May 1981 Print

by Reverend Father Paul Aulagnier of the Society of Saint Pius X,
reprinted from Fideliter

 

WITH GREAT JOY we announce the official foundation of the Third Order of St. Pius X and publish its Rule.

For several years, a number of Catholics have suggested this move. Even pressing demands for it were not uncommon. A sample letter:

Dear Father,

... often my Rosary is for the intentions of the Society. In this connection, I would like to know if there exists a Third Order in the Society and what its requirements are. I would like to live a more consecrated life ... a more total gift (of myself) in the spirit of the Society. Is this possible? Please advise me.

We spoke of this among ourselves—the priests of the Society of St. Pius X. We felt the need and urgency of it. It seemed to us that the faithful who live in the midst of the agitation of the world, would find there a means of living the evangelical ideal, of keeping faith, hope and charity in the midst of the unprecedented upheaval in the Church and thus to find the protection of an unassailable spiritual strength.

We told the Archbishop of our concerns, our desires, and the pressing appeals from the anguished faithful, abandoned without defense in the ruins of the structures of the Church which formerly secured and maintained the faith.

The idea of the Third Order was his answer. The Third Order of St. Pius X took shape slowly. It had to wait for the hour appointed by God. The urgency became greater after the priests' retreat of September, 1980, at the Seminary at Ecône, when most of the priests of the Society in Europe were together.

Archbishop Lefebvre at that time asked us for suggestions and proposals for its statutes.

On November 20, 1980, he proposed to members of the General Council, meeting in Rickenbach, "the Rule of the Third Order of Saint Pius X" and asked for it to be reviewed.

His decision to make known the existence of the Third Order and the Rule regulating it was taken on January 29, 1981, on the Archbishop's return from Mexico, after meeting with the General Council, on the Feast of St. Francis de Sales.

We call your attention especially to the paragraph of the official text giving the spirit of the Third Order and its obligations.

You will be able thus to see that the Third Order of St. Pius X presents itself as being an "order" set up to secure to souls living in the world a school of sanctity.

Sanctification of individuals and those for whom members of the Third Order are responsible: such is the goal of establishing the Third Order.

The work of sanctification will be entirely centered on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. There one finds the meaning and source of the Christian life, which is nothing else than a life of sacrifice and co-redemption.

It is the "spirit of the Church and its living faith," as her infallible Magisterium teaches:

Now the exhortation of the Apostle:

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus," requires that all Christians should possess, as far as is humanly possible, the same dispositions as those which the Divine Redeemer had when He offered Himself in sacrifice: that is to say, they should in a humble attitude of mind, pay adoration, honor, praise, and thanksgiving to the supreme Majesty of God. Moreover, it means that they must assume to some extent the character of a victim, that they deny themselves as the Gospel commands, that freely and of their own accord they do penance, and that each detests and satisfies for his sins. It means, in a word, that we must all undergo with Christ a mystical death on the Cross so that we can apply to ourselves the words of St. Paul: "With Christ I am nailed to the Cross."¹

Members of the Third Order will thus learn that holiness becomes possible in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. They will also know that the rebuilding of the Christian social order for which they will work with all their strength, depends on the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, as the infallible Magisterium of the Church teaches.

Venerable Brethren (said Pope Pius XII in his Allocution to the Cardinals on February 20, 1946), in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Church gives its greatest support to the establishment of human society ... in Holy Mass, men gain a more vivid awareness of their past guilt and at the same time of the immense blessings of God. In the remembrance of Golgotha, the greatest happening in human history, they receive the power to free themselves from the depths of the misery of the present day, the misery of daily sin; even the most abandoned souls, for their part, feel a breath of the personal love of the merciful God and their gaze turns toward a future assurance, to the end of time in the victory of the Lord Who is there on the altar, the Supreme Judge Who will one day pronounce the ultimate and final Judgment.

By the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the Church forms the complete person and in this way "works ceaselessly to establish the solid foundation of society," and "builds the powerful armor of the human community." (Pius XII, Allocution of February 20, 1946).

 

Please God, the Third Order of Saint Pius X will be a noble tool to "Restore All Things in Christ"—personal life, family life and political life.

 

---

1. Quotation from Mediator Dei, Vatican Library Translation, St. Paul Editions.

 

 

RULE FOR THE THIRD ORDER OF SAINT PIUS X

Purpose of the Establishment of the Third Order

Sanctification of the individual and of those for whom members of the Third Order are responsible.

Patron of the Third Order: Pope Saint Pius X

Sanctity today must be attained in a world which opposes it by errors and subtle heresies, introduced into all Catholic milieux under the name of Modernism.

Pope Saint Pius X was beatified for courageously denouncing Modernist errors and showing an example of sanctity in the solidity of doctrine, the purity of morality and devotion to the Eucharistic Sacrifice.

This holy Pope is therefore clearly the model for souls who wish to sanctify themselves in our day.

Relationship of the Third Order to the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X

The Third Order has been established by the Society and therefore the chaplains of the Third Order are designated by the District Superiors and approved by the Superior General.

Members of the Third Order share in the graces of the Society gained by its priests and the merits of its members.

Members of the Third Order

All Catholics, priests or lay, who accept the spirit and the Rule of the Third Order, are eligible for membership. Children can be enrolled, with permission of their parents, the minimum age being twelve years.

Emblems: The medal of Saint Pius X and cross, given at the time of commitment in the Third Order.

The Spirit of the Third Order

The spirit of the Third Order is that which animates the Priestly Society, i.e., the spirit of the Church, its living faith, manifested in all of her Tradition, her infallible Magisterium, expressed and explained in the catechism of the Council of Trent, in the Vulgate Bible, in the teachings of the Angelic Doctor, and in the immemorial liturgy.

The spirit of attachment to the Roman Church, to the Popes, to the Bishops, spirit of obedience to the authorities of the Church according to their fidelity to their office, which is nothing else than to spread the Catholic faith and the Kingdom of Our Lord.

The spirit of vigilance in regard to anything which might corrupt the Faith.

Tender and filial devotion toward the Virgin Mary—according to the spirit of Saint Louis-Marie Grignon de Montfort, to Saint Joseph, and to Saint Pius X.

To rediscover the capital importance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and its mysteries, to find there the meaning and source of Christian life, a life of sacrifice and co-redemption.

Steps in Membership

1. Enrollment: A request is sent to the priest in charge of the Third Order or to the District Superior. The priest in reply sends an information sheet to be filled out. Then, if the request is granted, he sends a copy of the document of enrollment.

2. Postulancy of one year, in the course of which is tested the fidelity of the postulant in keeping his obligations and his adherence to the spirit of the Third Order.

3. Commitment: The postulant, in a ceremony, makes his commitment in the presence of the designated priest. He then receives the medal and crucifix and his card of membership in the Third Order.

Obligations

Personal:

1. Morning and evening prayers, such as Prime and Compline or the prayers from the Retreat Book.

2. Recitation of the Rosary.

3. Attendance at the immemorial Mass, if possible—or a quarter hour of prayer.

Attendance at the immemorial Mass and not the Novus Ordo Missae, because of the danger of acquiring a Protestant spirit.

If possible, the sacrament of penance, or at least once a month.

A retreat.

Practical Notes:

1. Recommended reading: the acts of St. Pius X, the Catechism of the Council of Trent, the New Testament, the Imitation of Christ, the lives of the saints. Try to spread good reading material.

2. Fasting on Ember Days, on Vigils (of great feasts), on Ash Wednesday, and Holy Saturday. Abstinence on all Fridays.

3. To abstain from television, from all unclean reading, to practice sobriety.

Family (for those in the bonds of matrimony):

1. To observe, in a spirit of submission to Our Lord, the laws of marriage toward the goal of having a large family. To renounce absolutely all positive action toward the goal of not having children.

2. To make of the family home a sanctuary consecrated to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary where evening prayers are recited in the family and, if possible, the rosary. Liturgical life should be paramount on Sundays and feast days. Avoid everything that could harm the souls of children: television, unclean magazines.

3. To choose truly good and traditional schools and to contribute to their establishment.

4. To be prudent in the choice of leisure activities and of vacation spots.

Professional and social:

1.To follow the example of the Holy Family and to pursue the duties of justice and charity, whether one be employer or employee.

2. To promote and defend the social reign of Our Lord Jesus Christ in Society, to combat Liberalism and Modernism, scourges of modern times which are delivering the Church to her enemies.

Organization

The priest in charge of the Third Order in the district receives enrollments, names his assistants, and calls meetings of his council and general meetings to encourage members to remain active and vigilant in the work of their sanctification and that of others.

He will set up libraries with a librarian charged with lending books to postulants and to members.

He will publish a bulletin keeping tertiaries in touch with one another, sharing addresses, information, hours of meetings, religious ceremonies, days of recollection, pilgrimages, ordinations, religious professions, etc.

At meetings a collection will be taken for the needs of the Third Order. A treasurer in charge will keep the accounts and will report on them at meetings of the Council. The Council of the Third Order will decide how to use the resources at its disposal: internal expenses, help to a seminary, a school, the sick, retreat work, etc.

+Marcel Lefebvre

IN THE SOUTH-WEST DISTRICT OF AMERICA PLEASE CONTACT:
FATHER HECTOR L. BOLDUC, District Superior
The Society of Saint Pius X
Post Office Drawer 159
Saint Marys, Kansas 66536