Weird Question About The Rule Of St. Augustine.

[Annie12]

This is probably a weird question but do communities who follow the rule of St. Augustine have general access to personal hygiene items? (I.e. tooth paste, soap etc.) Or do they have to ask the supirior for them? Just curious!

[beatitude]

Details like that aren't determined by the rule itself, but by the particular community's interpretation of the rule's spirit. St Augustine did not write, "Verily, thou shalt ask one another for toothpaste at the sixth hour on the second Tuesday after Pentecost..." Some sisters request these items as a gesture of obedience, poverty, and humbleness, and this practice is found in communities of all spiritualities - Carmelite, Benedictine, Augustinian, it doesn't matter which.

I should also note here that the rule of St Augustine is the most commonly used of rule of them all. A huge variety of communities (active and contemplative) have adopted it, which makes it even harder to talk about its application in general terms.

[Sr Mary Catharine OP]

Now we do. In the past, we used to have ask for personal items.
There is a closet where these things are kept in common. In there you can find all sorts of odd pieces of soap as well! :-)

[Annie12]

thanks for the info!

[PhuturePriest]

Yeah. It's really amazing just how popular the Rule of Saint Augustine is. Many prominent Orders use it, the biggest one being the Dominicans. I believe I was told Saint Dominic chose it because it was simple and very flexible.

Sorry, I know it was a little off-topic but I like talking about Rules and such.

[mantellata]

It's nice and short. St. Dominic was told at the time (as were all those trying to found new institutes) that they were not allowed to create a new rule... (I don't know how St. Francis was able to squeeze his in!) So he had to choose from what was already approved and available. As you mentioned, flexibility was part of it... also St. Augustine was a preacher and he was founding an Order of Preachers so he felt it was a good fit.

Love the man. St. Dominic that is.

[Annie12]

Thats so razzle dazzle! Saints are amesome!

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='mantellata' timestamp='1342223940' post='2455452']
It's nice and short. St. Dominic was told at the time (as were all those trying to found new institutes) that they were not allowed to create a new rule... (I don't know how St. Francis was able to squeeze his in!) So he had to choose from what was already approved and available. As you mentioned, flexibility was part of it... also St. Augustine was a preacher and he was founding an Order of Preachers so he felt it was a good fit.

Love the man. St. Dominic that is.


[/quote]

Luckily for you I am an avid Franciscan lover so I can answer this! Basically, Francis wrote his rule and it was approved right before they decided to make the decision to not allow anymore rules. Saint Dominic founded his Order a little after Francis founded his, so he wasn't able to make a rule of his own in time.

[emmaberry]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1342229759' post='2455485']
Luckily for you I am an avid Franciscan lover so I can answer this! Basically, Francis wrote his rule and it was approved right before they decided to make the decision to not allow anymore rules. Saint Dominic founded his Order a little after Francis founded his, so he wasn't able to make a rule of his own in time.
[/quote]

As a fellow lover of Franciscans, I wanted to add that St Clare squeezed in her rule as well. It is written in the beautiful speech of the times...I love it.


[size=4]"This is that summit of the highest poverty which has established you, my dearest sisters, heiresses and queens of the kingdom of heaven; it has made you poor in the things [of this world] but exalted you in virtue. Let this be your portion which leads into the land of the living (cf. Psalm 141:6). Clinging totally to this, my most beloved sisters, do not wish to have anything else forever under heaven for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and His most holy Mother."[/size]

Sorry for my detour, back to the OP's topic!

[PhuturePriest]

[quote name='emmaberry' timestamp='1342234971' post='2455527']
As a fellow lover of Franciscans, I wanted to add that St Clare squeezed in her rule as well. It is written in the beautiful speech of the times...I love it.


[size=4]"This is that summit of the highest poverty which has established you, my dearest sisters, heiresses and queens of the kingdom of heaven; it has made you poor in the things [of this world] but exalted you in virtue. Let this be your portion which leads into the land of the living (cf. Psalm 141:6). Clinging totally to this, my most beloved sisters, do not wish to have anything else forever under heaven for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and His most holy Mother."[/size]

Sorry for my detour, back to the OP's topic!
[/quote]

I have never heard hers before. It is quite beautiful. Simple, short, and effective. Francis and Claire were nearly the same person with the same opinion about these matters. The only thing they really differed on was Saint Francis wanted his Brothers to wear a Habit while Claire did not care about it, though she herself wore a Habit (A rather beautiful one, in my opinion).

But yes, we should stop hijacking. Perhaps we should start our own thread on Franciscans?

[emmaberry]

[quote name='FuturePriest387' timestamp='1342236277' post='2455538']
But yes, we should stop hijacking. Perhaps we should start our own thread on Franciscans?
[/quote]

Perhaps=yes.

Edited July 14, 2012 by emmaberry

[Chiara Francesco]

St. Francis de Sales chose St. Augustine's rule for his Visitation order also. I can't remember his quote exactly but St. Francis said this rule was "sweetness itself" or something wonderful along those lines!

Edited July 14, 2012 by Chiara Francesco

[BarbTherese]

An explanation of the Rule of St Augustine by Hugh of St Victor

[u][url="http://archive.org/stream/explanationofthe00vicuoft/explanationofthe00vicuoft_djvu.txt"]http://archive.org/s...icuoft_djvu.txt[/url][/u]

[quote]The reflections of the celebrated Canon Regular
must be prized as emanating from one highly
qualified to discourse on this admirable legacy of
St Augustine to his children. Hugh gives evidence
of an intense love of that rule himself. Under its
guidance he speedily rose to a great height of
religious sanctity. Moreover, Hugh of St Victor
has been styled a " Second Augustine " (" alter
Augustinus ") for his intimate familiarity with the
works of our Holy Legislator, and for his personal
similarity of character, in many respects, to that
of the early Father. [/quote]


Probably what happens today is that statues may be attached to the Rule in some way, by those that adopt The Rule, which explains how various aspects of the Rule are to be lived out today. Such statutes are often confined to a community or communities in common (e.g. religious orders) that adopt the Rule.
For example I think it is in Part II of his Rule, that Augustine suggests "beating" as a punishment for a certain infringement or infringements of the Rule. This would have been not unusual in his day(early 400's AD or around there), but today things have changed re administering corporal punishment - most especially in religious orders.

Edited July 14, 2012 by BarbaraTherese

[awyers]

With the DSMME we had 'store' day when we asked for personal items or if we really needed something in between we could fill out a form requesting the item

[maximillion]

When I entered (long time ago!!) we used to ask on our knees in the NM's office once a month for what we needed for the month ahead.
Then it was changed to a short note on the Friday evening of the last Friday of the month, except in the noviciate, where they continued to do as before until Vows.