The Rule of Life

12 tory pains – especially the souls of soldiers and those who died of pestilence. 3. Since the contemplative life is not binding you so strictly, although you are founded in the eremitical status, those gifted with such talents will not be prevented from humbly helping pastors in their church work, if they would be called upon by pastors, and have previously obtained facul- ties from the Ordinaries and the Superiors. 2 4. Those seeking to enter your Society should be well known to you, or at least they should have been recommend- ed. They should, as well, present letters of legitimate birth. They should come with the intention of living their life in a more perfect way,’ of accommodating their conduct to the norms, of striving toward the goal of their vocation; entan- gled by no censures, debts or lawsuits. 5. In the education of novices, let the Apostolic Const- itutions 3 be followed, nor let novices be judged fit for the profession of vows and the oath of perseverance before they have been proven in every kind of mortification, prayer, pe- nance, interior silence, in zeal for all other virtues. Let them know that having made profession, the way of deserting their vocation is perpetually blocked (except to go to a stricter observance of some – approved Order, with permission of the Superior of the Congregation and with Apostolic dispensa- 2 While the Marians are still called “Hermits“ by reason of their juridical status as hermits, which proved to be the only way to bring about their canonical foundation within the structure of the Church, right from the beginning Fr. Stanislaus tried to free himself and his religious from the restrictions imposed upon their apostolic activity by the eremitical status. Thus he succeeded in having the right of the Marians to external pastoral activity recognized even in this Rule of Life . It is a rather timid formula- tion, but we know that in the last decade of the 17 th century the Marians were already de facto a full-fledged active Institute, with members engaged in extensive missionary and pastoral work outside their own monasteries. 3 This refers to Clement VIII’s constitution Cum ad regularum , 1603.