Of Conformity to the Life of Jesus Christ

1. The chief end of our Congregation is the conformity of its members to the likeness of Jesus Christ through the power of His grace. Let, therefore, all the Companions remember that the example which they must ever keep before them, and by which they must measure themselves, is not the life of any one Saint, however eminent, but the earthly life of the Incarnate Son of God. That His life may be made manifest in their mortal life, they ought, in the first place, to cultivate the spirit of holy poverty, devoting as much of their income as possible to the work of Christ and His Church. And they ought to seek so to increase in this spirit of poverty that they may forsake all thought of their own glory and advantage, and may even rejoice to relinquish, at God's call, everything of this world in order to win Christ and to glorify His name. And even now, although they are living in the world, they ought to be desirous of following in the same degree the example of the first Congregation of those who were called to be the Companions of the Holy Savior.

2. In the next place, it must ever be remembered that the Congregation was founded in order to bear witness to the celibate state after the example of Jesus Christ. And, therefore, they who are received into the Congregation are bound to detach themselves from everything which in any way holds them back from giving God the whole affection of heart and mind.

3. Finally, in order that the members of our Congregation may be perfectly conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ, they ought to surrender their wills to God, desiring that every high thought may be brought under the obedience of Christ, and that He may use them as shall best serve His glory, and being content to suffer humiliation and even death, if such be His good pleasure. And, therefore, the Rule of our Congregation requires the Companions to make, day by day, an oblation to God of their "entire liberty, their memory, their understanding and their will, and all that they are and have." And as they thus formally offer themselves up to God, they ought also in very truth to be day by day dying unto themselves and to this present world, so that at length each Companion may be able to say: "I have been crucified with Christ: the life I now live is not my life, but the life which Christ lives in me; and my present bodily life is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and sacrificed himself for me." (Galatians 2:20)

4. Let the external life of all who are in our Congregation be consistent with the interior sanctity at which they aim. Let each take care that his life is above reproach, and his words and actions such as become a man of God. Although all things may be lawful, all things do not edify; and, therefore, the guiding principle of their external life should not be merely to avoid manifest sins, but to avoid everything which may be unbecoming those who are Companions of Jesus Christ, and to imitate, in their words and actions, the words and actions of their Divine Master. Men ought to be able to see reflected in the Companions' daily lives the life and character of Christ, and so be able to bear witness of them, as they did of His first Companions, that they have indeed been with Jesus.

Chapter I