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In the name of the holy and undivided Trinity.
[1]
The Brothers of the
House of the Holy Trinity are to live under obedience to the prelate of their
house who shall be called Minister in chastity and without personal
possessions.
[2]
All things, from
whatever lawful source they may come, the Brothers are to divide into three
equal parts. And insofar as two parts will be sufficient, the works of
mercy are to be performed from them, as well as providing for a moderate
sustenance for themselves and their necessary attendants. The
third part, however, is to be reserved for the ransom of captives who are incarcerated
for the faith of Christ by pagans: with a reasonable price paid either
for their ransom or for the ransom of pagan captives, so that afterwards by
a reasonable exchange and in good faith a Christian may be ransomed for a
pagan, according to the merits and status of the persons.
However, when money
is donated or anything else, except land, meadows, vineyards,
forests, buildings, livestock and things of this kind, though it be given
specifically and particularly for some definite purpose, the third part is to be set aside,
always with the consent of him who gave it, and it is not to be received
otherwise. Resulting profits with expenses deducted that is, with
one-half reserved for expenses shall be divided into three equal parts.
Those profits, however, which entail little or no expense are all to be
divided. Moreover, when they are given or themselves have cloth or shoes or small items of this
kind necessary for their use and which would not prove useful to sell
or to keep such things are not to be divided, unless it seems
expedient to the Minister of the house and to the Brothers. Concerning
these matters there is to be a discussion every Sunday, if possible, in the
Chapter. Still, if aforementioned items such as cloth, land,
livestock or small items are sold, the resulting profit is to be
divided into three parts, as indicated above
[3]
All the churches of this
Order are to be entitled with the name of the Holy Trinity and they are to be
of simple construction.
[4]
In each residence, there
can be three cleric-Brothers and three lay-Brothers and, in addition, one
Brother who is to be procurator. He is not to be called
Procurator but Minister, as it is said: Brother N., Minister of the
House of the Holy Trinity. The Brothers are bound to promise and
render him obedience.
[5] The Minister is to administer
faithfully to all his Brothers as to himself.
[6]
Their garments are to be
woolen and white; and they are allowed to have pelisses, one for each, and breeches
which they are not to take off while reposing.
[7]
They are to repose in
wool so that they have absolutely no featherbeds or mattresses in their
houses, except for those suffering from illness. They are permitted,
however, to have a pillow for the support of the head.
[8]
The signs are to
be placed on the capes of the Brothers.
[9]
They are not to mount horses nor even possess them. But they are only permitted to
mount asses, given or lent to them or take from their own livestock.
[10]
The wine to be taken
by the Brothers is to be so tempered that it can be taken with sobriety.
[11]
They are to fast from the
13th of September until Easter
on Monday,
Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, unless a solemn feast intervenes: in
this way, nevertheless, that they are to fast on Lenten fare from Advent until
Christmas and from Quinquagesima Sunday until Easter, except on Sundays, and
likewise they are to keep the other fasts which the Church is accustomed
to observe. Nevertheless, at times, the Minister can relax the fast, with
discretion, on account of age or a journey and another sufficient reason, or
even increase the fast, after the possibility has been considered.
[12]
They are permitted to
eat meat given by outsiders or taken from their own livestock on
Sundays from Easter to Advent and from Christmas to Septuagesima Sunday, and
on Christmas and the Epiphany of the Lord and on the Ascension of the Lord and the Assumption
and Purification of Blessed Mary and on the feast of All Saints.
[13]
They are to buy nothing
for their sustenance except bread and pottage ingredients namely,
beans and peas and vegetables of this kind greens, oil, eggs, milk, cheese
and fruit. But neither meat nor fish or wine are they permitted to buy,
except for the needs of the infirm or the weak or the poor or on great
solemnities. Still, they are allowed to buy livestock and to raise it.
Moreover,
when they are on a journey or traveling abroad, they are permitted to buy, though sparingly,
wine and fish during Lent, if necessary; and if something is given to them,
they should live on that and divide the remainder into three parts. Still,
if they have set out on the way to ransom captives, whatever is given to
them they must set aside totally for the ransom of captives, except
expenses.
[14]
In cities, in
settlements or strongholds where they have their own houses, they are to eat
or drink nothing at all outside those houses except perhaps in the house
of a religious order even though they be invited by someone except perhaps
to take water in respectable houses. They are not to presume to pass
the night outside houses of this kind. They are never to dwell, eat or
drink in taverns or in disreputable places of this kind. Indeed, he
who presumes to do this is to undergo grave punishment according to
the judgment of the Minister.
[15]
Such is to be the
charity between cleric-Brothers and lay-Brothers that they are to eat the
same food and use the same vesture, dormitory, refectory and the same table.
[16]
The infirm are to
eat and sleep apart. To their care one of the religious, lay or
cleric, is to be assigned; he is to inquire as to what may be
necessary and administer it as it ought to be administered. However, the
infirm are to be advised not to ask for rich or very costly food, but to
be content with suitable and healthful moderation.
[17]
The care of guests and
of the poor and of all travelers is to be entrusted to one of the
wiser and kinder Brothers. He is to hear them and, as it
seems expedient, administer the comfort of charity. However, he is to
ask of those whom he believes ought be admitted, if they wish to be content
with what is served to the Brothers. Indeed, it is not proper for
anyone to be served rich and costly food. Nevertheless, whatever is to be
offered is to be presented in a cheerful manner, and to no one is evil to
be rendered for evil. If anyone
and
especially a religious
comes
for hospitality, he is to be received kindly and ministered to
charitably, according to the ability of the house.
Nevertheless, fodder or
something in its place is not to be given to guests if they are in a
city or town or place where it can be found for sale, unless perhaps the
guests are religious or such persons who have nothing at hand and cannot buy
it. If, however, the guests do not find it for sale and it is found in
the house where they have been received, it is to be furnished suitably to them.
[18]
No Brother, lay or
cleric, is to be without his own duty, if possible. Moreover, if anyone
is unwilling and able to work, he is to be compelled to leave the place, for
the Apostle says: he who does not work should not eat.
[19]
They are to observe
silence always in their church, always in the refectory, always in the
dormitory. Still, they are permitted to speak about necessary matters
in other places, at fitting times and in a subdued voice, humbly and
properly. And outside the aforementioned places, their conversation is
everywhere to be proper and without scandal. Likewise, their
comportment, gestures, life, behavior and all else is to be found as
proper in them.
[20]
In each house
every Sunday, if possible, the Minister is bound to
hold a Chapter with his Brothers.
And the Brothers are faithfully to render an account to the Minister and the
Minister to the Brothers of the business of the house and of the things
given to the house or to the Brothers, so that the third part may be set
aside for the ransom of captives.
[21]
Every Sunday, if possible, an exhortation is to be given not only to the
Brothers, but also to the family of the house, in like manner, according to
their capacity; and they are to be advised simply as regards what they
must believe or do.
[22]
In the Chapter the Brothers
are to be judged with regard to all matters and complaints.
[23]
None of the Brothers is to accuse his Brother in public, unless he is well
able to prove the accusation. Nevertheless, he who does this is
to undergo the punishment which the accused might have undergone had he been
found guilty, unless the Minister wishes to dispense with this for some reason. If any cause a scandal or something of this nature or God forbid! if they strike one another, they are to undergo a greater or lesser punishment
according to the judgment of the minister.
If any Brother sins
regarding his Brother, that is, against his Brother, with only him who has
suffered the injury knowing of it, he is to bear it patiently, even though
he be innocent. And when the emotional upset has calmed, the one offended is to
advise and correct the offender kindly and fraternally between themselves as many as
three times both to do penance for the offense and to refrain from such in
the future. But if the offender does not listen, the one offended is to tell
the Minister, who is to correct the offender privately in a manner that
seems expedient for his own good.
However, if he who
caused the scandal should of himself wish to make amends, he is to prostrate
himself fully at the feet of the one scandalized, begging
forgiveness; and if once does not suffice, he is to repeat it as many as three
times. But if the scandal becomes public, whatever penance may follow, this
is to be first, namely, the full-length prostration at the feet of
the Minister by the one begging forgiveness; and afterwards, according to the Ministers
judgment, the offender is to be corrected.
[24]
The General Chapter is
to be held once a year, which must be during the Pentecost
octave.
[25]
If some debt must be
contracted for a need of the house, it is first to be proposed to
the Brothers in the Chapter and done with their advice and consent, so that both
suspicions and murmurs may be avoided in this way.
[26]
If someone does damage
to the goods of the house and it is necessary that the matter be taken to
court, this is not to be done before he is warned charitably first by the
Brothers and afterwards, in like manner, by other neighbors.
[27]
The election of the
Minister is to be done by the common deliberation of the Brothers. He
is not to be elected according to dignity of birth, but according to the
merit of his life and the wisdom of his teaching. Moreover, he who is elected is
to be a priest or a cleric suitable for orders. The Minister, in fact,
whether Major or Minor, is to be a priest.
[28]
The Major Minister can
hear the confessions of all the Brothers of all the communities of the same
Order. On the other hand, the Minor Minister may hear the confessions of all the Brothers
of his house, provided that the shame of repeated excess does not offer
the least occasion of confessing to their prelates more tardily and less
completely than is proper.
[29] Moreover, the
Minister is solicitously to take care that he adheres to the precepts of the
Rule in all matters, just as the other brothers are bound to do.
[30]
After he has been
elected, if for some crime he deserves to be deposed, he is to be
deposed by the Major Minister, with three or four Minor Ministers having
been assembled for the case, and another who is worthy is to be
substituted in his place. However, if the Major Minister is not able
to do this because of the remoteness of the place or some other reasonable
motive, he is to entrust this task to the more conscientious Minor
Ministers; and what they do is to be considered to have been done by
the Major Ministers authority.
Moreover, if the Major
Minister must be corrected or deposed for misconduct, this is to be done by
four or five of the more conscientious Ministers of the same Order who,
however, must be chosen for this task by the General Chapter.
[31]
If anyone wishes to be a
Brother of this Order, he is first to serve God in the Order for
a year at his own expense, except for food, retaining his clothing and all
his belongings. And after the year, if it seems good and fitting to the
Minister of the house and to the Brothers and to himself, and if a place is
open, he is to be received. Nothing, however, is to be demanded for
his reception. If he gives anything freely, it is to be received, provided
that it is such that litigation does not appear to threaten the Church. If, indeed, there
is some doubt about his conduct, an extension of his
probation is to be made. If anyone before reception is unruly and
impatient of the discipline and, according to the judgment of the Minister,
does not correct his conduct, permission is discreetly to be
given to him to leave with all the things which he brought. No one,
furthermore, is to be
received into the Order until he has completed his 20th year.
Profession, moreover, is to be left to the judgment of the Minister.
[32]
They are not to accept
sureties
from the hands of the laity
unless as tithes
with the permission of
their Bishop.
[33]
They are not to take
oaths, except in great necessity, with the permission of their Minister or
when ordered to do so by their Bishop or by someone representing the
Apostolic See,
and this for an
honorable and lawful reason.
[34]
If there is any known defect in something to be sold, it is
to be indicated to the buyer.
[35]
They are not permitted to
accept a deposit of gold or silver or money.
[36]
On the same day on which a
sick person comes or is brought in, he is to confess his sins and to
receive Communion.
[37] Every
Monday except during the octaves of Easter and Pentecost and the Nativity of the
Lord and the Circumcision and the Epiphany and, moreover, on the feasts which
have been announced as designated for worship the absolution of the
faithful departed is to be done in the cemetery after the Mass of the
Faithful.
[38]
Every night also, at
least in the hospital in the presence of the poor, there is to be common prayer for the state and the peace of the Holy Roman Church and the entire
Christendom and for benefactors and for those for whom the Universal Church
is accustomed to pray.
[39]
In the Regular Hours,
they are to observe the custom of Blessed Victor, unless perhaps pauses or
other prolixities and vigils ought to be omitted, on the advice of upright
and conscientious men, because of their work and the small number of those
who can participate. Indeed, because of their small number, they will not be bound to make such pauses during the psalms
nor to rise so early.
[40]
As regards shaving, the
cleric-Brothers are likewise to follow the usage of Saint Victor.
Moreover, the
lay-Brothers are not to shave their beards, but are to permit them to grow
moderately.
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