THE FIRST AND GENERAL EXAMEN #

¹THE FIRST AND GENERAL EXAMEN WHICH SHOULD BE PROPOSED See C-2 TO ALL WHO ASK FOR ADMISSION INTO THE SOCIETY OF JESUS #

CHAPTER 1: ²THE INSTITUTE OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS AND THE DIVERSITY OF ITS MEMBERS. #

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³This least congregation, which at its earliest foundation was named the Society of Jesus by the Holy See,⁴was first approved by Pope Paul III, of happy memory, in the year 1540. Later it was confirmed by the same Holy Father in 1543 and by his successor Julius III in 1550.⁵On other occasions too it is mentioned in different briefs and apostolic letters granting it various favors, after highly approving and confirming it.

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A. ¹This Examen is usually proposed to all¹after they enter the house of the first probation.²Nevertheless, if in a particular case discretion should suggest that another and more summary examen be proposed, or that the present text be handed out to be read without asking for replies about its contents, or if the knowledge possessed about some candidate is already sufficient, it would not be necessary to examine him by means of this present text.³The examiner, however, ought to discuss this with the superior and follow his opinion.⁴In most instances, it is before the candidates enter the house that they will be examined about certain essential matters, especially those which bar admission.

C

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2. ¹The end of this Society is to devote itself with God’s grace not only to the salvation and perfection of the members own souls,²but also with that same grace to labor strenuously in giving aid toward the salvation and perfection of the souls of their neighbors.

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3. ¹To achieve this end more effectively, the three vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity are taken in the Society.²Poverty is understood to mean that the Society neither wishes nor is able to possess any fixed revenues for its living expenses² or for any other purpose.³ This holds true not only for the individual members but also for the churches or houses of the professed Society.^{4 3}Neither may the members accept any stipend or alms for Masses, sermons, lectures, the administration of any of the sacraments, or for any other pious function among those which the Society may exercise in accordance with its institute (even though such acceptance would be permissible for others).⁴ Such stipends or alms are customarily given in recompense for the ministries mentioned; but⁵the Society’s members may not accept them from anyone other than God our Lord; and it is purely for his service that they ought to do all things.⁵

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4. ¹Furthermore, although the Society owns colleges and houses of probation See C-6 which have fixed revenues for the living expenses of the scholastics before they enter into the professed Society or its houses,²nevertheless, in conformity with the bull which is explained in the Constitutions, these revenues may not be used for another purpose. Neither the houses of the professed nor anyone of the professed or their coadjutors may use these revenues for themselves.⁶

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B. ¹These houses of probation are like branches of the colleges where those who will later be placed in the colleges are received and tested for a time.

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5. ¹In addition to the three vows mentioned, the professed Society also makes an explicit vow to the present or future sovereign pontiff as the vicar of Christ our Lord. This is a vow to go anywhere His Holiness will order, whether among the faithful or the infidels,²without pleading an excuse and without requesting any expenses for the journey, for the sake of matters pertaining to the worship of God and the good of the Christian religion.

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6. ¹In other respects, for sound reasons and with attention always paid to the greater service of God, in regard to what is exterior the manner of living is ordinary. It does not have any regular penances or austerities which are to be practiced through obligation.²But those may be taken up which each one, with the superior’s approval See C-9, thinks likely to be more helpful for his spiritual progress, as well as those which the superiors have authority to impose upon the members for the same purpose.

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C. ¹This decision will be left within the superior’s power; and he may delegate his authority to the confessor or other persons when he thinks this expedient.

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¹ The persons who are received into this Society of Jesus, considered as a whole, are of four classes See C-11⁷in view of the end which the Society pursues. But on the side of those who enter, all ought to be members of the fourth class which will be described below.

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D. ¹In addition to these four classes of members, some are accepted for solemn profession of three vows, in conformity with the bull of Julius III.⁸

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8. ¹First, some are received to make the profession in the Society with four solemn vows (as has been stated), after they have undergone the required experiences and probations.^{9 2}These members should possess sufficient learning, as is explained later on in the Constitutions, and they should be tested at length in their life and habits, in conformity with what such a vocation requires.³Also, all of them must be priests before their profession.

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9. ¹The second class consists of those who are received to become coadjutors¹⁰ in the service of God and to aid the Society in either spiritual or temporal matters.²After their experiments and probations these are to take three simple vows of obedience, poverty, and chastity, without taking the fourth vow of obedience to the pope or any other solemn vow.³They should be content with their grade, knowing that in the eyes of our Creator and Lord those gain greater merit who with greater charity give help and service to all persons through love of his Divine Majesty, whether they serve in matters of greater moment or in others more lowly and humble.

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10. ¹The third class consists of those who are received to become scholastics,¹¹ since they seem to have the ability and other qualifications suitable for studies. They are received so that after being educated they may be able to enter the Society either as professed or as coadjutors, as will be judged expedient.²To become approved as scholastics of the Society, these too must undergo their experiments and probations and then pronounce the same three simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience,³along with a promise that they will enter the Society¹² in one of the two manners just mentioned (as will be seen later in the Constitutions), for the greater glory of God.

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11. ¹The fourth class consists of those who are received indeterminately for whatever they will in time be found fit.¹³ The Society does not yet determine for which of the aforementioned grades their talent is best suited.²They in turn should enter as still indifferent with respect to whichever of the previously mentioned grades the superior will think best. In fact all, as far as they themselves are concerned, ought to enter with a disposition of this kind, as has been said.

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12. ¹Furthermore, before anyone is admitted to profession or is required according to our institute to take the previously mentioned simple vows of a coadjutor or of a scholastic, he will have two complete years of probation See C-17.¹⁴²Further still, to be admitted to either of the first two grades, the professed or the formed coadjutors, the scholastics will have an additional year after the completion of their studies.¹⁵ This time may be prolonged when the superior thinks it advisable.

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E. ¹Although they have an appointed period of two years, those who desire to take their vows before the two years expire are not deprived of the freedom, devotion, spiritual profit, and merit which are found in binding oneself to Christ our Lord. However, it is good that they not take these vows without the superior’s permission.²Nor will they through taking them be admitted before the ordinary time either as professed, or as formed coadjutors, or as approved scholastics.

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13. ¹During this two-year period (in which no special habit of the Society is received See C-19), and before the time when they ought to bind themselves by vows in the Society,²each one ought on several occasions to see and ponder the bulls of the Institute of the Society, and the Constitutions and rules which he must observe in it See C-20.³The first time is when he is in the house of the first probation,¹⁶ where those desiring to enter the Society are customarily received as guests for twelve or fifteen days so that they may reflect more carefully upon their whole situation, before they enter a house or college of the Society to live and associate with the others See C-21.⁴The second time is upon completing their six months of experiments and probations.⁵The third is after another six months,{and similarly afterwards until the one who is to become a professed at the end of his studies makes his profession, and the one who is to become a coadjutor takes his three vows},¹⁷and the one who is to be an approved scholastic pronounces his three vows with his promise.⁶This is done so that both sides may proceed with greater clarity and knowledge in our Lord, and also that the more the subjects constancy has been tested, the more stable and firm they may be in the divine service and in their original vocation, for the glory and honor of his Divine Majesty.

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F. ¹Although there is no specified habit, it will be left to the discretion of the one in charge of the house to decide whether he will allow the novices to go about in the same clothes which they brought from the world or have them wear others;²or again, when the garments become worn, whether he will give to the novices others more suitable for their own needs and for their service of the house.

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G. ¹It will not be necessary for the novices to see all of the Constitutions, but only an extract showing what they need to observe,²unless for special reasons the superior may think that some person should be shown all of them.

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H. ¹The phrase to live and associate with the others is used because at the first entrance the candidates are kept apart from the rest for twelve or fifteen days, or even as long as twenty, in the house of the first probation, as will be seen in Part I of the Constitutions.¹

CHAPTER 2: SOME CASES ABOUT WHICH A CANDIDATE TO THE SOCIETY SHOULD BE QUESTIONED See C-23 #

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1. ²Among the cases about which all candidates ought for good reasons to be questioned, the first is this: Has the candidate separated himself from the bosom of Holy Church by denying the faith, or by falling into errors against it ³ in such a way that he has been condemned for some heretical proposition or declared suspect of one by public verdict See C-24⁴ or by being excommunicated in infamy as a schismatic after he has spurned the authority and guidance of our holy mother the Church?¹⁸

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A. ¹Although the cases which follow are impediments that exclude one from the Society,¹⁹ it is not wise to propose them as such before the truth about them has been brought to light; for someone desiring to enter might conceal the truth if he knew that these are impediments, and so forth.²Nevertheless, it is good to inform the confessor so as to alert his conscience should he not have replied truthfully.

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B. ¹It is evident that one who has been suspected of an erroneous opinion on a matter concerning the Catholic faith should not be admitted while such a suspicion lasts.

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2. ¹The second case is that of ever having committed homicide²⁰ or of having been publicly infamous because of enormous sins See C-26.²¹

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C. ¹This infamy bars admission in the place where it exists.²But when one fell into the infamy in very distant places and has completely brought himself back to the divine service, the infamy will not exclude him from the Society. It should, however, make the Society more cautious during the probation of such a candidate.

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3. ¹The third case is that of having taken the habit of a religious institute of friars or clerics, by living under obedience with them for a time, whether profession was made or not; or the case of having been a hermit²² in monastic garb.

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4. ¹{The fourth case is that of being under the bond of consummated matrimony²³or of legal servitude}.²⁴

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5. ¹The fifth case is that of suffering from an illness from which the judgment may become obscured and unsound, or that of having a notable disposition to fall into such an illness.²⁵

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6. ¹These cases mentioned above are impediments of such a kind that no person with any one of them may be received into the Society.^{26 2}For, in addition to other reasons, it appears to us in our Lord that, because of the ordinary and common weakness of many persons, those who hope to enter the Society in order to be good and faithful sowers in the Lord’s field and to preach his divine word will be instruments the more apt for this purpose, the less they are marked by the first and second defects.³Similarly, candidates with the third defect are not received. For it appears to us in our Lord that every good Christian ought to be stable in his first vocation, above all when it is so holy, one in which he has abandoned all the world and dedicated himself completely to the greater service and glory of his Creator and Lord.⁴Finally, we are convinced in his Divine Majesty that, in addition to the greater edification of our neighbors, the more all the professed, coadjutors, and scholastics are free from these impediments and the more they are all of one color or likeness, so much the more will they be able to be preserved in the Lord with the help of his divine grace.⁵Neither is anyone received with the last two impediments. For the fourth would be detrimental to the neighbor, unless the consent of the wife or master is given and the other circumstances required by law are observed.⁶The fifth, too, would be a notable detriment to the Society itself.

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7. ¹If one of these impediments is discovered in a candidate, he should be interrogated no further and left as consoled in our Lord as is possible See C-32.²If no such impediment is discovered, he should be examined further See C-33 in the following manner.

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D. ¹However, if some outstanding qualities are noticed in him, the examiner should inform the superior before sending him away.

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E. ¹The order used in the examination is: first, to go through what is asked of all the candidates;²second, what is asked especially of those who are learned; third, what is asked especially of those who are received to become coadjutors;³fourth, what is asked of those who are received to become scholastics;⁴finally, what is asked of those who are still indifferent. Moreover, what pertains to the persons is taken up first, and then what they must observe.¹

CHAPTER 3: SOME QUESTIONS TOWARD GAINING A BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF THE CANDIDATE #

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1. ²Certain things ought to be asked in order to know the candidates better; and in reply to these questions they ought with sincerity to tell the whole truth See C-35.³If some of the matters require secrecy, it will be kept to the extent that reason demands and the one questioned requests.⁴Thus, beginning with his name, he should be asked what he is called, how old he is, and where he was born.

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A. ¹The obligation to tell the truth in this examination should bind under sin, {a sin reserved to the same person to whom the candidate was obliged to reveal what he concealed, or to another who holds his place},²⁷in order to avoid the deception²⁸which could arise from the candidate’s failure to open his mind sincerely to his superior. Such deception could also be the source of inconveniences and notable harm for the entire religious institute.

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2. ¹Was the candidate born of a legitimate marriage or not? and if not, what were the circumstances?²Has he come from a family long Christian or one recently converted?³Has any of his ancestors been accused or censured for errors against our Christian religion? In what manner?⁴Are his mother and father still alive? What are their names?⁵In what circumstances are they? What is their occupation and manner of living? Are they in temporal need See C-37 or are they well enough off? In what manner?

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B. ¹If the parents are in present and extreme need of the candidate’s aid, it is evident that such a one should not be admitted. Rarely, however, do such necessities occur.

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3. ¹If at some time a difficulty or doubt should arise in his mind either about any debts²⁹ or as to whether he is obliged to help his parents or relatives in some spiritual or corporal necessity or in another temporal need of whatsoever kind by visiting them or helping in some other manner,²is he willing to relinquish his personal judgment and opinion and leave the matter to the conscience or judgment of the Society or of his superior to decide upon what he thinks to be just? And is the candidate willing to abide by that decision?

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4. ¹How many brothers and sisters has he, married and single?²What is their occupation and manner of living?

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5. ¹Has he at any time given a promise of marriage, and in what manner See C-41? Has he had or does he have any child?

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C. ¹ {If he gave the promise by words immediately effective, by consummating the marriage},³⁰ or by some equivalent procedure,²he would be considered to have the fourth impediment. This forbids acceptance into the Society for the one who has it, unless the conditions are present which are required for a married man to become a religious.

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6. ¹Has he any debts³¹ or civil obligations?²If so, how great are they and of what kind?

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7. ¹Has he learned any manual trade? Does he know how to read and write? If he does, he should be tested as to how he writes and reads, if this is not already known.³²

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8. ¹Has he had or does he have any illnesses, concealed or manifest, and what is their nature?²Especially, he should be asked whether he has any stomach trouble or headaches or trouble from any other congenital impediment or defect in some part of his body. This should be not only asked but subjected to examination so far as possible.

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¹ Has he received any sacred orders?³³ Is he under obligation from vows to make a pilgrimage or to do something else?

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10. ¹What has been his manner or inclination, from his early years up to the present, in matters regarding the welfare of his conscience?²First, in regard to prayer, how often has he been accustomed to pray during the day and the night, at what hour, with what bodily posture, what prayers, and with what devotion or spiritual experience?³How has he conducted himself in regard to attendance at Mass, other divine services and sermons?⁴In regard to good reading and good conversations?⁵In regard to the meditation or pondering of spiritual things?

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11. ¹He should be asked whether he has held or holds any opinions or ideas different from those which are commonly held in the Church and among the teachers whom she has approved;²and whether he is willing, if at some time he should hold any, to defer to what may be determined in the Society as to what ought to be held about such matters.

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12. ¹He should be asked whether in regard to any scruples or spiritual difficulties whatsoever, or in regard to whatsoever other difficulties which he has or in time may have, he will let his case be judged by others in the Society who are learned and virtuous persons See C-49, and whether he will follow their opinion.

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D. ¹The choice of these persons to whom the one in such difficulties should entrust himself will belong to the superior, when the subject is content with that choice. Or the subject himself may choose them with the superior’s approval.²If in a given case and for a good reason the superior should think that God our Lord will be better served and the one with the difficulties more helped by having one or several of those who are to judge the difficulties come from outside the Society, this can be permitted.³But the choice of such persons, or at least their approval, should be left to the superior, as has been said.⁴If the difficulties touch on the superior’s own person, the choice or aforementioned approval will belong to the consultors.⁵However, no one below the general or the provincial, even though he is a rector of a college or a superior of some house, may without permission from one of these place such difficulties concerning his person, or allow them to be placed, within the arbitration of others from outside the Society.

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13. ¹Is he determined to abandon the world and to follow the counsels of Christ our Lord?²About how much time has elapsed since he made this general decision to abandon the world?³After making this decision, has he wavered in it, and to what extent?⁴About how much time has elapsed since his desires to leave the world and follow the counsels of Christ our Lord began to come? What were the signs or motives through which they came?

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14. ¹Does he have a deliberate determination in the Lord to live and die with and in this Society of Jesus our Creator and Lord? And since when?²Where and through whom was he first moved to this?³If he says that he was not moved by any member of the Society, the examiner should proceed.⁴If the candidate says that he was so moved (and it is granted that one could licitly and meritoriously move him thus), it would seem to be more conducive to his spiritual progress to give him a period of some time, in order that, by reflecting on the matter, he may commend himself completely to his Creator and Lord as if no member of the Society had moved him,⁵so that he may be able to proceed with greater spiritual energies for the greater service and glory of the Divine Majesty.

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15. ¹If, after thus reflecting about the matter, he feels and judges that it is highly expedient for him to enter this Society for the greater praise and glory of God our Lord, and the better saving and perfecting of his own soul by helping his neighbors’s souls as well,²and if he requests to be admitted in our Lord into this Society with us, then the examination may be carried forward.¹

CHAPTER 4: SOME OBSERVANCES WITHIN THE SOCIETY WHICH ARE MORE IMPORTANT FOR THE CANDIDATES TO KNOW #

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1. ²They should be told that the intention of the first men who joined themselves together in this Society was that those received into it should be persons already detached from the world and determined to serve God totally, whether in one religious institute or another.³Accordingly, all those who seek admission into the Society ought, before they begin to live under obedience in any house or college belonging to it, to distribute all the temporal goods they might have and renounce³⁴ and dispose of those they might expect to receive.⁴This should be done first of all in regard to matters of debt and obligation if there are any (and in that case provision should be made as soon as possible); if there are none, they should make the distribution in favor of pious and holy causes, according to the words, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor”, –⁵and according to those of Christ, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have, and give to the poor; … then come, follow me”,⁶thus making the distribution according to their own devotion and removing from themselves all hope of ever possessing those goods at any time.

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2. ¹If for some good reasons a candidate does not abandon those goods immediately, he will promise to give them all up, as was stated, with promptitude after one year from his entrance has elapsed at whatsoever time during the remainder of the period of probation the superior will give him the order.^{35 2}When this period has passed, the professed before their profession, and the coadjutors before their three public vows, must relinquish them in fact and distribute them to the poor, as was stated.³This is done to follow more perfectly the evangelical counsel, which does not say give to your relatives, but to the poor;⁴and also to give to all a better example of divesting oneself of disordered love of relatives, to avoid the disadvantage of a disordered distribution which proceeds from the aforementioned love,⁵and, by closing the door on recourse to parents and relatives and profitless remembrance of them, to help them persevere in their vocation with greater firmness and stability.

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3. ¹However, if there should be doubt whether it would be more perfect to make the gift or renunciation of these goods in favor of the relatives rather than others, because of their equal or greater need and other just considerations,²even so, since there is danger that flesh and blood may draw candidates to err in such a judgment, they must be content to leave this matter in the hands of one, two, or three persons of exemplary life and learning (such as each one may choose with the superior’s approval See C-56),³and to acquiesce in what these persons decide to be more perfect and conducive to the greater glory of Christ our Lord.⁴Consequently, the candidate should be asked if he is willing to dispose of his goods immediately (in the manner which has been stated), or if he is content to be ready to make that distribution when the superior will order it after the first year has passed.

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A. ¹This should be interpreted to mean persons inside the Society, unless the superior for a just reason thinks that some of them should be externs.

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4. ¹The candidates should be informed that no one after entering the house may keep money in his own possession or in that of a friend outside the house in the same region,²but rather that they should distribute this money for pious works or give it for keeping to the one in the house who has this charge. This person will note down all that each one brings, in case it may be necessary on some occasion to have this knowledge See C-58.³Accordingly, the candidates should be asked whether, if they have any money, they will be content to dispose of it in the manner just stated.

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B. ¹If it happens that a candidate is dismissed and he has given something to the Society, it ought to be returned to him, in conformity with the declaration in Part II, Chapter 3.

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5. ¹If the candidates are ecclesiastics, they should likewise be informed that, once they have been incorporated into the Society as professed or as coadjutors, they may not retain any benefices;^{36 2}also, that during the time of probation, after its first year, as was stated above, they must dispose of them according to their own devotion whenever it shall seem good to the superior,³resigning them to the one who conferred them, or giving them to pious works to worthy persons for whom they will be instruments in the service of God.⁴If the person should think that he ought to give them to relatives, this should not be done unless one, two, or three persons, as was stated above, judge this to be more expedient and a greater service to God our Lord.

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6. ¹Since communications from friends or relatives, whether oral or written, generally tend to disturb rather than help those who attend to the spiritual life, especially in the beginning,²the candidates should be asked whether they will be content not to converse with such persons³⁷ {and not to receive or write letters, unless on some occasionsthe superior judges otherwise;³also whether during the whole time they stay in the house they will be willingto have all their letters seen},³⁸both those written to them and those which they send, leaving to the one charged with this matter the care of delivering or not delivering them as he will judge to be more expedient in our Lord.

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7. ¹Everyone who enters the Society, following the counsel of Christ that everyone who has given up father and so forth, must make up his mind to leave his father, mother, brothers, sisters, and whatever he had in the world.²Even more, he should take as made to himself the statement “If anyone comes to me without hating his father, mother, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple”.³Consequently he should take care to put aside all merely natural affection for his relatives and convert it into spiritual See C-62, by loving them only with that love which rightly ordered charity requires. He should be as one who is dead to the world and to self-love and who lives only for Christ our Lord, while having him in place of parents, brothers, and all things.

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C. ¹So that the manner of speaking may assist that of thinking, it is a holy counsel to adopt the practice{of saying not that they have but that they did have parents or brothers and sisters},³⁹and so forth, thus indicating that they do not have what they forsook in order to have Christ in place of all things.²However, this ought to be observed more by those who are in greater danger of some disorder in natural love, as novices might often be.

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8. ¹For the sake of his greater progress in the spiritual life, and especially for his greater lowliness and humility, he should be asked whether he will be willing to have all his errors and defects, and anything else which will be noticed or known about him, manifested to his superiors by anyone who knows them outside of confession;²and further, whether he along with all the others will be willing to aid in correcting and being corrected, and to manifest one another with due love and charity, in order to help one another more in the spiritual life, especially when this will be requested of him by the superior who has charge of them for the greater glory of God.⁴⁰

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9. ¹Furthermore, before he enters the house or college, or after his entrance, six principal testing experiences⁴¹ are required, in addition to many others which will be treated in part later.²When the superior approves, these experiences may be advanced, postponed, adapted, and in some case replaced by others, according to persons, times, and places, with their contingencies.

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10. ¹The first experience consists in making the Spiritual Exercises for one month,⁴² a little more or less; that is to say, in the person’s examining his conscience, thinking over his whole past life and making a general confession,²meditating upon his sins, contemplating the events and mysteries of the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ our Lord,³exercising himself in praying vocally and mentally, according to the capacity of the persons, as he will be instructed in our Lord, and so on.

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11. ¹The second experience is to serve for another month in hospitals or one of them. The candidates take their meals and sleep in it or in them, or serve for one or several hours during the day, according to the times, places, and persons.²They should help and serve all, the sick and the well, in conformity with the directions they receive, in order to lower and humble themselves more,³thus giving clear proof of themselves to the effect that they are completely giving up the world with its pomps and vanities, so that in everything they may serve their Creator and Lord, crucified for them.

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12. ¹The third experience is to spend another month in making a pilgrimage without money, but begging from door to door at times, for the love of God our Lord, in order to grow accustomed to discomfort in food and lodging.²Thus too the candidate, through abandoning all the reliance which he could have in money or other created things, may with genuine faith and intense love place his reliance entirely in his Creator and Lord.³Or both of these months may be spent in one or more hospitals, or both in making a pilgrimage, as may seem better to the candidate’s superior.

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13. ¹The fourth experience consists in the candidate’s employing himself, after entrance into the house, with all diligence and care in various low and humble offices, while giving a good example of himself in all of them.

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14. ¹The fifth experience is that of explaining the Christian doctrine or a part of it in public to boys and other simple persons, or of teaching it to individuals, as opportunity offers and what seems in our Lord more profitable and suitable to the persons.

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15. ¹In a sixth experience the candidate, who now has been tested and found edifying, will proceed further by preaching or hearing confessions, or in both together, in accordance with the times, places, and capacity of each.

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16. ¹Before they enter the second year of their probation, which is made in the houses or colleges,⁴³ all must spend six months in undergoing the six experiences just mentioned and six additional months in different ones.²These experiences may be gone through in whole or in part throughout the entire previously stated time of a candidate’s probation; the sequence may vary in accordance with what is found expedient in our Lord.³In the case of the scholastics, the experiences may be undergone during their studies or after their completion, ⁴⁴according to persons, places, and times.⁴But this must be observed in its entirety: Before the professed make their profession, and before the formed coadjutors take their three public though not solemn vows, two years of experiences and probations must be completed.⁵ In the case of the scholastics, when their studies have been finished, in addition to the time of probation required to become an approved scholastic, before one of them makes profession or is admitted as a formed coadjutor, a further third year must be spent^{45 6}in passing through various probations, especially those tests mentioned above if he did not make them previously, and through some of them even if he did make them, for the greater glory of God.

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¹ During the time of these experiences and probations, no one ought to say that he is a member of the Society.⁴⁶²Rather, when occasion arises, one who on the side of the Society has been examined to become a professed (even though on his own side he entered as a candidate still indifferent) ought to say that he is undergoing the probationary experiences while desiring to be admitted into the Society in whatsoever manner it may desire to make use of him for God’s glory.³If he has been examined to become a coadjutor, he should say that he is going through the testing experiences while desiring to be received into the Society as a coadjutor.⁴The same method of replying is meant for the scholastics and the others who have been examined as candidates still indifferent, in conformity with the particular examen which each of them undergoes.

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18. ¹In regard to these probationary experiences, what follows should be diligently observed.²That is to say, when someone has completed the first experience, the Exercises, the one who gave them should inform the superior of what he thinks of the exercitant in regard to the end which the Society seeks.

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19. ¹When he has finished the second experience, that of serving in hospitals, he should bring back the testimony of the directors or of the one who has charge of those who serve in that hospital, about the good example he gave.

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20. ¹When he has completed the third experience, the pilgrimage, he should bring from the farthest place he reached, or somewhere near it, testimony from one or several dependable persons that he arrived there while pursuing his devotion and without a complaint from anyone.

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21. ¹After the fourth experience, that of his doing humble chores in the house, his testimony will be the edification which he gave to all those in that house.

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22. ¹After the fifth experience, his teaching Christian doctrine, and the sixth, that of preaching or hearing confessions, his testimony about both, if he lives in the house, will be that coming from its members and the edification received by the people where the house is.²If his preaching and hearing of confessions was in other places outside that town and house, he should bring testimony from those places where he stayed for some time or from public persons (with much account made of all those who are ordinaries)³who can establish full assurance that he has sown God’s word and performed the office of confessor while employing sound doctrine and good practices and without offending anyone.

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23. ¹In addition to these testimonials, the Society can also, as far as it deems expedient, gather other reports for its greater satisfaction, to the glory of God our Lord.

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24. ¹When such testimonials about the experiences are not brought, the reason ought to be investigated with great diligence,²by effort to learn the truth about the entire matter, so that better provision may be made in regard to everything that is helpful to serve his Divine Goodness better, through the help of his divine grace.

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25. ¹Likewise, after anyone is in the house he should not go out of it without permission.² One who is not a priest should confess and receive the most Holy Sacrament every eighth day, unless the confessor thinks he has an impediment to Communion.³One who is a priest will confess at least every eighth day and will celebrate Mass more frequently.⁴⁷He will also observe any other ordinances or constitutions of the house, according to what will be indicated to him in its rules.⁴ All the members of the house should apply themselves to learning Christian doctrine. Those whom the superior thinks should preach should do so;⁴⁸⁵but among these there should be no one of those who were admitted to become temporal coadjutors.

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26. ¹If he is pleased to remain in the Society, his food, drink, clothing, shoes, and lodging will be what is characteristic of the poor;²and he should persuade himself that it will be what is worst in the house, for his greater abnegation and spiritual progress and to arrive at a certain equality and common norm among all.³For where the Society’s first members have passed through these necessities and greater bodily wants, the others who come to it should endeavor, as far as they can, to reach the same point as the earlier ones, or to go farther in the Lord.

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27. ¹Likewise, in addition to the other pilgrimages and probations explained above, the professed before making their profession, the coadjutors before taking their vows,²and (when the superior thinks it wise) the scholastics before becoming approved and pronouncing their vows with the promise mentioned above,³ should engage in door-to-door begging for the love of God our Lord⁴⁹ for a period of three days at the times assigned to them, thus imitating the Society’s earliest members.⁴The purpose is that, going against the common manner of human thinking, they may be able in God’s service and praise to humble themselves more and make greater spiritual progress, giving glory to his Divine Majesty.⁵Another purpose is to enable them to be more disposed to practice begging when they are so commanded, or find it expedient or necessary⁶when they are traveling through various parts of the world, according to what the supreme vicar of Christ our Lord may order or assign to them; or, in his place, the one who happens to be superior of the Society.⁷For our profession requires that we be prepared and very much ready for whatever is enjoined upon us in our Lord and at whatsoever time,⁸without asking for or expecting any reward in this present and transitory life, but hoping always for that life which lasts for all eternity, through God’s supreme mercy.

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28. ¹But to come down to details, during the tests of humility and abnegation of oneself through the performance of lowly and humble tasks, such as working in the kitchen, cleaning the house, and all the rest of these services,²one should take on more promptly those that offend his sensibilities more, if he has been ordered to do them.

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29. ¹When someone goes to the kitchen to do the cooking or to help him who is doing it, with great humility he must obey the cook in all things pertaining to his office, by showing him always complete obedience. For if he should not do this, neither, it seems, would he show obedience to any other superior,²since genuine obedience considers, not the person to whom it is offered, but Him for whose sake it is offered; and if it is exercised for the sake of our Creator and Lord alone, then it is the very Lord of everyone who is obeyed.³In no manner, therefore, ought one to consider whether it is the cook of the house who gives the order or its superior, or one person rather than another.⁴For, to consider the matter with sound understanding, obedience is not shown either to these persons or for their sake, but to God alone and only for the sake of God our Creator and Lord.

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30. ¹Therefore it is better that the cook should not request his helper to do this or that, but that he should modestly command him by saying, “Do this” or “Do that” See C-86.²For if he requests him, he will seem to be speaking rather as man to man; and it does not seem right and proper for a lay cook to request a priest to clean the pots and do other similar tasks.³But by commanding him or saying, “Do this” or “Do that”, he will show more clearly that he is speaking as Christ to man, since he is commanding in His place.⁴Thus the person who obeys ought to consider and heed the order which comes from the cook, or from another who is his superior, as if it were coming from Christ our Lord, so that he may be entirely pleasing to his Divine Majesty.

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D. ¹To request and to command, each is good. Nevertheless, at the beginning one is aided more by being commanded than by being requested.

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31. ¹This same attitude applies to the other lowly duties when someone is helping in them,²and likewise in the same manner to the subordinate officials See C-88 who, receiving their authority from the superior, govern the house.

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E. ¹Such, customarily, are the minister, the subminister, or other equivalent officials in colleges.

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32. ¹In time of illness one ought to observe obedience with great integrity not only toward his spiritual superiors that they may direct his soul, but also and with equal humility toward the physicians and infirmarians that they may care for his body;²for the former work for his complete spiritual welfare and the latter for that which is corporal.³Furthermore, the one who is sick should, by showing his great humility and patience, try to give no less edification in time of illness to those who visit him and converse and deal with him than he does in time of full health, for the greater glory of God.

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33. ¹For the surer achievement of everything hitherto stated and for the candidate’s own greater spiritual progress, he should be asked whether he is willing to be entirely obedient in everything which has been stated and explained here,²and to perform and fulfill all the penances which will be imposed on him for his errors and negligences, or for one thing or another.

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34. ¹After pondering the matter in our Lord, we consider it to be of great and even extraordinary importance in his Divine Majesty that the superiors should have a complete understanding of the subjects,²that by means of this knowledge they may be able to direct and govern them better, and while caring for them guide them better into the paths of the Lord.

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35. ¹Likewise, the more thoroughly they are aware of the interior and exterior affairs of their subjects, with so much greater diligence, love, and care will they be able to help the subjects and to guard their souls from the various difficulties and dangers which might occur later on.²Later, in conformity with our profession and manner of proceeding, we must always be ready to travel about in various parts of the world, on all occasions when the supreme pontiff or our immediate superior orders us.³Therefore, to proceed without error in such missions, or in sending some persons and not others, or some for one task and others for different ones,⁴it is not only highly but even supremely important that the superior have complete knowledge of the inclinations and motions of those who are in his charge, and to what defects or sins they have been or are more moved and inclined;⁵so that thus he may direct them better, without placing them beyond the measure of their capacity in dangers or labors greater than they could in our Lord endure with a spirit of love;⁶and also so that the superior, while keeping to himself what he learns in secret, may be better able to organize and arrange what is expedient for the whole body of the Society.

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36. ¹Wherefore, whoever wishes to follow this Society in our Lord or to remain in it for his greater glory must be obliged to the following. Before he enters the first probation or after entering it, before his going through the general examination or some months later (if postponement should seem wise to the superior),²in {confession}⁵⁰or in secret or in another manner which may be more pleasing or spiritually consoling to him, he must manifest his conscience with great humility, transparency, and charity,⁵¹ without concealing anything which is offensive to the Lord of all men.³He must give an account of his whole past life, or at least of the more essential matters, to him who is the superior of the Society, or to the one whom he assigns to the candidate from among the superiors or subjects, according to what he thinks best,⁴so that everything may be provided for better in the Lord, to the greater spiritual help of each one with the more copious grace of God for the greater glory of his divine Goodness.

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37. ¹The candidates, proceeding thus with an increase of grace and spirit and with wholehearted desires to enter this Society and persevere in it for their entire lives, will do the same thing on various other occasions,²until those who are to be professed make their profession and those who hope to be formed coadjutors take their vows, in the following manner.

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38. ¹After one of the candidates has for the first time given an entire account of his life to the superior of the house, he should begin from that same day and, without repeating the past manifestation which he then made, give a second account of his life for the following six months or a little more or less, to the same superior or to another whom he has appointed.²Afterwards, beginning with this second and proceeding in the same manner, every half year he will give a similar account.³The last one will be given thirty days or a little more or less before those who are to be professed make their profession and the coadjutors take their vows.

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39. ¹The scholastics will proceed in the same manner except that in the first account which they will give after completing their studies, they will begin from the last which they gave in the house from which they were sent to their studies.²Or, if for some reason they have never given the account of their whole life, they will do so.

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40. ¹Thus also it seems that the formed coadjutors and professed, when they find themselves in a place where they are under obedience to a superior of the Society, should give him an account of their conscience every year, or more often if the superior thinks they ought to, in the manner stated and commencing from the last which they gave, and so forth.

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41. ¹A candidate who thinks that God our Lord gives him courage and strength in regard to all that has been said, and who judges his incorporation into this Society to be conducive to the greater divine glory and more salutary for his own conscience,²ought to see the bulls and Constitutions and all the rest which pertain to the Society’s Institute, in the beginning and afterwards every six months, as was stated above.³In addition to this, he ought to make a general confession of his whole past life to a priest{whom the superior appoints for him,}⁵²because of the many benefits which this entails.⁴But if he has made such a general confession to someone of the Society on another occasion, for example, while making the Exercises or even without making them, it will suffice for him to begin the general confession from the other one and proceed to the point where he is;⁵and afterwards he should receive the most holy body of Christ our Lord.⁶In this same way, he will continue to make a general confession in the manner stated, every six months beginning from the last,⁷thus procuring a continuous increase of integrity and virtues and intense desires in our Lord to give great service in this Society to his Divine Majesty.⁸When he has completed the two years of probation, and shown himself always obedient and edifying in his association with others and in various tests,⁹and has with great humility performed the penances which will be imposed on him for his errors and negligences or defects;¹⁰and when he and the Society or the superior of the house are content, he may be incorporated into the Society.¹¹He should previously consider the bulls and Constitutions and make the general confession, as was stated above,¹²recollecting himself for a period of one week in order to make the confession better and to confirm himself in his first determination; during this week he should make some Exercises, either his previous ones or others.¹³Afterwards he will make his oblation and vows, either the solemn vows in the case of the professed or the simple vows in that of the coadjutors and scholastics,⁵³ in the manner which will be explained later in the Constitutions, for the greater divine glory and greater profit of his own soul.

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42. ¹They should be advised that after they have taken the aforementioned vows, according to the content of the bulls they may not transfer to other religious institutes unless the superior of the Society grants permission.⁵⁴

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43. ¹However, when the time of the probation has elapsed, if the candidate is content and desires to be admitted thus as a professed or a coadjutor⁵⁵ or a scholastic, but if there is doubt on the part of the Society about his talent or conduct,²it will be safer to have him wait another year, or whatever time will seem wise later on, until both parties are content and satisfied in our Lord.

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44. ¹It is likewise very important to bring to the attention of those who are being examined, emphasizing it and giving it great weight in the sight of our Creator and Lord, to how great a degree it helps and profits in the spiritual life to abhor in its totality and not in part whatever the world loves and embraces, and to accept and desire with all possible energy whatever Christ our Lord has loved and embraced.²Just as the men of the world who follow the world love and seek with such great diligence honors, fame, and esteem for a great name on earth, as the world teaches them,³so those who proceed spiritually and truly follow Christ our Lord love and intensely desire everything opposite. That is to say, they desire to clothe themselves with the same garb and uniform of their Lord because of the love and reverence owed to him,⁴to such an extent that where there would be no offense to his Divine Majesty and no imputation of sin to the neighbor, they desire to suffer injuries, false accusations, and affronts, and to be held and esteemed as fools (but without their giving any occasion for this),⁵because of their desire to resemble and imitate in some manner our Creator and Lord Jesus Christ, by putting on his garb and uniform, since it was for our spiritual profit that he clothed himself as he did.⁶For he gave us an example that in all things possible to us we might seek, with the aid of his grace, to imitate and follow him, since he is the way which leads men to life.⁷Therefore the candidate should be asked whether he finds himself with such desires, which are so salutary and fruitful for the perfection of his soul.

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45. ¹Where through human weakness and personal misery the candidate does not experience in himself such ardent desires in our Lord, he should be asked whether he has any desires to experience them.²If he answers affirmatively that he does wish to have such holy desires, then, so that he may the better reach them in fact,³he should be questioned further: Is he determined and ready to accept and suffer with patience, with the help of God’s grace, any such injuries, mockeries, and affronts entailed by the wearing of this uniform of Christ our Lord, and any other affronts offered him,⁴whether by someone inside the house or the Society (where he desires to obey, abase himself, and gain eternal life) or outside it by any persons whatsoever on earth, returning them not evil for evil but good for evil?

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46. ¹The better to arrive at this degree of perfection which is so precious in the spiritual life,²his chief and most earnest endeavor should be to seek in our Lord his greater abnegation and continual mortification in all things possible;³and our endeavor should be to help him in those things to the extent that our Lord gives us his grace, for his greater praise and glory.¹

CHAPTER 5: ¹ANOTHER EXAMEN, SOMEWHAT MORE PARTICULARIZED, FOR THE EDUCATED, SPIRITUAL COADJUTORS, AND SCHOLASTICS #

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1. ²So that better knowledge and understanding of these candidates may be gained, these questions should be put to each one. Where did he study? In which faculty? What authors and what doctrine? How long? In his own opinion, how has he progressed? And especially, what facility has he in the Latin language?

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2. ¹Has he received a degree in the liberal arts, or in theology, or canon law, or another faculty?

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3. ¹Does he think he has a memory to grasp and retain what he studies?²Does he think that his intellect enables him to penetrate quickly and well what he studies?³Does he find in himself a natural or voluntary inclination to studies?

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4. ¹Does he think that the study was injurious to his bodily health?²Does he feel that he has the spiritual and bodily strength to bear the labors required in the Society, whether it be in studies during their time or in the Lord’s vineyard when the time comes to work in it?

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5. ¹If he is a priest, has he had experience in hearing confessions, or preaching, or other means of helping his neighbor?

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6. ¹To fulfill the function of sowing and dispensing the divine word and of attending to the spiritual aid of the neighbors, it is expedient to possess a sufficiency of sound learning;²and for the students too to give a proof of their progress in what they have studied. Therefore all will be examined through their delivering a lecture about each branch of learning which they have studied;^{56 3}and afterwards before leaving the first probation, and later upon entrance into the second if so ordered, each one will deliver an exhortation, as will be seen later.

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7. ¹Likewise, when a candidate is a priest, or when he becomes one, he should be advised that he should not hear confessions inside or outside the house⁵⁷ or administer any sacraments,²without his undergoing special trial, rendering edification, and being given permission from his superior, during all the time of his probation.³Neither ought he to celebrate in public before he has done so privately before one or several members of the house.⁴{He should also be told to conform his manner of saying Mass to that of the Society’s members among whom he is living}⁵⁸and to the edification of those who are to hear him.

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8. ¹For a greater humility and perfection of the educated, the spiritual coadjutors, and the scholastics,²if there should be a doubt as to whether one of those who will enter the Society is suitable to make profession or to become a spiritual coadjutor or a scholastic in it, the following should be done.³On the premise that it is much better and more perfect that he let himself be judged and governed by the Society, since the Society will know no less than he what is required to live in it;⁴and also that greater humility and perfection will be imputed to him and he will show a greater love and confidence toward those who are to govern him,⁵he ought to be asked whether he will leave his own opinion and judgment in the hands of the Society or its superior,⁶in order to do that which the superior will tell him,⁷that is, become either a member of the Society which is thus professed and bound to the vicar of Christ our Lord, or a coadjutor in it, or a scholastic carrying on his studies in it.^{59 8}He should be interrogated further as follows. If the superior should wish to keep him perpetually only as a coadjutor in the external affairs of the Society (as one occupied with the salvation of his own soul), is he ready to be employed in low and humble offices⁹and to spend all the days of his life for the benefit and aid of the Society, believing that by serving it he is serving his Creator and Lord and doing all things for the love and reverence due to him?¹

CHAPTER 6 ANOTHER EXAMEN, FOR COADJUTORS ALONE #

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1. ²To give a better understanding to each one of these coadjutors, what was touched on earlier should be further explained, namely, that both spiritual coadjutors and temporal coadjutors are received into this Society.³ The spiritual coadjutors are priests⁶⁰ and possess a sufficiency of learning to help in spiritual matters. ⁴ The temporal coadjutors do not receive sacred orders⁶¹and, whether they possess learning or not,⁶²can help in the necessary exterior matters.⁶³

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2. ¹It is more characteristic of the spiritual coadjutors to aid the Society by hearing confessions, giving exhortations, and teaching Christian doctrine or other branches of study. The same favors may be given to them as to the professed for the aid of souls.

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3. ¹It is more characteristic of the temporal coadjutors to exercise themselves in all the low and humble services which are enjoined upon them, although they may be employed in more important matters in accordance with the talent God may have given them.²They should believe that by helping the Society in order that it may the better attend to the salvation of souls, they are serving the same Lord of all, since they are doing this out of love and reverence for him.³They ought therefore to be prompt in carrying out the tasks given to them thoroughly and with all possible humility and charity.⁴By this they both obtain their own full share and partake in all the good works which God our Lord deigns to accomplish through the entire Society for his greater service and praise, as also in the indulgences and privileges granted by the Apostolic See to the professed for the good of their souls.

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4. ¹Even so, in their spiritual conversations they should strive to obtain the greater interior progress of their neighbor,²to show what they know, and to stimulate those whom they can to do good, inasmuch as our Lord has given care of his neighbor to everyone.

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5. ¹If someone has been instructed and examined to become a spiritual coadjutor (devoting himself to the spiritual matters which are appropriate and suitable to his first vocation),² he ought not to seek, directly or indirectly, through himself or someone else, to urge or attempt any change from his first vocation to another, namely, from that of a spiritual coadjutor to that of a professed or scholastic⁶⁴ or temporal coadjutor.³Instead, with all humility and obedience, he should continue traveling along the same path which had been shown to him by the One who knows no change and in whom no change is possible.

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6. ¹In the same manner, if someone has been examined and trained to become a temporal coadjutor (devoting himself in everything to the things which are appropriate and suitable to his first vocation),²he ought not to seek in one way or another to pass from the grade of temporal coadjutor to that of a spiritual coadjutor or a scholastic or a professed.{Neither ought he,even if he does remain in the same grade,to seek more learning than he had when he entered.}⁶⁵³But he ought with much humility to persevere in giving service in everything to his Creator and Lord in his first vocation and to endeavor to grow in the abnegation of himself and in the pursuit of genuine virtues.

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7. ¹Such coadjutors should also be asked whether, as something characteristic of their vocation, they will be content and at peace to serve their Creator and Lord in low and humble offices and ministries, of whatever kind they may be, for the benefit of the house and the Society; and whether they will be ready to spend all the days of their lives in those occupations,²believing that in this they are serving and praising their Creator and Lord, by doing all things for his divine love and reverence.

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8. ¹All the coadjutors, spiritual as well as temporal, after passing through two years of experiences and probations, and one year more if they have been scholastics⁶⁶ (as was explained before), if they wish to remain in the Society and the Society or its superior is satisfied,²must, in conformity with the bull of Julius III, make their oblation of three vows⁶⁷ (public though not solemn) of obedience, poverty, and chastity, as was said in the beginning.³From then on they remain as formed coadjutors, either spiritual or temporal,⁴in such a way that on their side they are perpetually obliged to live and die in our Lord in and with this Society, for the greater glory of the Divine Majesty and for their own greater merit and stability See C-120.⁵Nevertheless the Society or its superior (who ought to care for the common good) may , when it is evident that no help is obtained from them for the greater service of God, but rather the opposite, dismiss them and remove them from its community,⁶⁸ the persons remaining from that time free in every respect and without the obligation of any vow.

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A. ¹Their being bound on their own side is good, since their stability is what is being sought;²and (as appears in the apostolic bull) it is not unjust for the Society to be free to dismiss them when their remaining in it is not expedient.³For in that case they remain free;⁴and an individual can more readily fail to do what he ought than the Society or its general, who alone will be able to dismiss;⁵and he ought not to do it without quite abundant grounds, as will be seen in Part II of the Constitutions.

CHAPTER 7 ¹ANOTHER EXAMEN FOR SCHOLASTICS: FIRST, BEFORE THEIR ADMISSION TO STUDIES See C-122 #

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1. ²When the scholastics have passed through the aforementioned experiences and probations, if they judge it good to study in the colleges or houses of the Society, so as to be maintained in them in the Lord of all men, and if the Society or its superior is likewise satisfied with them,³for their greater merit and stability they must, either before they go to their studies or when they are in them, pronounce the simple vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience,⁴along with the promise to God our Lord that upon completing their studies they will enter the Society, understanding by entrance making profession or becoming formed coadjutors in it should it be willing to admit them.⁵From that time on they will be considered approved scholastics of the Society.⁶The said Society remains free and does not oblige itself to admit them either to profession or as formed coadjutors if they have made a poor showing during their studies and if its superior should judge that their admission would not be a service to God our Lord.⁷In such a case they are freed from their vows.

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A. ¹This examen, as well as the one above, is given not only to those who are sent to their studies for the first time, but also to those who are continuing them, when they come to the house to transfer elsewhere.⁶⁹

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2. ¹If at some time during the studies those who have shown greater inclination toward studies than for any other ministry in the Society give a proof or clear indication in regard to themselves,²whereby the Society or its superior judges that, through lack of ability, experience of ill health, or other deficiencies,⁷⁰ they are not suited to succeed in studies,³they should be asked whether they will accept with patience being dismissed, with freedom from all past promises.

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3. ¹One who is found sufficiently capable for the studies should be asked whether he will allow himself to be directed in regard to what he should study, and how, and how long, according to what will seem best to the Society, or its superior, or to the superior of the college where he will study.

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4. ¹Will he be content to live in the same manner as the others, without seeking any more superiority or advantage than the least of those living in the college, and leaving the concern for his well-being entirely to its superior?

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5. ¹Is he determined, when his studies and probations are completed, to enter the Society in order to live and die in it for the greater glory of God?

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6. ¹When he has been thus examined and instructed, he may begin to get himself ready to go to his studies or to continue them. Likewise, he should prepare himself to undergo various other experiences and probations during the studies.²{Iffor some legitimate reasons and in view of some good purposeshe has not gone through these experiencesbefore he went to his studies, after completing them he must undergo all the experiences and probations explained above.}⁷¹¹FOR THOSE WHO HAVE COMPLETED THEIR STUDIES

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7. ²The scholastics who have completed their studies, before they enter the Society or any of its houses to be admitted into it for total obedience and complete common living in our Lord, should be asked in general³whether they remain firm in their determination, vows, and promise which they made to God our Lord before they went to their studies, or during the studies if they had been received in the colleges.

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¹ Likewise, they should be questioned and examined in detail by means of the same questions and examen first used before they went to their studies.^{72 2}The purpose is that the superiors may have a fresher memory and knowledge of the scholastics, and also better and more completely know their firmness and constancy, or any change if one occurred in the matters which were first asked and affirmed.

CHAPTER 8 ¹ANOTHER EXAMEN, FOR THOSE STILL INDIFFERENT #

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1. ²For a better understanding of a candidate who is to be examined as one still indifferent, so that both sides may proceed with greater knowledge and clarity in our Lord,³he will receive this instruction and advice. At no time and in no way may he or should he seek or try to obtain, directly or indirectly, one grade rather than another in the Society See C-131, that of a professed or a spiritual coadjutor rather than a temporal coadjutor or a scholastic.⁴But yielding to complete humility and obedience, he ought to leave all the concern about himself, and about the office or grade for which he should be chosen, to his Creator and Lord and, in his name and for his divine love and reverence, to the same Society and its superior.

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A. ¹However, when something occurs constantly to these candidates as being conducive to the greater glory of God our Lord they may after prayer, propose the matter simply to the superior and leave it entirely to his judgment, without seeking anything more thereafter.

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2. ¹After he has been thus advised, he will be asked whether he finds himself entirely indifferent, content, and ready to serve his Creator and Lord in whatever office or ministry to which the Society or its superior will assign him.²Likewise this question should be put to him. If the Society or its superior desires to keep him always only for low and humble offices (in which he devotes himself to the salvation of his own soul),³is he ready to spend all the days of his life in such low and humble offices, for the benefit and service of the Society⁴in the conviction that by this he is serving and praising his Creator and Lord and doing all things for his divine love and reverence?

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3. ¹If he is thus entirely satisfied in our Lord with all that has been said, he can be instructed and examined about the remaining matters by means of some or all of the aforementioned examens as may be found more expedient.²The aim is that both sides may be content and satisfied while proceeding with greater clarity in everything, while all things are being directed and ordered toward greater service and praise of God our Lord.