CFP
RETREAT/REUNION/CONFERENCE 2007 HIGHLIGHTS
CFP Retreat/Reunion/Conference 2007 was a
time of many graces and insights. Father John
Randall, a priest in the Diocese of Providence,
RI USA, for over fifty years, shared his
insights, experiences, mistakes, and successes
in candid talks that reflected his great love
for God. Father Randall taught those present how
to consult the Holy Spirit throughout the day,
how to discern God's Will, and how to make joy
the center of one's life, even when one is
clinging to the cross.
Photos on this
link.
To order tapes of talks, see this
link.
Father John
Randall, Retreat Master
Following are
excerpts from and summaries of retreat and
conference talks for 2007
2007
Conference and Retreat Talk Summaries
CFP Conference
Summaries by CFP Members
CFP Community:
Community is built into the CFP Rule in Chapter
VI of our original Rule. The first penitents met
together monthly for teaching, prayer, and
support. The CFP fosters this today through
local groups, through an on-line monthly chat
gathering, and through an on-line forum for
members as well as via postal mail and phone
calls. Retreats are excellent ways to build and
retain community. We are all brothers and
sisters in Christ and this was intended by St.
Francis who began something new in his day by
forming an Order whose members were to be
mendicants who lived in community as brothers.
The fostering of community is integral to our
way of life. (talk by Madeline Pecora Nugent)
Sacred Art
(talk by Paul and Susan Boudreau): Symbols were
used from antiquity to illustrate human
realities. Some of the main symbols involved
rocks, fire, trees, and water. Some symbols
resembled what they portrayed. Others seem more
difficult to interpret. We have to know the
background of the culture in order to better
understand the meaning of the symbols used. In
Sacred Art of the Middle Ages, many symbols are
used. Sacred Art was used to teach, in pictorial
form, spiritual and scriptural truths. (talk by
Paul and Susan Boudreau)
Faces of Mary
Conference Talks by CFP Members and Associates
America’s
First Cathedral: The Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Mary in Baltimore, Maryland: The colony of
Maryland was established in 1634 as a place of
refuge for Catholics and those of other faiths.
However, by 1704, anti-Catholic legislation
forbid Catholics to gather for worship and
Catholic schools were outlawed. However,
Catholics built “Mass houses” where they would
gather secretly for worship. These structures
appeared to be homes but were really churches.
When the United States became free of British
government and the Constitution of the new
nation adopted, freedom to worship was
guaranteed. In 1795, Bishop John Carroll
initiated plans for a cathedral, the first in
the nation, in Baltimore, Maryland. Envisioning
a monumental cathedral, Bishop Carroll hired top
notch architects and work was begun on the
Greco-Roman structure that today is the Basilica
of the National Shrine of the Assumption. (talk
by Bob Boczek)
Our Lady of
Lourdes: In 1858, the Blessed Mother appeared
eighteen times to a simple, unlettered fourteen
year old girl named Bernadette Soubirous. The
apparitions took place in the cleft of a huge
rock formation near Lourdes, France. Most of the
apparitions were silent. Our Lady asked that
Bernadette “Pray to God for sinners” and made
her understand that “Penance, Penance, Penance,”
was necessary for the salvation of the world.
The Virgin directed Bernadette to dig in the
ground from which water welled up. This became a
spring whose waters have brought healing to
many. She also told Bernadette that she was “The
Immaculate Conception,” a doctrine which had
been confirmed only three years earlier. (talk
by Phyllis O’Brien, SFO)
Mary in the
Byzantine Tradition: Mary was given the title
“Theotokos” (Mother of God) in 431.This term is
used frequently in Byzantine tradition,
particularly in the Mass, and is part of
Byzantine iconography. Mary inspires us to a
greater love of God. She shows that very action,
no matter how small, can be offered to God to
bring us closer to Jesus, His Son. In icons,
Mary is always shown with great gentleness and
beauty. Her head is always covered with a
mantle, as was the custom for Jewish women of
her day. The mantle is red or dark red, the
color signifying humanity and/or suffering. Her
clothing is blue which symbolizes humanity. A
star on each shoulder and on her forehead
symbolize her virginity. She is always portrayed
in relationship to Jesus for she is our
intercessor before the throne of grace. (talk by
Sieglinde McGinnis)
Our Lady of
Fatima: In 1917, the Blessed Virgin appeared six
months in succession to three small shepherd
children of Fatima, Portugal. These apparitions
had been preceded by three apparitions of the
Angel of Fatima who asked the children to pray
for sinners and to stop offending God. The
Blessed Virgin repeated this message, calling
the children to do penance for the sins of
others and to make reparation to God for the
outrages committed against Him. On July 13,
1917, she showed the children a vision of hell
as well as a future vision of martyrdom of the
Pope and other Christians, and the children
again heard the message, “Penance! Penance!
Penance!” They understood that, if the world did
not do penance, the dire things they saw would
come to pass. The children took this message to
heart and began to do many penances for the
conversion of sinners. Our Lady also asked for
consecration of Russia to her Immaculate Heart,
promising that, if the Pope did that, Russia
would be converted and an era of peace would
then follow. Pope John Paul II made this
consecration and, shortly thereafter, Russia was
peacefully and politically dissolved. Our Lady’s
message continues to ask for penance, conversion
of heart. (talk by Madeline Pecora Nugent)
Mass Homilies by Father John Randall
Wednesday
night Mass homily: When we have a conversion
and feel filled with fervor, we begin to think,
“This is great! This is where the glory lies.
Lord, let it be like this forever.” But it’s not
going to be like that forever. The glory lies
under the arms of the cross. The cross is like a
glory spout. The cross is at the eye of the
hurricane of life. The eye is where the calm and
the peace lie while all around, storms are
raging. Cling to the cross and the hurricanes of
life will not blow you away.
Thursday night
Mass of Commitments Homily: Saints Joachim and
Anne were the parents of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. They were a holy family. Their daughter
had been chosen by God to be the Mother of His
Son. So Jesus called Joachim Grandpa and Anne
Grandma. But your family may not be like that.
Your family may be more like a St. Monica
family. Monica prayed for thirty years for St.
Augustine who eventually converted and became a
great saint in the Church. Do not grow
discouraged. Discouragement is the devil’s
greatest tool and sin because it reveals a lack
of faith. God always hears and answers prayers.
Pray and never lose heart.
Mass of the
Dead Homily on Friday: Life is a school for
eternity. It is an apprenticeship for heaven. We
are an Easter people and Alleluia is our song.
Right now we are on the road. We are going home.
Death is only a change of address. Death is
going down the aisle of heaven into the arms of
the Bridegroom. We are to be like the five wise
virgins who had oil for their lamps. The oil is
prayer. We have to keep our spiritual tanks
filled because the oil leaks out! Purgatory is
the waiting room for heaven where we will all be
the perfect age. Pray for the grace of a happy
death.
Mass of
Pledging Homily on Saturday: This is the day the
Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad! This
is a great day, greater than we imagine! It is
fitting that those pledging are doing it on
Mary's day, for the Confraternity is consecrated
to Mary. God's Providence is marvelous. He is
really in charge! You could not pick a better
Mass reading for today, the day of your
pledging, than the one Mother Church gives us
today. It is the reading of God's original
covenant with the people of Israel. The covenant
was read to the people and they said, "Yes. We
will do all it says." So you who are pledging
have said, "Yes, we will do all the Rule says."
And so you have committed this to writing and
will sign those pledges later in this Mass. Many
graces come from the keeping of God's covenant
and from the keeping of your pledges.
Sunday Mass
was at 6 a.m. with no homily, to allow the full
day as a travel day for those who came from
afar.
Retreat Talk
Summaries by Father John Randall
First Retreat
Talk -- Repentance: The Church goes through
times of revival and times of great crisis. Many
times of crisis have occurred in the Church in
the past, and we are in a period of crisis now
in the Church. We have lost the sense of sin in
our culture. The culture is affected by
complacency and pride. But do not think that the
Church is a club of saints. It is always a
hospital for sinners. We must begin by saying,
as they do in Alcoholics Anonymous, “I am
powerless. I need a higher power.” God is our
higher power. When we repent and turn away from
our sins, then revival can begin. Revival always
begins with repentance. Remember that both John
the Baptist and Jesus called their followers to
“Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand.”
Second Talk
-- Prayer: Jesus told us to pray constantly and
never lose heart. He told the parable of the
unjust judge and the woman who went to him
constantly. He granted her request because she
bothered him so much, but God is not like that.
God answers speedily, according to His
definition, and He wants His elect to pray day
and night. God’s answer is always on time. The
biggest crisis in the Church is loss of faith.
This is because we do not love God. If we loved
God, we would have no trouble praying. Prayer is
union with God. Those who love God have no
trouble praying. But we must do most of the
listening to God when we pray, instead of us
expecting Him to listen to us. We cannot pray as
we should unless the Spirit comes to our aid.
Christian prayer is always a duet between the
Christian and the Spirit. We must have God’s
plans, not our own. Prayer is a decision to
spend time with God.
Third Talk --
Mercy: Jesus told St. Faustina to promote the
prayer, “Jesus, I trust in You.” Trust means
transferring the trust from yourself to God. Our
great sin is that we want to be in control. To
give up control is to put our trust in God.
God’s other name is Mercy. To say the good God
is redundant because God means “good.” Jesus
told us not to be anxious for the morrow. We
need to live in today. God assures us that “all
things work together for the good of them that
love God.” And “surrender to God and He will do
everything for you.” Luke 15 gives three great
parables of mercy—the lost sheep, the lost coin,
and the prodigal son. If we listen to God’s word
in the depths of our hearts, He will teach us
how to become holy.
Fourth Talk --
Holy Spirit and Mary: Mary and the Holy Spirit
cannot be separated. She is the bride of the
Spirit and where the Spirit is, there is the
bride. Mary and Spirit bring forth Christ, the
Word. The Paraclete means “defender,” “one at
your side.” Jesus was the first Paraclete but,
before He died, He promised a second Paraclete,
the Holy Spirit. Revival is when you do very
little and God does everything. The world is
poised for a new springtime because Mary and the
Spirit are in the world and Jesus comes from
their union. God’s plan is the same, yesterday,
today and forever. Mary is still wed to the
Spirit and she is Virgin, Bride, and Mother. A
virgin has eyes only for the beloved. She weds
Him and becomes a bride. The union is fruitful
and the bride becomes Mother. So is the Church
like Mary. When we look at Mary, we see what the
Church is to be like. When the Church is
virginal—that is, she has eyes only for
Christ—then she becomes bride. When the Church
is bride, she can then become Mother of all
nations because she will be attractive and all
nations will stream to her. We need a second
evangelization of the world, a new birth of
Christ in the world. We have been through the
century of the Holy Spirit. Pope Leo XIII
dedicated the twentieth century to the Holy
Spirit and the Blessed Mother appeared more
times in that century than in any other century.
Mary and the Holy Spirit are wed, and we can
hasten the return of the Lord by our attitude.
Fifth Talk --
The Gospel. Saint Francis loved the Gospel. We
are to be a Gospel people. We are to be taught
by our Savior and formed by the Word of God.
Saint John of the Cross said that all you need
for the spiritual life is the Gospel. It is a
deep well and we can never explore all its
depths. The Gospel brings the Spirit and the
Word of God together. God told the Israelites,
“I want a loving heart more than sacrifice and
knowledge of my ways more than holocausts.”
Jesus is the Word of God. He is the Bible
incarnate. We must be open to what the Spirit is
doing as He works to make us into images of
Christ. Look to the saints as examples. The
saints need to become our heroes. They show us
how good triumphs over evil, how Jesus triumphs.
Before the saints can complete their work, they
are tested. Life happens at the cross. God wants
us to pass the test of affliction. Scripture is
the love letter of God.
Sixth Talk --
Spiritual Warfare. While most Americans believe
in God, less than 50% believe in evil spirits.
Not to believe in satan is to lose the battle.
The Bible tells us that there are three things
that will pull us from God—the world, the flesh,
and the devil. Satan is prince of this world,
Scripture tells us. It also reveals that, after
a long reign of Christianity, satan will return.
Pope Leo XIII felt that satan was given the 20th
century and Peter Kreeft called the 20th
century the worst of all centuries. In that
century, the goals seemed to be to destroy the
priesthood, families, and youth. But satan’s
rule will not last forever. The faithful Church
is smaller in numbers. Less than 1/3 of
Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Christ
in the Eucharist. But numbers do not matter.
Zechariah 13 shows how God was able to save
Israel with only 3% of the troops. John 10:10
tells us how the thief comes to lie, steal, and
destroy but Jesus came to give life and to give
it to the full. When we pray the Rosary, we
ought to think about the spiritual warfare that
was going on around the circumstances of each
decade. Christianity is warfare. Evangelism is
warfare. Hostility will break out over something
God wants. Pope John Paul II encouraged all
parishes to have Eucharistic Adoration. We are
in a bigger war than any in the world. It is a
war for the Church, the schools, and society.
Only prayer and fasting can effect change. We
must have courage. Pray Psalm 91 daily. Use the
sacramentals. Holy water and blessed salt are
effective. You can rebuke the devil. He has no
power over a Christian. Rebuke him in the name
of Jesus. But you have no power if the person
does not want satan to leave. Mortal sin opens
the door to satan. He who does not gather with
Christ scatters. Unrepentant sin grieves the
Holy Spirit. The discernment of spirits is a
gift of the Holy Spirit. Beware of the spirits
of retaliation which will try to steal what you
have learned from this retreat. Use the weapons
God gives us—the Sacrament of Reconciliation,
the Eucharist, prayer. We have the victory.
Jesus wins.
Confraternity of Penitents
520 Oliphant Lane
Middletown RI USA
02842-4600
401/849-5421
bspenance@hotmail.com
copenitents@yahoo.com
