RULE OF LIFE
i. We pray the offices of Morning and Evening Prayer as contained in The Book of Common Prayer on a daily basis.3
ii. We partake of or celebrate the Holy Communion on Sundays, all Red-Letter Days, and at least one day during the week.
iii. We say and/or hear the sacrament of reconciliation at least four times a year, including in Advent and Lent.
iv. We meet with a fellow brother or brothers for prayer and fellowship at least once a month.
v. We catechize or offer another form of Christian instruction (spoken, written, or recorded) at least once a week.
vi. We fast from meat and pray for the brothers on Fridays, Ember Days, and during the season of Lent.
St Paul enjoins Christians to practice self-discipline to receive an imperishable wreathe—not to box or run aimlessly, but to discipline their bodies and keep them under control that their preaching and living might be one (1 Cor 9:26-27). Christ taught his followers that the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27).4 Brothers affirm both truths—the rule of life is a gift and call to holiness, and it is not a heavy load with which to burden one another. Hence we commit to spur one another onto love and good works (Heb 10:24) in a spirit of compassion, humility, meekness, and patience (Col 3:12). Our mission is to reflect Christ’s light in the darkness by fighting the good fight and keeping the faith, that we will someday see God face to face (1 Cor 13:12) and hear him welcome us as good and faithful servants (Matt 25:21).
Brothers are invited to join for an associate membership of eight months of discernment. Then, if the man in discernment desires to become a full member, and if full members think that he has shown a commitment to the Declaration, Rule, and spirit of fellowship and charity, they may invite him to become a full member.
3 Brothers may pray according to the 1549, 1662, 1954, 1962 or other BHT approved edition of The Book of Common Prayer.
4 The rule offers a high calling for regular Catholic Christian practice, but we expect that there will be days or weeks when the demands of charity, to family or community, require irregular practice. Such days and seasons are not to be received with guilt, but with a recognition of their irregularity, and with a longing to rejoin the brothers in prayer and discipline when the bonds of charity to family and community allow.