The Oratory of the Good Shepherd
The Seven Notes |
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Introduction:
The aim of the Oratory is the adoration of
God in the service of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the imitation of his most holy life. Its
fellowship and discipline are intended to encourage and direct its members in achieving
this aim. Their membership will remind them that they can carry out their vocation of
worship and service only in communion with the Good Shepherd and in the power of the Holy
Spirit, They will seek in the Oratory these blessings for themselves and will order their
lives for the strengthening of their brethren in accordance with the Notes which follow. |
1. Fellowship:
The first note of its life is fellowship.
Individual members will endeavour to merge their lives in the corporate life of the
Oratory, so that they will feel incomplete without it and the Oratory incomplete without
them. Brethren will find and maintain in the Oratory a true Christian family in love and
mutual service. Each member's work will be an element in the work of the whole. Members
will seek the advice of the Oratory in meeting personal problems and difficulties; and in
undertaking additional or new work, the corporate life of the Oratory and the College will
be taken into account. Brethren must be prepared for criticism as well as encouragement
when they ask for advice.
The corporate life of the Oratory will be
expressed in the common observance of the Rule, in the sympathy of common work and in the
daily fellowship of prayer and sacrament. This fellowship will be deepened by
understanding and affection between the Colleges, so that the whole Oratory may grow into
a holy temple in the Lord. |
2. Liberty:
The Oratory will allow full scope for the
development of individual talents while insisting on fellowship as the first note of its
life. It will encourage its members to develop their personal gifts and thus to enrich the
offering laid at the feet of Christ. The same liberty will be claimed for an Oratory
College as for an individual. |
3. Stewardship:
Members of the Oratory will always strive
to regard material possessions, as well as spiritual and personal gifts, as a stewardship
of wealth to be consecrated to the service of God. Brethren are not required to renounce
worldly possessions or to surrender positions of influence or moderate comfort, but they
are required to render an account of their stewardship, and if necessary the Oratory will
criticize or condemn. |
4. Labour of the Mind:
Its birth in a University and the learned
tradition in religious communities give the Oratory a duty of thought and study. Members
will endeavour to worship God with their minds as well as with heart and soul. They will
be fearless in following truth, and will constantly try to express it, so that Christ may
be fully presented as thought and word allow. They will have a private rule of reading.
Each brother will seek according to his ability to bring new thought and knowledge under
the discipline of Christ, and to interpret them to a better understanding of the loving
purposes of God. |
5. The Love that makes for
Peace:
The foundation of Oratory life will be that
mutual love which has always been the essence of community life in the Catholic Church.
The unfailing love of its members one towards another will be increased by extending this
love to all men, whether within the Church or without it. Members will have a concern for
living interests and problems in Church and State, and in discussing opinions which differ
from their own will avoid harsh judgments. Brethren must try to understand these differing
opinions , in the hope that they may help to restore the unity of all Christian people in
the spirit of charity and peace. They will recognise in all men those for whom Christ
died, and will treat them with the courtesy and reverence due to his great love. |
6. Discipline:
Members of the Oratory are men under
authority, pledged to assist in maintaining its common discipline. They will be
particularly careful in the practice of internal discipline and surrender to the will of
God, which it is the purpose of the Oratory to assist them to attain, and in submitting to
the degree of corporate control demanded by the Oratory and their College. Each brother
will have a share in the formation of that common mind, and will accept it in a spirit of
love and loyalty, and in confidence in the combined experience of the whole fellowship. It
is his duty to see that his own contribution to the corporate mind of the Oratory will
strengthen the authority of the whole society over individual members. |
7. Joy:
Members of the Oratory will regularly make
thanksgiving to God for his love until thanksgiving be spontaneous and perpetual. They
will be regular in recreation; they will avoid anxiety and fuss; they will disown
discouragement and depression, and check all complaint and bitterness as destructive of
the brethren's joy as well of their own. They will accept gladly their share of weariness
and sorrow in the joyful spirit of the saints, and the faithful following of him who for
the joy that was set before him endured the Cross. They will welcome any labour or
sacrifice which will minister to the joy of others, looking toward that most blessed
voice, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy
Lord."
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