2 - A novice must attend three (local, national or general) chapters before being accepted as a brother-at-arms. We of course make many exceptions, according to the situation. The best example is Jean-Paul Gauthier who came to attend the XXIXth Chapter Generak (2006). I remember having told him, on the platform of the railway station where he arrived, that he could choose to be a novice during the first two days of the chapter and that we could arrange his reception on the last day, which we did…
3 - A knight – and each MSM member – must pray, study and act during his whole life.
3a – Prayer
Concerning prayer, this must of course be done daily and I am sure I need not say more about that. One of our three vows, the ‘conversion of life’ (Rule, 2,12) can be held only through prayer. The ‘method’ of our prayer involves Holy Mass once beyond Sunday, 1 Rosary a week, a liturgical Hour each day based on the MSM’s Office (Rule, chapter 10) -which Dom Gérard-Marie Lafond, our founder, a Benedictine monk and Abbot, himself wrote for us. We thus pray like monks in a way that is adapted to our state as laymen. We are totally aware that this program of prayer is very hard to follow… But the way to our sanctity is on this path! The MSM Rule and Ritual require that we say our faults concerning these observances facing our brothers of the Observantia during chapters (Rule, 6, 2). There we notice that everybody has difficulties with that and we are encouraged to persevere. You may begin now!
3b - How is study understood in the Order?
‘The formation of the Brothers-at-Arms, based on the Rule, will touch on theology, and Holy Scripture, the traditional doctrine of the Church on social and political matters, and the traditions of chivalry’. (Rule, 2, 9); and, ‘Furthermore, the spiritual life of the brethren as well as their active life requires a human and religious culture which is always being extended. They will therefore always work at the study of theology and Holy Scripture, of secular and ecclesiastical history, of chivalry and the institutions of Christendom, and of the political and social teaching of the Roman Pontiffs150’ [150 - Vat. II, Apost. of the Laity, no. 29] (Rule, XVI, 5).
In France, we added philosophy, as an introduction to theology. The current Prior for France established a more exhaustive program. Concerning the doctrine of the Church, we stress in all our Nations the significance of the social doctrine (from Rerum Novarum [1891] to the Compendium [2005]).
3c – Action
In the field of action ‘Each knight will therefore choose some special activity, with the agreement of his superiors, bearing in mind the needs of the time, his own tastes and affinities, and his general culture and his situational opportunities.’ (Rule, 16, 6).
The task at hand is gigantic! From the reading of the Rule, you will surmise that we should be present on all fronts of the active apostolate of the Church. Alas, we are weak – in all meanings of the word – lacking in numbers and in financial means. My predecessors and myself have thus given importance to following fields of action: liturgy (stressing the sacred sense of it), promotion of Life and Family, study and diffusion of the social doctrine of the Church -especially in France, the only post-Marxist country in Western Europe, study of ‘Ecclesia in Europa’, and the study of Marxism and of its consequences in our societies. Some preferred to study Islam and I accepted that.
This action must begin with charitable actions and we must not waste time in discussions, meetings, chattering … In my third directive I stress charity and ‘action now’ in the framework of the New Evangelization that the Sovereign Pontiffs have proclaimed since John-Paul IInd.
4. How does the leadership of the MSM see the restoration of Christendom coming about?
The restoration of Christendom begins in ourselves, through our own conversion, our own restoration: It is not primarily external conquests that will be decisive, but those which we make over the perennial encroachments of the ‘Old Man’ on the ‘New Man’. His dubbing allows the knight to accomplish his mission; it is not a mere blessing for a layman but, originally, the blessing of a warrior and of his weapons to defend the poor, weak and disinherited (Code of Honor, 7).
5. Humilty
We, knights, must remain humble. The words ‘humility’ and ‘humble’ are respectively quoted 17 and 9 times in the Rule (English version). So we must be humble, this is a fundamental characteristic of the MSM. Dom Gérard-Marie Lafond wanted this, and it is reflected in the following:
· a simple habit (compared with other Chivalric orders of our time) that we wear only during MSM masses, chapters and while attending liturgical ceremonies;
· no Grand Master or Supreme Knight, only a Master; Saint Michael is our ‘Grand-Maître’!
· a humble attitude during chapters (I hope you will see this soon!).
6. Liturgy
The crisis of the Church after the changes in liturgy (during the Vatican II Council) was brutal in France and in the French-speaking countries in Europe (and perhaps in America as well). We decided to be perfect in our obedience to Rome: use of the new Ordo Missae in Latin. Insofar as the Church has allowed the extraordinary form of the Latin rite, we accept and attend it, according to the preferences of the priests who read Mass during our chapters and meetings. We have not yet written a new MSM document to formalize that practice in text. So far, we have however written three documents (capitulaires doctrinaux n° 1, 2, 3) about these questions:
· Doctrinal Capitulary N° 1 (1967): On the Vatican II Council and its interpretation, Obedience to the Pope, the true Catholic and Roman faith, Love for the Church, and Action in favor of Peace.
· Doctrinal Capitulary N° 2 (1970): considerations on the Liturgy (and on abuses of liturgical rules)
· Doctrinal Capitulary N° 3 (1974): On Liberation and Salvation through Jesus-Christ
7. Fidelity
The 2nd object of the MSM: ‘The Order defends the Holy Catholic Church without fail’ (Rule, 2, 4b) includes fidelity to the Church. We require conversion of life and impose a long period of discernment and formation before dubbing a new member in order to be sure, on both sides, of his abilities and reliability. ‘Fidelity to the Order’, our second vow, presented many questions and challenges in the first decades of the existence of the Order: should the knights marry? May the Order dub a man for an action outside the Order (many had understood it this way)? One of the biggest questions we had in the field of fidelity was to find the limit of obedience. The answer has now been made very clear: within the limits of the Rule (chapter 5). You can understand our perspective on obedience better by studying the Rule of Saint Benedict, as this saintly Abbot is an expert in humanity! We however also recognize that we are not monks but laymen, even if many of us feel the allure of monastic life. Each action of a member of the Observantia (i.e. Knight, Lady, Squire and Brother-at-Arms) is an action of the MSM: we must report our actions to our Preceptor. This is what I do with my Preceptor (the youngest knight we have dubbed and the 174th!). Of course, some of my personal actions within the MSM are explained only during meetings of my Magisterial Council (held twice a year, normally), which comprises: the Magisterium (officers who are appointed by myself) and entitled members (former Masters, Priors) and knights (and occasionally squires) that I especially ask to attend (lawyers, those responsible for the Commanderie, a.s.o.).
8. Quantity and quality
The MSM numbers about four hundred members in nine Nations, of which: France (Priory): slightly more than 50%; Germany–Austria (Priory): about 25%; Portugal (Province with 2 preceptories, Braga and Ponte de Lima); United Kingdom (with 1 preceptory, in London); and isolated members in other countries (Canada, Spain, Belgium, and Congo-Kinshasa, where we have lost track of 1 knight and 1 squire who disappeared in the troubles of the ’1990s). We do not seek numbers. Knights should comprise a select group, with few vocations. Let me give an example; Portugal has only two knights and they do an enormous work to promote Life and Family in their association (Associação Familias, see their web-site), with hundreds of members! They are known to all the bishops in Portugal and even in Rome (within the Councils for Laity and the Family).
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Master Jacques Pellabeuf, Paris, France, 2011
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