The Holy Spirit longs to find the gates of our
heart, so that He may enter in and dwell there, and
sanctify it; and He goes round about to all the
gates to see where He may enter.
-- St. Ephraem
the Syrian
The Holy Spirit
gives wisdom against folly, understanding against
dullness, counsel against rashness, fortitude
against fears, knowledge against ignorance, piety
against hardness of our heart, and fear against
pride.
--Pope Saint
Gregory the Great
O Holy Spirit,
who gives grace where You will, come into me and
ravish me to Yourself. The nature that You made,
change with honeysweet gifts, that my soul, filled
with delightful joy, may despise and cast away
all the things of this world, that it may receive
spiritual gifts, given by You, and going with joyful
songs into infinite light may be all melted in holy
love.
--Blessed Richard Rolle
Holy Spirit, Spirit of truth, You are the
Reward of the saints, the Comforter of souls, Light
in the darkness, Riches to the poor, Treasure to
lovers, Food for the hungry, Comfort to those who
are wandering; to sum up, You are the One in whom
all treasures are contained.
The Holy Spirit rests in the soul of the
righteous just like the dove in her nest. He hatches
good desires in a pure soul, as the dove hatches her
young.
-- St. John Vianney
We have been called to heal wounds, to unite
what has fallen apart, and to bring home those who
have lost their way. Many who may seem to us
to be children of the Devil will still become
Christ's disciples.
--St. Francis of Assisi
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.
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DISCERNING
BETWEEN GROUPS THAT LIVE A RULE OF LIFE
discerning between groups
Perhaps you, like
some others, have found the Confraternity of Penitents
and know
immediately that you have "come home." The CFP
way of life resonates with you. You feel as if
you have found what you have always been
seeking. If so, God be
praised! We welcome your inquiry.
However, you may
be trying to discern what God asks of you. As
you may have discovered, many holy, Spirit-filled groups for the laity,
many of them Catholic Third Orders, now exist in
the Catholic Church. Any number of these may be
able to support you on your spiritual journey as
you seek to become fully a child of God.
Not affiliated with any specific Order
(Franciscan, Dominican, Benedictine,
Augustinian, Missionaries of Charity, Salesians,
Jesuits, and so on), the Confraternity of
Penitents recognizes all Catholic religious
Orders as means of drawing closer to God. The
Confraternity focuses, not on the charism of a
founder, but rather on
penance
(conversion)
as practiced by all the saints and preached by
Christ, our Holy Lord. This is commonly called
the “Franciscan vision” as it was the call of
St. Francis to the penitents of his time.
As you explore the Confraternity of Penitents,
and perhaps other groups who live a Rule of
Life, including groups which also live some
form of the Rule of 1221, you may find yourself
asking, “What are the differences?” This article
will give some suggestions on where to look so
that you will be able to understand each group
better.
THE GROUP’S VISION
Just as what we look at defines the path we
should take if we are hiking, a group’s Vision
defines the path its members walk. Therefore, as
you discern, compare the Vision of the groups
which you are considering.
“The Vision of the Confraternity of Penitents
is this: To give glory to God and surrender to
His Will through the living of a medieval,
penitential Rule of Life, the Rule of 1221.
This Rule is lived as closely as possible to its
original intent, and in one's own home or CFP
community house, in peace with all others, and
in obedience to the Roman Catholic Church, its
Pope, and its Magisterium.” (From the
Constitutions of the Confraternity of Penitents)
Thus, the Vision of the Confraternity of
Penitents is very clear. Its members are to LIVE
the Rule, as closely as possible to its ORIGINAL
intent, in PEACE with all others, and in
OBEDIENCE to the Church.
THE GROUP’S RULE OF LIFE
Therefore, to discern well regarding the
Confraternity, you must be familiar with its
complete Rule of Life. The other groups which
you are considering may have a Rule of Life
also.
The Rule for the Confraternity of Penitents
begins this way:
"Here begins the Rule of the Continent* Brothers
and Sisters. In the Name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The memorial of what is proposed for the
Brothers and Sisters of Penance, living in their
own homes, begun in the year of our Lord 1221,
is as follows. . . "
* In modern
usage, continent means "those who relinquish
worldly things for the sake of God's Kingdom."
Then follows thirty-nine sections of the Rule
which tell how the penitents were to live at the
time the Rule was written.
THE GROUP'S CONSTITUTIONS AND/OR STATUTES
In discerning the Confraternity of Penitents' way
of life, reading the Rule is not sufficient. You
must also read how the Rule is to be lived. The
Vision statement says that
“This
Rule is lived as closely as possible to its
original intent.”
Reading the original Rule of 1221 clarifies its
original intent.
The Constitutions of the Confraternity clarify
how that Rule is to be lived today so that it
“is lived as closely as possible to its original
intent.”
All groups whose members live a Rule of Life
have Constitutions and/or Statutes which define
the group’s way of life. Different groups
structure their Rules and Constitutions
(Statutes) differently.
In the Confraternity of Penitents, the Rule
forms one document and the
Constitutions another. On the link from the
website
www.penitents.org
both the Rule and Constitutions are printed on
the same web page, with the
original Rule of 1221 first. This is followed by Constitutions that discuss important
matters such as governance, history, and
structure and that conclude with Applications of
the Rule of 1221 (Section XX of the
Constitutions) which
correspond, section by section, to the
thirty-nine sections in the original Rule of
1221. The Constitutions detail how the Rule is
to be lived today.
If you wish to compare groups, print out their
Rules and Constitutions and/or Statutes and compare them side by
side, point by point. If you read carefully and
ask the Holy Spirit to enlighten you, you will
discover the differences between the groups
regarding their way of life and their outlook on
spirituality. The differences indicate
that God has provided the Catholic Church with
many paths to holiness. You must discern which
is best for you.
OTHER DIFFERENCES
You will notice many other differences between
the groups which you are considering. Some of
these involve personalities, publications, group
gatherings, apostolates, and other matters.
Certainly investigate these as thoroughly
as you
can.
The Confraternity of Penitents, for example, has
an entire on-line Penance Library plus years of
Archives. It would be impossible to read every
one of these hundreds of printed documents
before you decide how to proceed with your
inquiry with the Confraternity. But if you
explore the website, you will get a good idea of
what the CFP offers offer and of what it is all about.
Despite the vastness of any group's web site,
the two key points to discern a calling to live
any group's Rule of Life are the Vision of the
group and its Rule and Constitutions and/or
Statutes. That is how you will live your life
with this group. That is how those in the group
live their lives.
The personalities, publications, group
gatherings, apostolates, and other matters are
all spawned by the Vision and the Rule of Life.
They all show some facet of how that Vision and
Rule are implemented.
Which Vision corresponds to yours?
Which Rule of Life would give you peace if you
lived it?
CONSULT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Lord has the perfect plan for your life. He
wants to make you a saint! Why? Because everyone
in heaven is a saint and God wants you with Him!
And isn’t heaven your goal? If God wants to use
one of these groups to help you achieve
sanctity, it is vital that you discern which one
He wants!
Read the Vision and Rule, Constitutions and/or
Statutes carefully and pray about what you are
reading. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you which
group He wishes you to investigate. To live a
Rule of Life is not a matter of choosing between
one set of rules or another or one group or
another. If you have a vocation to live a Rule
of Life, that is a specific call from God to
live a specific Rule. Your goal is to determine
if you do have such a vocation and, if so, to
which Rule of Life.
After some time of study and prayer, you may
still feel confused. Pray to the Holy Spirit,
“Lord, show me where You want me. Tell me what
to do next.” Be open to your spiritual reading,
to advice from others, to homilies, to “signs”
that God may show you. If you feel a sense of
hesitancy about a group, do not discount your
feelings. The Holy Spirit may be directing you
elsewhere. On the other hand, if you feel drawn
to one group, even if you have no idea how you
could ever live its Rule of Life, consider that
the Holy Spirit will give you the grace you need
if He is directing you there.
As you pray and discern, look for what decision
seems to give you peace. Peace is one of the
fruits of the Holy Spirit. Living the Rule of
the group you are considering should foster
peace. Simply by investigating the group, you
should find that the fruits of the Holy Spirit
are growing in you. These fruits are c harity,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty,
self-control and chastity (Galatians 5:22-23).
These fruits of the Holy Spirit will nurture in
you the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit which are
wisdom, understanding, knowledge, piety,
fortitude, right judgment, and fear (awe) of the
Lord. These should be the outcome of your
affiliation with the group which the Lord has
already chosen for you.
Write to the group that God seems to indicate.
Ask questions. Apply for membership or study. Do
not worry about picking the “wrong group” or
entering formation and study with a group that
you might discover later is “not for you.” God
may have you investigate and even join one group
because He wants you to discern clearly that it
is not the one for you. He will use that group
to lead you to the next step of your journey. So
do not be afraid. Step out in faith.
Every step of the journey with God is good. God
is full of surprises! Often we do not know what
He is doing in our lives. We must be patient as
God’s plan unfolds.
Remember, God promised to be a “light to our
path,” not a floodlight that helps us see
everything all at once. If you follow the Lord’s
lead and take the first step, God will guide you
into the next one.
At the end of his life, Saint Francis told his
friars, "I have done what was mine to do. Now
may God show you what is yours to do." The
Confraternity of Penitents hopes to be an aid to
its members as they discover "what is theirs to
do" to grow closer to God.
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
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