Wednesday, December 22, 2004

Norms of Catholic Orthodoxy - Rule 1

Previously I had written on couple of St. Ignatius' rules here and here.

I probably should have started with this one, which is Rule Number Uno, but, my minds sometimes wanders:

First Rule. The first: All judgment laid aside, we ought to have our mind ready and prompt to obey, in all, the true Spouse of Christ our Lord, which is our holy Mother the Church Hierarchical.
There isn't much to say that has not been said before. There is a great explanation regarding obedience in a letter by St. Ignatius on Obedience. Fr. John Hardon provides the background and analysis on St. Ignatius' letter here.
St. Ignatius' Letter on Obedience which he wrote to the Jesuits in Portugal on March 26, 1553, is justly regarded as "the most admirable of all the letters which came from his pen." [1] In the four centuries since its composition, the letter has been translated into all the major languages in use in modern times. Its teaching is not only "the backbone of the Society of Jesus," but it has become the classic exposition of perfect obedience for most of the religious orders and congregations that have arisen in the Church in the past four hundred years. However, as much as the ideals which it presents have been praised by the Church and admired by unprejudiced historians, there is perhaps no other piece of Jesuit writing that has been more frequently misunderstood or bitterly attacked than the Epistola de virtute obedientiae.
This is well worth the time spent reading it.

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