it is written: "If thou hast bowed.anything to God, defer not to pay it: for an unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth Him: but whatsoever thou hast vowed, .pay it. And it is much better not to vow, than after a vow not to perform the things promised." (5:3-4) . St. Ignatius, who seems to have been the first to make the devotionabrenewal of the vows a matter of rule, gives the ex-ercise a threefold purpose: to increase the devotion of the religious, to renew in them the memory of the obligation by which they are bound to God, and to confirm themselves more solidly in their vocation (Constitutiones Societatis Jesu, IV, 5). The religious would .do well to recite each day the formula of his° vows and to renew in all sincerity the oblation he made of himself on the day he vowed to God perpetual poverty, chastity, and obedience. 278 Mother Anna Tabouret Sister Mary Kenneth, H.H.M. THE CONGREGATION of the Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary is unique in the annals of American history in its ~mmigration to the United States as a community just ten short years after its French foundatiom The leader and the inspiration, the enthusiastic spark and the driving force of this daring venture, was a truly remarkable woman, Mother Anna Tabouret. Marie Tabouret was born December 1, 1828, in the peaceful little village of ~Nomeny in the province of Lorraine during the turbulent period of French history caused by the downfall of Napoleon. The shadow of tuberculosis darkened the Tabouret home in 1830 claiming the lives of an infant brother and the father, and threatening the life of the mother. Almost inevitably the two-year-old Marie became the undisputed center of attention in the bereaved household. - -- MariMe asdhaomueld T raebcoeuirveet ,a w seulli-taedbulec aetdedu chaetrisoenlf;, adnedte drmesinp.iete.d. hthea~t ill-health she herself tutored the child. Marie. proved to be so talented in music that by the.age of five she had mastered the fundamentals of this art. Although the mother saw the necessity of education, her maternal love blinded her to the child's most obvious need -- discipline. Marie grew accustomed to having all her desires gratified and her whims satisfied. With a child's keen sensitivity to adult weakness she .was quick to tak~ ad-vantage of her mother's love and her own delicate health. If she were crossed or her wishes thwarted, she would put her hand dramatically over her heart and exclaim, "Mon coeur! Mon coeur!" All thought of punishment would then be forgotten. The family housekeeper, a frequent witness of Marie's' temper, tried in vain to convince her mistress that such willfulness needed to be curbed. The child's legal guardian, appointed by her father; joined his counsel to that of the housekeeper; and finally it.was agreed that Marie should be sent to the village school where she could mingle with boys and girls of her own age. In class Marie learned to her astonishment that the other children were not impressed by her Cry of "Mon coeur!"; on the contrary; 279 SISTER MARY KENNETH Review for Religious they placed a much higher value on strength than they did on weakness. Thus the first restraint upon her strong, will was imposed by her school mates who made it clear to Marie that her own will could not and would not always prevail. When Marie was twelve her mother died and the grief-stricken orphan was taken to live with her guardian. Her frail constitution, further weakened by loneliness and sorrow, made her an easy victim to typhoid fever. After long weeks in bed and longer months of supposed recuperation, it was discovered that a serious curvature of the spine had developed to further impede her recovery. Although unable to attend school regularly for some years, she was able to receive her first Holy Communion with the other children of her age. On this day of days her heart was sad and lonely while her body was still weakened by illness, but she poured out all the desolation and sadness of her soul in prayer to the God truly present within her. When her health improved, she was sent to Paris to study at the Conservatory of Art and Music where she majored in piano and organ and where her talents were recognized as ex-traordinary. Sorrow again appeared in her life when her trusted guardian absconded with a portion of her inheritance. Although stunned by this unexpected treachery, Marie managed to com-plete her education by a prudent management of her finances. During the latter part of her stay in Paris she became the penitent of the great Dominican, Lacordaire, an opportunity which was one of the most powerful and influential graces of her entire life. His influence upon her spiritual development was to be almost limitless, transcending both time and place. His oft-repeated admonition to those who sought his advice was, "Strive to live always on the highest level of spiritual endeavor." Later she was to hand down this advice as a precious tradition to her community. At the completion of her education, she returned to her native province where she became organist and choir directress for several village churches. To an onlooker, and perhaps even to herself, her life seemed already set in its future course; but in reality her life work had not even begun. The first link in the chain of events which would forever unite the destiny of Marie Tabouret with that of a future religi-ous community was forged in her meeting the Reverend John 280 September, 1959 MOTHER ANNA TABOURET Joseph Begel. Through her work as parish organist she came into contact with this scholarly priest, pastor of two small adjoining parishes, who was deeply concerned with the religious education of the children under his care. Although Napoleon III had per-mitted passage of a bill returning education to the control of the Church, he was secretly anticlerical and was merely biding his time. Father Begel had obtained permission to use the town hall of Dommartin-sous-Amance for his religion classes; but as Napoleon's true attitude became more evident, this permission was rescinded. The problem of finding another suitable place for the classes was solved when Mlle. Antoinette Potier, a well-educated and well-to-do woman of Dommartin, offered the use of her home. She welcomed this chance to be of service to the poor of the village; and when Father Begel's :efforts to obtain religious teachers failed, she provided a home for a lay teacher, Julia Claudel, whom he employed. When the actual work of the ~chool began, Mlle. Claudel was assisted by the mistress of the house, An-toinette Potier, and her faithhfl house-keeper, Marie Gaillot. These three ladies, united by their common interest in the school, soon requested of Father Begel a simple program of daffy re-ligious practices which they might perform together. Through Father Begel, Marie Tabouret became acquainted with the school in the Potier home and was introduced to the three women who were conducting it. As she listened to Father Begel explaining his dream of providing qualified teachers for the poor and neglected villages of France, her own enthusiasm and interest were enkindled. In the quiet-spoken Antoinette Potier were detected the lineaments of a great sanctity already being proved in the crucible of physical suffering caused by tuber-culosis. As Marie considered Father Begel's ideals and then studied the gentle way in which these ideals were being brought to actuality, she was filled with a desire to be a part of this great work. At the age of twenty-seven.she received Father Begel's permission to join the little group. Soon other young women joined in the aposto!ate and Father Begel was able to staff schools in both of his parishes. When Mlle. Potier, on behalf of the others, asked for a more definite rule and a completely religious manner of life, Father Begel gave them a sodality manual to follow and suggested that they wear a blue uniform in honor of our Lady. On the feast of the 281 SISTER MARY KENNETH Review for Religious Assumption, 1855, the group assisted at Mass in the village chapel, dressed in a blue merino uniform with a cape of the same material, a white collar, and a simple peasant cap. They thus attracted no unwanted attention from an unfriendly government. During the next three years Father Begel studied the regu-lations of other congregations and finally drew up a constitution which he submitted to the bishop. On August 29, 1858, the bishop approved their rule but not the suggested title of the congre-gation. He wrote, "You propose to give to it the name of the Assumption of Mary. Permit me, M. le Curd, to submit there-upon my thought. I should prefer a name less high sounding and I would propose to name these daughters the Daughters or Sisters of the Holy Humility of Mary." Until this formal approval Was granted, the sisters had been permitted to make only private vows; but now four of their number pronounced public vows in the little chapel at Domo martin. They wore for the first time a starched white cap with a fluted frill, a black veil, and a silver band ring. On this occasion Antoinette Potier received the religious title of Mother Magdalen and Marie Tabouret became Sister Anna. Of this happy day, Mother Anna was later to write: "At last the day of our perpetual vows. It witnessed our solemn consecration to God. True we had vows but being only condi-tional we were in constant apprehension of being obliged to separate despite the bonds of charity which united us. Our union of views, our common desire to promote the greater glory of God, to instruct the poor, ignorant and abandoned children in small localities, to assist the poor and the sick out of our own poverty, to endure this poverty, humilition, and self-denial of both soul and body. But what of all this? Now we are permitted to consecrate ourselves to Jesus, soul, body and mind. What matters hardship?" ~ :When the community numbered twelve professed members, the sisters were able to staff four schools in the area, a seeming indication that their work was taking a firm root in the soil of France. As Napoleon's true attitude toward the Church became more and more evident, Father Begel courageously attacked the duplicity of the Emperor; and his refusal to permit the singing of the Te Deum in thanksgiving for the seizure of the Papal States resulted in the loss of his two pastorates. He was forced 282 September, 1959 MOTHER ANNA TABOURET to confine his priestly activities to the direction of the new re, ligious community; and the authorities then struck back in-directly by refusing the sisters teaching certification and by hampering their work in other small, annoying ways. At this time of crisis Father Begel received a request for the sisters to go to America to teach at a settlement of French immigrants in Louisville, Ol~io. Four of the sisters volunteered;. but as their difficulties with the government increased, it was: suggested that all might migrate. Bishop Amadeus Rappe (~f Cleveland wrote that he would welcome the entire community to his diocese. Sister Anna was greatly interested in the American venthre;- but she feared that the trip would be too strenuous for Mother Magdalen, whose health was rapidly failing. Mother Magdalen saw in the Bishop's invitation an answer from God to all their problems and prepared to sell her property to pay the expenses itnimvoel vweads itnh es ufcuhtu arne ucanrddeirntaakl,i nCgh.a Trlhees BLiasvhiogpe roief ,N daensctiyn eadt tthoi:s' further the progress of the Church in Africa by the foundation of the White Fathers. When the sisters consulted Bishop Lavi-gerie, he congratulated them on their fulfillment of his dearest dream, a missionary apostolate. Mother Magdalen directed the preparations for the trip, even to. the packing of her own trunk, although it was obvious to all that her death was near. On May 7, 1864, the saintly found-ress died, quietly and serenely, after making her act of resigna-~ tion to the will of God. Father Begel, the co-founder of the infant community, was almost inconsolable, Immediately the° community was involved in litigation as Mother Magdalen's relatives endeavored to break the provisions of her will. When their efforts proved successful, the little band of sisters was left practically destitute. In the dilemma and confusion resulting from Mother Magdalen's death and the loss of her property, Sister Anna, now appointed Mother, became the pillar and the support of the community. Behind her firm hand which grasped the reins of government was a brilliant mind equipped with unusual fore-sight and practical wisdom to cope with the multitudinous prob-lems that beset them. Physically she seemed inadequate for the task, b~it spiritually she was equal to the challenge of each new 283 SISTER MARY KENNETH Review for Religious day. She saw the futility of staying in a land where government opposition prevented them from doing the work of God. She realized the folly, humanly speaking, of going to America without funds of any kind; but when Bishop Rappe wrote, "You will find in America the same unfailing Providence you found in France," she placed herself and her community confidently in the hands of God. At the end of May, 1864, the little group, including Father Begel, ten professed sisters, one novice, and four orphans, sailed from Le Havre for America. As France grew smaller and smaller, finally fading entirely from view, they realized that they would never see their home land again. The voyage was further.saddened by the death of one of the orphans; and as Mother Anna gazed at the still little form, it seemed to her that the first link with France was already broken. The travelers arrived in New York on June 14, 1864. Bewil-derment at their inability to comprehend even a single word being spoken around them added to the confusion they felt as they waited, penniless and homeless, for official entry into the country. Their actual destination was Louisville, Ohio, where they received a heart-warming welcome from the enthusiastic French settlers. Father Begel, leaving the sisters at Louisville, went on to Cleveland to consult with Bishop Rappe. Upon his return Father Begel announced that the community was to be given the opportunity to purchase a farm of two hundred fifty acres in Pennsylvania. He glowingly conveyed Bishop Rappe's description of the fine 'brick building which was already on the property and praised the graciousness of the Bishop in making the offer to them. In his account of the farm, Father.Begel omitted mention of the fact that other communities attempting to live there had been forced to abandon the place because of its desola-tion, inaccessibility, and the difficulties involved in farming the swampy and rocky ground. Leaving two of their number at Louisville to teach the children of the French immigrants, the other sisters cheerfully and enthusiastically journeyed on to their new home. The sight that greeted them was enough to daunt the courage of the bravest. The property did indeed boast the praised brick struc-ture; but surrounding the building for acre upon acre were unhealthful swamps and thick, dense woods. The road leading 284 September, 1959 MOTHER ANNA TABOURET to the front door was nothing but a muddy path overgrown with weeds; the front yard was a marsh filled with rotting tree stumps: Vegetation of all kinds struggled for life, but the wild unconquered growth was far different from the trim lawns and neat gardens" of their beloved France, It was here in this hostile wilderness that the true qualities of Mother Anna's character reached their full flowering. With-out money, without friends, speaking a foreign language, she began a foundation that endured and prospered. Humanly,. her task seemed impossible, her obstacles insurmountable; but with' an unwavering, confidence in God she set herself to the work of accomplishing the impossible for His honor and glory. Her sound .practical judgment decided that the clearing 6f the land must be their first task if they were to survive at all From daw~ to dusk they labored -- these gentlewomen whose hands had been trained for the needle,rather than the plow. As they worked in the fields, felling trees, draining swamps, or plant-ing seeds, they sang hymns or played, the rosary. A potato crop was Mother Anna's first objective; .and when this harvest failed, dark days of misery and hunger descended upon the .community. Their troubles seemed to increase from day to day wi~h illness striking both sisters and orphans. This was the ~eriod" of which Mother Anna was to say, ~"Thing's were *too black to permit our feeling blue:" Finally she realized that thei~ 'affairs had reached such a crisis that unless help was forthcoming the whole venture would dissolve in failure. Her efforts to convince Father Begel of their dire situation had been unsuccessful as his only solution was the advice, "Take one more ~rphan and God will provide,for His own." Mother,Amia was willing to suffer any hardship to ensure the success of their° mission; .but when the very life of the congregation seemed at stake, she was cer-tain that the hour for action had struck. Without consulting Fathe~ Begel, she set off for Cleveland with Sister Odile and Sister Mary of the Angels. They walked. barefoot along the muddy ruts of the road into Youhgstown,~ Ohio, a distance of twelve miles, stopping at a creek to wash their feet and don their shoes before proceeding to the depot. After a trip on the night train, they arrived in Cleveland where kindly pedestrians directed' them from corner to .corner until they arrived at the Bishop's house. His amazed expression 285 SISTER MARY KENNETH Review for Religious prompted a speedy explanation of why they had come, unan-nounced, unexpected, uninvited: They blurted out their hopeless dilemma ~strangers .in d strange land -- no means of support -- no. means of communication with their American neighbors -- no food --- the failure of their crops-- the sickness of the orphans. Later Sister Odile was to admit, "I disgraced the community by sobbing aloud." -~- The bishop listened attentively and then asked, "What if I bid you remain and do the best you can, relying on Divine Providence?" Mother Anna replied, "We would obey, Bishop, but we have not sufficient food, clothing, nor bedding. We have orphans." We have sick ;sisters and sick children. Bishop, please, tell Father Begeltoi~ta~ke us home. France will not let us starve." The bishop gave them a small sum of money; but far more important, l~e assured them that if they. would remain and trust in_God, their, obedience would be r~warded. Perceiving in his words the ex.p~essed will of God, Mother Anna returned to the Vill~ and united all the efforts of the struggling community in a concentrated act of obedience. In an amazing way, the seemingly hopeless situation of the sisters began to improve. Everything thai Mothdr Anna's hand touched seemed to prosper; her will wbuld not admit defeat when she was acting under obedience. The wild, uncUltivated land gave way when faced with her de-termin_ at~ionto establish productive gardens and fruitful orchards. She worked side by side with the sisters in the field, laughing with this one, coaxing another, but always watchful that the work~progressed. . i .Wh.e~ m~ o~re o.r.phans arrived than could be cared for properly, she enlarged the housing facilities for both sisters and children. After two additions to the convent she had a suitable chapel erected for the Blessed Sacrament. She kept down building costs by producing the necessary materials on the farm itself. A saw mill-was built in the woods~ and she sought expert advice in select-ing .the trees to .be felled. The better lumber was then set aside to be seasoned for future buildings. A brick kiln. was erected in the front yard, and she herself sup~ervised the makir.g of the bricks. -. One of the most startling decisions for the little French community was Mother Anna's determination that they should become Americanized as completely and as quickly as possible. 286 September, 1959 MOYHER ANNA TABOURET She was convinced that all must learn the English language if they were to be effective in a teaching apostolate; and when a teacher of English was hired, she herself set the pace in acquiring a second tongue. At a time when money was very scarce she paid the necessary fee to have the community incorporated in the state of Pennsylvania. Her foresight in this particular matter was completely incomprehensible to her compatriots. When the deadly scourge of smallpox struck at the neigh-boring countryside, Mother Anna led the sisters into the homes of their American neighbors to nurse the victims of the epidemic. Thrusting aside all thought of personal contagion_ and fear, she turned all available convent space into hospital wards for the children. All through the long days and interminable nights of the siege, the sisters, under Mother Anna's leadership, fought the treacherous foe of infect_ion which had invaded the homes of the sick. One of the oi'iginal account books lists the cost of smallpox medicine at eighty-two dollars. A small fortune for those days! The heroism of the sisters at this ~ime evoked the admiration of their neighbors~ Catholics and Protestants alike; and as a token of gratitude the city of Lowell~ille, Ohio, pre-sented the community with a small sum of money. The gift came at a most opportune time,-for Mother Anna was struggling with the problem of settling.the debt on the Villa property. In an effort to raise the necessary three thou~sand dollars, the sisters had been soliciting fundg from the workers on a railroad that was being constructed near the Villa. When the officials of the company heard of the sisters' need, they encour-aged their employees to contribute generously. It was in gr,atitude for this unexpected assistance that Mother Anna offered to have the sisters care for any railroad men who were'injured or" taken ill" on the job. ¯." A two-room addition tO Father Begel's house, served as the infirmary which became known to the railroaders-gs "The Sisters~' .Hospital up Lowell Hill." As word spread of the excellent car.e g~v~en by the sisters, a larger building with suitable equipment soon .be.came necessary. The foundress decided ~to erect a hospital on the Villa property which would be large enough for the increased number of railroad patients. With her natural instinct for business she formulated a plan by which she could finish the clearing of the 287. SISTER MARY KENNETH Review for ReligioUs Villa woods, utilize her saw mill, and acquire the needed building funds. She drew up a. contract with the officials of the railroad by which they agreed to buy from her all the railroad ties she could produce. The constant buzzing of the mill from early morn-ing to late evening proved that the little saw mill was now her greatest asset. To solve the labor problem Mother Anna hired the vagrants whose predominant fault had lost them their rail-road jobs. Always a prudent women, she exacted a pledge of each one as she hired him. "I'll never touch a drop of the ~ld stuff as long as you boss me," was the frequently repeated promise as the recruiting of workers progressed. Instinctively, these rough men yielded her a ready obedience. With the erection of the hospital the. apostolate of the sisters was extended to include the care of the sick; and as the scope of the community's labors was enlarged~ more postulants applied for admission. With the .increased membership Mother Anna was able to supply teaching sisters to the nearby towns in Ohio and P~ennsylvania. In 1870 a group of~ ~isters volunteered to go to the diocese of St. Joseph, Misso.u~._i, in response to the bishop's plea for teachers. After other ~ssions had been established in Missouri, it was decided that the western group should function as a separ~ate community. In 1871. the separation was approved, and the sisters in Missouri formed a~ distinct congregation whose motherhouse was later to be establi.shed at Ottumwa, Iowa. Although Mother Anna was an eminently practical womari dealing efficiently with the details of ev.eryday life, spiritual values always occupied the foremost place in her mind. The ideals inspired by Lacordaire ever urgdd her to keep both herself and her sisters on the. very highest planes of ~piritual endeavor. Her character was marked by a rugged virility which scorned the unusual and the spectacular; if she was firm with her daugh-ters, she was even more rigorous with herself. In her dealings with her subjects she could accurately gauge the severity with which they could be dealt, and she did not exact the same gener-osity from all. Her personal opinions never biased her deci~i0ns and her keen intellect was able to weigh all sides of a question dispassionately before reaching a final' decision. In the governing of her community she insisted upon absolute obedience, and re-joiced when she received it. Anything and everything that made her daughters happy contributed to M~ther Anna's own happiness. She often planned 288 September, 1959 MOTHER ANNA TABOURET surprises for the community recreation hour and announced one night that soon a benefactress from France would be coming to pay the d0mmunity a visit. This lady was a trusted friend of the sisters who not only was greatly interested in them but also was able to render them invaluable assistance. When the time for the visitor's arrival came, Mother Anna invited all the sisters to the parlor where a °beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin, more than life-size, awaited them. As a pledge of the community's devotion to Mary, this statue was placed above the high altar of-.the chapel where it remains today. It is at the foot of the community's benefactress that on each recurring August fifteenth the Mother of God is proclaimed the "supreme superior" of the congregation in an act of consecr~ition composed by Father Begel and recited by the General Superior. In the twenty years of her superiorship Mother Anna had guided her community in its struggle from seemingly impossible beginnings to circumstances in which the sisters were able to serve effectively as instruments of God's providence in the fields of education and charity. During this time her own health, "always deScate, l~ad been further weakened by the hardships of establishing the foundation. By 1882 the community seemed firmly established in America as evidenced by the increasing number of American subjects and the increased number of missions. Mother Anna believed that the time had come for the sisters to hold a canonical election. She, therefore, asked the Bishop's permission to resign, giving as the reasons her failing health and her desire that the sisters might freely elect a superior. The sentiment of the community was strongly opposed to her resignation and to the election of a new superior. While awaiting the Bishop's reply, patiently and humbly, Mother Anna began making quiet preparations for her retirement by moving her sleeping quarters to the attic with the other professed sisters. She seemed impelled b~ a powerful intuition that her retirement was near. The validity of her presentiment was apparent to a~l on July 1, 1883, when Mother Anna was stricken with a complete paralysis of her lower limbs. The Bishop, now compelled by the hand of God, accepted her resignation and presided over the election of her successor, Mother Odile. Mother Anna cheerfully resigned herself to the will of God and with characteristic foresight made plans for her new life as 289 SISTERMARY KENNETH Review for Religious an invalid. Her heart knew no idleness as it was constantly given to prayer, but she must have occupation not only for her mind but for her hands as well. After sorting and arranging the voluminous correspondence of Father Begel, she wrote an in-valuable life of the founder, who had died in 1884 and who had been replaced by his nephew, the Reverend Nicholas J. Franche. In addition to her writing she was now able to utilize her knowl-edge and love of music, and an organ was brought into her room to enable her to teach the young sisters the principles of harmony and theory. During the hours remaining after music lessons, thousands and thousands of postage stamps were cut, sorted, and packed for a community of Belgian missionaries. These priests used the stamps to make works of art which were then sold to ransom young African children. While busy with her stamps or needlework, the invalid was able to receive and enter-tain the many visitors who climbed to her attic room in search of advice or prayers. In the early days of her illness she had predicted that she would be an invalid as many years as she had been superior. The sisters laughed at this notion; but as the years passed on and death claimed more and more of the younger members, leaving Mother Anna to her life of suffering, many began to suspect the truth of her prophecy. She once confided to some of the sisters, "God has purposely forgotten that -He put me here in this corner. He sends me showers'of graces, but, you see, I owe Him a huge debt and have never been able to make a big payment. He is such a Good Master that instead of commanding His servants to bind me and cast me into the outer darkness He heeds my prayer, 'Be patient, dear Lord, and I will pay Thee all.' I must continue to work so that when He calls for me He will find me at my post:" For twenty long yea.rs she remained at her post, seeking no favors, asking no special services, denying' herself the luxuries of pity and idleness. Physically she had much to suffer; but the sufferings resulting from her difficult position in the community caused her~greater pain, for she still exercised tremendous power while ~ossessing no authority. Consulted by superiors and sub-jects alike,-she n~eticulously chose the prudent word so as to prevent wounding the charity of the community. Sometimes she reproached herself because the sisters were so very willing to serve her,.and she worried lest this service be rendered to her 290 September, 1959 MOTHER ANNA TABOURET personally rather than to" Christ through her. In .1902, as she approached her seventy-sixth birthday, some of the sisters recalled that her twenty-year prediction' was nearing its ful-fillment. Although Mother Anna had aged through the years as the paralysis progressed, the changes had been so gradual as to be almost imperceptible. Early in 1903 a severe cold led to pneumon-ia, and because her condition seemed critical she received the Last Sacraments. After the anointing she apparently regained her strength, but by May of that year it was obvious that her exile was almost over. When Mother Patrick, the General Superior, ¯suggested sending for Father Franche in order that she might be anointed again, the invalid merely replied, "As you will." The little girl who had screamed and stormed to have ¯ her own way, was now a woman of seventy-seven, eage~ bnly for the will of God. Father Franche hastened to the room of the "Saint of the Garret" as one priest had called her. She smiled as he approached the bed with the holy otis. After the anointing she received Holy Communion, and in about the time it would take to consume the Host she was dead. The Bridegroom had come and called for her at the "post" where she had been waiting for twenty years. Mother Anna was buried from the simple yet beautiful chapel that she herself had planned and erected. After the Requiem Mass the funeral procession passed down the ~ront yard which she had claimed from the wilderness, in front of the convent she had built, near the orphanage she had loved, past the hospital she had erected, in full view of the farmlands she had cleared, until .it reached the little cemetery she had plotted out for her daughters. She was buried near Father Begel, her friend in life and her companion in death. Over her grave her daughters erected a cross to let the world know that they had found The Valiant Woman. Future events were to prove the truth of their conviction. The tiny grain of mustard seed blown by the providence of God from the native soil of France to the strange, harsh ground of America has taken root and sprung up yielding more than seven hundred fifty professed members. "All these rise up and call her blessed." The status of the congregation, once diocesan, is now that of a pontifical institute, conducting elementary and 291 SISTER I~ARY KENNETH secondary schools, hospitals, confraternity classes, and a home for crippled children. The steady progress and consistent growth of the community, together with the efforts of her daughters to prove themselves worthy of so valiant a mother by the practice of holy humility are the best evidence for the validity of her epitaph: She hath looked well to the paths of her house; and hath not eaten her bread idle. (Prov 31:27) 292 Survey of Roman Documents R. F. Smith, S.J. IN THIS ARTICLE a summary will be given of the documents which appeared in Acta Apostolicae Sedis (A_AS) during April and May, 1959. Throughout the survey all page references will be to the 1959 AAS (v. 51). Two Consistories On March 12, 1959 (AAS, pp. 177-83), John XXIII held two consistories. In the first, a public one, His Holiness bestowed the red hat on three cardinals who had been previously created on December 15, 1958. In the second and secret consistory the Pontiff confirmed Cardinal Tisserant as Camerlengo of the Sacred College for the year 1959; he likewise ratified the election of Bishop Paul Cheikho as Pa-triarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans, published the list of prelates appointed since the last consistory, bestowed three cardinalatial churches in Rome, and accepted various postulations for the pallium. Easter Messages On Holy Saturday evening, March 28, 1959 (AAS, pp. 241-45), the Vicar of Christ broadcast to the entire world the customary Easter message. The living Church, he told his listeners, is the ever-present confirmation of the Resurrection of Christ. Like her founder, the Church has experienced enemies who sought to entomb her; but also like Him she has always risen again. Accordingly, he said, the feast of Easter should lead Catholics to intensify their fidelity to the Church. But, he continued, Easter also has a message for thd spiritual life of each of the faithful. Easter, he pointed out, is a mystery of death and life; so it is that at this time each of the faithful is asked to die to sin by purify-ing his conscience in the sacrament of penance and then to nourish himself with the vivifying flesh of the immaculate Lamb of God. The next day (AAS, pp. 245-52) the Pope delivered an Easter homily during th~ Solemn High Mass which he celebrated in St. Peter's. Speaking first of the passion and death of Christ, the Pontiff Observed that the passion of Christ is both sacrament and example; it is the first because it contains and transmits the power of divine grace;, and it is the second because it prompts all of us to the practice of that patience of which Christ is the supreme teacher. Then reflecting on the Resur-rection, the Pontiff pointed out that in this mystery of Easter the 293 R. F. ~SMITH Review for Religious Master of life has triumphed over death and His victory is the victory of the Church throughout the ages. Accordingly Christians must face the future with confidence, in spite of all .the machinations of the Prince of Darkness. For the victory of Christ over death is our guarantee of victory over the obstacles to justice, liberty, and peace. Saints, Blessed, Servants of God Several of th~ documents of the April-May issues of AAS were devoted to St. Pius X. On April 11, 1959 (AAS, pp. 316-18), the Holy .Father sent a written message to the people of Venice on the occasion of his sending to that city the relics of St. Pius for a month's stay. The sending of the relics, said the Pontiff, fulfills the prophetic words spoken by the saint when he left Venice for the conclave at which he was elected Pope: "Dead or alive, I shall return." His Holiness went on to say that previous to his own election as Pope he had hoped to be buried in Venice near the tomb of St. Mark; since, however, that is now impossible, he expressed the wish to be buried in St. Peter's near the altar of Pius X, his predecessor both in Venice and in Rome. On May 10, 1959 (AAS, pp. 373-75), the Vicar of Christ broadcast to the Venetians a panegyric of St. Plus X at the conclusion of the month of devotions in his honor; and a similar panegyric (AAS, pp. 367-71) was preached by him in the Piazza of St. Peter's to the faithful who had gathered there to welcome back the relics of St. Pius after their stay in Venice; onthe same occasion the Pope also gave a panegyric in honor of St. John Bosco whose relics were being brought at the same time for a stay in St. Peter's. On April 12, 1959 (AAS, pp. 289-94), John XXIII performed the first canonizations of his reign by solemnly declaring the sainthood of Blessed Charles of Sezze (1613-1670), confessor, Franciscan lay brother, and of Blessed Juana Joaquina de Vedruna de Mas (1783-. 1854), widow, foundress of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity. During the Mass after the canonizations the Holy Father delivered a homily on the two saints. Using a thought from St. Francis de Sales to the effect that Christian devotion and sanctity can be reached by everyone no matter what his state or condition of life may be, the Pontiff proceed-ed to show how the two new saints admirably prove the Salesian doc-trine. St. Charles was of a poor family; St. Joaquina was of noble birth; St. Charles was a farm laborer; St. Joaquina was raised in surroundings with no lack of material things. Yet both the one and the other reached the heights of sanctity. On April 13, 1959 (AAS, pp. 304-07), the Pontiff delivered an. allocution to thbse who had attended the canonization on the previous day. The two saints, the Pope said, teach us that the things that are worthwhile are not the things of the world, nor human honor, nor nobility of family, nor wealth, but the will of God. 294 September, 1959 ROMAN DOCUMENTS On March 11, 1959 (AAS, pp. 325-27),' the Sacred Congregation of Rites issued a decree approving the two miracles required for the beatification of the Servant of God, Helen Guerra (1835-1914), foun-dress of the Oblate Sisters of the Holy Ghost (popularly known as the Sisters of St. Zita). On the same date (AAS, pp. 328-30) the same Congregation also approved the necessary miracles for the beatification of the Servant of God Mary Margaret d'Youville (1701-1771), foundress and first superior general of the Congregation of the Sisters of Charity (Grey Nuns). Five weeks later on April 19, 1959 (AAS, pp. 387-90), the Congregation issued the decrees stating that it was safe to proceed ¯ with the beatification of both the Servants of God mentioned above. Then on April 26, 1959 (AAS, pp. 337-42), John XXIII issued the apostolic letter, "Renovans faciem terrae," by which the beatification of Helen Guerra was proclaimed to the Church; in the document the Pontiff points out that Leo XIII was moved by the Blessed's zeal for devotion to the Holy Spirit to commend special prayers to all Catholics during the Pentecost octave and later to write the encyclical Divinurn illud munus on the Holy Spirit. On May 3, 1959 (AAS, pp. 343-48), His Holiness issued the official notice of the beatification of Mary Margaret d'Youville in the apostolic letter, Caritatis praeconium. In the notice of the beatification the Pontiff singled out charity to-wards others as the commanding trait of the new Blessed, a trait that merited for her the title of "the mother of universal charity." On April 27, 1959 (AAS, pp. 352-54),'the Vicar of Christ delivered an allocution to Luccan Catholics present for the beatification of Blessed Helen. Having recalled that she was the teacher of St. Gemma Galgani, the Pontiff said that as St. Margaret Mary was the divine instrument for spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart, so Blessed Helen was God's instrument for spreading devotion to the Holy Spirit. Her own life, he continued, was a luminous manifestation of the superabundant fruits which the Holy Spirit infuses into those who are docile to His action. He concluded by saying that the life of the Blessed has a vital lesson for today; we n~eed a new coming of the Holy Spirit, a new Pehtecost to renew the face of the earth. O.n May 4, 1959 (AAS, pp. 363-64), His Holiness gave an allocution to the Canadians present in Rome for the beatification of Blessed Mary Margaret d'Youville. Pointing out that she is the first Canadian-b0rn blessed, he urged his listeners to imitate her profound faith, her perfect living out of various states of life, and especially her intense and. supernatural love of the pobr, the sick, and the unfortunate of every kind. On November 20, 1958 (AAS, pp. 274-77), the Sacred C~ngrega-tion of Rites approved the introduction of the cause of the Servant of God Aloysius Palazzolo (1827-1886), priest, founder of. the Sisters of the Poor (Italy). On January 28, 1959 (AAS, pp. 27~-78), the same 295 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious Congregation approved the reassumption of the cause of Blessed Mar~ of Providence (1825-1871), virgin, foundress of the Helpers of the Holy Souls. To Priests and Religious On February 10, 1959 (AAS, pp. 190-95), the Roman Pontiff gave an allocution to the Lenten preachers of Rome, discussing with them the traits that should mark their preaching. Wisdom, simplicity, and chari-ty, he said, should mark the sermon work of a priest. Wisdom should be shown in the choice of subject matter and the Pontiff recommended the following for their sermons: sin and its punishment, private and pub-lic worship, the sanctification of Sundays and holy days, the duties of the married state, the education of children, respect for the human person. Simplicity, he continued, should lead them not to seek their own renown but to work for the instruction of their hearers, while charity should urge them to seek only one thing: to draw their listeners to the love of God. On March 12, 1959 (AAS, pp. 198-202), the Pontiff addressed the members of the Apostolic Union of the Clergy, pointing out to them that a priest before all else must be a man of God. Like Abraham, a priest has left his own home to seek the land of promise in which, if he is true to his vocation, he will find Christ and Him crucified. Scrip-ture and the EucharisL he continued, must be the food of the priestly life; speaking of the latter, he said: "There is no perfection nor true love of.God Or of Christ without a profound devotion to the Eucharist." He' concluded by reminding his listeners that their love for souls must lead them to prayer, contemplation, and penance, for "This kind is driven out only by prayer and fasting" .(Mk 9:28). On April 21, 1959 (AAS, pp. 375-81), the Pontiff delivered an exhortation by radio broadcast to the clergy of .Venice gathered in the Basilica of St. Mark to honor the relics of St. Pius X. His Holiness began by remarking that a priest is granted what is not given even to the angels. Accordingly a priest must reflect this dignity in every aspect of his life and conduct. He advised his listeners that care of their own soul, manifested in prayer, recollection, study of sacred doctrine, and careful use of the sacrament of penance, must come before every pas-toral preoccupation. He emphasized this point by quoting St. John Chrysostom: "If the priest possesses all the virtues, then he is like the best kind of salt; and with it the whole people can be seasoned. This - will be done by seeing the priest ~ather than by hearing him; for the first way to learn is by seeing the good; and the second way is by hear-ing it." The Pope concluded his exhortation by urging his listeners to continued loyalty to the Church and to the pursuit of all human values, natural and supernatural. 296 September, 1959 ROMAN DOCUMENTS On April 16, 1959 (AAS, pp. 307-13), the Pontiff delivered an allocution to all branches of the Franciscan family on the 750th anni-sary of the pontifical confirmation of the Franciscan Rule. All branches of the Franciscans, the Pontiff stated, .are faithful to the fundamental points of the original Franciscan Rule: poverty, obedience, charity. Franciscan poverty, he went on to say, emphasizes the serene joy that comes from the giving up of material possessions. Obedience, especially that to the Roman Pontiff, he continued, is a necessity of religious life; history shows that obedience to the Holy See has led to success in the life of religious orders, while lack of obedience has led to unfortunate states of insubordination and unruliness. Finally he noted that charity has always been the soul of the Franciscan missionary spirit; it has made of the members of the Franciscan family conquistadors of souls for the triumph of the name, love, and kingdom of Christ crucified. Messages on Various Subjects Under the date of February 15, 1959 (AAS, pp. 206-08), John XXIII sent a written message to the first Eucharistic Congress of Cen-tral America. The Eucharist, the Pontiff declared, infuses into the heart of man a new energy of supernatural love which strengthens while it purifies human love. The Eucharist unifies the entire man until there is created in each individual the perfect man, created to the image of God and conformed to. the example of His Son. Moreover, he added, the Eucharist also helps human relations; for by calming the tumults of the spirit, it leads to goodness, justice, and mercy. Finally the Eu-charist strengthens family life; since Christ's love has given us the sacrament of the Eucharist, it is there that the highest spiritual union between man and wife can be realized. On April 19, 1959 (AAS, pp. 313-14), the Vicar of Christ sent a radio message to the faithful of Belgium on the tenth anniversary of the Belgian radio program, "The Missionary Hour." His message to the Belgi.a. ns can be summarized in two quotations which His Holiness took from the writings of Plus XII: "The missionary spirit and the Catholic spirit are one and the same thing." "The Catholic vitality of a nation is measured by the sacrifices it makes for the cause of the mis-sions." A week later (A_AS, pp. 349-52) the Pontiff addressed a group of Italian women devoted to the assistance of missionaries. He told them that missionary cooperation today is. urgent and imperative, for the last ten years have been critical ones for missionary activity. He pointed out to his listeners that missionary cooperation is not exhausted by material aid; if it were, then the problem of the missions would be only a human problem. As it is, however, the problem is a supernatural one; and material help, while necessary, is neither the principal nor the only form of assistance. To such help there must be added prayer and 297 R. F. SMITH Review for Religious above all suffering. He concluded by reminding his audience that mis-sionary cooperation will not only help the missionaries but will also revitalize their own dioceses and parishes. On February 10, 1959 (AAS, pp. 205-06), John XXIII sent a writ-ten message to the First National Congress of Spain on the Family, telling the members of the Congress that three principal loves exist in the heart of man: conjugal love, parental love, and filial love; to harm these loves, he said, is to profane what is sacred and to lead to the ruin of one's country and of all of humanity. On March 1, 1959 (AAS, pp. 195-97), the Pontiff addressed the Ninth National Con-gress of the Women's Italian Center; he reminded his listeners that the family finds its guardian and protector in the wife and mother of the family; hence in the face of present dangers to the family, they must as wives and mothers turn all their efforts to the preservation of family life. On May 1, 1959 (AAS, pp. 355-59), the Pontiff gave an allocution to a group of Italian workers, telling them that true happiness consists in not losing sight of man's supreme goal; hence he urged them always to seek celestial things even when they endeavor to raise their level of living. OH March 18, 1959 (AAS, pp. 202-04), His Holiness addressed members of the International Symposium on Prophylaxis, assuring them that their work was a labor of real charity, since they endeavor to prevent those physical and psychical disturbances which obscure the splendor of the divine spark that is human reason. On May 4, 1959 (AAS, pp.359-62), John XXIII spoke to the participants in the Third Italian Congress of Catholic Newspapers and Periodicals. He urged his listeners to employ the arms of truth and of charity in their work and advised them to be kind even when fighting what is wrong according to the saying of St. Augustine: "Kill the error, but love the erring." He concluded by exhorting his listeners to publish works that will reflect the wisdom, love, and beauty of God. On April 11, 1959 (AAS, pp. 303-04), the Pontiff addressed an international group of war veterans; he told them that peace can not be decreed by any earthly power but mt~st flow from the interior of each individual man. On April 1, 1959 (AAS, pp. 299-301), the Pope spoke to members of the Federation of Catholic Universities; he pleaded with them to con-centrate on building up a strong wall against today's materialism, con-cluding by asking them to be Christ-bearers, since Christ is the apex of all knowledge. On the same day (A/KS, pp. 259-60) the Pontiff ad-dressed the Second Congress of Negro Writers and Artists. He encour-aged them in their study of the unity and responsibilities of a Negro- African culture. He pointed out, however, that the Church is not to be identified with any one culture, for her work is of another order -- that of the religious salvation of man. Nevertheless, he added, the 298 September,. 1959 ROMAN DOCUMENTS Church is always ready to acknowledge, welcome, and animate all that is to the honor of human intelligence. He concluded his talk by urging his audience to have sympathy for and to collaborate with other cultures. On April 7, 1959 (AAS, pp. 301-02), the Vicar of Christ ad-dressed the members of the First Ciceronian Congress. He told them that because so many today pursue the study of mathematics and of tech-nology, it is necessary to stress Latin and similar subjec.ts; otherwise men will become like the machines they make: cold, hard, loveless. On February 16, 1959 (AAS, pp. 204-05), the Pontiff delivered the first radio message to Japan from V.atican City Radio, urging Japanese Catholics to greater sanctity in their lives. Miscellaneous Documents A decree of the Sacred Consistorial Congregation, dated February 28, 1959 (AAS, pp. 272-74), provides that a~l military vicars should make an ad limina visit to Rome every five years. In a special document of February 18, 1959 (AAS, p. 228), the Holy Father appointed the members of a Commission to organize the coming diocesan synod of Rome. By the apostolic letter, Boni pastoris, February 22, 1959 (AAS, pp. 183-87), John XXIII set up new norms to govern the activity of the Pontifical Commission for Motion Pictures, Radio, and Television. On March 6, 1959 (AAS, p. 271), the Holy Office prohibited the diffu-sion of all representations and writings which present the devotion to the Divine Mercy according to the forms proposed by Sister Faustina Kowalska; the removal of any such representations which may already be exposed for worship was left to the prudence of the bishops. On April 4, 1959 (AAS, pp. 271-72), the same Holy Office forbade Cathohcs to vote for candidates who are associated with Communists and who favor them in their way of acting. In a special radio message of April 27, 1959 (AAS, pp. 314-16), the Holy Father requested prayers during the month of May for the success of the projected General Council. 299 Views, News, Previews ST. CHARLES of Sezze, one of the two saints whose canonizations are noted in this issue's "Survey of Roman Documents," was born in 1613 in the small town of Sezze, Italy, a few miles to the south of Rome. Born Giancarlo Macchione, he received only a rudi-mentary education which taught him to read and to write; at the age of twenty-two he was received, against the wishes ~of his relatives, into the novitiate of the Roman Franciscan Province and was given the name of Charles. After his profession he was appointed to various houses of his province and was finally stationed in Rome at San Fran-cesco a Ripa where he continued to live until his death. Outwardly he led the humblest kind of life, being employed as gardener, cook, sacristan, and beggar for the community. Inwardly, however, he led a life of sublime mysticism. He was the recipient of many extraordinary mystical graces: visions, transverberations, intuitive knowl.edge of con-sciences. To Alexander VII, Clement IX, Clement X, and Clement XI he predicted their election to the papacy. The trials of his life ~vere comparable to his privileges. He was subject to intense interior desola-tion;" God also allowed him to be tried by vehement passions, especially those of anger and lust; and apparently it was only his practice of severe and continued penance that permitted him to persevere in the path of ~anctity in spite of the temptations to which his passions led. At the order of his superiors he composed in prose and verse a consider-able number of spiritual writings which are characterized by a style as simple as it is profound. A few of these writings have appeared in printing, but the great majority of them remain unpublished. St. Charles died on January 6, 1670; he was beatified two centuries later by Leo XIII; according to the decree of canonization the commemoration of St. Charles is to be made on January 6. St. Juana Joaquina de Vedruna de Mas, the second of the two saints mentioned in this issue's "Survey of Roman Documents," was born at Barcelona, Spain, on April 16, 1783, to a family both pious and well-to-do. Even as a young child she was the recipient of many signal graces, not the least of which was the ability to see God in all the events that happened to her. At an early age, she felt drawn to the religions life and at twelve she expressed a wish to join the Carmelites. Religious life, however, was not yet in God's plans for her; and at the age of six-teen she married a Barcelona lawyer, Theodore de Mas. Nine children were born to the marriage, six of whom later became religions. During her years of marriage, St. Joaquina showed herself a model wife and mother. When Napoleon invaded Spain, Joaquina and her children 300 VIEWS, NEWS, PREVIEWS were forced to flee from their home, while Theodore fought with the Spanish troops to repulse the invader. Soon after peace was established, Theodore died, worn out and exhausted by the hardships of the cam-paign against the Napoleonic invasion. Widowed at the age of thirty-three, Joaquina devoted herself to the care of her children. After they were raised and provided for, the desire for religious life reasserted it-self once more; and at the advice of a Capu.chin father she founded a new congregation, the Carmelite sisters of Charity. The purpose of the new institute was to educate the daughters of poor families and to care for the aged. At the time of the foundation of the institute St. Joaquina was forty-three. The rest of her life was largely occupied with the train-ing of her daughters in religion. Courage, humility, work, and joy were the characteristic qualities she wished to see in her religions. Her own spiritual life was characterized by an ardent devotion to the Most Blessed Trinity as well as by the practice of heavy penances. She died in Barcelona on August 28, 1854; at the time of her death her congrega-tion totaled twenty-~ven honses. St. Joaquina's cause was introduced on January 13, 1920, and she was beatified on May 19, 1940. Her feast is to be kept on August 28. The last command of Christ before He ascended into heaven was, according to Mark 16:15, "Go into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature." The command thns laid upon the whole Church through the Apostles should have special meaning for religions who have bound themselves to be the perfect followers of Christ. For this reason it is salutary to reflect on how much is still to be done before the gospel is preached to every creature. Of the 2,684,660,000 persons in the world professing a religion, only a little more than 31% are Chris-tians, while not quite 19% are Catholics. Even more sobering is the realization that only 47 % of the world's religions population is mono-theistic, the larger part of the human race being polytheistic, pantheis-tic, or the like. Missionary activity, then, must continue to be one of the primary activities of the Church and it is to be expected that as in the past religions will make that activity one of their chief preoccupa-tions. Inforrnations catholiques internationales for June 1, 1959, contains a valuable, country-by-country survey of vocations to the priesthood in Europe today. According to this survey Spain, which in 1769 pos-sessed 65,823 priests, now has only 23,372. In relation to Spain's total population, there is one priest for every 1,264 inhabitants; in this con-nection, however, it should be remembered that most of Spain's priests are massed in the northern part of the country, the southern part be- 301 VIEWS, NEWS, PREVIEWS ing decidedly lacking in priests and vocations. A survey made in Spanish seminaries during the years 1952-1957 showed that 30% abandoned their seminary studies during that time. Of all the European countries Portugal is worse off with regard to priests and vocations, having but one priest for every 1,773 inhabitants. The loss in seminaries in Por-tugal is high; only about 20% of those entering seminaries persevere in their studies and are ordained. Ireland is exceptionally well off, for it has one priest for every 593 inhabitants; it should also be noted that esch year for every Irish priest ordained for work in Ireland itself, another Irish priest is ordained for work in countries other than Ire-land. England with a total of 7,040 priests has one priest for every 1,214 Catholics. A notable characteristic of English vocations is the large number of late vocations. Holland is well off with regard to priests, having one priest for every 480 Catholics; since, however, most of these priests are not engaged in parish work, the actual working ratio is one priest in parish work for every 1,220 Catholics. It should also be noted that Dutch religious priests constitute 13% of the total number of priests in missionary work. Perseverance in seminary studies is a prob-lem in Holland; in 1925, 5~)% of those entering seminaries were ordained; at the present time, however, that percentage is down to.25 %. Belgium has one priest for every 878 inhabitants and has 30 vocations to the priesthood for every .10,000 population. West Germany has but one priest for every 1,568 Catholics; it consequently needs priests badly but an increase in vocations does not seem likely in the near future. Austria too needs priests, having but one priest in ministerial work for every 1,439 Catholics; it has been estimated that the country needs 1,700 more priests to adequately meet its needs. Italy possesses 1 priest for every 1,008 inhabitants, but the priests are badly distributed. North Italy has many priests, while the southern part needs a large increase in them. 70% of those beginning seminary studies drop out of the seminaries before ordination; moreover the age level of Italian priests is high, 55 % Of them being over 50 years of age. 302 uestions nswers [The following answers are given by Father Joseph F. Gallen, S.J., professor of canon law at Woodstock College, Woodstock, Maryland.] You have often said that it is the sense of canon law, the mind and will of the Holy See, and the doctrine of authors that a diocesan congregation should become pontifical. I ha~e heard others either refuse to accept or deny this bpinion. In anticipation of this objection, I carefully refrained from stating my own opinion in an article on this matter and explained the question from the opinion of others (R~.vx~.w FOR R~.LIGXOUS, 9 [1950], 63-68). The conclusion of the article is pertinent to the present objection. "The reader is now in a position to give his own answers to the questions of this article. These answers should be based primarily on the mind and will of the Holy See and on the common opinion in the Church. If the will of the Holy See is evident with regard to any action, arguments in favor of or contrary to that action are simply a matter of indifference." This question is outside the field of personal opinion, since the Holy See every five years asks a diocesan congregation in effect: "Have you or do you intend to make a petition for pontifical approval, and if not, why not (Quinquennial Report, n. 4)?" Father Gambari, an official of the Sacred Congregation of Religions, was recently asked the same question and replied: "Yes, indeed, it is the mind of the Holy See that the diocesan communities which have the conditions required become pontifical. Diocesdn character is only a stage of preparation for the pontifical character . The mind of the Church is that diocesan communities become papal, so they must be connected with the Holy See directly rather than to the Holy See through different bishops (1957 Sisters' Institute of Spirituality, 155)." What do we get out of becoming pontifical? This question or objection is now being proposed quite frequently. My conjecture is that the objection has its source in the unwillingness to abandon the false opinion that diocesan status is permanent and definitive, whereas it is only initial,' temporary, and probationary. The objection is founded on the profit motive, which has its legitimate place but not against the expressed will of the Ho!y See. The intrinsic arguments for pontifical approval were also given in the article cited in the preceding question, from which I quote the following: "The intrinsic arguments for seeking papal approval emphasized by the authors cited above are: (1) the government and the constitutions of the institute 303 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review for Religious receive a greater authority; (2) the central and internal government becomes stronger; (3) the unity ~f'government, spirit, and ministries of the institute is preserved; (4) the institute is endowed with a greater stability and is thus better able to preserve its original nature and accomplish its original 'purpose; (5) the life and government of the institute become more ,autonomous; (6) the institute has a greater liberty of diffusion and thus of increase. To these can be added: (7) the more autonomous character of the institute naturally begets, a greater internal initiative; (8) the immediate subjection to the Head of all Christendom and the wider diffusion of the institute are more apt to engender the universal viewpoint of the Holy See; (9) the constitutions approved by the Holy See and examined and corrected by specialists will very likely possess a greater excellence and utility." (REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, 9 {1950], 68) Are more American diocesan congregations becoming pontifical? The answer is slowly and cautiously in the affirmative. As will appear from the figures given below, 1957 was a more optimistic year. These figures are taken from the unofficial publication, L'Attivit~ della Santa Sede. They are evidently incomplete. This publication gives the names of the institutes that were approved. The ages of the twelve American congregations that received their first pontifical approval are very interesting. Their foundation dates, as given in popular manuals, put them in two distinct classes, the very old, and the rest; but not all of the latter are very young (18"33, 1842, 1854, 1858, 1858, 1859, 1859, 1864 and 1902, 1916, 1918, 1929). The average age of the former group is 106 years. We have given the conditions necessary for pontifical approval at least twice in the past and we quote them again. " . . . a diocesan congregation should not delay its petition for pontifical ap-proval until it has the size that admits or demands a division into provinces. Unless special difficulties exist against this petition, and such difficulties must be explained to the Sacred Congregation, the diocesan institute should request papal approbation as soon as the necessary conditions are verified. These are: a) the congregation by a sufficient test of time should have given proof of stability, religious observance, piety, and spiritual profit of its works; b) it is sufficient that the con-gregation number one hundred and fifty members. It is not required that the congregation have houses in more than one diocese." (REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, 11 [1952], 14; 12 [1953], 253), These conditions demand merely that the diocesan congregation have grown to a vigorous youth. Pontifical approval is not to be requested in the weakness of infancy nor in the uncertainties of childhood, but we are not to conceive pontifical approval as a refuge for the aged nor as a geriatric stimulant. 304 September, 1959 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Decree of Praise Total United States Definitive Approbation Total United States 1943 9 0 -- -- 1948' 5 0 5 0 1950 7 0 14 1 1951 9 2 -- -- 1953 8 1 3 0 1954 3 1 3 1 1955 1 0 2 0 1956 6 2 3 1 1957 24 6 18 2 72 12 48 5 Something strange, at least in my opinion, occurs at times in relation to our local and provincial chapters. A local superior will preside at the election of the delegate and substitutes in his house; and yet, because his term of office has expired, he himself will not be a member of the provincial chapter. The same thing happens to a provincial when his term expires after the provincial but before the general chapter. Am I right in thinking these occurrences strange? If so, how can they be avoided? An ex officio member of a chapter loses his membership if he no longer holds the same position at the beginning of a chapter; for example, a brother provincial who has ceased to. hold that office, even if only after the provincial chapter, is evidently not an ex officio member of the general chapter. The new brother provincial is, since he holds the office to which the ex officio membership is attached. This is also ob-viously true of a local superior when an ex officio membership is attached to this office. It is not contradictory but at least somewhat incongruous that an elected delegate from a house would ente.r a general or provincial chapter as a delegate of a house after he had been transferred from it. The same thing is true of a delegate of a territorial group. It would be almost equally incongruous to transfer religious, from houses or territories of groups after the convocation of a general or provincial chapter and before the completion of the house or group election of delegates. Such transfers would make it more difficult for the religious to know thos,e qualified as delegate~. All transfers of superiors or subjects of this nature could also expose the higher superior to the suspicion of self-interest or intrigue. ~here is no law of the code nor any general practice of the Holy See on this matter. The following minimum legislation would be necessary in the constitutions to avoid the situations described above. (a) From the date of the convocation of the general chapter until its completion, 305 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Review [or Religious no provincial may be changed from his cffi~e. If his term expires during this interval, it is extended automatically by the law of the constitutions until after the general chapter. (b) The same law is to be enacted for local superiors when ex officio membership is attached to this office and if there are no provinces; if there are provinces, the law extends only to the completion of the provincial chapter. (c) .Elected delegates and substitutes are not to be transferred after their election from the house or territory of the group. This extends also to a removal of local superiors elected as either delegates or substitutes in other groupings. (d) After the convocation of the general chapter and until the local chapters are completed, religious are not to be transferred, except for an urgent reason, from one house to another or, when territorial groups are in use, from one territory to another. Such legislation is contained in the constitutions of some lay insti-tutes. Usually it goes beyond the minimum norms and forbids the change of any superior or religious from the date of convocation until the close of the general chapter, either absolutely or outside of necessary and urgent cases, for example: "From the date of convocation of the chapter, the transferring of religious or superiors from one house to another is p.ermitted only for grave reasons, approved as such by the general council. The same holds for the deposition of superiors." Such norms may also be contained in the customs; and, if they exist neither in the constitutions nor customs, at least the minimum norms given above should be followed as principles of prudent government. The avoidance of such situations is a sufficient reason for the competent higher superior to prolong the term of a provincial or local superior, since the Holy See itself admits the sufficiency of this reason in approving constitutions. In our pontifical institute of simple vows, all the religious pro-fessed of perpetual vows are members of the general chapter. In the reply to our quinquennial report, the Holy See told us to institute a system of delegates. We do not want delegates; we wish to retain our' vote. What are we to do? There can be no objective obscurity or confusion as to what you are to do when the Holy See has told you what to do~ As stated before in the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, there are published corrections of constitutions which show that the Holy See was demanding a system of delegates at least as far back as 1887. The purpose of a system of delegates is to secure competent membership from the entire institute but to confine~ the chapter within a workable and efficient number of members. A system of delegates is also necessary now for the general and regional chapters of nuns. The necessity of delegates was explained and em-phasized in the REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, 10 (1951), 187-90. 306 September, 1959 QOESTIONS AND ANSWERS Our pontifical congregation is not divided into provinces, but we are considering such h division. How many members would each provinc'e send to the general chapter? If we decide rather to include a division into'regions~ in our constitutions, how many members would each region send to the general chapter? In institutes divided into provinces, the provincial is a member of the general chapter in virtue of his office. This is true also of the superiors of vice-provinces, quasi-provinces, regions, and vicariates. The elected delegates from a province to the general chapter are almost universally two, most rarely three or four; and they are practically always elected in a provincial chapter. The Holy See has approved, even recently, variations of this norm, for example: "one or two delegates according as the province has less or more than a hundred members"; "one delegate for each province but two delegates for any province that exceeds three hundred." The practice on delegates from vice-provinces, quasi-provinces, regions, and vicariates varies. In some constitutions, they are given no delegates; in others all are granted one or two; and in some institutes one or two according to the number of professed religious in the territory, for example, one delegate if there are less than forty religious, two if forty or more. At summer school this year, a religious was complaining of the fact that a very large house sent only the same number of delegates to the general chapter, e.g., a house of twelve would have the same representation as a house of seventy-five. I brought out the fact that, according to our constitutions, a house sends one delegate for every twelve professed members. Why don't all institutes have this fair norm? Both of the institutes in question h

Issue 10.3 of the Review for Religious, 1951. ; Blesssed Claude Colombiere and Devotion !:he Sacre bleart: C. A. Herbst, S.d. 44~rHIS is he whom. I send thee." Margaret Mary heard these | words interiorly as she sat listening to the first instruction Father Claude de la Colombi~re gave the Visitandine com-munity at Paray-le-Monial towards the end of February, 1675. Here was the fulfillment of a promise. Our Lord had appeared many times, asking her to promote devotion to His Sacred Heart. Over-whelmed at the thought, "My sovereign Master had promised me shortly after I had consecrated myself to Him that He would send: me one of His servants, to whom He wished me to make known'. according to the knowledge He would give me thereof, all the treas-ures and secrets of His Sacred Heart which He had confided to.me. H~ added that He sent him to reassure me with regard to my interior way, and that He would impart to him signal graces from His Sacred Heart, showering them abundantly over our interviews." (Autobiography of St. Margaret Mary, .Visitation Library, 1930. No. 80.) That the Sacred Heart, the heart of Margaret Mary, and the heart of the young Jesuit should be united in love, Our Lord. showed the Saint in a vision. "As I went up to receive Him in Holy Com-munion, He showed His Sacred Heart as a burning furnace, and two 6ther hearts were on the point of uniting themselves to It, and of being absorbed therein. At the same time He said to me: 'It is thus My pure love unites these three hearts for ever.' He afterwards gave me to understand that this union was all for the glory of Hi,s Sacred Heart, the"treasures of Which He wished me to reveal to him that he might spread them abroad, and make known to others their value and utility. To this end He wished we should be brother and sister, sharing equally these spiritual treasures." (Ibid., No. 82.) The Extraordinary Confessor "'So it was according to a very special providence of God that Father Colombi~re was appointed superior of the small Jesuit com-munity in Paray ~arly in 1675. Our Lord wanted him to bethe sympathetic, enlightened, and fearless director of Margaret Mary and 1'13 C. A. HERBST Review for Religious the first public promoter of devotion to His Sacred Heart. Named extraordinary confessor to the convent, he came on the Lenten Ember Days towards the beginn{ng of March, .1675. Margaret Mary herself relatds what took place on that occasion. "Although .we had never either seen or spoken with each other, the Reverend Father kept me a very long time and spoke with me as though he understood what was passing within me. But I would not in any way ope, n my heart to him just then, and, seeing that I wished to withdraw for fear of. inconveniencing the community, he asked me if I would allow him to come and speak with me again in tl~is same place~ But in my natural timidity which shrank from all such communications, I re- .plied that, not being~ at my own disposal, I would dO whatever obedience ordered me. I'then withdrew having remained with him about an hour and a half." (Ibid., No. 80.) She was still timid, uncertain, afraid. But shortly after, her superior, M~re de Saumaise, "having had him return, ordered our virtuous sister to talk to him, in order to reassure herself as to what was taking place in her" (Gauthey, Vie et Oeuores, ~i, 133). Mar-garet Mary continues: "Before long he again returned, and although I kn~w it to be the Will of God that I should speak with him,, I nevertheless felt an extreme repugnance to be oblig(d.to do so. I'told him so at once. He replied that"he was very pleased to have given me an opportunity of making a sacrifice to God. Then, without trouble~or method, I opened my heart and made known to him my inmost soul, both the good and bad; ,whereupon he greatly consoled me, ~issuring me that there was nothing to fear in, the guidafice~of that Spirit, since It did not withdraw me from obedience; that I ought to follow Its movements, abandoning to It my whole being, sacrificing arid :imhaol~i~ myself according to Its good pleasure . Having mentioned some of the more special favors and .expressions of love which I received from this Beloved of my soul, arid which I refrain from describing here, he said that ~n all ~his, I had great cause to humble .myself and to admire the mercy of God in my regard." (Autobio~rapby~ No. 81.) First Dis'closure This was the first time she had ever told anyone of the revela-tions of the Sacred Heart to her. "I assure you," .she wrote later, "that it was to this good Father that I made the first disclosure. My sovereigri Master ordered m~ to do so. He showered on him on this 114 ' Mag, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE occasion more graces than He had ever given him before." (Vie et Oeuvres, II, 543.) ~ But humiliations came, too. "The Reverend Father himself had much to suffer on my account. For it was said that I wanted to deceive him and mislead him by my illusions, as I had done others. He was, however, in no way troubled by what was said. but con-tinued none the less to help me, not Only during the short time he remained in this town, but always. Many a time I have been sur-prised that he did not abandon me as others had done, for the way in which I acted towards him v~ould have repulsed any other." (Autobiography, No. 81.) Here indeed was put to the test the promise ~he had made to God of never doing or omitting through human respect anything that he thought to be' for the glory of God. Behold This Heart In June, 1675. during the octave of Corpt~s Christi, Our Lord made the last great revelation of His Sacred Heart to Margaret Mary. "Behold this Heart, Which has loved men so much. that It has spared nothing, even to exhhusting and consuming Itself, in 6rder to testify to ~hem Its love: and in return I receive from the greater ~number nothing but i.ngrati~ude by reason of their irreverence and sacrileges, and by the coldness and contempt which they show Me in this Sacrament of Love. But yghat I feel-the mo~t keenly is that it is hearts which are consecrated to Me that treat Me thus. Therefore, I ask of thee that the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christi be set apart for a special Feast to honour My Heart, by communikating on that day and making reparation to It by a solemn act, in order to make amends for the indignities which It has received during thb tim~, It has been e~posed on the altars. I promise thee that My Heart shall expand Itself to shed in abundance the influence of Its divine love upon those who Shall thus honour It, and cause It to be honoured." (Autobiography, No. 92.) Here was a clear statement, a bitter complaint, a definite and manifold request,-and a rich promise., And yet, what could a poor timid young nun in the cloister do about it? "'And when I replied that I knew not bow to accomplish what He bad so long desired of me, He told me to address, myself to His servant, .Wh, om He had sent me for the accomplishment of this design. Having done this, he (Father de la Colombi~re)~ ordered me to commit to writing all that I had .made known to him concerning "the Sacred Heart of Jesus, as well as several other thing,s.~whicb referred to It for the greater glory C. A. HERBST Review for Religious of God. This Was a cause of great ~omfor~ to me, as this holy man not only taught me how to correspond to His designs, but also reas-sured me in the great fear I had of being deceived which was a con-stant trouble to me."' (Ibid., No. 92.) The Guide for Falterin~l Steps So Father Colombi~re was ~be answer. He would guide her fab tering steps.and encourage her. T, he Life by' her contemporaries ex-pands the" narrative. "Address yourself to My servant, Father de la Colombi~re, Jesuit, and tell him for Me that he should do all in his power to establish this devotion and give this pleasure to My divine Heart. Let him not be discouraged by the difficulties he will en-counter, for they will not be wanting. But he should know that he is all-powerful who, putting off confidence in self, trusts i,mplicitly in Me." (Vie et Oeuvres, I, 138, 13.9.) It takes great courage and great spiritual insight to guide a mystic soul, especially when a riew devotion is to be introduced into the world through this soul. But "Father de la Colombi~re was a man of fine discernment. 'He was riot a man to g!ve credence to anything easily. But he had too striking proofs of the solid virtue of the per-son who was speaking to him to have the slightest fear of delusion in this matter. He accordingly took' up at once the ministry whikh God had just committed to him. In order to acquit himself of it effectively and perfectly, be decided to begin with himself. He ac-cordingly consecrated himself (together with Margaret Mary and only~ a few days aft+r the great apparition) completely to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. He offered It everything in himself he thought capable of honoring an'd pleasing It. The extraordinary graces Which he received from this practice soon confirmed him in the esteem which he already bad of tbeimp6rtance and solidity of this devotion." (Ibid.) These Three Hearts Thus it was that "My pure love t~nites these three hearts for ever." M~rgaret Mary and Father Colombi~re bad truly become "brother and sister, sharing equally these spiritual treasures." But he must spread tl~e fire, too, as much as his little world and the 'short time allowed. "Though. he remained but a short time in the town, he never ceased inculcating this devotion in all his spiritual daugh-ters. He had them receive holy Communion in honor of the Sacred Heart on the Friday after the Octave of Corpus Christ." (Ibid., 116 Ma~l, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE 138, 139.) His apostola~te would become more extensive in another land. Late in the summer of 1676 Father Colombi~re was sent by his sunperiors to England to be confessor to th.e eighteen-year-old Mary of Modena, Duchess of York. He 'left Paray towards the latter part of September. Naturally, Margaret Mary.could not but have a sense of foreboding and feel the loss-of him very much, but Christ's "my grace is sufficient for thee" of another day brought her the same courage and strength it did St. Paul. "I received this blow with perfe.ct submission-to the Will of God, Who had allowed him to be of such use to me during the short time he had been here. When I ventured afterwards to reflect upon my loss, my Divine Master forth-with reproved me, saying: 'What! am I not sufficient for thee, I Who am thy beginning ~and thy last end?' This sufficed to make me abandon all to Him, for I was convined that He would not fail to provide me with'everything that was necessary." (Autobiographg, No. 93.) A Threefold Warning Before leaving Paray, a note from her was handed Father Co-" lombi~re. It contained a three-fold warning from heaven for him who was truly going to be a sheep among wolves. "1. Father de la Colombi~re's talent is to lead souls to God; therefore the devils-will do all in their power against him. He will meet with trouble,~ even from persons consecrated to God, who will not approve of what he says in his sermons t"o convert them; but in these crosses the goodness of God will be his support, so .long as he continu,es to trust in Him. 2. He must have a compassionate gentleness for si~nners, and only use severe measures when especially inspired by God to do so. 3. Let him be particularly careful not to separate good,from its source. ~This sentence is shortl but contains much which God will enable him to understand according to the diligence with 'which he applies himself to find its meaning." (Sister Mary Philip,,A Jesuit at the English Court, 115.) J , He accepted this note a~ a message from heaven. Although contained almost as many mysteries as it did words," he would be shown in his London retreat during the second half of January, 1677, its immediate and immensely~practical and detailed usefulness. "Truly," he ~wrote February 7, 1677, "Our Lord left nothing more to be said. There was (in that note) saving advic@ against all the evils that could befall me" (Vie et Oeuvres, I, 142). "These were " 1 17 C. A. HERBSr Review ior Religious counsels to fit p~sent circumstances and°'remedies against thoughts and plans that were troubling me and that were Very much opposed to those of God" (Ibid.). And later: "That helped very much to steady me. For I was tempted to abandon everything for fear of an outburst which might give scandal and wound charity" (Ibid.; 143). "The'note from Sister Alacoque strengthens me very much and gives me reassurance in a thousand doubts which come to me every~day" (Ibid., 144). It is x;ery clear that a few enlightened,words from Margaret Mary were helping her director to make his soul ready to be a great apostle of the Sacred Heart. Colorobi~re's Consecration By the time his retreat of 1677 ended, Father Colombibre was prepared to give himself over' fully and solemnly to the Sacred Heart. Six months before at Paray he had consecrated himself in a simple way to that Heart.' Since then, much light and. many graces had come to him. Under the influence of these he had slowly and care-fully, determined that, from now,on~ his life would be c6mplet'ely "dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "This offering is made' in order to honour that Divine Heart, 'the seat of all virtues, the source¯ ¯ of all blessings, and the refuge of all holy souls . In reparation 'f~r so many outrages and for such cruel ingratitude, most adorable and amiable Heart of Jesus, and to avoid as far as I can such a mis-fortune, I offer .to Thee my heart, with all its movements. I give myself entirely to Thee, and henceforth I protest most sincerely that I desire to forget myself and all that. relates to me, in order to remove any obstacle which might impede an entrance into this Divine Heart, which Thou hast the goodness to open to me, and into which I hope: to enter, to live. and die there with Thy most faithful servants, penetrated and inflamed with Thy~love. I offer to this H~art all the 'merit and all the satisfaction of all the Masses, pkayers, acts of mortification, religious practices, acts of zeal, of humility, of obedience, and of all the other virtues which I shall practise until the. last moment of my life. I do so not only to honour the Heart'of Jesus and its admirable dispositions, but I also humbly beg Him to accept the entire oblation which I make to Him, to dispose of it ,in the manner which shall please Him, and in favour of whom pleases . " (A Jesuit of the E.nglish Court; 125, 1"26.) His offering and his retreat end with a prayer to the Sacred Heart. "Sacred Heart of Jesus, teach me perfect forgetfulness of self, since 118 M a~ , 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE , this is~the only way one can enter into Thee. Since everyth!ng.I shall do in the future will be Thine. grant that I may do nothing unworthy of Thee. Teach me what I'must do to obtain pule love for Thee. that pure love for which Thou ha~t inspired the desire in me. I feel within me a great desire of pleasing Thee and an even greater powerlessness of doing so without very special light and help. These I can obtain only from Thee. Do all Thy will in me. 0 Lord. I well know that I oppose,It, but I'earnestl~ desire not to do so. "Thou must do everything, divine Heart of Jesus. and oTbou alone shalt have all the glory of my sanctification if I-become holy. That appears to me as clear as day. All this will. bring gr~at glory to Thee, and it is for that alone that I desire to be perfect.Amen." (A. Haman, Histoire de la D~votion au Sacr~ Coeur, III. 296) The apostle was now immolated to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus. The apostle at once set to work. He wrote from London soon after: "I knew that God wanted me to serve Him by obtaining the accomplisbment of His designs with regard to the devotion which He has revealed to a person He communicates with very intimately. For this it has pleased Him to make use of my weakness. I have alreadY, inspired many people in England with it. I have also written of it to France and asked one of my friends to spread it in the place where he is. This devotion will be very useful there, and the great number of chosen souls in this community leads me to think that its practke in that fervent house will be very pleasing to God." (Georges Guit-ton, Le Bienbeureux Claude La Co[ombi~re, 444.) First Sermon on Sacred Heart March 24, 1677, the third Wednesday of. Lent and th%~ve, of the feast of the Annunciation, Father Colombi~re thought the hour bad come for him to speak publicly of devotion to the Sacre, d Heart, In his sermon, On .the Patience of Jesus'Suffering, he invited his hearers in St. James palace: "Let.us enter into the Heart of the Son of God and see what are Its sentiments with regard to His enemies. .They are sentiments of indescribable sweetness. Note their various degrees and effects. All He suffers from His persecutors does not pre-vent Him from excusing them. He knows they are acting through ignorance, and no matter how great .their envy, human respect, self interest, barred, pride, injustice, and the intensity of their wrath, this Heart, full of goodness, is eager rather to excuse and diminish the 'gravity oftheir sin than to make them more guilty . .~. Jesus.not 119 C. A. HERBST Reuieto for Religious only excuses His executioners. He is moved with deep compassion for them. He bewails their blindness and the evils they are drawing on themselves. - He says in His Hearti 'If thou didst but. know in this thy day the things that are to thy peace.' He knows that the evils that befall Him are scarcely evils'at all compared with theirs. 'Weep not over Me ' Jesus is moved with love for His enemies. , He feels a real and efficacious compassion for them. He prays for them, He suffers for them, He suffers for them with tenderness. He wishes to save them, and He does so. His prayer, is not in vain. These same souls are the ones converted by the sermon of St. Peter . Let the Heart of Jesus be our teacher, our school. Let us make our abode in this Heart during this Lent. Let us study Its every movement and endeavor to conform ours to them. Yes, divine Jesus, i want to live in this Heart. I want to pour all my bitterness into It. TlSere it will be consumed. I do not fear that impatience will attack me in this place Of refuge. There in perfect security I shall exercise myself in.silence, in resignation to the divine will, in invin-cible constancy. Every day I shall offer prayers of thanksgiving for the crosses Thou sendest me and ask Thee to give grace to those who persecute me . " (Oeuvres du R. P. Claude de la Cotombi~re, VI, '249-251.) ~ This was the first sermon ever preached on devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in its modern form. It is remarkable how it re-echoes the virtues expressly mentioned by Our Lord as characteristic of His Heart the one and only time He expressly mentions that Heart in the gospels: "Learn of me, because I am meek and humble of heart" (Matt. I 1:29). Around this same theme and these same sweet and consolii~g words ~3f Christ the Church has built one of h~r most. poPular and' practical p~rayers to th,e SaCred Heart: "Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make my heart like unto Thine." English Queen's Request 4. Father Colombi~re remained two years in London. There he continued, in public and in private, to promote devotion to the Sacred Heart. The prime object of his zeal naturally would be his spiritual child, Mary, Duchess of York, later (1.685-1688) Queen ¯ of England as wife of James II. She was the first royal conquest for the devotion. Exiled after 1688 and living in France, ~he was the first royal personage to petition the Holy Father for the establish-ment of a solemn feast in honor of the Sacred Heart.of Jesus, for 1~20 May, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE which Our Lord Himself had:asked. A feast'in honor of the Sacred Heart was not granted because of the many difficulties of the times, but on March 30, 1697 "the Sacred Congregation of Rites, in response to the~urgent request of Her Most Serene Maiesty, Mary, Queen of England, has graciously grar~ted the Nuns of the ~Visitation of the Most Blessed ,Virgin of St. Francis de Sales that in their churches each. year on the Friday following the octave of Corpus Christi not only priests attached to their churches but others also coming there on this day may celebrate the Mass of the Five Wounds of Jesus Christ." His Holiness, Innocent XII, approved.this decree April 3, 1697. ( Histoire de la D~votion art Sacr~ Coeur, III, 375.) Not until 1765 was a Mass of the Sacred Heart approved. In 1856 it was extended to'the whole Church and in 1929 raised to the rank - of a feast of the first class. Accused in England of taking part in a conspiracy, the queen's chaplain was arrested and imprisoned about the middle of November, 1678, and "exiled" to France. Ill and very weak from tuberculosis and imprisonment he passed through FranCe in slow stages, arriving in Dijon about the end of January. There his old friend from Paray, M~re de Saumaise, was mistress of the Visitandine novices. He bad to address them, of course. One of them, Sister Jeanne- Madeleine Joly, wbuld one day compose the first collection of prac-tices of piety in honor of the Sacred Heart and make one .of the first images of It. He told ~this Sister: "Anyone striving to spread this devotion will do a wonderful work for the glory of God." Sojourn at Paray Early in January, 1679, he had order0d Margaret Mary by letter to make to the Sacred Heart "a testament or donation without re-serve, in writing, of all that she could do or suffer, of all the prayers and spiritual goods anyone should offer for her during her life and after her ,death" (Vie et Oettt;res, I, 172). Father Colombi~re himsclf was to sign this if her superior refused. Towards the end Of Febru-ary he appeared in Paray in person, and spent ten' happy and fruit-ful days there, reassuring Margaret Mary and her new superior, M~re Greyfi~, with regard to the revelations of the Sac~ed Heart. When he arrived at Lyons March 23, he wrote "Our Lord taught me some days ago to make Him a sacrifice even greater still: to be de-termined to do nothing at all, if that be His will." While. taking his native air in the country at Saint-Symphorien ,121 C;. A. HERBST Review/:or Religious he wrote, as June 1, I679, feast of ~Corpus Christi, approached, to the superioress of the Visitation at.CharoHes: "I am writing you today only to urge you to have your whole commuhity~ make a special Communion, the day after the octave of Corpus Christi, not for my intention, but to make reparation, as far as lies in your power, for all the irreverences committed a.gainst Jesus Christ d_uring the whole octave He is exposed on our altars throughout the Chris-tian world. I assure you that this manifestation of love will draw down great blessings upon you. I advise you to continue this prac-tice all your life." (Le Bienheureux Claude La Colombi&e. 624.) He had hardly returned to Lyons at the end of May when he wrote his sister Elizabeth: "This practice was recommended to me by a persom of extraordinary piety. She assured me that all,those who ,gave Our Lord this mark of love would draw great profit" from it, Try gently to draw your friends to do the same thing. I'hope more communities will begin this devotion this year and continue it . always." (Ibid.) 'His Stairi~ual Son, Father Galliffet Somewhat recovered," Father Colombi~re was made spiritual father to some sixteen young Jesuits studying at Lyons during the two scholastic years 1679-1681. In one of these, Joseph de Galliffet. he,was to llve again. This man's great spiritul influence, knowledge of tbeolbgy, and gentle persevering way in spreading devotion to the Sacred Heart were to overcome many an obstacle put in its way. Half a century later, in the preface to his book, The Excellence of the Devotion to the Adorable Heart of Jesus Christ, he wrote: "In 1680, on leaving the noviciate, I had the good fortune of coming under the spiritual direction of Reverend Father Claude la Colombi~re, the director God had given Mother Margaret, then still living. It is from this servant of God that 'I received my first instructions on the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. I began then to appre-ciate and love it." F~ther Galliffet's book, still a classic on dev, otion to the Sacred Heart, is the voice of Father Colombi~re coming down to us through the years. He was removed from Lyons, very ill and weak, to Pa.ray in August, 1681. Naturally, he communicated with Margaret Mary. About November first.he writes: "Our Lord told her that, if I were well, I would glorify Him by my zeal, but that now, being ill, He is glorifying Himself in me." But Paray was no place for the sick 122 May, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE man either, so his brother sent a corn, fortable carriage to remove him to Vienne. It was January 29, the feast of St. Francis de Sales, a day dear to both himself and Sister Margaret. A note came from her: he should not leave Paray if he could remain without being dis-obedient. In writing he asked why: in writing he received an an answer. He stayed. Of what happened the next ten days we know nothing. Febru-ary 15, 1682,'at seven o'clock in the evening, he died of a violent hemorrhage. He was forty-two years of age, had been a Jesuit twenty-two years. At five o'clock next. morning a friend carried the news of his death to Margaret Mary. "Pray for him, and get Others to pray for him," she said. But at ten~o'clock the sarrie morning she sent a note: "Weep no longer. Pray to him. Fear nothing. He is more powerful to help you now than ~ver." Sister Margaret begged her friend to do all in her power to get back the last note she had sent Father Colombi~re. But the Jesuit :superior absolutely refused to surrender it, saying he had rather hand over all the archives of the house. To explain, he read it to her. "He has told me that it is here He wishes the sacrifice of your life," it said (Vie et Oeuores, I, 499). The Sacked Heart wanted His "faithful servant and p,erfect friend" tomremain always in Paray. The Retreat Brings Deootion to the Public The Retreat Father Colombi~re made in London in 1677 was published two years after his death. It became at once the great in-strument for promoting the devotion to the Sacred Heart, as it con-tained the great revelation "Behold this Heart . " and his act of consecration and prayer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His sanctity threw a halo around the devotion Sister ,Margaret"was trying to propagate, and his words that the revelatiofl was made "to a person with whom He communicates very intimately" pointed clearly to her. To her great humiliation, the Retreat was read in the dining room at Paray, but that removed prejudice against the devotion there. She concealed herself behind the Retreat. "We found this devotion in the book of the retreat of ReverendFather Colombi~re." she.wrote, "whom everyone venerates as a saint. I do not know whether 'you know him, or if you have the book of which I am speaking. But it would give me great pleasure to send it to you." (Vie et Oeuores, IE 324, 325.) "You would scarcely believe the good effects It (th( Sacred Heart) produces in 'souls who have the good fortune to know of It through this holy man who himself was 123 C. A. HER~3ST Review for Religious altogether devoted to It and lived only to make It loved,, honored, and glorified" (1bid., 328). Devotion to the Sacred Heart "is spreading everywhere through the medium of the Retreat of Rev-erefid Father. Colombi~re (Ibid., 476). Many decades later Father de Galliffet would say of the Retreat: "It was the first means Our Lord used to make public both the .revelation and the devotion to His Sacred Heart." Colombi~re's Intercession in Heathen Father Colombi~re continues ih heaven the mission begun here on earth of propagating devotion to the Sacred Heart~ Consoling his old friend and hers in difficulties she met with in spreading the devotion, Mother Margaret wrote Mother de Saumaise: "It ought to be a great consolation to you to have so close a union with the good Father' de la Colombi~re. For by his intercession in heaven he is re-sponsible for what is being done here on earth for the glory of the Sacred Heart. Bear up courageously, therefore, under all these little contradictions." (Ibid., II., 427.) "We must address,ourselves to His faithful friend, the good Father de la Colombi~re, to whom he has given great power and to whom, so to speak, He has:handed over whatever has to do with this devotion. I assure you in confidence that-I have received great help from him, even more than when he was here on earth. For, if I am not dece!ving myself, this devotion to the Sacred Heart has made him very powerful in heaven, 9nd has raised him higher in glory than everything else he did during his whole life." (Ibid., 551.) The Society of Jesus, Father Colombi~re's order, was to have a special place in promoting devotion to the Sacred Heart. In a vision of July 2, 1688 Margaret Mary saw the Sacred Heart, the Virgin Mother, St. Francis de Sales, the Daughters of the Visitation, and Father Colombi~re. After confiding to the care of the Daughters of' Holy Mary the precious treasure of the Sacred Heart, "turning to the good Father de la Colombi~re, this mother of goodness said: 'As for you, faithful servant of my divine Son," you have a great share in this precious treasure. For if it is granted the Daughters of the. Visita-tion to know and propagate it, it is reserved to the Fathers of your Society to make its utility and value known and understood, so that all may profit by it." (Ibid., 406.) Apostle of the Sacred Heart ¯ The process for the beatification of Father Claude de la Colom-blare, of the Society of-Jesus, was begun in 1874. He was declared 124 May, 1951 BLESSED CLAUDE COLOMBII~RE Blessed in 1929. In the considered judgment of the Church he is "an outstanding champion and promoter of devotion to the most Sacred Heart of Jesus . Given as guide and master to the holy virgin, Margaret Mary Alacoque, he directed her in ,a wise and holy fashion, especially with regard to devotion,to the most august Heart of Jesus, which from the beginning had not a few adversaries. Cham-pioning and defending it, he merited to be numbered among it chief promoters and outstanding apostles." (Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 1929, 505.) Holy Church now prays: "Lord Jesus Christ, Who hast deigned to make Blessed Claude the faithful servant and outstanding lover of Thy Sacrdd Heart, grant us, through his intercession, that we may put on the virtues ~ind be inflamed with the affections of this same Sacred Heart." A prayer Sister Margaret wrote on the back of a picture of Father Claude is not so dissimilar to this. "O blessed Father Claude de la Colombi~re, I take you as my intercessor with ¯ the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ. Obtain for me from His goodness the 'grace not to resist' the designs He has on my soul, and that I may imitate perfectly the virtues of His divine Heart." (~r[e et Oeuvres,, II, 826.) BIBLIOGRAPHY Books are listed in the order in which they are cited in the article. Autobiograph'y. Life of Saint Margare~ Mary Alacoque. Written by" Herself. Translation of the Autentic French Text by the Sisters of the Visitation. Rose-lands, Walmer, Kent. Visitation Library. 1930. A small book written by Sis-ter Margaret Mary with great pain under obedience. Simple, intimate, prayerful. Gauthey, Monseigneur. Ed. Vie et Oeuvres de la Bienheureuse Marguerite Marie Alacoque. Paris. Anclenne Librairie Poussielgue. 1915. 3 volumes. Volume one contains Sister Margaret Mary's Life written by her contemporaries, documents of the process begun in 1715 for her beatification, and some minor let-ters, etc. Volume twocontains her autobiography and 140 letters written by her. Volume three contains documents concerning miracles, archives, her superiors, fam-ily and parish. The three volumes are critically edited. Philip, Sister Mary. A desuit at the English Court. London. Burns, Oates and Washbourne. 1922. An excellent and very readable llfe ot~ Blessed Claude de la Colombi~re. Chapter 17 gives the Retreat he made in London in 1677. an appendix is printed the notes of his long retreat made in his third year of pro-bation after ordination. Hamon, A. Histoire de la Ddt~otion au SacN Coeur. Paris. Beauchesne. 1928 --4 volumes (incomplete). Volume one contains a critical life of St. Margaret Mary. Volume two sketches the history of the devotion to the Sacred Heart till the sixteenth century. Volume three deals with the religious orders and outstanding men and women connected with the devotion in France during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, .especially St. orohn Eudes and St. Margaret Mary. Volume 4 outlines the difficulties the new devotion met with and its progress to 1765, when 125 C. A. HERBST ~: " the Holy See'.approved the first Mass in honor of the Sacred Heart. Volume five, still~in prepar~tlon, will ;aarrate the royal triumph., Guitton, Georges. Le Bienbeureux Claude La Colo.mbi~re. Lyon. Librairie Catholique Emmanuel Vitte. 1943. Quite a long and very critical life: he takes even Hereon to task. Quotes heavily from Blessed Claude's sermons, correspond-ence, the documents of his beatification and the archives of the Society of Jesus. Gives thorough religious and political milieu and background of his life and times. Oeuvres du R.P. Claude de la Colornbi~re de la Compagne de dEsus. Lyon. Librairie Catholique de P~risse Fr~res. 1864. 6 volumes. Contains his sermons, retreat notes, correspondence. This, of course, is the great source on which all writers draw. This is an old edition, with paper turnin~g brown, small print and hard to read, but was the only one at hand. The newer edition is by Chattier, Oeuvres Cornpl&es, Grenoble, 1900-1901, 6 volumes. Volume six of this newer edition contains the Retreat and his letters. Acta Apostolicae Sedis, Rornae, typis polyglottis Vaticanis. In this work are printed the official acts of the Hbly See and the various Roman Congregations dealing with the canonization of saints and the like. It is published serially each year. REPRINTS: SINGLE SETS We are now able to sell sets of our reprint booklets for one dollar per set. The set includes on~ copy each of these bo.~klets~ No. 1: Articles on Prayer by Father Ellard; No. 2: Articles on "Gifts to Re-ligious," by Father Ellis; No. 3: Articles on Emotiotial Maturity, Vocational Counseling and the Particular Friendship., by Father Kelly. To order these single sets, please send one dollar and ask [or one set of reprints. Please address, your. order to: The Editors, Review for Religious, St. Mary's Colle~je, St. Marys, Kansas. PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY The" subscription price of REVI'EW FOR RELIGIOUS is now: $3.00 per year for Domestic and Canadian subscriptions: $3.35 per year for all foreign subscriptions. For further details-please see inside back cover. ~ 126 Franciscan Spiri ualit:y Alexander Wyse, O.F.M. THE personality of Francis of Assisi was at once so singular, so attractive and so powerful that' today, seven and a quarter cen- " turies after his death, it truthfully is as familiar to the world as that of many living notables. His charm is perennial, his in-fluence seemingly indestructible, his life the subject of an exhaustless series of studies. But this persevering popularity is not merely the result of the unusually felicitous biographies that, even from his very age, have not ceased to paint and interpret his life. While he has indeed had the good fortune of a long train of articulate, admirers --some nai've, others penetrating; some objective, more partisan-- his fame rests clearly on the captivating force of his individual char-acter, on the strength of his personal winsomeness. His clients.may contribute to his undying reputation--but they bare success only because Francis himself is too living a figure ever to die. The Influence of St: Francis This fact is fundamental to a consideration of the specific nature of Franciscan spirituality, because in a sense and a measure perhaps unparalleled in any similar instance the individuality of Francis has founded and oriented the Franciscan school. The venerable Benedictine tradition, as an example, has its own distinctive qualities, deriving from the holy Rule. As the source of Benedictinism, that is a singularly unique document--precise, .mas-terly, definitive as a provision fo~ all possible needs of monasticism: but it is not. in any comparable way, a reflection of the personality of Benedict. By contrast, Franciscan spirituality leans but lightly on the several Rules which the Poverello wrote for his friars,-his nuns, and his followers in the world.1 Rather it looks to the person 1As a matter of fact. while he properly wrote no Rule for either the Second or the Third Order he wrote successively two Rules for the First Order, the Order "of Friars Minor. This fact would bear out the contention that the Rule occupies a relatively secondary place in Franciscan spirituality. It likewise helps to explain the ancient division--whlch in centuries past often amounted to very violent dis-sension-- over the meaning and the force of some of the prescriptions.of the Rule, notabl~; poverty. The Holy See had often to intervene in these disputes, had to promulgate official declarations of the true impbrt of, the disputed points, and has sanctioned three autonomous branches of the Order, each interpreting the mind of the Founder with its own constitutions. Since each of the three families looks with equal devotion to Francis. and with.equal right claims him as Founder and Father, in discussing Franciscan spirituality no distinction is necessary because of these diverse streams. 127 ALEXANDER WYSE Reoiew [or Religious of its founder--which, in his lifetime, was so highly original that it could only with difficulty be confined in the legal" terms' of a rule, and, after his death, has remained singularly fresbl highly distinctive, and extraordinarily fruitful. Rooted thus in the individuafity of the Seraphic Saint, the Franciscan school of spiritual theology has about it many of the features which explain the wide appeal of Francis himself.-° The same qualities that made and make him universally loved, make also the spiritual way that derives from him appealing to a vast army of Christians.~ By imitating his delightfully reasonable and joyfully direct methods of reaching God, countless millions through these seven centuries have grown in spiritual" understanding and advanced in mys, tical union. Cbristocentricisrn of Franciscan Spirituality The basic and most far-reaching quality of Franciscan .spiritual-ity is that it is wholly centered about the Incarnate Son of God.4 The positive and avowed attempt to reproduce ~he life of Christ is the simplest summary of the Franciscan vocation--as.Francis put it, "to obs~erve the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ." Though the imitation of Christ is radically the heart and soul of all Christian 2That there is a rich fruitfulness in Franciscanism is seen'in the large number of saints and blessed who have worn the distinctive three-knotted cord. There are 48 Saints of the First Order, 4 of the Second, and 42 of the Third: there are 112 Blessed of" the First Order, 21 of the Second, and 80 of the Third (of. Acta Ordinis Fratrum Minorum, LXIX, iii, pp. 126~135). Excluding the causes of these beati being promoted for canonization, there are pending before the., Sacred Congregation of Rites or Diocesan Courts the causes of more than 203 members of the First Order, 25 of the Second, and a numberless group of the Third (Ibid., "LXIX, i, pp. 20-34). aThe prihciples of Franciscan spirituality have not ceased to attract enormous num-bers of Christians even in our day. In 1950 the First Order had a combined total of more than 42,000 members; the Second Order approximately 2,000: the Third Order Regular, in its various congregations of priests, Brothers and Sisters, at least 70,000; the Third Order Secular an estimated 2,800,000. ~'For a more extensive treatment of Franciscan spirituality the following studies may be consulted: ValentinSM~ Breton, O.F.M, La Spiritualit~ Franciscaine (Paris, 1948); Vitus a Bussum, OIF.M.Cap., De Spiritualitate Franciscana (Rome, 1949); Pacificus M. Perantoni, O.F.M., "De Spiritualitate Franciscana," in Acta Ordinis Fratrum Minorurn, LXIX, v, pp. 214-243: Agostino Gemelli, O.F:M., "La Spiritualit~ Francescana," in Le Scuole Catrolicfie di Spiritualit~ (Milan, 1949) ; Franciscan Educational Conference, Report of the Eighth Annual Meeting, (Washington, 1926); Philibert Ramstetter, OIF.M., "Introduction to a Francis-can Spirituality," in Franciscan Studies, December, 1942; Valentin-M. Breton, O.F.M., Le Christ de L'Arne Franciscaine (Paris, 1927). Additional ligh~t is to be 'had from the reading of such classics" as Hilarin Felder, O.F.M.Cap. Thd 1deals oF St. Francis of Assisi (New York, 1925)~ Agostino Gemelli, O.F.M., The Franciscan Message to the World (London, 1934), as well as the many standard biographies of St. Francis. 128 May, 1951 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY living, about Franciscan asceticism there is a more distinctive desire and a special effort t6 conform the life of the dedicated one to that of the Incarnate Son of God. In ngthing is the influence of the founder's life and personality more discernible than in this. For Francis, Christ was the center of all things--the focus of all thought, the object of all_ striving, the inspiration of all action. Christ, Francis loved with a consuming passion, as the most tangible proof of God's all-pervading goodness. He could never cease marveling at the divine goodness: it was a theme that both fascinated and transformed him. ]ks he reflected on it, he w~ould~ cry out in the rapture of his contemplation: "Thou, Lord, art the highest Good, the Eternal Good; from Thee cometh all good, and there is no good without Thee." It is primarily and eminently in the Incarnation of th~ Eternal Son that God has shown forth t6 the world that infinite love which is His essential perfection; and this, to Francis, became the most profound and, at the same time, the most penetrable of mysteries. His soul found in it the most, exalted of divine revelations, reaching into the very bosom of the Godhead ~nd manifesting in a singular way God's in.finite life of love. That in God there should be an Eternal Son generated by love, and that the Eternal Father should give this only-begotten Son for the world's redemption, was for Francis the climaxing proof of God's goodness. It opened up to him--as nothing else in all reality could--the depth of charity with which the Creator cherishes every last one of His creatures. For him, it explained all of life and creation ; it served as the foundation for all his spiritual action. "O Lord, we thank Thee," he wrote in the First Rule, "because, just as Thou hast created us through Thy Soft, so also through that true and holy charity with which Thou hast loved us, Thou hast caused Him to be born of the glorious and most blessed Mary,' ever Virgin most holy, and Thou hast Willed that through His cross and blood and death we sinners be redeemed." ./kbove all else, the Incarnation proves God's goodness in that it teaches us how we must live. Jesus is our model, "leaving us an example"; and hence--as Francis saw with an enviable directness-- the ideal of all spiritual striving is that we imitate His steps. This was the desire which burned in Francis' heart for himself and which he held up to his followers. Thomas of Celano says: "His supreme endeavor, his most ardent wish and foremost principle was to observe the holy Gospel in all and above all things, and to follow 129 ALEXANDER WYSE Review for Religious perfectl'y, 'with all zeal, with the fullest ardor of his spirit, with all "the love of his heart, the doctrine of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to imitate His example. In constant meditation he reflected on His Words, and with deep.intentness he pondered on His works.''~ So fruitful was this contemplation, and so completely did Fran-dis succeed in this. holy ambition to imitate Christ, that he is gen-erally admitted to have been a humanly perfect copy of the Master. Renan, the great skeptic, called him the only true Christian after ~Jesus; and (at the other pole of orthodoxy) St. Bonaver~ture cites the imprinting on his body of the stigmata,as heaven's seal on the ~onformity of Francis' life with Christ's. Love--the Well of Action His d~sire to imitate the supernal example of the Incarnate Son of God was nurtured by an ardent love for Him which literally surpasses our capacity. The "Three Companions" tell us of this burning devotion as the source of Francisr spirituality: "From the time,of his conversion to his death, he loved Christ with his whole heart, bearing, the memory of Him constantly in his mind, praising ,Him .with his lips, and glorifying Him in good works.''6 And Celano expatiates the theme: "His tongue spoke out of the fullness of his heart, and the stream of enraptured love which filled his soul overflowed outwardly. Always he was occupied with Jesus. Jesus he carried in his heart, Jesus in his mou~th, Jesus in his ears,. Jesus in his eyes, Jesus in his hands, Jesus in all his members.''v This attachment to his Saviour revealed itself by Francis' con-stant- preoccupation with the details of the sacred life of the Lord. He had a wholly special attachment to the. feast of Christmas, observing it with a transporting joy and a moving piety. For him it was the feast of feasts--and, if it has become that also for after-generati. ons, his part in making it such is not inconsiderable. He found a fathomless proof of God's love in His condescending to become Man. That the Incomprehensible, the Unchangeable, the Infinite One should humble Himself so wonderfully for our sakes," demonstrated the measureless extent of God's love for us. Not con-tent with having the vision for himself, he longed to make the whole world aware of it. Whether or not it can be demonstrated his- 5.Thomas de Celano, Legenda Prima (Rome, 1906), n. 84. STies Socii, Legenda (Foligno, 1898), n. 68. ~Op. cir., n. I15. 130 May, 1951 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY torically that he did give us the first Christmas crib, it is certain that he had a leading role in helping to establish the custom,s Perhaps more than any other of our popular Christmas observances, in making visible to us the tenderness of the Birth of Christ the Crib has served to establish in the hearts of Christians a new under-' standing and appreciation of the love of God for the human race; in spirit, at least, it is the product of Francis' intense love of the Christ- Child. At the other terminus of that divine life, the saint likewise found another strong motive to honor the love of God for man. His rever-ence for the Passion of Christ colored his whole think~ing; moulded his whole devotion. From the day when he heard the mysterious voice from the crucifix at San Damiano bidding him repair the Church which was in ruins, to that climax of seraphic love in the Five Wounds of the Redeemer imprinted on his body, the sufferings of 3esus were ever before his eyes. Early in his religious life he was one day walking along the road, bathed in tears, expressions of the most profound sorrow issuing from the depths of his soul. When someone asked" him what he was lamenting, he answered that he was weeping for the sufferings of hi's Lord. Moved by the unction and the sincerity with which the saint uttered these words, the other, too, began to weep and sigh in com-passion for the suffering Son of God. This" is more than an anecdote from his legend--it is a symbol of the vast influence of St. Francis in riveting the attention, first, of his followers, and then of all Chris-tianity, upon the Passion of Christ. For it is true that Francis by his devotion to the sacred sufferings has conferred upon Franciscan spirituality a truly distinctive mark. At the same time, by reason of this new note of tender and human feeling which Francis intro-duced into~or, at least so effectively propagated within--Catholic devotional life, he served to give a new orientation to the spiritual life of the whole Church.9 By stressing, as his own character demanded, the element of love in his approach to God, and by 8Cf. Stephen M. Donovan, O.F.M., The Catholic Encyclopedia (New .York, 1913), sub verbo "Crib," IV, p. 489. 9Francis, of course, did not completely disrupt the traditional lines of devotion in the Church. nor did he accomplish the new orientation singlehandedly. Following by less than a century the age of St. Bernard, he solidified the notable contribu-tions of the great Abbot of Clairvaux toward establishing a love and affection for the humanity of God's Son. For a brief summary of the inter-relation of Bernard and Francis in this" spiritual revival, cf. Philip Hughes, A History of the Church (New York, 1935), II, pp. 306-307, 403-404. 131 ALEXANDER WYSE Review for looking more fixedly upon those aspects of God's relations with men which show forth the divine benignity and condescension, he rekindled in the hearts of men the flame of divine charity. He taught his followers--and the world--to serve God, in a special way, out of regard for the love which God has first shown us. Christocentric Theology/ Francis made the love of God--as proven by the Incarnation of Christ---the basis for his whole system of living. More philo-sophical minds than his would expand this notion into a whole explanation of reality[ The idea which Francis established by his preaching, his prayers, his very act of living, his more learned fol-lowers took and worked into a theology that begins and ends with Christ, the fruit of divine love. The concept of the glorification of the Ingarn~ate Son of God-- which Francis instinctively felt and lived--becomes in Franciscan theology the explanation of all things, the prime motive for the cre-ation of the world. Christ, God made Man, in this system was the First Thought of the Creator; He was destined, before the fall of our first parents, before even the making of the world, to receive the homage, the love, th~ service of the human race. All creatures what-soever enjoy the gift of being in view of the preordained Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. The supreme mani-festation of God's love and power in the Person of the God-Man was to raise up to the life of the Trinity the'human brothers of Christ. In an excess of divine benignity, God conferred upon the human race the riches of the supernatural life--but with, in, and thrgugh Christ, the Head of all things. It was thus that human creatures, endowed'with intelligence and free will, were predestined to share in the personal life of God. In Christ they were willed and destined and called to glory.~ In view of that .high vocation they were elevated to a supernatural plane by the foreseen graces merited for them by 3esus Christ. That man should have failed to correspond to God's purpose in creating him does not, in Franciscan theology, militate~ against God's primary motive in decreeing the Incarnation of His Son. True, historically, Christ did not come as the King of Glory to receive in His earthly days the adoration and the homage of the world; He came rather as the Man of Sorrows, the suffering Redeemer, the Messias making satisfaction for our sins. Yet this but further illus-trates and enhances God's love. In permitting His Son thus to come, 132 May, 1951 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY to suffer and die on the cross for our redemption, God showed forth His love in a still more striking fashion. Thus in Franciscan theological speculation, as developed by the masters of the school, St. Bonaventure and especially John Duns Scotus, Christ assumes the central position which He already occu-pied in the thought and the life of the unlettered Poverello. All things depend on Him, all things grow through Him, all gifts come from Him to all beings. There is no merit, no promise of eternal life, no blessedness which does not derive from Him. From the part of God, any offering, any virtue, any prayer, has value only insofar as it reflects Jesus Christ. From the part of man, no one arrives at the divine union, no. one knows God, no one serves or pleases the Creator, except through Christ, the Firstborn, the Center and Head of all things. Franciscan theology furthermore eschews the notion of God as the strict Judge demanding vengeance and satisfaction, and sees in Him rather the loving Father who grahts to the Son the privilege of the Incarnation for His human brethren, together with the right to restore them to supernatural life. The Saviour is not so much the victim of divine justice, as He is the friend who, out of love for His Eternal Father and His brothers in the flesh, sacrifices Himself to atone for men's sins. The Passion and the Cross are, in this view, not so much the price demanded for human redemption as they are the yoluntary outpouring of divine love, setting the tone and the pat-tern of the relations between God and man. Povert~l' For all these reasons, as Francis of Assisi insisted, though with-out himself ever formulating his thoughts in such theological termin-ology, there is need of penance and mortification and a voluntary crucifixion on the part of those who know and would repay God's love. If God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, and if the Son so loved us that He willingly emptied Himself of His glory and became obedient even to the death of the cross," there can be little choice for a creature except to imitate that self-sacrificing love and surpassing abnegation. As a logical cohsequence, therefore, of these considerations the three basic qualities 6f Francis-can ascetiscism are generated: poverty, humility, and mortification. In the sixth chapter of the Second Rule of the Friars Minor, St. Francis' speaks of "the sublimity of the highest poverty which has made you, my dearest brothers, heirs and kings of the kingdom 13~3 ALEXANDER WYSE Reoieto t~or Religious of heaven: poor in goods, but exalted in virtu(." In these few words he succinctly demonstrates the pivotal importance which the Fran-ciscan ideal attaches to the observance of poverty as a means of reaching eternal life. Tl~e voluntary stripping oneself of the things of this earth and all attachment to them predisposes one to the practice of all other virtues which, spelling perfection, infallibly lead to ever-lasting l~appiness. Accepting as the most literal truth the promise of the Beatitudes: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs i~ the king-dom of heaven," the Franciscan world has enthroned Lady Poverty as its queen. She has reigned by the clearest title in the hearts and homes of all those who call Francis "father." St. Clare of Assisi-- that gentle maid who more completely than any other caught Fran- Cis' holy enthusiasm for this Seraphic virtue par excellence--success-fully resisted even the efforts of the Holy See to take away from her what she called "the privilege of poverty." St. Bonaventure refers to poverty as "the sublime prerogative" of the Franciscan Order. A thousand examples might be cited, from the bulging Seraphic chron-icles, of this undying fealty and devotion to poverty, for in a true sense this attachment to Lady Poverty is the history of the order. Her saints have been great, her reformers have been virtuous, .her life has been varied and at time even exuberantly stormy--simply because, in days of fervor as of decadence, the haunting image of "that noble and queenly, that most beautiful of women" whom the Poor Man of Assisi made his bride has never ceased to fascinate the Franciscan soul. If the Order of Friars Minor has been divided into three autonomous groups, this has been because the sons of Francis have never failed to be interested in the question of poverty, and have always wanted to safeguard and the more truly cherish that heritage which is the "'privilegium paupertatis," the "'nostii ordinis praeroga-tioa sublimis." The Franciscan views poverty, as a privilege because it enables him the more perfectly to reproduce ~the life of'the Incarnate Son of God. He was po,or; He deliberately chose the privations of a work-ingman's home for Himself and labored as a carpenter. He had nowhere to lay His head. "Being rich, He became poor" for our sakes. This is the source and the inspiration for the unflinching attachment .to this virtue that Francis conceived: as he is made to say in the hauntingly beautiful Salutation of Poverty, she was with' Christ, God's Son made Man, in all the hours of His life, and when _all other, abandoned Him she mounted the cross with Him, to 134 May, l~51 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY embrace Him as He hung dying.1° Struck with the truth of the sanctifying power of this virtue so closely the companion of Holi-ness Incarnate, St. Bonaventure, expresses the traditional Franciscar~ ideal when he praises poverty as the very source and fountainhead of evangelical perfection, 'and the first ]~oundation of the entire edifice of .spirituality. Humility The abasement of the Incarnation must find its counterphrt in the life of him who would grow up to thd stature of Christ. "Humil-iavit semetipsum," said St. Paul of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity--and the words re-echoed in Francis' heart with a new and challenging meaning. If Christ could deprive Himself of the glory that was His everlasting and inalienable due, Ought nor the creatures "redeemed by His sacrifice at least avoid all vainglory, all frivolous pride, all empty self-seeking? Francis admonishes his friars to .appropriate nothing to themselves; they must even beg for the neces-sities~ o[ life--"noi should they be ashan~ed, because the Lord made Himself poor for us in this world." With a true understanding of human nature, Francis recognized his own sinfulness, his proneness tb evil, and his entire dependence upon God for the grace to save him from eternal damnation. So, likewise, he exhorted his friars to be always mindful of their lowli-ness and nothingness. Especially those constituted in high places-- preachers, superiors, the learned-=-he exhorted to remember that, of themselves, they are nothing, and that any dignity, any influence, any learning they possess is theirs by the donation of God. The superiors of his brotherhood are "ministers and servants of the other friars": the fraternity:itself is the Order of Lesser Brethren. Repeatedly Francis praised and cited poverty ands humility, holding them up as the double cornerstone of the Franciscan life: "Let all the brethren strive to follow the humility and poverty of our Lord 3e~us Christ." Humility is the companion of poverty,, but it is more--it is the perfection of the other virtue in that it reaches into the soul. It strips the mind of all encumbrances of human origin, it cleanses the heart of all man-made ideals and values. It is genuine poverty of the spirit. With a tender tenacity the Francis-can soul holds to this ideal of a humble poverty and a detached 10Though this tender apostrophe to his beloved Lady Poverty" is no longer regarded as a genuine writing of St. Francis, its spirit is certainly authentic. The same thought is expressed by Dante, Dioine Comedy, Paradiso, XI, 64-72. 135 ALEXANDER WYSE Review [or Religious humility. The most learned among the friars have been humble men: St. Anthony in the retirement of the friary at Montepaolo meekly hid' those great resources of theological intuition which lately won for him the title of Doctor of the Universal Church; and St. Bonaventure (at least in the legend which cannot 'have been made up from whole cloth) was discovered washing dishes when the papal envoys came bearing the cardinal's hat. The large number of can-onized Franciscan lay-brothers is assuredly a standing testimonial to the high esteem which the traditions of the order place on humility as a means of perfection: it shows that the life of lowly service of others, so perfect an imitation of Christ's self-emptying, is an inte-gral part of Franciscan spirituality. Mortification The whole idea of Franciscansim being to reproduce the life of the Saviour, positive penance has a palmary place in Franciscan living. The example of the suffering Saviour demands of His fol-lowers mortification and discipline. This universal obligation of Christians is, in Franciscan asceticism, elevated to the status of a positive and primary pursuit, the chief means and the most abiding guarantee of which are '~the poverty and humility of our Lord Jesus Christ." With a holy delight the Seraphic Father embraced this means of becoming more like the Ideal. Frequently he exposed himself to the cold,, simply that he might feel in his members the bitterness of that which nature abhors. In his eating, he refrained from anything over and above what was necessary to sustain life, on at least one occa-sion taking, absolutely nothing for forty days except half a loaf of bread. By the disciplines wherewith he chastised his body he sought to bring into subjection every unruly passion and emotion. If the extreme mortification of the Seraphic Lawgiver ha.s been tempered in the case of his followers (for how many will ever receive the extraordinary inspirations which were his wholly personal gift from the Holy Spirit? or will be called by grace to the degree of poverty and humility and penitential chastisements which have so set him apart?), there is yet incumbent upon all the obligation of a positive mortification in imitation of Christ. His followers have included such paragons of corporal p~nance as St. Peter of Alcantara. who for forty-six years scourged himself twice daily, and St. Felix of Cantalice who took his nightly repose kneeling on the floor after 136 Mag, 1951 FR~kNC[SC~kN SPIRITUALITY his daily rounds of begging in the streets of Rome. Yet, for the most part, a certain mildness (stemming from another no less holy facet of Francis' spirit) pervades the Franciscan concept of discipline. The Saviour Himself bade His disciples not to be sad while the BridegroOm was with them, and Francis instinctively" was one of the most joyous of beings. He arose at midnight to eat with the young friar ,who cried out with pangs of hunger. And he legislated that ordinarily the friars should not be obliged to fast, except on Fridays (a wholly revolutionary concept: for Christian religious), and that .those going through the world might use the Gospel-privilege of eating whatsoever was placed before them. The Noble Function of the Wilt These three qualities of poverty, ,humility, and mortification, constitute what may be termed the negative, the privative (or, in the consecrated terminology, the purgative) steps in Franciscan spiritual-ity. The ascent is completed with the positive and active forces of charity and prayer (which correspond to the unitive and illuminative ways). It is in this phase that Franciscan spirituality attains its perfection and sanctifyihg power. Having learned the boundless extent of divine charity, the Franciscan soul yearns to make a return; in its poverty and humility it has nothing else to give God but a return of love. The next step is the unreserved attachment to God, and limitless devotion to the creatures made by God for Christ. A deep awareness of his adopted sonsbip makes him ready to proclaim wlth,Francis, stripped even of the clothes his earthly father bad given him: "Now I can truly say; 'Our Father Who art in heaven.' " This sense of belonging tb God is fostered and st.rengthened by an ever-deepening devotion to Him in whom and for whom this sonship has been brought about. Thus .Franciscan spirituality, with a new intentnes_s, comes back to Christ, its starting point. Whatever honors, exaltsl and glorifies Christ, that is seen to be a means o~ displaying this charity toward God. Hence the Franciscan emphasis on devotion to the historical Christ-- particularly, as in the piety of Francis himself, to His Incarnation and Passion. Hence also that touching reverence for Christ as He yet lives among us in the Eucharist,11 in the priesthood and tlae- 11Francis' devotion to the Eucharist is one of the most important facets of his spiritual life. Father Felder's treatment of this theme (op. cir., chap. III) is ~specially illuminating. 137 ALEXANDER WYSE Review for Religious Church,12 and in the souls of the redeemed,is The will, the faculty of love, occupies in all Franciscan the- 91ogy, philosophy, and life a unique distinction of I51ace. A l~eritage clearly from Francis himself~with his ardent nature, his impulsive and forthright way of proceeding, his unqiaalified and unlimited dis-play of love for the God-Man--the role of the wilI .is, in the Fran-ciscan tradition, a pivotal one. There is a subtle but profound rela-tion between Franciscan~poverty and the generous use made of the agent of human .choice. Divested of all material things, the Francis-can soul finds itself endowed with "the freedom w.herewith Christ has made us free." No longer tied to the passing things of this earth, neither is it bound to the conventionalities of routine, custom, or society. The Poverello himself was one of the most uninhibited char-acters of history, a man da,ringly original and boldly enterprising. In an ever-expanding resolve to save souls for Christ, his venturesome spirit led him fo distant and dangerous shores, where he fearlessly presented himself to the Sultan before whom all Christendom was quaking. Unashamedly he asked (and obtained!) from the Pope for the little chapel of St: Mary of the Angels that plenary indulgence which had been previously conceded only for a pilgri.mage to the Holy Land. He entered into a holy pact with God Himself, wherein the mortified servant of Christ deserved to feel in his own'~flesh the sufferings of the Crucified. This same quality of directness, of daring, of wilful aiad pur-poseful action is always inherent in genuine Franciscanism, and shows itself no less in Franciscan spirituality. Tamed, modified, kept within reasonable check, it is a characteiistic which eminently befits the ~poor of sp!rit. Stripped of all desire of self-aggrandize-ment, the Franciscan seeks nothing of this world, fears nothing of its powerful ones. He is in a position to use the liberty of the sons of God. In a sort of reeling climax to liberty, he subjects himself to .the most complete obedience to God and God's delegates--for obedience is the ultimate in self-assertion, the wild and r~ckless sac-rificing of the right to self-will. 1-'2Cf. Felder, op. cit., for the testimony of Francis' profound reverence for the Church of Christ (chap. IV). 13Among the outstanding evidences of his zea! for the salvation of souls is the twelfth chapter of the "Regula II." It is one of the chief glories of the Franciscan tradition that Francis was the first founder to propose for his followers the ideal 6f '~going among the Saracens and other infidels." He thus helped to launch the greatest era of missionary activity after the Apostolic Age. 138 May, 1951 FRANCISCAN SPIRITUALITY As the will attains its realization in action, inevitably the Fran- " ciscan vocation is one that stresses the apostolate~ Francis--.t,hough at times his soul craved the sweet delights of withdrawal from the world--discovered that the truest way of imitating the Master was, like Him, to go about, "doing good." In labors for the salvation of others Francis and his order seek to live the GoslSel of our Lord Jesus Christ. "Non sibi soli vivere, sed aliis proficere vult, Dei zelo ductus," the Church sings of him.14 In novel and revolutionary-~often 'in all but unpredictablem ways, the Franciscan spirit uses this liberty to bring all things into the kingdom ~designed, from before the foundation of the earth, for God's Eternal Son. There is indeed a great and challenging diversity of methods in the Franciscan apostolate, just as ,there is a most startling, originality discoverable in the Seraphic hosts. Men and women of rare indiyiduality, of almost unclassifiable "character, ~have pledged themselves to reproduce Christ--in themselves and in the world---by living the Gospel. Can there be in the legends of any othe'r religious institute a man so singular as Brother Juniper? so simple as Brother Giles? so unspoiled as Brother Masseo? Has any" other founder welcomed so enthusiastically into his foundation rob-bers who had infested the countryside? or been succeeded in his very lifetime by one so completely his opposite as Elias of Cortona? The Franciscan spirit can embrace, and Franciscan spiritualit~ does sanctify, with equal impartiality, a Duns Scotus of Oxford Univer-sity and a Benedict the Moor from the scullery of Palermo's dark monas~tery. The royal Louis of Toulouse professed the same Rule as the unlettered Paschal Baylon. The mystical Joseph of Cuper-tino is brother to the energetic Leonard of Port Maurice. It is indeed true that, as has been said, by the variety of its manifestations Fran-ciscanism takes on a character of universality, like Christianity itself, which in the Gospel is likened to a tree to which all the birds of the air may come to make their nests. Prayer ' While stressing apostolic actik, ity as an unceasing tribute to Christ the King, the Franciscart soul does not forget the value of prayer. After the example of the Master, Francis himself often interrupted his apostolic labors to refresh and restore his soul in a period of contemplation. Such contemplation, nonetheless, is 14Breoiariura Rornano-Seraphicurn, In festo S. P. N. Francisci, ad Laudes, Ant. 1. 139 ALEXANDER WYSE designed (as is the poverty and humility of the Gospel) to subserve the apostolic vocation. In contemplation the Franciscan draws "waters with joy out of the Saviour's fountains"-~but only that in his preaching and ministry he may the more efficaciously slake the thirst of those who,~ like the hart panting after the fountains .of water, are thirsting after the strong Living God. Seraphic prayer finds its perfect symbol in the figure of Francis on Mount Alverno, his arms raised in the form of a cross. It finds its truest expression in the fervent and heartfelt prayer of the Poor Man on that mystical height: "Who art Thou, my God most sweet? What am I, Thy unprofitable servant and vilest of worms?''15 In explaining later to Brother Leo, his beloved com-panion, that these words expressed his grasp of the depths of the infinite goodness and wisdom and power of God, and the 'deplorable depths of his own vileness and misery, Francis left a classic outline of Franciscan prayer and meditation. It would, of course, be impossible here to explain the special characteristics of mental prayer and contemplation, as elaborated by the masters of Franciscan spirituality. It must suffice to point out two of its salient points: first, it manifests the common Franciscan dependence on the faculty of the will, being affective rather than intuitive; and, second, in prayer as in all else Christ remains the -center. The subjects of predilection for Franciscan meditation are the various phases of the life of the Incarnate Word, while the affec-tions of the heart are offered to the Eternal Father t~hrough the mediumship of Him who is the Source of all things. The truly Franciscan soul but borrows the words of the Seraphic Father: "Because we all are miserable sinners and are not worthy to call upon Thee, weo humbly.ask our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy beloved Son in whom Thou wast well pleased, together with the Holy Ghost the Paraclete, to thank Thee." lSThe Little Flowers of St. Francis (Everyman's Library), p. 11 1. PLEASE NOTE CAREFULLY The subscription price of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS is now: $3.00 per year for Domestic and Canadian Subscriptions; $3.35 per year for all foreign subscriptions. For further details please" see inside back cover. 140 Apostolic Constitution Sponsa Christi [EDITORS' NOTE: We present here the positive legislation contained in ,Sponsa Christi, the Apostolic Constitution of Pope Pius XII, given under date of Novem-ber 21, 1950, and published in the Acta Apostolicae 8edis, official publication of the Holy See, under date of January 10, 1951, pp. 15-21. The general statutes from the papal document given below are preceded by a lengthy historical and ex-hortatory introduction on the origin and development of the contemplative life for women consecrated" to God, pp. 5-15. ] GENERAL STATUTES FOR NUNS Article 1 § 1. The term nuns is used in this Apostolic Constitution as it is in the Code (c. 488, 7°). In addition to religious women with solemn vows, it includes those who have pronounced simple vows, perpetual or temporary, in moqasteries where solemn vows are actually taken or should be taken according to the institute, unless it certainly appears otherwise from the context or from the nature of the case. § 2. The legitimate use of the term nuns (c. 488, 7°) and the application of the laws concerning nuns are not at variance with the following: (1) s.imple profession made in monasteries according to law (§ 1); (2) minor pontilical cloister prescribed or duly granted for mo~iasteries; (3) the pe?formance of apostolic works which are joined with the contemplative life either by reason of a provision approved and confirmed by the Holy See for certain orders or by the " lawful prescription or grant of the Holy See to certain monasteries. § 3. This Apostolic Constitution does not affect the juridical status of: (1) religious congregations (c. 488, 2°) and the Sisters who are members of them (c. 488, 7°), who take only simple vows according to their institute; (2) societies of women living in com-mon after the manner of religious and their members (c. 673). Article 2 § 1. The special form of religious monastic life which nuns are obliged to follow carefully and for which they are destined by the Church .is the canonical contemplative life. § 2. The term, canonical contemplative life, does not denote that internal and theological contemplation to which all persons in religious.institutes as well as those living in the world are invited, 141 POPE PIUS Xll Revieto for Religious and which individuals everywhere can lead by themselves, but it sig-nifies the external profession of religious discipline which, by reason of cloister, or the exercises of piety, prayer, and mortification, or finally by reason of the work which the nuns are obliged to under-take, is directed to interior contemplation in such a way that their whole life and whole activity can easily and should etficaciously be imbued with zeal for it. § 3.If canonical contemplative life cannot be habitually ob-served under a strict, regular discipline, ,the monastic character is neither to be granted nor, if it be had already, is it to be retained. Article 3 § 1. The solemn vows of religion which are pronounced by all the members of a monastery or at least by the members o17 one, class constitute the characteristic note in virtue of which a monastery of women is legally considered among the regular orders and not among the religious congregations (c. 488, 2°). Moreover, all the pro-fessed religious women in, these monasteries come under the term regulars according to'canon 490, and are properly speaking not called Sisters but nuns (c. 488, 7°). § 2. All monasteries in which only simple vows are taken can obtain a restoration of solemn vows. Indeed, unless truly grave rea-sons prevent it, they will be solicitous about taking them again. Article 4 While always keeping for all monasteries those character-istics which are, as it were, natural to it, the stricter cloister of nuns which is called pontifical shall in future be distinguished into two classes: major and minor. § 2. i o Major pontifical cloister, namely, that which is described in the Code (cc. 600-602) ,is clearly confirmed by this Our Apostolic Constitution. By Our Authority, the Sacred Congregatio~i of Reli-gious will declare the causes for which a dispensation fromthe major cloister may be given, so that, while the nature of cloister is kept unimpaired, it may more suitably be adapted to the circumstances of our times. 2° Major pontifical cloister, without prejudice to § 3, 3°, must flourish by reason of law in all monasteries which profess the contemplative life exclusively. § 3. i° Minor pontifical cloister will retain those characteristics of the old cloister of nuns and will be protected with those sanc- 142 May, 1951 SPONSA CHRISTI tions which the Instructions of the Holy See expressly define as neces-sary for the preservation and safeguardifig of its natural purpose. 2° Subject to this minor pontifical cloister are the monas-teries of nuns with solemn vows which, by their institute or by legitimate gran~, undertake work with externs in such a way that quite a number of religious and a notable part of the house are habitually devoted to these occupations. 3° Similarly, each and every monastery in which only simple vows are taken, even though devoted exclusively to contem-plation, must be subject at least to the prescriptions of this cloister. § 4. 1° Pontifical major or minor cloister must be considered a ¯ necessa)y condition not only that solemn vows may be taken (§ 2) but also that those monasteries in which simple vows are taken (§ 3) may in the future l~e considered as true monasteries of nuns according .to canon 488, 7°. 2° If even the rules for the minor pontifical cloister cannot be generally observed, the solemn vows which may have been had are to be taken away. § 5. 1° The minor pontifical cloister is to be observed in places where the nuns do not take solemn vows, especially in those points in,which it is distinguished from the cloister of congregations or that of orders of men. 2° Howeve'r, if it is clearly evident that even the minor cloister cannot be observed in an individual monastery, that monas-tery must be changed into a house of a congregatibn or of a society. Article 5 § 1. Among women consecra[ed to God the Church deputes only nuns to offer public prayer to God in her name, in choir (c. 610, § 1) or privately (c.'610, § 3) ; and she places upon them a grave obligation by law to carry out this public prayer daily at'the canon-ical hours according to the norm of their constitutions. § 2. All monasteries of nuns as well as individual nuns, whether professed of simple or solemn vows, are everywhere obliged to recite the Divine Office in .choir according to c. 610, § 1 and the norms of their constiti~tions, § 3. According to c. 610, § 3, nuns who have not taken solemn vows are not strictly obligated to the private recitation of the canon-ical hours when they have been absent from choir unless their con-stitutions expressly provide otherwise (c. 578, 2°). Nevertheless, 143 POPE PlUS XII Reuiew for Religious as was stated above (Art, 4), it is the mind of the Church not only that solemn vows should be restored everywhere but also that, if they cannot be restored for the present, nuns who have simple perpetual vows in place of solemn vows should faithfully fulfill the work of the Divine Office. § 4. In all monasteries the conventual Mass corresponding to the Office of the day according to the rubrics is to be celebrated in so far as this is possible (c. 610, § 2). Article 6 § 1. 1° Unlike other religious houses of women, monasteries 9f nuns are autonomous (sui iurfs) by reason of the Code and according to its norms (c. 488, 8°). 2° The superiors (antistitae) of individual monasteries of nuns are major superiors by law and are endowed with all th~ pow- ,ers which are due to major superiors (c.48'8, 8°), except some that from the context or from the nature of the power would concern men only (c. 490). § 2. 1° The extent of the condition of independence or autonomy (sui iuris), as it is called, of monasteries of nuns is defined by both common and particular law. 2° The juridical guardianship which the law grants tO the local ordinary or to the superiors regular over individual mon-asteries is in no way derogated from by this Constitution or by federations of monasteries allowed by the Constitution (Art. 7) and ,established by its authority. 3° The juridical relations of individual monasteries with the local ordinaries or with the superiors regular continue to be regu-lated by ~he common law as well as by particular law. § 3. This Constitution does not determine whether individual monasteries are subject to the authority of the local ordinary or, within the 'limits of the law, are exempt from it and. are subject to the superior regular. Article 7 § I. Monasteries of nuns are not only autonomous (c. 488, 8°) but also juridically ~ distinct and independent of each other and only united and joined together by spiritual and moral bonds even though by law they be subject to the same first order or religious institute. § 2. 1° The formation of federations is in no way opposed to May, 1951 SPONSA CHRISTI the common liberty of monasteries,'which is accepted as a m.atter of fact rather ,than imposed by law; nor should, these federations be considered as forbidden by law or in any way less in accordance with ¯ the nature and purposes of the religious life 6f the nuns. 2° Though not prescribed by any general law, federations of monasteries are, nevertheless, strongly recommended by the Holy See not only to prevent the evils and disadvantages which can arise from complete separation bug also to promote regular observance and the contemplative life. § 3~. The formation'of every kind of federation of monasteries of nuns or of a union of federation~ is reserved to the Holy See. § 4. Every federation or union must necessarily be ruled and governed by its own laws approved by the Holy See. § 5. 1° Without prejudice to Article 6;§§ 2 and 3. and to the special type of autonomy defined above (§ 1), there is no objection, in the formation of federations of monasterieS, ',to the introduction of equitable conditions and mitigations of autonomy, which may seem to-be necessary or more useful, after the example of certain monastic congregations and orders, whether of canons or of monks. 2° Nevertheless, any types of federation which seem con-trary to the aforesaid autonomy (§ 1) and which tend towards centralization of government are reserved to the Holy See in a special manner and may not be introduced without Its express permission. § 6. Federations of monasteries are of pontifical right according to the norms of canon law both because of their source of origin and - of the authority upon which they directly depend and by which they are governed. § 7. The'Holy See may exercise immediate supervision and authority, as the case may require, over a federation through a reli-gious assistant, whose duty it will be not only to represent the Holy See but alsb to foster the genuine spirit proper to the order and to give superiors assistanc~ and advice in the right and prudent govern-ment of the federation. §8. 1° The statutes of a federation should conform to the pre-scribed norms to be prepared by the Sacred Congregation of Religious by Our Authority and to the nature, laws, spirit, and traditions, whether ascetical or disciplinary or juridicgl and apostolic, of the reli-gious order concerned. 2° The principal purpose of federations of monasteries is 145 POPE PIUS XII Review for Religious to f~rnish mutual fraternal a~sistance not only by fostering the reli-gious spirit and regular monastic discipline, but also by promoting ¯ the economic welfare. 3° Should the case arise, special norms are to be proVided in order to approve statutes through which the permission and moral obligation of transferring nuns from one monastery to another should be regulated when these measures are considered necessary for the government of the monasteries, the training of the novices {n~ a common novitiate established for all or for many of the monasteries, and for other moral or mate}ial needs of the monasteries or of the nuns. Article 8 " § 1. The monastic work, which even the nuns who lead a con-templative life are obliged to perform, should as far as possible be suited to the rule, constitutions, and traditions of the individuaI .orders. ~. § 2. ,This work should be regulated in such a way that, along 'with other sources of income approved by the Church (cc. 547-551, 582) and with the abundant assistance of Divine Providence, it will provide secure and fitting support for the nuns. § 3. 1° Local ordinaries, superiors regular, and superiors, of monasteries and of federations are obliged to use all diligence that the nuns may never be wanting in necessary, adequate, and profitable work. 2° On ~heir part, nuns are bound in conscience not only to earn their doily bread by the honest sweat of their brow, as the Apostle teaches (II Them. 3:10), but they should also make them-selves more skillful day by day in the different kinds of work required by present times. Article 9 In order to be found faithful to their divine, apostolic vocation, all nuns must not only use the general means o~ the monastic aposto-late, but they shall also attend to the following:- . § 1. Nuns who have definite works of a particular apostolate prescribdd in their constitutions or in approved rules are obliged to devote themselves entirely and constantly to these works according to the norms of their constitfitions, statutes, or rules. § 2. Nuns who lead an exclusively contemplative life should observe .the .following: 146 May, 1951 MEDITATION FOR A MOTHER SUPERIOR 1° If, according to their particular traditions, they now have or bare had a special kind of external apostolate, let them faith-fully retain it after having adapted it, without harm to their life of contemplation, to modern needs; if they have lost it, let them dili-gently take means to restore it. If there is any doubt about adapta-tion, let them consult the Holy See. 2° On the other hand, if the purely contemplative life, according to the approved constitutions of the order or its traditions, has never, been joined to the external apostolate' in a permanent and enduring manner up to.the present time, then, only in cases of neces-sity and for a limited time, the nuns may, and at lea~t out of charity should, occupy themselves with those forms of the apostolate, "espe-cially such as are unique or personal, which may seem to be com-patible with the contemplative life as observed in their order according to the norms to .be fixed by the Holy See. h edi!:a!:ion t:or a Nkot:her Superior Mother Mary Elizabeth, D.C. Love knoweth no measure Feareth no labor Maketh sweet all that is bitter Findeth rest in God alone LOVE knoweth no measure, no measure of forgiveness. A group of persons living in such. close proximity as religious must, are keenly aware of the weakness of human nature. They begin to understand why Our Lord on the cross prayed: "Forgive them, for they know not what they do." And if this understanding comes to those who have no special rseponsibility for other souls, how ~rnuch more dearly to those whom God invests with His authority? So the Sister Superior must learn to love without measure, in the sa'me manner as Christ has lo~ved her. It is well to recall that the rulers of the Jews said that Christ was guided by Beelzebub . Superiors follow (or should follow) more closely in the footsteps of Christ, and they musthave His spirit. He dictated a very beautiful com-mand one evening: '"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." 147 Ma~!, 1951 MEDITATION FOR A MOTHER SUPERIOR Feareth no labor: The superior must never call a moment her own." Her time belongs to the Sisters; consequently there should be no so-called "inter,ruptions" in her life. In. giving herself to the community, either directly to the individual members or indirectly. by her care of the house, she is but doing her duty. She should be the last to think of rest, of ease from work, of consolations. "It is for thee to be the support of tl~y brethren." To be the support, the strength, of the weak, the despondent, the discouraged religious. The superior has to deal with each soul in these categories asa mother does with a sick (or peevish) child. She makes sweet the wood of the cross so that her daughters may carry it willingly, carry it joyfu~ly, and, at the end, triumphantly, to the portal of Heaven. Maketh sweet all that is bitter: To give one's will into the hands of another, a symbol of slavery, is the hardest sacrifice God asks of man. To make light the burden of obedience and to sweeten the bitterness found in community life is the task of the superior of the house. In doing this she will be called upon to. forget herself :i thousand times. In each community the superior should image the Rule. In her the religious should find the peace, the joy of laboring for Christ, and the rest tfiat comes to a contented heart doing all for God. Findeth rest in God alone: Truly this is the only consolation worthy of the name. It is reserved, not to superiors, but to the superior after God's own heart. In distractions often, in cares with-out number, in burdens multiplied, the superior should seek rest only in the Heart of Christ. When the power that comes from God alone was conferred upon her, she was set apart. Not that she was made better than others, not that by the very fact of authority she was made perfect, but only because God delegated to her the power that is His by righ,.t. "'Going-up-into the mountain He called unto Him whom He would . " Not because of the spiritual worth of the individual but only because God wills it is a man or a woman set apart to lead and govern other souls. If Christ called all to come to Him that they might be refreshed, how much more those who are burdened with a greater share of the Cross of the Lord? OUR CONTRIBUTORS ALEXANDER WYSE is the director of the Academy of American Franciscan History, Washington, D.C. MOTHER MARY ELIZABETH is prioress of the Carmel of St. Joseph, Long Beach, California. C. A. HERBST and AUGUSTINE KLAAS are members of the faculty at St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas. 148 Current: Spiri!:ual Writ:ing Augustine Klaas~ S.3. From La Vie Spirituelle IN.THE MARCH .1950 number of La Vie Spirituelle there is an intriguing little symposium on the subject: "It is difficult to grow old." The matter is of current, practical interest for religious, who too must learn the not-so-easy art of growing old gracefully. Doctor H. Muller pres.ents an introductory survey, noting the marked increase in the number of old people, owing to the reduction of infant mortality, the increasingly successful fight against disease, and. other factors, all of which are adding years to the life-span of society's various classes, including religious. (In the U. S. A. since 1900, a period in which the population has doubled, the.number of persons over sixty-five years old has quadrupled, from three to twelve million in the fifty-year period.) Unfortunately, along with an increase in numbers, has Come a noticeable change of status. When the old were comparatively few, they were honored and respected, and their advice was dutifully sought, but the situation has now greatly altered, presenting nev~ problems of adjustment both psychological and social. Also; the old today are too often "bad patients," discouraging attention and affection, precisely because many have not learned how to grow old in a calm, mature .way. When the life-span was barely thirty years, the saying used to be: "Brother, you are going to have to die." Today it is rather: "Brother, you are going to have to get old." You will be old, perhaps ten, twenty, and even thirty years. The prob-lem must be courageously met and solved on the material and~ above all, on the spiritual plane. H. Duesberg draws a charming portrait of the aged as found in the Old Testament, comparing it not unfavorably with the one sketched in the ancient classical writers and those of the Middle and Far East. After an upright, useful life, the aged man is represented as living out his long years with dignity, while at the same time going down steadily and inexorably to the tomb. Old age may be burdensome and subject to various untoward vicissitudes: never-theless, it is always preferable to death, for as Ecclesiastes (9:4) says 149 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reuieu~ [or Religious somewhat quaintly: "A living dog is better than a dead lion." Old age merits respect and reverence: "Rise up before the hoary head, and honor the person of the aged man" (Leviticus 19:32). Old age is itself the reward for honoring the old, especially one's parents: "Honor thy father and mother . that thou mayest live a long time" (Deuteronom~ 5:16). What splendid examples of old age there are in the Old Testament: Tobias, Sara~ Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, Samuel, David. Of course, as we might expect, there were also some unworthy old persons, such as the two accusers of Susanna. The old are the living embodiment of the 15ast, particu-larly of the previous generation. Even after they have died they continue to live on in their children and in the memory they leave behind them of their wisdom and experience. Duesberg concludes: "The serenity of the aged ih the. Old Testament is remarkable, for they drew a maximum of confidence and resignation from what they themselves had learned and from what God had taught them." The increasing number of the old presents also an economic problem, a problem of material assistance, which the symposium does not cover. However, Armand Marquisat tells of an interesting association of men, formed in Paris to help solve the social probl,em of the aged. The men call themselves the Little Brothers of the Poor. The group was started by three gentlemen in Paris at Easter 1946: it now numbers over thirty. These laymen, propose to help the old in ev~ry possible way in the places where they live, fre- "quently alone and in need. Some of the Brothers are part-time, others full-time workers, who visit these aged people several times a week, to look after their food, lodging, clothing, medical, and spir-itual care. Professional men and workers of all types are members, and all have placed themselves under the patronage of St. Francis of Assisi. It is a lay institute that vows to serve the aged in this ,very practical, effective, ChriStian way. The symposium, concerned mainly with the spiritual side of the problem, contains a good article by Father Ji Perinelle, O.P., a reli-gious of advanced age and wide experience. He notes that people grow old unevenly. Some keep their mental and bodily faculties intact almost till the very _end; others deteriorate more rapidly and are subject to disease: All experience a certain loss of liberty, a growing dependence on others, and a gradual isolation that does not: lighten their.physical or moral iils. Countering'the~e, there is a tendency among the old themselves to excess in one direction or May, 1951 (]URR~NT WRITING another, and very frequently a pronounced egotism, showing itself in constant speaking onl~ of self and one'Sqlls, or complaining, or demanding that every whim be satisfied, or a lack of gratitude for favors done. Certainly these are not the .proper attitudes that age should bring along with it.' ¯ Old age is'a sthge of life willed by God and like the other stages should contribute to the advancement of one's spiritual good. God governs old age by His Providence; He is all--powerful, all-wise, and all-loving (Rorn. 8:28). The old have the grace at hand to meet the trials of this period of life (II. Corr. 4:16).~ Perhaps St. Paul is the great example of a man growing old in the right way; he did not falter towards the end, but finished victoriously the combat and the race (II. Tim. 4:6-8). Father Perinelle gives some wise counsels for the aging. The first group pertain to the exterior, the second to the interior life. a) Health: Don't become obsessed with care for your health, always an.xiously looking at the thermometer, taking the pulse count, noticing the draughts, etc. Restrict gradually your external activity; live a well~ordered life; keep up a certain minimum of physical exer-cise; attend, faithfully to personal hygiene; watch eating habits; meet weakness~ illness, and finally death itself with resignation and cheer-fulness, as preludes to the call of the Master. b) Work: Keep on doing some real work, physical or mental, at a fixed time every day, no matter how little it may be. But do not persist in doing'work, for which you are no longer fitted. You are not a good judge in this matter; hence listen to the advice of others. Hand over your principal tasks to younger hands, even though this is not an easy thing to do. And don't imp0se.your advice on others, either. Accept the fact that your counsel, when asked, often will not be followed and finally will no longer even be asked for. c) Relations with others: Try to keep in touch with your life-long friends, but do not be locked-up l in the past. Giveyourself generously to the rising generation. Y~u are the bridge between the old and the new. Times change and certainly some real progress is. being made in the wo~ld. Your e.xperience can .contribute to it, if you are not intr.ansigent in clinging to the past. Be like the Catholic Church in this matter, sanely adapting herself to modern conditions. And keep up with the times, if you ~an, but above all keep an open, mind. Read something daily in a slow, reflecting way~ Maintain a 151 AUGUSTINE KLRAS Reoieto for Religious kindly sense of humor in your dealings 'with others. There are two dangerous .attitudes regarding the new members of your religious order or congregation: the first is to have little con-fidence in their capacity and hence to lower the standards of religious life in their favor. This must not be done, but rather a total giving of s~lf must be demanded of young religious. The second wrong attitude is to wish to impose rigidly on the newcomers what you yourself went through. No, prudent adaptation is what is wanted here. Let them prefer reading St. Paul tb reading Rodriguez! And do not attempt to impose inflexibly on the younger generation o.f religious your methods of teaching and apostolate. Guide them, surely, but leave them some initiative of their own. Finally, do not try to appear younger than you really are and thus make yourself ridiculous. Act your age. As for the interior life, remember that God loves the old in a special way because they .are weak and feeble, just as ,for the same reason He has a particular love for children. If you are faithful and prayerful, God will keep you company to your Emmaus when "it is towards evening and the day is now far spent." Two things are to be noted spiritually: you must acquire a spirit of detachment and an understanding or feeling for eternity. All things are passing: the old are very much aware of this. It should make them reflect and pass a true judgment on the fleeting things of time. Past sins must be acknowledged. There must be contrition and penance, but also an immense trust and confidence in God. The o!d feel their poverty-- empty hands after such a long life; God must be their riches now. The old feel their weakness; let God be their strength. They feel powerless to do good; God is now their all. , A sense of eternity must be gradually acquired by the old, for the beatific vision and all that it implies is drawing near. Live in the hope of it; await it longingly. Be humble, be kind, be tolerant of others, pray much, offer up the remaining days of suffering and your Ideath, pray continually throughout the day for y6urself, for your dear ones, for the world, for the Church. See to it that extreme unction and the last rites be administered to you betimes.' Death is the gate,way to eternity: be at peace, cheerful, joyful, expectant. Father A. Masson, ordained recently at the age of seventy-four, likens old age to the season of Advent. It is a time of hope,, ending in a birth. All the Advent liturgy and the prophecies of the Old 152 Mug, 1951 Q~URRENT WRITING Testament can be al3plied luminously to old age. There are three births: the physical one to natural life; the spiritual one of baptism to supernatural life; and the last one to the life of the beatific vision. Are not the death-days of the saints and martyrs called their bi~th-days? Let me close this subject with this little paragraph by Father Sertillanges, O.P., who at the age of eighty-five wrote as beautifully as ever: "For the Christian, old age is not a final farewell to what-ever appeals and desperately clings to our lust for life. Quite the contrary, it is the full growth and final flowering of hope. It is the threshold of what had merely been suggested by t.he springtime of life. It is the first sight of land after an apparently interminable voyage. It is the veil which has been torn from an illusion and exposes to view the supreme realities. Old age is the approach to God. Descent into the grave, since i~ represents, but a partial truth, is an illusion. Rather do we ascend." From Reoue d'Asc~tique et de Mgstique In the January-March 1950 number of Revue d'Asc~tique et de M~tstique there is a seven-article symposium on the general subject: Spiritual Problems of Our Times and Ignatian Spiritualitg. I should like to summarize the article by Father Louis Verny, S.J., on a vital point of Ignatian spirituality, namely, Ignatian prayer, a subject about which there is sometimes misunderstanding and error. The title is "in actione contemplatious," which may be translated approxi-mately: "in action contemplative," or "contemplative in the midst of action," or "contemplative while active." This type of prayer, along with others, is mentioned in a letter of Father Jerome Nadal, S.J., who wasin close contact ~ith Saint Ignatius Loyola for many years. I quote the passage of Nadal's letter from the French of Father Verny: "That prayer is a capital item of prime necessity in a religious institute is most evident. I am speaking of the prayer referred, to in this text of St. Paul: "I will pray with the spirit, but I will'pray with the understanding also" (I Cot. 14:15). It is the prayer which contains, all the phases of spiritual development: the purga-tive, illuminative, and unitive. Wherefore actively, and even avidly, does the Society give herself to it in full measure in Christ Jesus, For there is no one of her members that she does not at first start off .with meditations suited to first conversion and to the putting off of the 153 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reoieto for Religious old man. Then, by means of contemplations on all the mysteries of Christ ~we seek.to develop ever more in ourselves the realized knowl-edge of Him who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Finally, we find repose in love. What is the necessary beginning of. prayer we find again at its term: charity, the highest and sublimest of the virtues. So that, filled with a very ardent zeal drawn from prayer, we set out for our ministries full of joy in Christ 3esus, with humil-ity of heart, satisfaction, and courage. This is what we draw from the~ book of Exercises. "Although this is no't the time to treat of prayer, there is a fact which I do not wish to omit. Father Ignatius had received from God the .special grace to rise without effort 'to the contemplation of the Most Holy Trinity and to repose in it a lon~ time~ Sometimes he was led by grace to contemplate the whole Trinity; he was 'trans-ported' into it and united himself to it with his whole heart, with ¯ intense sentiments o~ devotion, and a deep spiritual relish. Some-times he contemplated the Father alone, sometimes' the Son, some-times the Holy Spirit. This contemplation of the Most Holy Trinity was accorded him often at other periods of his life, but he received it principally, and almost exclusively even, during the last years of his earthly pilgrimage. "If such prayer was granted to Saint Ignatius, it was a great privilege and of an entirely different order. But "he likewise had another privilege which made him see God present in all things and in every action, with a lively sense of spiritual realities; contem-plative in the midst of action, according to his ordinary expression: finding God in all things. Now, this grace which illumined his soul 'was revealed to us as much by a kind of brightness which emanated from his countenance as by the enlightened sureness with which he acted in Christ. We were filled with admiration for it, our hearts were much consoled by it, and we felt as though the overflow of these graces was descending on ourselves. Furthermore we believe that this privilege which we noted in Saint Ignatius is likewise granted to the whole Society; we are confident that the gift of this prayer and contemplation awaits us all in the Society, and we strongly assert that it is a part of our vocation." Three tfiings are brought out in the text of Father Nadal's rev.ealing letter: 1) ordinary prayer~ and ordinary contemplation, .that is, contemplation in the sense in which it is used in the Spiritual Exercises; 2) infused contemplation, or mystical prayer, with which 154 May, 1951 CURRENT WRITING Saint Ignatius was greatly favored; 3) a state of soul described by the phrase "in action contemplative" or "contemplative in the midst of action," which Saint Ignatius cultivated himself and recommended most highly for his sons, and Father Nadal considered an integral part of a Jesuit's vocation. We are interested here in this last type of prayer, to which Father Verny devotes most of his article. Although it does characterize Jesuit spirituality, it is not for Jesuits only, but can be utilized, at least to some extent, by all.orders and congregations engaged in the active apostolat.e. At the outset Father Verny compares the Jesuit formula "in actione contemplatious . in action contemplativeS' with the forrrfula -of.St. Thomas Aquinas, which can be expressed somewhat like this: "'contemplari et contemplata aliis tradere'" ("to contemplate and to communicate to others .what one has contemplated"). There is some dispute as to whether St. Thomas's formula ref~s to what is technically called the "mixed life," the life of the active apostolate, because it seems rather to accentuate the contemplative element. If it does, it differs from :the Ignatian formula, since the latter certainly puts the stress on the active apostolate. Also, the Thomistic formula seems to refer to alternate activities, namely, to contemplate and then to impart the fruit of one's contemplation, .whereas the Ignatian formula indicates something simultaneous, apostolic action perme-ated with contemplation. Father Verny then takes up the Jesuit formula and has no diffi-culty proving from the Spiritual Exercises and the Formula of the Institute that apostolic action is the vocation of the Jesuit. The Society of Jesus is an essentially active order, a mobile force ready to give apostolic service of almost any and every kind. What is the contemplative element that must permeate its active apostolate? Father Verny says that it can be expressed in two ways, each one implying the other. The contemplative element in the active apostolate is the state of soul resulting from the complete, unconditional, definitive self-surrender to Jesus Christ and total enlistment in H~s cause, spoken of in The Spiritual Exercises. It is begun in the Kingdom meditation, enhanced by the Two Standards, perfected by the Three Degrees of Humility, completed and actuated day after day by the intimacy with Our Lord that is derived from the daily contemplation of Him in the Gospels. This close intimacy with Christ is the fruit of the Second Week, perfected and made more 155 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Ret@to ~or Religious precise in the rest "of the Exercises, and extended throughout life, since the contemplation of the Gospels is a life-long task. It" is renewed every day at Holy Mass and Holy Communion, and in visits to the Blessed Sacrament. It expresses itself in frequent thought of' Christ, confidences, exchange of gifts, and the acquire-ment of a common mind with Christ. It is the asslmilation and "putting on of Christ," who is "the Way, the Truth, and the Life." Father Leonce de Grandmaison calls it "virtual prayer"--a recalling of the presence of God and an actuation more or less'explicit of "that transcendental love which we owe to God Our Lord." He points out some of' its qualities: "apostolic interests placed above selfish interests; divine views over human views; the spirit of Christ pre-ferred to the spirit of the world." This thinking with Christ, this participation in His interior dis-positions, this ever more perfect assimilation and putting on of Christ, can be expressed in a second way, namely, by using the language of the Institute. I cite some of the more important pas-sages. For instance, he who enters the Society of 3esus must take care "always to have before his eyes first God, th~n the spirit of the Insti-tute, which is a way of ascending to Him." Again, the seventeenth of .the Rules of the Surnrnar~ : "Let all endeavor to have a right intention, not only in their state of life, but in all particulars, seeking in them always sin.cerely to serve and please the divine Goodness for itself . And in all things let them seek God, casting off as much as possible all love of creatures, that they may place their whole affection on the Creator of them, loving Him in all creatures and them all in Him, according to His most holy and divine Will." The significant phrases "for the greater glory, of God," "for the greater service of God" constantly recur in the Spiritual Exercises and in the Constitutions. Here is what we read in the preamble to the Election: "In every good Election, as far as regards ourselves, the eye of the intention ought to be single, looking only to the end for which I was ~reated, which is, for the praise of God our Lord . . ." Besides a right intention, a spirit of faith must be had, especially" with regard to obedience. A few selections at random from the Constitutions: "acknowledging the Superior, whoever he be, as holding the place of Christ our Lord." With regard to illness: "using pious and edifying words, showing that he accepts l~is sick-ness as a gift of our Creator. and Lord." These ideas are especially clear in the seventh part of the Constitutions, where there is question 156 Ma~t, 1951 CURRENT WRITING of apostolic ministries in the strict sense, but they also form an under-current in all the parts and also in the General Examen. The twenty-ninth rule, on external comportment, ends: "and hence it will follow that, considering one another, they will increase in devo-tion and praise our Lord God, whom every one must strive to acknowledge in another as in His image." Thus we see sufficiently that to be "contemplative in the midst of action" involves essentially a kno~ving, a loving, and a putting on of Christ ever more and more, and various ways of seeking and finding God in all things, persons, and events, especially by a right intention and the spirit of faith. Father Verny points out three saints in whom we can easily recognize this excellent state of soul, because they were eminently "contemplative in the midst of action." The first is St. Ignatius himself, whom Father Nadal describes in the last part of the letter cited above. The second is blessed Peter Faber. After noting his manifold works for the Church, the fifth lesson of his Office con-tinues: "And while unceasingly he was doing such great deeds for the glory of God, he was with heart and mind so united to God that he seemed to be occupied With nothing but heavenly things." May we not apply to him the words of Holy ~Scripture: oculi mei semper ad Dominum . my eyes are always on the Lord"? The third example is $t. Vincent de Paul, as can also be readily seen from his Office. No doubt we could add many more: Francis. Xavier, Peter Canisius, Francis Regis, Isaac Jogues, Peter Claver, but also Charles Borromeo, Francis de Sales, Alphonsus Liguori, the holy Cur~ of Ars, Francesca Cabrini, and many others, both men and women. For them God has become an atmosphere, and all their activity takes place in this atmosphere. The activity may be very intense, overwhelming and extremely distracting, still it leaves intact unity and liberty of soul. Amid all the bustle and confusion, interiorly there is real silence and recollection. Send Saint Francis Xavier or Blessed Peter Faber on as many missions as you will, you will not change the spiritual atmosphere in which they move. ~ Multiply the" letters of St. Ignatius or the human miseries which St. Vincent de Paul tried to alleviate, deep down within, their tranquility of soul remains, their "conversation is in heaven." They are "contemplative in the mids~ of action." Their "eyes are always on the Lord." Of course, all this is an ideal, and a very high one. To reach it the~e are two stage~. The first emphasizes~the ascetical element. It 157 AUGUSTINE KLAAS Reviev., for Religious consists in the systematic and persevering practice of various spiritual ~exercises: prayer, intimacy with Christ, right intention, purity of heart, spirit of faith, presence of God, mortification of the external senses and the internal powers of the soul, faithfulness to grace and the inspirations of the Holy Spirit, the examen of conscience playing a major role. The second phase has no fixed rules or chartered course. It makes use of Father de Caussade's "sacrament of the present ;noment." It employs more frequently Father de Maumigny's "interior retreats." It consists essentially in a steady increase of faith, hope, and love of God and fellow-men, together with a growing docility to the Holy Spirit and use of His gifts. Perhaps the second stage can' be summdd up by Father Louis Lallemant in his Fourth Principle (chapter 2, article 1) : "The goal for which we should aim, after having for long time exercised ourselves in purity of heart, is to be so possessed and ruled by the Holy Spirit, that it is He alone who directs our p0wers,and our senses, and go.verns all our movements both interior and exterior, and that we abandon ourselves entirely by a spiritual renouncement of all our desires and personal gratifications. Thus we shall live no more in ourselves, but in 2esus Christ, by faithful cooperation with His divine Spirit, and by perfect subjection of all 'our rebelliousness to the power of His grace." The more this takes place, the closer we are coming to holiness and also to the mystical state, though the latter seems to be only for the very few. At this advanced level there is scarcely any difference between action and prayer, so much is action impregnated and permeated with prayer. The striving for this type of prayer amidst action is what St. Ignatius wanted in his followers. It is about this that Father Polanco wrote in behalf of Ignatius to Father Urban Fernandez, Rector of Coimbra, on June 1, 1551 : "As for prayer and meditation, except in a case of special necessity . our Father prefers that we t~y to find God in all things rather than devote much consecutive time to that exercise. He desires to see all the members of the Society animated with such a spirit that they do not find less devotion in works of charity and obedience than in prayer and meditation, since they ought to do nothing except for the love and service of Our Lord." This is the grand objective for which not only Jesuits But all religious and diocesan priests engaged in the active apostolate may and should strive~ and with God's grace ultimately achieve. 158 B ook/ eviews Four works by H. Pinard de la Boullaye, S.J.-- SAINT IGNACE DE LOYOLA, DIRECTEUR D'AMES. Pp. Ixxlx ,--1- 362. Aubier, I-=dltions Montaigne. LA SPIRITUALIT¢ IGNATIENNE: Textes. Choisls et pr&sent6s. Pp. I "-t- 4S7. Libralrle Plon, Paris. EXERCISES SPIRITUELS Selon la M6thode .de Saint Icjnace. Tome Pre-mier, Les Exercises, 7 ~:dltlon, revue et augment~e. Pp. xxvill ~ 314. Beauchesne ef Ses Fils, Paris, 1950. LES I~TAPES DE RI~DACTION DES EXERCISES DE S. IGNACE. 7 l'=-dltion, revue et corrig~e. Pp. viii -I- 76. Beauchesne et Ses Fils, Paris, 1950. After acquiring eminent distinction in such fields as comparative religion and religious experience and in giving the Lenten conferences at Notre-Dame, Paris, Fr. Pinard de la Boullaye has in recent years been devoting his great talents to writing on Ignatian spirituality. Among several volume~ on that general theme there are four to which we would call attention. Saint lgnace de Lo.qola, Directeur d'Ames opens with a long preface ~vhich presents the sources of Ignatian spirituality, its leading ideas, its general characteristics, and its value, and then an account of the writings of St. Ignatius and their character. The main body of the work consists of 314 pages of extracts, with notes and explana.- tions, from the original Sources. These excerpts are arranged according to different topics; for example, "the apostle of order and the greater glory of God," ". of self-control," ". of zeal," and so on. Thus in a moment one'could easily find in their authentic form St. Ig-natius's thoughts on many important points in the interior life. La Spiritualitd lqnatienne is similar in structure; and in content it is complementary. First a fairly lengthy preface gives a general description of Ignatian spiritual doctrine. Then in a systematic way the whole of the spiritual life, ascetical and mystical, is presented in selections, not so much this time from St. Ignatius himself, as from his 3esuit sons. This book therefore is an anthology, topically ar-ranged, of 3esuit spirituality. After a brief indication of a basic idea from the saint; various developments of it from 3esuit spiritual lit-erature are presented. Numerous notes and references could intro-duce one to further study of the same subject. A't the end of the book there is a very useful collection of brief biographical and biblio- 159 BOOK REVIEWS graphical notices of the Society's spiritual authors. Exercises Spiri(uels is the first of a four-volume set on St. Ig-natius's Exercises. It may be said that it is designed to explain them, whereas those that follow deoelop them in the form of retreats. However, it is not simply a commentary. It is proposed as "notes," and rather deals with what seem td be the essential ideas of St. Ig-natius, and the principal reasons why he chose such considerations and arranged them as he did. Thus, it is hoped, the right under-standing of the text will be facilitated. This book will no doubt 0 take a foremost place among writings on the Exercises.One special merit of it is a certain wholesome originality. ~ Les t~tapes de Rddaction is a small, but very interesting work on the evolution of the Exercises themselves. The process went on from 1521 to 1548, and in it six different stages or phases are distinguished and studied, If the author:s conclusions be correct, some old ad-mirers of the Exercises will be surprised to learn the dates at which certain of the more characteristic pieces appeared. --(3. AUG. F-LLARD, S.J. JEANNE JUGAN. By Mgr. Francis Trochu. Translated by Hugh Mont-gomery. Pp. xil -I- 288. Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland, 1950. $3.75. If there is one phenomenon in modern Catholic life from which no one can withhold the tribute of spontaneous admiration, it is the work of the Little Sisters of the Poor. It must have been a wonder-ful personality, one feels, that, under God, brought that body into being. Here is the story of that personality, so wonderful that even in the order she inspired and first "established--owing to the fact that it was "kidnapped" by a priest-director and: held captive incredibly long--she was not known by most of her fellow-religious as their founder. "Jeanne Jugan will be canonized some day, but there will be many.difficulties in the way, for we have no dstails about her life," said a priest of Jeanne, when all the.facts were still being cov-ered under conspiratorial silence. Truth can hide in strange places. In this instance it was the records of the French Academy (which had conferred the Montyon Prize on Jeanne before the "kidnapping"), and it was through that source that it came home to the Little Sisters, and the world, what a wonderful woman had called their work into existence. God is wonderful in Jeanne Jugan.--CIERALD ELLARD, S.J. 160 May, 1951 BOOK NOTICES THE TRUE STORY OF SAINT BERNADETTE. By Henri petitotl O.P. Translated by a Benedictine of Stanbrook Abbey. Pp. viii -I- 19S. The Newman Press, Westminster, Maryland. $2.50. This book is not intended to be a complete biography of St. Ber-nadette. It is more in the line of an appreciation. It supposes that the reader already has a fair knowledge of the facts of Bernadette's life. What the autho~ tries to do is reproduce the spirit behind the facts of her life. The common reaction to a book with a~title like "the true story" of something or other is the suspicion that the author is setting about to correct some popular notions about his subject. Whether the popular concept of Bernadette contains some false notions, the author does not explicitly say. But he wants to be sure that the reader has two things straight by the time he finishes, the book. First of all, Bernadette was not an unintelligent girl. Her intelligence was above average, although her education was neglected until she entered the ,religious life. Secondly, she was not just an ordinary good religious (as her mother superior claimed). It is true that Bernadette was favored with special graces before her entrance into the religious life, But this is not the reason she is a saint. She developed the practice of heroic virtue in tile religious life, especially by the way she accepted suffering and humiliation. The author stresses the heroism that Bernadette manifested in a particular kind of suffering that was harder to bear than physical pain. Two of her superiors took on themselves the job of seeing that Bernadette stayed humble. Some of the other Sisters, taking their cue .from the superiors, took up the crusade to keep Bernadette humble. The uncharitableness that can be cloaked underneath such a crusading attitude is obvious. A fault into which the author seems to fall occasionally is to squeeze heroicity out of insignificant incidents. He has plenty of arguments for her heroism without exaggerating the significance of minor incidents.--JOHN R. SHEETS, S.J. BOOK NOTICES On June seventeenth will be beatified the saintly MotherCouderc, Foundress of the Cenacle Sisters, who died in her eightieth year in 1885. If you wish to see why God so obviously blesses the Society "161 BOOK NOTICES ' Reuietu for Religious of the Retreat of Our Lady in the Cenacle in its very rapid diffusion in the United States and elsewhere, you will find in this biography, SURRENDER TO THE SPIRIT, that supernatural self-surrender to the Holy Ghost, who in the Cenacle came upon the infant C~aurch in Pentecostal tongues of fire. Mother Surles of the Boston Cenacle presents her heroic subject in an inspiring, but slightly "novelized" biography, in casting much of it in conversational form. Blessed ThOr}se Couderc should henceforth bare many friends among girls and women of all walks of life. (New York: Kenedy, 1951. Pp. xxi -b 243. $3.00.) OUR HAPPY LOT, written by Aurelio Espinosa Polit, S.J., and translated by William J. Young, S.J., is directed to all religious and priests. 'It presents various considerations intended to inculcate fer-vor and consolation in those consecrated to God. The unique gi.ft of vocation, its assurance ofsalvation, its call to intimacy with Christ, its sufferings and temptations, the'zeal which it postulates, the means of grace which it affords--all these topics are treated in a spirit of piety and elucidated ,by citations and explanations of Holy Scripture. The last fifty pages (pp. 195-245) are a summary, or recapitulation of the book. The various subjects are condensed into brief medi-tations. (St. Louis: B. Herder Co., 1951. Pp. xi + 245. $3.50.) CAN CHRIST HELP ME?, by C. C. Martindale, S.J., is addressed to the World at large and aims at bringing all 'men to. the knowledge and love of Christ. Nevertheless, the last three parts (pp'. 81-205), comprisifig almost two-thirds of the volume, furnish stimulating spiritual reading for religious and priests. This section develops the Ignatian retreat meditation called the Kingdom of Christ and from it the reader becomes enthusiastic not only for Christ's doctrine'or His past achievements, but e~pecially for the Person who can help me right now "as one living person helps another." This zest and love for Christ are developed by explaining the miracles, the parables, the sermons, the attitudes, the anecdotes: and the ordinary actions of Christ as these are portray.ed in the Gospels. Upon all of these Father Martindale throws new light and be does so in that simple, graphic style which belongs to a master of English prose. (West-minster, Md.: The Newman Press, 1950. Pp. 205. $2.25.) 162 Ma~l, 1951 BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS BOOK ANNOUNCEMENTS [For the most part. these notices are purely descriptive, based on a cursory exam-ination of the books listed.] AMI PRESS, Washington, New Jersey. Matins in a Leafy~ Wood. The Story of Mother M. Germaine. By Sister Mary Charitas, I.H.M. Pp. 124. $2.50. An inspiring life of an educator dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

Issue 7.1 of the Review for Religious, 1948. ; Review 'for Religious JANUARY 15, 194.8 Emotional Maturity . Gerald Kelly ~ Re~asons forRememberlng Mary . T.N. Jorgensen Litufejical and Private Devotion,.~, ¯ ¯ J. Putz (~)uestlons Answered ~Gommunicafions Adam C. ElliS, B~ok Reviews VOLUME" VII NUMBER 1 ro R R ,L-I GI 0 US VOLUME V-II JANUARY. 1948 NUMBER CONTEN'i:S EMO~TIONAL MATURITYr--Gerald Kelly, S.J . EDITORI, AL ANNOUNCEMENT . 9 COMMUNICATIONS . 10 REASONS FOR REMEMBERING MARYmT. N. Jorgensen, S,J. . "17 LIT~URGICAL AND PRIVATE DEVOTION J. Putz, S.J, . GIFTS TO RELIGIOUS--II. COMMON LIFE AND PECULIUMm Ada~ C. Ellis,.S.J. . . 33 OUR CONTRIBUTORS 45 . BOOK REVIEWS-- The Spiritual Doctrine of Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity; Queen of Mili-tants; Mother F. A. Forbes; The Greatest Catherine; God's Own Method 46 , BOOK NOTICES " 51 QUESTIONS AND AIqSWERS-- 1. Standing during Angelus not Required for Indulgences . 52 2. Scapular Medal Blessed for Five-fold Scapular .53 3. Secretary General as Secretary of General CoUncil .53 4. Powers of Vicar in Absence of Superior .53 5. Retreats before Clothing and First Profession " 54 6. Closing Parochial-school "religious house" . . 54 BOOKS AND BOOKLETS . 55 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, January; 1948. Vol. VII, No. 1. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May, July, September, and November at the College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter January 15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act 6f March 3, 1879. Editorial Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.J., G. Augustine Ellard, S.J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Editorial Secretary: Alfred.F. Schneider, S.J. Copyright, 1948, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for qnotatlons of reasonable length, provided due credit be giyen this review and the author. Subscripffon price: 2 dollars a year. Printed in U. S. A. Before writing to us, please consult notice, on Inside beck ov~r. Review ~:or Religious Volume VII January~December, 1948 Published at THE COLLEGE PRESS Topeka, Kansas Edited by THE JESUIT FATHERS SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE St. Marys, Kansas REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS is indexed in ~he CATHOLIC PERIODICAL INDEX I::mot:ional h at:uri!:y Gerald Kelly, S.3. pSYCHOLOGISTS seem to agree that one of the principal causes of failure to make the adjustments required in married life is emotional immaturity Qn the part of husband, or wife, or both. An expert marriage counselor is expected to give each prospective bride and groom at least some simple, but effective, maturity test: and if he finds any notable deficiency from the accepted standard of emotional adulthood, he is to warn his client that until the defect is remedied marriage would be inadvisable. Similarly, when called upon to give advice concerning a marriage that is already being strained by maladjustments, one of the first things an expert coun-selor looks for is the personality defect of immaturity. The present 'article is based on the supposition that emotional maturity is requirdd in the religious life no less than in marriage, and that immaturity explains many of the failures to make necessary adjustments to the demaiads of the religious life, just as it explains similar failures in marriage. If this is true--and I have no doubt that it ismthen we can profitably avail ourselves of the psycholo-gists' excellent studies on maturity in examining candidates for the religious life, in the guidance of other religious, and in the self-examination and self-reformation necessary for our own growth in perfection. It is with the last point that I am particularly concerned now. believe that professed religious can gain much fob their own souls, much help in developing a Christlike personality, by studying and applying to themselves "g'hat the psychologists say about emotional maturity. The ordinary examinations of conscience tend to become dull; and many of the expressions used fail to grip the mind and to provide the proper incentive for improvement. New light and new inspirationi can be infused into these self-examinations by occa~ sionally, at least, going over a list of questions developing this one theme: "Am I the adult I should be, or am I, despite my years in religion, still childish in some things?" The word "childish"- is used designedly. For Our Lord Himself has told us that we must all become as little children in order to gain the kingdom of heaven; hence there must be some sense in which the 3 GERALD KELLY Reoieto t~or Religious truly spiritual man must always be a child. On the other hand, we have the words of St. Paul to the effect that we must grow up and put aside the things of a child. There can be no conflict between the words of Christ and the inspired words of Paul; and I take it that these two meanings are .perfectly harmonized by distinguishing between "childlikeness" and "childishness." Even one who is fully grown in Christ must be Childlike; he must possess the simplicity, the candor, the humility, the sweet trust in God that come so naturally to the child. But the adult should not be childish. What is this childishness that conflicts with true adulthood? I can best explain it~ I think, by a running survey of signs of emo-tional immaturity culled from a number of psychological treatises. For instance, here are the test questions of immaturity that struck me as occurring most frequently: Do you indulge in angry outbursts? nurse grudges? dwell on what you consider injustices? Are you hesitant in m~king decisions? Do you dodge responsibility? Do you explain failures by giving alibis? Are you unable to face reality? DO you act mainly for personal pleasure and for some immediate good? Are you unable to make reasonable compromises? unwilling to make an effort to see the point of view of those who disagree with you? Are you one ,who wants much, but gives little? Do you think you are always misunderstood, yet never misunderstand others? Do you react vehemently, even explosively, to ordinary emotional stimuli? Are you overly depen-dent on others? much given to fear? and to daydreaming? Do you shrink from and avoid self-sacrifice? Are you impatient of dis-tressing situations? The foregoing is but a partial list, but it is enough to make a serious-minded religious catch his breath. For very likely most of us can find something of ourselves in the distressing portrait. For-tunately, the psychologists themselves add a consoling word; they allow for occasional lapses into some of these faults even for the mature personality. In fact, some of them use a system of grading which might well supplant numbers in the marking of a particular examen. They list faults such as these (or the opposite positive qualities) and ask the client to grade himself according to this scale: a) Never b) Occasionally c) As often as not danuar~ o 1948 ]~MOTIONAL MATURITY d) More often than not e) Always--or almost always. Any of the faults listed in the previous paragraph that occurred with a relative frequency (for example, as often as not) would indicate the personality de~ect .9f immaturity. It helps to examine ourselves occasionally and to see if we pos-sess any of these marks of childishness. Really to face the fact that a certain habit is childish is a step towards correcting it, for no one wants to be or to be considered childish. However, I do not wish to delay here on the negative side of the picture; I prefer to dwell on the characteristics of maturity. Just what is emotional maturity? In general, it means the attainment of "sweet reasonableness"; it means a well-integrated personality; it means the possession of certain qualities that enable one to preserve peace within himself and to live and work harmoni-ously with others. I would not pretend to give a definitive list of these qualities; but from my reading and personal observation I should say that they can be fairly well summed up as follows: (a) unselfishness; (b) a sense of personal responsibility in a com-mon enterprise; (c) temperate emotional reactions; (d) ability to profit by criticism; (e) ability to face reality; (f) a well-balanced attitude toward sex; and (g) decisive thinking. I have not attempted to arrange the qualities in any definite order. But it seems safe to assert that anyone who, upon honest self-examination, can say that he oenerallt~t manifests all these qualities is truly mature. He may see great possibilities of progress, but he can take courage in the fact that he is at least in the realm of adulthood. It would be impossible to make practical suggestions on all these characteristics in one short article. On the other hand, it seems almost equally impossible to comment on any single characteristic to the exclusion of all the others, because a person could hardly pos-sess any one of them without at the same time possessing other.~. Nevertheless, just to give my introductory remarks about maturity a practical bearing, I am selecting the last-named quality--decisive thinking--for further comment in this article. ¯ What do the psychologists mean by decisive thinking? It seer;as that a description of a person who possesses this quality would run somewhat as follows: "He is able to make calm and reasonable prac-tical judgments, without wasting time in making them, andwithout GERALD KELLY Review for Reliyi~us disturbing regret, or the shifting of responsibility once they are made." A practical judgment concerns action: it is'a decision concerning something to be done; for example, to clean one's desk, to practice a certain mortification. It. includes such trifling things as °deciding what shoes to wear and such important things as choosing a.voca-tion. Life is full of things to be done, and it is obvious that an adult must possess a certain facility in deciding.such things, for himself according to sound principles, He must-not be.,overly, dependent on. others; must not waste time deciding trifles; must make his: decisions, even the. smallest, according to some reasonable stand~ird. All this, and more, too, I have tried to compress into this brief description 0f mature thinking. The ability to make a reasor~able decision supposes the. abi!ity to make some decision. Ther~e are people who never make a decision, fo~ themselves if they can avoid it. When they are faced with a practical decision, they immediately think of getting advice, of. getting someone else to make the decision for them. Left to themselves they flounder helplessly, unable to choose between two possible courses of action, even, when mere trifles are concerned. This indecisiveness can become a pathological condition known as abuIia (ina~bility to make up one's own mind). In this connection I am reminded of an incident, ~hat happened several years ago. "A friend of mine cam~ ~o me ~and to.!d me somewhat mournfully, " "You.know,, I think I'm getting abhlia." ~ "Why,'~' I. asked, "what's wrong with you?" "Well," he replied, "i just stood in the center'of my" room for iSalf ~fi~ hour ffyin~ to n~ake up my mind whether.I'd'sweep it:" Tl~.e exampl~ may sound, and'is, absurd'; '~et I wonder how many of us could say thai we h~veso trained ourselves to decide t~ifles that We ~aever qose time~ nor peace "of mind, in' making" such decisions. Whether to sweep one's room, to make one's bed, to make~a visit to the Blessed Sacrament, to do withot;t butt(r for one meal, to study this or that these are~ examples of countless small things that a mature person ought to be able .to. decide promptly, without loss of time, and without seeking adwce. The psychologists do n~t inter;d to frown upon the habit of asking advice. The prud~n~ man seeks counsel but not in every-thing, only in thi~ngs 9f~ some'moment, or when there is some special reason for mental confusion. And even in things of moment the 6 danuar~lo 1948 EMOTIONAL MATURITY ~ortident man will try to form some judgment of his own; he will not leave.all the thinking to his counselors. ~- '~ ~ ~ The childish fault of excessive advice-seeking is indulg~ed in not merely by those who ~vill form no judgment of their own, but also by others who do indeed form a judgment of their own (in fact, a very obstinate judgment), but who feel within themselves a certail, inseCurity. These advice-for-security-seekers,-having made,up their own minds, frequently consult many others--all to one purpose. namely, to get confirmation of the plan already settled on. : The mere fact that one can make up one's own mind promptl~ and with a certain degree of independence 'is not in itself a sign .of' maturity. Indeed, this can be very childish, unless the decision is a reasonable one: that is, based on sound principle, and not On mere feelings or impulses. Every mature decision, even the tiniest, even one made'with the utmost despatch, should upon analysis reveal the fact that a choice was made according to sound motivation, with an appreciation of the value of the thing chosen and of the thing rejected. On this point; as is usual, Catholic asceticism, i~ in perfect agree-ment "with the soundest psychology. For instance, .the purpose of the Spiritual .Exercises, in the words of.their author, is to enable one to come ~ decision" Without being influenced by inordinate attach-ments. The exercises themselves are very long; made in their ~ntirety they take approximately tbirty';days. Bht it should nbt be forgotten that they were planned primarily to help one choose one's vo~htion.: this is a momentous decision, and it should consume much time. The lesson of the Exercises, however, once learned is supposed to be applied all through llfe in due proportion: namely, ,that:' every prac-tical decision should be made on principle and independently of excessive likes and dislikes. The underl~ring principle is the same for Small things and: for great things--God's will. To mhke all one's choices according to" that standard'iis to be Christlike, is to be a saint, is to be perfectly mature. ~ ~,, ., . Examining one for mature judgment, the psychologist is almost sure to ask: "When you make a deci~ior~, do you rest i'in it, or do you keep going over it in your mind~ °regretting it, wofidering if it Shouldn't have been otherwise, wondering if you shouldn't re,on-sider it, and so forth?" They are ~qot infe~rin'g that it is~ not the part of a prudent and mature person tO change a declsi6n ~hen cir-cumstances indicate that a change .should' be made. They are referring rather' to an attitude' of unrest, of regret, of insectirity, of GERALD KELLY Reoieto~for Religious changeableness, that seems to characterize almost all the practical decisions that some people make. We see this at times in young religious (and occasionally in some not so young) in the matter of their vocation. Today they feel fine, and they have a vocation; tomorrow they have the blues, and they have no vocation. One wonders if they really chose their voca-tion on principle. Was it the will of God or their dwn feelings that they chose to follow? I would not pretend to explain a11 the reasons for this spirit of unrest that seems to characterize many practical decisions. However, one reason may be that the original choice was 'never made wholeheartedly, with a clear appreciation of the values involved. Hence the unrest comes from the fact that one is constantly wondering if the decision was worth making. I might i11ustrate this by referring to a very significant picture I noticed recently in a voca-tional booklet. In the picture are two girls, one holding a hat, the other holding five dollars, and the caption reads: "Five dollars or the hart" The lesson doesn't have to be explained; any girl who reads the booklet can immediately catch the application: if she wants the hat badly enough, she will pay the five dollars--and if she wants the advantages of a religious vocation badly enough, she will pay the price. But the price has to be paid: she cannot have the advantages of both the religious life and life in the world any more than she can have both the hat and the price of the hat. The appreciation of this notion of relative values is essential to all really mature thinking and for all intelligent practice of virtue in the religious life. The decision to sweep one's room should be based on the appreciation of the advantages (natural and .super-natural) that are attached to this action, as well as on the apprecia-tion that the making of this precise choice involves a wholehearted "giving up" of the advantages (whatever they may be) of not sweeping the room. A choice made thu~ is reasonable, and it should not take a half an hour. Similarly--but on a higher plane--a reso-lution to practice.a certain mortification or toexercise onself in a cer-tain virtue ought to be made with a realization of the benefits one hopes to gain from keeping such a resolution as well as with the realization that certain other advantages .have to be rejected., This idea of value for value, of paying the price, should be clearly applied in every decision, and should be resolutely recalled when one tends to weaken in following out such a decision. This haay be a sort of doubling on my tracks, but I should like 8 January° 1948 EMOTIONAL MATURITY to mention here a rather recent book that created quite a commotion in this country. I am referring to Their Mothers" Sons, by Doctor Edward Strecker. Doctor Strecker is a Catholic psychiatrist who had extensive experience "scri~ening" young men who were drafted for the armed forces. This experience convinced him that a large percentage of our young men are afEicted by an emotional disease known as "momism." In other words, despite physical maturity, they are still tied to their mothers' apron strings; their mothers-- or someone else--have no~ allowed them to grow up, to live their own lives ~vith any real independence. Exaggerated dependence on their parents has made it impossible for them really to leave home and to stand on their own feet. This is one reason why.!arge num-bers of men failed in the acid test of military service, one reason why many marriages fail. One may well wonder just what influence it has on religious. It is not inconceivable that young men and women might enter religion without having accomplished any real separation from the parental apron-strings. It is possible, too, that this" exaggerated dependence on parents might spoil an otherwise promising vocation, Or that ingrained dependence will be merely transferred from par-ents to a kindly superior, confessor, or spiritual director. In fact, even for those who are not unduly dependent, the religious life of its very nature contains certain dangers to proper growth in maturity. This type of life calls for much more dependence than is normall7 had in adult life; 'if this is pressed too far it can readily change child-likeness into childishness. It is a wise superior or director or other person in aut.hority who encourages a salutary self-confidence and a wholesome spirit of initiative in his subordinates. Before closing, I should like to refer to a notion that I recently came across in my reading. The author, speaking of a mature mind, said that it is a "hospitable mind." It welcomes new ideas; and this is the sine qua non of progress. And of course, being hospitable, it is also companionable. Need I say what a boon this is in a religious community ? EDITORIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Because of continually rising costs, we have reduced the number of pages per issue. We hope this will be a merely temporary measure. By using smaller type. for articles, we have actua!ly increased the volume of material. " orn mun ca ons Reverend F~thers: In the September 15, 1947 issue of REVIEW FOR REL.IGIQUS, a Sister writes, her ideas regarding Vacations for t~etigious. -Allow me to submit mine? According to Webster's~ dictionary, a vacation' means- freedom from duty for a given period of time; 'an intermission-in employ-ment; a period of rest or leisure; a holiday; an intermission in educa-. tional .work. How do. these .various meaningsapply to religious? . We who. are religious, know that our life is a stclteowhich is fixed and unchangeable according.to our vows. No .matter whether we are on .duty or off duty, sick or weli, young or old, ~active or.con-templative nuns, once we have consecrated ourselves to a lif~ of love and service to God by our vows, we are always~ r~ligioi~s. Fro~ our ~eligi0us, state there can'be no vacations. R~ligi0us women being human, and not angelic beings .without bodies, can .'become fatigue.d, ill, disabled, either wholly or partially unfitted for a full measure of labor in the life chosen above all others. If all religious were in an .equal measure healthful, had the same nervous make~up, the same mental or physical power, s of endurance, none-,would perhaps need vacations. This is not so. ~ Wise superior who .re.cognizes l~er responsibility for the sp~iyitu~a~l, and. physical, welfare of her' subjects, individ.ually as well as,co!lectively., will know when a certain Sister needs a rest, a chan~ge, a bit of leisure, a freedom from .d.uty for a few hours, a few days or for a longer, time.,_ This:freedom from duty for a shor~ time, or even longer, does not'imply a ~worldly excursion, for ,the good religious, but. a means for .vacating one duty to take up another for the better health of her body and soul. Very often only a wee bit of fun, a little gaiety. a good laugh, the healing that God's beautiful world can give, will restore balance and do an infinite amount of good. The mind needs rest, the nerves need it too, the body requires it, and the soul needs the chance to be at rest in God. To people of the world, no one seems so idle or leisurely as the Contemplative nun in her cloister; while no worldling ever worked so hard, with suchconcentration of mind and soul as the contemplative 10 COMMUNICATIONS Sister. The point is, the world is outside, and it is the world that creates all the hurry, the bustle and hustle' that wears nerves~ thin, and weakens the spirit in the supernatural life. It is quite certain that so-called vacations are unknown among the Trappistines, .the Car-melites, the Poor Clares and other such wholly enclosed or~ders~ It is'a different matter with~ the active" orders doing teaching, nursing, social service visiting, and other forms of institutional~ work. "For the most part such religious are laboring early and late, often weary unit footsore. No doubt, vacations they never expected when they entered religious life, but not the need of vacations when pro-vided by obedience and proper authority~. This need can come from overworl~, and then the soul suffers as well as the body, Whether vacations appl~r to the saints of old is not the question. All and eoer~thing in their lives~has not been written: and one can find many incidents described that could be recognized as rest times, or leisure. The Saints were occupied with beir~g saints, and not so much with the vast amount bf labor accomplished. Certainly life in the present century ha~ a tempo hard to match with" any previous centtiry. We must judge of the need of rest, relaxations, intermis-sions, in terms of-present-day tempo, not that of other times. This worldly pace has seeped into convent life here and there to some extent and to some degree. Religious deplore this. And since every community, of whatever kind, in any order, has to fight to stem the wiles of Satan as well as the influence and intrusion, of the world, tl~e individual welfare, spiritual and physical, of each member must be guarded. It is not going back to the world, or even to one's family (unless in the wisdom of superiors this is best) that will help the fatigued Sister most; their best vacation will be in. a safer retreat from the world. Whatever the vacation may be the main point is how it is spent. The plan of one community can be mentioned who enjoy a two weeks vacation every summer, This vacation period is for all, and in the Convent. The planning costs the superior much concentrated thought~ .Since the Divine Office is said in choir and nothing of this is to be omitted, or other spiritual exercises mitigated, it is not easy to meet all the requirements. Only the most necessary household work is done, so that there will be sufficient hours for all to have some free time. Few visitors, or parlors, are encouraged. As far as possible all have an equal chance for reading some good books, for writing, for rest, and for enjoying their own chapel and ~ardens. In 11 COMMUNICATIONS the later afternoon a general recreation is held for all, and the day finishes with an early retiring. ~ All seem to enjoy this simple and profitable vacation and are grateful for this yearly event, It is not a time for idling,, nor useless wandering about, or negligence; in fact,' it is a time for retrieving past. negligences and to build, in a united way," their player life. At recreation time they are a united community with many enjoyable things to say and hear. This vacation time helps fraternal charity to reigfi and makes and keeps the community a family group. ¯A SISTER. Reverend Fathers: In your Comrfiunications Department for the September issue a Sister writes: "Our present day religious are imbibing the spirit~Of the world:bit by bit." It is probably undeniabl~ that the world is at the convent door-step. Thlough various, devices it will force an entrance if the,,door is even slightly ajar.: The avenue of approach is~,connected: in one way or another with the community's external wbrk--nursing, teaching, or whatever it niay be. Devotion to a work so readily leads,to absorption in it that the work is likely to become art end in itself. In their activities, hospitals, schools 'and other institutions "'must keep up with the times" if they are to retain their clientele and if they "are to spread their apostolate. "Nevertheless, it may be just at this point that the time-honored slogan of r~ligious life becomes distorted and the members begin to be of the world'as well as in it, and that con-vent :life may begin to take on the attitudes and manneris,ms of worldly living. ' ~ Whether "vacations" for religious would open a new channel to divert members 6f religious ~communities from close following of their primary objective is a question to be considered. One might doubt the validity of the argument, "We do not read that Our Divine Lord or His Immaculate Mother ever took a vacation." For, neither do we read that they did not do so, or that periods of rest 'and relaxa-tion were not allowed. Would it be heretical to stippose that Our Lord made His visits to His friends at Bethany serve some such pur-pose? The Gospels tell us that Jesus had compassion on the mul-titudes, and that He went about healing the sick--proving that He was ever sympathetic to physical needs. Presuming, then, that a vacation is a good means to physical well-being as an aid to spiritual 12 Januar~t, 1948 COMMUNICATIONS progress, may we not think that Our Lord would have advocated it provided, of course, that all things are in keeping? That all things are in keeping in other words, that a vacation planned for Sisters would not resemble, even remotely, a house party for worldlings or a secular summer resort. The editor who replied to . Question 17, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, 3uly, 1947, makes timely sug-gestions to forestall such possibilities when he proposes specifically, "a place that's private, where many Sisters could go together and rest and play games and, above all, get to know one another." The same editor also states. "There's no vacation from the spiritual life ¯ . . hence, I make allowance for spiritual exercises in my plan for the ideal religious vacation." Now, if we grant that the "teach-summer-school-retreat-dean house-teach" schedule of teachers and parallel programs for other types of religious institutes demand some form of definite relaxation; and if on the other hand we admit that worldliness might readily gain entrance to the convent through the vacation medium, is t1~ere a third alternative? In reply, we suggest cornmunit~ recreation---community recrea-tion as it should be. That last clause is inserted because some of us remember when the regular period of "Rule Recreation," supple-mented by a full two weeks' Christmas holiday of wholesome enjoy-ment and happy relaxation (uninterfered with by attendance at con-ventions, meetings, conferences, and so on) did actually supply the rest vitamins which made a vacation unnecessary or a rarity. Those nurderous activities, already mentioned, off our present, complex life are crowding more and more into our daily order and they are crowding out of it that which is necessary to it. In conse-quence, what is happening to that daily hour of simple: nerve-soothing relaxation where each member contributed something and received more--some with hobbies, other at games, all participating as leaders or listeners in conversation which rested, entertained, and uplifted the tired mind and body? May it be possible too that rela-tions with the exterior have tended to re:form community life to the extent that our recreational gatherings are becoming facsimiles of woridly fiestas; in which the restorative simplicity and horniness of convent recreation are lost? -A SISTER. Reverend Fathers: May I submit a few thoughts regarding the subject "Vacations 13 COMMUNICATIONS Reoiew [or Religious for Sisters." My thoughts are in agreement with those of the priest quoted in the 2uly number, p. 241: and in disagreement with the communication in ,the Septembe~ issue, written by "A Sister." In Father's talk to the astonished Mother General, to whom he suggested a vacation for the Sisters, he reiterated what were evidently the sentiments of our sainted Superiors-General, both living and dead. For we have a, large Community house, formerly a hotel,, m an isolated section of'a seashore resort, and directly on the ocean front, which we use for retreats and vacation. Each Sister is per-mitted about two weeks there; six days of which are spent in the silence and recollection of retreat. The. remaining time is our vaca-tion period: and by vacation, I mean relaxation, change,-rest; walks in the fresh air°and sunshine: reading, knitting, crocheting; and, of course, chatting: becoming better acquainted with each other; sharing views about our life work; and,! as Father'said, "fostering a good community spirit." What of out spiritual exercises? They are exactly the same, and in common; though they begin at six, instead of at five A:M. And I might say here that during these vacation days there is never a time that Our Lord.in the Blessed Sacrament has ~not some adorers; that there is not someone making the Stations: someon~making,.a little extra visit. Our rule of~silence is dispensed with except at breakfast: but, of course, the sacred °silence is strictly kept. Who does the work? We do, lovingly,and generously, our .tiny tasks assigned by obedience. Who pays-the bills? Each local superior--a certain amount to a common fund and I-suppose, Divine Providence; . We love it; we are grateful for it: and I know I speak for all when I. say, "God bless those who are ~ responsible for our ideal religious vacation from which we return to our work renewed in mind and body and soul." And why do I disagree with "A Sister" whose communication I referred to. My opinion, Sister, is that you do not really know your Sisters. Probably your position and y.our work have kept you from close intercourse with them." I speak as one of the "rank and file" of a large community which has labored in this country for over a hundred years, and almost three times that many yea.rs in other countries. am teaching school, and have been doing so for over twenty-five years. During these happy years of my religious life I have come in 14 January, 1948 COMMUNICATIONS dose contact with many of our own Sisters; and through teaching and studying with many Sisters of other communities. Therefore, I think I am speaking for "us," the many hundreds of teaching and nursing and otherwise busy Sisters. No, Sister, we do hot forget that we entered religion to take up our eros~ daily and to follow our Crucified Spouse." We don't talk about that fact every'moment of our lives; nor wrhe.books about it; nor 6therwise publidze it; but it is ever in our hearts as we go about bearing the he~t and the burden of the day. Yes, we vowed for life, and on that vow day, so dear to our hearts, we promised our undying love to our Spouse. Each day since, we have kept that promise, whether we were sick or tired or discouraged or Unhappy. The work has grown more dii~cult with the years, as even "those grand religious who have gone before us" would testify were they here today. I like to' think that it is they, in heaven, who have procured for us the many blessings which we now enjoy. You say we are frequently ¯asking, "When may I visit my rela- " tires?" Most of our rules, I am sure, forbid us tO visit our relatives unless they are seriously ill, or very' aged. Hence our visits, neces- .arily infrequent, are usually no joy to us: they are rather a great anxietY and a source of worry. We go, not for our own benefit, but to give our parents the comfort and consolation which God prom-ised them as-part of their hundredfold for having given us to God years ago. And on our return, as we kneel in our chapels and renew, our vows, when the nails are really hurting, can't we truly say that' we have "died" to our relatives and have left "all things" to follow Christ. One more thought, dear Sister. Do you think for one moment that St. Joseph "toiled day inand day out" and never took a vaca-tion? I don't. I'm not a scholar of Scripture, but I think his life was not "all work and no play." I like to think that since Christ Him- Self was like us in all things, save sin, that the Holy Family did relax sometimes. I'm sure that on some days They packed a littl~e lunch,. took a fishing net or a rod, perhaps, and spent the day at the lake, fishing and rowing. I am sure St. Joseph taught the Christ Child to fish; since He Himself gave instructions in the art to .th~ Apostles later on. And was He not perfectly at home in a bo~t teaching the multitude and crossing back and forth over the Lake 0f .Galilee, so much so that He even fell asleep one day? And how did St. Jbhn the Baptist and the Christ Child become intimate during those early 15 COMMUNICATIONS years if they did not visit each other? So, Sister dear, have no worry that your Sisters are so much imbibing the spirit of the world that they will be soon asking for a . "forty hour week." If anything, we are victims of the age in which we live and its surrounding circumstances. Maybe we are different; but we are not less generous, I hope. We will, with God's grace, continue "to give and not to count the cost; to fight, and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor, and to ask no reward" save Christ our Spouse, and eternal life with Him. -~ SISTER Reverend Fathers: No doubt you have already received instances to demolish the universal negative~about the saints and vacation. But if you can use another, all Jesuit saints took their weekly day off and their annual vacation, according to rule. The Sister seems to have missed the point of the original suggestion, and can't conceive of that kind of a vaca-tion.-- A JESUIT MISSIONARY. Reverend Fathers: With a little interest and a great deal of confirmation of.my alarm over the low state of religious in general, I have been noticing the remarks in your REVIEW on vacations. My convictions must have been working in my sub-conscious when I picked up the Novem-ber issue. For I looked at the signature on page 330 and said, almost aloud, There, I told you so. But I had not read aright. I mean I had not read the signature. I had read my own thought; and it told me that Some Sisters Who Had a Vacation were Some Sisters Who Had a Vocation. I apologize for putting them out of the Convent so soon; but I am sure they will understand, unless they are worse than my sub-conscious makes them, and think only those act With "wisdom and foresight" who purchase homes in the mountains. I am not opposed to vacations, as such. I think there are a num-ber of things we should vacate. If the superior sends you on a vaca-tion, go. And if the superior does not send you on a vacation, and you do not consider (other things being equal) the wisdom and fore-sight to be equal in either case, look out for your own sub-conscious. Another worthy comparison is with our worthy brethren, the wiser children of the world, who say so often that they have no time for [Continued on p. 56] 16 Reasons [or Remembering Mary T. N. Jorgensen, S.J., LONELINESS can bring one of man's most poignant griefs: the right kind of companionship can bring his greatest joy. Psy-chologists claim that having a friend one can th.oroughly trust is a great protection against mental and nervous breakdown; and, on the contrary, the feeling of having no one really interested in one's joys or ready to share one's sorrows often preys upon the mind until both body and mind collapse. Mere association with others will not remove loneliness. We must love and trust our friends: they must know and love and.be faithful to us. A man whose beloved bride has just died is bitterly lonely in a crowded room: a hermit miles from the nearest visible person can live in great peace because of his communion with God. Ia his book, Europe and the Faith, Belloc calls Protestantism a religion of loneliness, the "prime product of t1"ie Reformation being the isolation of the soul." Certainly much of today's disintegration in public and private life is' due to that unh~ippy revolt. One of its great mistake~ was its strange rejection of the glorious Mother of God. We can find peace again by a wholehearted return to her love.i Catholics have never entirely lost her:-but we live so intimately with non- Catholics, so surrounded by their enervating atmosphere, that we naturally have been unable to resist the contagion fully or even mainly. Faber writes of devotion to Mary in Protestant England: Mary is not half enough preached. Devotion to her is low and thin and poor. It i~ frightened out of its wits by the ~neers of heresy. It is always invoking human respect and carnal prudence, wishing to make Mary so little of a Mary that Protes-tants may feel at ease about her. Its ignorance of theology makes it unsubstantial and unworthy. It is not the prominent characteristic of our religion which it ought to be. It has no faith in itself. Hence it is that .~esus is not loved, that heretics are not converted, that the Church is not exalted; that souls, which might be saints, wither and dwindle; that the Sacraments are not rightly frequented, or souls enthusiastically evangelized. $esus is obscured because Mary is kept in the back-ground. "Fhousands of souls perish because Mary is withheld from them. And that is England, a land once proudly called "Mary's Dowry." Our country has received the Protestant tradition from England; ~t has not received from her the traditions which were hers 17 T. N. JORGENSEN Reoieto ~.or Religious under Venerable Bede, Alfred the Great, Thomas ~ Becket, Chaucer, ThOmas More, and her many other great lovers of the Virgin Mary. In the September issue of REVIEW FOR. RELIGIOUS I spoke of the way in which Mary i's truly and fully present in our lives. In this article I shall give some motives for increasing our devotion to her. And while the flight from loneliness is not one of our chief motives, it is a great one. It is not good for man to be alone. This was God's thought as He made Eve to be Adam's companion. Eve failed; but in this companionship, as in all other things, Mary brings all that Eve was' supposed to bring, and more. This is very '"much. Human nature as originally created by God in the Garden of Eden was a glorious thing. Mary from the beginning has this great glory. By her Immaculate Conception she came forth the ideal of our race, "Our tainted nature's solitary boast." Hers is human nature at its best. Virgin, mother, queen, whatever position or virtue one can seek-in a~ perfect woman, Mary has to the fullest degree. She is patieny, loving, kind, beautiful, considerate, wise, prudent, powerful, active, unselfish. One can make the list as long as desired and always find reasons for her perfection in the virtue, ex.amples of her exercise of it. She is the strength of the weak, the health of the sick, the refuge of sinners. She is the joy of the martyrs, the confessors, the virgins, the angels. God Himself delights eternally in being with her, in lavishing His attention and gifts and love upon her. Surely it is a wonderful favor to be invited to live with such a person,° and we are invited to do just this--to live with her, talk to her, trust in her, .love her, work with her, act and feel and think and be at one with her at every moment of our lives. Her love is ours to enjoy, her power ours to use, her presence ours to rejoice in if we but wish it. She wishes it. God wishes it. The saints understood and rejoiced to accept this glory. If we find her and accept her and liv~ with her, we also shall be saints. Sanctity, union with God, peace, success in the spiritual life--all these come to us when we fully accept with St. 3ohn the gift Christ formally gave us from the cross, the gift which was prepared for us long before, the gift which actually came into our possession at our baptism--Mary's spiritual mother, hood. The spiritual life is not hard or sad or unnatural. G~d wishes us to love the good, the joyous, the beautiful things of time and eternity. We blunder gravely when we think that sin or the fruits January, I~48 REMEMBERING I~'IARY of sin are more lovable than God or the gifts of God. God is the perfect Being; the more like Him that others are, the more closely they unite us to Him, the more lovable and satisfying they are. Mary is most like Him; her companionship, therefore, brings us the deepest . joy. That it is an unseen presence does not make it less .valuable. When Christ was about to end His visible presence upon earth, He said to His apostles, "It is expedient that I go, for if I go not I can-not send ttie Paraclete." The visible presence of Christ meant very much to the apostles, but He knew and they soon learned that the invisibile presence of His Spirit in their souls meant more. We, too, shall learn eventually from experience what we already know through faith, that Mary's loving help is none the less potent for being unseen by physical eyes. Love of Mary conquers the evils of materialism. It is a noble and spiritual love, built entirely upon faith, directed toward one whom we have never seen with bodily eyes, fostered mainly by the fact that God wishes it. All this makes it the natural stepping stone to love of God. It is in direct opposition to modern materialism, which is a love of earthly things. Another obvious need of our day is patience amid sufferings. persevering calm and steadiness amid world-wide storms. But all the turmoil of our times is just another phase of the age-old struggle between good and evil, between the woman and her seed on one side, Lucifer and his on the other.~/~brlst and Mary on Calvary stood at the very center of the storm winds; we live in comparative calm. They have won the victory for us; we face but a lesser trial to enjoy its fruits. Lucifer cannot reach Mary directly, and he seeks her Achilles' heel in the chil~/ren on earth, whom she loves. But if we are faithful, children, trusting entirely in her, it will not be a vulnerable heel after all, but the heel which crushes the serpent's head. Her strength is our strength if we are one with her. Today's pagan world like the pagan world of old '~drinks down sin like water." Those who walk with an ever-present conscious-ness that their heavenly mother walks with them will not sin. This sentence puts much in few words, summarizing a host of arguments for seeking to develop a fuller consciousness of Mary's loving care. But~avoidance of sin is negative. A good positive summary of the value of this practice is that strong, persevering love makes one grow like to the loved one. Living constantly, willingly, lovingly with M/try will increase our likeness to her. Her nobility will ~.'N. JORGENSEN Reoieto for Relipiotts become ours. This ihaitation is not a mere external likeness; it is deep and abiding, for it brings us the same sanctifying grace which gave God's own life to Mary. We cannot deeply love one whom we do not know, one of whom we seldom think, one to whom we refuse to speak. But if we start asking Mary's advice ~t every decision, trusting in her at every diffi-culty, following her example at every oportunity, we will quickly discover how wonderful she is. Countless millions have called to her: not one has been left unanswered. God blesses abundantly all who honor His Masterpiece, His best Beloved. His Mother, the Queen of His heavenly home. One of God's reasons for living a full life on earth was to teach us how to live. "His life surely teaches us devotion to Mary. We have but to recall the Annunciation, the days of Mary's pregnancy, of Bethlehem, Egypt, and Nazareth to see how fully He gave Him-self to her. The baby Christ and the young boy Christ would look to her at all hours of the day, doing the things she wished, rejoicing in her smile, trusting in her virtue. Nor did He ever repudiate this first and deepest.love. Christ's humility in subjecting Himself to a mere creature for love of God undid the harm of Adam's pride in following Eve's wish in defiance of God. Our humble giving of ourselves to Mary in union with Christ makes the undoing of Adam's fall complete for us. As Eve shared with Adam in the fall of man, Mary shares with Christ in man's redemption. The Eve-Mary parallel is interesting, but it is too often discussed to need repetition here. But the struggle between good and evilbegan before Adam and Eve. Long before Adam's creation, "before the hills were made" (Proverbs 8:25), ,lesus and Mary were God's predestined King and Queen of the good angels who followed Michael and conquered Lucifer and his followers. Mary is Satan's archenemy, the one in God's plans who is to crush his head. Lucifer and his followers hate and oppose Mary with all their strength because they hate God: we should love and serve her with all our devotion for love of God. If we follow Christ's example and are devoted children of Mary, we feel at home in the spiritual world. Then the communion of saints means what it is supposed to mean. All other wayfarers on .earth are close to us, for they, too, are children of Mary. The souls in purgatory, the saints in heaven, the angels, even God Himself are all one with us in calling her "Beloved." When we visit Christ in 20 danuar~t, 1948 REMEMBERING MARY the Blessed Sacrament, we have one more thing to talk about, for His mother is our mother. When we turn to our guardian angel, we have one more argument in our plea for help, for his queen is our queen. Queen of apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins--the Litany of Loretto reveals host after host of glorious souls who are united to ' us through Mary by the closest of bonds. The graces which she poured forth to give them triumph and joy and God's own life, sh~" gives us in our fight against the same foes. She rejoices to make us "other Chrlsts," to conceive Christ "again and again in the souls of all the just. We should love Mary truly because she is truly our mother. The Annunciation was an unfathomable moment, not only affecting the eternal destiny of all men and bringing the angels a queen, but also giving God a human nature and a mother. This mother-son rela-tionship was unlike any other in that the Son consciously chose and accepted Mary for His mother. And because He is changeless eter-nally, because the whole plan of the redemption was for heaven rather, than for this earth alone, He accepted her forever and accepted her for us. Father Rickaby (Waters That Go Softly, p. 74) has an interesting list of scriptural references which run thus: And she brought forth her first-born son and wrapped him up in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger (Luke 2:7). For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be made conformable to the image of the invisible God, the first-born amongst many brethren (Rom. 8:29). Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature . And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn (Col. 1:15, 18). And the dragon was angry against the woman and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ (Apoc. 12:17). God in choosing Mary the Mother of Christ, chose her mother of all the "other Christs." She is the mother of the Head and of all the other members of the Mystical Body. AS she was mother of the Holy Home at Nazareth from which the Church grew, she is the mother of the Church. Christ's dying bequest "Behold thy mother" revealed and e~tablished this universal motherhood; the history of the Church confirms it. The first to come to Christ, "going into the house, found the Child with Mary his mother" (Mt, 2:11). All since who have entered Christ's house, the Church, find Him with Mary His mother. And heaven will find her still His mother and ours. But the best reason for remembering Mary is simply this, God 21 REMEMBERING MARY Ret~iew for Religious wishes it. He chose to come to us through Mary. He asks us to come to Him'through her. Our only toad to the Father is through Christ; our n~tural road to Christ is through Mary. That God has ordained this is clear from the unwavering teaching of His Church as well as from the lives of the saints. We might give many reason~ for this choice of His, for we can see that it increases "our humility, that Mary's blessing on our prayers increases their worth, that faith in Mary's presence necessarily implies faith in God's greater presence, and so forth. But it is sufficient here to recall that God wishes it, and He is our wise and lbving Father. We should be eager to honor Mary at all times, for at all times'she is helping us, watchifig over us, offering her loving help. It is only just that we should make as adequate a response as we can, and the closest we can come to making a fair return is by accepting her gifts lovingly at all times. Mary suffered heroically for us on C~Ivary when she was revealed as our .spiritual mother. Gratitude demands that we make the most of this spiritual life, and this is done by accepting the help she is constantly offering us. And again, she is so perfect and lovable in herself that natural good sense should make us glad to recall her presence often. One might go on much longer enumeratihg reasons for this devo-tion to Mary, but for the moment I shall be content wlt!q a summary of those already given. It conquers loneliness, confusion, and despair by bringing companionship, peace, joy, hope, inspiration. It gives strength and light to bear sufferings in the best possible way, that is, in union with the sufferings of ,lesus and Mary on Calvar'y. It helps us to conquer sin completely. It fills our hearts with the noblest love and makes us noble like unto Mary. It makes us Christlike, more fully unitin, g us to Him and giving ias a greater share in His life. It makes 'our rise from Adam's sin and our opposition to Lucifer and evil more complete. It gives the communion of saints the vital share in our lives which it sl:iould have. Truth and justice and gratitude demand it, for Mary is our mother, loves us deeply, and is most lovable. And these reasons are all true or truer because of the final great reason: It is God's most urgent will. He gives His grace to the humble. We must be meek and humble of heart as He is and become thd children of Mary as He did if we wish to please Him. If we are humble and childlike all this will be clear to us. Although the father of the family supports it, a little child naturally runs to his mother for help when he is in need, knowing his cause 22 January, 1948 LITURGICAL AND PRIVATE DEVOTION stronger if his mother pleads for him. God, our Father, has put the disposal .of His riches in our regard in the hands of Mary by making "her the Mediatrix of All Graces. If she were not our mediatrix, it would still be a great pleasure to be devoted to her. Now it is as necessary as it is natural. It is as profitable as it is pleasant. Li!:urgical and Priva!:e Devotion J; Putz, S.J. [EDITORS' NOTE: This article is reprinted with permission from The Clergy Momfily (Vol. VIII, pp. 293-305), a magazine for the clergy published in India. :,The article derives special timeliness from the fact that it discusses some of the doc-trines of the ~ncycllcal Mystibi Corporis which the Pope found it advisable to reiterate in his most recent encyclical Mediator Dei.] ~4~ACK to the liturgy!" is one of the watchwords of our age. D During the last thirty years the liturgical movement has beer/ steadily growing and has contributed its share towards the revival of a more integral Catholic spirit. However, like most good tthioinngs;s ,a nitd i st haep tR toom leaand Peonnthtiufsfsia, swtihci fleo lelonwcoeursra tgoi ncger. ttahien mexoavgegmerean- t, have occasionally felt obliged to rais~ a warning voice against the danger of one-sidedness. "There is no doubt," Plus XI wrote in 1928, "that an a~voidance of the exagl~erations Which are noticeable of late will enable liturgy to contribute much towards progress in spiritual life." Plus XII in his encyclical Mystici Corporis (June 29, 1943) warned against three particular.exaggerations connected with the liturgy. A few months later he again returned to this subject in a letter to the Bishop of Mainz, who had requested the Pope "to raise the whole [liturgical] matter out. of an atmosphere of apprehension into one of confidence." Plus XII replied: In this connection We can only repeat what We have already said on other occa-sions, namely that the question is being dealt with here in a calm and broadminded manner by the cardinals charged with its clarification, and that the Holy See is prepared to meet as far as is possible the needs of spiritual mlnistrarion in German)'. Concern has been expressed in the first place amongst you yourselves and in fact, as you know, by the bishops. It cannot be said that such concern is altogether without found~tlon. It is certainly not related excluslvel); to the liturgical question, but it affects the whole devotional and ascetic llfe of the faithful. 23 J. PUTZ ' Ret~ieto [or Religiotis ~ The ;Holy"Father~,then, refers :to an article in the Kl~gusblatt of July 14, 1943,'~vbich confirmed anew the concern felt in Rorfie. "It can therefore only be salutary to make a clear distinction nbw; hrhen the liturgical question is. beir;g dhalt with, 'between'whag~is ~¢hole-some and what.i~' unwholesbme." The Pope then points out that this has already been done to some extent in the encyclical Mgstici Corporis. The letter continues: On three points We feel that emphasis should be placed: (1) That the liturgical movement doris-not, by_a, 0nd;sided emphasis~n their l~sychological effect, push into tl~e'b~ackgroun~l the meaning o~ and e~teem fc~i~the grace-giving effect of the Sacred Mysteries. (2) That the consciousness of the fundamental significance of the eternal t~uths and the struggle of the individual against sin, the striving of the individual for virtue and holiness are not marred by exaggeration of the lithrgical side. (3) Finally, that a!ongside the task in the liturgical sphe~r,~ oth.er task~ are not overlooked. What is liturgy? In this article it is taken in its strict sense, as distinct from private prayer. We must therefore exclude~ the broad meaning given it by some recent writers, who would make it embrace a.ll prayer,"public and private, and even the whole life of the Mystical ¯ Body. In its proper meaning liturgy is equivalent'to punic official worship as defined by canon 1256, that is, worship offered in the name of the Church through acts which by her institution are to be offered only to God, to the saints, and to the blessed by persons law-fu!. ly'deputed for this fhnction. ' : Its center is the Mass. This is surrounded, as .it were, by two circles which are an exp.ansion or prolongation of the Eucharisti~ Sacrifice: ~he I~ivine'Office by which the Church throughout the iday offers to God the laas perennis, and the sacraments (and: sacramentals } which spread God's grace and blessings throughout the life of~ the Church. These essential dements by their daily and~seasohal varia-tions form the wonderful rhyth~ of the liturgical year, with the sanctoral cycle integrated into the temporal cycle. Public worship calls for an appropriate edifice with its various appointments, particularly the altar. It requires c~rtfiin vestments and an adapted mode of singing. This ':setting" of the liturgy has its obvious importance; but it must remain secondary, though extremists and faddists at times seem to take the husk for the kernel. The real problem inherent in the liturgical movement is a ~spir-itual one. It concerns the relation of the liturgy to "private" devo-tion- which is but one aspect of a more geneial problem, namely. the relation of the individual to society. The "polar tension" 24 danuar~ , 1948 LITURGICAL AND PRIVATE DEVOTION existing between these two has been the object of many studies in recent years. Like all such tensions, it cannot be solved by stressing one side at the expense of the other. Individualism and absorption of the individual in society are equally to be avoided. A full and healthy Christian life r.equires the union of liturgy with private prayer and personal endeavor. 1. The liturgy has a twofold function. Its primary purpose is found in its intrinsic, objective, supernatural value. Liturgy is essentially the public exercise of the Church's priesthood, the con-text and prolongation of the sacrifice of the altar. It is both God-ward and manward. It is the "voice of the Spouse" expressing to God the worship owed by the Church as a visible society and,calling down upon men the blessing of the Almighty. Its 'power is not due to the d~votion of the minister, but to the opus operantis Ecclesiae: and in the primary rites--the opus operaturn of the Mass and the sacraments--Christ Himself communicates His own sacrifice to be offered on the altar and His life to be received into souls. As the prayer of the Church and the action of Christ, the litu.rgy clearly ranks higher than private piety. Its objective excellence is further enhanced by the inspired character of most of its formulas a~ad by the fact that the Churdh in creating .the liturgy has been guided by the Holy Ghost. We should note, however, that the liturgy pos-sesses its essential character and value only when performed by those officially empowered and delegated to act in the name of the Churcfi. The ordinary layman, it is true, shares in the Catholic p.rlesthood by his baptismal character; but his part in the liturgy is strictly limited. His character enables him to receive the sacraments and to offer the sacrifice by his spiritual union with the celebrant. To exercise this power on certain occasions is his only "liturgical" obligation. He may, of course, recite the prayers of the missal, breviary, or ritual; but on his lips they will be "private" prayers (excepting those parts which are officially assigned to the congregation). Even so their use is to be recommended, for such use effectively serves the second pur-pose of the liturgy. Besides its intrinsic purpose and essential value, the liturgy has a subjective or pedagogical efficacy: it is meant to instruct the faithful and to train them in the true Christian spirit. Union with the Church's liturgy is a wonderful education of mind and heart. It teaches the truths of our faith by enacting and living them; it devel-ops the Christian spirit by making us exercise it: Plus XI, when 25 J. PUTZ Retqew for Religious instituting the feast of Christ the King, remarked: "People are in-structed in the truths of faith and brought to appreciate the 'inner joys of religion far more effectually by the annual celebration 6f the sacred" mysteries than by any. official announcement of the teaching of the Church." Pius X declared that "active participati.on in the sacred and solemn mysteries of the Church is the primary and indispensable source of the genuine Christian spirit" (Motu proprio, November 22, 1903). Father Meschler, S.3., in his Catholic Church Year, states: "In order to obtain holiness and salvation, we have ohly to follow, willingly the invitations of the liturgical year." The Mass, the sacraments, the feasts, and the seasons eloquently put before us the Christian ideal and supply the necessary inspiration and motivation in constant Variety. Religion as taught by the liturgy has a definite spirit or style, which is the norm of genuine and healthy religion, a safeguard against all deviations. If we were to characterize it in one word, we would point out its sense ot: proportion which putsall things in their proper place. Hence its dominant theocentrism, which stresses adoration, praise, and self-oblation as the primary duties of religion. Rich in devotions, it never allows these to overshadow the essential devotion. It is solidly "objective," stressing dogma; facts, and realities rather than subjective feelings, the latter flowing naturally from a realiza-tion of the truth. Thus it is free from emotionalism, yet capable of the highest ~enthusiasm and the deepest grief. It satisfies the needs of the individual soul (chiefly in the Eucharist), but at the same time. takes one beyond,the narrowness of individualistic piety by fostering social consciousness, a sense of oneness with the community. The individual is always made to feel a part of the whole, a member Of the family, a cell of the Body; even (or especially) at the moments of his most personal union with God (in Holy Communion) he cannot forget his union~ with his fellow men. The liturgy thus tends to shape or "inform" man's total spiritu~l life. "Liturgical piety" consists in consciously making the liturgy the center, the chief object, and the inspiration of one's inner life. It is clear that a dose of this liturgical spirit is not only useful but neces-sary for all on account of the part which~ the Mass, the sacraments, and public worship have to play in the life of a Catholic. 2. But it is no less evident that the public prayer of the Church can in no way be opposed to individual prayer and endeavor. It not only leaves room for the latter, but requires it and stimulates it. The 26 danuary, 1948 LITURGICAL AND PRIVATE DEVOTION liturgy by itself, as official worship, is' something exterior and imper-sonal, regulated by the Church and faithfully executed by the litur-gist. It is distinct from the interior life that animates the Church and each member; it only expresses this life and devotion. It is fruitful and sanctifying only in the measure of the understanding and fervor which the individual brings to it. Liturgical prayer, to be more than lip service, must become interior, that is, personal, "pri-vate." Even the opus operatum does not work mechanically; but its effect is proportioned to each one's personal devotion. Personal prayer and endeavor must also prolong the liturgy. The Mass must be lived, the spirit and the ideal taught by public worship must shape individual lives.1 Thus liturgy invites the co-operation of mental prayer, self-examination, and all the methodical exercises of tradi-ditional asceticism. It would therefore be fallacious to oppose "liturgical piety" and ."ascetical piety" as though they were two distinct ways to perfection, the former being considered the more excellent, if not the only truly Catholic, way. There is but one way. Liturgy implies private prayer and must pass over into asceticism; 13rivate prayer and asceti-cism in turn must keep in contact with the liturgy, chiefly the~ Mass and the sacraments. The proportion of the two elements will vary according to each one's tastes and needs; but neither can be separated from the other, or even unduly stressed at the expense of the other, without serious dangers. Private and popular piety without the liturgy is exposed to the danger of deviating from fundamentals~to accessories, from genuine devotion to emotionalism and subjectlvism, from trust in God's grace to reliance on natural methods (semi- Pelagianism). Liturgy without private prayer and endeavor becomes formalism, aestheticism, semi-quietism. Too much stress on public, exterior worship fosters in the liturgist a tendency to be more con-cerned With forms than with life. Hence there arises an excessive attachment to ancient forms and a lack of appreciation for new forms and feasts, the liturgy of the first four centurieg being proclaimed as the standard for all times. Ye~; those aricient forms were new in their time: nor has the Holy Ghost ceased to direct the Church since the lit must also guide personal piety. But individual prayer has laws and character-istics of its own. The Church not.only tolerates but encourages non-liturgical and "popular" devotions, such as visits to the Blessed Sacrament, the Rosary, the Stations of the Cross, devotions to the Sacred Heart, and so forth, which, like the liturgy, have grown out of the life of the Church and correspond to the spiritual needs of the faithful. 27 J' PUTZ Reuietu fi~th century. "There is still a continuous development of dogma; a [ortiori there must be a development and progress of liturgy. The fashionable underrating (or contempt) of "popular". devotions is also rooted in lack of understanding of the laws of life and is clearly contrary to the mind of the Church. Both corporate life and individual" life in the Church have the same source, Christ. Together they constitute Christ'~ life in His Mystical Body. It is necessary that both be intensely cultivated and that the correct tension between them be maintained. After these general considerations we shall briefly analyze the doctrine of M~Cstici Corporis concerning some particular exaggerations connected with the liturgy. At first sight, the mention of these "errors" might seem out of place, unrelated to the general theme of the encyclical. In reality it is closely connected with the rest. In the dogmatic part, while explaining the theology of the Mystical Body, the Pope has been at pains to show how in this Body the personal and the social, the interior and the exterior, the spiritual and the juridical elements are united in one common source and purpose. He then con-demns two errors ~vhich tend to obliterate the permanence of the individual person in the Body and the need for personal endeavor; and now he vindicates the rights of the individual in his devotional life. I, Frequent Confession The same [disastrous] result follows from the opinions of those ~vho assert that little importance should be given to the frequent confession of venial sins. Preference is to be given, they say, to that general confession which the Spouse of Chris~: surrounded by her children in the Lord makes each day through her priests about to go up to the altar of God. The confession of sins at the beginning of the Mass is an impres-sive act, very appropriate before the celebration of the sublime mys-teries. It purifies the soul and disposes it to offer the sacrifice of expia-tion with greater fervor. The absolution after the Confiteor, though not efficacious ex opere operato as in the sacrament of penance, is a sacramental. Through the intercession of the Church it tends to arouse in those present true sorrow by which they merit the remission of their venial sins. Though in its present form it is of late origin, yet some such confession seems to go back to the earliest times. Even the Didache or'Teaching of the .Twelve Apostles mentions it: "On the Lord's day being assembled together break the bread and 'make Eucharist,' having first confessed your offences that your sacrifice may be pure." 28 Januar!l, 1948 LITURGICAL AND PRIVATE DEVOTION However, zeal for this venerable practice may become indiscreet and weaken the esteem of frequent private confession. The sacra-ment is of course necessary in the case of mortal sins; but frequent confession of venial sins may seem to diminish our devotion for the daily public confession in which the Church wants each one to join wholeheartedly. This may have been the reasoni.ng of those of the "younger clergy" whom the encyclical mentions as belittling frequent confession. "It is true that venial sins can be expiated in many ways, which are to be highly commended," for example, by acts of charity~ public confession before Mass, and particularly Holy Communion; "but to insure a more rapid and daily progress along the path of virtue we wish the pious practice of frequent confession to be earnestly advo-cated." There are two reasons why this should be done: (a) The practice was introduced by the Church under the guidance of the Holy Ghost. Leaving aside the obscure question of its origin, it was approved by the Council of Trent and by Pope Plus VI. When the Synod of Pistoia expressed the wish that con-fession of venial sins be less frequent, on the principle that fa;niliarity breeds contempt, Plus VI cerlsured this declaration as "temerarious, pernicious, and contrary to the practice of saints and pious Christians approved by Trent." Plus X, in his Exhortation to the Catholic Clergg, deeply deplored the laxity of those priests who but rarely frequent the sacrament of penance and thus blunt the delicacy of their consciences. Canon Law wishes religious and seminarians to confess "at least once a week." A number of saints used to confe~s every day. St. Bonaventure recommended daily confession to the novices; and Father Louis Lallemant, to all who are especially desirous of perfection. However, these writers recommend the practice only to souls who can maintain a habitual fervor which is capable of resisting the tendency to routine and of daily making the spiritual effort required for a fruitful confession. (b) Frequent confession is an efficacious means of spiritual progress. The encyclical enumerates its advantages, both pedagogical ¯ and sacramental: "By this means genuine self-knowledge is increased, Christian humility grows, bad habits are "corrected, spiritual neglect and tepidity are resisted, the conscience is purified, the will strength-ened, salutary direction is obtained, and grace is increased in virtue of the Sacrament itself." 29 J. PUTZ Review [or Religious 2. Priaate Prager "There are some, moreover, who deny to our prayers any impetratory power, or who suggest that private prayers to God are to be accounted of little value. Public prayers, they say, prayers made in the name of the Church, are those that re'ally count, a~ they pro-ceed from the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ." In reply to this objection, which he characterizes as "quite untrue," the Pope stresses thre~ points: (a) The dignitg of private prager.--To those who depreciate private prayer by extolling the liturgy as "the praying Christ," the prayer of Christ Himself in His Body, the Holy Father opposes the fundamental truth concerning Christian prayer/ all prayer is the prayer of Cb'rist in His body. "For the divine Redeemer is closely united not only with His Church, His beloved Spouse, but in her also with the souls of each one of the faithful, with whom He longs to have intimate converse, especially after Holy Communion." Public prayer is only one part of the Church~s prayer, the most excellent because it "proceeds from Mother Church n rseir. However, every prayer, even the most "private," has "its dignity and efficacy." It is the prolongation of the soul's eucharistic communion with Christ. It is the prayer of Christ praying in His members and as such is never an "isolated" prayer but is part of the Catholic prayer of the Mystical Body, united with those of all the other members and ~benefiting the. whole Body. "For in that Body no good can be done, no virtue prac-ticed by individual members which does not, thanks to the Com-munion of Saints, redound also to the welfare of all." Every prayer thus has a social value. (b) P?age~ ot: petition.--Quietism rejects all prayer of petition as" meaningless, since God knows better than we what is good for us and He desires our good more than we do ourselves. Some liturgists belittle prayer for one's own individual needs as fostering individual-ism. They argue that we should always pray as members, according to the teaching of Christ ("Our Father. give us this day our daily bread.") and the practice of the liturgy which prays in the plural for the needs of all. To pray in the plural ~s no doubt a beautiful practice which keeps us conscious of our union with God's fancily and Christ's Body; but within this Body the members remain "indi-vidual ~0ersons, subject to their own particular needs." Hence it can-not be wrong for them "to ask special favors for themselves, even temporal favors, provided they always submit their will to the 30 Januarg, 1948 LITURGICAL AND PRIVATE DEVOTION divine will." ¯ (c.).Uti!it~t o~: rnedtiff pra~ter.--"As for m~ditation on heavenly things; not only the prbhduncements Of the Church but also the example of' the saints are a proof of the high esteem in which it must be held by all." Liturgical prayer must be vivified by personal medi-tation, and prdgress towards perfection requires an intimate con-sideration of the truths of our faith and frequent communing with the Spirit working in the silence of the soul. Pius X, who praised the liturgy as the" indispensable source of the Christian spirit, had' equal praise for daily meditation; which he declared necessary for a priestly life (Exhortation to.the Catholic Clergy, 1908). Pius XI, who in Divini cultus (1928) extolled liturgical piety, wrote a special ency-clical to recommend the methodical prayer of the spiritual exercises, particularly those of St. Ignatius (Mens nostra, 1929); and the Church wants her priests to practice daily meditation and to make ¯ frequent retreats (canons 125, 126). 3. Prager to Chrisi "Finally, there are some who say that our prayers should not be addressed to the person of Jesus Christ Himself, but rhther to God, or to the Eternal Father through Christ, on the ground that our Savior as Head of His Mystical Body is only 'mediator of God and men.' " " Of course no Catholic denies that Christ is also God and that we may pray to Him. But we are often told by liturgists and even by theologians that we should rather pray to God the Father through Christ Our Lo~d if ov~e want to conform our p~ivate prayer to the . spirit of the liturgy, to the mind of Christ and of the Church, and to sound theology. To a "christocentric" piety, which at present is supposed "to d6minate private and popular devotion, these w~iters oppose a "theocentric" piety. The difference between these two is well explained by, D. yon Hildebrafid: "In christocentric piety, Christ so to speak stands before us and looks at us, while we at the same time look into His visage. In theocentric piety, Christ also stands before us, but He is turned towards the Father, on the summit of humanity, so to speak, leading us to the Father and preceding us on that way." In christocentric piety we adore Christ and pray to Hirfi. In theo-centric piety, we pray to the Father through Christ and with Christ; . ChriSt is the mediator, the head of humanity, our brother,u UIn his original article, Father [Sutz developes at some length the argumerits "in favor of prayer through Christ . " We give them in brief summary in the section in brackets which follows.--ED. 31 LITURGICAL AND PRIVATE DEVOTION Reoieto for Religious [The arguments in favor of prayer through Christ look impres- "sive. It is said that Jesus Himself always addressed His prayer.to the Father; that He emphasized His mediatorial function when He taught the disciples to pray; and that in early Christianity the solemn prayer of the Church was directed to the Father through Christ. This prayer through Christ is said to be theologically preferable because it brings out the fundamental truth of Christ.ianity, namely, that Christ is truly man--our Brother, a Mediator between men and God, our High Priest who is like unto us and who offered Himself for us, our Advocate with the Father, our Head who li;¢es and prays in us. Prayer of this kind keeps the humanity of Christ from being obscured and the Mystery of the Blessed Trinity from becoming a dead dogma; it makes us conscious of our union with the other members of Christ, prevents us from concentrating on the "dreadful" inaccessibility of God, and keeps a balance in our veneration of the saints.] Such is a brief sketch of the arguments. They do bring out the need of keeping alive the consciousness of Christ's humanity, His mediatorship and union with the Mystical Body~the encyclical on the Mystical Body Was written for that very purpose. But they are one-sided because they stress Christ's humanity so much that the-¢ unconsciously obscure His divinity and suggest that prayer to Christ is less perfect, less Christian, less conformed to the mind of Christ and of the Church. This, the encyclical declares, "is false, contrary to the mind of the Church and to Christian practice." The theological argument implies that Christ, as Head of the Mystical Body, is to be regarded only as our brother and mediator, that is, as man. This is incorrect, "for strictly speaking He is Head of the Church adcording to both natures together." The uniqueness of Christ consists precisely in this inseparable union of the divine and the human. He is the mediator because the extremes are united in His person; and when we look on Him as our brother, we cannot forget that He is our God. This is why both forms of prayer are necessary: through Christ and to Christ. They are mutually corn-plementary. The two aspects of Christ are clearly brought out in the prayer of the early Chtirch: they prayed not only to the Father, but equally to Christ following His own invitation. Indeed both the first pub-lic prayer and the first private prayer that have been preserved are addressed to Christ. "It is true," the encyclical states, "that prayers were more commonly addressed to the eternal Father through His" January, 1948 GIFTS FOR RELIGIOUS only-begotton Son, esp.ecially in the Eucharistic Sacrifice; fbr: here Christ as Priest and Victim, exercises in a .~pecial m~inner His office of mediator. Nevertheless, prayers .dir,ect.ed .t9 t~e Red.ee~yr ale. not rare, even in the liturgy of the Mass " though they are naturally,more frequent in private devotion. . _ " Hence pray, el through Christ arid pra.y,e.r to CI~ris~ "are eq~ialIF Christian[ The two together consmute- the complete, Christian prayer; "for every Christian must clearly~ ufiderstand that the man Christ Jesus is truly the Son of God and Himself t~uly. God." The Catholic doctrine, which excludes all one-sided views, is admirably summed up by St. Augustine: Christ (our Head) is Son of~God and Son of man, one God with the Father, one man with mankind. Hence when we speak to God in supplication we do ~not separate from Him His Son, nor does the Son's Body when it prays separate from itself its Head. Thus the same Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God and only savior of His Body, prags for us and in us and is praged't9 bg us. He prays fbr us as our priest; He prays in us as our Head: He is prayed to by us as our God . We pray therefore to Him, through ~Hiro, in Him.a " Git s Religious Adam C. Ellis, S.l~ II. Common Li{e and Peculium THoEf vowte mofp poorvael rtthyi nisg sn. oBt yt hpeo sointilvye n porremsc rfoiprt iroenli gthioeu Cs hinu rtchhe huases provided additional norms intended to safeguard the vow and to foster the spirit of poverty. The'~most important of these is the precept obliging all religious to observe common life, that is, to receive everything they need in the line of food, clothing, furnishings,, and so forth from the community in which they live. These needs are to be supplied from a common fund to which the .religious contribute whatever they earn or whatever is given to them because they are religious. Common life is of apostolic origin. It. was observed in the primi-tive Church by all the faithful, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles: SEnarratlo in psalmurn 85, n. I. (P~L. 37, 1081). 33 ADAM (2. ELLIS Reoiew [or Religiot~s And all the believers were tbgether, and had everything in common: and selling their possessions and belongings they distributed the proceeds to all, according to the needs of each one (2:44, 45). Now the multitude of the believers were of one heart and one soul: and not one claimed any of his property as his own, but everything was common to them (4:32). None among them was in need: for all who were owners of lands qr houses sold 'them, and bringing the proceeds of the sale hid them at the apostles' feet: and a distribution was made to each according as anyone had need (4:34, 35). As the number of the faithful increased, ~ommon life disappeared among the laity but was continued among the clerics, who lived in the city with their bishop and shared in the common fund provided by the faithful for their support. Gradually, however, as Chris-tiani~ y spread from the titles to the countryside, many of the clergy' left the bishop's community to live~among the faithful near their churches, and community life was confined to the clergy of the cathedral churches. Even this form of common life°eventually fell into disuse, but the~ apostolic tradition of common life was still per-petuated by the religious orders whose founders had incorporated it into their rule, ~.nd finally the Church prescribed common life for all religious. For a better understanding of canon 594, which prescribes com-mon life for all religious, it will be well to give here the more impor-tant sources of legislation upon which it is based, beginning with the Council of Trent. " Document I In its twenty-fifth session (December 3, 1543) the Council of Trent legislated for the reform of religious. At that time all reli- ~gious had solemn vows in an order, and there were no religious con-gregations with simple vows. Here are two selections from the first two chapters regarding common life. I. Since the ho!y Synod is not ignorant of the splendor and utility which accrue to the Church of God from monasteries piously instituted and rightly administered, it has--to the end that the ancient and regular discipline may be the more easily and promptly restored where it has fallen away, and may be the more firmly main-tained where it has been preserved--thought it necessary to enjoin, as by this decree it does enjoin, that all regulars, men as well as women, shall order and regu-late their lives in accordance with the requirements of the rule which they have pro-fessed: and above all that they shall faithfully observe whatsoever belongs to the perfection of their profession, such as the vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity, as also all other vows and precepts that may be peculiar to any rule or order, respectively appertaining to the essential character of each, and which regard the observance of a common mode of living (comm~nera oitara), food, and dress. II. Superiors shall allow the use of moveables to the religious in such wise that their furniture shall be in conformity with the state of poverty which they have 34 ~anuarg, 1948 GIFTS FOR RELIGIOUS professed; and there shall be nothing therein superfluous, but at the same time nothing shall be refused which is necessary for them. But should any be dis-covered 9r be proved to possess anything inany other manner, he shall be deprivi:d during two years of his active and passive voice, and also be punished in accordance with the constitutions of his own rule and order. Document. II In some places the reforms i~f the Council of Trent were intro- ¯ duced with great accuracy and fidelity, notably by St. Charles Bor-romeo in the archdiocese and province of Milan. In other places only a halfhearted1 attempt at reform was made, while some monasteries made no effort whatsoever to carry out the decrees of the Council. Fifty years after the close of the Council, Clement VIII determined to enforce its laws regarding the reform of religious and to that end issued a forceful decree entitled Nullus omnino, (July 25, 1599). We quote the paragraphs regarding common life and its observance. 2. In order that the decree 'of the Council of Trent regarding the observance of the vow of poverty may be more faithfully observed, it is orderdd that none of the: brethren, even though he be a superior, shall possess as his own or in the name of the community, any immovable or movable goods, or money, income, pension (census), alms . . . no matter under what title they may have been acquired, even though they be subsidies given by relatives, or free gifts, legacies, or donations, but all shall at once be given .to the superior and incorporated in the community, and mixed with its other goods, income and monies, so that from it [the common'fund] food and clothing may be supplied to all. Nor is it allowed to any superior what- . soever to.permit the same brethren, or any one of them, stable goods even by way of usufruct or use, or administration, not even by way of a deposit or custody.~ 3. The clothing of the brethren and the furniture of their cells is to be pur-chased with money from the common fund, and should be uniform for all the breth-ren and for all superiors. It should conform to the state of poverty which they have vowed, so that nothing superfluous may be admitted, nor anything which is necessary be denied anyone. 4. All, including superiors, no matter who they may be, shall partake of the same bread, the same wine, the same viands, or, as they say, of the same "pittance" (pitantia)l in common at the first or second table unless they be prevented by illness; nor may anything be provided in any manner whatsoever to be eaten pri-vately by anyone; should anyone sin in this matter, let him receive no food on that day, ~xeept bread and water. Document III A century later Innocent XII was obliged to take a vigorous hand in suppressing abuses which still existed or had newly come into being. He tried also to remove the cause of these abuses which lay 1The word "pittance," derived from the late Latin pietantia shortened to pitantia, mea.nt (1) a pious donation, or bequest to a religious house, to provide an addi-tional allowance of food or wine, or a special dish or delicacy on particular feast days: (2) The allowance or extra portion 'itself, as in our text. 35 ADAM C. ELLIS Reoieto [or Religious principally in the lack of sufficient funds to support the monasteries. 3. Let superiors carefully see to it that" eyery~hing which pertains to food and clothing, as well as to all other needs of life, be promptly supplied to each religious, and especially in time of sickness that nothing pertaining to the recovery of health be wanting to anyone. 6. For this reason no more religious should be allowed to dwell in the same house than can be conveniently supporte~l by its income, and by the customary alms, including those given to individuals, or by any other revenue accruing to the common fund. 9. For the future n9 monasteries; colleges, houses, convents, or other places of religious men may be founded, erected, or established in any manner except under the express obligation that common life be exactly obsert~ed perpetually and invio-lately by all dwelling there; and therefore no such foundations are to be permitted hereafter unless, in addition to other requisites,~ it shall be first lawfully established that the annual revenues, or a certain hope of alms, will be sufficient to provide decent support for at least twelve religious living in the exact observance of com-mon life. Document IV To repair the ravages caused to religiou~ orders by the French Revolution and by the Napoleonic wars, Plus VII issued an impor-tant instruction through ~he Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, on August 22, 1814, from which we quote two paragraphs pertinent to our subject. VI. Superiors shall carefully see to it that in those houses in which at least twelve religious are to dwell, eight at least shall be priests. All who desire to be received into these houses shall make their request in writing, and in their own hand shall promise that they will observe the rule proper to their order, especially that regarding common life; which, in those places where it has collapsed, is by all means to be restored, at least according to the norms laid down in n. X. X. In those monasteries and houses in which the practice of common life was in vogue, it shall be retained in the future. In all other houses, of whatever kind or name, let common life be restored in matters pertaining to food, clothing, medicines for the si~k, and for journeys undertaken by command of the order. Document V Similarly, after the revolution of 1848 in the Papal States, Pius IX issued an oraculuro oioae oocis to all superiors general of orders. This was communicated to them by the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars under date of April 22, 1851. 1. In all novitiate houses perfect common life shall be introduced regardless of any indult, privilege, or exemption obtained by any individuals who are members of the community. 2. The perfect observance of the constitutions of each institute regarding pov-erty is to be restored in all houses of professors, of training, and of studies. 3. In every house there shall be established a common fund with the customary precautions, into which all the religious shall deposit ali monies, all privileges to the contrary notwithstanding; tior may they retain in their possession more than what is allowed'by their respective constitutions . And His Holiness reserves to danuar~t, 1948 GIFTS FOR R~ELIGIOUS himself for the future the right to make further disposition regarding indults to religious for the use of money. Document 'VI Some of our re~ders may remark at this point that all the docu-ments cited refer to members of religious orders, but hot to congre-gations with simple vows. To show that even before the Code reli-gious with a simple vow of poverty in a congregation were also bound by th~ obligation of common life, we shall quote two docu-ments. The first is a letter of the Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, dated December 30, 1882, and addressed presumabl.¢ to one or more bishops in Italy, since the introductory part of the letter is in Italian. We quote here the one number pertaining to our subject. The following rules concerning the-simple vow of poverty have been adopted by this Sacred Congregation of Bishops and Regulars, and it is customary to pre-scribe that they be inserted in constitutions which this Sacred Congregation approves: 7. Whatever the professed religious have acquired by their own industry or for their society (intuitu societatis), they must not assign or reserve to themselves, but all such things must be put into the community fund for the common benefit of the society'. Document VII The second pre-Code document referring .to common life for religious with simple vows in a congregation is made up of three articles contained in the Normae of 1901,, which were inserted in all constitutions of religious congregations approved by thh Sacred Con-gregation of Bishops and Regulars after that date. Art. 126. After taking their vows, whatever the Sisters may acquire by reason of their own industry or for their institute may not be claimed or kept for them-selves: but all such things are to be added to the goods of the community for the common use of the institute or house. Art. 127. In the institute let all things concerning furniture, food, and clothing be called and actually be common. It is becoming, however, that clothing for strictly personal use be kept separately in a common wardrobe and be distributed separately. Art. 128. Let the furniture which the Sisters use with the permission of superiors be in conformity with their poverty; and let there be nothing superfluous in this matter: and let nothing that is needed be denied them. It seems to be evident from the documents quoted that, at least since the Council of Trent, the Church has desired that all religious should practice common life according to the norms laid down in these documents. We are now prepared to study the present legisla-tion as contained in canon 594. ~anon 594, § 1: In every religious institute, all must carefully observe com-mon life, even in matters of food, clothing, and furniture. 37 ADAM C. ELLIS Review for Religious § 2. Whatever is acquired by the religious, including superiors, according to the terms of canon 580, § 2, and canon 582, 1°, must be incorporated in the goods of the house, or of the province, or of the institute, and all money and tides shall be deposited in the common safe. § 3. The furniture of the religious must b~ in accordance with the poverty of which they make profession. I. In every reliqious institute," According to the definition of canon 488, 1°, a religious institute means "every society approved by legitimate ecclesiastical authority, the members of which tend to evangelical perfection, according to the laws proper to their society, by the profession of public vows, whether perpetual or temporary." Hence all true religious--whether bound by simple or by solemn vows in an order, or by simple vows, either temporary or perpetual, in a diocesan or in a pontifical congregation--are bound by the obli-gation of common life as laid down in the canon. 2. All must carefull~t observe common life. By reason bf his profession of vows a religious is incorporated, that is, becomes a member of his religious institute, subjects himself to the authority of its superiors, and promises to live in accordance with the prescrip-tions of the rules and constitutions. Strictly speaking, to be a reli-gious only the foregoing conditions need be fulfilled; and in the early centuries of the Church hermits, solitaries, and the like actually were true religious by reason of their subjection to the same rule and to the same superior. For many centuries now, however, the Church requires by positive law that religious llve a community life, that is, that they be united under one roof where they live, and pray, and work in common. This is the meaning of the words "the firmly established manner of living in community" in canon 487, which defines the religious state. Again, canon 606, § 2 supposes the obli-gation of living in community when it forbids superiors "to allow their subjects to remain outside a house of their own institute, except for just and grave cause and for as brief a period as possible according to the constitutions." This living and working .and praying in community may be called common life in general. 3. Even in matters-of food, clothing, and furniture. Here we have the specific meaning of the term "common life" as ordinarily used in canon .law. Supposing always that religious are subject to the same superior and that they observe a common rule and live in community, the Church obliges them to have everything in common as regards their daily needs. Food, clothing, and the furnishings of dormitories and cells must be the same for all and must be supplied 38 Januarg, 1948 GIFTS FOR RELIGIOUS by the community from the common fund. (See documents I, I; II, 2; III, 3; IV, 10; V, 1; VII, 127). A special diet for the sick, warmer or additional clothing for the aged, provided by the com-munity, are a part of common life, since all such necessities will be supplied to all the members of the community who need them. (See documents II, 4; III, 3; IV, 10). We shall not go into detail here, since this matter has already been explained in an article on Com-mon Life in this I~vlEw (II, 4-13). For our present purpose, which is to explain the obligation of common life in relation to gifts to religious, it will be sufficient to state the principle: Food, clothing, and lodging is to be supplied to all the religious by the community according to this standard: "Let there be nothing superfluou.s in this matter, and let nothing that is needed be denied." (See documents I, 2: II, 3; VII, 128). 4. Whatever is acquired bg the religious, including superiors, according to the terms of canon 580, § Z, and canon 582, 1% must be incorporated in the g6ods of the house, or "of the province, or of the institute. This second paragraph of the canon on common, life deals with the sources of income which constitute or augment the common fund that is necessary to provide the members of the corn-munity with everything they need. (See documents II, 2: V, 3; VI, 7; VII, 126). A religious who has taken a solemn vow of poverty has lost his right to ownership, hence everything he receives personallg goes to his order, province, or house, according to the constitutions (canon ¯ 582, 1°). A religious with a simple vow of poverty retains the ownership of his property and the capacity to acquire other property (canon 580, § 1) as was explained in the article "'The Simple Vow of Poverty" (Review for Religious, VI, 65). Such property is called the personal property of the religious, in opposition to the common property which constitutes the community fund. A second source of income is that derived from the recompense for services rendered by the religious, such as salaries, honoraria, sti-pends, and the like; and a third from the free-will offerings of the faithful given either directly to the community, or to a religious because he is a religiousi hence, for his community. Canon 580, § 2 tells us that "whatever the religious acquites by his own industry or in respect of his institute, belongs to the institute." All such monies must be turned in to the community, and must be incorporated in the goods of the house, or of the province, or of the institute (as the con- 39 2LDAM C. ELLIS Review for Religious stitutions,shall determine). To "incorporate in the goods of the house" m~eans that all such monies become a part of the community fund, that the religious to whom they were given has no right to them. Hence a superior may not put aside any such monies in a separate fund to be drawn upon later for the benefit of the religious who received it. The administration of tl~e community fund is entrusted to the superior and to the officials empowered by the constitutions (canon 532). They should remember that they are not the owners of the community fund, but that they merely administer: it for the benefit of the community. Hence they are not allowed to derive any personal benefit from this administration. 5. All the mone.tl and titles shall be deposited in the common safe. Therefore no religious, not even the superior, may habitually keep money on his person, or in his room, or anywhere else. All must be kept in the common safe or treasury, which in a small com-munity may be a locked drawer in the treasurer's office, or the pocket-book of the superior. Modern commentators allow superiors to give religious engaged in the ministry or teaching or other occupations which require frequent trips through a large city a small sum of money for car or bus fare to last for a week or so at a time. Titles here means any paper representing money: stocks, bonds, mortgages, and so forth. As a matter of fact in practice the Sacred Congregation of Religious approves keeping such papers in a safety deposit box in a reliable bank. Surplus cash may also 15e kept in a bank. 6. The "furniture of the religious must be in accord with the poverty of which they make profession. (See documents I, 2; II, 3; VII, 128). In the first paragraph of the canon the term "furni- 'ture" included all moveable articles which a religious needs for his personal use as well as for the performance of the work assigned to him. Paragraph One stresses the fact that all these things are to be supplied to each member of the community by the community, which is the essence of common life in regard to poverty. Here in paragraph three the term "furniture,"' while including the moveable articles just mentioned, refers especially to the furnishings of the religious house; of the dormitories or ceils of the religious, of the refectory, community room, and so forth. A norm is laid down regarding the quality and quantity of such equipment, namely: "the poverty of which they make profession." The spirit of poverty pro- 40 danuaqlo 1948 GIFTS FOR RELIGIOUS fessed by each institute will be determined by the rule and the con-stitutions, and by custom. Institute will differ from institute in this matter, and what may be considered a necessity in one institute, may well be looked upon as a superfluity in another. Some religious communities use table cloths, others do not; in some the religious wear shoes, in others they do not. Still the Church approves all of them, provided they observe common life in accordance with the poverty which they have vowed. Adoantages of cbmmon life. Common life is a great help to an easier and more perfect observance of the vow of poverty; it develops the spirit of poverty by detaching the heart from temporal things and from the comforts of life, leaving peace and tranquillity of soul in their place. Common life ensures perfect equality among all the members of the community because it forestalls any preference being shown those who have been favored by the accident of wealth. Regrettable dif-ferences of treatment are thus avoided, as well as the resultant dis.- satisfacti6n and discontent which are an enemy to union and charity, and which harm the religious spirit. Sanction for common life. The first sanction for the law of common life may be gathered from the report which must be sent to the Holy See every five years by all superiors general of institutes approved by it (canon 510). On March 25, 1922, the Sacred Con-gregation of Religious issued a detailed questionnaire which must be followed in making out this report. Question 84 reads as follows: Is common life everywhere 6bserved; are the necessaries, especially as regards food and clothing, supplied by the superiors to all the religious in a manner becoming paternal charity, and are there any who perhaps procure for themselves these things from outsiders? (Official English text, "Acta Apostolicae Sedis, 1923, p. 464). The second sanction which emphasizes the importance of com-mon life in the eyes of the Church is contained in the special penal-ties she has seen fit to impose upon those who do not observe this law. Canon 2389 of the Code reads as follows: Religious who, in a notable matter, violate the law of common life as pre-scribed by the constitutions, are to be given a grave admonition, and if they fall to amend are to be punished by privation of'active and passive voice, and, if they are superiors, also by privation of their office. A third sanction concerns ordination: "In houses of studies perfect common life should flourish; otherwise the students may not be pro-moted to orders" (canon 587, § 2). 41 ADAM C. ELLIS Retqew for Religious Peculium Delinition. For practical purposes we may define peculium as a small sum of money (or its equivalent) distinct from the common fund, Which is given .to an individual religious to keep for his personal use, and which is something over and above "what is required for his immediate needs. Distinct/Yore the common t:und. This money may come from any source: from thepatrimony of the religious, if he has any; from gifts or pensions received from relatives or frien~ls; from the recom-pense given for work done by the religious '(in all three cases it has never been a part of the common fund) ; or it may be given by the superior out of the common fund. Once it is gls, en the religious or set aside for his use, it is no longer, part of the common fund, but distinct from it. Given to an individual religious. This excludes what some authors call peculium in common, which is permitted by some con-stitutions or by custom, whereby the superior may give an .equal amount from-the common t:und to all'the members of the com-munity for the same purpose: for food, or clothing, or for other necessities. Though. not violating the essentials of common life in so far .as t.he money is given from the common fund and in an equal amount to all, still it derogates from the perfection of common life,. which requires~ that all necessities be supplied directly by the ~om-munity and that no religious keep money in his possession. Further-more it exposes the religious to the danger of being frugal in the use of, his allowance in order to have some mo~ey for other, perhaps even superfluous, things. In our definition we are considering only money .0.r.its equivalent which is.given to religious as individuals for personal needs. This is what authors term vita privata as contrasted with vita communis. '. To keep for his personal use. It is to be used by the religious for h~'mself, for food or clothing, or for other necessary or u~eful ~rticles he may require. But if the money is given him for pious ~auses, for instance, to distribute to the poor, it Would not constitute a peculium. Over and above what is requii'ed for his immediate needs. The clothes a religious wears, the books given him for his use, the money given tO go on a journey, do not constitute a peculium. These are .for immediate use. The idea of peculium ~s to have a sum of: money in reserve for future needs. ¯ . 42 GIFTS FOR RELIGIOUS Canonists distinguish two kinds of peculium: perfect or inde-pendent, and imperfect or dependent. Perfect or indeloendent peculium is money acquired by a ,religious with the intention of using it independently of the superior, that is, Without supervisiqn of any kind and without other action on the part of the superior. Irnpe.rfect or dependent peculium is that which is employed by the religious with the consent, either implicit or explicit, of' his superior, who may 'curtail or revoke it at will. History of Peculiur,. There is no doubt about the fact that the use of pec.ulium was customary.in many religious houses before the Council bf Trent. It was asserted by many that the Decretals of Gregory IX allowed dependent peculium, while others maintained that these Same Decietals expressly forbade even a dependent peru; lium. There seems to be no positive proof in favor of either con-tention in the Decretals themselves. The Tridentine legislation (see document II, 2) provided for' the restoration of perfect common life in all religious houses, Some' contended that it forbade .only perfect peculium, not the imperfect kind. Clement~ VIII, however, made it clear that. imperfect peculium was also forbidden, if not by the Council, then. certainly by hi.~ 6wn decree Nullus ornnino (see document II, 2, .3, 4). A century later Innocent XII renewed the prohibition of,peculium and endeavored to remove one of its common causes, insufficient community funds, by forbidding all religious houses tooreceive more subjects than. they could support (see document III). ~ . ~ The French Revolution, the. Napoleonic wars, and the Revolu~ tion in the Papal States .wrOught havoc with religious, orders 'and houses and all but exterminated them. Marly religious were dispersed' and their houses despoiled. They were, obliged to seek their living wherever they could find it: by begging alms and by ~accepting char-itable subsidies from relatives and friends, and so forth. When peace was restored, and the. religious were ~llowed ~to reoccupy their old monasteries or open new ones, relatives and friends continued to send in gifts and Pensions: and since the religious had grown accus, tomed to keeping such funds for their private use, it is not surprising that the custom of allowing a dependent peculium arose in some reli-gious houses, and that in one or other case the use of dependent pecu-lium was written into the constitutions and received the approval of the Holy See. These are, however, the exceptions which prove the 43 ADAM C~ ELLIS Review for Religious rule. As we saw earlier, after each of the three catastrophies men-tioned above, tl~e Holy See carefully recalled to mind the obligation incumbent upon all religious to observe the law of common life and upon superiors.to eradicate all forms of peculium. Is peculium ever allowed? An independent pqcutium is directly contrary to the vow of poverty, since it grants an independent use of the peculium to the religious in such wise that his superior may not limit it in any way, much less revoke it. Hence the religious uses the money as his own which is an act of proprietorship contrary to the vow of poverty, ~[ dependent peculium, received with the permission of' the superior and subject at all times to recall and limitation on his part is not per se contrary to the vow of poverty~ since the religious .~s always dependent upon his superior in the use of it, and does :not use it as his own. It is clear, however, from what has been said above about ¢ofiamon life, that even a dependent peculium is directly con- ~rary to common life. By its very nature it is destined to be used for the personal needs of an individual religious; but common life demands that such needs be supplied by the community from the common fund. .Even after the Code of Canon Law was promulgated in 1918 with the strict provision for common life laid d~wn in canon 594, it is still possible that peculium may continue to exist in some reli-gious institutes, either by provision of the constitutions (by way of exception which proves the law), or by reason of custom. This latter ¯ case, however, will be circumscribed by the provisions of canon 5 of the Code regarding customs contrary to the Code. Canon 5 pre-scribes that only centenary or immemorial customs may' be tolerated by the ordinary if, in his prudent judgment, they cannot be stipo pressed, taking into consideration the circumstances of places and per-sons. Otherwise, even a centenary or immemoriaL custom is to be suppressed. Peculium is the enemy of common life, and the Church would gladly suppress it entirely if that could be done conveniently. She tolerates it under certain conditions, but at the same time she has stated in no uncertain terms her opposition to and her disapproval of all such private funds. To conclude with a statement of an eminent Dominican canonist: Experience has shown that the use of peculium, even when dependent on supe-riors, always brings great harm to religious discipline. Hence the obligation upon 44 ¯ ~anuar~o 1948 GIFTS FOR RELIGIOUS all, and especially upon superiors, of watchfulness~ and care lest such a pernicious custom be introduced into religious families, and in case it has already been intro-duced, of eradicating it if that be possible.2 Summary 1. The use of temporal things on the p.a, rt of religious is limited not only by the vow of poverty but by positive regulations on the part of the Church, notably by the obligation to observe common life, which is imposed on all religious by canon law. 2. The law of common life requires two things: (a) that all the needs of the religious, especially food, clothing and lodging, shall be supplied by the community from the common fund, according to a standard of living that is consistent with the spirit of poverty proper to each institute; (b) that the religious on their part con.- tribute to the common fund all the fruits of their industry as well as all gifts they receive by reason of the fact that they are religious. 3. While all luxury, excessive comforts, and prodigality are to be avoided in providihg for the needs of religious, it will be well for superiors to be generous and to avoid parsimony. Thus they Will insure a happy and contented community in which all reasonable religious are satisfied with the common fare and are not tempted to seek necessaries outside the community. 4. "Superiors shall not refuse the religious anything which i~ necessary, and the religious shall not demand anything which is superfluous. Hence charity and solicitude are earnestly recommended to superiors, Leligious moderation to subjects" (Vatican Council). [EDITORS' NOTE: The first article of this series on gifts to religious appeared in Volume VI, pp. 65-80.] OUR CONTRIBUTORS 2. PUTZ is a member of ~the theological faculty of St. Mary's College, Kurseong, D. H. Ry., India. T.N. JORGENSEN is a professor of English at Creighton Uni-versity, Omaha, Nebraska. ADAM C. ELLIS and GERALD KELLY are professors of canon law and moral theology respectively at St. Mary's College, St. Marys,,Kansas. Both are editors of this Review. 2Fanfani, De lure Retigiosorurn, n. 225, dubium I, b., p. 250. 45 t oo1 Reviews THE SPIRITUAL DOCTRINE OF SISTER ELIZABETH OF THE TRINITY. By M,. M. Philipon, O.P. TranSlated by a Benedictine of Sfanbrook Ab.bey. Pp. xxiil -I- 2S5. The Newman Bookshbp, Wesfmlhster, Maryland, 1947. $3.7S. Sister ]Slizabeth of the Trinity is one who in our own age was made perfect in a short time and whose spiritual life was to a very remarkable extent thoroughly permeated with Catholic dogma. This work is a study, so to speak, of theology in a living person. Sister Elizabeth was born Elizabeth Catez at Bourges, France, in 1880. As a .little girl she had a furious temper. At the age of eleven apparently, when she made her first confession, she experienced what she later called her "conversion." From then until she was eighteen she struggled courageously against her two great faults, irascibility and excessive sensitivity. In her t~ens she used to write verse and in these outpourings manifested a desire to join the Carmelites. This ambition she could not achieve until she reached twenty-one. Mean-while her exterior life was like that of other girls of her age and con-dition. But not the interior. During a retreat when she was only eighteen she began-to have mystical experiences. In 1901 she did become a Carmelite at Dijon, and in 1906 she died. Many people in the English-speaking world will already have some firsthand acquaintance with her from her book In Praise of Gtor~l, translated and published some thirty years ago. The work under review is not a biography. The first words of tl~e author indi-cate its nature: "A theologian views a soul and a doctrine" (p. xvii). Father Philipon first gives a brief account of Sister Elizabeth's life and then shows by very copious quotations from her writings how she exemplifies a holy soul whose spirituality was most pro-foundly dogmatic. He .~ilso 'shows ~how her words can be used t6 illustrate certain theological opinions. Hence part~ of the bdok, fo~ instance, the sections on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, or in general the positions taken in mystical theology, will be r~ad by those who are wary with a wholesome bit of restraint. The author does not dis-tinguish'between Catholic theology and Thomistic doctrines. As her name suggests, Sister Elizabeth of the Trinity had a most ardent love for the ]31essed Trinity. Devotion to the Three Divine ., BOOK REVIEWS Persons was, so to speak, the very heart and center of her whole spir-; itual life. She could never do or say enough to give adeqo~ite expres-sion. to her'singularly deep and affectionate attachment to this the most sublime aspect under which Goi:l.can be thought of. Hence it was natural for her to,concentrate effort upon living alone, in silence and recollection, ~vith the triune God dwelling within the depths of her~soul. She had a special fondness for the Epistles of St. Paul and she became so fascinated with one idea in them (see Ephesia,ns 1:12: '.'predestined. ourselves to further the praise of his glory'i), that she adopted the corresponding Latin words laudern gloriae as a secon~ da.ry name.° In her five short ye, a~r~s, in the Carmelite monastery she. had much to suff~r from ill health. Thisshe bore with the most hLroic dispositions to show her love for Cl~rist crucified and to become like Him even in His hardest trials. Father Philipon concludes his st0r~ of Sister Elizabeth with the.s,e words of hers: "I bequeath to you this vocation which was mine in the bosom of the Church Militant, and which I shall fulfill unceas-ingly in the Church Triumphant: The praise of glory of the'o~ost" holy Trinity." -G. AUGUSTINE, EELAi~r~, S.3. QUEEN OF MILITANTS. By Emil Neuberf, S.M. Pp. ~'ili'-]- 135. The , . Grail, Sf. Meinrad, Indiana, 1947:$1.25 (paper); $2.00 (clofh).~. Originally written in Fren'ch, Queen of Militants is addressed' primarily to the 3ocists, Ja~ists, and similar militant group~ of 3;dung European workers who are actively seekidg to bring. Mary to her rightful place in daily social, ~polltical,. and religious life. 'But its lines are directly applicable to all those working in America for the. same noble purpose of restoring all things m Christ, through Marry. The book is colloquial in tone, at times wi'th .almost the insist-, ence and patronizing manner of a sales tfilk or a"magazine advertise-ment; but it is saved from loss o~'dignity by i~s deep sincerity a'~d clear forceful statement of im. por.tant truths. The too~insistent style is also saved by an abundance of¯ quotation, often fromSt. Montfort and Father Chaminade, and by the many stories which frequently recount the activities of the militant Marian organizations of present-day Europe. The book is divided into three sections. The first part, "Mary's Place in the Life of the Militant," gives convincing arguments to show that Marian devotion is vital in. the life of the Christian worker of today. Title second part, "Mary Forming Her Militants," 47 BOOK REVIEWS Revieto for Reliyious shows how Marian devotion develops the zeal, courage, and other virtues which an apostle needs. The third part, "Combat Under Mary's Banner," faces the difficulties which the Marian apostle~ must. meet and gives the means--mainly the "prayers, works, and suffer-ings" of the" morning offering--with which to conquer them. The book should be a gold mine of ready-to-use material for those giving talks to sodalities or similar organizations. Father Neu-bert has evidently spent many years in reading and meditation upon the fundamental Marian truths, and at the same time has kept in touch with the youth of today. The following quotation is typical of any page in the book and will reveal both the weakness and power of the style. The passage is from the chapter, "Combat by Prayer," and foll0ws the simple but vivid retelling of the prayer of Moses on the mountain while Josue fought King Amalec's soldiers. There are thousands who imagine that success in their apostolate depends on their ability tb speak, to pin down their opponents, to'sell their magazine, to set up displays, to organize grand processions, or to hold enormous congresses. And why not, they ask? Aren't these the means socialists and communists and all our opponents use to draw souls away from Christ? Why don't these sa~ne means suffice to lead souls back to Him? If you reason thus, you are surely mistaken. With a knife you can slash a marvelous picture, or you can take the life of a man. But can you, with the same i.n.str.ument, restore a masterpiece or bring back the dead to life? To pervert souls is a natural work in the worst sense of the word. To lead them back to Christ is a superhatural work, the most difficult of all. Can you achieve something super-natural with merely natural means? If you gave a piece of lead to a jeweler to have him fashion a gold ring. or if you took a marble block to a sculptor and asked him to chisel a living person out of it,wouldn't they exclaim, "This man has lost his mind!"? For something of gold can be made only from gold; and a living being must come from a living source. Similarly, a supernatural end can be achieved only by supernatural means .'. Mary did not preach: she did not write: she did not found churches or apos-tolic works. She was content to pray and to suffer. But by her prayers and her sufferings she has contributed more to the salvation of men than Peter and Paul and all the other Apostles, and all the legions of Popes, bishops, and priests, diocesan and regular, who have announced the word of God to civilized nations and to barbarian peoples. ¯--T. N. JORGENSEN, S.J. MOTHER F. A. FORBES: Religious of the Sacred Heart. Letters and Short Memoir. By G. L. Shell. Pp viii ~ 246. Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1947. $2.75. Margaret T. Monro did not overstate the case of Mother Forbes 48 ,lanuary, 1948 BOOK REVIEWS when she wrote several years ago: "At the time of her death in 1936 she could have been called, without exaggeration, the best-loved woman in Scotland." Born of an illustrious Scottish family, Alice Forbes (she later added Frances) was educated according to the highest standards of the day. During her middle twenties her enthusiastic interest in his-tory led her to regard the Protestantism of her forebears with a criti-cal eye, and after earnest prayer, study, and instructions, she embraced Catholicism. At the age of thirty-one she presented herself as a pos-tulant at Roehampton, where Janet Erskine Stuart was Reverend Mother Superior. If it is possible for the sp!rit of a religious institute to be inherent in anyone, that"possibility was actualized in Mother Forbes. The spirituality and manifold interests of the Religious of the Sacred Heart became her spirituality hnd her interests. She was a gifted writer, publishing over a score of varied works, histories, biographies, plays, anthologies; she was a poetess of insight; she was a teacher; most of all, she was a friend. Her interests, were as wide as the horizon and her enthusiasm as long as life itself. The greater portion of Mother Shell's book contains the corre-spondence of MOther Forbes to one of her sister religious, covering a period of twenty years. She reports with fidelity the many projects that are keeping her busy, the undertakings going on in the com-munity, the kind of impression they are making on their Protestant surroundings, as well as the arrival and departure of each of nature's beautiful seasons, t~ut it is the spiritual content of these letters which provides the greatest interest. Sacrifice, suffering, detachmentm and all for the love of the Sacred Heart--such was Mother Forbes' program. When Our Lord marks out for us th~ path of detachment and renunciation, He will have us to walk in it . It is a great consolation to think that . . ~ our cowardice will not be, through His mercy and His love, the means of thwarting His will in us . Is it too much to expect of us to say to Him: Ask, O Lord, and You shall receive, at every moment of the day, all and everything You ask? Her health was never strong. As early as 1913 she had been anointed, the first of many receptions of the last Sacrament; and in 1931 she writes, "Here is a letter from a poor thing crawling back from the gates of eternity. 'No admittance' again! Oh when? I thought this time I had eyery chance, and so did the doctor . " But no matter what the condition of her health, within the cloister of 49 BOOK NOTICES Craiglockheart College (Edinburgh) there emanated from Mother Forbes and spread throughout Scotland a ~weetness, a cheeifulness, a lightheartedness, a peace, and a devotion for others which was.Christ-inspired in every way:~--F. 3. GUENTNER, S.J~, " THE GREATEST ~CATHERINE: The Jife of Ca+herlne Benlncasa, Saln+ ,of S~ena. By Michael de la Bedoyere. Pp. viii, + 248. The Bruce Pub-lishlng Company, Milwaukee, 1947. $3.00. Saint Catherine of Siena, described by Ludwig Pastor as "one of ,the most marvelous figures in the history of. the world/' continues to be very fortunate in her biographers. All admirers of Catherine enjoyed Jorg~nsen's "virile" presentation of this Jo'an of Arc of th~ Papacy, and, .perhaps even more so, Alic'e Curtayne's deft. and delicate portrait of.the same great heroine.~ Some have thought that Enid Dinni~' gift for seeing the world invisible would, be the ideal, medium for delineating this valiant woman who so towered over her four-teenth century contemporaries, from the highest to the lowest. But one sees now that what was wanted was the telling of her story by a hard-headed British editor, one yiel~ling to none in .his admiration for Catherine in her hundreds of letters and the,classic Dialogu'es, yet at all stages of her story disengaging her from the fir~'reaiities of that "edifying" legend spun about her after her death. Tiie resulting Cathdrine lacks not a whit of the vibrant charm, or whole~souled service of Christ, especially in the service.of the. Pope, ~vhom she invariably styled "the Christ on earth," but she is also seen to be a guileless novice in politics, and a public figure whose one ~great triumph (restoring the Pope to Rome) Was surrounded with countless minor failures and tragedies. So; too, ~as Calvary. --GERALD ELLARD; S.J. GOD'S OWN METHOD. By Reverend Aloys;us MeDonough, C.P. (preface by 'Most Reverend Richard J. Cushlncj):~ Pp. 161. The Sign Press, Union City, N.J.,.1947. $2.00. "In quest of what is worthwhile, there is no sounder stratagem than to go to so

Issue 1.6 of the Review for Religious, 1942. ; A. M. D. G. Review-for Kengmus. NOVEMBER 15, 1942 - How Voca,tions Grow . Thomas S. Bowdern Do We Need Direction? . ,John E. Coogan Plenary Indulgences. . Thomas A. O'Conn'or ¯ Sanctifying Grace~ . Leo A. Coressel .Perfection and the Rellgi~)us - " Commun;cations Book Reviews Ouestions Answered. Decisions of the Holy See .Index to Volume One I Nu~s~ 6 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS VOLUME I NOVEMBER 15, 1942 NUMBER 6 CONTENTS COMMENTS~The Editors . .- . 362 HOW VOCATIONS GROWmThomas S. Bowdern. S.J .364 TWO CATECHISMS . 375 DO WE NEED DIRECTION?---3ohn E. Coogan, S.'J . 376 PLENARY INDULGENCES FOR THE SOULS IN PURGATORY-- Thomas A. O'Connor, S.J . 382 SANCTIFYING GRACE, A PRICELESS REALITYmLeo A.Coressel, S3.39.0 FRANCIS DE SALES AND THE LITTLE OFFICE .3.9.9 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS--Augustine Klaas, S.2. 400 BOOKS RECEIVED . 406 COMMUNICATIONS (On Spiritual Direction) .407 BOOK REVIEWS-- THE ART OF LIVING ,JOYFULLY. By the Reverend Henry Brenner, O.S~B4.16 CATECHISM COMES TO LIFE. By the Reverend Stephen Aylward : 416 SAINT THOMAS AQiJINAS MEDITATIONS.~ By the Reverend E. C. McEniry, O.P. 417 "DRAW NEAR TO HIM." By Sister Mary Aloysi Kiener, S.N.D. 419 THE RELIGIOUS LIFE AND THE VOWS. By Monseigneur CharlGesay 419 LA VIE DES COMMUNAUTES RELIGIEUSES. By the Franciscan Father4s21 MARY IN HER SCAPULAR PROMISE. By ,John Mathias Haffert 426 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS-- 36. Right of junior member of family to vote .". . . . 422 37. Crozier Indulgences . 422 38. B~ll during the Angelus . 423 39. Reading of Decrees of Holy See . 423 40. Stations conducted by Sister Superior . 424 41. Residence of Sister Catechists . -. . 425 42. Re-election- of Councillors ¯ . 425 DECISIONS OFTHE HOLY SEE OF INTEREST TO RELIGIOUS427 BUSINESS ANNOUNCEMENTS . ~ 428 INDEX TO VOLUME I . 429 REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS, November, 1942. Vol. I, No. 6. Published bi-monthly: January, March, May, July, September, and Novemberl at The College Press, 606 Harrison Street, Topeka, Kansas, by St. Ma~r's College, St. Marys, Kan-sas, with ecclesiastical approbation. Entered as second class matter January "15, 1942, at the Post Office, Topeka, Kansas, under the act of March 3, 1879. Editoriai Board: Adam C. Ellis, S.,J., G. Augustine Ellard, S.,J., Gerald Kelly, S.J. Copyright, 1942, by Adam C. Ellis. Permission is hereby granted for quotation~. of reasonable length, provided due credit be given this review and the author. Subscription price: 2 dollars a ~'ear. Printed in U. S. A. The Editors WE CLOSE this first year of .publication with a sincere "Thanks be to God!" When we finally decided to publish this magazine, the future had begun to look very uncertain. Shortly after we had announced publica-tion, the United States entered the war, and the uncertainty was increased. All through the first year we have felt the uneasiness characteristic of an.y "small business," because of the difficulty of obtaining materials. However, we still sur-vive, and we thank God and trust the future to Him. Our subscription list has increased gradually with each number. At present it is sufficient to guarantee our finan-cial security unless prices change very radically. From an apostolic point of view, we should like to see the list con-tinue to grow because there are many other priests and religious-who would, we think, find the REVIEW. helpful. We are grateful to our readers for their cooperation, and we ask prayers for God's continued blessing. . Vocations OME years ago Father Thomas S. Bowdern, S.J., com-bined educational necessity with apostolic enthusiasm by writing his doctorate thesis on the subject of religious vocations. The result of his efforts was a formidable heap of typewritten papers that make .two thick bound volumes. A small section of the thesis was printed; the remainder was kept from the public eye. The editors of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS paged through another section and found that it made interesting and profitable reading, provided One could distract oneself from such distressing technicalities as charts, graphs, and tables. We are publishing that section (minus 362 COMMENTS the technicalities) in the present number. We trust the readers' reactions will be as factorable as ours. Father Bowdern ~published the principal conclusions of his thesis in The Queen's Work. Later that same material was reprinted in a small booklet entitled A Study ot: Voca,. tions. Father Bowdern has a limited supply of the book-lets and sells them to interested parties for ten cents a copy --about cost price. If you wish a copy, write to: The Rev-erend Thomas S. Bowdern, S.3., Dean of the G~aduate School, The Creighton University, Omaha, Nebraska. Spiritual Direction ] N THIS. ISSUE we continue the discussion of spiritual direc, t~on. Father John Coogan, S.J., of the University of Detroit, contributes a brief articleon an aspect of the ques-tion that should not be ignored in our discussions. " Besides Father Coogan's article, we print some rather lengthy communications. We trust that the readers will not find that this gives them too much of the samd thing. We consider this an important subject; and we think it well to treat it thoroughly now rather than let it drag on indef-initely. A few more articles on the same subject will very likely be printed in subsequent numbers. After that (in compliance with a suggestion made by a priest in one of the present communications) we shall try to give a useful sum-mary i~f all articles and communications. One of the most helpful letters printed in the September number was from a Brother. The present issue contains no communications from Brothers. We realize, of course, that spiritual direction as a problem is much more keenly felt by Sisters; nevertheless, if the Brothers hav~ either sug-gestions or problems, we shall appreciate their communica-tions. It wofild be desirable to consider all aspects of the question of spiritual direction, of religious men as well as of religious women. 363 'l-low Vocal:ions row Thomas S. Bowdern, S.,J. SOME years ago, the editors of The Queen's Work sought to keep in touch with the thinking of modern Catholic youth by a series of questionnaires. During the school year 1928-1929, the questionnaire included a few questions calculated to reveal the attitude of the Cath-olic student world towards vocation to the priesthood and the religious life. The results were most interesting. They stimulated the present writer to push that part of the inves-tigation still further, but from a different angle. He chose for the subjects of his study, not students in high school and .college, but" the young people who had already chosen reli-gious vocation and were either novices and seminarians, or already young priests, Brothers, and nuns. To interview in a short time an adequately large num-ber of seminarians, young priests, and religious scattered all over the United States on the subject of their vocation, it was necessary to resort to the questionnaire method. There is much that can be said for and against, the questionnaire. And it has all been said. The writer was encouraged to think that he could construct a questionnaire that would meet the best specifications sufficiently well for his purpose. With the assistance ofp~ofessors and friends in St. Louis ~3niversity, he developed a questionnaire that seemed to be complete enough to yield satisfactory data and yet not so lengthy as to arouse prejudice. In 19.30, sample copies of a rnach-tested questionnaire with an explanatory letter and a.return postcard were sent to the superiors of 650 seminaries, novitiates, and mother-houses listed in the Official Catholic Year Book of 1928. About 160 replies were received accepting the invitation to 364 HOW VOCATIONS GRO~V cooperate and requesting packages of quest!onnaires. During 1930, .7,500 questionnaires were filled out and returned by .2,500 men and 5,000 women. Replies were received from ten major seminaries, seven preparatory seminaries, twenty-five religious orders of men and twenty of women. Of the religious orders of men, five were com-munities of Brothers. Among the women, several orders each included independent branches of the same general order. One strong objection was advanced against the validity of the data that might be received; it was thought that seminarians and novices might be tempted to say what would be calculated to please their superiors. In this case, however, there seems to have been no restraint imposed or suggested. The writer doubts that superiors exercised their rights of censorship in the matter of the vocation question-naire because several packages of returned questionnaires were received with each individual response in a sealed enve-lope Of its own. From several large groups individual questionnaires were returned individually by mail, although that meant considerable expense for postage. Most convincing of all was the utter candor of the replies. Some were almost too candid, attaching vocation stories that we~?e almost general confessions--the way Catholic young people are willing, on occasion, to write or talk to a priest. They all knew that they were writing to a priest and a religious, and, of course, their confidence has been scrupulously respected. The questionnaire had ten general divisions: 1) Family and Home Life; 2) Reading; 3) Social Life; 4) Socie-ties; 5) Schools and School Life; 6) Your Vocation; 7) Obstacles to Vocation; 8) Vocations of Companions; 9) Aids to Vocations; 10) Your Own Vocation (in story form). 365 THOMAS S. BOWDERN In this article, omitting the first five general divisions, which deal with the external circumstances of vocations, we enter a soul, if that is possible. From the inside we look out upon the world through the eyes of the boy who became a priest o~ Brother and of, the girl who became a nun. They will try to show us how they discovered Vocation coming into their lives and how they recognized it, saw it was for them and chose to embrace it. First Thought of Vocation When do Catholic boys and girls first think of a reli-gious vocation? Our survey showed that the first thought of vocation had come by the age of 10 to thirty-nine per cent of the boys and thirty-two per cent of the girls;, by the age of 14, to seventy-seven per cent of the boys and sixty-four per cent of the girls; and by the age of 20, to ninety-seven per cent 'of the boys and ninety-four per cent of the girls. From this it would appear that the thought of reli-gious vocation comes rather early to Catholic boys and girls--and earlier to the boys than to the girls. These were first thoughts; the vocational decisions were usually made much later. Three-fourths of both boys and girls questioned reported that their vocation was of slow growth without anything sudden, certainly without anything sensational, about it. Moreover, most of them considered the step for a long time before actually making it; in fact, four-fifths of those reporting stated that they spent more than two years in considering the important step. These facts should calm those who are likely to be disturbed by misgivings that.vocations are too apt to be the result of unreflecting adolescent impulse. How many Americans take that much time to think and pray before they get married--or divorced? How do boys and girls get started to thinking about a 366 HOW VOCATIONS GROW religious vocation? The leading occasion of the boys' first thought on vochtion was a .'"Talk on.Vocation." For many boys such a talk started their first thoughts toward planning their future careers. For many, tog, such a talk brought the revelation that the priesthood was a possibility for them. So high did boys place the priesthood and so far beyond their own reach that many said they were. fairly stunned the first time they learned that such a grace could be hoped for by tbem.i A close s.econd to "Talks on Vocation" was "Serving Mass" as an occasion for the first thoughts of the priesthood or the religious life. Seeing another boy like themselves and well known to them being accepted for the priesthood or the religious life was also a powerful inspiration: Nearly half of the boys who reported on this topic got their first inspiration from "Talks on Vocation," "Serving or Assisting at Mass," from the "Vocation of Another," or from a "Desire for Penance." With the girls by far the most frequent source of inspi-ration was the sight of another girl entering the convent. A strong second was the '~School Atmosphere" and a close third was the "Good Life ~f Another." These three occa-sions account for 43 per c~nt of the "first thoughts" of the girls. From this it would seem that girls are powerfully moved by example, much more so than the boys. What i's Vocation? When these young people, and some of them very young, thought about rel,,~gmus vocation, what did. they think vocation really was~ More than half answered this question; and a tabulation of results shows that most of them began with a very sound and sane idea of vocation, a bit hazy perhaps, at least in its expression, but fundamen-tally correct. However, a less correct idea--that vocation 367 THOMAS S. BOWDERN is something vague and miraculous and mysterious--was held by some 22 per cent of the boys and 19 per cent of the girls. A few failed to have any proper appreciation of vocation. They said they thought the religious life was just college life of a sort--a mistaken but pleasant notion as compared with the view that a religious vocation is just a lot of unpleasant sacrifice that some luckless wights are called upon to suffer by fate. It must be added that all these thoughts were first thoughts. All these boys and girls had ample time to learn better and more clearly the nature of a religious voca-tion. Nevertheless, our study does show that some instruc-tion is necessary. At proper intervals sermons and talks on vocation should be given to instruct the faithful, young and old. Motives The life of a priest or a religious is not all sacrifice that keeps human nature in an agony of crucifixion. It has its attractions. A rather large number of boys and girls frankly admitted that, at least at first, they were drawn to the religious life b-y" its merely natural attractions: for instance, its opportunity for a fine education, travel, adven-ture, and so forth. A vocation founded on merely natural motives would not be a true vocation at all. A person who decided his vocation on such motives alone could not per-severe, certainly could not live a worthy religious life. But then we must remember again that these young people had time and opportunity to learn better.The questionnaire showed that the motives which finally influenced their choice were much more substantial. Both boys and girls were influenced most of all by the spiritual security which a religious vocation.seemed to hold out. The boys were next attracted by the supreme privi-lege of the priest, the power to offer the sacrifice of the Ma~s, 368 How VOCATIONS (3ROW This would not influence the boys who planned to be Brothers, nor could it interest the girls; butall again agreed on the next dominant motivemthe desire of a consecrated life. By this they meant a life lived entirely for God, utterly devoted to Him, a complete giving of themselves to Him in love and service. This motive, worthy of the gredtest saints, ran high with both boys and girls. If we. are awed by this consuming love of God, this surprising spiritualintelligence and supernatural wisdom in our boys and girls, we must remember that this generation is, the fruit of early and frequent Communion. Pius X prophesied: "There will be saints among the children." The other motives hardly need special comment. And yet, it is worth noting, in a sex-mad century, when young people are overstimulated and even seduced by the environ-ment created by their elders, that love of chastity is a motive mentioned frequently by the boys and especially by the girls. This love of chastity which the love of Christ inspires in the hearts of Catholic boys and girls is accepted in a religious vocation as a life-long obligation and conse-cration. Incidentally, it might be mentioned here that this inspiring love of chastity was not a love of the"unknown." Our study showed that the candidates for the priesthood and the religious life gave the obligation of chastity seri-ous and considerable thought. The natural difficulty of a life of virginity, the heroic self-denial it demands, the sac-ritices it imposes, furnished 56 pet cent of the obstacles to vocation mentioned by the boys and 42 per cent by the girls. Sustaining Influence In addition to their own thoughts on such a "life probl.em," it seemed more than likely that there was some person whose influence had sustained or encouraged the 369 THOMAS S. BOWDERN growing determination of these boys and girls to choose a religious vocation. They were invited to report who or what was the most potent influence toward their choice. From the responses received, it would appear that mothers are more ready to encourage their sons to be priests than they are to encourage their daughters to be nuns! While the boys were most often encouraged by their mothers, the girls were most often encouraged by nuns. As a potent vocation influence among the boys, nuns rank second with fathers a very dose third. Twelfth on the boys' list was the Religious Brother; but this posi-tion should not be underestimated, as it is evident that the opportunities of the Brothers would be relatively few in comparison with the opportunities enjoyed by others. Among the girls, reading was placed second, with mothers third. A glance at the percentage shows that the girls mentioned nuns as a vocation influence more than twice as often as they mentioned their mothers. Do mothers appreciate the religious life as a vocation for their daughters? Another interesting fact that appears from this study is that fathers were rated third by the boys, but only ninth by the girls as a vocation influence. Most Helpful Reading Rea.ding ranked high as a vocation influence for the boys (fourth) and especially for the girls (second). As this was anticipated, the boys and girls were further asked to state what particular bit of reading gave the inspiration or encouragement. Biographies of saints were first by a. wide margin. A distinct second for both boys and g~rls was the Life of Christ, with the Imitation of Christ a close third. The New Testament was placed fourth by the boys who answered. If it is the Gospels that made the impres- 370 How VOCATIONS GRO~ sion, then probably this data should be combined with the report on a life of Christ because, after all, the Gospels are biographies of Christ. But even when so combined, the Life of Christ runs a slow second to the biography of a saint for both girls and .boys. Should it not be the other way? Should we not encourage rather a biography of Christ than that of a saint? Modern Xaviers? One of the classic stories of vocational influence is that of St. Ignatius Loyola saying quietly, but repeatedly, to St. Francis Xavier, :'What doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" That thought finally buried itself so deeply in Xavier's heart that it changed his life and led him into the priesthood and the religious life and finally into his extraordinary and glori-ous career as a modern St. Paul. Our boys and girls were invited to report if any such thought had a similar influence on them. It seems not. Grace can work like lightning; but usually like nature, which it perfects and elevates, it works slowly, imper-ceptibly. In such circumstances, no single thought would become focused with the clearness of the thought that won Xavier to God's service. However, in one point we do seem to have a lot df Xaviers in the modern world. Xavier resisted the thought that St. Ignatius persistently pushed into his mind. He argued against it. He fought against it. But finally, this arrow of thought that was tipped with the grace 0f God pierced all the defenses of selfish human nature and won him for God. Among our boys and girls, a big majority felt that their vocation was the triumph of grace over their weakness, ignorance, sinfulness, reluctance, or lack of generosity. THOMAS S. BOWDERN That was the majority, but a very comfortable minority felt that persevering prayer had won their voca-tion for them. They had wanted a religious vocation, had feared that Go~t would pass them by or that their own unworthiness might lose this favor for them, and so they "had prayed the longer." Favorite Saints We have already seen that the inspiration of the per-sonality and example of some saint ranked high as a voca-tion influence. The boys and girls were further asked to report on their favorite saint. It is interesting to note that the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, the Little Flower, and St. Anthony are universally popular and in almost that order. St. Aloysius and St. Rita are the other saints ranked among the first ten by both boys and girls. The chief reason among the boys for the choice of the favorite saint was that the boy bore the saint's name. A close second was the attractiveness of the saint's personal-ity or virtue. The chief reason among the girls was the saint's career; the second, the saint's personality or virtue. The third reason with the girls was the fact that their favorite saint answered their prayers. Only in fourth place was the reason that the girl bore the saint's name. The fact of a saint's being a patron in Baptism weighed much more with the boys than with the girls. Favorite Devotions Learning to live with God, the art of prayer, is a most important spiritual accomplishment. We are taught its beginnings by being trained in ways and means of "raising the mind and heart to God." The Church, as a spiritual mother, is alert to make prayer as easy and attractive as possible. Unobtrusively and persuasively she suggests or 372 How VOCATIONS GROW approves many devotions or exercises of piety, designed to appeal to a great variety of tastes. Of course it is not pos-sible, and happily it is not. necessary, for each devotion to satisfy all tastes. What devotions attracted and satisfied our vocation boys and girls? For about 90 per cent of the boys and 94 per cent of the girls who answered, they were devo-tions that centered around our Lord and His Blessed Mother. It is interesting to note that the boys were almost equally divided between devotions to Jesus and devotions to Mary, whereas the girls b~r a large majority inclined to favor devotions centered around Christ. In particular, devotion to the Blessed Virgin was first with the boys; devotion to the Sacred Heart, first with the girls. About 60 per cent of the girls favored devotions centered around our Lord, about 35 per cent devotions directed toward the Blessed Virgin. Fostering Vocations One final insight into the attitude of our vocation boys and girls. Since many of them had companions who had abandoned the idea of a .religious vocation, they were invited to say what they thought could or should have been done to confirm these companions in their first choice. Only 31 per cent of the boys and 17 per cent of the girls answered this question, but those who did answer were in remarkable agreement as to their chief recommendations. All agreed that the thing most needed to prevent the loss of vocations was encouragement from older people, whether parents, pastors, Or teachers, and prayer on the part of the boys and girls themselves. Next to these two things they demanded a more vital Catholicspirit in the home itself, with good example in Catholic Faith and Catholic living given by the parents. The fourth recom- 373 THOMAS S. BOWDERN mendation of the boys was "Better Vocation Guidance" and the fifth was "Better Interpretation of the Saints." .The girls gave the same two reasons, but in reverse order: they were of the opinion that a better and more human interpretation of the saints and of sanctity itself is a.far greater need than better vocation guidance. Both boys and girls agreed on their sixth recommen, dation, namely, that there should have been more easily available "Information"--not an erudite or subtle ,expla- :nation of the.mysteries of the spiritual life or the secrets of prayer, but information, just plain, ordinary informa-tion. ,To be a priest or nun, "What do I do? . Whom should I see? . Where do I apply? . When do I start?" .These are the obvibus, practical measures that are all too easily neglected. In drawing up fi concrete program of means for fos-tering and furthering vocations, the bo~rs favored practi-cal, active, almost material measures: while the girls favored prayer, reading, and spiritual means. The boys were for publicity and propaganda, with sermons to explain arid exhort, followed up by practical information, strengthened still more by good example from priests and religious, who are then t6 promote vocation in an indi-vidual way by informal talks and private conversations. Also they are not to ldold themselves above and aloof from boys, but are to welcome intimate contact and association with them. The girls, on the other hand, advised a more qui~et and spiritual-procedure. They would encourage first of :all prayer for God's.grace land meditation on the .things .of God, with the inspiration of genuine good example from the nuns. The nuns and others should speak a seasonable word. of encour~gement, and priests., should, instruct and inspire with sermons on the nature and excellence of reli- 374 How VOCATIONS GROW gious vocation. The effect of the sermons should then be deepened and strengthened by~ a~ generous share of g~0od reading. Priests and nuns, their natural spiritual guides, should guide s6uls to find vocation more skillfully than they have done and be on the alert to spread the practical information that will take the vagueness and the ~mystery out of the necessary steps of leaving home and entering a novitiate. " The spiritual vitality of all this, said the girls, should be strengthened by frequent Communion and by retreats, the whole to rest upon the solid base of ~a really Catholic home where culture and sanctity can be breathed in with the air. It is more than ten years since this survey was made. One is apt to wonder if those vocation-subjects who out-lined such zealous programs have since done their full share in putting them into effec!! TWO CATECHISMS Catechism teachers will be glad to know (if they do not already know) that Father Aioysius J. Heeg, S J,, has prepared a Reoised dunior Edition of his little hook. desus and I. This revised edition is really two books in one. It is so designed as to incorporate not only the well-known narrative text of desus and I. but the new question-and-answer text of the First Communion Catechism prepared from the recently revised Baltimore Catechism. The book represents an attempt to give the child the best possible start in his study and tsractice of religioh. It is meant to be used in the first two grades, re-gardless of the texts to be followed later on. It is also' meant for those children beyond the second, grade who are late in starting their religions instruction. Pub-lished by the Loyola University Press, Chicago, Ill. Information on this text and on various practical helps for teachers of it may be obtained from The Queen's Work, 3742 W.Pine Blvd., St. Louis. Mo. Someone has also given us a copy of the illustrated edition~ of M~ First Com-munion Catechism, prepared by Ellamay Horan, Ph.D., Editor" of the $ournal of Religious Instruction and the Co-author of the Kingdom of God series. The text is simple: the illustrations are most attractive. Published by W. H. Sadlier, Inc., New York and Chicago. Do ~Y/e Need Direction? John E. Coogan, S.J. AFUNDAMENTAL question in any discussion of spiritual direction of religious has to do with the need of such direction. Among some religious of today there has grown up a feeling that the age of spiritual direction is passed; that it belonged to the "horse and buggy age"; that the modern religious, equipped with multiple credits and degrees, is well able to guide himself. Religious of this modern mind are inclined to look upon those who seek direction as lacking in spirit, or as "mys-tics" nby which term they mean top-lofty persons whose feet are not solidly set on the ground. Sometimes those who think thus lightly of spiritual direction are in posi-tions of authority. When their subjects fail to obtain the needed spiritual direction from their ordinary confessors and ask other means, permission is given with evident reluctance. Historians tell us that in the England of Queen Eliza-beth it becanie a government policy to make poor-reIief so humiliating that it would not be asked. Similarly, religious ¯ are'sometimes granted needed opportunities for spiritual direction so grudgingly that they prefer to be deprived rather than seek grudged permissions. Concerning such slight esteem for direction that does not chance to be at hand, one thoughtful nun has recently written: "There is a school of thought in our community which holds that since spiritual direction is not ordinarily avail- . able to religious engaged in such work as ours, it is indica-tive of presumption and singularity and entirely contrary to the spirit of 'simplicity' .which we inherit to seek it by 376 DO WE NEED DIRECTION? extrao.rdinary means. That school of thought considers itself representative of our intangible. 'Spirit,' the non-possession of which renders one anathema in this life and possibly in the next." , It is difficult to account for such easy foregoing of direction. Certainly the whole Weight of authority is against unnecessary self-direction, in every age of the Church. St. Alphonsus tells us that in his own day some religious wished to live without a director, imagining that with rules and superior they needed no other guide. But the saint continues, "They err: for along with the rules and the superior, nuns should have a confessor to direct the interior exercises, and to admonish and guide them, even in what regards their exterior employments." We need not remark that St. Alphonsus is the prince of moralists; that he here speaks of all classes of religious women, giving no least suggestion that any one is above the need of a director. And while he agrees that God will supply where guidance cannot be had, he warns us, "To refuse the. guidance of a minister of God when it can be had, is an act of temerity which the Lord will punish by permitting the soul to fall into many errors. God could guide us all by Himself, but to make us humble He wishes that we submit to His minis-ters, and depend on their direction." St. Francis de Sales, like .Alphonsus a Doctor of the Church, and a model director, complains too that "there are some persons who pretend they will not resign the con-duct of their souls to any but only to the spirit of God." They err, Francis declares, since "the manner by which God guides us is only that of obedience. If you take not that road, there is nothing but error and wandering." St. Philip Neri used to say that "there is nothing more dangerous than to direct one's own conscience." St. John of the Cross declares that "not to submit to the judgment 377 JOHN E. COOGAN of a confessor is pride and want of faith"; and he solemnly adds, "They who obey. a spiritual father cannot err." St. Bernard urged the need of a director upon learned as well as ignorant, declaring that he himself stood in need of a director; that in fact, "He who guides himself has a fool for a disciple." The same emphasis upon direction as needed even by the learned we have from the sainted Dominican, Vincent Ferret: "He who has an adviser whom he absolutely obeys in all things, will succeed much more easily and quickly than he could if left to himself, even if. endowed with quick intellect and possessed° of learned books." The need of even the virtuous for a director is the teaching, too, of the spiritual writers of today. For example, Father Henry Davis, S.J., the English professor of Moral and Pastoral Theology, tells us simply that "A confessor who hears the confessions of very devout people has a duty of directing them to spiritual perfection." And Father W. E. Mulroney, S.S.J., says, "The confessor must tactfully let it be known that he is more than an absolution machine; that he intends to be helpful as a director." Monsignor Kerby, late editor of The Ecclesiastica! Review, urged the need of direction even for priests, telling us that "Spiritual direction should never be separated from confession . . . Among the major joys of life for a priest may be named the consciousness that there is one human being in the world to whom entire confidence is given, one whose knowledge is complete and who knows in fullest degree the weakness and the strength, the triumphs, defeats, aspirations and sufferings of the penitent's life. A confessor whose spiritual direction is a source of strength to his clerical penitent, becomes to him almost a deputy conscience, a source of wisdom and comfort at all times." (Cf. "The Priest as Penitent and Confessor,". in 378 DO ~rE NEED DIRECTION? The Ecclesiastical Review for November, 1935.) The moral teachings of the Church come to us indi-rectly through approved spiritual writers. But regarding the need of a director, Mother'Church frequently speaks for herself. To cite only two declarations, the first being from the Council of Baltimore: "Let the priest who goes to hear confessions seriously ponder over these offices of judge, shepherd, physician, and father, and endeavor, as far as in him lies, to fulfill them in deed and work." Finally, and of even greater importance, our Holy Father, Leo XIII, in his encyclical against a heretical spirit of false indepen-dence and naturalism, against the whole Protestant spirit hostile to direction, a spirit ominously called in the encycli-cal, "Americanism," warns us that "God in his ~infinite Providence has decreed that men for the most part must be saved by men, 'in order that,' as Chysostom says, 'we should be taught by God through men.' . . . This manner of acting has invariably obtained in the Church. All without exception who in the course of ages have been remarkable for science and holiness have taught this doc-rine. Those who reject it assuredly do so rashly and at their peril." To this unanimous testimony of the learned and holy regarding the need of a director, we may add a few con-siderations from reason. Father Poulain, S.J., the author-ity on pra3?er, here remarks that the confessor "has devoted himself to theological and sometimes to ascetic studies, which his penitent usually has not done." And even should the penitent be more thoroughly v~rsed in these sciences than the confessor, still "God blesses obedience and the humility from which it proceeds." A director enables the penitent, adds Poulain, to profit by the common lesson of experience that "even in temporal affairs it is prudent not to trust to our own guidance." To the contention that 379 JOHN E. COOGAN he who declines human direction has a director in.God, he rejoins: "By a similar principle it might be proved that God usually compensates for the absence of missionaries among the heathen, and that it is therefore unnecessary to concern ourselves as to their conversion.''1 St. Francis de Sales, too, argues the need of a director from the fact that we cannot see ourselves as we are, bin-dered as we are by a certain veiled, unsuspected compla-cency; and he demands, "Why should we wish to consti-tute ourselves directors of our own souls when we do not undertake the management of our bodies? Have we not noticed that physicians, when ill, call other physicians to determine what remedies they require?" A further argument from reason for the need of a direc- ¯ tor may be drawn from the fact that few can do their best altogether unobserved. There is an ancient proverb that ~hestrongest urge in all human nature is "to sit down." There are few things in the natural order so powerful in drawing out the best that is in us as the interested gaze of a pair of friendly eyes. No racer long maintains a ~elling pace, no high jumper lifts himself to heights untouched, without a witness to his efforts. And, speaking now of women, the great Mother Stuart gives as one of their most subtle but damaging faults their "emotional current which is satisfied with feeling acutely, and stops short of trans-lating generous emotion into act"; their "wide-spread shrinking from responsibility and mental effort, the tend-ency to drift"; so that, as she sums it all up, "Someone who will make us do what we can is our chief want in life." We can with slight modification apply to all religious what the zealous Josephite, Father W. E, Mulroney, says 1Of. Chapter xxvi of The Graces of Interior Prayer (London, Kegan Paul, 1928). Poulain is speaking primarily, but not exclusively, of mystics. In the Preface he says explicitly that a director is needed for all spiritual questions. 380 Do WE NEED DIRECTION.;' of the nuns' need of a .director: "A little thought on the subject of Sisters' confessors will bring the realization to every priest that in this case the hearing of confessions involves also direction--that is, if the confessor desires to be truly helpful. The mere recital of slight imperfections which constitutes the average confession of Religious Sis-ters, followed by absolution, without any direction or stimulation towards higher endeavor, usually leaves the Sisters with no incentive for perfection. Their medita-tion and spiritual reading lack that personal element so necessary in most cases for advancement. We are human, and human nature usually needs the impact of human na-ture to excite progress. To know that someone knows us, to know.that someone expects us to advance, seems for the average person a necessary condition for progress in spir-itual things.''2 With the Oratorian, Father Frederick Faber, we must say: "It is certainly to take a yoke upon ourselves to have a director. But unless we are prepared for it, it is really useless, not unfrequently worse than useless, to attempt a spiritual or interior life. We may possibly be safe without a director, if we choose to sit down in the dust and ashes of low attainment; but not otherwise." In view of such weighty insistence upon the need of spiritual direction, is the religious to be thought presump-tuous and singular who makes measured use even of extra-ordinary means? Surely the ordinary confessor is the pre-ferred source of direction, other things being equal. But rather than go without interested and adequate direction, is a religious not rather to be commended for making such measured use of even the extraordinary confessional aids offered by Canon Law and the Religious Rule? 2For this and other references to Father MulroneF, confer "Confessors of Sisters," in The Homiletic and Pastoral Reaieu~ for May, 1929. 381 Plenary Indulgences t:or !:he Souls in Purga!:ory Thomas A. O'Connor, s.J. ~REQUENTLY we are reminded of the suffering souls in Purgatory. Time and time again we resolve to do all we can to aid them by our prayers and. by the gaining of Indulgences. This year there come to mind not only the sixty-eight who were said to die every minute throughout the world, but also the soldiers, sailor~, and fliers of every country: soldiers, falling machine-gunned in a rain of steel'; fliers, hurtling through space, their planes afire; sailors, blown to bits by torpedo explosions, or trapped in sinking ships. War means death. Death means Purgatory. Purga-tory means souls suffering the temporal punishme.nt due to their sins. If the doctor in the first-aid station and the nurse in tile base hospital, heroically working to ease the pain of the wounded or to save the lives of bullet-torn, powder-burned bodies, deservedly win our admiration; cannot we emulate their valorous service by our own efforts to help the Holy Souls who look to us from their beds of pain, and longingly yearn for the hour when they will enter into the eternal rest? Since a plenary indulgence remits.all the temporal pun-ishment due to sin, obviously plenary indulgences will most help the Souls in Purgatory. A religious in the performance of his daily spiritual duties is,in aposition to help the Holy Souls as no one,else can.~ A large number of)ndulgences-Tple~ary indulgences ---can be gained by a religious Without assuming any addi-tional practices or the recitation of burdensome prayers,. 382 PLENARY INDULGENCES Perhaps the only .condition necessary will be the saying of prayers for the intentibn of the Holy Father at each of one's regular visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Of course, prudence and moderation should always mark the practice of gaining indulgences; If sanctity is "sublimated common sense," then in this, too, common sense will be a-safeguide. The indulgences spoken of here, with few exceptions, can be gained by all C.atholics, not only by religious and cIerics. To Gain an Indulgence 1. One must be in the state of grace to gain anindul-gence. The reason is that indulgences remit the temporal punishment only of those sins whose guilt has been for-given. To gain a plenary indulgence there is required also a detestation of all venial sin, since otherwise the temporal punishment of those unforgiven venial sins would remain Untouched by the indulgence. Hence can be seen the value of an act of contrition for all venial sins before performing the prescribed prayers to which is attached a plenary indul-gence. If one does not gain a plenary indulgence, he can gain a partial indulgence according to the disposition which he has. 2. A general intention of gaining indulgences must be had. That intention suffices which is once made and not sub-sequently retracted. A good practice is to renew one's intention occasionally, even daily, to gain all the indul-gences one can. 3. The conditions prescribed for the indulgences must be fulfilled. The prescribed prayers must be recited orall~t; that is, no~ necessarily out loud, but by forming the words with 383 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR the lips. One may, however, gain the indulgence attached to the saying of an aspiration by reciting it mentally and not orally. 4. Plenary/ indulgences are generally granted "'under the usual conditions.'" "'Under the Usual Conditions'" These "usual conditions" are Confession,-Communion, Visit to a Church, and Prayers for the intention of the H61y Father. A. CONFESSION: This condition is fulfilled for the gaining of ordinary plenary indulgences: a) either by those who have the habit of confessing twice a month unless legitimately impeded; or b) by those who have the habit of receiving Holy Com-munion daily (5 or 6 times a week). For others the con-fession may be made on any of the eight days preceding the day on which the indulgence is to be gained, or on any of the seven days fo!lowing. (Note: One Confession suffices for the gaining of all plenary indulgences during that time.) B. COMMUNION: Holy Communion may be received on the day previous, on the day of the indulgence itself, Or within one week. (Note: One Holy Communion suffices for all indulgences which may be gained during that time.) C. VISIT TO A. CHURCH: -The visit may be made to any church or public ora-tory, unless one special church has been designated. For religious, any chapel in which they fulfill their obligation of hearing Mass suffices. (Note:"Unlike the conditions of Confession and Communion, the visit, when required for plenary indul-gences, must be repeated for each indulgence gained.) 384 PLENARY INDULGENCES D. PRAYERS FOR THE INTENTION OF THE HOLY FATHER : 1. One Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory will fulfill this condition. Any other equivalent prayer may be sub-stituted. (Note: But when toties quoties indulgences are granted for visits to a church, th~ Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory must be said six times; and no other prayers may be substituted.) 2. The prayers must be said orally. 3. These prayers for the Holy Father must be repeated for the gaining of each plenary indulgence that requires this condition. Some Easilg-gained Indulgences For convenient reference, we are giving here a list of plenarq indulgences, most of which can be easily gained by religious. The "usual conditions" are required, unless otherwise specified. We do not guarantee that this list is complete. The numbers given in parentheses after eacl~ indulgence refer to the authentic collection of indulgenced prayers and works published by the Vatican Press in 1938: Preces et Pia Opera. The list is divided into four groups: I. Several Times a Da~t: A plenary indulgence may be gained everg time the following works are performed or prayers said: 1. "'Toties Quoties'" indulgences, e.g. on All Souls' Day. (544) At each visit one must say the Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory, six times for the intention of the Pope. 2. Stations of the Cross: (164) All tha, t is required is that one with contrite heart move from station to station ('unless said in a group pub-licly), and meditate on the Passion. No visit or other prayers are required. 3. RosaGI in Presence of Blessed Sacrament: (360) 385 THOMAS A. O'CONNOR Five decades suffice for the gaining of the indul-gence. The Blessed Sacrament need not be exposed. No other prayers are required. II. Once a Dag: 1. Prayer Before a Crucitix, "En Ego . ." (171) No special visit is required. 2. Stations on a Communion Da~/. (164) This indulgence is over and above the plenary indul-gences for the Stations themselves. No visit or other prayers are required. 3. Prayer to CHRIST THE UNIVERSAL KING. (254) "O Christ Jesus, I acknowledge Thee King of the Universe. All that has been created has been made for Thee. Exercise upon me all Thy rights. I renew my baptismal promises renouncing Satan and all his works and pomps. I promise to live a good Christian life and to do all in my power to procure the triumph of the rights of God and Thy Church. Divine Heart of Jesus, I offer Thee my poor actions in order to obtain that all hearts may acknowledge Thy Sacred Royalty and that thus the reign of Thy peace may be established through-out the universe. Amen." 4. Holg Hour. (139) No other visit is required. -. 5. Recitation of the Divine Office before the Bles-sed Sacrament. (674, 678, 697) No other visit is required. This indulgence is for clerics, religious women bound to recite the Divine Office, and novices and scholastics of all religious institutes of men. 6. Each Communion Da~/ for those who have made the Heroic Act. (547) III. Once a Week: 1. Each Monday/by those who have made the Heroic Act, if Mass be heard for the Poor Souls. (547) 386 DLENARY INDULGENCES 2. A Dait~l Visit at which 5 Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and Glorys are said in honor of the Blessed Sacrament, and I Our Father,Hail Mary, and Glory for the intention of the Pope. (121) IN. B. This indulgence can be gained by those who because of sickness or for some other good reason cannot visit the Blessed Sacrament, provided they make a spiritual visit and.say the prayers above mentiofied. (122)] 3. The Aspiration "'M~t Lord and M~t God" if said every day during the elevation or during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. (107) Prayers for the Holy Father are required, but no visit is necessary. IV. Once a Month: We give here a partial list of prayers and aspirations to each of which is attached a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, provided the prayer be said daily for a month. A. Pra~ters 1. The Angelus ("Regina Coeli" at Easter time). (300) 2. "'Soul of Christ, sanctffg me" etc. (105) 3. "0 Lord, I am not worthg'" etc. (three times) (129) 4. "'Angel of God, mg Guardian dear" etc. (415) 5. "'Laudate Dominum, omnes gentes'" etc. (25) 6. "'Out of the depths I crg unto Thee" etc. (539) (N.B. Or 1 Our Father, Hail Mary, with "Eternal rest grant unto them~ O Lord," etc.) 7. Litang of Loretto (ending with the prayer "Con-cede"). (290) 8. Litan~t of the Sacred Heart. (213) 9. Litan~t of the Saints. (640) 10. "'Remember, 0 most gracious Virgin Marg,'" etc. (309) 11. "'Hail, Holtl Queen, Mother of merc!t,'" etc. (301) 387 THOMAS A, O'CONNOR 12. "'We fig to thai protection, 0 hol~! Mother of God,'" etc. (302) 13. Mental prager daily for fifteen minutes. (641) 14. Little Office of the Blessed Virgin. (289) 15. Little Office of the Immaculate Conception. (328) 16. St. Thomas Aquinas' Pra~ler dfter Communion "Gra-tias tibi ago," etc. (132) 17. Spiritual Communion. (135) 18. St. Ignat.ius' Suscipe "Take and receive, O Lord." etc. (39) 19. Each First Fridag for those who receive Holy Com-munion and a) Are present at the public prayers said in honor of the Sacred Heart; (N.B. No other visit is required). b) or if prevented from attending the public exercises, they. recite privately prayers in reparation to the-Sacred Heart, visit a church and pray for the intention of the Holy Father. (220) B. Aspirations 1. "0 Crux, ave, spes unica." (157) 2. "(]or Jesu, flagrans amore nostri, inflamma cot nos-trum amore tui." (194) 3. "Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine." (196) 4. "O sweetest Heart of Jesus, I implore, grant that I may love Thee ever more and more." (193) 5. "Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us." (211) 6. "O Heart of Jesus, I put my trust in Thee." (195) 7. "Jesus, Mary, Joseph." (256) 8. "My Jesus, mercy~" (55) 9. "Mary." (268) 388 PLENARY INDULGENCES 10. "O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to three." (325) 11. "Sweet Heart of Mary, be my salvation." (352) Conclusion A religious is in an excellent position to gain many plenary indulgences, and to apply them to the Souls in Purgatory. For example, everyone who is a daily com-municant can gain 8oe plenary indulgences each day by the following comparatively simple practices: a) Say the Stations. By doing this one can gain two plenary indul-gences, one for the Stations themselves, the other for saying them on a Communion day. b) Say 5 decades of the Rosary before the Blessed Sacrament. c) Before leaving the chapel after Mass, say the Pra~ler Before a CruciSx and add the prayers for the intention of the Pope. d) At another visit during the day, say the prayer to Christ, the Ur~ioersal Kir~g and add prayers for th.e inten-tion of the Holy Father. These practices not only involve little or no extra burden for most religious; they are also devotions that can be a great help toward maintaining a fervent spiritual life. Needless to say, many other ways of multiplying plenary indulgences can be calculated from the lists that have been given. This can be left to individual devotion. One cau-tion might be in order: namely, the gaining of indulgences should not be allowed to become a sort of obsession that ruins one's peace of soul. However, granted that one is able to preserve a wholesome mental attitude, .this parting suggestion may prove helpful: Form the habit of saying 1 Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory for the intention of the Pope at each visit to the Blessed Sacrament. Other-wise many indulgences may be lost because of the omission of the prescribed visit and prayers. 389 Sanctifying Gracer A Priceless Re~li~:y Leo. A. Coressel, S.J. THE present-day Liturgical Movement has as its slogan: "It is the Mass that Matters." And rightly so, be-cause the Mass is the most sublime of all acts of cor-porate worship. But if one looks to the internal disposi-tions of the soul and to its right relationship with God, it is sanctifying grace that matters. For without grace the soul is in a state of enmity with God and spiritually dead. Sanc-tifying grace is so important that its presence or absence at the moment of death spells the difference between success and failure of life. Sanctity and perfection, moreover, are measured not only by the habits and acts of virtue but also in terms of sanctifying grace. The greater the measure of sanctifying grace in a person's soul, the holier and the more perfect he is. Sanctifying grace is a priceless treasure; yet to under-stand and appreciate its reality is admittedly a difficult task. In the first place, we are prone to think of the soul in the state of grace in terms of freedom from mortal sin. This perhaps is due to the elementary catechetical training of childhood, when the great mysteries of faith were proposed in a manner befitting our abilities. We were then impressed with the idea that in Baptism the soul is washed free from sin, that in the sacrament of Penance we are cleansed by the blood of Christ. Less prominent in our minds has been the idea of the realness of this great grace. Then, too, as is the case with other truths of our faith, we have no immediate experience of sanctifying grace. We do not see it, we do not smell its fragrance. Nor do we even understand it 390 SANCTIFYING GRACE fully. With or without sanctifying grace our personalities, actions, and thoughts are apparently the same. Despite the~e difficulties a study of sanctifying grace is well. worth our while, because of the place it holds in the economy of salvation. Take, for example, the redemptive work of the Savior. A major elemen[ of its meaning is lost, if we forget that it was to restore sanctifying grace to fallen man that Jesus Christ was born into this world; that He lived, suffered and gave His life on the cross. King by divine right, He was born in a stable that He might clothe us in the divine royalty of grace. For thirty years He led a life hidden at Nazareth that we might find glory before God by means of His grace. His pierced hands and feet and side on the cross are so many voices suppliant of sanctifying grace. To make men sharers of His grace, Christ established a Church and instituted seven sacra-ments. Furthermore, the actual graces, which are con-tinually poured out on man in divine munificence, have as their chief purpose to prepare and dispose the soul for sanc-tifying grace, to effect an, increase of it, to preserve it and bring men finally to their ultimate goal and perfection-- life with God in eternity. God's Greatest Work If we.wish to attain to a better realization and appre-ciation of sanctifying grace, we shall do well to follow a child to the baptismal font or a penitent in mortal~ sin to confession. When water is poured and the words are said or when sacramental absolution is given, a truly wonderful change takes place. If our eyes of faith were illumined with an innermost vision of the mysteries of God, we should be privileged to see a work which, under one aspect, St. Thom-as calls greater than the creation of heaven and earth. In answer to the question whether the justification of the 391 ungodly is God's greatest work, the Angelic Doctor says in part: "A work may be called great in two ways: first, on the part of the mode bf action,, and thus the work.of crea-tion is the greatest work, wherein something is made from nothing; secondly, a work may be called great on account of what is made, and thus the justification of the ungodly, which terminates at the eternal good of a share in the God-head, is greater than the creation of heaven and earth, which terminates at the good of mutable nature.''1 We may think of all the treasures of earth; the gold and silver extracted from its depths in Alaska, California, and Colorado; the oil pumped in Oklahoma and Texas; the diamonds mined in Africa: the pitchblende so rich in radium, in Canada. We consider the vast coal deposits and veins of iron and copper, not only in the United States, but in the whole world. Raising our eyes to the heavens, we see the sun, the moon, Mars, ~lupiter, Saturn, the~ Milky Way, and we peer at the stars beyond, stretching countless light years into. space. All these owe their existence in some way to God's creative ~iat. Yet these and all other bodies of mutable nature are of less importance, of less value than sanctifying grace by which the ungodly are justified. That this tremendous value is often not appreciated is shown by the fact that many are only too willing to barter this treas-ure for a small sum of money, for a passing pleasure, to satisfy a vain ambition, or to become more popular in their own little circle of friends. Holding the middle place between the angelic world and brute matter is man, composed of body and soul. Coming from the hands of God graced with intellect and will, he is superior to the rest of the visible world, inferior in nature only to the angels and God Himself. His natural 1Summa Theological 1, 2, q. 1 13, a. 9. Literally translated by Fathers of the Eng-lish Dominican Province. 392 SANCTIFYING GRACE powers of intellect have carried him to the heights and erected monuments as memorials of his genius. In the universities and towns and countryside he has philoso-phized and sought to .unlock the secrets of nature. But. however greatman's natural intellectual gifts, they are of less value than the sanctifying grace in the soul of a newly baptized infant. In the course of centuries the world has witnessed the greatness of character and soul of hero and saint, canon-ized and uncanonized, of lay person and cleric, of a Lin-coln, a Magdalene, a St. Francis of Assisi, a Xavier, a Plus XI. Yet all their n~tural greatness is as nothing compared to the sanctifying grace in the soul of a repentant criminal led to the electric chair or of an unkempt half-wit shuffling along the streets. It is clear, then, that some magnificent reality is pro-duced in the soul when sacramental absolution is given to a person in mortal sin. Grace is a reality in the fullest sense of the ~ord and in the same sense that man, a rose, or God Himself is real. It has physical being; it is a permanent thing that w~ll last until destroyed by mortal sin. It is spiritual like the human soul; not material like the body and other visible things. Sharing the Dioine Nature That sanctifying grace is a reality and a priceless one there can be no doubt. We can perhaps improve our under-standing of it bya consideration of the effects it works in the soul. Among many others, there are two effects which are outstanding, namely, that of sharing the divine nature and that of adopted sonship. It is necessary to restate here certain truths which but recently apeared in this REVIEW. The issue of September, 1942, contains an article on the supernatural life in which 393 LEO A. CORESSEL Father G. Augustine Ellard gives a .rich and inspiring treatment of our sha~e in the life of God. Yet we believe that a brief return to this same topic is warranted by its sublimity as well as by the purpose and setting of this article. In his second epistle St. Peter tells us of our share in the divine nature: "For indeed his divine power has granted us all things pertaining to life and piety through the knowl-edge of him who has called us by his own glory and power mthrough which he has granted us the very great and pre-cious promises, so that through them you may become par-takers of the divine nature, having escaped from the cor-ruption of that lust which is the world" (2 Peter 1:1-5). In weighing the words of St. Peter we must not think of the divine nature within us as the gold plate of a statue hiding the dross of baser metals beneath. The truth of the matter is that we are internally changed by it. Just as the life principle of an orchid gives color and texture and shape to common chemical ingredients making of them an orchid, so in somewhat the same manner, sanctifying grace, which is a principle of divine life, deifies us mortals, making us godlike. The Fathers of the Church insist on this point of deifi-cation. St. Athanasius remarks: "He (Christ) was not, therefore, first man and then God, but first God and then man in order that He might rather deify us." St. Augus-tine describes the process of deification as follows: "He jus-tifies who is just of Himself, not from another; and He deifies who is God of Himself, not by participation in an-other. But He who. justifies, also deifies, because He makes men sons of God through justification." From St. Cyril of Alexandria we have words too pertinent to omit. Christ, he says, is fashioned in us when the Holy Spirit infuses a certain divine form by sanctification and justice. For thus 394 SANCTIFYING GRACE there shines forth in our souls the impress of the substance of God as the Holy Spirit moulds us anew by sanctification in Him. From these testimonies it is dear that God gives a share of His nature to raise men up to be like unto Himself. He does this by means of sanctifying.grace. This grace is regenerative, effecting that men are reborn, not of flesh and blood, but of God. As a result they share His nature just as any child shares the nature of his parents. "But when the goodness and kindness of God our Savior appeared, then not by reason of good works that we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us througFi the bath of regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit; whom he has abun. dantly poured out upon us through ,Jesus Christ our Savior, in order that, justified by his grace, we may be heirs in the hope of life everlasting" (Titus 3:4-7). "To as many as received him, he gave the power of becoming sons of God: to those who believe in his name: who were born not of blood, not of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (~lohn 1:12-13). Deified by grace, man is disposed to lead a godlike life. His person and actions are poles apart from those of a man in mortal sin. He is a new creature, created in Christ ~lesus. He is godlike in person, endowed with a principle of divine actions, actions which bear an intrinsic relation to his su-pernatural destiny. There remains the question of the manner in which we share the divine nature. We are deified, it is true; but in what sense? We are made godlike; but what precisely is sanctifying grace which effects these marvels? We know the nature of the soul which moulds matter in the form of man. What rhea of sanctifying grace which deifies us? Here we are face to face with a mystery, the ultimate under-standing and vision of which we must leave to eternity. 395 But the main outlines are quite clear and these we shall be content to sketch here. The divine nature of sanctifying grace certainly does not imply identity with the uncreated divinity itself. About this there can be no argument, for to hold such an opinion would make one guilty of Pantheism, which is ruled out even on grounds of right reason. Rather, our deification is effected by a created gift, which we know as sanctifying grace. By reason of this gift we begin to share, in a dim and imperfect way, the life to which it ordains and disposes us. This is nothing less than a share in the inner life of God as He is in Himself, a share in that knowledge and love and possession common to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit which is proper and natural to them alone. It is a share in that which is divine, a face to face vision, love, and pos-session of the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. On this earth our share is as a seed, the seed of God, as writes St. John: "Whoever is born of God does not commit sin; because his seed.abides in him and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (I John 3:9). It should be noted that these words do not mean that a person in the state of grace cannot commit grave sin. Rather they are to be taken in the sense that sanctifying grace will remain as long as man does not make himself unworthy of it by mortal sin. Indeed, as long as one lives up to the ideals set before him by grace, it can be said in a true sense that he. will not and cannot sin. What is quite clear from the words of St. John is that the seed of God is planted in souls. It is left to their ten-der care, to be nourished, to be guarded, to be protected from the blight of mortal sin. By spiritual efforts that seed can be made to grow to the full stature of its inherent potentiality. Just as favorable conditions of sun, air, and soil will cause the acorn to grow to the full grandeur of an 396 SANCTIFYING ('~RACE oak, so this divine nature of sanctifying grace, carefully guarded and nurtured unto God's judgment seat, will win for the soul its fullest flowering and fruit in the possession of God as He is in Himself in the beatific vision. In a word, divine life is already had on this earth, although imperfectly. There is sanctifying grace, a new nature, a share in the divine nature and a principle of divin~ life. Corresponding-to that principle is a knowl-edge of God by divine faith, a desire of attaining Him in eternal life by hope, and a love of friendship. In heaven faith will yield to vision, hope to possession, while love will be intensified a thousandfold. Thus the. soul enjoy-ing the beatific vision shares the divine life of God in the most perfect way conceivable, which only God could plan and bring to execution. Adopted Sonship Another effect of sanctifying grace which powerfully portrays its reality is adopted sonship. A consideration of it will bring out at the same time in still clearer relief, our participation in the life of the divine society of God. Adoption is the installation of an outsider as a son with the right of inheritance. That God does adopt the just soul as His own son is clear from the words of St. Paul to the Galatians: "But when the fullness of time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, that he might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. So that he is no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, an heir also through God" (Galatians 4:4-7). Consider fora moment, ari example of human adop-tion. Mr. and Mrs. Johns, either because they have no 397 LEO A. CORESSEL ¯ children of their own, or out a burning desire for an-other baby in the home, decide to adopt James, an orphan six months old. After the due formalities of investiga-tion and law have been fulfilled, James is taken home and installed as a son. Yet there is a world of difference between this case of human adoption and that of God in which the just are made His sons. In human adoption there is no question of an inner change in the infant; it is no more than a mere external legal transaction. James does not become the real son of his foster parents; they only consider him so. But when God adopts us He communicates a new nature, a share of His own, whereby we are deified. We are internally changed for we are born of God and become His sons in a real sense. Now we have God as our Father so that we can say in very truth: Our Father who art in heaven. As adopted sons we take our stand with Jesus Christ the Only-begotten Son. A Son by true eternal generation, the Second Person is such by nature. Born of God by the regenerating powers of grace, we are sons by adoption. "But if we are sons, we are heirs also: heirs indeed of God and joint heirs with Christ, provided, however, we suffer with him that we may also be glorified with him" (Romans 8:17). This inheritance is that crown of ¯ glory which God has prepared for those who love Him. For it is the eternal incorporation into the divine family of the Three Persons in the beatific vision, where the redemptive work of the Savior reaches the peak of final, definitive perfection. From a consideration of these dynamic truths two very practical conclusions stand out. First and foremost is a sense of righteous personal dignity as adopted sons who are sharers in the divine nature. It is a sense of dignity that should inspire us to a filial relationship with God, too busy 398 SANCTIFYING GRACE as sons about the things of our Father to be engrossed in creatures for their own sakes. It should inspire us to see others as actual~or potential members of the same divine family. The second conclusion is a very high regard for and appreciation of the reality and true value of sanctifying grace. If what has been said is true, then with just rea-son could St. Thomas write that, considered in the light of the effect produced, the justification of a sinner which terminates at the eternal good of a share in the Godhead is greater than the creation of heaven and earth, which terminates at the good of mutable nature. Think, then, in what a work we are already cooperating with God when we effect an increase of sanctifying grace in our own souls, an increase as it is of divine nature, making us more godlike. Think, too, of our work with our fellow-men, our good example in inspiring souls to repent of their sins and enter into the light of divine grace, our prayers and works for sinners and infidels and heretics, our apostolic duties of teaching, counselling and advis-ing. They all play their share, small though they may be, in restoring and increasing the kingdom of Christ, the kingdom of light and life .and grace, in our own souls and in those of our fellowmen. FRANCIS DE SALES AND THE LITTLE OFFICE An article in the January n'umber of this REVIEW (p. 58) carried the statement that St. Francis de Sales gave his Sisterhood the Little Of?ice of the Blessed Virqit~ because the Divine office was then under censure by French Bishops. Father L. 3ac-quiet00. S.F.S., objects to this statement--and rightly so, because St. Francis's own testimony is against it. According to Father Jacquier, the reasons given by St. Francis may be summed up as follows: 1) The difficulty of reciting the Great Office with the proper pro-nunciation. 2) It is better to recite a short office slowly and with great piety than to slaughter the Great Office ina hasty and unintelligible way. 3) In the Visitation Order are received feeble and sick persons who would find extraordinary difficulty with the Great Office. , 399 Pert:ection I:he Religious Augustine Klaas, S.J. ACATHOLIC who strives steadfastly to do as much supernatural good as he can in the particular circum-stances in which God has placed him has attained to spiritual perfection. In his daily life, such a one practises many virtues, above all, the virtue of charity, which, when possessed through sanctifying grace and exercised to the utmost, is the quintessence of perfection. The more this love of God increases in his soul; the more it permeates his every thought, word and deed; the greater will be his per-fection arid the more closely will he be united to God both here on earth and hereafter in heaven. Spiritual perfection, then, is gaged principally by one's affective and effective love of God for Himself and of all else for His sake. It includes both the precepts and the counsels. It has as its sublime Exemplar, Jesus Christ Himself. V. The Religi'ous State, the "'State of Perfection" Spiritual perfection may be achieved in any state of life. There is, however, one state of life in which perfection can be attained to more readily and easily, because there the ,means to it are more abundant and efficacious: the religious state. In this state one normally tries for perfection more earnestly and reaches it more frequently. So true is this that theologians have not hesitated to call the religious state the "state of perfection," that is, a stable manner of life in which one makes profession of pursuing perfection. This 1This is the last of a series of three articles on Perfection. Though a part of a series, the article is complete in itself.--Ed. 400 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS pursuit of perfection, however, is r~ot carried on in any manner at all, but in a certain definite way, namely, by observing the evangelical counsels, which can be reduced to the three main ones, poverty, chastity and obedience. The practice of these three counsels as a means to per-fection was substantially recommended by our Lord Him-self. When the rich young man said, "All these (com-mandments) I have kept: what is yet wanting to me?", Christ answered: "If thou wilt be perfect, go, sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treas-ure in heaven; and c6me, follow me" (Matthew 19:20- 22). A little later He declared to his disciples: "And every one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father or mother, or wif~i or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall possess life everlast-ing" (Matthew 19:29). In these two texts are clearly pointed out the counsels of poverty, chastity, and obedi-ence: poverty, in selling "what thou hast"; chastity, in foregoing wife and children: obedience, in following Him in all things. The history of those who have heeded this divine call is a glorious one; it is an integral part of that mark of holiness which distinguishes the true Church of Christ from its many counterfeits. It must be admitted that these counsels can be, and sometimes are, practiced outside the technical "state of per-fection." What makes the religious life a real "state of perfection" is the ~ows by which the religious obligates himself to observe the three evangelical counsels. It is these vows which give to the religious life that stability without which there can be no state of perfection. Canon law expresses this doctrine succinctly when it describes the reli-gious state as "the firmly established manner of living in community, by which the faithful undertake to observe, not only the ordinary precepts, but also the evangelical 401 AUGUSTINE KLAAS counsels, by means of the vows of obedience, chastity and poverty, . . " (Canon 487). Hence, according to Canon Law, a religious institute is "every society: approved by !egitimate ecclesiastical authority, the members of which tend to evangelical perfection, according to. the laws proper to their society, by the profession of public vows ¯ . . " (Canon 488). Public vows are of the essence of the religious state. There is no obligation to enter upQn this state of life. It is utterly free. Christ said: "If thou wilt be perfect." It is a counsel, not a precept. I may take it or leave it, even when there is the dearest evidence that God has given me a vocation. Contrary to what is sometimes heard on this point, I can save my soul and .even attain to perfection, although I do not follow the higher call. True, there is a precept to love God to the utmost and upon doing that depends mainly my perfection, but there is no precept to vow the following of the three evai~gelical counsels as a particular means to attain to the perfect love of God. The way of the three counsels and vows is doubtless the best means of all for that purpose, but it is not an indispensable means. There are saints who have reached the highest sanctity outside the religious state, outside the "state of perfection." It may even happen that a person living in the world may be far more perfect than a religious in the "state of perfection," because the norm of perfection is not one's state of life, but charit~t. However, it cannot be denied that perfection outside the religious life is ordinarily more difficult to achieve; hence it is an extremely hazardous thing to refuse to answer the dear call of Christ to the reli-gious state. It is the religious who has the best chance of loving God to the utmost,, because he has freely adopted the best means to that end, namely, the persevering practice of the three counsels under vow. 402 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS VI. The Religious State and Cbarit!t What is the relation of the religious vows and rules to charity, the essence of perfection? Saint Thomas answers in the Summa Theologica (II-II, q. 186, a. 7) that "the vow of religion is ordained to the perfection of love as its purpose, and all the other observances of religion are ordained to the carrying out of the vows." The vows and rules are, therefore, means to the perfect love of God. Something done under vow is more perfect than a simi- 1;it thing done without the vow, all other things being equal. Let us suppose two teachers employed in a high school: the one, Father Spencer, is a religious; the other, Mr. Jones, is agood Catholic layman. Father Spencer and Mr. Jones teach their classes daily in obedience to the presi-dent of the high school, who is also Father Spencer's religious superior. Father Spencer has the same merit for the exercise of his virtue of obedience as Mr. Jones has, but in addition he has also the merit 6f the virtue of religion, the most excellent of the moral virtues. By reason of his vow, his act of obedience is more pleasing to God and manifests greater love of God than does that of Mr. Jones. The fact that Father Spencer is under the obligation of his vow to obey, does in no way diminish the merit of his act of obedience. Obligation does not decrease merit, as some have tried to maintain, alleging that without the vow there is greater liberty and from that standpoint greater merit. This is not so. Does a mother caring for her sick child (a serious obligation for her) merit less than when she gives a beggar an alms to which she is not obliged? She is free to omit the second, but not free to omit the first. This comparative lack of freedom in no wise lowers her merit. The martyr is obligated under pain of mortal sin and eternal damna-tion to profess his faith and to die for it, and yet there is 403 AUGUSTIN~ KLAAS no more heroic act of love nor a more meritorious one than martyrdom. Nor does what is done under obligation necessarily proceed from fear; it can and should proceed from love. Such are the vows of religion. They are assumed out of a great love of God; they are observed faithfully on account of this same love. The very perpetuity of the vows implies a great love of God. Two young men not subject to mili-tary service volunteer. The one does so with the under-standing that he may withdraw from the service when-ever it pleases him; the other, for the duration of the war. o Hasn't the one who enlisted for the du~ration shown greater generosity and love of country? By his vows the religious volunteers for God's service in the state of perfec-tion for the duration of his life. Spiritual writers have compared that act to martyrdom. It is a most sublime act of the love of God; it can merit a reward akin to that of martyrdom. If we examine these three vows more intimately we see that they contribute immensely to progress in the love of God which is perfection. Negatively, they remove from the religious the three principal obstacles to spiritual per-fection: "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (I ,John 2:16). Voluntary poverty does away with the inordinate love of and solicitude for tem.- poral things: voluntary chastity banishes all carnal dis-order and the worrisome care of family: voluntary obedi-ence, being a continuous exercise of humility, removes pride, the misuse of liberty, and all anxiety as to the best use of our liberty. Not only do these vows remove bar-riers, they also positively foster in us the love of God; in fact, they are a constant and uninterrupted exercise of that love. in the religious state there are also many other acts, which are not commanded by vow, but only by rule. In 404 PERFECTION AND THE RELIGIOUS most religious institutes the rule of itself does not oblige under sin, even venial sin, yet the acts performed according to the rule have the full merit of the virtue of religion. The vows and the rule are the means ~oar excellence of advancing in charity, the essence of spiritual perfection. ¯ Some of the general advantages of the religious state, the "state of perfection," may be noted. The religious state is a safe haven from innumerable dangers to the sou!, and a powerful aid to the acquirement of virtues of every kind. After martyrdom, it is the most perfect act of charity, because in it the religious gives his all to God for-ever. Indeed, as already mentioned, the religious state is a kind of real martyrdom, bloodless and less terrifying, but more painful by reason of the length of time involved. It is a holocaust, not merely offered to God, but consumed utterly in the fire of His love. It is a kind of second bap-tism, removing the punishment due to previous sins, as St. Thomas asserts (Summa Theoloqica II-II, q. 189, a. 3). It is a perpetual exercise of the virtue of religion, the highest of the moral virtues. The religious state also effects immense good for the neighbor, both spiritually and temporally, by prayer, by good example, by works of charity, as history eloquently attests. Finally, its rewards are the greatest: a "hundredfold" in this life and in the next a huge share in the eternal joys of heaven. Of course, as Bede Jarrett, O.19. says, "it may be said quickly to all this that religious life cramps the soul, shuts it in, hampers its free development; and the answer would be presumably to admit the accusation. Religious life does shut in the soul; but only as steam is shut in and cramped that it may work the more. A man may give the steam ample room for free development, but only at the risk of finding it useless tohim; if he can somehow cloister it narrowly it will work the harder. The flaring jet of gas, 405 AUGUSTINE KLAAS blown widely by the wind, has no doubt scope for its free movement, but (if the fantastic expression be allowed) clothe it with the habit of religion and it will become, as incandescent, a better source of heat and light. Perhaps in some such way the spirit of man may nee~t a cloister and a habit, the restraint of vow and rule, in order that it may be fuller of energy and intense existence, live more com-pletely and earnestly, affect better, its dutiful purpose to give light and heat in the world about" (The Religious Life, p. 49). The personal aspect is well expressed.by these words, often attributed to St. Bernard: "Is not this Religion-holy, pure and immaculate--in which a man lives more purely, falls more rarely, rises more quickly, walks more safely, is sprinkled with the dew of grace more abundantly, rests more securely, dies more confidently, is cleansed more quickly and is rewarded more copiously?" A religious need never look wistfully towards some other state of life, foolishly day-d~eaming of what might have been. His is a lofty state of life. His is the royal road to spiritual perfection and the highest love of God. Let him tread that road humbly and gratefully. Let him walk courageo~asly and generously in the footprints of Him Who repeats daily in the heart of every religious, "Come, Follow Me." BOOKS RECEIVED THE MEANING OP THE MASS. By Paul Bussard and Felix M. Kitsch, O.F.M. Cal). P.J. Kenedy ~ Sons, New York. ANSWERS. By Winfrid Herbst, S.D.S. Salvatorian Fathers, St. Nazianz, Wis-consin. MY SILENT PARTNER. °By H. J. Heagney. Salvatorian Pathers, St. Naz~anz, Wisconsin. THE BOOK OF CATHOLIC AUTHORS, By Walter Romig. Walter Romig ~ Company, Detroit. A LETTER FROM LISIEUX. B~r 2ohn Mathias Haffert. The Scapular Press, Sea Isle City, N. J. MOMENTS WITH GOD. By Edward F. Garesche, S.J. Bruce Publishing Com-pany, Milwaukee. 406 From Prles~s Reverend Fathers:' A rather indispensable requisite for direction in the confessional is to allow ample time for the hearing of the confessions. If this time is barely adequate merely to hear the confessions, little direction can be given. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: I have been interested in your discussion about the direction of religious, particularly of Sisters; and having had some experience in the matter I thought I might contribute my mite to throw light on the subject. Comparing my experience among the various members of many communities I find that in certain communities the matter of direc-tion is a usual one, whereas in others it is hardly ever used. This has led me to the conclusion that the traditions of the community imbibed in the novitiate have something to do with the use or non-use of direction by the Sisters. It seems, therefore, that the novice-mistress will have very much to say whether.and how the Sisters of her community are going to seek the benefit of direction. It would seem to me that the novice-mistress should teach her charges about the nature, value and method of spiritual direction. Father Fab~r's famous chapter on the matter in Growth in Holiness will be a big help. The thought also occurs to me that it would be well to draw up a symposium of the various ideas suggested, in a final summing up paper by the Editor, so that the conclusions will be easily and quick-ly apparent. Signed, etc. Reverend Fathers: Penitents that are seeking direction will be inclined to respond to a confessor who, they are convinced, possesses among other things a sympathetic understanding of their individual needs. Upon the shoulders of Fr. A, however, rests the burden of proof, and this can hardly be accomplished by silence. Since it is true that he cannot 407 COMMUNICATIONS begin to assume real guidance until he has first ascertained the work-ings of God's grace in a particular soul, his prime task is not only to show evidence of personal interest, but also to provide opportunities for self-revelati0n. The tenob of a confession, even though it contains only "ordinary human failings," should suggest the topic for a simple instruction of a psychological character, calculated to show how these faults develop or how the opposite virtues may be strengthened. Probably nothing so encourages penitents as to hear a description, however brief, of a condition similar to their own interior activities; to see pictured before them, as it were, their own feelings and thoughts which are often difficul~ for them to express in language. This is especially true of those penitents who feel that they are deriving no fruit from their prayer, and think they are making no progress in perfection. An instruction of this kind, given with prudence and gentleness, may do much to invite spontaneous openness towards Ft. A. Fr. A, when all is said and 'done, may-decide to limit.himself;- ¯ after hearing a confession, to a few pious phrases and admonitions. He may even speak sublimely about the Holy Trinity, the Blessed Eucharist, or the Sacred Humanity of our Lord. To be sure, this practice is very praiseworthy and ought to engender devotion in a general way. But let us refrain from calling it "Spiritual Direc-tion." Wise guidance demands an intimate knowledge of the main factors in a penitent's past life: of present faults, virtues, habits, dis-positions, temptations, etc., which cannot be garnered magically out of the air. And it stands to reason that these spiritual hors d'oeuvres are destined to fall far short of any real plan of direction, to say nothing of their inefficacy to provide a substantial diet for each indi-vidual soul. May we add that in the direction of penitents who are composed of bod~/and spirit, it is essential that a good confessor ground him-self well in the fundamentals, at least, of human temperamental traits and the organic and nervous funetions of the human frame. Not all failings are the direct result of bad will or the blandishments of the devil. Let Fr. A examine himself on whether he has ever attempted to corrdct, by spiritual remedies, a meditation made poorly because of physical fatigue or severe mental strain. With this last thought in mind, besides the bibliographical suggestions made in the previous issue of this REVIEW one might profitably recommend to any con- 408 COMMUNICATIONS lessor, as a supplement to his spiritual wisdom, such books as: Psgchologg of Character, by R.'Allers: Lindworsky's Psychologg of Asceticism and Training of the Will; McCarthy's Safeguarding Men-tal Health; D. yon Hildebrand's In Defense of Purity; the excellent study of characters (as a basis for spiritual activities) in one of the appendices to Tanquerey's Spiritual Life; and any standard works, e.g. Gray'~, on Anatomy and Physiology. Signed, etc; Reverend Fathers: The authorsof most of the communications in the S~ptember REVIEW, especially the priests, seem to think that the priest should always take the initiative in giving spiritual direction to reli-gious; and they find fault with youk Father~ A for not doing this. But I think that much can~be said on Father A's side. Not all reli-gious are interested in getting spiritual direction from their confessor. Furthermore, as for those religious who would appreciate some spir-itual direction, why should not they take the initiative? Why shouldn't they presume that the priest is willing to help them until he shows that he isn't? Why should it be necessary for a priest to deal with mature people as he would with a child and ask such ques-tions as, "Is there anything that is a source of anxiety to you?°'- "Is there any way I can.help you?" etc . I propose these difficulties sincerely. I think that spiritual direc-t'ion is a two-sided affair, and that in general the approach should be made by the penitent, not ~he priest. There is no comparison between the retreat-confessor and the ordinary confessor. At the time of retreat religious are particularly susceptible to good advice, and the conferences of the retreat are often occasions for seeking counsel. The ordinary confessor has no such external helps. Signed, etc . From Sisters Reverend Fathers : As a suggestion concerning the problem of direction by the con-fessor, I would say that religious should be taught how to go to con-fession. We were taught when children, "Say what sins you have committed and how many times," and that is perhaps all many of us did before entering a convent and even continue to do. If, after entering upon the religious life, confessions would be made differ- 409 COMMUNICATIONS ently, as they should be according to books, and retreat conferences~ it would be helpful to be told what to tell in confession besides sin. Another thing: Many of our difficulties are with superiors and members of the community, and to seek direction the Whole story or part of the story would have to be told. "As this means bringing the faults of others into one's own confession, spiritual direction is often skipped, and one plods along perhaps on the wrong road. But what can one do? Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: I wish to say that for many religious, spiritual direction is simply out of the question because of the custom of having the pastor serve in the capacity of confessor. I do not say this by way of criticism, but it is a simple fact that this custom does give rise to an embarrassing spiritual predicament. I'm certain that many souls would be eter-nally grateful and that a revival of spiritual fervor would be effected in many convents if this custom could be changed. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: As I have been fortunate at different periods in my more than thirty years in religion in receiving valuable direction from the ordinary confessor, and also have hungered for it for long stretches and now rejoice in three and a half years of satisfaction, may I try to make this available to other sisters? "How to get together?" If possible, a word from the confessor on his willingness to give personal 'he!p any time wanted. If that is not suggested, then the sister should ask straight out for help, or-- if she wants steady, consistent supervision--for direction, and express her readiness to be a real child in candor and obedience. If at any time ~she does not seem to get the confessor's meaning, or if she feels the advice is not fitting her, she should say so, knowing that both want to make the necessary adjustment for real help. She can certainly say when advice has helped her and where a point is often repeated ask to have it more fully developed. Sometimes a "light" or a resolution from her meditation or day of recollection may be a God-sent hint, and the confessor can help her to use it more effectively. I think the weekly confessor's direction can not be substitute~l 410 COMMUNICATIONS for by advice in the anfiual retreat or by an occasional visit from a special confessor. Its unique advantages seem to be: 1) consistency through ups and dgwns; 2).more balanced judgment of what should be striven for; 3). convincing encguragement and reproof; 4) the sister's confidence in knowing there is one who knows her to help in an emergency. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: Your article.Spiritual Direction by the Ordinary Con~:essor in the July issue of REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS has greatly interested me and a number of Sisters who have just returned home from the various brands of summer sessions. Among those who read your article; the consensus of opinion seems to be that we ask for and receive educa-tional guidance more readily and effectively because we understand how to state: our problems in that field, a thing with which most of us have difficulty in spiritual guidance. Nearly all Sisters have read Saint Ignatius, Saint Francis de Sales, Faber, Dora Marmi.on, Tissot, et al. ; so generally we have s6me background, But we simply do 'not know the procedures for the practice of regular and consistent spiritual guidance: As far as I can judge, all our confessors have been Father A's, but the net result in guidance is indefinite and without satisfying.resultl, at least in my case. A few model "opening exercises" including hints on the amount of background, if any, which is needed, and other essential details for the presentation of one of the "practical situations" would glad-den the heart of any of us as well as give the Sisters' ordinary con-. fessor a real "starting point'." ~ Having missed the ordinary confessor, I steppe~t into the confes-sional of one of the parish curates to make my weekly confession. "Jt{s't what progress have you made during the past week in the prac-tice of . . . ?'' I was not prepared to give a definite account. The expecthtion of an o~casibnal qhestion of ~this""t~;pe would hel~ in many ways and provide an opening. Signed, etc. Reverend Fathers': ~ I am speaking for all,the members of our small community, ten religious. We.have been without any real spiritual direction for a 411 COMMUNICATIONS long time, and our positive suggestion would be this: Let the con-lessor give a few words on the saint of the day, virtues to be imitated, etd., or on the Gospel for the Sunday. This direction need not be specific direction for one special individual, but a general one suitable for all. We do hope to receive some direction in the confessional, if not weekly, at hast occasionally. Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: Your case of Father A was so well put that I almost sympathized ~with him. Yet I do not see how timidity can be an excuse for one so zealous. Even if it were, it would not answer in many cases. If direction is "the methodical, regular instruction given by a person with grace of state to an upright and generous soul to help her advance in solid piety and even toward perfection," how could so many priests --"persons with gra.ce of state"--be unable to fulfill this office? If they.are unable is it not rather because of their lack of interest in the spiritual life than their lack of preparation to undertake the work of helpful confessors? Father A may be excused because of timidity. That is surely not the reason the great number of confessors rarely give more than absolution. Why should they be so timid on spiritual matters? And if they hesitate to attempt to find out whether their advice would be received by us, what of our timidity about asking help occasionally from one who never gives more than he must even when he is asked and sometimes cuts us off sharply with no help whatsoever ? Signed, etc . Reverend Fathers: I have read all of the comments on Confessors of Religious and ¯ Confessions by Religious. May I add a few running thoughts? 1. The kindness and patience of confessors even after hours in the confessional is really remarkable. The readers of this REVIEW must confessthat ninety-nine times out of a hundred, they have met with utmost consideration. 2. Penitents should forget the phrases used in prayer-book examinations of conscience and really tell what they did as it hap-pened, e.g., "I got angry and slammed the door." I will admit that it is not so genteel as, "I became impatien~ and broke silence," but it gives .the confessor a better idea of the incident and is more humili- 412 COMMUNICATIONS ating to the" penitent. Humiliation fosters spiritual growth better than consolation and generalities. 3. Personally, I like a comment on the confession I have made. and would welcome a suggestion for a weekly or a monthly practice. I must admit an abrupt question makes me mentally blank: but a suggestion to report on my particular examen at my next confession would make me do some spiritual work. 4. Sisters would do well to keep silence about their confessions and their confessors. If I were a confessor I should not like the advice I gave repeated at community recreation. 5. Most of the Sisters are very appreciative and very grateful to their confessors for the generosity shown by them in accepting the arduous, assignment of "ordinary" confessor. If all cannot be fatherly and psychological and very energetic and alert; we must admit that all, or nearly all, are earnest and devout, and above all. patient. 6, Both confessor and penitent will be more at ease if they are unacquainted outside of the confessional. 7. Better guidance can be given if the penitent will present her-self "regularly" to the ordinary confessor. A Sister " Reverend Fathers: It is the experience of most of our houses that there is a real need for spiritual direction in the weekly confessions. Without this there is a tendency for the Sisters to put work first and spiritual exercises second. Routine confessions with little or no practical advice are of little help. Some years ago, in one of our houses, the confessor, when first appointed, gave each of the Sisters a subject for particular examen and insisted that they report to him each week regarding the subject. In less than a month there was a marked difference in the spirit of that community--so much so, that the superior said that, had the confessor remained six months, the community would have been a community of saints. (The Father was only replacing.) In another community, the retreat-master carried the theme of the Indwelling of the Holy Spirit all through the retreat. The confessor took it up and encouraged the Sisters in its practice afterwards.In that com-munity charity reigned supreme. 413 COMMUNICATIONS If confessors could lead their penitents in contemplative com-munities to God through self-forgetfulness, they would be of the greatest help. These souls can reach the heights of. perfection if they can be persuaded to fix their attention on God instead of self. Thank you for this opportunity to express our opinion on an important subject. A Mother Superior Reverend Fathers: As religious, we really wish and seek for spiritual guidance and more or less expect the confessor to be the one to guide. In many cases we do not know how to go about it: in other cases, when this guidance has been asked for and there is no follow-up, we lose heart. Again, we may have waited for weeks or months to seek advice or help from a certain confessor (for instance the retreat-master), and here were treated lightly or hurriedly. Is it any wonder that one loses heart and makes the weekly confession just the mere recital of one's sins and imperfections, and many times just a repetition of last week's story? To advance in our spiritual life through our confessions there must be interest and patience off the part of the confessor and the penitent. If the confessor is interested, he will find a way that will lead the penitent on to greater holiness and peace of heart. The religious herself will want to improve her spiritual status and will work at it with heart and soul, if she finds in her confessor this inter-ested guide: In my mind, there is no place where a priest can do as much good as in the confessional, since there he speaks directly to the soul, to a soul that is eager to reform and advance, therefore to a soul that is more open to suggestions, etc. In the many confessions that I've made, those that gave me the greatest help were those in which the confessor came right back at me with something that I had confessed or asked me if there was any-thing in which he could help me. To this day the help I received on those [eu~ occasions still urges me on. If spiritual guidance will do this on rare occasions, what would it not do if given oftener? Now comes the question, "How can this be brought home to the confessor who is not in the habit of doing this?" Also, how would one work out a plan for nuns like the one given by the Brother Novice Master? A Sister Superior 414 COMMUNICATIONS Reverend Fathers: This letter is the result of discussions carried on by a large num-ber of nuns representing many small communities. What we say will offer no "positive suggestion," but if may throw light on the reason why the religious community often does not take the initiative in seeking spiritual direction. 1. Most sisters do not like to take the initiative in asking the confessor for guidance unless he assures them by an invitation or some remark that he is willing to do so. Among the reasons for this timidity, a predominant one is the time element. For instance, here are some situations that present the "time" difficulty: The confessions of the sisters are heard shortly before Mass, or shortly before the priest's supper time; or the priest must go immediately to another convent for more confessions; or the priest has to drive quite a dis-tance over bad roads and if delayed he would have to drive in the dark. 2. Sometimes the ~isters feel that they cannot express their diffi-culties to the more learned confessor. 3. In a small group of sisters, some who would like to seek guidance do not do so because they fear that others would be sus-picious of such souls. 4. The question of charity presents a particular difficulty: These matters are hard to formulate without reflecting on any individual, especially in a small group of sisters. Many sisters think they may never ask questions about such things in the confessional, as this would be a violation of charity and a mark of disloyalty to their own community. Signed, etc . [EDITORS' NOTE: Some of these communications had to be slightly shortened and certain points were omitted. The omission is only temporary. The points will be included in the summary to be given at the dose of these discussions on spiritual direction. Readers who have anything further to say on the subject of spiritual direction are encouraged to send in their communications as soon as possible. Address them to: The Editors of Review for Religious, St. Mary's College, St. Marys, Kansas.] 415 Book Reviews THE ART OF LIVING JOYFULLY. By the Reverend Henry Brenner, O.S.B. Pp. 138. The Grail, St. Meinrad, Indiana, 1942. $1.00. "The aim of this book is to give concisely and in an interesting form for the usual reader the various helps recommended in quelling the mental and spiritual disturbances of human nature." The quotation is taken from the jacket of the book. The book itself contains thirty-seven brief essays that mostly concern what we are wont to call the "natural ~iirtues"--for example, cheerful-ness, patience, meekness, composure, and so on. The author's general plan is to recall an incident from the life of our Lord, then to give some ~ommon-sense advice on the virtue illustrated. The book is not specifically directed to religious; some of the applica-tions would not concern them at all. But a large percentage of the essays could be used profitably for meditation.--G.KELL¥,$.$. CATECHISM COMES TO LIFE. By the Reverend Stephen Aylward. Pp. 189. Catechetlcal Guild, St. Paul, Minnesota. $1.00. Regardless of how good' a teacher of religion you already are, we believe that you will be the better for the reading of Father Aylward's book, Catech~'sm Comes to L~'t:e. Catechism is not dead, and it does not require a miracle to make it come to life, but in some classrooms it appears dead just because teachers fail to make use of such methods as are explained and recommended in this most recent contribution to the field of catechetics. .Father Aylward rightly maintains that if the teaching of. tell- ' gion is really to be made to live it must be animated in two ways: "Animated with the spirit of Christ's holiness. Animated by the methods of Christ." Referring to the imitation of Christ's holi-ness he says: '~'Love and humility--this is the hidden and abso-lutely necessary foundation of any good Catechism teaching. The loving and humble heart speaks the universal language of child-hood. The teacher with a childlike heart has the great and enduring secret of making Catechism live and become beautiful for children." Among the methods recommended are four main types of examples: doing things, drawing things, showing things, and telling, things. As the author himself states, his book "is an intro- 4.16 ~ BOOK REVIEWS duction to a method of visual education, applicable to every major problem in the Catechism, which can make religious doctrine interestingly clear to all age-groups. Since it is an introduction it would be impossible to give detailed illustrations and treatment of every Catholic doctrine, but sufficient examples and explanations of the method are cited to give you all that is necessary to make yourself a practical catechist." No doubt the author of Catechism Comes to Life would be one of the first to admit the general saying that all comparisons limp. This should be noted especially in making use of his unique method of applying chemistry in teaching the sacraments. Like-wise no one should fail to notice Father Aylward's warning that not all his methods are equally applicable to all age-groups'. There is however sufficient material adaptable to all age-groups to war-rant recommending this book to all teachers whether they be in elementary scl~ool, high school, or college.--A~. J. HEEG, S.J. SAINT THOMAS AOUINAS MEDITATIONS. Adapted from ÷he Latin of Rev. P. D. Mezard, O.P., by Father E. C. McEnlry, O.P. Pp. xlv -k S:~6. College Book Company, Columbus, Ohio, 1941. $:}.00. This is an important book, especially for priests and religious. Father McEniry, in his preface, gives the following description of its contents. "These meditations may truly be called a compendium of the Summa since they are culled mostly therefrom to the number of some four hundred and arranged, with references to the original, for daily use throughout the year . . . "During A~dvent will be found excerpts from St. Thomas on the Incarnation. These are succeeded by sections on the Birth of Our Lord, His Infancy~ and Public Life. The time df Lent is taken up with reflections on Our Lord's Sufferings and the 'Death on the Cross. Afterwards with the Risen Christ the new life of regenera-tion through grace, through glorification and inspiration of the Holy Ghost,-~ and through the Eucharist are successively treated, ending with the Feast of the Sacred Heart. "In the second part, extending through July to Advent, will be found five sections dealing successively with God and His Attributes, the purgative, illuminative and unitive ways of spiritual advance-ment and fina|ly St. Thomas' treatment of the four last things. Succeeding the meditations proper will be found seventeen topics for 417 BOOK REVIEWS spiritual retreats from the Angelic Doctor, with Thomistic pr~yers, the. entire work standing forth as a real synopsis of religion and of the spiritual life." Reference to the doctrinal and ascetical soundness of such a book would be, quite obviously, superfluous. We have here the antithesis of pietistic effusiveness. Consequently, it is felt that a Word of caution is in place for those who may be unacquainted with the "Summa. St. Thomas, in writing that masterpiece, did not intend primarily to prepare a collection of meditations. His main intent Was to instruct, to teach Christian doctrine, rather than to motivate. 'Consequently, 'the selections offered in the volume under discussion are expository and instructive, but they contain very ¯ little by way of explicit practical application to life. The one using the book is left to his own resources. That is a very good thing, provided he is sufficiently skilled in the art of mental prayer, and realizes the inadequecy of intellectual effort unless it results in acts of the will. And even the intellectual content of very many selections included in the volume is to be discovered only with difficulty. The difficulty arises, it seems to this reviewer, first, because the selection is not.seen in its context. Frequently St. Thomas is answering a series of objections against the true doctrine, and the full force of his answer cannot be appreciated without an. acquaintance with the objections. In the second place, the translation is rather stiff and stays too close to the Latin idiom to make for smooth reading. It is no easy task to turn the concentrated phrases of the Angelic Doctor into idiomatic ~nglish, but one wishes that more of an effort to do so had been made in the present instance. At the same time, appar-ent carelessness in punctuation might have been avoided. The fol-lowing sentence, from p. 175, is not an isolated instance: "And he is said to deserve it, inasmuch as his unjust will, is chastised thereby." And the reader will be hard put to it to glean any meaning from ¯ this sentence, found on p. 287: "But because this union is the effect of charity from the fervour of which man obtains forgiveness, not only of the guilt but also of the punishment, but according to the measure of his de~rotion and fdrvour." Of course, by checking the passage against the original Latin, it is discovered that somewhere in transit the entire main clause of the sentence was lost!. Let these few observations suffice to show that the book is not 418 BOOK REVIEWS without shortcomings~ To all who have been thus forewarned, it is highly recommended because, in the words of Father McEniry,.it does stand forth as "a real synopsis of religion and of the spiritual life."mC: DEMUTH, S.J. " "DRAW NEAR TO H!M." By Sister Mary Aloysl Kiener, S.N.D. Pp. 165. Frederick Pusfet, Inc., New York, 1942. $1.50. I have ~truggled through books of r~pute in the spiritual life with less pleasure and profit than I read Draw Near to Him. Sister Aloysi ~as some worth-while messages, on Communion, on the Cross, on Sacrifice. Am!d the many ecstatic expressions of an overflowing heart.are thoughts that remain in one's mind as vivid.ly as ~i shout during sacred silence. Such are her comment on the fact that Christ gave Himself as our food in Holy Communion: "We should have con-sidered it blasphemy for a mortal even to propose such a cotirse of action tb the Son of God"; this laconic but memorable statement:' "Thereis nothing spectacular about the simple injunction: Follow Me"; and lastly, "Our happiness w~ill always be commensurate with thd perservefing energy we bring to the business of carving sanctity out of the timbdr of life, painfully, perseveringly." Sister A1oysi could,in general, have devoted more attention to those religious who are struggling along wkhout experiencing deep interior consolations. Some effort might have been made to solve the conflict that must arise in those who, at one and the same time, wish to follow Christ in" "derision and shame," as she suggests, yet must, for Goffs glory, use their talents in a way to bring the applause of the world. The section on suffering migh't have been improved by more insistence on cf'Jeerfu! suffering. Especiglly. worth-while is her explanation of the Catholic teaching on daily Communion as opposed to ~he Jansenistic view. -~B. FAHERTY, S.J. THE RELIGIOUS LIFE AND THE VOWS." A treatise by Monseigneur Charles Gay, Bishop of Anth&don. Translated from the French by O.S.B. Pp. viff -{- 276. The Newman Boo~ Shop, Wes÷m[nster, Maryland, 1942. $2.50. An introduction ~ on the Religious Life and a separate treatise on each of the Vows f6rm the contents of this book. Treating of poverty; the author outlines the moral obligations of the vow, 419 BOOK REVIEWS then dwells on the motives for observing perfect poverty. He fol-lows somewhat the same method regarding chastity, giving first the concept, then the motives. Obedience he subjects to a pro-longed analysis that deals successively with .the obedience of our Lord, the principles on which obedience is founded, advantages flowing from its observance, and the duties imposed by religious obedience. The treatises on poverty and obedience contain many good points: for instance, the six motives for practising poverty are inspiring, and the discussion of the foundation for obedience is well calculated to impress the reader with respect for good order and authority. However, these good points are offset somewhat by the fact that the wordiness and long paragraphsmake for tedious reading. The section on chastity is a distinct demerit of the book, in this reviewer's opinion. Like many others who write lyrically of this virtue, Monseigneur Gay uses words and definitions inaccurately. "As a natural virtue," he writes, "it (chastity) may be looked upon as a kin~! of royal habit of the soul, by means of which she keeps all the acts of the body, even its slightest movements, com-pletely beneath her sway." Again, in summing up, he says: "Chastity, properly speaking, and looked at on its practical side, is only a religibus respect which the soul has for her own body, for the love of God Whom she has espoused in ,lesus Christ: and there-in is the actual matter of the vow of Chastity." These are not merely isolated statements: they are typical of the author's treatment of the conc.ept of chastity. The concept is not correct. We are, of course, justified in using "reverence for the body" as a motive for chastity (as St. Paul did); but we are not~Justified in iclenti~:~/ing chastity with the control of or rever-ence for the body. Chastity is but one of the virtues that concern the control of the ~body; it has to do with the control of only one specific function, and not with all the movements of that function but only with such as are voluntary. Souls who have to struggle to preserve their chastity would get neither help nor consolation for the vague and hll-embracing notion of chastity given in this book: souls inclined to scrupulosity might be harmed by it. The translation of this work was published in 1898. This seems to be a re-edition of that same translation.-~G. KELLY, S.,J. 420 BOOK REVIEWS LA VIE DES COMMUNAUI:f-S RELI~IEUSES. By ~he M~nor~e Franc~s-cans of Canada. This promising new magazine for. religious communities is a thirty-two page monthly (except July and August) in French, issued in Montreal at the annual subscription price of $1.25, and directed principally to Canadian religious. The editor is Adrien M. Malo, O.F.M.; the publication secretary, 3ogues Mass~, O.F.M. On its advisory board of three is Bishop 3. C. Chaumont. In the maga-zine there are various departments: history, canon law, spirituality, liturgy, etc.---eleven in all, covering every angle of the religious life, each in charge of an expert. The format is neat; the type is easy to read; the cover, designed by a young Franciscan, is attractive, but somewhat somber. The first number, September 15, 1942, has an introductory let-ter of commendation from 3. M. Rodrigue Cardinal Villeneuve, O.M.I. of Quebec and contains some excellent articles---on the early religious of Montreal; on spiritual theology, of which an entire course is outlined for succeeding numbers; on the juridical aspect of reli-gious life; on the novitiate according to. the mind of the Church; on the Mystical Body and eucharistic liturgy, the latter by Archbishop Georges Cabana. Book reviews, a chronicle, and a question box complete the contents of this first issue. The Vie has already been well received. REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS wishes it continued success and heartily commends it to all who read French. Moreover, REVIEW FOR RELIGIOUS is privileged to unite fraternally with the Vie in striving to achieve the two objectives laid down in the foreword of the first number: the proximate one of giving to religious communities that Life which Christ came to give to mankind so abundantly (John 10: 10), and the ultimate one of pre-paring for Christ a "Church in all her glory, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but . . . holy and without blemish" ('Ephesians 5:27).--A. KLAAS, S.J. NOTE: For the review of Maql In Her Scapular Promise, by John Mathias Haffert; please turn to p. 426.reED. 421 Questions and Answers 36. If there are" two or three members of the same family in a r.eligious congregation, does the junior member lose the right to vote in com-munity affairs? The general law of the Church has no particular regulations regarding two or more members of. the same family who are pro-fessed in a religious institute. It would notseem to be just to deprive a religious who has made profession of perpetual vows of his right to active voice (the right to vote)in community affairs. Some approved constitutions limit the right to passive voice (the right to be voted for) in the case of near relatives to the extent of not allowing two brothers or two sisters of the same family to be elected councillors at the same time. Such a partial limitation of passive voice would not seem to be contrary to the spirit of the Code. The approved consti-tutions should be followed in this matter. 37. Please explain +he Crozier indulgences, and tell us which priests have +he faculty 1o bless rosaries with these indulgences. The Crozier indulgences are a special indulgence of five hundred days granted for the recital of each Pater or Abe on a rosary of the Blessed Virgin especially blessed for this purpose. It is not necessa.ry tO say the entire rosary of five decades, nor even one decade, in order to gain the indulgence. It is gained every time that either a Pater or an Ave is said on such a rosary. Nor is it necessary to meditate on the mysteries of the rosary in order to gain this indulgence. While it is a general rule that one can gain only one indulgence at a time for the performance of a good work, still we have an excep-tion in favor of the Crozier indulgence by reason of a special privi-lege granted by Pope Pius X on June 12, 1907, whereby the faithful may gain by one and the same recitation of the rosary, both the Crozier and the Dominican indulgences, provided the rosary has received both blessings. In this case, however, the conditions for gaining the Dominican indulgences must be observed: five decades of the rosaiy must be said on the same day, though the decades may be said at different times: and one must meditate on the mysteries of the rosary. 422 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS While the privilege of blessing rosaries with the Crozier indul-gence was restricted for many years to the Crozier Fathers (Canons Regular of St. Augustine of the Order of the Holy Cross), Plus X granted the Father General of that order the power to d~legate any priest to bless beads with the Crozier indulgences, and later he granted the same faculty to the S. Congregation in charge of indul-° genres. 38. If ÷he Angelus is said at a time other than when the church bell rings, is it necessary to ring a small bell while saying it? No, that is not necessary. In 1884 Pope Leo XIII granted the indulgences to the faithful who, for a suffcient reason, either could not kneel while reciting the Angelus, or who could not do so when the church bell rang. The latest decree on the subject, issued by the Sacred Penitentiary on February 20, 1933, is given in the official col-lection of ihdulgences (Preces et Pia Opera, 1938, N. 300) as fol-lows: "To the faithful who recite the Angelus . . . at dawn, at noon, and at eventide, or as soon after these times as 'they can, is granted: an indulgence of ten years as often as they do so: a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions, if they have-recited it daily for an entire month." It is a laudable custom, however, to ring a small bell if the r.eli-gious community recites the Angelus regularly at a time which does not coincide with the ringing of the church bell. 39. What is meant by the obligation imposed upon superiors by canon 509 "to have read publicly the decrees ordered by the Holy See to be so read"? From time to time the Holy See issues decrees regarding religious institutes, and occasionally in the decree itself orders that it be read publicly in each community at least once, or even every year. Thus, before the new Code of Canon Law went into effect (May 19, 1918) there were three decrees which had to be read every year in every religious community, and which were usually pri.nted in the book of rules and constitutions. These decrees dealt with the account of conscience (Quero~,dmodam of Pope Leo XIII), the confessions of religious (Cure de sacramentalibus of Plus X) and the frequent reception of Holy Communion (Sacra Tridentina Sgnodus of Plus X). These decrees need not and should not be read any 423 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS longer, since the matter contained in them has been incorporated into the'Code, and has been changed in some minor details, so that the original decrees no longer fully express the mind of the Church on these subject~. Canon 509 re~ers therefore only to new decrees which have been or will be issued after the Code. At present there is only one such decree which must be read in its entirety to religious clerics at the beginning of each year. This is the decree concerning the clerical and religious training of subjects destined for the priest-hood, issued by the S. Congregation of Religious by order of Pius XI, on December first, 1931. It will not be out of place here to quote the first part of the canon referred to i "Every superior should promote among his sub-jects the knowledge and the execution of the decrees of the Holy See which concern religious." This refers primarily to decrees which deal with the obligations of the religious life. But it will be very useful and at times necessary for superiors to inform their subjects of other decrees which have an immediate interest for religious, although not issued by the S. Congregation of Religious. Such would be decrees which regard indulgences, the liturgy, and any others which grant privileges to the faithful at large. 40. In some communities of women, the superior conducts the Stations, or the Way of the Cross, in the same manner as the priest for his con-gregation. From this practice two questions arise: I. Is not this prac-tice on the part of a woman a violation of the law of the Church which forbids a woman's conducting services in the church or chapel? 2. Do not religious who remain in their places lose the indulgences granted ÷o those who make the Stations? Generally speaking, one of the conditions for gaining the indul-gences attached to the devotion of the Way of the Cross is that the person who wishes to gain them must move from station to station. However, the Sacred Congregation of Indulgences (Decr. auth. n. 210) granted the favor that in the public practice of this devo-tion, where disorder might arise, it is sut~cient that a priest accom-panied by two acolytes go from station to station and recite the usual prayers, the congregation answering from their respective places: in which case it is advisable that the people rise and genuflect at each station with the priest. On February 27, 1901, the same S. Congregation granted a similar favor to the Marist Brothers 424 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS whereby they could gain these indulgences if only one person~. (for example, a brother of the community) made the round of the sta-tions, the rest of the community remaining in their places. The condition laid down in this grant was that there was a lack of space in the community chapel for all the religious to move from station to station. On May 7, 1902 this same privilege was extended to the chapels of all religious women, under the same conditions. 41. Is it advisable to permit Sister catechists who 90 to mission places during the summer to llve in the rectory or to board with seculars during the time they are teaching catechism in the parish? The good done by religious in conducting so-called oacatior~ schools, that is, teaching Christian doctrine to children in parishes and missions in which there is no parochial school, is of the greatest value to the Church, and should be duly appreciated by religious superiors. Difficulties must be met with, and the problem of housing the reli-gious is a serious one. Since there is no general legislhtion in canon law covering this case, we may follow the norm of canon 20 of the Code which directs us to follow directions laid down by the Church in similar cases. We have some such norms in two instructions of the Holy See regarding religious who are away from home on a begging tour (see canon 624). For such religious women the Holy See prescribes that they