St. Thomas Aquinas
artist unknown
The Church has ever proved indestructible. Her
persecutors have failed to destroy her; in fact, it
was during times of persecution that the Church grew
more and more; while the persecutors themselves, and
those whom the Church would destroy, are the very
ones who came to nothing. . . Again, errors have
assailed herm but in fact, the greater the number of
errors that have arisen, the more has the truth been
made manifest. . . . Nor has the Church failed
before the assaults of demons: for she is like
a tower of refuge to all who fight against the
Devil.
-- St. Thomas Aquinas
The Catholic
Church is the work of divine Providence,
achieved through the prophecies of the prophets,
through the Incarnation and the teaching of Christ,
through the journeys of the apostles, through the
suffering, the crosses, the blood and death of the
martyrs, through the admirable lives of the saints.
. . . When we see, then, so much help on God's part,
so much progress and so much fruit, shall we
hesitate to bury ourselves in the bosom of that
Church? For beginning with the apostolic
chair, down through the succession of bishops, even
to the open confession of all mankind, it has
possessed the crown of teaching authority.
--St. Augustine
Saint Michael
Battling Satan
by Guido Reni
1575-1642
"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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"GO AND REPAIR MY
HOUSE, WHICH, AS YOU CAN SEE, IS FALLING INTO
RUIN."
JUNE 2012
FOR JESUS AND MARY
Renewed, enriched, enlightened and empowered by
the unfolding of the Holy Scriptures, and the
celebrations of the Liturgical Season we have
experienced in the past few month, we now have
entered Ordinary Time. Ordinary only in that is
not one of the special seasons such as Advent or
Easter. How ordinary can a time be when the
Church brings to our attention the mystery of
the Trinity, the feasts of Corpus Christi and
the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary! In this
month of June, the Gifts and Fruits of the Holy
Spirit, revived in us at Pentecost, purify and
sharpen our minds and hearts, as we ponder these
holy days, not ordinary at all.
In our time in history, the preponderance and
weight of evil burdens the daily struggle for
survival, both spiritually and materially. Each
century has its own glorious moments as well as
its times of struggle and moral decay. The
second millennium calls us out of ourselves and
the selfish greed that makes poverty a glaring
wrong around the world. Much as good people
reach out and help and give of self, sometimes
out of their own need, there are still nations
starving for the necessities of life, including
many segments of our own population. The right
to fullness of life from conception to natural
death is no longer a priority among so many. The
media makes us all too aware of crime and
selfishness and unjust power. Human trafficking,
torture, and war riddle our world. How aware
are we of these evils in our midst?
The Church and the world are in crisis. What do
the lives of Jesus and Mary teach us? They, too,
suffered beyond all imagination from the
consequences of evil in the world of their time.
God, as spoken of by Jesus, is Love, and love
casts out all fear. We are called by the lives
of Jesus and Mary, and their hearts filled with
love for suffering humanity, to live lives of
faith, hope and charity. These theological
virtues are gifts from God to us, and they call
us from our fears and lethargy. We are called
to grow in these virtues and all the virtues
related to them. In this way we can help
“rebuild” God’s Church that is sorely tempted
and suffering.
We read in the prophet Micah 6:8 “What is good
has been explained to you, man; this is what
Yahweh asks of you: only this, to act justly, to
love tenderly and to walk humbly with your God.”
We find the means of becoming a people of the
promise in these words--justice, love, and
humility. These are the virtues that can make
us once again a people created in the image and
likeness of God, and a people who have been
given God’s own Son whose Heart is full of
goodness, truth and love.
As we reflect on the feasts of Jesus and Mary in
June, let us open our hearts to these two Hearts
both pierced for us – Jesus on the Cross at
Calvary, and Mary in the Temple at the
Presentation of Jesus as Simeon foretold her
piercing with swords of sorrow. Being open to
the mystery of suffering in their lives, we can
perhaps unite our sufferings and those of our
Church and our world, and we can try to find the
courage and the strength to carry our own
burdens with peace.
The Body and Blood of Jesus, Corpus Christi,
carries within the Godhead. That same Incarnate
Word that rested under Mary’s Heart for nine
months lives within us by grace, God’s gift. The
Eucharist, “The source and summit of the
Christian life” is a daily spiritual food
grace-filled for us. Jesus and Mary call us to a
way of life that that can defeat the powers of
darkness and uphold the values that we know are
essential for the return for a truly Christian
way of life necessary for our salvation.
St. John in his Gospel and Epistles reminds us
“God is love.” “See what love the Father has for
us that we should be called children of God and
so we are…”’ (John I:3) Love alone can rebuild,
within us, and all around us, the protective
shelter of the House of God. Let us learn from
Jesus and Mary to have hearts overflowing with
love for one another and all God’s children.
“May mercy, peace and love be ours in
abundance.” (Jude 2)
Your sister in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary,
Sister Eugenia Brady, SJC, Spiritual Advisor to
the Confraternity of Penitents
 Confraternity of Penitents 520 Oliphant Lane Middletown RI USA 02842-4600 401/849-5421 bspenance@hotmail.com copenitents@yahoo.com |