I
am the true vine, and my Father is the
vine grower. He takes away every branch
in me that does not bear fruit, and
everyone that does he prunes so that it
bears more fruit. You are already pruned
because of the word that I spoke to you.
Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just
as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own
unless it remains on the vine, so
neither can you unless you remain in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches.
Whoever remains in me and I in him will
bear much fruit, because without me you
can do nothing. Anyone who does not
remain in me will be thrown out like a
branch and wither; people will gather
them and throw them into a fire and they
will be burned. If you remain in me and
my words remain in you, ask for whatever
you want and it will be done for you. By
this is my Father glorified, that you
bear much fruit and become my disciples.
As the Father loves me, so I also love
you. Remain in my love. If you keep my
commandments, you will remain in my
love, just as I have kept my Father's
commandments and remain in his love. I
have told you this so that my joy may be
in you and your joy may be complete.
This is my commandment: love one another
as I love you.
(John 15: 1-12)
Jesus Teaching the Multitudes
|
"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.
|
PENANCE,
PRUNING, AND PURPOSE
With the exception of men and women religious
who are living lives of poverty, most anyone
reading this on a computer has too many things.
Quite probably they have too many things to do,
also. An old Chinese proverb goes, "Anything you
have that you don't really need only causes
trouble." Doctor James Dobson, an evangelical
talk show host, says, "If the devil can't make
you sin, he'll make you busy." He also tells a
story about a swing set he got years ago for his
children. The swing set had so many
instructions, not only on how to assemble it but
also on how to care for it, that Dr. Dobson felt
"owned" by the play equipment. He felt as if he
were enslaved to it!
When we enter upon a path of conversion
(penance), we need to be serious about it.
Serious means not only turning to God in a
firmer way, but it also means getting rid of the
unnecessary things we own and the unnecessary
things we do that take time away from our time
with the Lord. Some of these may be really good
things. But the better thing is to do what God
wants. If we are too busy taking care of things
or doing things, we won't have the time to "be
still and know that I am God."
Jesus used the parable of the vine and
branches to help us understand that we often
have to eliminate some things in order to foster
the growth of better things. The way the better
things grow is through love of Christ. Our love
for Christ is hampered, however, if we love
inordinately what we do or what we have.
Capuchin Father Raniero Cantalamessa offers
an excellent reflection on God's pruning. May we
understand that God is fostering our growth in
love of HIM when He prunes away other things in
our lives. Here is Father Cantalamessa's homily.
The photos show a DeChaunac grape vine before
and after pruning and then its fruit.
ROME, MAY 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a
translation of a commentary by Capuchin Father
Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the Pontifical
Household, on this Sunday's Gospel reading.
* * *
Fifth Sunday of Easter
(John 15:1-8)
He Prunes Every Branch that Bears Fruit
"I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine
grower. He takes away every branch in me that
does not bear fruit, and everyone that does he
prunes so that it bears more fruit" (John
15:1-2).
In his teaching, Jesus often begins with things
that are familiar to those listening to him,
things that everyone could see. This time he
speaks to us with the image of the vine and the
branches.
Jesus sets forth two situations. The first is
negative: The branch is dry, it bears no fruit,
and so it is cut off and thrown away. The second
is positive: The branch is living and healthy,
and so it is pruned.
 This contrast already tells us that pruning is
not a hostile act to the branch. The vinedresser
expects much from it; he knows it can bear
fruit; he has confidence in it. The same happens
on the spiritual plane. God intervenes in our
lives with the cross. It does not mean he is
irritated with us but, in fact, the opposite.
But, why does the vinedresser prune the branch
and make the vine "weep," as is usually said.
For a very simple reason: If it is not pruned,
the strength of the vine is wasted; it will bear
perhaps more bunches than it should, with the
consequence that not all will ripen and that the
rating of the wine will be lower. If it remains
a long time without being pruned, the vine even
becomes wild and produces only vine tendrils and
wild grapes.
The same happens in our lives. To live is to
choose, and to choose is to deny oneself. The
person who wants to do too many things in life,
or cultivates innumerable interests and hobbies,
is dispersed, and will not be outstanding in
anything.
 One must have the courage to make choices, to
put some secondary interests to one side to
concentrate on the primary. To prune!
This is even truer in the spiritual life.
Holiness is like a sculpture. Leonardo da Vinci
defined sculpture as "the art of removing." The
other arts consist in adding something: color to
the canvas in painting, stone on stone in
architecture, note after note in music.
Only sculpture consists of removing, of taking
away the pieces of marble that are in excess, so
that the figure can emerge that one has in mind.
Christian perfection is also obtained like this,
by removing and making useless pieces fall off,
namely, desires, ambitions, projects, carnal
tendencies that disperse us and do not let us
finish anything.
One day, Michelangelo walking through a garden
in Florence saw a block of marble in a corner
protruding from the earth, half covered by grass
and mud.
He stopped suddenly, as if he had seen someone,
and turning to friends, who were with him,
exclaimed: "An angel is imprisoned in that
marble; I must get him out." And, armed with a
chisel, he began to work on that block until the
figure of a beautiful angel emerged.
God also looks at us and sees us this way: as
shapeless blocks of stone. He then says to
himself: "Therein is hidden a new and beautiful
creature that waits to come out to the light;
more than that, the image of my own son Jesus
Christ is hidden there, I want to bring it out!"
We are predestined to "be conformed to the image
of his son" (Romans 8:29).
Then, what does He do? He takes the chisel,
which is the cross, and begins to work on us. He
takes the pruning shears, and begins to prune
us.
We must not worry ourselves thinking of what
terrible crosses he may send us! Normally, he
does not add anything to what life presents us
in terms of suffering, effort, tribulations. He
makes all these things serve for our
purification. He helps us to not waste them.
[Translation by ZENIT]
ZE06051201
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
|