John the Baptist
by
Geertgen tot Sint Jans
(1490-95)
In those days John the Baptist appeared in the
wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ‘Repent, for the
kingdom of heaven has come near.’ This is the one of
whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,
‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
“Prepare the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.” ’
Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a
leather belt around his waist, and his food was
locusts and wild honey. Then the people of Jerusalem
and all Judea were going out to him, and all the
region along the Jordan, and they were baptized by
him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.
But when he saw many Pharisees and Sadducees coming
for baptism, he said to them, ‘You brood of vipers!
Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear
fruit worthy of repentance. Do not presume to say to
yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I
tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up
children to Abraham. Even now the axe is
lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown
into the fire.
‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one
who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am
not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you
with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is
in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor
and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the
chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’
Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan,
to be baptized by him. John would have prevented
him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do
you come to me?’ But Jesus answered him, ‘Let it be
so now; for it is proper for us in this way to
fulfill all righteousness.’ Then he consented. And
when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up
from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to
him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove and alighting on him. And a voice from heaven
said, ‘This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am
well pleased.’
(Matthew 3)
John the
Baptist
by
Caravaggio
c. 1604
"Repent and believe the Good News!"
Penance means conversion. The Confraternity of
Penitents is a world wide private Catholic
association of the faithful, completely loyal to our
Pope and the Magisterium.
Our Rule of Life has been reviewed by our bishop and
recognized in these words: "this Rule does not
contain anything contrary to our faith; therefore it
may be safely practiced privately by you or by
anyone inclined to do so. . . . His Excellency
is appreciative of your efforts to live and promote
Franciscan spirituality and especially promote the
neglected practice of penance and he wishes you
success" (January 30, 1998).
Members of the Confraternity of Penitents live this
Rule in their own homes, devoted to prayer, penance,
fasting, conversion, and works of mercy modeled on
Jesus Christ and inspired by the lives and teachings
of
St. Francis,
St. Dominic,
St. Therese,
St. Benedict,
St. Augustine,
St. Ignatius,
and all the saints, most especially Mary, the Mother
of God, who lived a life of true penance
(conversion) in perfect union with our Lord.
May Our Lady and all the saints intercede for all
who wish to embrace a life of penance, anywhere in
the world, so that the grace of God will assist them
to obtain every virtue necessary for a life of
holiness and surrender to the Will of God! Amen.
PRAYER OF PENITENTS
"Most High, Glorious God, enlighten the darkness
of my mind, give me right faith, a firm hope and
perfect charity, so that I may always and in all
things act according to Your Holy Will. Amen."
(Saint Francis's prayer before the San Damiano
Crucifix)
MISSION OF PENITENTS
"Go and repair My House
which, as you can see, is falling into ruin." (The
message given to St. Francis in a voice from the San
Damiano Crucifix.)
ACTION OF PENITENTS
To pray for God's
specific direction in one's life so that, through
humbly living our Rule of Life, each penitent may
help to rebuild the house of God by bringing love of
God and neighbor to his or her own corner of the
world.
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WHAT JOHN THE BAPTIST TEACHES
ABOUT JOY AND HUMILITY
by: Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio (used
with permission of The Crossroads Initiative)
On the third Sunday
of Advent, the penitential purple of the season
changes to pink and we celebrate “Gaudete” or
“Rejoice!” Sunday. “Shout for joy, daughter of
Sion” says Zephaniah. “Draw water joyfully from
the font of salvation,” says Isaiah. “Rejoice
in the Lord always,” says St. Paul. “Do penance
for the judge is coming,” says John the
Baptist.
Wait a minute.
What’s that stark, strident saint of the desert
doing here, on “Rejoice Sunday”? His stern call
to repentance does not seem to fit.
Believe it or not,
St. John is the patron of spiritual joy. After
all, he leapt for joy in his mothers womb at the
presence of Jesus and Mary (Lk 1:44). And it
says that he rejoices to hear the bridegrooms
voice (Jn 3:29-30).
Now this is very
interesting. Crowds were coming to hear John
from all over Israel before anyone even heard a
peep out of the carpenter from Nazareth. In
fact, John even baptized his cousin which began
the Lord’s public ministry, heralding the demise
of John’s career.
Most of us would
not appreciate the competition. The Pharisees
and Sadducees certainly didn’t. They felt
threatened by Jesus popularity. But John
actually encouraged his disciples to leave him
for Jesus, the Lamb of God. When people came,
ready to honor John as the messiah, he set them
straight. He was not the star of the show, only
best supporting actor. John may have been
center-stage for a while, but now that the star
had shown up, he knew it was time for him to
slip quietly off to the dressingroom.
Or to use John’s
own example, he was like the best man at a
wedding. It certainly is an honor to be chosen
as “best man.” But the best man does not get
the bride. According to Jewish custom, the best
man’s role was to bring the bride to the
bridegroom, and then make a tactful exit. And
John found joy in this. “My joy is now full.
He must increase and I must decrease.”
The Baptist was
joyful because he was humble. In fact, he shows
us the true nature of this virtue. Humility is
not beating up on yourself, denying that you
have any gifts, talents, or importance. John
knew he had an important role which he played
aggressively, with authority and confidence.
The humble man does not sheepishly look down on
himself. Actually, he does not look at himself
at all. He looks away from himself to the Lord.
Most human beings
at one time or another battle a nagging sense
inadequacy. Pride is sin’s approach to dealing
with this. Proud people are preoccupied with
self, seeing all others as competitors. The
proud have to perpetually exalt themselves over
others in hopes that this will provide a sense
of worth and inner peace. Of course, it
doesn’t. Human history has proven that time and
time again. Even the pagan Greek storytellers
knew that hubris or pride was the root of
tragedy. Pride always comes before the fall, as
it did in the Garden of Eden.
Humility brings
freedom from this frantic bondage. Trying at
every turn to affirm, exalt, and protect oneself
is an exhausting enterprise. Receiving one’s
dignity and self-worth as a gift from God
relieves us from this stressful burden. Freed
from the blinding compulsion to dominate, we can
recognize the presence of God and feel a sense
of satisfaction when others recognize that God
is God and honor him as such. We can even be
free to recognize Godliness in someone else and
rejoice when others notice and honor this
person.
But what about
John’s stark call to repent? How this be Good
News? Because repentance is all about humility
and humility is all about freedom. And freedom
leads to inner peace and joy, joy in the
presence of the Bridegroom.
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
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