Introduction:
These orders bound not
only the individuals but the whole
community to strict religious poverty. They could live not by working great
farms but by alms received from the
people, whom they served in ministry, especially preaching and hearing
confessions. If that did not suffice they , would beg.
They , no longer live
in solitary places but amidst the people. Their main support was the rising
middle class. They were not bound to any
place. They could be sent to here and there at the call of a higher superior.
Their life was a contradiction to the
worldly spirit of the time and brought people to great spiritual awakening.
Organization of
these orders:
All the monasteries are
subject to one Superior General who is elected by the superiors of the various
provinces. Both General and Provincial have permanent council of advisors. Local superiors of the province
meet at intervals to elect the provincial superiors and the provincials meet at
regular intervals to elect the General. These meetings were known as chapters.
Like older orders,
mendicants had a female order, known as second order
Third order: To
encourage the spiritual life of people who by reason of their state could not
enter the monastery. Little rules of life and some practice of piety gave them
participation in the spirit and privileges of the first order. St Francis was
the first to do this.
To preach and hear confessions , it was
sufficient for the friar, to have the permission of his superior. Thus they
could work in the parishes, without the permission of the parish priest. This
was a barrier to the income of the
parish priests. Thus it was made clear that the religious clergy should have
the permission of the Bishop to hear the confessions and parish priest’s permission
to preach. If anyone wanted to be buried in the friar’s cemetery, a quarter of
the money received by the Friar, would
go to the parish priest.
St Francis and Franciscans:
St Francis Assisi was
the founder of the first and the greatest mendicant order. He was born in
Assisi , in 1181. His father was a rich merchant and Francis led a comfortable
life till his conversion, when he was
25.After his conversion his life was of prayer, penance and charity and he went about helping the
poor and the sick and rebuilding the little country churches in the
neighbourhood. His father was angry and disowned him. Was inspired by the
passage of –sending the apostles on the mission. He was convinced that his call is to follow Christ and be an
itinerant preacher. He gathered a few followers and called them – Lesser
Brethren, who are now known as Friars Minor. He composed a little rule of
gospel verses. In 1212 he founded
the female branch of his order with the
help of Clare of Assisi. In 1221 he wrote the rule of the third order. The
order was firmly established when Pope Honorious III approved the third and
definitive version of the friars rule in 1223.
He received the impression of our Lord’s
wounds in 1224 and he died in 1226.In 1282, it was found that they had ,1583
monasteries, divided in 34 provinces
The Dominicans:
St Dominic was born in
Castille about 1170. This was a time when heretics were making a clear
impression on the people with their simple doctrine and evident fervor. They challenged catholics to public
discussions. Dominic and Bishop Diego saw the need for smile lives and sound
doctrine, if they had to be successful
against the present trouble. Dominic founded a house for women and girls
who had been converted, but wanted to continue their religious life. They could
help in the care of missionaries and teaching children. In 1215, he finally
organized the priests who were helping
him into a diocesan association dedicated to the preaching of the word
of God and formed by a sound theological
training and practice of a simple and a mortified life. This was the year of
fourth lateral council where any more religious orders were prohibited. After
initial difficulties, his order got the papal approval. In 1220their general
chapter decided to renounce the personal property and fixed revenues and make themselves a mendicant order. In 14th
century they had 562 houses in 21 provinces.
The Carmelites:
The Carmelite life
existed before the Carmelite Rule did, but no one knows how long. Life of St
Elias may certainly have been the model of the holy hermits who lived on Mt
Carmel.
The hermits living at
the Mount Carmel, began an order at the beginning of 13th century
and received a codification of their way of life from the Patriarch of Jerusalem to whom they
were subject(1208). In 1226 , the order was approved by Honorius III. They were
made to suffer from other religious and priests and thus they appealed to
Innocent IV. He assimilated them to mendicant order and accordingly made a few
modifications in their rules( 1247).It was a mendicant order with yet another
orientation-the contemplative life.
Hermits of St Augustine:
This took its origin
from the amalgamation of four little congregations of hermits who lived in
various parts of Italy, in the 13th century. They were brought
together by Pope Alexander IV and under the rule of St Augustine, but with the
constitutions of their own. Like other orders this too had great success and was widely spread until the time of the reformation.
Mercedians:
In 13th century they began an association
of laymen , founded, in Barcelona for the redemption of Christian captives, as
the Trinitarians did. In 1233, it became an order of knights and spread
throughout spain and Italy. In 14th century, knights separated
themselves and it became a completely
religious like mendicant order.
Servites:
Founded in Florence in
1233 by seven merchants. Their central devotion is to the seven sorrows of our
lady. Their rule is that of St Augustine. They were declared mendicants only in
the 15th century.
Conclusion:
Mendicant orders
brought about a revolution in the religious life. It strengthened the church
then and the mendicant spirit still guides the church with its humility and
siumplicity.
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