Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman
Portrait by
George Richmond, 1844
A revelation is
religious doctrine viewed on its illuminated side; a
mystery is the selfsame doctrine viewed on the
unilluminated.
Mysteries in
religion are measured by the proud according to
their own capacity; by the humble, according to the
power of God: the humble glorify God for them,
the proud exalt themselves against them.
--Venerable
John Henry Cardinal Newman
When we say
this thing is a mystery, of the thing we say nothing, but of ourselves we say that we do
not comprehend this thing--as defect of strength in
us makes some weights to be immobile, so likewise
defect of understanding makes some truths to be
mysterious.
--St. Elizabeth
Ann Seton
Sending of the Spirit, detail
Heidelberg Bible of the Poor, c. 1430
"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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Visitor's
Vision:
A Weekly
Message from CFP
Visitor, Father Jay A. Finelli
Eighteenth Week of Ordinary Time
Saint Ignatius and the Lives of the Saints
This week we celebrated the Memorial of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Saint Ignatius died in the year 1556. He was a soldier and he was very competent. He did a lot of reading about being in the military and was promised a successful career when suddenly he was struck with a cannonball that shattered his leg. When he went into the hospital, he was a man who liked to read romance novels. But they had none for him in the hospital so they gave him a book of Scripture and books on the lives of the saints and he was converted by reading about their virtues. Shortly after his conversion, he went off to a shrine of our Lady and ended up staying there for a whole year. Then he fully gave himself over to the Lord and dropped out o the military, although he could not serve in the military anyway because of his shattered leg.
Shortly thereafter, he and a group of six other men founded what we now know as the Society of Jesus or the Jesuits of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. They took their vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience but with a special addition to their vow of being submissive to the needs and the will of the Holy Father. Wherever the Holy Father would send them, they were under obedience to go. Still today they are under this obedience and there are some wonderful Jesuits in the world today. Recently our parish took a pilgrimage to the Shrine of the North American Martyrs and that is a Jesuit shrine. The Jesuits have done so much good in the Church as the Society of Jesus. They have done great works of the Church throughout the world. Today there are 20,000 Jesuits throughout the world.
As we celebrate the life of Saint Ignatius, we can learn from him to meditate on the lives of the saints. The lives of the saints can be inspiring! When I had a deeper desire to serve the Church in a deeper way (I was always a Catholic; I was raised as a Catholic, but I wanted to serve the Church more), I read the lives of the saints and they inspired me. Nowadays, I think our young people need the lives of the saints more. They may be Catholic but they don’t need to learn all about these sports heroes or movie celebrities. If they would read the lives of the saints, they would learn so much more because the lives of the saints show us the way to God’s kingdom. Ignatius is one of the great examples of that.
I visited Loyola when I was on pilgrimage a few years ago. There is a beautiful seminary there, the center of the Society of Jesus. Today let us pray for the Jesuits, for the Church, for their vocations, and for ourselves that we may be inspired by Saint Ignatius and all the saints to give ourselves completely to the Lord. Oh, we may not take vows about being submissive to the Holy Father, but we can have that same submission and obedience. Let us renew our fidelity to the Holy Father through the example of Saint Ignatius.
God love you.
Father Finelli
c. Father Jay FinelliMay not be used without written permission.
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com |