The Rule of Life
Peter Julian Eymard was canonized in 1962 by Bl. Pope John XXIII at the end of the first session of Vatican Council II. St. Eymard's spiritual journey began early in his life and it brought him to serve the Church in many various ministries. He first responded to God's call to service as a diocesan priest; and after a short but intense pastoral ministry in his home diocese of Grenoble, France, Father Eymard joined the Society of Mary (Marists).
From his youth Father Eymard always maintained a solid devotion to Mary; and joining the Marists seemed inevitable. For 16 years he shouldered major responsibilities as a Marist. During this time he became aware of a eucharistic movement that had mobilized the energies of a number of people with whom he shared his friendship and interests. Soon he himself was captivated by the great love of Christ as manifested in the Eucharist. Before long he was consumed by this mystery. Thus, the Eucharist took hold of his life so completely that he left the Marists to establish the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament (S.S.S.).
This Rule of Life expresses Saint Eymard's eucharistic inspiration and the mission he outlined for his companions and it is the spiritual handbook for members of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament. However, it is being made available to anyone who is intent on deepening his or her spirituality.
May the Rule of Life serve as a guide in your own spiritual journey, and may the Eucharist become for you the center of your life and the inspiration for your ministry. This Rule of Life is a totally eucharistic spirituality that can take hold of your life as it did for St. Peter Julian Eymard.
Father Eymard died in his home village of a La Mure d'Isere in 1868; he was 57 years old. His feast is celebrated on August 2.
I -- Captivated by the Love of God
1. Our Name and Purpose
The Lord has called us in His name to live together in the Church as brothers.
Inspired by St. Peter Julian Eymard, our Founder, we form the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament, a religious institute composed of priests, deacons, and brothers.
Our purpose is to allow the mystery of the Eucharist to take hold of our lives so completely that we will live this mystery and proclaim its meaning. Thus the reign of Christ will be established and the glory of God will be revealed throughout the world.
2. Our Founder
Saint Peter Julian searched for an answer to the religious ignorance and indifference of his time. He found it in the love of God manifested in a special way in the gift of Christ in the Eucharist. He was overwhelmed by this love and he declared it to his contemporaries.
To secure this insight he outlined for his companions a new form of life in the Church so that Christ the Lord, present in the Eucharist, would have true and faithful adorers and zealous apostles of His love.
Our Founder was convinced that the Eucharist could take hold of our lives when we dedicate ourselves to God and mankind. His own life was a model of contemplation and apostolic service.
Saint Peter Julian's intense life of adoration, his apostolate focused on Mass and communication, his efforts to encourage people to adore the Lord in the setting of exposition, his untiring ministry, especially his solidarity with priests and the poor, indeed his whole existence witnessed to the gift of himself to Christ.
3. Our Mission
Our mission, modeled on Father Eymard, is to respond to the hungers of the human family with the riches of God's love manifested in the Eucharist.
Our lives are nourished with the bread given for the life of the world. We gratefully proclaim the Passover of Christ and we attend to the Lord in his Eucharistic presence by a contemplative prayer of adoration.
Our commitment is to building up the Body of Christ, after having first been shaped by the sacrament of the New Covenant which sets us free from the domination of sin.
We participate in the mission of the Church by our form of life and our ministry. We celebrate the Eucharist in truth and assist the faithful to grow in intimacy with the Lord by a prayer of adoration before the Eucharist exposed. Hence the faithful will endeavor to renew their Christian communities and struggle to liberate people and society itself from the forces of evil.
We stand, in solidarity through the Spirit, with the poor and the weak against anything which degrades human dignity; and we proclaim a more just and peaceful world as we await the coming of the Lord.
4. Our Spirit
The Eucharist can take hold of our lives only when we are filled with the same Spirit which led Christ to give His life for the world.
It was the Spirit of love which led the Lord to hand Himself over when he proclaimed the New Covenant by the gift of His Body and Blood to his disciples.
Sharing in the gift of Himself to us, we in turn make the gift of ourselves for the service of the Kingdom. Thus we fulfill the words of the Apostle: "The life I live now is not my own; Christ is living in me." (Gal. 2:20)
5. Our Community
The Love of God and our vocation place us at the heart of the Church, in communities where charity shapes our relationships.
Responsive to the Spirit's invitation and attentive to the needs of society, our communities are to be places where prayer, reconciliation, and celebration are seen as signs and leaven of the unity which the world seeks.
To attain this ideal we make profession of religious life according to this Rule of Life .
II -- An Invitation of the Gospel
6. Our Rule
The Word of God invites us and gathers us in community where it accompanies us as a light for our journey.
The Rule of Life outlines for us a particular way of living the Gospel in the Church. It unites us in a common vision for our life and our mission.
7. A Passover Community
Following the example of the disciples who were of one heart and one mind, we hold all of our resouces in common.
Our availability and our readiness to give of ourselves and to risk self-disclosure reveal the presence of the Risen Lord. We become witnesses to Christ in service to one another. The Lord calls us in this way to live his Passover, day after day.
8. Unity and Diversity
Communities are made up of persons who differ in their abilities, duties, and situations. This diversity manifests the wealth of gifts received from the same Spirit.
Christ destroys the walls that separate us and He creates a unity in which we are invited to live as brothers. Everyone, whether young or old, sick or in good health, is a full member of the community.
9. Community and Conversion
The community is called to renew itself continually, through its trials and failures, in the light of the Word of God and in the spirit of mutual understanding.
It is the Spirit who directs our discernment for the renewal of the community. Moreover, personal renewal contributes to this process.
Since forgiveness transforms situations of selfishness into occasions of grace, each one shall approach the sacrament of reconciliation frequently; and the community will celebrate, from time to time, a liturgy of reconciliation.
Thus, the community fosters each one's growth through a communion of faith, friendship and life.
10. Community and Mission
The community does not live for itself, but creates an environment wherein its members search for God and make His love known to everyone.
It shares in the life of the human family and seeks to live the gospel in its totality. It sets goals and objectives which give practical expression to its role in the mission of the Church and which regulate its life-style.
In our houses the community designates quiet areas for prayer and study. Guests are welcomed in appropriate areas.
Eager for objective information about people and events we use the media critically.
11. Community Meetings
The vitality of a community depends to a large extent on regular meetings at which everyone shares personal joys and difficulties.
At our meetings we examine the goals and objectives of the community and evaluate our part in achieving them.
Days of recollection and annual retreats are special opportunities for personal renewal.
12. Our Sick and Aged
When one of our members is ill, the community will share in his sufferings and accompany him in his trial. If he is hospitalized, he will be visited every day if possible.
The superior shall see to it that the sick or aged are assured of every care. Depending on their condition, they are to receive the sacrament of the annointing of the sick in the joy of the Lord and in the presence of the community.
13. Death, a Paschal Event
Fortified by the prayers of the community and by the reception of the Eucharist as viaticum we shall thus be ready to die in the Lord.
The death of one of our members will be celebrated as a Paschal event filled with hope.
We shall faithfully carry out the prescribed prayers for our deceased.
14. Our Lady
Mary, mother of Jesus, voice of the poor and the little ones, welcomed the word of God into her heart and let its power rule her life. She prayed with the disciples and faithfully shared her life with them for the coming of the Kingdom.
We shall honor Mary as the poor one of Yahweh and the servant of the Lord with the same love as shown her by our Founder who also invoked her under the title of our lady of the Blessed Sacrament. Meditating on the mysteries of the rosary will help focus our devotion to Mary.
III -- A Radical Response
15. Religious Profession
We respond to the call of the Lord by our profession of religious life. He invites us to leave everything in order to follow Him. Thus we publicly vow to live in chastity, poverty and obedience in the Church.
Religious profession incorporates us into a community and it expresses our determination to radically live the gospel. Nourished by Christ who gives Himself totally to us in the Eucharist, we express in our form of life the gift of self as lived and taught by our holy Founder.
Our vows express our consecration to God in the service of the human family, and in the spirit of the Beatitudes they witness to a world yet to come.
16. Chastity
During his life Jesus pursued the Kingdom with uncompromising personal freedom. In imitation of Him we vow ourselves to complete chastity in celibacy.
Thus we are disposed to experience universal love when we assume this commitment with uncluttered hearts and in a spirit of prayer, self-discipline, and openness to human realities.
Trusting in Christ who is ever faithful, we embrace the Lord and His mission with undivided hearts. We also witness to His power to free human relationships from individual and collective selfishness. Living in community is a precious support for living this gift of the Spirit with joy.
17. Poverty
Like Jesus, we wish to live poorly.
We work to earn our living and we share what we earn with one another. By placing all of our resources in common we free ourselves from all attachment to riches in order to depend entirely on God.
We are to live in simplicity and moderation. As a sign of unity our communities should assist one another by sharing resources.
Our personal and collective poverty, our solidarity with the poor, our uncompromising rejection of social injustice, all proclaim our attachment to the Kingdom of God and His justice. Thus our poverty becomes counter culture in a consumer society.
18. The Vow of Poverty
By the vow of poverty we renounce the right to the use and the disposal of material goods without the authorization of our superiors.
Whatever we receive as remunerations, pensions, insurance, or gifts, belongs to the Institute. However, we retain the ownership of whatever goods we have inherited, and we may continue to inherit.
Before our first profession we relinquish to whomsoever we wish the administration of our inheritance and freely dispose of its use and usufruct.
Before our perpetual profession we make a legally binding will which cannot be changed without proper authorization.
19. Obedience
In loving obedience Christ fulfilled his Father's will even to the giving of his life. In imitation of Christ we profess obedience in order the better to serve one another and participate in the mission of the Institute.
Attentive to the Holy Spirit we commit ourselves by the vow of obedience to obey our superiors, according to the Rule of Life, and the Pope, our highest superior.
20. Obedience and Community
We seek the Will of God together in community. We participate in developing and implementing community goals and objectives.
In doing so we pay attention to the signs of the times and to the pressing demands of the Kingdom. We freely assume ownership of the policies formulated in common, and accept the decisions of the superior arrived at in dialogue.
Cultivated in trust, faith and self-denial, authority and obedience complement each other and foster true community. Thus we discipline our will for power and curb our taste to dominate; and we proclaim to the world the message of Jesus who, among His own, took the place of the one who serves.
IV -- In Memory of Me
21. Celebration of the Lord's Memorial
We are called to live as a eucharistic community. By our vocation and our way of life we seek to give a powerful witness to the life of Christ that flows from this sacrament.
The celebration of the Lord's memorial is the center of our personal and community life. It is the basis for our understanding of the Eucharist as well as the inspiration of our prayer and ministry.
A. Around the Table of the Word and of the Bread
22. The Word of God
Each day the community's faith is nourished and its unity deepened at the table of the Word of God. The celebration of the Word in the liturgy is a special moment for us who are seeking the Lord.
This Word, which the Spirit causes to resonate in the depths of our being, challenges us in ways ever new. When shared in common and to the extent we are ready to receive it, the Word enlightens us and draws us into the mystery of Christ.
23. The Liturgy of the Hours
The Liturgy of the Hours, the Church's prayer of praise, is a significant time in the life of the community. This communal celebration is the voice of the Church praying to Christ and, through Him, to the Father.
24. The Celebration and the History of Salvation
The celebration of the Eucharist is the joyful proclamation of the wonders God has accomplished in our history.
Each day, as a community if possible, we give thanks for the New Covenant which God has ratified once for all in the Blood of his Son, and which He renews in his ever-faithful love. Thus our relationships are strengthened and our community is constantly renewed.
25. The Work of Salvation
Whenever we celebrate the Memorial of Christ's Passover we participate in the work of our salvation. Whenever we share his Body and Blood we are gradually uprooted from Evil.
The Lord discloses to us the presence of sin in our selfishness, in our apathy, or even in our complicity with injustice; He then draws us into a new life.
In this very same movement, we offer our own lives to the Father, together with the hopes and sufferings of those with whom we are collaborating in building a society based on justice and love.
26. Eschatological Dimension
The Spirit of the Risen Lord exerts a powerful influence over everyone who welcomes Him. By sowing in our mortal flesh the seeds of resurrection He transforms us in love day by day.
Our trials and our sufferings are taken up into the mystery we celebrate; and death is our definitive participation in it. Filled with hope, we journey towards that new world where God is all in all.
27. Celebration and Life
To celebrate the "Lord's Supper" in truth is to serve others, as the Lord Jesus showed us by washing his disciple's feet.
In this way we become, by our whole life, the worshippers in spirit and in truth whom the Father seeks.
B. In an Atmosphere of Prayer
28. Celebration and Prayer
Jesus lived his whole life, and especially his Paschal Mystery, in a profound atmosphere of prayer.
As his life drew to a close, He left us the Memorial of the gift of himself to his Father and to mankind. Risen from the dead, He sent us his Spirit so that we might live our mission in this same Spirit of love.
We interiorize the celebration of Christ's Paschal Mystery by a prayer which makes of our whole life, as it were, an uninterrupted Eucharist.
29. Response to the Presence
The bread and wine made Eucharist ceaselessly remind us of the Lord's Supper: the thanksgiving prayer of the Church and the sacrifice of praise of all mankind. They manifest to us in a unique way the presence of Christ who gives his life to us through the gift of his Spirit.
For this reason and the desire to remain faithful to the tradition received from our Founder, we pray for an hour every day before the Eucharist. This prayer forms part of the Congregation's mission and holds priority in our lives.
30. In the Dynamism of the Eucharist
Our response to this presence of Christ engages us in the dynamism of the Eucharist, by a prayer of adoration, of praise and thanksgiving, of reconciliation and intercession, with the Church and for the world.
Although our prayer draws its inspiration from the celebration of the Eucharist it is not limited to any one particular form. We will help one another to develop this precious gift "which the Holy Spirit inspires and fosters in a humble and upright heart."
31. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament
By focusing attention on the signs of the Sacrament, exposition of the Holy Eucharist evokes the celebration of the Lord's Memorial. It invites us to recognize and adore the presence of Christ in the gift of his body given up for us and of his blood poured out for a new Covenant.
It thus fosters our communion with Christ who offers himself to us as the Bread of Life, as food shared for a community of brothers. We expose the Holy Eucharist and encourage this practice, always attentive to the pastoral needs of the local Church.
32. Participation of the Faithful
We welcome the faithful to join in our prayer so that their lives may be enlighted and enlivened by the Paschal Mystery.
We promote communal prayer which manifests the Church's unity, fruit of the Eucharist. We encourage nocturnal prayer, where pastorally feasible, in a spirit of watching and waiting for the Lord.
C. As Church in the Service of the World
33. Inspired by our Holy Founder
Saint Peter Julian Eymard clearly saw the Eucharist as a powerful force for the renewal of Church and society. His life and activities as Founder awaken in us a sort of echo of his ardent faith and charity.
His ability to adapt his eucharistic grace to many diverse ministries encourages our own creative efforts in ministry.
34. The Eucharist as Source of our Mission
We seek to understand all human realities in the light of the Eucharist, source and summit of the life of the Church. We discern in this sacrament a call to share in the life and mission of the Lord. We give priority to ministries that proclaim the multiple riches of the eucharistic Mystery. Consequently, as Church, we combine "prayer and work in order that the whole world, to its very core, may be transformed into the people of God, the Body of the Lord and the temple of the Holy Spirit."
35. In Union with the Church
While our mission extends to the whole Church it is carried out within the pastoral plan of a diocese or region. We collaborate closely with bishops, priests and laity, eager to contribute our particular spirituality and our skills in ministry.
36. Prophetic Mission
Like the mustard seed, which never stops growing, the Church is constantly unfolding her understanding of the realities and formulae that have been handed on to her. Likewise, we ourselves must continually deepen our understanding of the Eucharist and promote both the fruitful celebration of this mystery and encourage a proper response to it.
We take great care to transmit the tradition and the teaching of the Church on this sacrament. We seek to further the development of eucharistic theology and devotion.
37. Social Mission
Attentive to the cry of the poor and to their plight, we uncover in every instance of injustice an appeal of Christ to share in His mission of announcing the Good News to the poor and proclaiming liberty to captives.
Every community that celebrates the Eucharist is called, through a radical conversion, to challenge sin and its structures and to proclaim the hope of a new world.
While remaining in solidarity with those who are working for true human development, we should be sensitive to the social implications of our involvement. The most powerful message of our communities is the witness of their lives.
38. Mission of Unity
Our celebration of the Eucharist, sign of God's covenant with mankind, remains in some way incomplete as long as Christians are divided by hatred or separated from one another.
Hence, we promote unity in all our activities: within our Christian communities, among denominations that share the same baptism, and among everyone who works towards world unity.
39. At the Service of the Word
The disciples of Emmaus encountered Jesus along their journey. After he had explained to them, in the light of the Scriptures, the meaning of the events they had experienced, they recognized Him in the breaking of the bread.
In the same way, we journey with those who are searching for meaning in their lives. We help them recognize Christ, the living Word, so that having been baptized and confirmed in the faith they may become full members of the Christian community through the Eucharist.
We emphasize ministry of the Word especially in the proclamation of the Gospel, as well as in catechesis and in the preaching of retreats.
40. Liturgy
Liturgical research and development are of special interest to us. We use every available resource to promote liturgical animation and education. Faithful to the directives of the Church, we seek expressions better suited to the needs of the faithful in order that every celebration may become a faith experience and a source of commitment.
41. Parishes
We form our parishes into genuine communities shaped by the Eucharist, source and center of their life. Our parishes shall be places where the Gospel is lived and proclaimed. They are to be places of prayer, of eucharistic adoration and celebration; places of sharing and communion; places of freedom and human development.
Our parish staffs will work as a team and collaborate closely with dedicated lay people. We encourage the emergence and the development of groups and communities which spring up, grow, and take shape through the power of the Spirit who ceaselessly renews the life of the Church.
42. Centers of Prayer
Our communities are meant to be centers of prayer that offer assistance to everyone journeying in the faith. This ministry is particularly suited for city-center churches and retreat houses.
These churches, where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, are to be oases of peace and tranquility in the heart of the city. They are places of friendly gatherings, of prayer and adoration, of spiritual counseling and sacramental reconciliation.
Sensitive to contemporary needs, we wish to respond to the expectations of our contemporaries with appropriate catechesis, with formation in prayer, and by raising the levels of awareness to greater responsibility.
43. Sharing an Ideal
Like Father Eymard we invite both clergy and laity, whom the Spirit is directing towards the Eucharist, to be associated with our community and to share our mission. We help them to discover in the Eucharist the needed inspiration for their lives and for their commitments.
44. Serving Priests
We value the mission of priests; and we share with them our faith, prayer, and friendship. We also share with them our pastoral objectives and our experiences. Encouraged by the example of Father Eymard who used to say "I would leave everything for priests," we attend to them by offering hospitality, animation, and opportunities for spiritual development.
45. The Media and the Press
The media of social communication is effecting a profound transformation in our world and can be a powerful agent of unity. Because of its far reaching influence we make use of the media, especially the press, to show that the whole Church can be bread broken for a new world.
101 "A Gift from the Lord"
This Rule of Life expresses the original inspiration of our Holy founder adapted to the continual growth of the Body of Christ and attentive to the needs and challenges of the world.
The General Statutes express its principles more concretely and give practical applications which hold good for the enitre Institute.
By accepting it as a gift from the Lord and by conforming our lives to it, as our profession commitment requires, we are strengthened in fidelity to our eucharistic mission in the Church for the world.
102. Formula of Religious Profession (adapted slightly)
Summoned by the love of God
manifested in Jesus Christ
and celebrated in the Eucharist,
I intend to respond to God's gift
with the gift of myself.
I wish to live the Paschal Mystery,
to internalize it in prayer before the Blessed Sacrament
and to share with others the life that
springs from it.
For this reason,
in order to follow Christ
in the way he is calling me,
before you, Reverend Father Provincial,
and in the presence of my brothers,
I (name) make to God the annual (perpetual) vows
of chastity in the celibate state,
evangelical poverty
and obedience,
according to the Rule of Life
of the Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament.
By the grace of the Holy Spirit,
I commit myself to seek God
with a community of brothers.
I intend to take the Gospel as my source of inspiration
in all that I do,
and to enter into the life of the Congregation
which welcomes me as one of its members.
Trusting in the intercession of the Virgin Mary
and Saint Peter Julian Eymard
I ask you, Lord,
in your ever faithful love,
to grant that I may commit my whole life
to the service of Christ and my fellow human beings.
Grant that I may work at building a world
founded on justice and love,
so that the Reign of Christ may come
and your glory be revealed to the world.
From the Decree of Aprobation
The Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament has inherited from its Founder, Saint Peter Julian Eymard, a new form of consecrated life within the Church. Its mission is to place at the center of its life and the life of the faithful, the Eucharist celebrated in truth and internalized in a prayer of adoration and contemplation.
We express the wish that, drawing upon their rich spiritual heritage and faithful to this Rule of Life, the Religious of the Blessed Sacrament will be authentic witnesses to the renewing power of the Eucharist for Church and society.
Given at Rome, August 1, 1984: Feast of Saint Peter Julian Eymard.
