Saint
Augustine
If you
want to flee from God, flee to Him
instead. Flee to Him by confessing
to Him; don't flee from Him by trying to
hide. For you can't hide, but you
can confess. . . . In failing to
confess, Lord, I would only hide myself
from myself, not myself from You.
-- St.
Augustine
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If
the serpent, the Devil, bites someone
secretly, he infects that person with
the venom of sin. And if the one who was
bitten keeps silence and does not do
penance, and does not want to confess
his wound to his brother and to his
Master, then his brother and his Master,
who have the word that will cure him,
cannot very well assist him. For if the
sick man is ashamed to confess his wound
to the physician, medicine will not cure
that to which it is not applied.
--
St. Jerome
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Confession
heals, confession justifies, confession
grants pardon of sin, all hope consists
in confession; in confession, there is a
chance of mercy.
--
St. Isidore
The
Crucifixion of Christ
by
Simone Martine, 1333
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"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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EXAMINATION OF
CONSCIENCE FOR CONFESSION
For the Examination of Conscience
In an appendix to a pastoral letter on the
sacrament of reconciliation(2006), Archbishop
Bruno Forte of Chieti-Vasto outlines questions
that could be used for examining one's
conscience before going to confess.
If possible, prepare yourself for confession
with regularity, not allowing too much time to
pass. Prepare your confession in a climate of
prayer, responding to these questions under the
gaze of God, seeing him as the one you can go to
for help to progress more quickly along the path
of the Lord.
1. "You shall not have other gods besides me"
(Deuteronomy 5:7). "You shall love the Lord,
your God, with all your heart, with all your
soul, and with all your mind" (Matthew 22:37).
Do I love God like this? Do I give him the first
place in my life? Do I eagerly reject all idols
that could get between him and me, be it money,
pleasure, superstition, or power? Do I listen
with faith to his Word? Do I persevere in
prayer?
2. "You shall not take the name of the Lord,
your God, in vain" (Deuteronomy 5:11).
Do I respect the holy name of God? Do I abuse
him in my references to him, offending him, or
making use of him, instead of serving him? Do I
bless God in each one of my actions? Do I
surrender myself without reserve to his will for
me, trusting entirely in him? Do I entrust
myself with humility and confidence to the
guidance and teaching of the pastors which the
Lord has given to his Church? Do I make an
effort to go deeper in and strengthen my life of
faith?
3. "Take care to keep holy the Sabbath day as
the Lord, your God, commanded you" (Deuteronomy
5: 12-15).
Do I make Sunday the center of my week,
beginning with the most important moment, the
celebration of the Eucharist? Do I use it, and
the other days consecrated to the Lord, to
praise and give thanks to God, to entrust myself
to him and take rest in him? Do I participate
faithfully and actively in the liturgy,
preparing myself beforehand with prayer, and
making the effort to obtain its fruits during
the entire week? Do I sanctify the holy day with
some act of love toward the needy?
4. "Honor your father and your mother"
(Deuteronomy 5:16).
Do I love and respect those who have given me
life? Do I make the effort to understand and
help them, above all in their weaknesses and
limits?
5. "Thou shalt not kill" (Deuteronomy 5:17).
Do I make the effort to respect and promote life
in all of its stages and aspects? Do I do
everything in my power to promote the good of
the others? Have I done evil to someone with the
explicit intention of doing it?
"You shall love your neighbor as yourself"
(Matthew 22:39).
How do I live charity toward my neighbor? Am I
attentive and available, above all with the
poorest and weakest? Do I love myself, knowing
how to accept my limits under the gaze of God?
6. "You shall not commit impure acts" (cf.
Deuteronomy 5:18). "You shall not covet your
neighbor's wife" (Deuteronomy 5:21).
Am I chaste in thoughts and actions? Do I make
the effort to love with gratitude, free of the
temptation to possess or be jealous? Do I always
respect the dignity of the human person? Do I
treat my body and the bodies of others as a
temple of the Holy Spirit?
7. "You shall not steal" (Deuteronomy 5:19).
"You shall not desire your neighbor's goods"
(Deuteronomy 5:21).
Do I respect the goods of creation? Am I honest
in my work and in my relations with my neighbor?
Do I respect the fruit of others' labor? Am I
envious of the goods of the others? Do I make an
effort to make others happy, or do I only think
of myself?
8. "You shall not bear dishonest witness against
your neighbor" (Deuteronomy 5:20).
Am I sincere and loyal in each word and action?
Do I always speak only the truth? Do I try to
give confidence and act in a way that inspires
confidence in the others?
9. Do I make an effort to follow the example of
Christ in my life of surrender to God and my
neighbor? Do I try to be like him: humble, poor
and chaste?
10. Do I faithfully find the Lord in the
sacraments, in fellowship, and in service to the
poor? Do I live with hope in eternal life,
seeing each thing under the light of God, always
trusting in his promises?
[Translation by ZENIT]
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
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