and
The Western Rite Old Catholic Church
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The Traditional Old Roman Catholic Church and The Western Rite Old Catholic Church |
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The Secular Institute of St. Bernadette |
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| History Throughout the history of the Church groups have come together to carry out the work of the Church under the auspices of various Religious communities and congregations. In the milieu of our day, there is an ever-present need to make known the presence of God and the need for daily acknowledgement of Him and His will for and in the world. There are those who, though not called to the clerical state or the Religious state, wish to align themselves to a Religious community and seek union with God through the charism of the Community and in so doing express their commitment to this way of life by profession of the Evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience. His Holiness, Pope Pius XII made provision for these groups of individuals in his encyclical PROVIDA MATER ECCLESIA concerning the formation of Secular Institutes whose members would bind themselves closely to God by the evangelical counsels most often under the auspices of a Religious Congregation and under the jurisdiction of the Church. These institutes, unlike Third Orders, were established for those individuals not drawn to formal community life who lived and worked in the world yet were nonetheless an integral and valid part of the Congregation to whom they were affiliated. Such is the case with the Secular Insttute of |
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| St. Bernadette. Thus, on the Feast of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary, August 15, 1999, approbation was granted for establishment of this institute to be under the guardianship of the Discalced Carmelite Servants of Mercy, Disciples of the Most Blessed Sacrament. | |
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There has been a long standing devotion to
the Most Blessed Virgin Mary under
her title
of Our Lady of Lourdes. It was at Lourdes,
four years after the Declaration by
Rome
of the Dogma of the Immaculate Conception,
that the Mother of Divine Grace herself
identified
herself as the such in the Patois dialect
which was Bernadette's native tongue:
"Je
suis le Immaculate Concepcion".
To many,
knowledge of Bernadette was limited
to her
role of messenger of Our Lady and the
instrument
by which the miraculous spring at Lourdes
came to be. Yet, if we review the life
of
the "simple girl" of Lourdes
from
her birth till her death, she reflected
the
childlike (not to be confused with
childish)
simplicity and trust Our Lord Himself
exorted
us to practice. She went about her
life unpretentiously,
without pride or self-vanity even after
the
apparitions and during her short life
as
a Religious with the Sisters of Notre
Dame
of Charity and Christian Education.
She lived her life on the assurance of Our Lady's words to her at Lourdes, "I cannot promise you happiness in this life, only in the next" and attempted to inspire others with the same assurance as she had been given and thus live a virtuous life dedicated to God and abiding by His will. |
| In all things, especially noted during the
brief life she lead in the Motherhouse
of
Never, she extoled charity and humility
and
emersed herself in serving God in whatever
capacity she was directed. She exorted
her
sisters to be as attentive to those
things
which were "unseen" as they
were
to those things which were seen: As Sister Justine prepared to leave, Marie Bernarde (St. Bernadette) said to her, "The work is not yet finished, but you haven't finished. Well, it will keep for another day." At this, Justine reminded her companion that she (Justine) had polished the copper knobs on the iron bed frames. "Yes, and how brightly they shine," replied Marie Bernarde. "You have polished them thoroughly. You have taken great care with this work, because it catches the eye!" Sister Justine said, "She delivered me this reprimand so nicely that I wasn't hurt, but I felt the pinprick to my vanity all the same and I carried the lesson away with me, saying to myself, You understand? You have taken great pains over the knobs because they show, but the work that doesn't show, the work that remains hidden and which only God can see - did you do that so carefully? I have always remembered those copper knobs". In looking at the apparitions, it was considered a "sign" or inspiration of sorts to find that the last apparition at Lourdes took place on July 16, 1858, the feast of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel. "July 16th was the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel - in the parish church there was an altar dedicated to the Blessed Virgin under this title. While praying there in the early evening, Bernadette - who faithfully wore the Brown Scapular of Carmel all the days of her life - once more felt herself called by her Lady to come to the Grotto." Of that apparition, St. Bernadette said, "The Lady looked more beautiful than in all the previous visions." Bernadette's life, especially in the convent, was one of service, agreeing to do even the most menial task and to do them whole-heartedly as an oblation of love and dedication to God. There was no task too menial nor beneath her: "On another occasion, Sister Vincent (Bernadettes friend from Lourdes, Julie Garros) was helping Bernadette to nurse Sister Lescure, who was very ill. The sister had a large tumour of the breast. There was a large, gaping wound, within which there were maggots. These would fall from the wound, to be collected by Bernadette in a dish. No other sister felt able to dress a wound such as this; Bernadette had no such hesitation. She told Sister Vincent, "What sort of Sister of Charity will you make, with such little faith! You coward!". |
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It wasn't until looking over more of the
details surrounding the apparitions
and St.
Bernadette's hidden life in the Motherhouse
of Never that a "thread"
was seen
linking the life of humility, prayer,
simplicity
and devotion, service and charity to
the
charism of the Discalced Carmelite
Servants
of Mercy. Perhaps, more appropriately,
the
thread linked the Order to St. Bernadette
and mirrors her life and work; it is
St.
Bernadette and her life and her work
which
inspires the establishing of this secular
institute with the hope that its members,
though visible in the world,will strive
to
interiorally hide from the world to
be alone
with God while carrying forth the love,
the
charity and the mercy of Our Lord in
the
spirit and charism of the Discalced
Carmelite
Servants of Mercy. St. Teresa of Avila
spoke
of the "interiorcastle" and
the
"cloister within". It is
thus by
St. Bernadette's example and exhortation
of St. Teresa of Avila that the members
of
this Institute strive - while living
in the
world - for spiritual perfection and
thus
will the words of "the beautiful
Lady
of Masabielle" to St. Bernadette
hold
true for the members of this pious
institute
as well: |
| "I cannot promise you happiness in this
life, only in the next." |
 The incorrupt body of St. Bernadette rests in the chapel of the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Charity and Christian Education Nevers, France |
| Purpose Many individuals seek to express a closer union with God yet are not called to the clerical or Religious life and thus, community life in the same sense as priests and religious. Though these individuals are not called to clerical or religious life per se, they are nonetheless drawn to seek a closer union of God and furthering of the Kingdom of Heaven by being the proverbial "light in the darkness" and maintain a secular life while uniting themselves to work and charism of the Religious life. The purpose of the Institute is to bring together those who wish to express their commitment to God in living the three evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience while remaining in the secular world and thus provide a ministry of presence by their life and example. The members of this Institute, while maintaining their secular employment and living accmmodations, observe a rule of life drawn from the Discalced Carmelite Order present in this Church and in so doing become an extension of the Order and its charism. In their daily life, in all that they do and in all they meet, the seek the hand of God at work. They, like their brothers and sisters in the clericate and Religious life, make their life and their work a means of glorifying God and serving His people. Members do not live in community. Their's is an unseen community whose members unite themselves to a way of life that demonstrates the soul's ability to find peace and union with God and live the interior life of Carmel while living in the world. In their daily lives, therefore, these individuals who bind themselves together as a community in the context of this institute bring the light of Christ into the lives of the world and strive to be light in the darkness of humanism, secularism and modernism. They carry forward the work of the Church militant by being an extension of the Church and the mission of the Church. They follow the example of St. Bernadette who gave her all to give the best for God even in the smallest task and show that it is not necessarily what is seen which should be given attention but that which is seen only to God. |
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| Formation Candidates for the Institute proceed through a process similar to that of Religious in their journey towards profession. The vows are promises made to God and thus binding on members of the Institute. Thus, it is necessary for every candidate to undergo a process of formation and preparation for that day when, before the members assembled, they profess their solemn vows which are binding for life. Just as in Religious life there must be a mutual agreement that the way of life considered is one which will benefit the soul of the candidate and insure the stability of the community, so to must there exist a mutual agreement for admission and ultimately solemn profession. Formation follows the following progression. |
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| Postulancy No less than six months but may be extended up to 1 year. It is a time for exploring whether one is called to be a member of the institute. |
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| Novitiate No less than 1 year but may be extended to 18 months. Now begins an intense study of the Rule and its application to secular life. Candidates begin the process of integrating their duties as members of the institute with secular/daily life. Candidates also begin devloping a more intimate prayer life which, as with their duties, must be integrated into daily life and schedules. |
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| Simple Profession At this time, the novice makes public profession and begins their life as a member of the institue for a period of no less than 3 years and no more than 5 years. |
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| Solemn Profession Solemn Profession is the time when the member makes public solemn profession to live out the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience and hospitality. |
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| Requirements · At least 21 years of age. · May not be currently a member of another Religious community*. · Must have been baptized and confirmed. · Self-sufficent by means of employment or other source of support. · Membership is open to men and women. · May be married, single, or widowed. The institute is a means for men and women to make a commitment in a public and visible way to God and those they are called to serve in the secular world by living the evangelical counsels of poverty (detachment from material possessions), chastity according to one's status in life, obedience, amd hospitality. Widowed individuals may apply for candidacy. |
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| For more information please write: Secular Institute of St. Bernadette Traditional Old Roman Catholic Church P. O. Box 58324 Cincinnati, OH 45258 or click here to send email. |
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