Rules of Society of Jesus

[Iryna]

Please, send me Rules of Society of Jesus in English, but only until the Second Vatican Council. Thank you so much!

 

[Friar_David_O.Carm]

I do not know if their rule is available publicly and it would not make any sense without their constitutions as well.

And why only pre-vatican II?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

Please, send me Rules of Society of Jesus in English, but only until the Second Vatican Council. Thank you so much!

I asked my Jesuit friend today about their Rule. Here’s what he said.

Everyday life is governed by the Constitutions and the Complementary Norms. The Norms may be modified at a General Congregation. General Congregations are held to elect a new superior general or when the existing superior general deems there is something important enough that he needs to call one. There have been 35 General Congregations since the Jesuits were founded.

The highest law in the Jesuits is called the Formula of the Institute which was included in a papal bull in 1540. Were this to be changed it would require papal action. The Constitutions/Norms can be changed by a General Congregation.

He said there are books that have the Constitutions and the Norms compiled together. The one he has goes through the 34th General Congregation. The one including information from the last General Congregation (held in 2008) hasn’t yet been published.

I don’t know where you would find older versions of this material. Perhaps a Jesuit university library would have them.

 

[JReducation]

Post # 3 is correct. The Society of Jesus does not have a rule of its own. Most religious orders and congregations do not have a rule. There are only five rules in the Catholic Church (East and West): Franciscan, Augustinian, Carmelite, Benedictine, and Basilian. Every religious community ever founded either uses one of these rules or simply draws up statutes, known by different names. These statutes are not as binding as a rule. A rule cannot be changes. Statutes can be changed by democratic process. This democratic process is called the General Chapter. The Society of Jesus calls it a Congregation of the Society.

This means that any statutes that they had prior to the current statutes are null and void. The most current statutes of a religious community always abrogates the previous ones. The only thing that can never be abrogated is a rule. Since St. Ignatius did not write a rule for the Society, they can change the laws that govern them and the direction of the Society by a majority vote.

Additionally, most religious communities do not make their statutues public. Only a few are in the public domain. The custom is to keep the statutes out of the public domain to avoid interference from the laity and the bishops. It has often been found that when such documents fall into the public domain they acquire all kinds of interpretations that the capitulars never intended.

The Formula of the Society of Jesus is actually a very simple profession of faith and mission statement. This cannot be changed, because you cannot change the faith. What is left to change are the statutes, which they and many other communities refer to as the constitutions.

The older constitutions are interesting reading for the purpose of historical study. However, they serve very little purpose for the sake of determining what the Jesuits should or should not be doing today. They are not governend by the Pre Vatican II constitutions. In fact, no religious order today is governed by Pre Vatican II constitutions. Perfectae Caritatis mandated the revision of all constitutions. Those interested in Jesuit history may do well to visit a Jesuit house of formation where these things are usually kept in libraries.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[Iryna]

thank you very much for your useful information!

 

[chypmonk]

This is not the St. Alphonso Rodriguez SJ but the Master of formation of the early Jesuits.
If you want an insight into Jesuit spirituality try these volumes. Unfortunately the English version doesn’t have footnotes to the great quotes he brings up. It was his life work and a very valuable source of spiritual formation.

One problem of the Jesuit’s is the blind obedience principle. I think we suffer from this in the Church today. Although obedience is extremely important the principle of blind obedience says that one needs to think like one’s immediate superior. It lacks a mechanism of default to oppose an immediate superior when one’s superior is not following the Church or common sense. For example, you find someone in community is a pedophile you report it to your superior. He says ignore it. You know for sure something must be done but you are obligated to think like the superior. What should you do? This is an extreme example but pertinent. Obedience has different degrees of obligation and one must follow the Church ( i.e.Jesus) not any other person.

Another problem of Rodriguez as well as many of the Spanish saints St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross is a tendency toward a Stoicism, if not by their teaching at least by any of their followers.

PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS PERFECTION, volume 3
books.google.com/books?id=cNxUdJULkNoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=PRACTICE+OF+CHRISTIAN+AND+RELIGIOUS+PERFECTION,+volume+III&hl=en&ei=K1asTPGlGI2osQO-7-DdAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS PERFECTION, volume 2
books.google.com/books?id=WjbnjEusunkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=PRACTICE+OF+CHRISTIAN+AND+RELIGIOUS+PERFECTION,+volume+II&hl=en&ei=cFasTN6IBI6-sQOqx8jiAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS PERFECTION, volume I
books.google.com/books?id=E_MCNX8uTvEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=PRACTICE+OF+CHRISTIAN+AND+RELIGIOUS+PERFECTION,+volume+I&hl=en&ei=uVasTIiaMZOgsQPBo9inAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

 

[JReducation]

This is not the St. Alphonso Rodriguez SJ but the Master of formation of the early Jesuits.
If you want an insight into Jesuit spirituality try these volumes. Unfortunately the English version doesn’t have footnotes to the great quotes he brings up. It was his life work and a very valuable source of spiritual formation.

One problem of the Jesuit’s is the blind obedience principle. I think we suffer from this in the Church today. Although obedience is extremely important the principle of blind obedience says that one needs to think like one’s immediate superior. It lacks a mechanism of default to oppose an immediate superior when one’s superior is not following the Church or common sense. For example, you find someone in community is a pedophile you report it to your superior. He says ignore it. You know for sure something must be done but you are obligated to think like the superior. What should you do? This is an extreme example but pertinent. Obedience has different degrees of obligation and one must follow the Church ( i.e.Jesus) not any other person.

Another problem of Rodriguez as well as many of the Spanish saints St. Theresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross is a tendency toward a Stoicism, if not by their teaching at least by any of their followers.

PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS PERFECTION, volume 3
books.google.com/books?id=cNxUdJULkNoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=PRACTICE+OF+CHRISTIAN+AND+RELIGIOUS+PERFECTION,+volume+III&hl=en&ei=K1asTPGlGI2osQO-7-DdAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCwQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS PERFECTION, volume 2
books.google.com/books?id=WjbnjEusunkC&printsec=frontcover&dq=PRACTICE+OF+CHRISTIAN+AND+RELIGIOUS+PERFECTION,+volume+II&hl=en&ei=cFasTN6IBI6-sQOqx8jiAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

PRACTICE OF CHRISTIAN AND RELIGIOUS PERFECTION, volume I
books.google.com/books?id=E_MCNX8uTvEC&printsec=frontcover&dq=PRACTICE+OF+CHRISTIAN+AND+RELIGIOUS+PERFECTION,+volume+I&hl=en&ei=uVasTIiaMZOgsQPBo9inAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false

“Blind” obedience is part of many rules: Benedict, Francis, Carmel, Society of Jesus, Missionaries of Charity, Missionaries of the Poor, Dominicans and Passionists, just to name a few.

There has to be a clear understanding of what this means. No superior may order:

1. That which is sinful.
2. That which is contrary to the rule.
3. That which is contrary to canon law
4. That which is contrary to the constitution.
5. That which he is not allowed to order.

On the other hand, a superior may order anything that may be less practical or less prudential than what the subject has in mind and the subject is morally obliged, under vow and danger of excommunication, to obey. Obedience is not about what is better to do or what is more prudent, it’s about the practice of virtue and the fulfillment of a covenant between the religious and Christ. The religious vows to Christ that he will obey his superior, with love, without murmurring, without questioning as long as the rules above are followed.

In effect, the religious who obeys is complying with Christ. His obedience must imitate the obedience of Christ who even obeyed Pilate. We know that Pilate was wrong; however, Jesus obeyed, because he had a covenant with the Father. We obey because we have a covenant with Christ and with our founders.

This is another important consideration. Religious men are bound to obey their founders, regardless of how long the founder has been dead. Some founders went as far as to leave it in writing that they had to be obeyed after their death. This is the perfect path to holiness.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF