Chapter 3
1Let the clerical [brothers] recite the Divine Office, etc.
2After giving, in the first chapter, the teaching and definition of the substance of the life and Rule of the Lesser Bothers and their obedience to the Church, the Roman Pontiff, to Francis and his successors and, in the second chapter, having stated and fixed the manner for receiving brothers into the same evangelical life, Rule and habit of humility, he now, in the third chapter, gives directions briefly but fully on works, especially works of holiness. 3And firstly he gives information on divine worship and reverence.
4On this it was written as follows in the Earlier Rule:
The Lord says in the Gospel: This kind of devil cannot come out except through fasting and prayer; 5and again: When you fast do not become gloomy like the hypocrites. 6And: Watch and pray that you enter not into temptation. 7And: When you pray, say: Our Father, etc.
8For this reason let all the brothers, whether clerical or lay, recite the Divine Office, the praises and prayers, as is required of them. 9Let the clerical brothers recite the Divine Office and say it for the living and the dead according to the custom of clerics of the Roman Church. 10Every day let them say Have mercy on me, O God with the Our Father for the failings and negligence of the brothers; 11and let them say Out of the depths with the Our Father for the deceased brothers. 12They may have only the books necessary to fulfil their office. 13The lay brothers who know how to read the Psalter may have one. 14Those who do not know how to read, however, may not be permitted to have any book.
15Let the lay brothers say the Creed and twenty-four Our Fathers for Matins; for Lauds, let them say five; for Prime, the Creed and seven Our Fathers with the Glory be to the Father; 16for each of the hours, Terce, Sext and None, seven; for Vespers, twelve; for Compline, the Creed and seven Our Fathers with the Glory be to the Father. 17For the deceased, seven Our Fathers with the Eternal rest. 18And for the failings and negligence of the brothers three Our Fathers each day.
19Similarly, let all the brothers fast from the feast of All Saints until the Nativity, 20and from the Epiphany, when our Lord Jesus Christ began to fast, until Easter. 21However, at other times, according to this life, let them not be bound to fast except on Fridays. 22In accordance with the Gospel, it may be lawful for them to eat of all the food that is placed before them.
23This was written in the Earlier Rule on fasting and divine worship. 24This divine worship in every Religion should have the utmost importance since everything should be ordered towards it and for it and it should be done by servants of God because everything depends on divine worship as its final most perfect end. 25For the Father seeks such, Christ said to the Samaritan woman, who adore him. 26For God is a spirit and those who adore him, must adore him in spirit and in truth. 27To worship God is to adore him and pray to him faithfully, reverently, humbly, wisely, with love, thanksgiving and praise.
28Our mind united to the mind of Christ offers continually to the Father in the Holy Spirit a sacrifice of praise, confession and honour with heart, mouth and actions grateful to God. 29For without Christ dwelling within us it is impossible for any person whatsoever to be correct in thoughts and affectionate desires, to possess holiness and the inseparable unity necessary for salvation towards God, oneself, and one’s neighbour. 30But those who do not have Christ genuinely remaining within them will not experience the love of enemies, unshakeable peace in troubles and injuries and joy of spirit.
31Each Order and Regular Institute is begun and founded through the Spirit of Christ, first of all for divine worship and for the unbreakable bond of obedient and submissive love; hence, the natural law, the writings and grace of Christ and the Gospel teach, preach and command divine worship with the perfect love of God and neighbour. 32In the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall stand, the word placed in, given and inspired in us by God; they are to keep it in mind, without forgetting, in spite of and in everything, to hold it strongly and irresistibly, prudently and wisely understand it, and sincerely, strongly and with perseverance love, praise, glorify and adore it.
33The divine praises, especially the canonical Hours, were set up by apostolic man for praising and worshipping God; they continue in the mind and affections the perpetual sacrifice and sacred offering of the pleasing odour and incense to the Lord in an odour of sweetness. 34This is why those who vowed the Rule, if they wish to please God, are obliged to offer to Christ, after the example of the Founder, the prayers of the Hours carefully, devoutly and with the utmost reverence, setting aside all other cares and worries, so as to offer to the Father through Christ a ministry of the sacred Hours with full intention and affection as a holocaust full of marrow. 35For these praises they should follow the custom of the holy Roman Church, the mother, lady and teacher of all the churches of God. 36He wants all the brothers individually to take care to follow this Church in its holy perfections and divine teachings and always be reverently subject and obedient to it
37He says: for which reason they may have breviaries. 38When they did not have breviaries they celebrated the Office according to the custom of the churches or clerics among whom they happened to be. 39He wanted the brothers to have breviaries for their use but without the individual brothers having any ownership. Like the bread begged for and received as a regular occurrence for the daily and necessary support of the body, without any ownership of those receiving it, 40so, he wanted the brothers to use the books necessary for divine worship, or offered by the faithful, as books dedicated to the Lord and this out of obedience to and from a command of the evangelical rule, without any owning or personal possession by those using them.
41In the time of Saint Francis, up to five thousand brothers came together in Assisi for a general chapter. They placed the breviaries they were using in a chest or wooden container and no one took back the breviary he had put here but took the first one he touched, each rejoicing particularly when it was inferior and poorer and so more in conformity with the promised poverty.
42They understood, taught by the Spirit of Christ and by Francis, the lover of poverty, how wonderful is the dignity and how high an eminence it would be to leave completely all things for Christ and for the observance of the Gospel, to move one’s affection away from the love of all visible objects, 43always to thirst for, to desire more strongly and love more ardently with all one’s strength only what endures and is eternal, to long with flaming desires and to be joined and cling to God alone out of perfect love. 44Christ says this is eternal life, that by the freely given infused wisdom of love they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 45He who, to teach us to love the heavenly and most high perfection of poverty that holds the rights to the kingdom, was born from a poor Mother, who, on the evidence of Chrysostom, hardly covered him with a cheap small tunic, not as an adornment but to cover the body, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, laid him in a manger, because he had no room in the inn. 46He fasted with beasts in the desert, preached and worked the whole night, keeping watch alone in prayer to God; he had no lodging, roof or bed, he hung naked on the cross between two thieves, and left the world commending himself into the hands of the Father with tears and a strong cry; 47and taken down from the cross he was wrapped in the fine linen given by Joseph, enclosed in another’s tomb, so that he could confirm for the poor, by an unbreakable testament through his cross, death and blood, the glories of the kingdom of God and the promises to them of an eternal and inherited possession.
48Because he was certain from a sure revelation that the brothers would increase in number throughout the whole world and the Roman Psalter was in use only in the areas of Rome, he excepted the Psalter, so that in the Psalms they might be in conformity with other churches and use the version with which the Greeks and Latins are in agreement and sing in the churches.
49The lay [brothers], however, may say twenty-four Our Fathers for Matins, and five for Lauds; seven for each of the Hours of Prime, Terce, Sext, and None, twelve for Vespers, and seven for Compline. Let them pray for the dead.
50As the great John Climacus teaches in his book entitled Scala, chapter twenty-six, in which he treats of ‘the discernment of thought, of vices and virtues’:
For all beginning to serve God, the alphabet contains twenty-four elements. 51They are obedience, fasting, hair shirt, ashes, tears, confession, silence, humility, vigils, courage; enduring cold cheerfully, nakedness, hunger, thirst, work, sorrow, weakness and misfortune; contempt, contrition, not repaying evil for evil but forgetting malice, love of the brotherhood, meekness, simple and firm faith without a curiosity in questioning, putting aside the cares of the age, of worldly worry and care of the flesh, hatred without hatred of one’s family, one’s own region and treasured places, not to be attached in a wrong way to oneself, to companions, or to anything else, simplicity with innocence, mortification of the will, spontaneous contempt of oneself.
52But the law and alphabet for perfect spirits and bodies in the flesh is an indomitable heart, perfect love, a fount of humility, journey of the mind to God, coming to and putting on Jesus Christ, unfailing in light and prayer, a transcending superabundance of illumination of God, desire and longing for death, hatred of life, flight of the body, a disturber of and intercessor for the world, contending with God, a fellow minister with angels, an abyss of knowledge, a home for mysteries, in control and king of the body and mind, a protector of nature, a pilgrim from sin, master of impassibility, an imitator of the Lord with the help of the Lord.
53For, old age among religious applies to love and the perfection of the perfect, just as youth and strength apply to progress in virtues among clerics, the trust of hope applies to the proficient and those fighting on, and youth, by a certain appropriation, is said to apply to the state and firmness of faith in seculars, married people or beginners.
54These twenty-four spiritual elements of beginners and proficient are regularly imposed on the lay [brothers] in the twenty-four Our Fathers for the main Hour. They have a harmony, as in certain typical arrangements sung in praise of the Lamb seated on the throne with the twenty-four ancients carrying harps and golden vials full of odours in procession before the Lamb singing a new canticle of the perfect before him.
55These twenty-four Our Fathers can also signify the twenty-four sacred works of Christ to which all other works are reduced.
56Namely, to predestination, А, alpha;
prefiguring, В, life, beta;
prophecy, Г, gamma;
57promise, Δ, delta;
being offered in the Annunciation and in the consent of the Virgin, or the Incarnation, Ε, epsilon;
58birth and revelation of the one born, shown to the shepherds with the glory given by the angels, Ζ, zita;
circumcision, H, eta;
59appearance of the star to the kings in the East, their search, discovery, adoration, offering and the angel’s warning, Θ, theta;
60offering in the temple and the meeting with holy Simeon, his taking of the boy Jesus, the canticle, blessing, prophecy, confession and the words of Anna, the prophetess, I, iota;
61flight into Egypt, the stay there and return, the angel’s warning to Joseph and the home in Nazareth, K, kappa;
62absence from his parents in Jerusalem, search in sorrow, finding after three days in the midst of the doctors, wonder, words of the mother, reply, going down with them to Nazareth and the hidden way of life subject to his parents, Λ, lambda;
63baptism and the prayer at the baptism, sanctifying of the waters, opening of heaven, the voice and witness of the Father, descent of the Holy Spirit upon him and being led into the desert, M, mu;
64forty days of fasting, prayers, vigils, hunger, temptation, triple victory and ministry of angels, N, nu;
65preaching, choice of disciples, life and way of life, sacraments, miracles, commands, counsels, examples, Ξ, xi;
66passion, cross, death and burial for three days, O, omicron, small o;
67descent into hell, breaking of the gates of the underworld, freeing of the saints and leading them into limbo, Π, pi;
68resurrection and awakening of the witnesses of his resurrection, appearances for forty days, enlightenment and confirmation of the disciples, Ρ, rho;
69ascencion into heaven, his throne and sitting at right hand of the Father, Σ, sigma;
70sending of the Holy Spirit and gifts of charismata, Τ, tau;
71founding, expansion and government of the Church, Υ, upsilon;
72coming of antichrist, trouble, killing and stamping out of his kingdom and the final, heavenly state of the Church, Φ, phi;
73his coming to judge the world from the seat and glory of his majesty, in a flame of fire, with the angels of his power, Χ, chi;
74resurrection of the dead at the last trumpet, in the voice of his power, presence of all before his tribunal, discussion of merits, separation, cursing of the reprobate and the sentence of eternal damnation, Ψ, psi;
75blessing of the holy elect, their assumption and bodily quality, union, conformity, likeness, assimilation, glorification, ineffable and eternal beatitude, Ω, omega.
76And these are the elements, like twenty-four aspects of the eternal priesthood of Christ, for those who offer themselves to God in a priestly manner as a holocaust and as spiritual hosts given in mercy by the Father of mercies so that morning prayers may go up in an odour of sweetness before the throne of his grace.
77Five, however, for Lauds, so that with the senses of the body and soul sanctified by the power and experience of the five wounds of Christ and by the correcting of faith, patience, humility, trust, hope and his love, raised up by Christ and conformed to his death, made like the Master of humility, they may seek in hope for what is heavenly and share in the truth of love, namely, the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, giving praise without end.
78For Vespers twelve and for the other Hours seven, so that they may strive to have the holiness of the works of virtue of Christ as represented in the number seven and, filled with the fruits of the Spirit represented in the number twelve, they may be transformed into Christ by the affections associated with crucifixion, and be enlightened by the splendour found in the face of his brightness.
79Let them pray for the dead. 80Since there is but one mystical body of Christ, and we are bound to pray for one another that we may be saved, or that in accord with the custom of the Roman Church and the traditions of the Apostles and saints given through the Holy Spirit, who made decisions from the beginning on public and private prayers, we should be mindful, in Masses and in the canonical hours, of those suffering in purgatory and pray that they be loosed from their sins; 81together with disciplines, other penances and works of piety, prayer is to be made to God earnestly and daily to obtain their swift release and salvation. 82For this reason he commands that they pray always for the dead and that, from an affection of charity, continual and efficacious prayers be offered to God.
83The masters mentioned above do not regard it as safe that the brothers have already four times shortened the Office and changed it, even though they may have asked for permission to do this from the Roman Curia. 84The Rule binds the brothers to recite the Office according to the custom of the holy Roman Church, from which it follows that in the future the brothers are bound by the Rule to recite the Office according to the changes and form decided on by the Church. It is not in accord with the purity of the Rule to ask the Church with unsuitable petitions to shorten or change the Office even if the Church allows this.
86For when the brothers asked for this privilege from Pope Gregory who greatly loved the Order, he tried with pious exhortations for the edification of them and of others to persuade them to keep the Office of the Church intact, saying to them: 87Brothers, if you want to recite the Office of the Church in its entirety, I will command all religious who are in the Church, with the exception of Canons Regular and the monks of Saint Benedict, to use your Office. 88The brothers did not want to consent to this, but with unsuitable requests they asked for the privilege of omitting the Intercession of the Saints in Matins and Vespers, both on feast and ferial days, Have mercy on me, O God in Matins on ferial days and the Gradual Canticle in the Advent of the Lord and to shorten the Litanies. 89Until today, the Office is found in the directories of the Roman Church, arranged without any shortening.
90I was present when the Lesser Brothers, when speaking about this before some eminent people and one older Cardinal who was in the Curia, affirmed that the Roman Church had accepted their directory. 91The aforementioned Cardinal showed them that they were deceived; he had a directory brought, one that had been used by all the Popes of his time, and proved to them that the Church had not changed its breviary in any way, but clerics either out of ignorance or tepidity of spirit had accepted such a shortening. 92And then, what I had believed to be sure became doubtful, namely, that such an abbreviation had been made, accepted and approved by the Church, even though almost all commonly used and enjoyed such an abbreviation.
93Let them fast from the feast of All Saints until the Lord’s Nativity, etc.
94Since those who live religiously should show their bodies as living, holy hosts pleasing to God, so, secondarily, he commands the cult of divine service by works of penance with a close connection to divine worship, namely by devout and reasonable fasting, especially in those times when solemn celebrations were held by the Fathers and apostolic men, for the reverence and pious memory of the incarnation, birth, lent, passion and resurrection of Christ. 95In this and in other matters, he decreed that it was more than sufficient to follow the example of Christ by following the perfection of his life, for he imposed little fasting on his disciples, other than what was laid down by the law and the prophets. 96For he said the children of the bridegroom are not able to fast and keep the heavy fasts of my Precursor, as long as the bridegroom is with them. 97 The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken away and then, filled with the gift of the Holy Spirit, they will fast and be free of suffering.
98At other times they may not be bound to fast except on Fridays, that is, because of a precept and authority. 99However, he did not want to impose the lent of Epiphany as a precept, but gave it as a reward of greater merit and a remedy necessary for the consciences, weaknesses and needs of the brothers who have nothing, carry nothing in the varied and wearisome journeys of their pilgrimages undertaken out of zeal for evangelical poverty under the patronage of a divine blessing; he left it piously to the will and freedom of the devout, of minds consecrated to Christ, because in such a way, living not for themselves but for Christ, they may be all the more drawn and more keenly aspire to that fasting. 100And those who because of various conditions of weakness, sickness, need or work were not able to fast, are not to be troubled by any worry, disquiet of sadness, needless hesitation or from the prompting of an excessively tender conscience.
101Often, the consciences of the fervent are found to keep watch with a needless spirit and excessively rigid keeping of commands and, while they fight strongly against themselves with evangelical hate, from indiscretion and excessive austerity they are afraid to make use of what is given piously and justly for their need. 102Therefore, he says: during a time of obvious need, however, the brothers may not be bound by corporal fast. 103Because insufficient nourishment of nature from a scarcity of supplies, effort of travel, excessive weakness and serious sickness are necessities often forcing the setting aside of imposed fasts, and because it is safer when in doubt to observe the precepts, he says, rather than have them exceed the measure of discretion by excessive rigidity or introduce an unnecessary relaxation: During a time of obvious need, however, the brothers may not be bound by corporal fast.
104After the death of Saint Francis, there were some brothers who thought they were not bound to fast during ember days and on other fast days laid down by the Church, 105and there were some who thought that from the passage of the Rule: let them eat of whatever food is set before them, on days of fasting according to the Rule it is lawful for them to eat non Lenten foods that they have not obtained but that have been put before them when they go through the world. 106To these, Brother John of Parma answered that their opinion had no basis in truth because the fasts of the Rule are to be observed with Lenten food on the basis of both reason and the authorities of Scripture, the Roman Church, of the Founder himself, of the whole Order and by the customs and regulations of all the saints; and by a general statute he ordered it to be so observed under precept throughout the whole Order always and by all.
107The Four Masters and Brother Haymo, then General, declared and laid it down that without any doubt all the brothers in so far as they are bound by vow to be more perfect than other Christians, so much the more are they bound to observe unconditionally all the fasts the Church has commanded to be observed by all Christians without distinction. 108Before them, Saint Francis and the whole Order had observed all the ecclesiastical fasts with great devotion and reverence.
109I counsel, etc.
110Thirdly, he teaches modest, meek, humble and gentle speech and a spotless and virtuous life without which every word of the preachers is insipid and all their knowledge, no matter how singular and great, is obscure and offensive. 111For, preaching the Word of God and caring for the salvation of souls, the main reason why the brothers should go about in the world, require in those who proclaim it the highest perfections and the holiest of lives with divine knowledge, since this is the most basic work of piety and mercy. 112Therefore, he does not command but counsels, advises and exhorts them not to quarrel or argue or judge others because those who preach the life of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world should be similar to Christ of whom they are servants and messengers. 113Who sends them like lambs in the midst of wolves, so that when injured they do not injure, when struck they do not strike back, cursed they do not curse, judged they do not judge, but as simple people they do not think, speak or do any evil.
114Meek, not resisting assaults, but by mildness of customs, words and affections they show the innocence of Christian piety so that they draw the wicked, as much as they can, to Christ, the master of uprightness. 115Peaceful, holding on to peace in the heart, in word and deed, and aspiring to that peace that exceeds every understanding. 116Modest, holding on to the way of Christian perfection, the modesty that the virtue and the knowledge of the cross of Christ teaches in what is to be done, said and loved. 117Gentle, strongly restraining any movement of fury and anger, be it involuntary or incited, by pursuing and destroying it in memory of the death of Christ, and driving it away from oneself and from others by actions and words. 118Humble, they despise their own pleasure and status, they act against and think poorly of themselves, and with all the affection of their mind they always thirst more to displease and look down on themselves. 119Speaking courteously to everyone, as is becoming, that is, with reverence, humility and with a love of truth for the benefit and edification of those to whom they speak, not seeking nor wanting anything earthly for themselves but desiring to please God alone, they thirst for the honour and glory of Christ with all their strength and they abhor and spurn the vain praises and pleasures of people.
120They should not ride horseback unless they are compelled by an obvious need or an infirmity.
121He commands this from the example of our Lord Jesus Christ and his Apostles who, being wearied with his journey sat thus on the well and who went about the villages and towns preaching the gospel of the kingdom, sent his disciples without shoes, without money, two coats, purse and staff saying: 122Behold I send you as sheep in the midst of wolves, etc; 123and further: Go and peach the gospel to every creature: poor and humble they would go to preach. 124We never read in the Gospel that Christ or his disciples rode horseback, but that only once was he seated on an ass and this more to serve a mystery than for bodily ease.
125For the amazement, example and instruction of believers, and a just judgment and condemnation on non believers, he sat fastened to the cross by a nail, that he might draw all things to himself and with a strong cry on the cross in death, he completes the work of his infinite love, of the Father and the Holy Spirit, and leaves it as an example containing all good things of grace and glory that are accessible and inaccessible.
126Since those who profess evangelical perfection are bound to be like Christ in his life and customs, so not every but only obvious need and sickness, when such are just, useful, edifying, in urgent necessity and evident and clear sickness, are cases in which they are allowed to ride horseback in poverty and humility, and not with human pomp and abundance of possessions.
127Into whatever house they enter, let them first say: ‘Peace be to this house!’
128He adapted himself in everything to the form of evangelical life, for he says this in his Testament: ‘The Lord revealed a greeting to me that we should say: “May the Lord give your peace”’. 129Christ gave this to his disciples when he rose from the dead, so that he might show and teach the supreme excellence of his peace, the affection of peace in sign and action that we are bound to show to all.
130Christ is our peace who has made both one, the sharing of his peace surpasses all understanding and is the sure guard of hearts and holy understandings of the holy perfect; it is the supreme perfection of the beatitudes, it is to be loved with the whole heart and sought with all our strength and keen desires, conforming our will to the divine will in everything, and preaching and seeking his glory, praise, justice and kingdom in works and life, 131because much peace to those who love God and who delight in the abundance of peace to men of good will in the Church of the saints.
132Let them eat of whatever food is set before them.
133So that, by encouragement and an example of sobriety and moderation, the evangelizers and messengers of this peace may draw their audience to Christ, the Lord and master of peace, he wants them to be content with what is put before them and to rejoice in what is small and poor.
134So Chrysostom in the last Homily in Super Matthaeum says:
Note how he gave everything to those who strip themselves of all things, allowing them to stay in the homes of those they taught and to enter their homes while having nothing. 135In this way, they were rescued from worry and they persuaded them that they had come only for their salvation, and this by having nothing and by expecting from them nothing more than necessities.
136And Jerome in the Epistola ad Titum says: ‘A bishop who wants to imitate the apostles, should be content with these, namely, having food and clothing’.
137To preachers of peace who look for nothing superfluous, carry nothing or wish for nothing, who cast their care upon the Lord and who seek first the kingdom of God, will have all these things added and offered to them freely by the faithful. 138But for those who look for what is superfluous and are not content with what is set before them, it is fitting that even what is necessary be taken from them. 139Permission for a relaxation is not being given here to apostolic men, but rather a humble and attractive encouragement to virtue for those receiving them, and a freedom to share with sobriety in what is put before them as people who have nothing and who carry nothing with thanksgiving, not as if to people but as if to God who everywhere and always takes diligent care of his disciples.