Saint Anthony of Padua
(1195-1231)
Happy the man whose words issue from the Holy
Spirit and not from himself.
--St. Anthony of Padua
In all talking and conversation let something
always be said of spiritual things, and so shall all
idle words and evil speaking be avoided.
--St. Teresa of Avila
The Child Jesus in the Temple
(artist unknown)
"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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CONTACTING THE CONFRATERNITY OF PENITENTS
Please contact us by phone, postal
mail, or email.
DO YOU HAVE AN EMAIL LIST?
Yes! Sign up for our Penance Means Conversion
Email List by writing to any one of the emails below
or by going to
the home page in the left link column and signing up
directly. You will receive occasional inspirational
mailings and urgent prayer requests. We do not give
your email to others. When you receive an email
back, stating that you have been signed up to the
email list, please put on your safe list or buddy
list the email address provided. That will keep our
email to you from being pulled out as spam.
HOW CAN I OBTAIN SPECIFIC
INFORMATION?
If you want specific information, please
write to us in English via one of the emails below.
A good free translation site to help you inquire in
English is on
this link.
If you write in
any other language, we may delete your email as
spam.
copenitents@yahoo.com
cfpenitents@gmail.com
bspenance@hotmail.com
We get a great deal of spam at these
public addresses. Therefore, please put "Inquiring
about the Confraternity of Penitents," or some such
phrase, in the subject line of your email. This will
let us know that your email is not spam, and we will
be sure to open it. Thanks!
I WROTE TO YOU AND NEVER RECEIVED AN
ANSWER.
This probably means that your letter
never reached us. If you do not receive an
answer within three days, please write again but
send your letter to a different email address.
MY EMAIL WAS RETURNED AS "UNABLE TO
DELIVER" OR WITH A NOTE SAYING THAT THE EMAIL WAS
BLOCKED.
Please write to us again at another
of our email addresses. All our emails are
working, and we have no blocks on any incoming
emails. However, occasionally a problem exists with
an email service. We suggest that you enclose
no attachments, photos, or pictures with your
correspondence as servers will sometimes block such
emails as spam.
If you continue to have a problem,
please phone or postal mail us using the information
below. Thanks!
DO YOU RESPOND TO THIRD PARTY OR
ANONYMOUS WEB SITES?
No. Occasionally the CFP
receives notification from "Share Your Experiences"
or "Request Information" type websites. It is
not the policy of the CFP leadership to respond to
emails sent to us via third parties or web sites
whose anonymous users say they wish information
about the CFP.
If you wish to remain anonymous,
please email or phone us directly and as anonymously
as you wish. We will be most happy to respond
to you. If you wish to check on our
credentials, we will be happy to forward you copies
of letters of support from our diocese or put you in
touch with our spiritual advisors or Visitor.
Thanks for your understanding!
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
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