Opera Omnia

INSTRUCTION VII
INTEGRATION AMONG THE
PAULINE FAMILY INSTITUTES
In Genesis 3:15 we read: The Lord God said to the serpent, 'I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; she shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise her heel'. To Adam he said, Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten of the tree… cursed is the ground because of you.
Further on, at verse 20, we read: The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them.
Thus God announces the Redeemer and the Co-redemptrix.
In Isaiah [7:14] the idea is repeated and clarified: The Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, a young woman shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall call his name Immanuel. Isaiah (9:5): For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder, and his name will be called 'Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace'.

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Art. 185. Superiors should place, in the houses of study, Religious who are exemplary in religious observance. In these houses a perfect community life must be observed, as otherwise the students cannot be promoted to Orders.
Art. 186. As for the other members to be assigned to the houses of study, article 40 referring to the Novitiate, is to be observed.
Art. 187. During the entire course of studies, the Religious shall be under the special care of a Prefect or Master - a Spiritual Director - who shall instruct and guide them in their religious life by means of suitable advice, instructions, and exhortations. This Prefect or Master must have the same qualifications as are required in the Master of Novices by articles 43 and 46. Likewise, a Prefect or Master should be assigned for the younger Aspirants to take care especially of their formation.
Art. 188. In the houses of study there shall be a council consisting of Priests who discharge the office of Master as laid down in article 187, or the office of professors. From this council the Superior is to receive enlightenment and help for the training of both the young Aspirants and the Clerics, especially when it is a question of promoting them to Orders, or admitting them to the Novitiate or Profession.
Art. 189. If the Spiritual Director is also the Confessor he is not allowed to vote for admission to Profession or to Holy Orders.

Art. 190. The greatest care is to be taken in the selection of teachers. They are to excel not only in true learning and facility in communicating it to others, but also in outstanding religious observance and priestly piety. Moreover, they shall comply with their charge, in all its phases, with great zeal and diligence.
Art. 191. As far as the assignment of Confessors for the houses of studies is concerned, those regulations are to be followed which were given for the Novitiate, but always in conformity with the requirements of the law.

God created the man and the woman

God created the man and the woman as helpmates. He instilled in them inclinations, qualities and tendencies that made them complement each other: erunt duo in carne una.¹ God instituted Marriage and the first society - married society.
After the creation of Adam, made in God's image and likeness, the Lord said: It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make a helper fit for him - Eve.
The Bible narrative - the woman formed from the rib of the man - is to be interpreted in a symbolic sense. The woman is not below man as a slave, nor above him to command; she is a companion, at his side, as a helpmate: adiutorium simile sibi.²
Nature is a symbol and subject of grace and redemption. In the redemption Jesus Christ and Mary cooperate: Jesus as the primary and necessary part; Mary as the secondary and dependent part.

Woman is especially of spiritual help to man; as well as playing the leading role in bearing and educating children.
Thus Jesus Christ, who came ut vitam habeant et abundantius habeant,³ willed to have Mary at his side to restore the life of grace which had been lost. Our prayer is Salve, Regina, mater misericordiae, vita…⁴

God created Mary's soul immaculate. The archangel Gabriel greeted her gratia plena. She cooperated in the first place in redemption giving human flesh to the Son of God: fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum;⁵ et Verbum caro factum est.⁶ Thus we received from Mary the Divine Teacher, the saving Victim, the eternal Priest: the blessed fruit of her womb, Jesus.
She cooperated, accompanying Jesus in his fulfillment of the Father's will and the prophecies: Jesus is born in Bethlehem, is adored by the Magi, is presented at the Temple, returns from Egypt. He lives his private life in obedience. His first miracle and his first manifestation as Son of God happen through Mary's intercession.
Mary cooperated on Calvary. She offered her Son and her own sufferings for the salvation of all. She cooperated at the outset of the Church: in the Cenacle she underpinned the hope of the Apostles; she prayed with them; the Holy Spirit descended on the Apostles; she consoled them in the early years of their mission.
Now, from heaven, she raises up vocations, accompanies

priests in their work, and crowns with glory the efforts made by apostles of every age.

Integration in the consecrated life

The story of the Church as a Mystical Body unfolds in a way similar to the temporal life of Jesus Christ. In fact, Church History shows us a recurring providential fact which is that, for the most part, side by side with a male religious Institute we find a corresponding female Institute: Augustinian men and women; Benedictine men and women; Franciscan men and women; Salesian men and women; Blessed Sacrament men and women, and so on. This is somewhat the nature of tendencies, things and apostolates. Lacking the two collateral Institutes we look for a substitute - a counterpart.
Even if a woman is consecrated to God she still needs the priest; and in many apostolates, because they are more akin to her role, the priest needs a woman's help.
Thus Divine Providence has placed side by side with the Pious Society of Saint Paul, the Sisters Daughters of Saint Paul, the Pious Disciples, the Pastorelle and the Apostoline Sisters (Regina Apostolorum).
Completing the Pauline Family are:
The Institute of Our Lady's Annunciation;
The Institute of Saint Gabriel the Archangel;
The Institute of Jesus the Priest.
These are parts of the Pious Society of Saint Paul; they depend, in accordance with their own rules, on its Superior General.
They have pontifical and definitive approval.

Each Institute has its approval.
Each Institute has its own government.
Each Institute has its own constitutions.
Each Institute has its own administration.
Each Institute has its own apostolate.

All the Institutes taken together form the Pauline Family.
All the Institutes have a common origin.
All the Institutes have a common spirit.
All the Institutes have converging goals.

Paternal care

The female Institutes enjoy paternal care on the part of the Superior General of the Pious Society of Saint Paul.
The Rescript follows from articles 351-352 of the Constitutions:

Art. 351. Without prejudice to the provision of Canon 500, §3, the Superior General of the Pious Society of Saint Paul the Apostle, [in view] of the Pious Society of Daughters of Saint Paul, of the Pious Disciples of the Divine Master, and of the Sisters of Jesus the Good Shepherd, which, in their origin, spirit and aims, constitute, as it were, one family, is personally to act with paternal care in order to help them all in the moral and doctrinal preparation for their apostolate, in observing their own religious

spirit, and in following their own special aim; he is also to take care that the solid connection and unity of spirit and discipline of each Congregation be firmly preserved, so that thereby he might efficaciously promote their growth.
Art. 352. In order that he might fulfil this duty, the Superior General can prudently use the following and other similar means:
a) He is to take paternal care that a proper, solid and thorough education, namely a cultural, religious, intellectual and apostolic training, be given to the Sisters, according to the Constitutions of each Congregation;
b) Observing all those things which pertain to the internal and external Canonical visitation according to the norm of Canon Law and the Constitutions, he can visit the houses of the Sisters, so that, if he perceives anything not in conformity with their proper religious spirit and Constitutions, he might confer with the Mother General concerning these matters. He will take care to provide for these things in the Lord, according to the norm of the Constitutions.
c) Without prejudice to the rights of the local Ordinary and the Mother General according to the norms of the Sacred Canons and the Constitutions, he can assist at their General Chapter, especially when, after the elections, other matters are discussed.
d) He is to assist the Daughters of Saint Paul with special and careful attention in accomplishing their editorial work, and in their preparation for it.
e) He is to appoint Priests of the Society of Saint Paul to censor the books which are published

by the Daughters of Saint Paul, according to their Constitutions, namely with respect to the doctrine they contain. However, the right of the local Ordinary must always be observed, according to the norm of Canon Law regarding books before they are published.
f) Since a good and stable management of the Apostolate of Communications is certainly fostered, and its effectiveness for the good of souls greatly increased by the cooperation of the Pious Society of Saint Paul and of the Daughters of Saint Paul, the Superior General should take care and diligently watch that the Apostolate of Communications, with respect to editorial work, technical art and propaganda work, be harmoniously promoted and coordinated according to the norm of the Constitutions of each Congregation.

Union of spirit

Union of spirit is of the essence. The Pauline Family has a sole spirituality and that is to live the Gospel in its entirety; to live in the Divine Master inasmuch as he is Way, Truth and Life; to live the Gospel as his disciple Saint Paul understood it.
It is this spirit which forms the soul of the Pauline Family, notwithstanding that the individual members (constituted by the union of Institutes) are different, and work in various fields; yet as a group they are united in Christ and in the goal of the Incarnation and Redemption: Glory to God and peace among men. No particular spirituality as one would imagine when one thinks of the Benedictine, Dominican, Franciscan, Trappist, Jesuit, Carmelite, Salesian, Liguorian,

or other spiritualities. Each of these has its own proper and characteristic traits with respect to the others.
The Gospel unites everyone. Lived out completely it connotes Christian spirituality: the one, true and necessary spirituality for all. Different pursuits, but the one spirit.
To love the Lord with all one's mind, all one's heart, all one's strength and will. To love our neighbor as ourselves. Thus a twofold role: to distance our neighbor from what is evil, error, vice, sin and death and to attract him to what is good: truth, virtue, grace.
To fulfil this to the maximum means having to leave all to gain all. It is to ensure the hundredfold and eternal life.
Vivo ego, iam non ego; vivit vero in me Christus.⁷ This is the mind of Jesus, the heart of Jesus, the will of Jesus.
To be members who are alive and active in Jesus Christ's Mystical Body. Venite ad me omnes qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos;⁸ Euntes in mundum universum: praedicate Evangelium omni creaturae.⁹
The nourishment we have in common is the Eucharist. The Visit to the Blessed Sacrament corresponds to the real presence; the Mass corresponds to the Sacrifice; Communion corresponds to life.
In order to keep this common spirit alive: when and insofar as is

possible, especially in the General Houses of the female Institutes and in their respective Vocation Houses and Novitiates, Pauline priestly ministry is a help for ordinary preaching and for confessions.

Directions

The Sisters Pious Disciples give part of their activity in the Houses of the Pious Society of Saint Paul.
Thus the need for discretion when exacting the timetable.
The need for a corresponding just wage.
The need for due separation, as laid down by Canon Law and by prudence.
The need for esteem, as likewise due respect, for a person consecrated to God.
For good management the Mother and the Superior of the house are the ones to negotiate the necessary arrangements.
The greatest contribution to the Pauline Family, on the part of the Pious Disciples, comes from their hours of adoration.
The virtue of prudence is of the utmost importance when dealing with the Sisters:
- they have their own spirit which flows from the Constitutions; no other is to be given;
- they have an overflow of feelings: let them reserve them for the Lord.

Prudence in the confessional, in the pulpit, in those necessary relations for the apostolate.
The Church and society - declared the Holy Father, Pius XII, on 23 April 1950 - owe much to these consecrated virgins. True, they would not exist if God did not unceasingly raise them up from all peoples with his supernatural inspiration; but who could worthily take their place? Let all learn, therefore, not only to give them due praise, not just to help them in accordance with one's possibility and to enjoy freely their favors and services, but also, each one in accordance with his condition, to tend to that perfection of virtue from which all can receive salutary benefits.
Fr Lombardi writes: It is not easy to think of something in the world as beautiful as this army of consecrated virgins. Paganism forcefully compelled a small number of them to adorn particularly important forms of worship; the Church has always at its disposal hundreds of thousands; women who have offered themselves joyfully and spontaneously, and who are rejuvenated every year by new ranks of candidates.
In times as serious as ours, with a thousand holy projects to be carried out, here is the typical issue with regard to the Sisters: value them for their worth; enlist them in fashioning the new age, have them contribute fully and generously with the tremendous possibilities they have.

It would be no exaggeration to state that among the reserves of energy presently available and to be better used today for the good of humankind, is that of the Sisters, which can hold the most delightful surprises for a not too distant future….
We need to rid ourselves of our illusions: there are works that require a spirit of robust piety, others that demand patience and sacrifice, others again that call for altruism: ordinarily there is no one except Sisters capable of carrying them out.