Rev. Dennis H. Holtschneider, C.M., President of De Paul University, delivered the keynote presentation, ‘The Living Rule’ at the annual meeting of the Society of Vincent de Paul Annual Meeting,
August 31, 2006
Brief excerpts…
I first learned about St. Vincent from my grandfather, John Holtschneider. From my earliest years, I remember the stories he’d tell. He was a member of the Society, belonging to the conference at St. Andrews Catholic Church in Cape Coral Florida from 1966 to 1988 — some of those years as its president.
They were stories of going out — always in pairs — to assess the situation of those in need and then see what could be done to help them. He never mentioned their names, but I heard about:
- retirees whose benefits had stopped for whatever reason;
- women whose husbands had abandoned them;
- people recently released from jail;
- fires where the family was left with nothing;
- migrant workers;
- young people without an education, who couldn’t seem to pull it together;
- young mothers who were trying to get themselves and their children set up.
- Retirees cutting their pills in half because they couldn’t afford the full dose;
- men who were living in cars, and needed money to get back home.
- “repeaters” people who were trying to scam the system
- And especially, people who used air conditioning and had cable tv.
…
When I read over this new Rule of yours, I was amazed. I think I could have written most of it just from the stories my grandfather would tell us about how the Society worked.
Why am I telling you all this? Because of the great “Rules” of the Catholic Church.
You’ve heard of St. Basil, St. Benedict, St. Scholastica, St. Augustine, St. Francis, St. Clare, St. Dominic, St. Vincent, St. Louise. What did they all have in common? They were all founders of religious orders. Every one of them wrote a “Rule” for their fledgling orders.
And every one of them taught — in one form or another — of the idea of the “Living Rule.”
What’s a “Living Rule”? The idea is very simple. Before the invention of the printing press, documents like your printed Rule were rare, for they had to be hand-copied. Monasteries would have limited copies of the scriptures, a copy or two of the writings of the saints, etc. That was also true of the Rule. So, the sainted founders used this situation to teach their followers about the idea of the “Living Rule.” In short, if the Rule itself were ever to be lost or destroyed, anybody who visited the monastery should be able to re-write it just by looking at the way the monks and the nuns lived their lives. There were “Printed Rules” and “Living Rules”, and ideally they should match up.
…
So take this Rule into your heart. Become Living Rules. If every copy of your Rule were to disappear from the earth, let the Rule be re-written because people observe how you live your life. Let this Rule inspire you, keep you focused, grounded and challenged. Let this Rule bring you closer to Christ. And I think, Blessed Frederic, St. Vincent, Jesus Christ and even my grandfather would be proud.
God bless you and God bless the important work you’ve been given.
For the full text of this inspiring… and challenging talk… click here for a downloadable Word document.
