Traditional Religious Orders
Brothers of the Society of St. Pius X
Winona, Minnesota, USA
Archbishop Lefebvre drew his inspiration for the Brothers of the Society of St. Pius X from his own Congregation, the Holy Ghost Fathers. The Brothers of the Holy Ghost Fathers were of inestimable service in the African missions as carpenters, woodworkers, mechanics, architects, and teachers. The Congregation put its Brothers to good use in running many trade schools throughout Africa and providing training in the varied arts of woodworking, tailoring, brick-making, shoe-making, beer brewing, tanning, weaving and printing. The quality of these schools is amply illustrated by the fact that the Brother-Director for the school at Zanzibar became the private technical advisor of his Royal Highness the Sultan. Like the Brothers of the Society of St. Pius X, the Holy Ghost Brothers were not contemplatives; this was because they carried out an external, active apostolate as missionary Religious who aided the missionary Priests by their technical expertise. However, they knew from their training as Holy Ghost Brothers that all external action is submitted to and dependent upon the spiritual life of prayer and contemplation for which their rule provided.
Archbishop Lefebvre realized, though, that Brothers’ vocations “are rare in our age because they require a spirit of faith which is tending to disappear from a world wholly obsessed with human advancement” (Marcel Lefebvre, p.456). One wonders if this might not be because we do not really appreciate the beauty and joy of the consecrated life, and how necessary it is, not just for the Society, but for the life of the Church itself.
The Religious Is Free
One of the reasons why young men shy away from a religious vocation is the feeling that the Brother’s life is horribly constraining, that it is made up of unbearable restrictions, that it stands in the way of being able to do as one wants, that it prevents one from developing one’s personality, that it stifles all natural feelings, that it makes one into little better than a slave, that it takes all the fun out of life and gives very little in return.
Nothing, indeed, could be further from the truth. Far from hampering personal freedom, far from holding a man back in a state of puerile dependence, the religious state has the exact opposite objective and truly accomplishes it. It is a state of perfection in which a man commits himself to take the means necessary to strive for perfection every day. This is in fact what makes the religious free, free to make a total and perfect gift of himself, free from the obstacles of his own disordered attachments, free to love God, free to place the divine Honor, Glory and Holy Will over and above every created thing, free to make of himself “a sacrifice of perpetual praise to the divine majesty” (Brothers’ profession).
Indeed the religious who is not a priest has the ultimate freedom, for without the direct responsibility for others’ souls, he gives himself entirely to the striving for personal perfection through the living of the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. If the Church presumes the priest to be free through his detachment and through his consecration to God, the religious actually takes the means to become so.
This is why the religious vocation is radically different from the priestly vocation, and why the religious is not at all to be considered as a man who does not have the aptitude for Seminary studies and who cannot become a priest. His is quite simply a different vocation. The priest is consecrated to the service of the Church, so that no man has a right to priestly ordination. This is why it is the first duty of the Seminary Rector to exclude from ordination any seminarian who does not have the requisite learning, piety and uprightness of life. However, every Catholic man has a right to the religious life, provided that he seeks it for the right reasons and uses it to strive for perfection, and has no impediments. Furthermore, if it is true that no religious can be lazy, some are more educated and others less so. There is absolutely nothing to stop a more educated Catholic who is not called to the priesthood from applying to enter the religious life. Indeed, it would be a great blessing for the Brothers of the Society to receive as vocations men with academic degrees, for it would enable the Brothers to play an even more active role in the education of boys.
The Religious Thinks and Merits for Himself
By practicing obedience to the rule as to the will of God and to his superiors as to God’s representatives, the religious in no way loses his own will, nor do his acts become any less voluntary and meritworthy. Much to the contrary. For it is by his own generous sacrifice that he embraces the rule as the will of God, that he joyfully and generously sees in the commands of his superiors the manifestation of God’s plan for his life and activities. Indeed, just as the vow of poverty makes voluntary and meritworthy the religious’ state of possessing nothing of his own, so likewise does the vow of obedience make more willing and meritworthy everything that he does. The rule of life, including the Divine Office, prayers, meditation and meals in common, is embraced as the signified will of God; and the decisions of superiors, as God’s will of good pleasure. However, in both cases the religious knows with absolute certainty the will of the Almighty, and this gives to his acts and duties a willingness impossible for those who are wandering uncertain, and often aimless, amongst the vagaries of the world.
Nor is there anything childish about the religious’ dependence. It is a whole and complete abandonment to the will of Almighty God. This is accomplished through the living of the vow of poverty, which is nothing less than the generous response to the invitation of our Divine Savior mentioned in the Brothers’ profession ceremony: “If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come follow me” (Mt. 19:21). Truly, the religious life makes a man free.
Nor is it to be thought that the religious life somehow discourages a man from thinking for himself or making his own decisions. Again, the truth is entirely the opposite. Obedience is not at all a blind virtue, and the religious learns to always consider the ultimate reasons for decisions and duties as they fall into God’s plan. The religious is thus trained in the virtue of prudence–namely, how to govern himself for heaven and how to govern those for whom he is responsible. This requires the humble seeking of counsel both from his own spiritual director and from his superiors; it requires the ability to make the right judgments as to how to overcome his faults, bad habits and disordered attachments, as well as to fulfill his duties; it requires, finally, follow-through, or the ability to execute both with respect to his own spiritual duties and with respect to his responsibilities for the apostolate and for the community. These are the three acts of prudence that the Brother must be trained in, as a thinking man, without which he cannot be faithful to his vocation.
The Joy of the Religious
The practice of poverty and detachment, of willing and obedient submission, necessarily presupposes a community in which the religious lives along with superiors and fellow religious. A community is both a mortification, as is any family life, but also and especially a great treasure, for it is a supernatural family that shares its life together. The community is indeed an incomparable consolation for the religious who has vanquished his self-centeredness.
Archbishop Lefebvre had this to say about the Brothers’ living of community life, when he wrote their rule:
There is certainly nothing inhibiting in such an ideal, nor could there be anything sad, depressing or lonely about a community of men who share together the same magnanimity, who live side by side the absoluteness of self-sacrifice. Indeed, if natural family life is enjoyable and consoling, how much more is the supernatural family life that is open to the man who has willingly offered up the passing natural joys of this earth for the unchanging ones that will never perish. This is powerfully impressed upon the soul by the following counsel, also contained in the Brothers’ Rule: namely, that the Brothers
Manliness in the Religious
The modern world holds the mistaken idea that the man who is willing to make the vow of perpetual chastity is somehow lacking in virility, that he is less of a man, that he hates women, or is someone who finds it difficult to love, or who refuses to take the responsibility of supporting a family. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. Such a person, not a real man, could never be a candidate for the religious life. Furthermore, manliness is not just a prerequisite of the religious life, but the religious formation positively strives to develop and perfect it. Grace does not suppress nature, nor does the religious life suppress the manly desire to support, help and cherish the weak, especially the sick and the elderly, women and children. But it does purify it from all disordered or self-centered attachments, and it does encourage the elevation of the sensitivity by the appreciation of art, music and beauty, starting with the Liturgy and the Gregorian Chant, in which all the Brothers are trained.
Modern psychology uses the term sublimation for what it describes as a psychological process, without understanding any of the reality, considering it to be but the substitution of one emotion or interest in order to make up for the lack of another. However, in the etymological sense of tending towards the sublime, it is eminently true of the religious life. Far from suppressing natural feelings, life in community and the vow of chastity indeed elevate them to a much higher plane. They are not substituted for, but purified from the selfishness so easily inherent in purely human relationships. The religious is indeed indifferent with respect to himself, but he cannot afford to be with respect to others. He must have a true concern, affection and care for the members of his community, as for all souls with whom he enters into contact.
Thus a Brother is in no way unmoved by suffering and hardship. To the contrary, he is very familiar with it, thanks to his constant meditation on the Passion of Our Divine Savior. Without in any way denying the reality of human pain, he will constantly strive by his words and example to encourage others to sanctify it by offering it up in reparation for their sins and in union with our Divine Savior on the Cross. His human feelings find their perfection in their union with those of Our Lord. In this he learns to scrupulously avoid all particular friendship, destroying as it does any true community and undermining his ability to imitate Our Lord, who loves all without exception, “who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (I Tim 2:4). Sublimation it is, if by this is meant the lifting of the natural affections to the sublime affections of God truly made man, the bearing in one’s heart of His own love of truth and beauty and of His hatred for the ugliness of sin.
However, it is especially in the formation of a sense of responsibility that this manliness consists: responsibility for one’s own soul, for one’s spiritual family, and for edifying one’s neighbor. This sense of responsibility is characterized in particular by the manly moral virtue of fortitude, manifest in the strength of character of the mortified religious. The Brother constantly emulates the martyrs, who lived this virtue to perfection, for the religious life, a constant dying to oneself, according to the words of St. Paul “I die daily” (I Cor 15:31), is an ongoing martyrdom, as said St. Anthony of Egypt, disappointed when he could not endure the martyrdom of blood. This manly fortitude is manifest in his striving for perfection in the ordinary duties of state of every day.
Who Is Called?
I think, then, that it is clear what kind of men God calls to the religious life. It is not the weak, inconstant, effeminate who cannot make a go of it in the world, who do not have the desire to marry and raise a family. No, God calls to the religious life strong, virile, responsible men; men whose feelings, convictions and passions are firm and unshakable, yet under control; men who would like to raise a family if it were the will of God, but men who would like much more to consecrate themselves to His service, to His honor and Glory if this is the will of God; men who would much prefer to joyfully and willingly “humbly ask for the favor of consecrating myself totally to God the Holy Trinity, to Our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Holy Church by the three vows of religion” (Brothers’ Profession). God is seeking for those truly prudent men who are willing to devote all the energy of their manhood to striving for perfection, to the practice of the holy virtue of religion.
Questions and Answers
What is a Vocation to the Brotherhood?
A religious vocation is based on one sublime and continuous act: the complete gift of self to God. Since the virtue of religion is founded upon acts which render to God the worship that is due to His divine majesty, St. Thomas Aquinas defines Brothers as “certain men who vow to give their entire life to the worship of God, detaching themselves from the world” (Summa Theologica, II-II, Q.81). By immolating themselves for the greater glory of God and the good of souls, the Brother, like the priest, becomes a man consecrated solely to the service of the Divine Will.
In fact, the Brother embraces a higher state of perfection than the secular priest by taking the three solemn vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience (the secular priest only vows chastity). Most souls realize that they must obey God’s commandments in order to save their souls; the Brother not only fulfills this obligation, but, in his desire to attain perfect union with Our Lord, embraces the evangelical counsels.
What
vows do Brothers take? ...and why do they take them?
As stated above, all religious take the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. Through these vows, the Brother strives to strip himself of all self-will in order to prepare a foundation upon which he will build an intimate union with God, a union that can only develop when pride and selfishness have been totally eradicated. These three vows are recommended by Our Lord in the New Testament and are the surest road to sanctity for a generous soul.
Consequently, even the most menial acts gain a religious value and special merit because they are performed by a consecrated soul for the glory and honor of God. This is the beauty and grandeur of a religious vocation. No doubt God readily inclines His ear to the prayers of such generous souls.
What is the Role of the Brothers in the Priestly Society of St. Pius X?
First and foremost, Archbishop Lefebvre founded the Society of St. Pius X in order to ensure the continuation of the Catholic priesthood in these troubling, modern times. The Brothers of the Society are, therefore, meant to come to the aid of the priests in all their duties, facilitating their apostolic task. According to the Statutes of the Society, Brothers are to relieve the priests of material jobs (for example, handling finances, gardening, cooking, upkeep of buildings, secretarial work, etc.), as well as participate more directly in the apostolate by directing a choir, teaching catechism, working in the sacristy, teaching in primary schools, and other related tasks vital to the priestly ministry.
These are the temporal functions of a Brother in the Society, but governing these daily activities is the overarching spiritual goal that must inspire all of the Brother’s life. Archbishop Lefebvre established this goal in the Brothers’ rule of life:
The Brothers, consecrating themselves to God in the religious life, have as their primary goal and purpose the glory of God, their own sanctification, and the salvation of souls. Since their entire life and all their actions are offered to God through Our Lord, especially at the holy altar, they must strive to understand the profoundly supernatural nature of this life, whatever their exterior activity may be. May they find in this conviction and in this reality, more heavenly than earthly, their unchangeable joy, their unceasing consolation, their steadfast serenity. May they avoid looking for any other solution to their desire for perfection.
Whatever his temporal function may be, the Brother is above all a consecrated soul and, in the words of the Archbishop, must be a “guardian angel of the community,” always manifesting his profoundly religious spirit through silence, union with God, fraternal charity, and zeal to serve others while never neglecting the service of God.
How does one become a Brother?
No impediment should hinder the aspiring Brother in his total gift of self to God, such as outstanding debts, administrative responsibilities concerning temporal affairs, or primary care for a family. To become a Brother of the Society of St. Pius X, the applicant must be at least 18 years of age. It is strongly encouraged that, before entering the Brothers’ Novitiate, the applicant make a five-day Ignatian retreat and visit St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary to get a better understanding of the vocation of a Brother. To begin the process of application, the aspirant must contact the District Superior of the United States to explain his vocation and obtain a letter of recommendation from a traditional priest.
What is the Brothers’ Novitiate?
The novitiate is the first stage of a Brother’s religious life, where he receives the religious formation which will serve as the foundation for his future life in religion. However, before a layman becomes a novice, he spends at least one academic year at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary as a postulant. During this time he tests his vocation and thoroughly studies the catechism and spirituality. If at the end of the postulancy he is found sufficiently disposed to the religious life, the Brother takes his first vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience before the Blessed Sacrament on the feast day of St. Michael the Archangel, September 29. At this time he also takes the traditional habit, donning the cassock, collar, and a tassel-less sash. These first vows last for one year, the duration of his novitiate.
During the novitiate, the new Brother will be taught the importance of his three vows and will continue his study of spirituality. Additionally, he will attend classes on the psalms sung daily in the Divine Office. At the end of the year, he will renew his vows for another year, thus concluding his training as a novice.
A third and final year at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary follows, during which the Brother receives professional development in the field where he shows most promise. He also studies apologetics and masters the catechism so as to be able one day to teach it effectively to others.
His formation complete, the newly forged Brother is sent to one of the schools or priories of the Society where he begins his apostolic life.
After renewing his vows annually for three years, the Brother twice renews his vows for a period of three years (six years total) and then takes perpetual, lifelong vows.
Throughout his religious life, the Brother takes a month-long vacation every year with the approval of his superior. Also, an annual six-day retreat of prayer, rest, and recollection is held at Our Lady of Sorrows Retreat House in Phoenix, Arizona, for all Brothers.
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