The Rule of Life

Among the papal documents considered as sources for the Rule of Life – which were cited individually – were the decrees of Clement VIII “for the reform of religious”: Nullus omnino, July 25, 1599; and his Constitution, Cum ad Regularum, March 13, 1603. The Rule of Life undoubtedly owes much to his Piarist Constitution, especially to the original text composed by St. Joseph Calasanz. It is relatively easy to uncover in the Rule some typically Piarist traits; but these qualities were adapted to the dif- ferent nature of the Marian community. It should be noted as well, that certain Piarists ideas evident in the Rule in 1687 were later abandoned or changed. Besides these three sources – Scripture, the documents of Clement VIII, and the Piarist Constitution – it is difficult to uncover the other sources. This is because, for a certain number of prescriptions – which concern all religious institutes – the Rule of Life simply relies on the Church’s tradition. Original Latin Text of the Rule of Life Servi Dei Stanislai a Iesu Maria Papczy ń ski: Positio, Rome, 1977, Congregation for the Causes of the Saints, Historical Office, p. 459ff. 5