Source: http://www.clsadb.com/document/0c079262-c043-4cf8-969a-8ef7e16c5d24
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 18:43:28+00:00

Document:
Pope Francis, apostolic constitution on women’s contemplative life, Vultum Dei quaerere, 29 June 2016.
1. Seeking the face of God has always been a part of our human history. From the beginning, men and women have been called to a dialogue of love with the Creator.1 Indeed, mankind is distinguished by an irrepressible religious dimension that leads human hearts to feel the need – albeit not always consciously – to seek God, the Absolute. This quest unites all men and women of good will. Even many who claim to be non-believers acknowledge this heartfelt longing, present in all men and women who, drawn by a passionate desire for happiness and fulfilment, never remain fully satisfied.
Saint Augustine eloquently expressed this yearning in the Confessions: “You made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you.”2 This restlessness of heart is born of the profound intuition that it is God himself who takes the initiative; he seeks out men and women and mysteriously draws them to himself.
In seeking God, we quickly realize that no one is self-sufficient. Rather, we are called, in the light of faith, to move beyond self-centredness, drawn by God’s Holy Face and by the “sacred ground of the other,”3 to an ever more profound experience of communion.
Through Baptism, every Christian and every consecrated person is called to undertake this pilgrimage of seeking the true God. By the working of the Holy Spirit, it becomes a sequela pressius Christi – a path of ever-greater configuration to Christ the Lord.
This path finds notable expression in religious consecration and, in a particular way, in the monastic life, which, from its origins, was seen as a specific way of living out one’s baptism.
In a particular way, down the centuries countless consecrated women have devoted, and continue to devote “the whole of their lives and all their activities to the contemplation of God,”14 as a sign and prophecy of the Church, virgin, spouse and mother. Their lives are a living sign and witness of the fidelity with which God, amid the events of history, continues to sustain his people.
Originating in the individual experience of virgins consecrated to Christ, the natural fruit of a need to respond with love to the love of Christ the Bridegroom, this life soon took form as a definite state and an order recognized by the Church, which began to receive public professions of virginity. With the passage of time, most consecrated virgins united in forms of common life that the Church was concerned to protect and preserve with a suitable discipline. The cloister was meant to preserve the spirit and the strictly contemplative aim of these houses. The gradual interplay between the working of the Spirit, present in the heart of believers and inspiring new forms of discipleship, and the maternal solicitude of the Church, gave rise to the forms of contemplative and wholly contemplative life that we know today.22 In the West, the contemplative spirit found expression in a multiplicity of charisms, whereas in the East it maintained great unity,23 but always as a testimony to the richness and beauty of a life devoted completely to God.
Over the centuries, the experience of these sisters, centred on the Lord as their first and only love (cf. Hos 2:21-25), has brought forth abundant fruits of holiness and mission. How much has the apostolate been enriched by the prayers and sacrifices radiating from monasteries! And how great is the joy and prophecy proclaimed to the world by the silence of the cloister!
6. Dear contemplative sisters, without you what would the Church be like, or without all those others living on the fringes of humanity and ministering in the outposts of evangelization? The Church greatly esteems your life of complete self-giving. The Church counts on your prayers and on your self-sacrifice to bring today’s men and women to the good news of the Gospel. The Church needs you!
It is not easy for the world, or at least that large part of it dominated by the mindset of power, wealth and consumerism, to understand your particular vocation and your hidden mission; and yet it needs them immensely. The world needs you every bit as much as a sailor on the high seas needs a beacon to guide him to a safe haven. Be beacons to those near to you and, above all, to those far away. Be torches to guide men and women along their journey through the dark night of time. Be sentinels of the morning (cf. Is 21:11-12), heralding the dawn (cf. Lk 1:78). By your transfigured life, and with simple words pondered in silence, shows us the One who is the way, and the truth and the life (cf. Jn 14:6), the Lord who alone brings us fulfilment and bestows life in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). Cry out to us, as Andrew did to Simon: “We have found the Lord” (cf. Jn 1:40). Like Mary Magdalene on Easter morning, announce to us: “I have seen the Lord!” (Jn 20:18). Cherish the prophetic value of your lives of self-sacrifice. Do not be afraid to live fully the joy of evangelical life, in accordance with your charism.
7. The magisterium of the Councils and the Popes has always shown a particular concern for all forms of consecrated life through the promulgation of important documents. Among these, special attention needs to be given to two great documents of the Second Vatican Council: the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church Lumen Gentium and the Decree on the Renewal of Religious Life Perfectae Caritatis.
Nor can we pass over the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata of my predecessor, Saint John Paul II. This document, which reaped the rich harvest of the Synod of Bishops on Consecrated Life, contains elements that remain important for the continued renewal of consecrated life and its clear witness to the Gospel in our day (cf. especially Nos. 59 and 68).
– The Directives of the Congregation for the Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) Potissimum Institutioni (2 February 1990), dealt extensively with the specifically contemplative form of consecrated life (Chapter IV, 78-85).
– The Inter-Dicasterial Document Sviluppi (6 January 1992) dealt with the issue of diminishing vocations to the consecrated life in general and, to a lesser extent, the contemplative life (No. 81).
– The Catechism of the Catholic Church, promulgated by the Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum (11 October 1992), is very helpful for enabling the faithful to understand your form of life; this is particularly the case with Nos. 915-933, which treats all its forms. No. 1672 deals with your non-sacramental consecration and with the blessing of Abbots and Abbesses. Nos. 1974 and 2102 link the Ten Commandments to the profession of the evangelical counsels. No. 2518 presents the close bond between the purity of heart spoken of in the Beatitudes as promising the vision of God, and love of the truths of the faith. Nos. 1691 and 2687 praise the persevering intercession made to God by contemplative monasteries – unique places where personal prayer and prayer in community are harmoniously joined, while No. 2715 notes that the prerogative of contemplatives is to keep their gaze fixed on Jesus and the mysteries of his life and ministry.
– The CICLSAL Instruction Congregavit Nos (2 February 1994) at Nos. 10 and 34 linked silence and solitude with the profound demands of a community of fraternal life, and stressed that separation from the world is consistent with a daily atmosphere of prayer.
– The CICLSAL Instruction Verbi Sponsa, Ecclesia (13 May 1999) in Articles 1-8 offered an impressive historical-systematic synthesis of previous teachings of the magisterium on the eschatological and missionary significance of the cloistered life of contemplative nuns.
8. Fifty years after the Second Vatican Council, after due consultation and careful discernment, I have considered it necessary to offer the Church, with special reference to monasteries of the Latin rite, the present Apostolic Constitution. It takes into account both the intense and fruitful journey taken by the Church in recent decades in the light of the teachings of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council and a changed social and cultural situation. In these past decades, we have seen rapid historical changes that call for dialogue. At the same time, the foundational values of contemplative life need to be maintained. Through these values – silence, attentive listening, the call to an interior life, stability – contemplative life can and must challenge the contemporary mindset.
With this document I wish to reaffirm my personal esteem, together with the gratitude of the entire Church, for the unique form of sequela Christi practised by nuns of contemplative life; for many, it is an entirely contemplative life, a priceless and indispensable gift which the Holy Spirit continues to raise up in the Church.
Wherever necessary or fitting, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will deal with particular questions and reach agreements with the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the Congregation for the Oriental Churches.
9. From the first centuries, contemplative life has always been present in the Church, alternating periods of great vigour and others of decline. This has been due to the constant presence of the Lord, together with the Church’s own capacity to renew and adapt herself to changes in society. The contemplative life has always continued to seek the face of God and to preserve unconditional love for Christ as its hallmark.
In your personal and communitarian prayer, you discover the Lord as the treasure of your life (cf. Lk 12:34), your good, “utter goodness, the supreme good,” your “wealth and sufficiency.”28 You come to see, with steadfast faith, that “God alone suffices,”29 and that you have chosen the better part (cf. Lk 10:42). You have surrendered your life and fixed your gaze upon the Lord, retreating into the cell of your heart (cf. Mt 6:5) in the inhabited solitude of the cloister and fraternal life in community. In this way, you have become an image of Christ who seeks to encounter the Father on the heights (cf. Mt 14:23).
10. Over the centuries, the Church has always looked to Mary as the summa contemplatrix.30 From the annunciation to the resurrection, through the pilgrimage of faith that reached its climax at the foot of the cross, Mary persevered in contemplation of the mystery dwelling within her. In Mary, we glimpse the mystical journey of the consecrated person, grounded in a humble wisdom that savours the mystery of the ultimate fulfilment.
Following Mary’s example, the contemplative is a person centred in God and for whom God is the unum necessarium (cf. Lk 10:42), in comparison with which all else is seen from a different perspective, because seen through new eyes. Contemplatives appreciate the value of material things, yet these do not steal their heart or cloud their mind; on the contrary, they serve as a ladder to ascend to God. For the contemplative, everything “speaks”31 of the Most High! Those who immerse themselves in the mystery of contemplation see things with spiritual eyes. This enables them to see the world and other persons as God does, whereas others “have eyes but do not see” (Ps 115:5; 135:16; cf. Jer 5:21), for they see with carnal eyes.
11. Contemplation thus involves having, in Christ Jesus whose face is constantly turned to the Father (cf. Jn 1:18), a gaze transfigured by the working of the Holy Spirit, a gaze full of awe at God and his wonders. Contemplation involves having a pure mind, in which the echoes of the Word and the voice of the Spirit are felt as a soft wind (cf. 1 Kg 19:12). It is not by chance that contemplation is born of faith; indeed, faith is both the door and the fruit of contemplation. It is only by saying with utter trust, “Here I am!” (cf. Lk 2:38), that one can enter into the mystery.
12. As a means of assisting contemplative women to attain the goal of their specific vocation as described above, I would invite reflection and discernment on twelve aspects of consecrated life in general and the monastic tradition in particular. These are formation, prayer, the word of God, the sacraments of the Eucharist and Reconciliation, fraternal life in community, autonomy, federations, the cloister, work, silence, the communications media and asceticism. The results of this reflection and discernment will have to be implemented in ways respectful of the specific charismatic traditions of the various monastic families. At the same time, they must respect the regulations found at the end of the present Constitution, as well as the practical guidelines soon to be issued by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
In a particular way, the formation of contemplatives is directed to a harmonious communion with God and one’s Sisters within an atmosphere of silence protected by the daily life of the cloister.
Formation, especially continuing formation, is “an intrinsic requirement of religious consecration,”35 and is grounded in the daily life of the community. Consequently, sisters should keep in mind that the ordinary place where the process of formation takes place is the monastery itself, and that fraternal life in community, in all its expressions, should contribute to this process.
16. Liturgical and personal prayer are fundamental to, and necessary for, nourishing your contemplation. If “prayer is the ‘core’ of consecrated life,”39 it is even more so for the contemplative life. Today many persons do not know how to pray. Many simply feel no need to pray, or limit their relationship with God to a plea for help at times of difficulty when there is no one else to turn to. For others, prayer is merely praise in moments of happiness. In reciting and singing the praises of the Lord with the Liturgy of the Hours, you also pray for these persons and, like the prophets, you intercede for the salvation of all.40 Personal prayer will help keep you united to the Lord like branches on the vine, and thus your life will bear abundant fruit (cf. Jn 15:1-15). But never forget that your life of prayer and contemplation must not be lived as a form of self-absorption; it must enlarge your heart to embrace all humanity, especially those who suffer.
Through intercessory prayer, you play a fundamental role in the life of the Church. You pray and intercede for our many brothers and sisters who are prisoners, migrants, refugees and victims of persecution. Your prayers of intercession embrace the many families experiencing difficulties, the unemployed, the poor, the sick, and those struggling with addiction, to mention just a few of the more urgent situations. You are like those who brought the paralytic to the Lord for healing (cf. Mk 2:2-12). Through your prayer, night and day, you bring before God the lives of so many of our brothers and sisters who for various reasons cannot come to him to experience his healing mercy, even as he patiently waits for them. By your prayers, you can heal the wounds of many.
17. In the book of Exodus, we read that Moses decided the fate of his people by prayer; he ensured victory over the enemy as long as he kept his arms raised to ask for the Lord’s help (cf. 17:11). It strikes me that this is a most eloquent image of the power and efficacy of your own prayer on behalf of all humanity and the Church, especially of the vulnerable and those in need. Now, as then, we can conclude that the fate of humanity is decided by the prayerful hearts and uplifted hands of contemplative women. That is why I urge you to remain faithful, in accordance with your constitutions, to liturgical and personal prayer; the latter is in fact a preparation for, and a prolongation of, the former. I urge you to “prefer nothing to the opus Dei,”42 lest anything obstruct, divert or interrupt your ministry of prayer.43 In this way, through contemplation you will become ever more fully an image of Christ44 and your communities will become true schools of prayer.
18. All this demands a spirituality grounded in the word of God, the power of the sacramental life, the teachings of the Church’s magisterium and the writings of your founders and foundresses, a spirituality that enables you to become daughters of heaven and daughters of the earth, disciples and missionaries, according to your proper way of life. It also calls for gradual training in the life of personal and liturgical prayer, and contemplation itself, in the constant realization that these are chiefly nourished by the “scandalous beauty” of the cross.
19. One of the most significant elements of monastic life in general is the centrality of the word of God for personal and community life. Saint Benedict stressed this when he asked his monks to listen willingly to sacred readings: “lectiones sanctas libenter audire.”45 Over the centuries, monasticism has been the guardian of lectio divina. Nowadays this is commended to the entire People of God and demanded of all consecrated religious.46 You yourselves are called to make it the nourishment of your contemplation and daily life, so that you can then share this transforming experience of God’s word with priests, deacons, other consecrated persons and the laity. Look upon this sharing as a true ecclesial mission.
20. Lectio divina, the prayerful reading of God’s word, is an art that helps us pass from the biblical text to life. It is an existential interpretation of sacred Scripture, whereby we can bridge the gap between spirituality and daily life, between faith and life. The process initiated by lectio divina is meant to guide us from hearing to knowledge, and from knowledge to love.
21. Your entire day, both personal and in community, ought to be organized around the word of God. Thus your communities and fraternities will become schools where the word is carefully listened to, put into practice and proclaimed to all those who encounter you. Lastly, never forget that “the process of lectio divina is not concluded until it arrives at action (actio), which moves the believer to make his or her life a gift for others in charity.”51 In this way, it will produce abundant fruits along the path of conformation to Christ, the goal of our entire life.
22. The Eucharist is the sacrament par excellence of encounter with the person of Jesus; it “contains the entire spiritual wealth of the Church, that is, Christ himself.”52 The Eucharist is the heart of the life of every baptized person and of consecrated life itself; hence it is at the very core of the contemplative life. Indeed, the offering of your lives gives you a particular share in the paschal mystery of death and resurrection present in the Eucharist. Our common breaking of the bread repeats and makes present Jesus’ own offering of himself: the Lord “broke himself, breaks himself, for our sake” and asks us “to give ourselves, to break ourselves for the sake of others.”53 So that this profound mystery can take place and shine forth in all its richness, each celebration of the Eucharist should be prepared with care, dignity and sobriety, and all should take part in it fully, faithfully and consciously.
Consequently, the tradition of prolonging the celebration of Mass with eucharistic adoration is praiseworthy; it is a privileged moment to digest spiritually the bread of the word broken during the celebration, and to persevere in thanksgiving.
23. The Eucharist inspires a commitment to continuous conversion that finds sacramental expression in Reconciliation. May frequent personal or communal celebration of the sacrament of Penance become a privileged means for you to contemplate Jesus Christ, the face of the Father’s mercy,57 to be renewed in heart and to purify your relationship with God in contemplation.
The joyful experience of God’s forgiveness received in this sacrament grants you the grace to become prophets and ministers of his mercy, and instruments of reconciliation, forgiveness and peace. Our world greatly needs such prophets and ministers.
24. Fraternal life in community is an essential element of religious life in general, and of monastic life in particular, albeit in the variety of different charisms.
25. Fraternal communion is a reflection of God’s own way of being and bestowing himself; it testifies to the fact that “God is love” (1 Jn 4:8, 16). The consecrated life professes to believe in, and live by, the love of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The community of brothers and sisters thus becomes a graced reflection of the God who is a Trinity of Love.
26. You who have embraced the monastic life must never forget that today’s men and women expect you to bear witness to an authentic fraternal communion that, in a society marked by divisions and inequality, clearly demonstrates that life in common is both possible and fulfilling (cf. Ps 133:1), despite differences of age, education and even culture. Your communities ought to be credible signs that these differences, far from being an obstacle to fraternal life, actually enrich it. Remember that unity and communion are not the same as uniformity, and are nourished by dialogue, sharing, mutual assistance and profound compassion, especially towards the most frail and needy.
As I urged during my recent meeting with consecrated persons in Rome for the conclusion of the Year of Consecrated Life,65 try to remain close to your sisters, whom the Lord has given you as a precious gift. Then too, as Saint Benedict reminds us, in community life it is essential both to “honour the elderly and to show affection to the young.”66 The fruitfulness of fraternal life in community is also rooted in this effort to reconcile the remembrance of the past with the promise of the future.
28. Autonomy favours the stability of life and internal unity of each community, ensuring the best conditions for contemplation. But autonomy ought not to mean independence or isolation, especially from the other monasteries of the same Order or the same charismatic family.
30. Federation is an important structure of communion between monasteries sharing the same charism, lest they remain isolated.
32. Through your labour too, you share in the work that God the Creator carries out in the world. This activity puts you in close relationship with all those who labour responsibly to live by the fruit of their toil (cf. Gen 3:19) and thus to contribute to the work of creation and the service of humanity. In a particular way, it shows your solidarity with the poor who cannot live without work, and who, even though they may work, still frequently need the providential help of their brothers and sisters.
As the great contemplative saints have warned, work must never stifle the spirit of contemplation. Your life is meant to be “poor in fact and spent in hardworking moderation” – as your solemnly professed vow of evangelical poverty requires.79 For this reason, your work should be done carefully and faithfully, without yielding to the present-day culture and its mindset of efficiency and constant activity. The “ora et labora” of the Benedictine tradition should always be your inspiration and help you to find the right balance between seeking the Absolute and commitment to your daily chores, between the peace of contemplation and the effort expended in work.
In this, Mary Most Holy can serve as your example. She was able to receive the Word because she was a woman of silence – no barren or empty silence, but rather one rich and overflowing. The silence of the Virgin Mother was also full of love, for love always prepares us to welcome the Other and others.
Your life of complete self-giving thus takes on a powerful prophetic meaning. Your moderation, your detachment from material things, your self-surrender in obedience, your transparent relationships – these become all the more radical and demanding as a result of your free renunciation “of ‘space,’ of contacts, of so many benefits of creation … [as a] particular way of offering up [your] ‘body.’”84 Your choice of a life of stability becomes an eloquent sign of fidelity for our globalized world, accustomed to increasingly rapid and easy relocation, with the risk that many persons never sink roots in any one place.
In the life of the cloister, fraternal relationships become even more demanding,85 since interaction in such communities is constant and close. By remaining close to your brothers and sisters despite disagreements needing to be settled, tensions and conflicts to be resolved, and weaknesses to be accepted, you set a helpful example to the People of God and to today’s world, so often rent by conflict and division. The path of asceticism is also a means of acknowledging your own weakness and entrusting it to the tender mercy of God and the community.
Finally, the commitment to asceticism is necessary for carrying out with love and fidelity our daily responsibilities, for seeing them as opportunities to share in the lot of our many brothers and sisters throughout the world, and as a silent and fruitful offering for their needs.
36. Dear sisters, everything that I have written in this Apostolic Constitution is meant to be, for you who have embraced the contemplative vocation, an effective contribution to the renewal of your life and your mission in the Church and the world. May the Lord be ever present and active in your heart and transform you entirely in him, the ultimate aim of the contemplative life,86 and may your communities or fraternities become true schools of contemplation and prayer.
In this way, your testimony will be, as it were, a necessary complement to the witness of those who, as contemplatives in the heart of the world, bear witness to the Gospel while remaining fully immersed in the work of building the earthly city.
37. Dear contemplative sisters, you are well aware that your form of consecrated life, like all other forms, “is a gift to the Church, arises and grows within the Church, and is completely directed to the good of the Church.”91 Persevere, then, in profound communion with the Church so that in her midst you may become a living continuation of the mystery of Mary, Virgin, Bride and Mother, who welcomes and treasures the Word in order to give it back to the world. Thus you will help to bring Christ to birth and increase in the hearts of men and women who, often unconsciously, are thirsting for the One who is the “way, the truth, and the life (Jn 14:6). Like Mary, you too strive to be a “stairway” by which God descends to encounter humanity, and humanity ascends to encounter God and to contemplate his face in the face of Christ.
In the light of the above, I decree and establish the following.
– the Instruction Verbi Sponsa of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (13 May 1999) on the contemplative life and enclosure of nuns.
Art. 2 §1. This Constitution is addressed to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, and to individual cloistered monasteries of nuns, whether wholly contemplative or not, and whether part of a federation or not.
§2. The matters regulated by this Apostolic Constitution are those listed above in No. 12 and further developed in Nos. 13-35.
§3. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life – if need be, in agreement with the Congregation for the Oriental Churches and the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples – will regulate the different modalities of implementing these constitutive norms, in accordance with the different monastic traditions and taking into account the various charismatic families.
Art. 3 §1. Through suitable structures identified during the elaboration of a plan of community life, individual monasteries are to give special attention to ongoing formation, which is the foundation for every stage of formation, beginning with initial formation.
§2. In order to ensure adequate ongoing formation, federations are to promote cooperation between monasteries through the exchange of formational materials and the use of digital means of communication, always exercising due discretion.
§3. Together with the careful selection of sisters to serve as formators and to guide candidates in the development of personal maturity, individual monasteries and federations are to make every effort to ensure a sound preparation of formators and their assistants.
§4. Sisters charged with the sensitive task of formation may also attend, servatis de iure servandis, specific courses on formation outside their monastery, always conducting themselves in a way fitting and consistent with their own charism. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life is to issue particular norms in this regard.
§5. Monasteries are to pay special attention to vocational and spiritual discernment, ensuring that candidates receive personalized guidance, and to provide adequate programmes of formation, always keeping in mind that ample time is to be set apart for initial formation.
§7. To ensure a high quality of formation, monasteries should, as circumstances dictate, promote common houses for initial formation.
Art. 4 §1. Recognizing that prayer is the heart of contemplative life, each monastery is to review its daily horarium to see if it is centred on the Lord.
§2. Community celebrations should be reviewed to see if they constitute an authentic and vital encounter with the Lord.
Art. 5 §1. Given the importance of lectio divina, each monastery is to establish fitting times and means for respecting this requirement of reading and listening, ruminatio, prayer, contemplation and sharing of the sacred Scriptures.
§2. Since sharing the transforming experience of God’s word with priests, deacons, other consecrated persons and the laity is an expression of genuine ecclesial communion, each monastery is to determine how this spiritual outreach can be accomplished.
Art. 6 §1. Each monastery, in elaborating its plan of community and fraternal life, in addition to carefully preparing its eucharistic celebrations, is to set aside appropriate times for eucharistic adoration, also inviting the faithful of the local Church to take part.
§2. Particular attention is to be given to the selection of chaplains, confessors and spiritual directors, taking into account the specific charism and the demands of fraternal life in community.
Art. 7 §1. Those called to carry out the ministry of authority, besides being attentive to their own formation, are to be guided by a true spirit of fraternity and service so as to foster a joy-filled environment of freedom and responsibility, thus promoting personal and community discernment and truthful communication of what each member does, thinks and feels.
§2. The plan of community life should readily welcome and encourage the sharing of each sister’s human and spiritual gifts for mutual enrichment and growth in fraternity.
§2. Whenever the requirements for a monastery’s genuine autonomy are lacking, the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will study the possibility of establishing an ad hoc commission made up of the ordinary, the president of the federation, a representative of the federation and the abbess or prioress of the monastery. In every case, the purpose of this intervention is to initiate a process of guidance for the revitalization of the monastery, or to effect its closure.
§3. This process may also envisage affiliation to another monastery or entrustment, if the monastery belongs to a federation, to the federation president and her council. In every case, the ultimate decision always rests with the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
Art. 9 §1. Initially, all monasteries are to be part of a federation. If, for some special reason, a monastery cannot join a federation, after the vote of the chapter, permission to allow the monastery to remain outside a federation is to be sought from the Holy See, which is competent to study and decide the question.
§2. Federations can be established not only on a geographical basis but also on an affinity of spirit and traditions. Norms in this regard will be issued by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life.
§3. Assistance in formation and in meeting concrete needs through the exchange of nuns and the sharing of material goods is also to be ensured, in accordance with the provisions of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The Congregation will also determine the competencies of the federation president and council.
§4. The association, even juridical, of monasteries to the corresponding Order of men is to be encouraged. Confederations and the establishment of international commissions made up of different Orders, with statutes approved by the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, are likewise to be encouraged.
Art. 10 §1. Each monastery, following serious discernment and respecting its proper tradition and the demands of its constitutions, is to ask the Holy See what form of cloister it wishes to embrace, whenever a different form of cloister from the present one is called for.
§2. Once one of the possible forms of cloister is chosen and approved, each monastery will take care to comply with, and live in accordance with, its demands.
Art. 11 §1. Even if certain monastic communities, in accordance with their proper law, may enjoy some income, this does not mean that the members are exempted from the obligation of labour.
§2. In communities devoted to contemplation, the income received from labour should not be used exclusively to ensure a decent sustenance, but also, if possible, to assist the poor and monasteries in need.
Art. 12. The daily horarium is to include suitable moments of silence, in order to foster a climate of prayer and contemplation.
Art. 13. In its plan of community life, each monastery is to provide for some fitting means for expressing the ascetic discipline of monastic life, in order to make it more prophetic and credible.
Art. 14 §1. The Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life will issue, in accordance with the spirit and the norms of the present Apostolic Constitution, a new Instruction concerning the matters dealt with in No. 12.
§2. Once they have been adapted to the new regulations, the articles of the constitutions or rules of individual institutes are to be submitted for approval by the Holy See.
Given in Rome, at Saint Peter’s, on 29 June, the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul, in the year 2016, the fourth of my Pontificate.
1 Cf. Second Vatican ecumenical council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 19.
3 Cf. Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 November 2013), 169: AAS 105 (2013), 1091.
4 Apostolic Letter to All Consecrated Persons for the Year of Consecrated Life (21 November 2014), II, 2: AAS 106 (2014), 941.
5 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 68: AAS 88 (1996), 443.
6 Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini (30 September 2010), 83: AAS 102 (2010), 754.
7 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 59: AAS 88 (1996), 432.
8 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 573 §1.
9 Ibid., 16: AAS 88 (1996), 389.
10 Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini (30 September 2010), 83: AAS 102 (2010), 754.
11 Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 18: AAS 88 (1996), 391-392.
12 Cf. Second Vatican ecumenical council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 44; John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 3 and 29: AAS 88 (1996), 379, 402.
14 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 8: AAS 88 (1996), 382-383.
15 Ibid., Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen (2 May 1995), 9: AAS 87 (1995), 754.
16 Second Vatican ecumenical council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 44, 1.
17 Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini (30 September 2010), 83: AAS 102 (2010), 754.
18 Cf. Second Vatican ecumenical council, Decree Perfectae Caritatis, 5.
20 Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 14: AAS 88 (1996), 387.
21 Cf. Second Vatican ecumenical council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 46; Decree Christus Dominus, 35; Decree Perfectae Caritatis, 7 and 9; Code of Canon Law, can. 674.
22 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 667 §2-3.
23 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Orientale Lumen (2 May 1995), 9: AAS 87 (1995), 754.
24 Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures, 1: FF 263.
25 Second Vatican Ecumenical council, Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 44.
26 Cf. Decree Perfectae Caritatis, 2.
27 Cf. Clare of Assisi, Third Letter to Agnes of Bohemia, 8: FF 2886.
28 Francis of Assisi, Lodi al Dio Altissimo, 3.5: FF 261.
29 Teresa of Avila, Obras completes. Poesías, Editorial Monte Carmelo, Burgos, 2011, 1368.
30 Cf. Denis the Carthusian, Enarrationes in cap. 3 Can. Cant. XI, 6, in Doctoris Ecstatici D. Dionysii Cartusiani Opera Omnia, VII, Typis Cartusiae, Monstrolii, 1898, 361.
31 Francis of Assisi, Canticle of the Creatures, 4: FF 263.
32 No. 83: AAS 105 (2013), 1054-1055.
33 Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 65: AAS 88 (1996), 441; Code of Canon Law, can. 664.
34 Ibid., 66: AAS 88 (1996), 442.
35 Ibid., 69: AAS 88 (1996), 444; cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 661.
36 Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction Starting Afresh from Christ. A Renewed Commitment to Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium (19 May 2002), 18.
37 Cf. John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 65: AAS 88 (1996), 441.
38 Cf. Code of Canon Law, cann. 648 §1 and 3; 675 §2.
39 Conclusion of Holy Mass, 2 February 2016: L’Osservatore Romano, 4 February 2016, p. 6; cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 673.
40 Cf. Second Vatican ecumenical council, Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium, 83; Code of Canon Law, cann. 1173; 1174 §1.
41 Cf. Benedict XVI, Catechesis (28 December 2011): Insegnamenti VII/2 (2011), 980-985; Code of Canon Law, can. 663 §4; Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction The Service of Authority and Obedience (11 May 2008), 31.
42 Benedict, Rule, 43, 3.
43 Cf. Francis of Assisi, Regula non bullata, XXIII, 31: FF 71.
44 Cf. Clare of Assisi, Third Letter to Agnes of Bohemia, 12-13: FF 2888.
46 Cf. Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini (30 September 2010), 86: AAS 102 (2010), 757; Code of Canon Law, can. 663 §3.
47 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 94: AAS 88 (1996), 469; cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 758.
48 Cf. Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction Starting Afresh From Christ: A Renewed Commitment to Consecrated Life in the Third Millennium (19 May 2002), 25; John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January 2001), 43: AAS 93 (2001), 297.
49 Cf. Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini (30 September 2010), 86: AAS 102 (2010), 758; Code of Canon Law, cann. 754-755.
50 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 94: AAS 88 (1996), 470.
51 Benedict XVI, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini (30 September 2010), 87: AAS 102 (2010), 759.
52 Second Vatican ecumenical council, Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, 5; cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 899.
53 Homily, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (26 May 2016): L’Osservatore Romano, May 27-28, 2016, p. 8; cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 663 §2.
54 Cf. John Paul II, Homily, Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (14 June 2001), 3: AAS 93 (2001), 656.
55 Ibid., Encyclical Letter Ecclesia de Eucharistia (17 April 2003), 6: AAS 95 (2003), 437.
56 Ibid., Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem (15 August 1988), 26: AAS 80 (1988), 1716.
57 Cf. Bull Misericordiae Vultus, 1: AAS 107 (2015), 399; cf. Code of Canon Law, cann. 664; 630.
58 Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction Fraternal Life in Community. “Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor” (2 February 1994), 10.
59 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 21: AAS 88 (1996), 395.
60 Code of Canon Law, can. 603.
61 Cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte (6 January 2001), 43: AAS 93 (2001), 296-297.
62 Cf. Second Vatican ecumenical council, Decree Perfectae Caritatis, 15; Code of Canon Law, can. 602.
63 Cf. Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction Fraternal Life in Community. “Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor” (2 February 1994); Code of Canon Law, cann. 607 §2; 608; 665; 699 §1.
64 Ibid., 32; cf. Code of Canon Law, cann. 619; 630; 664.
65 Cf. Address to Participants in the Jubilee of Consecrated Life, 1 February 2016: L’Osservatore Romano, 1-2 February 2016, p. 8.
66 Benedict, Rule, IV, 70-71.
67 Apostolic Letter to All Consecrated Persons for the Year of Consecrated Life (21 November 2014), II, 3: AAS 106 (2014), 943.
69 Cf. ibid.; Code of Canon Law, cann. 614-615; 628 §2-1; 630 §3; 638 §4; 684 §3; 688 §2; 699 §2; 708; 1428 §1-2.
70 Cf. Code of Canon Law, cann. 582; 684 §3.
71 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 59: AAS 88 (1996), 431.
72 Cf. ibid., 59; Code of Canon Law, can. 667.
73 Code of Canon Law, can. 667 §3.
75 Ibid., can. 667 §2.
76 Cf. ibid., can. 667 §1.
77 Cf. J. M. Bergoglio, Intervention (13 October 1994) at the Synod of Bishops on Consecrated Life and its Mission in the Church and in the World (in “Vida Religiosa,” 115/7: July-September 2013).
78 Cf. Apostolic Letter to All Consecrated Persons for the Year of Consecrated Life (21 November 2014), II, 3: AAS 106 (2014), 942-943.
79 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 600.
80 Message for the 48th World Communications Day (1 June 2014): AAS 106 (2014), 114; cf. Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction Fraternal Life in Community. “Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor” (2 February 1994), 10 and 34.
81 Cf. Clare of Assisi, Fourth Letter to Agnes, 35: FF 2908.
82 Cf. Code of Canon Law, can. 666.
83 Cf. Conclusion of Holy Mass, 2 February 2016: L’Osservatore Romano, February 4, 2016, p. 6; Code of Canon Law, cann. 599-601; 1191-1192.
84 John Paul II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Vita Consecrata (25 March 1996), 59: AAS 88 (1996), 431.
85 Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, Instruction Fraternal Life in Community. “Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor” (2 February 1994), 10.
86 Cf. Clare of Assisi, Third Letter to Agnes, 12-13: FF 2888; Fourth Letter to Agnes, 15-16: FF 2902.
87 Cf. Second Vatican ecumenical council, Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, 4.
88 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (24 Novembre 2013), 53: AAS 105 (2013), 1042; cf. ibid., 187ff: AAS 105 (2013), 1098ff.
89 Ibid., 171: AAS 105 (2013), 1091.
90 Ibid., 281: AAS 105 (2013), 1133.
91 Cf. J. M. Bergoglio, Intervention (13 October 1994) at the Synod of Bishops on Consecrated Life and its Mission in the Church and in the World (in “Vida Religiosa” 115/7, July-September 2013).

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