It is probably the case that while most members join the Society in response to a call from the Holy Spirit, they don’t yet fully understand the Society as a vocation. And although we do not take solemn vows like members of the clergy or religious orders, each active and associate member “accepts the Rule and Statutes of the Society.” [Rule, Part III, St. 3] It is this acceptance of the Rule which leads to our deeper understanding of our vocation, and which unites us as a true community of faith.

It was in this spirit that the Rule was first written: to lay out the principles and practices that had been discerned, so that they could continue, so that it could “know what heaven required of it – that it should judge what it could do by what it had done.” [1835 Rule] Capturing our history, our traditions, and our spirituality, the Rule enables us each to gain this same understanding.

Originally written in 1835, two years after the founding of the first Conference of Charity, the Rule was expanded to include provisions for the still-evolving organization of local and national councils, as well as a council general, in 1839, 1850, and 1856. From then until 1967, this original Rule remained largely unchanged. Interpretation and understanding of the Rule was effected through Explanatory Notes, Commentaries, and Circular Letters over the years.

Following the Second Vatican Council, the Society undertook a seven-year project to revise the Rule, incorporating more modern language, and formally integrating some traditions that had developed over time, such as the inclusion of women as members. Adopted in 1975, this new version of the Rule was now divided into three parts: I. Basic Principles, II. Organizational Units, and III. The Council General. Each National Council was directed to develop its own regulations for implementing Part II, primarily through National Commentaries. Parts I and III, then, explained who we are, what we do, and why we do it, while Part II was concerned with how.

The only other major revision of the Rule occurred in 2003. It was with this version that the order of the three parts changed to their current form, with the National Council’s regulations moving to Part III in order to properly reflect the Rule’s order of precedence. Since our national regulations exist only to explain how we will implement the Rule, it cannot conflict with the first two parts. If it does, Part I always takes precedence, ensuring the worldwide unity of the Society.

In accepting the Rule, we are promising to read and understand it, to discuss it with one another, and to make our best efforts to live it, individually and together. After all, you cannot be a Vincentian without other Vincentians, and it is our Rule which unites us with “a true and unique worldwide Community of Vincentian friends.” [Rule, Part I, 3.3]

Contemplate

When was the last time I read the Rule alone, and with my Conference?

By Timothy Williams,
Senior Director of Formation & Leadership Development
Society of St. Vicent de Paul USA.