1. Whoever has entered the
Order of Our Lady has taken up the Cross and offers his life in sacrifice to
Christ, accepting in advance the struggles, contradictions, humiliations and
death which the Lord Jesus, in His immeasurable love for all men, has
voluntarily taken upon Himself, and shares with His friends. As his guide he
receives the chivalric Code of Honour, which is the expression of his absolute
fidelity to God:
- The knight fights for Christ and for His reign.
-
The knight serves his Lady the Virgin Mary.
-
The knight defends the Holy Church even with his life.
-
The knight maintains the good traditions of his
ancestors.
-
The knight strives for
Justice, Christian Order and Peace.
-
The knight wages war against the Prince of this World.
-
The knight honours and protects the poor, weak and
disinherited.
-
The knight despises money and the power of this world.
-
The knight is humble, magnanimous and loyal.
- The knight is pure and courteous, ardent and faithful.
3. He is a soldier in the sense
of Saint Timothy, the bonus miles Christi
Jesu[1]. (52) He must reflect in himself the
unswerving decision of the early Christians faced with a pagan society, for he
has the problem of converting his life in a world which has largely renounced
Christ. Faith in Christ, in faithfulness to His Church, is the solid rock on
which he bases himself, not a mutilated, anaemic, colourless faith, but one full of integrity, purity and
strength. His first victory must be over himself by means of a genuine conversion;
thus his first objective is self-conquest. Then, and only then, can he directly
attack the visible enemies of the Church and Christendom, with the certainty of
winning.
4. The stages in this
conversion have been described in the mystic tradition of chivalry as the Quest of the Holy Grail, which is
nothing else than the search for God himself and for the Divine Wisdom hidden
in the Heart of Christ.
This spiritual quest begins
with filial fear, as it is written: The
fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom[2](53).
It presupposes a life of recollection and intimacy with Our Lord and Our Lady,
and a willingness to sacrifice worldly pleasures, unsuitable spectacles,
frivolous conversations, and an unregulated life. It shuns noise and movement
and unfolds in an atmosphere of interior silence. It makes progress only by
means of assiduous prayer and frequent meditation on Holy Scripture, by the
renunciation of the mentality of the world, and by penitence. It triumphs over
many difficulties by faith and patience. Finally, it leads to contemplation:
the knight who has found Wisdom sees the world through purified eyes, and
becomes capable of discerning the grand design of God’s living love and of
co-operating with it perfectly.
5. The knights of Our Lady
should not live in soft luxury but simply like pilgrims on the move or like
soldiers ready for the battle
They should keep for their own
use only what is necessary - practical and in good taste - and get rid of all
the rest; they should avoid becoming attached to material objects, even when
they are of sentimental value. Their principle attachment is to Christ whose
cross they have taken up. Let, them so
far as possible be despoiled of all goods[3]. (54)
They know that their possessions are on loan from God and that a portion is
owed to the poor[4] (55)
6. They will preserve a great
purity of body and soul whether in the state of celibacy or else in marriage,
so as to be worthy to follow Christ
wherever He goes[5]
(56), and so they will be the temples of the Holy Spirit like the Glorious
Mother of God.
7. The knights of Our Lady will
love the Church with the same love with which they love God’s Mother. This will
be for them a source of abundant grace and also a sure sign of predestination.
For, as Saint Augustine tells us, we
receive the Holy Spirit if we love the Church, if we are united in charity, and
if we delight in the Catholic Faith and name. Believe me my brothers, for as
much as someone loves the Church, by so much has he the Holy Spirit within him.[6](57)
9. The heirs to
fifteen hundred years of Christian civilisation, the knights must be deeply
civilised in the best sense of the term. They will show great politeness and
courtesy to one another and to their neighbours, following the precept of Saint
Paul: Outdo one another in showing honour[10] (61).
They will avoid all vulgarity
of speech, knowing that a man accustomed
to coarse language will never reach Wisdom[11] (62).
In fact, bad language is forbidden to
them; they will study to speak courteously and to do good[12].
(63) Finally, they will reveal the dignity of their life by an
irreproachable attitude and behaviour, following the words of Saint Paul: Glorify God in your body.[13](64)
10. They will be both gentle
and violent, for the Lord has said: Happy
are the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage[14] (65)
and Learn from Me, for I am gentle and
humble in heart[15]
(66); and it is also written The
kingdom of Heaven has been subjected to violence and the violent are taking it
by storm[16].
(67) Thus they will love God with all the violence that such a love
requires; they will hate the devil and evil without ceasing to be gentle
towards sinners.
Above all, they will seek
peace, but will not hesitate to wage merciless war against the enemies of
Christ. For if the Lord has said: Peace I
bequeath to you, my own peace I give you, a peace the world cannot give[17] (68),
he has also told us: Do not suppose that
I have come to bring peace to the earth, it is not peace I have come to bring,
but a sword.[18]
(69)
11. Chivalry is not a matter of
decorations, nor an excuse for vanity, nor a right to the consideration of the
world; the knights will keep in sight only the duties and obligations to which
their state of life binds them. To the extent that they respond to their
vocation and to the grace conferred by dubbing, they will be able to show
themselves proud to be knights, following the words of Saint Paul: If anyone wants to boast, let him boast of the
Lord[19] (70).
Let him realise in advance that the knight is the servant of all, and
particularly of the weak. Humility is one of his chief virtues; it is the most humble who have the first
place in the hearts of Jesus and Mary[20] (71).
And the Lord has said: Anyone who wants
to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone who wants to be first among you must be slave to all. For
the Son of Man Himself did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His
life as a ransom for many[21](72).
Let them therefore ponder often in their hearts the noble motto of the
Knights of the Temple: NON NOBIS, DOMINE, NON NOBIS, SED NOMINI TUO DA GLORIAM[22]
(73).
12. Saint Gregory the Great
anticipated the way of the knight when he said: If you are searching for the summit of true honour, make for the heavenly
Kingdom[23].
(74) The whole law of chivalric honour is contained in the word Fidelity,
the virtue par excellence of the knight to whom the Lord gives this commandment
and makes this promise: Be faithful unto
death, and I shall give you the crown of life[24].
(75)
[3] 54. Rule of Our Lady of La Salette
[4] 55. Vatican
II, Gaudium et Spes, 69
[6] 57. Tractatus in Joannem, 32, 8
[7] 58. St.
Pius X, Letter on le Sillon, 25-8-10
[12] 63. Rule of Templars (reception of brothers)
[17] 68. John 14 ,27
[18] 69. Mt. 10, 34
[19] 70. II Cor. 10, 17
[20] 71. Rule of Our Lady of La Salette
[21] 72. Mark 10, 43-45
[22] 73. Ps. 115, I
[23] 74. St. Gregory, Hom. 15 in Evangelio
[24] 75. Rev. 11, 10
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