Fulfilling the Catholic Church's Call to Penance and Repentance

in the Modern World

The Confraternity of Penitents

"You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, with your whole soul, and with all your mind, (and) you shall love your neighbor as yourself."  (Jesus's words as recorded in Matthew 22:37-38)

Following Francis, Following Christ

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Saint Francis Receiving the Message from the Crucifix of San Damiano

by Giotto

1267-1337

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,
all praise is yours, all glory, all honor, and all blessing.



To you, alone, Most High, do they belong.
No mortal lips are worthy to pronounce your name.



All praise be yours, my Lord,
through all you have made,
and first my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day;
and through whom you give us light.
How beautiful is he, how radiant in all his splendor;
Of you, Most High, he bears the likeness.


All Praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Moon
and the stars; in the heavens you have made them,
bright, and precious, and fair.


All praise be yours, my Lord,
through Brothers wind and air, and fair and stormy,
all the weather's moods,
by which you cherish all that you have made.


All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Water,
so useful, humble, precious and pure.


All praise be yours, my Lord, through Brother Fire,
through whom you brighten up the night.
How beautiful is he, how cheerful!


Full of power and strength.
All praise be yours, my Lord, through our Sister
Mother Earth, who sustains us and governs us,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers
and herbs.


All praise be yours, my Lord,
through those who grant pardon for love of you;
through those who endure sickness and trial.
Happy are those who endure in peace,
By You, Most High, they will be crowned.


All praise be yours, my Lord, through Sister Death,
From whose embrace no mortal can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin!
Happy those she finds doing your will!
The second death can do them no harm.


Praise and bless my Lord, and give him thanks
And serve him with great humility.

--St. Francis of Assisi

The Canticle of the Creatures

St. Francis Preaching to the Birds

by Giotto

1257-1377

 

"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.


FOLLOWING FRANCIS, FOLLOWING CHRIST

A Monthly Reflection on the Life and Teachings of Saint Francis of Assisi as They Relate to the Rule and Constitutions of the Confraternity of Penitents

August, 2008

Seek the Face of God and “Follow Instructions”

 

There are times when all of us are bewildered and do not know where to turn.  Francis was in that situation in 1206.  He knew that he had a call from the Lord to abandon his former life, but what did the Lord want of him?   This was the question in Francis’s mind when he entered the very run down, crumbling church of San Damiano. Over the door of the church there were the words “Domus mea”, My house.  The now famous San Damiano crucifix, the symbol that has been adopted by the Confraternity of Penitents, which hung near the altar, had survived the decay. 

 

What was Francis doing in “My house”?  He was doing what people have done since Old Testament times--he was seeking the face of God. We read in Psalm 24: “Who may go up the mountain of the Lord?  Who can stand in His holy place?   The clean of hand and pure of heart, who are not devoted to idols, who have not sworn falsely.  They will receive blessings from the Lord, and justice from their saving God.  Such are the people that love the Lord, that seek the face of the God of Jacob.”  (Ps 24:3-6) When Francis embraced the leper, he was rejecting his former attachment to earthly beauty and now he was “pure of heart”.  Even that, however, is not enough.  Francis still had to seek the “face of God” and he did that by going to the Church of San Damiano and praying before the crucifix.

 

In the Church of San Damiano, Francis found what he was seeking.  By gazing at the San Damiano crucifix, the Lord returned the favor by gazing back at him.  Then, the Lord spoke to Francis saying, “Francis, go and repair My house, which, as you see, is falling into ruin.”  This call was repeated a second and third time.

 

Francis immediately  set out to obey the Lord.  He went and took some rich cloth from his father’s shop and sold it in the neighboring city of Foligno to get money to pay for the restoration of San Damiano.  Since this occurred before Francis was disowned by his father, he was not stealing.  Francis had taken the Lord literally and understood that He wanted him to repair churches.  Therefore, Francis set about to repair churches in the area.  I believe that Francis understood the Lord correctly.   While the Lord did not want Francis to spend the rest of his life repairing churches, that is exactly what the Lord demanded of Francis at that time.  By selling his father’s cloth, he angered his father so much that it led his father to disown him.  Francis was pushed further into the Church.  This in turn led Francis to seek support from the Church which led to the formation of the Friars Minor.

 

Here, Francis can teach a practical way to seek the will of God for our lives.  First, we have to take the advice of Psalm 24 and seek to rid ourselves of attachment to sin.  Sin is the barrier which blocks the face of God from our eyes.  When the flesh and worldly cares dominate us, then we are not “pure of heart” and God is unable to reach us.  Then we have to seek His Face, in other words, His Presence.  Francis did it with the San Damiano crucifix.  Francis’s experience before the crucifix teaches us that we should not  expect the Lord to lay out an entire life plan before us.  We only need to know what He expects of us now.  We must learn to “just follow instructions” and not worry about what is down the road.

Jim Nugent 

 

Confraternity of Penitents

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