SAINT OF THE MONTHSaint Brendan
(c. 484 - c. 577)
Saint Brendan with the whale from a 15th
century German manuscript
Born in southwest Ireland, Brendan was
educated for five years by St. Ita and them
completed his studies under St. Erc who ordained him
a priest. After having built monastic cells for
about fifteen years, he set out on his first of many
sea voyages one of which, some claim brought him to
the shores of America. Other voyages brought him to
Iona, Wales, England, Scotland, and various parts of
Ireland. Through his voyaging, Brendan established
monasteries and built churches, evangelizing people
as he traveled. Brendan chronicled his adventures,
some of which involve whales and other fantastic sea
creatures. For his prowess on the seas, Saint
Brendan is surnamed "The Navigator."
QUOTE FROM SCRIPTURE
"It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to
pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from
sins."(2 Maccabees 12, 46)
The Book of Maccabees tells
us why we pray for the dead--so that they may be
loosed from their sins. Since no sin can enter God's
presence, we must be purified of all sin before we
can enjoy eternal life in heaven. If that
purification does not occur in this life, God, in
His mercy, allows it to occur in the next life.
While Jesus' sacrificial death certainly atoned for
ALL sin, our own sense of justice demands some
restitution, even if paltry, for His great
sacrifice. That atonement can be made here or in
Purgatory. Jesus cannot save us without our consent,
nor can we be purified of sin without our consent.
Purgatory is the state in which we say "yes" to that
purification which will align our wills perfectly
with God's. We might think of Purgatory as something
like an extreme makeover. No one can force a
makeover on anyone. The person must consent to it.
Just so in Purgatory the sinner must consent to
being made perfect so as to enter union with the
Eternal Perfection of God.
QUOTE FROM A SAINT
Vouchsafe to the souls of my father and mother,
my brothers, sisters, and relations, and of my
friends, enemies and benefactors,
living and dead, remission of all their sins, and
particularly those persons for whom I have
undertaken to pray. (From the Acts of Saint Brendan)
How charitable of Saint
Brendan to pray not only for his family and
benefactors but also for his enemies! He also
included in this prayer "those persons for whom I
have undertaken to pray," thus covering everyone who
asked for his prayers. He did not have to keep a
list of names. He covered everyone in his
all-encompassing prayer. This may be a good prayer
for us to use as well.
BIRTHDAYS
A Happy Birthday
to:
Bernadette McSherry 3/6
Jeffrey
Teel 3/8
Adrienne
Kappes 3/9
Paul
Boudreau 3/10
Alfonse
Ciaccio 3/12
Francis
Dureo 3/15
Elizabeth
Hill 3/15
Chad
Hidalgo 3/17
Anthony
Onyeahialam 3/19
Gene
Dolerical 3/19
Carol Ann
Munoz 3/24
CarolAnn
Edscorn 3/24
Lou
Samuels 3/24
Brenda
Sue Luke 3/29
Dustin
Niblock 3/30
FUNDS
The Confraternity
of Penitents requires no dues from its membership.
However, there are expenses to be met (about $200
monthly) and we appreciate your donations toward
them. We also have an Alms Fund for needy members.
If you wish your contribution to go toward the Alms
Fund, please so specify.
Donations may be
sent to CFP Treasurer, Robert Boczek, 303 Town Green
Way, Reisterstown MD 21136. Please make checks
out to Confraternity of Penitents.
OR
Make a secure,
online donation through PayPal by using the PayPal
logo on our
Donations Link.
Your donation is
tax-deductible.
May God reward you
for your support!
Visitor: Father Jay
Finelli
Spiritual
Advisors: Father John of the Trinity, Erem. TOCarm;
Fr. Martin Mary Fonte, FI; Dom Julian Stead, OSB;
Sister Eugenia Brady, SJC; Father Dominic Mary
Garner; MFVA
Convert Contacts:
Deacon
Joseph Pasquella and Karen Sadock
Please contact us
if you have a question which you feel a priest needs
to answer and we will put you in touch with one of
our spiritual advisors or with another person who
can assist you.
May God bless you
and let us pray for one another!
The Lord's Prayer
by J. J. Tissot
1899
"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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NO GREATER LOVE
"There is no greater love than this: to lay
down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13)
Monthly
Newsletter Archives for
All Who Wish to
Do Penance (Experience Conversion) in the
CONFRATERNITY
OF PENITENTS NEWSLETTER ARCHIVES
March, 2008
Have you read our other on
line, monthly publications (Monthly Letter to
All Penitents; Following Francis, Following
Christ; and Repair God's House)? Find them
by following this
link.
LETTER FROM ONE
WHO SERVES THE CFP
The Great Grace of Suffering
"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake,
and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking
in the afflictions of Christ on behalf of his
body, which is the church . . .
It is He whom we proclaim,
admonishing everyone and teaching everyone with
all wisdom, that we may present everyone perfect
in Christ. For this I labor and struggle, in
accord with the exercise of his power working
within me."
(Col. 1:24, 28-29).
Suffering is not a subject we go
out of our way to discuss. By definition,
at the very least it makes us uncomfortable, and
when extreme, can bring unspeakable agony.
One might be able to bear or put up with some
measure of suffering when one knows, or at least
believes, that through it, some benefit will
result, either for oneself or for another.
But Paul does not say to the Colossians, "I put
up with my sufferings.” He says that he
rejoices in them!
How is this possible?
As we read further, we discover a plausible
reason for his joy-- “…that we may present
everyone perfect in Christ. For this I
labor and struggle.” This is remarkable in
and of itself. What great charity operated
in this man's soul; that he was actually happy
to suffer, so that others might become saints!
But how could his sufferings, labors and
struggles, as a mere man, bring about these
great conversions? Paul tells us: it
was only by the means of the power of grace, as
given to him by God …"in accord with the
exercise of his power working within me."
Paul understood and lived out what Jesus taught
His apostles while He was living among them.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a
man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear
much fruit; Apart from Me, you can do nothing.”
(John 15:5)
In our day, Paul has been
nicknamed “The Apostle of Grace.” In his
letters, he writes again and again about the
full sufficiency of the grace of God at all
times and under all circumstances. "But my
God shall supply all your need according to His
riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil.
4:19) Paul himself heard this same message
from the very mouth of God ("My Grace is
sufficient for thee." 2 Cor 12:9) when he asked
three times that his "thorn in the flesh" be
removed.
So what could Paul possibly mean
by this seemingly contradictory and shocking
statement, which he makes with the same degree
of certainty: …" and in my flesh I am filling up
what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ on
behalf of his body, which is the church"? The
Lord Jesus the Christ is the only one who could
have made perfect atonement for the sins of the
world. He needed nothing from any of us in
order to accomplish our redemption-- nor is
there anything we could have given of ourselves,
sinners that we are. There is only one
condition under which "the afflictions of
Christ" could possibly be "lacking" so as to
require compensating action: only if it
were so by God's own design; that is,
intentionally, as part of His perfect plan.
The full implications of this
mystery should be enough to make us fall to our
knees, rejoicing along with Paul. As Paul
reveals to us, Christ in fact allows us—not
because we are in any way worthy or able—but
only by means of the very same grace and merits
gained for us through His atoning suffering and
death-- to be active participants with Him in
His salvific work! It is the same gentle
invitation from our Lord that we all know so
well, to “Take up my yoke, and learn from Me;
for I am meek and humble of heart.” (Matt.
11:29). Through this act of perfect
charity towards us sinners, our Lord invites us
in turn to learn the practice of perfect charity
towards one another—but, as He assures us,
through both the means of and by the help of his
saving grace! “For My yoke is easy and My
burden is light.” (Matt. 11:30)
Grace of graces! All is
grace! The Church, the sacraments, our countless
blessings and consolations—and even doubly so,
our opportunities to suffer! All has been
obtained for us on the Cross, and is offered to
us anew each day as grace by our loving Lord and
Savior, all for the sake of our deeper
conversion, the end of which is the perfection
of charity in our souls.
No less than with Paul, God
offers us opportunities to suffer, in and
through Christ, “on behalf of His body, which is
the Church.” In His admonition not to seek
after the things of this world, but rather that
we are to “seek first the Kingdom of God, and
His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33), Jesus
calls us to actively participate in the Kingdom
of God-- this great mystery of perfect mutual
charity, which takes place among all the members
of His Body -- the Church Militant, the Church
Suffering, and the Church Triumphant--through
acts of righteousness—that is, by our prayers,
works of mercy, and our sufferings. But
Jesus also reassures us that the Father has
given us the Kingdom freely by grace, in and
through our membership in the Body of Christ--
"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's
good pleasure to give you the Kingdom" (Luke
12:32).
Perfect mutual charity—that is
nothing less than life in the Trinity.
That is what we are called to. Through
Christ and in Christ, dying with Christ and
rising with Christ, we shall be perfectly united
to Him as the Bride of Christ, eternally
enjoying perfect mutual charity with one
another—and with the Father!
"The glory which You have given
Me, I have given to them, that they may be one,
just as We are one.” (John 17:22)
Alice L. Vozzo (A First Year Novice with the
Confraternity of Penitents, Alice is currently
discerning a possible call to the religious
life.)
NO GREATER LOVE
40 Days’ Theology at Pallotine
Animation Center
Just as Jesus entered the desert to fast and
pray for 40 days and nights before beginning His
public ministry, a mixed group of 53 people,
leaving their communities, work, families and
friends, entered a similar type of desert. This
desert was the Pallotine Animation Center at
Nagpur in Maharashtra, India. They had come to
attend the 40 Days’ Pastoral Theological Course
on Small Christian Communities held from January
8 till February 17, 2008. This was the third
successive course and this was the biggest
number of participants so far. The group
consisted of 31 priests, 8 nuns, 7 deacons, 2
seminarians and 5 lay people from 27 dioceses.
Twelve priests had come all the way from
neighboring Sri Lanka.
The course began with an inaugural Mass
celebrated by Fr. Vijay Thomas, Director of PAC
on January 9 at 7.00 a.m. The theme of the Mass
was “Towards a Better Ecclesial
Self-Understanding”. The subjects under study
had a distinct bearing to each other and were
imparted by different resource persons like
Bishop Vincent Kympat from Jowai, Fr. Francis
Scaria from Bhopal, Fr. Arthur Pereira from
Mangalore, Ms. Wendy Louis from Singapore and
Fr. Vijay Thomas himself. The basic ideas
emerging from all the subjects could be put down
to a few main points.
Jesus’ summing up the Ten Commandments into two
main ones as love of God and love of neighbor
found expression in the two dimensional aspect
of our spiritual lives – the vertical and the
horizontal dimensions. While the vertical
dimension referred to our relation with God, the
horizontal one concerned our relationships with
our brothers and sisters around us. With either
of these two dimensions missing, our spiritual
lives would be warped or incomplete.
Secondly, salvation can no longer be a personal
affair but a communitarian one. We are just as
responsible for others as for ourselves. It is
precisely for this reason that the prayer Jesus
taught us brings out this aspect. We do not
recite the Lord’s Prayer by saying ‘my Father,
give me today my daily bread, forgive me my
sins’ but ‘our Father, give us today our daily
bread, forgive us our sins,’ etc. Finally, God
is a community – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
There is harmony between the three persons even
though God is one. Jesus formed the first
community by calling the Twelve Apostles. The
early Christians also lived in small
communities. An old song rightly says, ‘No man
is an island’. It is thus that as a community we
attain salvation and journey together to the
place God has prepared for us.
The Theological course was not merely confined
just to classroom lectures. We worked, played,
prayed, toured and lived together as one large
family. An essential feature of our life was
daily Mass and Gospel Sharing. Each day, one
diocese was given the responsibility of
preparing the liturgy at Mass and this gave much
meaning and induced a spirit of prayer and
devotion.
An important part of our training was applying
what we had learned in the classroom to everyday
situations in real life. We were invited to have
interaction with the local people by splitting
up into groups according to the areas. Our
interaction with the people were divided under
four heads, viz. visiting the families in the
area allotted, attending a Gospel Sharing
session, imparting training on some aspect of
Gospel Sharing or SCC that was not very
familiar, and finally having a celebration with
the people. This part of our training was very
much appreciated by all and greatly enhanced our
theoretical knowledge with practical
experience.
The 40 Days’ Theological course concluded with a
final Mass celebrated by Fr. Thomas Vijay on
Sunday February 17 at 7.00 a.m. The theme of the
Mass was very meaningfully selected: “Mission
Starts”. The time had come for us to depart to
our respective dioceses to live out all that we
had learned among our people. At the end of
Mass, all of us were presented with
certificates, reminding us of our convocation
ceremony when we had graduated. It had truly
been a most enriching experience for us all.
Patrick John Ashing, Oblate, OSB
Cam. Affiliate of the Confraternity of Penitents
Pillar of Fire
With eager
freshness and daring,
The sacred fire
is kindled in the midst of the indigo night.
A mammoth column
of precious beeswax stands alone.
Gold foil and
pressed flowers adorn the smooth alabaster wax.
Ignited from the
holy flint, it shatters darkness and
Illuminates
minds. It cleanses and commands.
Brilliant shards
of light flow, flicker and dance
Over the fervent
faces of the faithful.
It limns the
tortured Body, roused from the
Bitter, silken
web of death.
Christ in his
ever-luminous raiment smiles, laughs and
rejoices.
In him true
immortality is born.
With dawn comes
incomparable joy,
Ineffable
gladness in the unending Feast.
Myriads of these
Paschal flames consume all evil,
Burning away the
shroud of sinfulness.
It is nothing
less than
Fire from heaven.
-- Brother Raymond Joseph Colombaro, O. de M.,
Affiliate of the Confraternity of Penitents
REFLECTIONS ON
THE SAN DAMIANO CRUCIFIX
The Glory of God
The Glory of God is the Passion
of Christ.
Glory has many definitions. The
internet gives these three among others.
Contrast them with Isaiah's words about the
suffering servant, which refer to Christ:
Glory: A state of high honor.
"He was despised and rejected by others; a man
of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and
as one from whom others hide their faces, he was
despised, and we held him of no account."
(Isaiah 53:3)
Glory: Brilliant, radiant
beauty. "He had no form or majesty that we
should look at him, nothing in his appearance
that we should desire him" (Isaiah 53:2).
Glory: Rejoice proudly. "Like
a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a
sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he
did not open his mouth." (Isaiah 53:7)
The San Damiano Crucifix reveals
the Glory of God as existing in the Passion,
Crucifixion, Humiliation, and Death of Christ.
Christ dying yet alive, dead yet risen, is the
Christ of the San Damiano Crucifix. When we
experience difficulties in our own lives, we can
look to the Christ of the San Damiano Crucifix
for strength to go on. His glory and ours
consists in the triumphs that come in the wake
of our trials. Ultimately our lives will end in
death just as His did. then comes our eternal
day. God be praised for showing us that glory
really means being crucified for love of Him Who
was crucified for love of us.
OUR RULE OF LIFE AND REFLECTION
RULE:
23. And if the
ailing person depart from this life, it is to be
published to the brothers and sisters who may be
present in the city or place, so that they may
gather for the funeral; and they are not to
leave until the Mass has been celebrated and the
body consigned to burial. Thereupon each member
within eight days of the demise shall say for
the soul of the deceased: a Mass, if he is a
priest; fifty psalms, if he understands the
Psalter, or if not, then fifty Our Fathers with
the Requiem aeternam
at the end
of each.
C ONSTITUTIONS:
In keeping with section 23 of the Rule:
23a. If a Chapter or Circle member should die,
those surviving members should gather for the
funeral if work and family commitments allow.
They are not to leave until Mass is celebrated
and the body consigned to burial.
23b. Within
eight days of the demise, each member shall say
for the soul of the deceased: a Mass, if a
priest,
fifty Psalms
other wise.* If a member cannot read the
Psalter, he or she may say fifty Our Father's
with the words "May the souls of the faithful
departed through the Mercy of God rest in peace"
following each Our Father.
23c. Penitents may, if they wish, add the
ejaculation, "Lord, have mercy on ________'s
soul" after praying each psalm, or the Glory be.
CONFRATERNITY PHOTO ALBUM
 My
name is Rose Marie Herring. I’m the second
of eight children and was named after my dad’s
sister, a Franciscan nun who died shortly before
my parents married, so I guess I’ve always felt
a sort of connection with St. Francis. I
was raised Catholic but like many of my
generation was poorly catechized, so I remained
pretty ignorant of the riches of the Catholic
faith until after I started home schooling my
children in 1993. What an education for
all of us! My husband and I live in
southeast Indiana with our five sons and one
daughter, ranging in age from 7 to 21 years old.
Thanks largely to our parish’s perpetual
adoration chapel and to our pastor, who is “on
fire with the Spirit,” our whole family has
grown tremendously in our faith, especially in
the past few years. I’ve felt for several
years a call to pray an office, to fast, and to
practice Gospel poverty, but never knew until a
couple of years ago that a lay person could live
a rule like the Rule of 1221. I have
just become a first-year novice in the CFP and
am very excited about taking this step.
May God give me the grace to live the Rule and
to seek Him with all my heart!
 My
name is Wondimagegn Hussen. I am from Ethiopia.
My age is 35.I have a family. I have one
child. Her age 5. My wife does not live with me.
She is working in an Arab country which is in
Qwet. We communicate daily through Mobile
telephone. By faith I and my family are
Catholic. I Graduated from Addis Abebea
University Commercial Collage with a Marketing
Management Diploma. During the last seven years,
I have been working in church based organization
as follows:
v
Meki Catolic Apostolic Vicariate Catholic
Relief Service(CRS) program for three years as
Animator on women promotion program.
v
Ethiopia Catholic Secretariat Women Micro
Finance Program as Loan Officer for three years.
v
Now I am working in the Arch Diocesan Catholic
Secretariat Combolcha Coordination office as
Pastoral, Justice and Peace Coordinator.
Also I participate in
different church associations like the youth
association, HIV Club, Song choir, and so on. I
have also composed, in my language, several
Christian songs which I am making available in
my country and which are also available through
the Confraternity of Penitents Holy Angels Gift
Shop on this
link. I am a
first year Novice with the Confraternity of
Penitents and CFP Regional Minister for Africa.
CATHOLIC HUMOR
HUMOR FOR LEXOPHILES (LOVERS OF WORDS):
A lot of money is tainted: 'Taint yours, and
'taint mine.
A boiled egg is hard to beat.
He had a photographic memory which was never
developed.
A plateau is a high form of flattery.
Those who get too big for their britches will be
exposed in the end.
When you've seen one shopping center you've seen
a mall.
If you jump off a Paris bridge, you are in
Seine.
When she saw her first strands of gray hair, she
thought she'd dye.
Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead to know
basis.
Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.
Acupuncture: a jab well done.
 NOW
BEING PLANNED: 10 DAY PILGRIMAGE IN THE
FOOTSTEPS OF ST. FRANCIS
In commemoration of the tenth year since our
bishop gave us permission to live our way of
life, the CFP will be joining some others on a
pilgrimage to Assisi and other places associated
with Saint Francis.
Assisi—La Verna—Rivo Torto—Marches of Ancona—St.
Peter's Basilica—etc.
October 5-15, 2008
Cost $2,290 per person, leaving from Atlanta GA.
Ground only (make your own plane reservations):
$1,390.
Conducted by Bret Thorman, SFO, of St. Francis
Pilgrimages and Father Linus DeSantis, OFM Conv.
Full details are on this
link.
GIFTS FROM THE
CFP HOLY ANGELS GIFT SHOP
To see all the offerings in the CFP Holy Angels
Gift Shop, click on this
link.
"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."
(Matthew 22:37-38)
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
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