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Original Franciscan "Third Order" -- Confraternity of Penitents
Make Every Day a Path to Holiness
Confraternity of Penitents Newsletter
April 2025
LENTEN PRACTICES FOR PENITENTS
All should observe, of course, the fast and abstinence provisions of the Roman Catholic Church.
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No meat on Fridays of Lent.
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Fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday of Lent.
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Those at the Novice 3 level and above should observe the Lenten fast of one full meal and one partial meal (smaller than the full meal) or, if a bite to eat is needed at a third time during the day, the bite plus the smaller meal combined should be less food than the larger meal.
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Those not yet at the Novice 3 level should select an additional penance (a spiritual director can assist with the selection) to practice during Lent.
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All should strive to make Lent a time of deeper prayer, increased charity, and additional sacrifice, all in union with Christ without whom we would be lost.
FROM THE SPIRIUTAL GUARDIAN: NUMBERING OUR DAYS ARIGHT
CFP Spiritual Guardian, Fr. Joseph Tuscan, asked that we share this article:
Numbering Our Days Aright by Fr. Thomas G. Weinandy, OFM, Cap.
Sunday, March 9, 2025 in The Catholic Thing
https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2025/03/09/numbering-our-days-aright/
Reprinted with Permission
As I get older, I find myself thinking more about death. I no longer have my youthful spunk and stamina. I recognize that I am mortal. I will die. “Seventy is the sum of our years, or eighty for those who are strong.” (Psalm 90). “As for man, his ways are like the grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more.” (Ps. 103) “Lord, let me know my end, and what is the measure of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is!” (Psalm 39) Because of the brevity of our lives, we must learn to “number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.” (Psalm 90)
Our lives may not be long, but each of us is to live it in accord with our particular vocation. “My son, hold fast to your duty, busy yourself with it, grow old while doing your task.” (Sirach 11:20) As the Father’s children, the glory of our lives is to grow old performing all of the various tasks that the Lord has given us to do. We are to beseech God: “Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!” (Psalm 90)
Moreover, we must also remember that death is not the end. We live eschatological lives. Created in God’s eternal image and likeness, we are to share in his immortality. We are to live forever. Sin brought with it, however, the curse of death. Nonetheless, God could not allow death to have the last word. Death is an affront to God. The eternal God is the God of life. He is the living God. He cannot tolerate death.
Thus, God sent His Son into the world. As the Word incarnate, Jesus proclaims the final word, and that word is: Arise! Through His sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus conquered sin and vanquished the curse of death through his glorious resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection is the inbreaking of the eschaton – the making present here on earth of everlasting life. All who abide in him on earth, through faith and baptism, will abide in Him forever in Heaven.
“Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in the newness of life.” (Romans 6:3-4)
There are two eschatological moments. The first is what has been traditionally called the particular judgment, which takes place when the soul of the deceased appears before God immediately upon death. At this moment the person is confronted with three possibilities: reaping the full benefits of a holy life, that is, eternal life with the blessed Saints in heaven; everlasting damnation by dying in a state of mortal sin; or proceeding to purgatory in order to be purified of the remnants of sin that still inhere within the soul.
The second eschatological moment is the final or universal judgment when the risen Jesus returns in glory and splendor at the end of time. At this moment, the dead will rise bodily from their graves and assume fully Jesus’ bodily resurrection. Then, also, the whole of creation will find its eschatological end, for there will be a new heaven and a new earth.
“We know that the whole of creation is groaning in travail together until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit grown inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope, we have been saved.” (Romans 8:22-23) We live “now,” possessing of the first fruit of the Spirit, and “not yet,” waiting for the full redemption our bodies. We live in hope.
We do not know how long we are to wait in hope, both as to our own individual death and as to when Christ will return in glory. It may appear, by our human reckoning, that it has already been a long time; and Jesus has yet to return. Therefore, “eagerly awaiting in expectation” may seem to be a waste of time. But it is precisely during this time of waiting in hope that we must always be prepared. As to the day of Jesus’ coming, “no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matthew 24:36) As incarnate, the Son of God is not even aware, and so, in expectant hope, Jesus too awaits.
Concerning the resurrection, Paul is fully assured: “Lo! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable nature must put on the imperishable, and the mortal nature must put on immortality.” (1 Corinthians 15:51-53)
We are presently in the liturgical season of Lent, a time that looks in hope to Easter and Jesus’ risen glory. This, then, is a time when we take stock of our days. Are we numbering them aright?
These are also the days when we remember that we will die, for we are dust and to dust we will return.
These forty days are, likewise, eschatological days, for we are preparing to meet God upon our death – our individual particular judgement, when our deeds, good and bad, will be assessed aright. Similarly, we are anticipating Jesus’ second coming in glory. We await in the eschatological hope of coming to be like Him in the fullness of his resurrected glory.
In the interim, we beseech the Lord: “Prosper the work of our hands! Prosper the work of our hands!”
THE PRAYER OF JESUS
When the Lord arrived at Gethsemane, He prays to the Father, and some of His prayer is recorded in the New Testament. First, He tells His disciples “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” (Mt 26:36, Mk 14:32) He then asks the Apostles Peter, James, and John to go with Him as He prayed. “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here and watch with me.” (Mt 26:38, Mk 14:34) He then goes on a little, falls on His Face and prays “My Father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Mt 26:39, Mk 14:36) He comes back to the disciples, finds them sleeping, and says to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mt 26:41, Mk 14:37) He again went ahead and prayed, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” (Mt 26:42, Mk 14:39) He went back and again found them sleeping, so He went ahead praying the same words. (Mt 26:43-44, Mk 14:40) Finally, he went back to the disciples saying, “Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us be going; see, my betrayer is at hand.” (Mt 26:45-46, Mk 14:41-42) In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus prays the same prayer, but Luke adds two details that an angel appeared to Jesus to comfort Him and that His sweat became as drops of blood. When Jesus returns to find His disciples sleeping, He tells them, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Lk 22:46)
In Jesus of Nazareth, Pope Benedict tells us why the Lord’s sweat became as drops of blood. Because he is the Son, he sees with total clarity the whole foul flood of evil, all the power of lies and pride, all the wiles and cruelty of the evil that masks itself as life yet constantly serves to destroy, debase, and crush life. Because he is the Son, he experiences deeply all the horror, filth, and baseness that he must drink from the "chalice" prepared for him: the vast power of sin and death. All this he must take into himself, so that it can be disarmed and defeated in him. As Pope Benedict points out, “because He is the Son” he can see and experience the depths of evil. No mere human can see and experience what the Lord saw and experienced. Yet, He did not do it alone or in secret. He took His Apostles with Him to Gethsemane, although He only wanted Peter, James, and John, His closest disciples, to actually witness His Prayer to the Father. Perhaps, too many witnesses would have obscured what He needed to communicate to them and to us. At the Transfiguration (Mk 9:2) and when the Lord raised to life the twelve-year old daughter of Jairus, (Mk 5:37) only these three of His disciples were allowed to be present. The three disciples who came with Him and could hear His Prayer knew that something very important was going on and yet they fell asleep. Even when something of monumental greatness is there before us, we are not always “with it”. Yet the Lord shows us that He understands when He says “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mt 26:41, Mk 14:37) He still wanted them to be with Him.
In the Gospels, Jesus often is shown praying. Usually, His prayer is private, between Him and the Father. Jesus advises us that our prayer should usually be private. After criticizing those who pray as a public display of piety, He tells His disciples, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Mt 6:6) However, at Gethsemane, the Lord did not want His prayer to be private. This particular prayer of the Lord concerns everyone. Was He simply a man who had rubbed the powers that be the wrong way, or was He the Son whom the Father had called to confront the evil that was in the world since the time of Adam? This question has divided humanity for two thousand years.
Mel Gibson’s 2004 movie, The Passion of the Christ, opens with Jesus praying at night in the Garden of Gethsemane while the disciples are nearby sleeping. However, Jesus is not alone as He prays. Satan is there with Him, and Satan is not sleeping. While Jesus is praying to the Father, Satan speaks to Jesus. “Do you really believe that one man can bear the full burden of sin? No one man can carry this burden. I tell you; it is far too heavy. Saving their souls is too costly. No one; Ever. No. Never.” Then Satan asks Jesus, “Who is your Father? Who are you?” Then Jesus falls on His Face, and Satan sends out a snake to attack Jesus while He is lying face down. Then, Jesus gets up and steps on the head of the snake. The disciples are sleeping while this struggle between the Lord and Satan is going on. While scripture does not directly assert the presence of Satan at Gethsemane, Satan’s presence is implied when the Lord tells the sleeping disciples, “Why do you sleep? Rise and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” (Lk 22:46) In the Lord’s prayer, Jesus links temptation and Satan. This prayer ends with the final petition, “And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.” (Mt 6:13) Here, “evil” can also be translated as “the Evil One.”
An epic struggle between Good and Evil is going on while the disciples are sleeping. The Gospels record the Lord’s encounter with Satan in the desert. (Mt 4:1-11, Mk 1:12-13, Lk 4:1-13) When Jesus starts telling the Apostles that He must suffer and be killed and be raised on the third day, Peter rebukes Jesus saying, “God forbid Lord! This shall never happen to you.” (Mt 16:22) Then Jesus answers Peter. “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me; for you are not on the side of God, but of men.” (Mt 16:23) Was Jesus rebuking Peter or was He rebuking Satan speaking through Peter? There is much reason to suppose that Satan was constantly present with Jesus until 3 PM on the afternoon of Good Friday when the Lord’s obedience to the Father was completed.
At Gethsemane, Satan is tempting Jesus to rationalize away His Commitment to obey the Father, “Do you really believe that one man can bear the full burden of sin?” Satan asks the question, but then immediately gives the answer. “No one; Ever. No. Never.” Satan is trying to do the thinking for Jesus by asking a question and immediately giving the answer. Satan is especially trying to get Jesus away from obedience to the Father by giving Him reasons to disobey the Father, to place His own Will over the Will of the Father. The Lord defeated Satan by His obedience to the Father to the end on Good Friday.
The same tactic is used by Satan and his agents to get us to disobey the Commandments of God as taught by the Church. In the Garden of Eden, the serpent asks Eve, “Did God really say you were not to eat from any of the trees in the garden?” (Gn 3:1) Eve replies that they may eat the fruit of the trees in the garden except the one tree in the middle of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If they (Adam and Eve) ate from it, they would die. (Gn 2:17, 3:3) The serpent then lies to Eve not by denying God’s commandment but by denying the consequence of disobeying God’s commandment. “No! You will not die! God knows in fact that on the day you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods, knowing good and evil.” (Gn 3:4-5) The serpent is telling Eve and Adam that they do not need to obey God for they will know good and evil and be able to decide for themselves without God. Satan presents Jesus with the same temptation, to not obey the Father since no one can do what God demands of Jesus. Unlike Adam and Eve, Jesus does not give in to Satan’s temptation but says, “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” (Mt 26:42) The Lord maintained His decision to obey the Father rather than Satan all the way through his Passion, culminating in his cry “it is finished” (Jn 19:30) on the afternoon of Good Friday.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, after resisting Satan, Jesus wakes up His disciples. They, too, would fight against Satan even to the point of martyrdom for the Lord. Sadly, many modern Christians have fallen asleep and fail to see the wiles of Satan in the ways of the world which they so easily accept. The Lord defeated Satan by His obedience to the Father. Satan cannot seize power over us, since the Lord defeated Satan on Mount Calvery. However, we can give it to him. Just as Adam and Eve disobeyed God and thus gave Satan power over them, we can also give Satan power over us by disobeying God’s commandments. The world tells us that these commandments do not come from God but are the product of a simple, archaic, pre-scientific world view. We are adults, now, the world says, and don’t need to be taught by the Bible and the Church. To the worldly thinking, we are now mature enough to decide which of God’s laws are valid for us and which are not. Let us ask the Son to help us recognize, as he did, the tricks of Satan. “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased,” said the Father. “Listen to him.” (Mt 17:5, Mk 9:7, Lk 9:35) – Jim Nugent, CfP
CARLO ACUTIS ITEMS FROM THE CONFRATERNITY OF PENITENTS HOLY ANGELS GIFT SHOP
Fifteen year old Carlo Acutis (died 2006), will be canonized Saint Carlo Acutis on Divine Mercy Sunday, April 27. Carlo possessed an incredible faith. The CFP Holy Angels Gift Shop (1702 Lumbard Street, Fort Wayne IN 46803 USA)- cfpholyangels.com offers the following and more:
QUOTES FROM CARLO ACUTIS
Find God and you will find the meaning of your life.
[E]very minute that passes in vain is a missed opportunity to become more holy.
Holiness is not a process of adding anything, but of subtraction. It is a removal of myself to make space for God. . . . Not I, but God!
CONFRATERNITY PHOTO ALBUM: TESTIMONY TO GOD’S HEALING GRACE
Greetings to one and all.
This is Reji George Kurian from India. I was detected with Hepatitis B infection in 2009. Again retested on 2011 I was declared Chronic and am a carrier of Hepatitis B infection. Recently on the 8th October 2024 I got a strong motivation to do a retest it showed no trace of the Hepatitis B in my blood. To confirm it I did a second retest on 9th October 2024 It also shówed that I don't have any trace of the Hepatitis B in my blood. All glory, honour and adoration to the Blessed Trinity. I use to drink Holy Water and apply Blessed oil on my head, do the liturgy of hours, recite the Divine Mercy Chaplet at 3 O'clock along with the Way of the Cross.
My association with the CFP paved way for this Divine miracle. All' glory to God. In Christ Jesus, God bless! Reji George Kurian, CfP
Reji is a life pledged and privately vowed member of the Confraternity of Penitents. Residing in India, Reji is Regional Minister for Asia and also formator for CFP members. Those of you who use the CFP Calendar, emailed yearly to those requesting it, can thank Reji for taking over the job of putting this calendar together every year since the death of its original creator CFP Associate Paul Phelan. Thanks, Reji, for all your service to the Confraternity of Penitents and for all your prayers!
HUMOR - GROANERS!
Do UK websites use biscuits instead of cookies?
Ban Pre-Shredded Cheese in America! Make America Grate Again!
Becoming a vegetarian is a big missed steak.
The past, present, and future walk into a bar. It was tense.
I call my horse Mayo. And sometimes Mayo neighs.
If a cow can’t make milk, is it an udder failure or a milk dud?
Tradition is peer pressure from the dead.
Flat earthers have nothing to fear but sphere itself.
87% of gym members don’t know it’s closed.
DIVINE MERCY: THE SUMMARY PHRASE OF GOD’S GIFT
Mercy is kindness or pity toward someone who deserves punishment or has no right to mercy.
The Church celebrates Divine Mercy Sunday on the Sunday after Easter, the last day of the Easter Octave.
Divine Mercy is the summary phrase of God’s Gift.
God is eternal. He has no need of us. We have no right to exist. Our existence is a pure gift of God. Our existence is God’s original mercy to us.
Consider love. When a person is in love, every thought seems to revolve around the beloved. Every action brings the lover closer to or farther from the beloved. Drawing closer brings great joy. Distancing brings sorrow. Love is always fruitful because love always begets acts of love, be they in service or presence.
God’s original fruitfulness toward us was His calling us into existence to live in Him, to live in love.
“God IS Love.” What does this mean except that God is always seeking us, always thinking of us. Yet St. Francis and many saints recognized that “Love is not loved.” Not only that, Love is ignored, rejected, despised, ridiculed, abused, assaulted. What happened to Christ in His life, Passion, and death resulted from the most extreme manifestations of these evils.
But love cannot be killed. God IS Love. And love is eternal.
Ignorance. Rejection, Contempt. Ridicule. Abuse. These originate with a human being. They are someone’s actions. Despite them being directed toward another, the other, iif he or she truly loves, will love even to the point of dying at the hands of the abuser and then loving thereafter by praying for the abuser/ Isn’t this what Christ showed us from the cross at Calvary? Isn’t this what so many martyrs have shown? Bodies can be killed. Love cannot.
Love always loves whether or not the beloved returns that love or scorns it. In humans, that sort of love is mercy. With God, it is Divine Mercy.
Divine Mercy, submitting Himself to abuse and death. Divine Mercy calling from the cross, “Father, forgive them” and making excuses “for they know not what they do.” The human body can die. But not everlasting Divine Mercy. It rises and “we saw His glory.” No wonder we can say with Saint Faustina, “Jesus, I trust in You.” --- Madeline Pecora Nugent, CfP
FROM THE DIVINE MERCY SAINT
Easter is a season of profound transformation, a time when the old gives way to the new and the broken is made whole. It is a reminder that God's power is made perfect in weakness, and that His grace is sufficient for all our needs. - Saint Faustina Kowalska
RANDOM INFORMATION FOR PENITENTS
When is the best time to use deodorants and antiperspirants?
Given the prohibition on using scented deodorants, after-shaves, perfumes etc., beginning in the second month of Novice 3, penitents must take extra care to avoid body odor. So, when is the best time to use antiperspirants?
At night time, according to the Washington Post. We sweat less at night, and antiperspirants reduce perspiration, which reduces sweat, which reduces body odor. If we're sweating less, the aluminum in most antiperspirants will have a better chance of block sweat ducts, thereby reducing body odor.
Deodorants control body odor. Most dermatologists recommend products with both antiperspirants and deodorants. Just remember, they must be unscented. –Joel Whitaker, CfP
EASTER THOUGHTS FROM THE SAINTS
The season before Easter signifies the troubles in which we live here and now, while the time after Easter which we are celebrating at present signifies the happiness that will be ours in the future. What we commemorate before Easter is what we experience in this life; what we celebrate after Easter points to something we do not yet possess. This is why we keep the first season with fasting and prayer; but now the fast is over and we devote the present season to praise. Such is the meaning of the Alleluia we sing. - St. Augustine of Hippo
Easter reminds us that God's love is stronger than any suffering or darkness we may encounter. - Saint Padre Pio
Christ's resurrection is the strength, the secret of Christianity. It is not a question of mythology or of mere symbolism, but of a concrete event. It is confirmed by sure and convincing proofs. The acceptance of this truth, although the fruit of the Holy Spirit's grace, rests at the same time on a solid historical base. On the threshold of the third millennium, the new effort of evangelization can begin only from a renewed experience of this Mystery, accepted in faith and witnessed to in life. -- Saint John Paul II
The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the foundation of our Christian faith and the source of our eternal hope. - Saint Leo the Great
Easter proclaims that nothing is impossible with God and that His love can overcome all obstacles. - Saint Francis of Assisi
