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The Manner of Keeping a Mother's Rule
"[A rule] must be observed in its entirety, that is to say, fully, in all its parts and with punctuality. If we pick and choose among the various points of our rule, and this without reasonable cause, we shall carry out those that cost us less and omit those that are more difficult. We should thus lose the chief advantages to be derived from the exact observance of a rule, for even in the points we should observe, we would be in danger of acting from caprice or self-will. The rule, then, must be kept in its totality and to the letter, as far as possible. If for some grave reason this cannot be done, we must abide by the spirit of the rule and do all, that is, morally speaking, within our power."
Fr Adolphe Tanquerey, "The Spiritual Life: A Treatise on Ascetical and Mystical Theology", Belgium, Desclee & Co, 1930, p274-275.
posted by Holly at 9:00 AM
1 Comments:
The adoption of a mother's rule of life ought to have less to do with getting my home clean, than as a means of seeking perfection within our vocation as mothers. Primarily, God has given us a job to do on earth, with our persons, with our families and in the greater society. We want to do God's Will so that we can get progressively closer to him.
Our mother's rule is a conscious working-out of our main responsibilities as God desires, and our intent ought to be, (at least eventually, after we have brought about order) to apply our reason and will to following his will, and to do all for love of him -- because he asks us.
To omit, leave out, or let slide certain parts of our mother's rule is to return to the whim-based life we have tried to abandon. To not move into the duty of the next time slot, prefering instead to linger on a present activity (even prayer), is to go against what we have considered reasonable, and once more we let our passions dictate our actions.
Now we must remember that we are still inconsistent human beings, and we need to watch out for overstressing. However, as the rule becomes more and more familiar to us, we ought to see growing a more precise observance and punctuality, as opposed to a general relaxation of our adherence to the schedule.
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