Franciscan Penance Library
Confraternity of Penitents Monthly Newsletter -- February 2014
The Meaning behind the Laws of the Church
Visitor's Vision
29[John] saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. 30He is the one of whom I said, ‘A man is coming after me who ranks ahead of me because he existed before me.’ 31I did not know him, but the reason why I came baptizing with water was that he might be made known to Israel.” 32John testified further, saying, “I saw the Spirit come down like a dove from the sky and remain upon him. 33I did not know him, but the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the holy Spirit.’ 34Now I have seen and testified that he is the Son of God.” (John 1: 29-34)
​
When I read this passage of the testimony of John, bearing witness to the Dove coming down upon the Christ as He humbled Himself to be baptized, I cannot help of thinking about a picture which has gone “viral” throughout the internet this past year.
​
The picture is indeed amazing! Hopefully many of you saw the picture of the Holy Father, Pope Francis, when he was riding in the Pope-mobile throughout St. Peter’s square when suddenly he extends his hand and a white dove landed upon it. The moment immediately spread throughout the world as a sign of great fortune and hope for this new pontificate.
There are, in fact, many similarities between the situation we find ourselves in now, and the situation that faced the people of Israel so many years ago.
​
At the time of John the Baptist the people of God were awaiting the coming of a Savior, but they were so busy fulfilling the precepts of the law that they had forgotten the purpose of the precept, which was to bring you into a covenant or a relationship with God.
​
And so John is a sign for the turning of the times in salvation history. For he was the one chosen to point to the coming of the one who came, not to abolish the law of the old covenant, as St. Paul says, but rather to fulfill the law. So in the Mass readings for the Baptism of Jesus we see the beginning of the transition from the age of the Law to the age of the Church, also called the era of Grace.
​
Similarly, today, people are looking to our Holy Father and his wisdom and methods for this new outpouring of the Grace of God. However, now, just as in the time of Christ, there are people who are misunderstanding this new era. The news is full of people who are ecstatic because they are awaiting the Pope to “change the teachings of the Church.”
The Holy Father, like Jesus, has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill the law. This means that his mission is to remind us all of the purpose of our doctrines. What is that purpose? To bring us into a closer relationship with the one who died to save us and to give a new expression of those doctrines so that a world who needs to hear them might hear them anew in the converted hearts of the faithful.
​
What does this mean for us? We must do likewise. We need today to be a turning point in our lives just as the Baptism of Jesus was a turning point for the Holy Church. Up until today I am sure there is at least one area of your faith you have merely regarded as a law, that is waiting to turn into a new outpouring of grace.
​
What does that look like? Maybe it’s, “I go to Mass every Sunday, but I don’t know why.” Or, “I know that we as Catholics don’t offer communion to everyone, and I get that it’s a rule, but do I understand that this rule exists out of consideration for people’s souls?” Or maybe you have hopped on ever popular band wagon that claims that “one church is as good as another… who cares about being a Catholic… why is the Church necessary in our lives?”
​
These are just a few “laws” we observe which, when we seek out the love that Christ has in store for us through them, can become areas of Grace in our lives. Because the more we know, the more passionate we might become. The more passionate and confident we become, the more courage we have to share the faith with others.
​
May we all have a Baptist moment in our lives and may we take up the call of John the Baptist, our Lord Jesus Christ, and now Pope Francis to turn our understanding of law into a greater reception of the Lord’s grace in our lives by seeking out the meaning and purpose of the laws of the Church. -- Father Jacob Meyer, Visitor, Confraternity of Penitents.
Following Francis, Following Christ
The Joy of Coming Clean
One of the associates in the Confraternity of Penitents, who experienced a conversion to the Catholic faith in prison, shared these thoughts with the CFP:
I am just passing it along that after 16 months, Confession finally became available for me!
I was and am so excited that I almost skipped around today a couple of times afterward, but prudence kept me in check because skipping in prison doesn't even belong in the same sentence.
Anyway, so, this is just a short email to praise God along with you, and how much of a relief it is to finally share some things in this healing sacrament that came back to my memory over the past several months -- along with other things I have done -- and to be reconciled once more, to be cleaned-up!
As fate would have it (and I believe God shapes our fate based on our decisions, as the potter and the clay of Jeremiah), right after my Confession, the normal extraordinary minister got pulled out of Mass for work and the back-up guy was gone. So, I was asked to perform that role for the first time in my entire life!
I don't know how anyone else feels, but I felt so wholly unworthy to hold the Blood of our Lord in my hands. That was probably one of the most humbling experiences I have ever felt, and at the same time a strengthening of service to my brothers in here. I don't think I am able to express the joy, either.
Yours in Christ Jesus, Mary, and St. Joseph,
Eric
Eric expresses so beautifully his joy in being able to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation after 16 months in prison without it. One of the difficulties which prisoners experience is the lack of a priest to hear their confessions. Another difficulty is the lack of a priest to offer Sunday Mass. It is common for prisoners to be able to attend Sunday Mass once every two weeks or even once a month. We on the outside, who can go to Mass daily and who can attend Confession weekly, or whenever we make an appointment with a priest to hear our Confession, often take both the Mass and the Sacrament of Reconciliation for granted. Consider the Sacrament of Reconciliation. This is the sacrament in which we experience the mercy and forgiveness of God. But unless we recognize the seriousness of our sins, we will not have the joy that Eric experienced when he received the grace of this sacrament.
St. Francis was acutely aware of the need for reconciliation, not only as a sacrament but also as a means of fostering the brotherhood among his Friars. If one brother sinned against another, he was immediately to go to that brother and ask for forgiveness. If a sin involved speaking uncharitably about the brother, the offending Friar would lie down at the feet of the one offended and ask that brother to step on his mouth so as to punish the tongue that was used to hurt his brother. This may seem extreme to us, but the early Friars were serious about confessing their sins and about asking forgiveness. They were also serious about extending forgiveness to the offender, so we can imagine that the one offended would never have harmed the offending brother who had prostrated himself for punishment.
After Eric experienced the cleansing graces of his Confession, he was asked to distribute the Precious Blood of Jesus at Mass. Was this a God moment in which Eric was able to understand that, when we are pure and cleansed from sin, we can hold Jesus close to us and pass on His love to others? They Blood of Christ that Eric distributed to the communicants was shed for them to forgive their sins and to show them how much God loved them. Through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives our sins and shows us how much He loves us. The Sacrament of Eucharist is, in a very real sense, also a Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The season of Lent is approaching, and we will go to Confession in preparation for the great Solemnity of Easter. May we make a good confession, as Eric obviously did, so that we, too, can experience the joy of God’s mercy, love, and forgiveness.
Let us pray for one another and for all doing penance worldwide. With my prayers, and asking yours,
--Madeline Pecora Nugent, CFP
Monthly Letter to All Penitents
THE BIBLICAL CONCEPT OF GOD
Professor Joseph Ratzinger, in his Introduction to Christianity, explains for us what we mean by the “name” of God: What is a name really? And what is the point of speaking of a name of God? I do not want to undertake a detailed analysis of this question---this is not the place for such an analysis---but simply to try to indicate in a few lines what seem to me to be the essential points. First, we can say that there is a fundamental difference between the purpose of a concept and that of a name. The concept tries to perceive the nature of the thing as it is in itself. The name on the other hand, does not ask after the nature of the thing as it exists independently of me; it is concerned to make the thing nameable, that is, “invocable”, to establish a relation to it. Here, too, the name should certainly fit the thing, but to the end that it comes into relation to me and in this way becomes accessible to me. Let us take an example: If I know of someone that he falls under the concept “man”, this is still not enough to enable me to establish a relation to him. Only the name makes him nameable; through the name the other enters into the structure, so to speak, of my fellow humanity; through the name I can call him.
Since we have a name for God, we can call upon God. As Professor Ratzinger put it: This will probably make clear what Old Testament faith means when it speaks of a name of God. The aim is different from that of the philosopher seeking the concept of the highest Being. The concept is a product of thinking that wants to know what that highest Being is like in itself. Not so the name. When God names himself after the self-understanding of faith, he is not so much expressing his inner nature as making himself nameable; he is handing himself over to men in such a way that he can be called upon by them. And by doing this he enters into coexistence with them; he puts himself within their reach; he is “there” for them. Of course, as Professor Ratzinger had previously pointed out, this revelation of the name of God is completed by Jesus Christ taking on human flesh and becoming no longer just a word at which we clutch; it is now flesh of our flesh, bone of our bone. God is one of us.
He then puts together what has been said: If one tries to survey the question as a whole, it becomes apparent that there are always two components in the biblical concept of God. One side is the element of the personal, of proximity, of invocability, of self-bestowal, an element that is heralded in the idea of the “God of our fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob”, summed up comprehensively in the giving of the name, and concentrated again later in the idea of “the God of Jesus Christ”. It is always a matter of the God of men, the God with a face, the personal God; on him were focused continuity, the choice and the decision of the faith of the patriarchs, from which a long yet straight road leads to the God of Jesus Christ.
As Professor Ratzinger has pointed out, that is not the entire biblical concept of God. If it were, it would mean that the God of Israel was just another national god or god of nature which people give a name to and invoke. On the other side is the fact that this proximity, this accessibility, is the free gift of the one who stands above space and time, bound to nothing and binding everything to himself. The element of timeless power is characteristic of this God; it becomes concentrated more and more emphatically in the idea of Being, of the enigmatic and profound “I am.” As time went on, Israel visibly tried to interpret something of this second element to the surrounding peoples, to impress on them the special character, the “otherness” of its faith. It placed the “is” of God over against the becoming and passing away of the world and its gods----gods of the earth, of fertility, of one nation. It contrasted the God of heaven, standing over all, to whom everything belongs and who belongs to no one, with the particular gods. It insisted emphatically that its God was not a national god of Israel in the way that every people had its own deity. Israel insisted that it had no god of its own but only the God of all people and of the whole universe; it was convinced that precisely for this reason it alone worshipped the real God. I do not have God until I no longer have any god of my own but only trust the God who is just as much the next man’s God as mine, because we both belong to him.
It seems to me that Professor Ratzinger has pinpointed for us the paradox of the Old Testament biblical faith of Israel. How can the God which is namable and accessible and actually “there” for us also be defined as “Being itself”? It is easy to think of God as a supernatural being whom we can pray to and can help us with our problems like the gods of the ancient world. Of course, we do not want to get on the wrong side of such gods. On the other hand we can also think of God in high philosophical terms such as “Being itself” or the “Ground of Being” or “Ultimate Reality”.
But how do we relate to “Ultimate Reality” as a person? How is “Ultimate Reality” accessible to us? How do we put the two together? The problem gets much worse when we come to Christianity. How can “Being itself” take on human flesh and become one of us? Many teachers and theologians have tried to solve the problem by minimizing or ignoring one or the other of the two elements of the idea of God. God is “Ultimate Reality” and Jesus Christ is someone who especially experienced this reality. We can look to this Jesus as a “model” for living a happy and productive life, but we do not give our wills over to Him. Perhaps Jesus is our “buddy” who is always there for us but we don’t have to worry about offending Him since he is one of the gang.
It is easy to see why many reject the Biblical faith in God and especially Christianity. It is too much to grasp and really demands too much of us. Yet this is what makes Christianity and especially Catholicism so exciting. When we do what the Lord demands, the reward is great even in this world.
Jim Nugent, CFP
Letter from One Who Serves the CFP
WANTED - Formator's or Pen Pals for Our Prison Ministry
We are looking for people who would write our CFP Inmates, or being a Formator to help them develop a Franciscan spirituality, to help them put off the old person, and become a new person in Christ. They are reaching out, and are eager to grasp the spirituality of the CFP way of life, and many are now very active in the CFP formation, Catholic worship, Bible study, and prayer. They may be looking at the Lord in various "degrees of faith". Just like the general population of millions of Catholics, they are the ones who are praying, and request resources, are making the attempt to find a way to pray, or to know God, while in a prison facility, none the less. The inmates are thankful to us, for what we do, but Jesus will be the one, through the Holy Spirit, to administer his Divine Graces upon them. "If we do it to the least of our brothers, we do it to Christ." We can put "light in the darkness", and pray for them all. Some prayers are being answered in ways we cannot see, but read about in their letters.
"When St. Francis was locked up by his angry father, he called upon the Lord to comfort him. "Praying, he prayed always with a torrent of tears that the Lord would deliver him from the hands of those who were persecuting his soul, and that he would fulfill his pious wishes in his loving kindness; in fasting and in weeping he begged for the clemency of the Savior, and distrusting his own efforts, he cast this whole care upon the Lord.
"And though he was in a pit and in darkness, he was nevertheless filled with a certain exquisite joy, of which until then he had had no experience; and catching fire there from, he left the pit and exposed himself openly to the curses of his persecutors. ....But Francis only became the more ready and more strong to carry out his purpose."
(Saint Francis of Assisi Omnibus of Sources, Page 237-239 selected parts.)
Jesus said "When I was in prison, you came to visit me." Jesus is in these men, and some have no one interested in writing them, or responding to their request for Catholic prayer books or reading. One inmate was so anxious to send a letter, that he gave up his dinner tray for a stamp. I received several "homemade" Christmas greeting cards. Most have received the Sacrament of Penance, and participate in the Liturgy of Mass, by serving as altar servers, lectors, and musicians and teaching RICA courses. One prison is a wonderful example of much spiritual growth, and conversions. You can feel from their sincere words, that they are very happy to receive a letter from a brother or sister in Christ, especially from the CFP.
This year there were, in two institutions, six men, that were be baptized, and Confirmed, into the Catholic Church, from prison RICA programs. There are several wishing to become Catholic, and seek assistance to find out how. Some inmates write up to four pages, some one page, but in each one you could tell of an empty spot that was filled with a bit of spiritual love, and friendship, reflected in their letters.
One inmate said it is wonderful to receive mail--most of the mail he got were forms and advertising--but "you were the only one that wrote to me". Another inmate shared with me, and I hope he forgives me for sharing this, that the daughter of a victim contacted him recently, and said that she forgave him. She was also concerned that he was in a hospital when she could not reach him. What a blessing this was for both of them. It also deeply touched my heart.
Letters are filtered through the CFP home office to create a bit of security for the writers. Donations for stamps are welcome to help with mail forwarding for over 26 inmates in the CFP program. There are several sources for Prison Ministry resources, that provide free Bibles, various publications, Bible studies, and Rosaries, etc. There is a need for donations for Catholic Catechisms, and CFP study books, would be put to good use too.
Will you come forward, especially those at the Novice 2 level and above, to be a formator for one of the prison inmates? We will only give one prisoner to a CFP member for formation. Those who volunteer must be willing to correspond with the prisoner via postal mail and should expect fairly frequent correspondence. The CFP will provide the stamps if you will provide the time, a loving consistency of response, and your prayers and insights to these men.
--Paul Phelan, CFP Novice 3
No Greater Love
Peter and Jesus
​
Peter knew Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God, and he loved Him with all his heart. Jesus loved Peter. He chose him to be one of His real right hand men. Jesus said, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.” Peter had the Keys of the Kingdom. Peter saw Jesus transfigured. He saw him multiply the bread and the fish and walk on water.
Peter did not see the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He could not watch even one hour with Jesus. Instead he fell asleep.
Peter did not understand that Jesus had to suffer and die. When the Roman soldiers came for Jesus and Judas was with them, Judas kissed Jesus in greeting and the soldiers arrested Jesus. Peter was there and went to defend Jesus with his sword, but Jesus said, “No.” So Peter and the other disciples ran away.
Peter had to know what was going on. He went to the courtyard to see, and while warming up his hands by the fire, some women recognized him. Three times Peter denied Jesus. “What can I do? I can’t help Jesus now.” This is what he must have thought. Then Peter heard the cock crow, and he saw Jesus and Jesus saw him.
At that moment, as if a knife pierced him and shattered his heart to a million pieces, Peter felt that the pain was intolerable. He had betrayed Jesus, the Son of God. Jesus was his friend. Words could not describe how Peter felt. Peter wept, and the tears would not stop. He wept through the night and never stopped. He could not stop. Peter was not at the foot of the cross. His heart ached more than anyone else’s.
After the crucifixion, when Peter heard from Mary Magdalene that the tomb was empty, he and the disciple John ran to see. Out of respect for Peter, John let him reach the tomb first and go in. Both men saw and began to believe in the Resurrection.
Scripture does not record the meeting of Jesus and Peter, but it does tell us that it happened. “The Lord has risen indeed and has appeared to Simon.” (Luke 24:34). Peter felt too frightened of the Romans and of himself, and maybe even of Jesus’ disappointment, to go to Jesus at the foot of the cross and ask His forgiveness. So because Peter did not go to Jesus, Jesus went to him. It is interesting that the first people to whom Jesus appeared after the Resurrection were two whose sins were widely recognized-- Mary Magdalene and Peter. This should tell us how much God loves us, for He goes out of his way to come to us.
--Mary Ann Gennuso (Novice 1) and Madeline Pecora Nugent (Life Pledged, Privately Vowed)
Reflections on the Rule
13. The sick are not to say the Hours unless they wish.
CONSTITUTIONS
​
13. In keeping with section 13 of the Rule:
13a. While the sick do not have to say an office, they may do so all or part of the time.
REFLECTION:
Notice the gentle tone of the Rule. The sick ARE NOT TO SAY the Hours unless THEY wish. This was an admonition to the minister (leader) of the penitents that those who are ill are exempt from the prayers and no minister should try to make them do them. The only exception would be if the ill person wanted to pray, and then he or she could. But only the ill person could decide what he or she could do. Sometimes all one can do is offer up one's sufferings as a prayer. The penitents needed to know that, if they really were not able to pray the Hours, then they were not sinning if they could not pray. For certain souls, such a stipulation would bring great peace of mind.
Affiliate Action
Affiliates can take a lesson from this part of the Rule in understanding that, in all duties, if one simply is too ill to do them, one should not feel guilty or think that he or she is lax spiritually. However affiliates are living the spirit of the CFP Rule, they can take heart in knowing that offering up their sufferings may be the way they will have to choose. And offering up one's sufferings is living the spirit of the Rule indeed!
Poetry
God's Will
​
For Kay-Marie and Vickie W.
Accept it well
each turn and twist
believe this now
God does exist.
Do your best
to accept it
then watch each
dilemna exit.
Ratify by faith alone
thank him for
the love he's shone.
In the end
all prayers transcend
watch and see
the trials end.
--Joseph Matose IV, CFP Affiliate
Virtues Portrayed in the San Damiano Crucifix
Hope as Portrayed in the San Damiano Crucifix
The San Damiano Crucifix radiates hope as the serene while crucified Jesus looks forward to the Ascension and the welcoming Hand of the Father, pictured at the top of the crucifix. This is our Hope. Jesus has gone before us to welcome us to heaven among the angels and saints who are pictured as clustered about His ascending form. While Jesus is nailed to the cross, He is also ascending to the Father. This hope is expressed well in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18: "So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."The San Damiano Crucifix pictures both the seen and unseen for the seen leads to the unseen. Seeing, we have hope in the eternal which we do not see.
Saint of the Month
Saint of the Month
Blessed Anthony Stroncone (1381-1461)
Feast Day-- February 8
Blessed Anthony Stroncone was born to Third Order Franciscans parents They were members of the noble family of the Vici. Anthony received an excellent education, and his love for the Franciscan order was fostered from his youth through his parents and through his uncle who was a Franciscan friar.
Anthony was drawn to a life of prayer, solitude, and penance. When he was 12, he begged the superior of the Franciscan convent for admission into the order, but was refused entrance due to his youth and his health. However, Anthony was not deterred. He repeated his pleas until, after the third request, he was granted entrance as a postulant.
His superiors wanted to educate Anthony for the priesthood, the preferred the hidden life and he received instruction in this from his uncle. In time, as Anthony’s virtues became well known among the Friars, he was made an assistant to the education of the novices, a position which he held for three years.
In the year 1428 he was to the island of Corsica to help establish new convents. The people of the island loved him for his meekness and humility and never sorry to see him go after two years when he was sent back to a quiet convent near Assisi where he spent the remainder of his life in prayer, work, and penance, an example of holiness to the other brothers.
With deep humility, Anthony went out together alms for the convent. His greatest joy was to serve the priest at Holy Mass. Always he made sure that there were plenty of candles for the Mass. Because he was so devoted to the Eucharist, he would get on his knees for forgiveness from the other Friars on the days on which he was going to receive Holy Communion. In his spare time, Anthony made small wooden crosses that he placed around the friary grounds to move the other Friars to devotion. In his last illness, he begged to be allowed to rise from bed to attend Mass.
He was buried beneath the floor of the church in a common grave, but a year later aflame person from this spot and the floor was opened up to reveal the incorrupt body of Blessed Anthony. The body was interred in a special place to which pilgrims came from prayers, and miracles have been reported to have occurred there.
Blessed Anthony, pray for us to be devoted to the Holy Mass as you were. Amen
Quote from Scripture
​
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God. (Mark 14: 22-25)
Sometimes we forget that Jesus himself instituted the Holy Eucharist and offered the first Mass. Of course, we know this, but is it in our mind when we attend Mass? Keeping in mind the Gospel accounts of the Last Supper, we can, perhaps, more devotedly participate in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Blessed Anthony Stroncone was able to always reference the Mass as if he were celebrating the Last Supper with Christ Himself. Christ is, in fact, present here, through the person of the priest and in the actual Presence of the Holy Eucharist. May we be aware of this in a more profound way when we attend Holy Mass.
Quote from a Saint
​
"If someone said to us, "At such an hour a dead person is to be raised to life, " we should run very quickly to see it. But is not the Consecration, which changes bread and wine into the Body and Blood of God, a much greater miracle than to raise a dead person to life? We ought always to devote at least a quarter of an hour to preparing ourselves to hear Mass well; we ought to annihilate ourselves before God, after the example of His profound annihilation in the Sacrament of the Eucharist; and we should make our examination of conscience, for we must be in a state of grace to be able to assist properly at Mass. If we knew the value of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or rather if we had faith, we should be much more zealous to assist at it." – Saint Anself
Blessed Anthony Stroncone could have said these words himself. The devotion to the Holy Mass was notable and an inspiration to his fellow Friars. It is important to attend Mass with devotion and recollection. Read carefully the words from St. Anself and see how you might improve your attendance at Mass.
Happy Birthday to:
Timothy C 2/10
​
Jason H 2/11
​
Karen S 2/12
​
Thom K 2/12
Dennis V 2/1
​
Anne B 2/5
​
Jon H 2/5
​
Carol T 2/9
Sandy S 2/16
​
Catherine F 2/17
​
Patrick W 2/20
​
Kim L 2/25
​
Alice P 2/28
Humor
GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the
second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.
GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge...mostly sweet, with a few nuts
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground...
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the to
Confraternity Photo Album
Bill (br. Anthony) and Karen (sr. Mary Faustina), two life pledged and privately vowed penitents, have a visit at Bill's care facility.
Life Pledged and privately vowed penitent Ameil (Doc, br. Philip Julius) dancing and enjoying it! Please pray for Doc (br. PJ) as he is currently drawing close to the Lord in his final battle with cancer.
Featured Items CFP Holy Angels Gift Shop
The Confraternity of Penitents Holy Angels Gift Shop is an on line shop which supports the Confraternity of Penitents through its sale of religious books and gifts. It does not have a catalog, unfortunately. However, readers can access the website at www.cfpholyangels.com for the full range of items offered. They may also like to view the blog at www.cfpholyangels.blogspot.com for special featured items. Thank you for your support of the Holy Angels Gift Shop, because through it you support the Confraternity of Penitents.
St. Therese of Liseaux Good Deeds Beads. Count your good deeds and prayers daily. Beads can be moved forward and backward so to help you keep track. Hand Crafted. 3.95 plus shipping.
Breviary Cover to hold Breviary and Supplement or another small prayer book. Vinyl with room for 2 books. Taking orders on these. Consider donating one or more to poor Franciscan friars who will pray for name you choose to have written in cover. 9.95 each plus shipping. Contact us for details, please.
Religious Items Grab Bag. You choose price and we will give you double the cost in religious goods. ($10 grab bag will be mailed $20 worth of goods, $25 grab bag will be mailed $50 worth of goods, etc.). Free shipping
