Confraternity of Penitents Newsletter -- January 2026

May 2026 be a year of grace and blessing for each of you. May you find God’s Hand in whatever comes your way. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

A NEW START BY A PRISONER SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE

This has been a long, hard road, but I am leaving a better person than when I came in. Thank God for the CFP. Y’all just don’t know how much y’all helped me out. The journey through formation was Joy and Sadness.

Joy because I developed a stronger relationship, on my half, with Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Trinity, and Our Blessed Mother, and the Church. (I now stop and think.). Formation is hard to explain in words. I do not think it is so much change as it is starting to become being.

Formation is also sad because it shows you who you are and what shape most of the world is in. It shows you all the dirt, from others and yourself. Until we learn to slow down and look with God’s help, there is mess with no form.

I still wonder what it must be like to be in a country during war. What does being Christian look like? I know somewhat about living in danger, but that is just with myself, by myself, in violence in prison, not with a Christian community.

It is only to the thanks of Jesus and his leading me to CFP formation that I am how I am. I believe, see, and feel that I have received the best education that a person can receive, and it is ongoing. Our repentance lives on through others if we do it properly. -- Tim Strickland, CFP Associate, Formation Complete (Alessandro Prison Ministry) [Tim will need a job upon his release. Please pray that he obtain a good one, that he find a supportive, faithful Catholic community, and that he continue to grow closer to the Lord.]

THOUGHTS FROM THE CFP SPIRITUAL GUARDIAN: ALTERNATIVE FRANCISCAN ORTHODOXY OR FRANCISCAN ILLUSION?

Recovering the True Spirit of St. Francis

In recent years, a phrase has begun to circulate in certain theological and spiritual circles: “Franciscan alternative orthodoxy.” It is often presented as a fresh, compassionate vision of Christianity—one that emphasizes practice over doctrine, inclusivity over moral clarity, and lived experience over defined belief. While such language can sound attractive, especially in a culture suspicious of authority and moral demands, it represents a serious misunderstanding of the Franciscan tradition and, ultimately, of Catholic faith itself.

The authentic Franciscan tradition never opposed orthodoxy and orthopraxy, belief and practice, truth and charity. On the contrary, the great Franciscan saints teach with remarkable consistency that right action flows from right belief, and that mercy divorced from truth ceases to be mercy at all. To suggest otherwise is not to renew Franciscan spirituality, but to replace it with something fundamentally different.

St. Francis of Assisi himself stands as the clearest refutation of the claim that doctrine is secondary to practice. Francis was not a theological minimalist. His writings and his life show profound reverence for revealed truth, particularly regarding the Eucharist, the priesthood, and obedience to the Church. In his Admonitions, Francis speaks with striking clarity about the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, insisting that those who deny or ignore this truth place themselves in grave spiritual danger. For Francis, correct belief was not an abstract concern; it shaped how he knelt, how he obeyed, how he lived in poverty, and how he loved.

Far from setting practice above doctrine, Francis understood that action detached from truth becomes unmoored from Christ. His call to “live according to the form of the Holy Gospel” meant living the Gospel as the Church received, taught, and safeguarded it. He explicitly forbade the brothers from saying or doing anything against the teaching and authority of Holy Church. This fidelity was not selective or convenient; it was total, even when obedience demanded sacrifice.

St. Clare of Assisi deepens this witness. Her life, hidden in enclosure and consumed by Eucharistic adoration, stands as a powerful correction to modern activism that mistakes busyness for holiness. Clare’s compassion did not consist in redefining moral truth or lowering the demands of the Gospel. Instead, her love flowed from radical self-gift, poverty, chastity, and unwavering fidelity to Christ present in the Eucharist. For Clare, contemplation was not opposed to action, but the wellspring from which all authentic charity flows.

St. Bonaventure, the great theologian of the Franciscan Order, articulates this unity of truth and love with theological precision. He rejects any attempt to separate belief from practice, insisting that action without truth is blind, while truth without love is barren. In his Itinerarium Mentis in Deum, Bonaventure makes clear that genuine transformation requires purification, illumination, and perfection. Moral action that bypasses conversion and doctrinal truth is not Franciscan spirituality; it is spiritual illusion.

The modern emphasis on inclusivity and justice, when severed from repentance and moral truth, risks becoming ideological rather than evangelical. St. Francis loved the poor and embraced lepers not because he denied sin, but because he took sin, redemption, and conversion with radical seriousness. His preaching consistently began with a call to penance. Compassion, for Francis, was never affirmation without transformation. It was an invitation to encounter Christ crucified and risen, who alone heals the human heart.

The notion of an “alternative orthodoxy” is, in fact, a contradiction in terms. Orthodoxy means right belief—belief received, not invented; safeguarded, not revised according to cultural preference. There is no parallel orthodoxy alongside the faith of the Church. St. Bonaventure warned that love does not abolish the law, but fulfills it by perfecting the will in truth. Any spirituality that appeals to Franciscan language while quietly setting aside difficult teachings on sin, repentance, or moral order departs from the very heart of the Franciscan charism.

The saints of the Franciscan tradition do not offer the Church a softened or diluted Gospel. They offer a Gospel lived with radical intensity—joyful, penitential, Eucharistic, Marian, and obedient. True Franciscan orthopraxy is born from right belief, deep conversion, humble obedience, and love purified by truth. Anything less may wear Franciscan clothing, but it does not carry the spirit of St. Francis.

In an age hungry for compassion but uneasy with truth, the Franciscan saints remind us that only truth sets us free, and only love rooted in truth can heal the world. As St. Francis himself warned, blessed is the servant who speaks the truth when it is bitter, as well as when it is pleasing. May we have the courage to recover—and faithfully hand on—the authentic Franciscan way. – Fr. Jospeh Tuscan, OFM Cap, CFP Spiritual Guardian

Recommended Franciscan Sources

St. Francis of Assisi, Earlier Rule, Later Rule, Admonitions

St. Clare of Assisi, Letters to St. Agnes of Prague

St. Bonaventure, Itinerarium Mentis in Deum

St. Bonaventure, Breviloquium

Legenda Major (Life of St. Francis by St. Bonaventure)

Catechism of the Catholic Church, §§1846–1848; 2030–2046

{Article reprinted on line in Franciscan Penance Library 2, https://www.franciscanpenancelibrary2.com/ )

CFP Holy Angels Gift Shop -- Vintage Selections

Because of kind donations from benefactors (some among you reading this), the CFP Holy Angels Gift Shop has a large number of vintage and retro religious items and books. Gift Shop Manager Susan Porzio has been diligently putting these on line as well as crafting a creative line of rosaries, prayer cards, and chaplets. (The one of a kind items pictured were available at the time of the publication of this newsletter) Check out www.cfpholyangels.com for complete selection.

Please continue to send us your donations including broken rosaries which Susan either repairs or takes apart and repurposes the beads. The vintage, retro, and repurposed items are clearly distinguished from brand new products (the shop has over 8000 items).

All proceeds go to assist the Confraternity of Penitents in living penance (conversion) in the modern world and spreading its message.

Donated items may be mailed to Confraternity of Penitents Holy Angels Gift Shop, 1702 Lumbard Street, Fort Wayne IN 46803 USA. God bless you for your support and prayers!

NO GREATER LOVE: THE MOCKERY OF JESUS

As Jesus is hanging on the Cross, He is mocked by those who came to view the crucifixion of Jesus and by one of the two criminals who were on His right and left sides.

This first group were people who had heard about Jesus from the Jewish authorities. “You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” (Mt 27:40) They assumed that Jesus must be a fraud since He was nailed to the Cross. That could not happen to the all-powerful Son of God! Just as Satan in the desert tempted Jesus to depart from the mission the Father had given Him, (Mt 4:1-11) these people were tempting the Lord to choose comfort over obedience. They assumed they could manipulate Him to do what they wanted. They wanted the thrill of witnessing a great miracle rather than trying to understand the Jesus’ mission. They knew He was innocent of any real wrongdoing unlike the criminals who were crucified with Him.

The rulers of the Sanhedrin, priests, scribes, and elders also were annoyed by His claims. “He saved others; he cannot save himself. If He is the King of Israel; let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” (Mt 27:42-43) They were challenging God to act. They were “tempting” God. (Mt 4:7)

In the book of Acts, the wise rabbi Gamaliel counseled the Sanhedrin not to persecute the Apostles since if their movement was of human origin, it would fall apart. If it is of Divine origin, the Sanhedrin cannot succeed and could be opposing God. (Acts 5:33-39) The Sanhedrin rulers did not understand that if Jesus was of human origin and not anointed by God, His movement would fizzle away and His followers would be dispersed. Instead, they “took matters into their own hands” and killed Jesus and then dared God to oppose their plan with a great miracle of Jesus coming down from the Cross. They got their miracle with the Resurrection, but it was not what they expected.

The two criminals who were executed with Jesus were probably insurrectionists against Roman rule. But Jesus had no part in any rebellion against Rome. Although He certainly did criticize the Jewish leadership, He did not call for the overthrow of Roman rule. The “Kingdom of Heaven” did not depend on political rule.

What was His crime? He was the “King of the Jews”. John’s Gospel tells us that Pilate put the inscription “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews” on the Cross written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. (Jn 19:19-20) These were the three major languages used in Jerusalem. The chief priests objected to the inscription, telling Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’” However, Pilate refused to change the inscription saying, “What I have written I have written.” (Jn 19:21:22)

Jesus had earlier told Pilate “My kingship is not of this world; if my kingship were of this world, my servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but my kingship is not from the world.” (Jn 18:36) If the “servants” of Jesus, His Apostles and followers, were fighting for Jesus, He would deserve to be crucified along with the two insurrectionists on either side of Him for rebelling against Roman rule.

Pilate knew that Jesus was not being crucified for claiming to be King of the Jews, but for being the King of the Jews. That is why Pilate refused to change the inscription on the Cross that Jesus was “King of the Jews”. Jesus is a King, but not of this world. Perhaps the Jewish authorities, unlike Pilate, could not understand how Someone hanging on a Cross could possibly be a King. Since He did not assert His Power against Roman rule, He could not possibly be a King. They did not understand that Kingship is more than worldly power. Unlike the kings and rulers of this world, the Kingship of Jesus Christ does not come “from below”; it comes from “above”, from the Father. How much of this Pilate understood we do not know.

The Jewish authorities did understand what Jesus was claiming, especially when He spoke of himself as the Son of Man as revealed in the book of Daniel. (Dn 7:1-14) They did not believe Him. To them, He was more dangerous than the insurrectionist Barabbas or the two insurrectionists crucified with Jesus.

In the early decades of Christianity, the Roman authorities did not see the Christians as a danger to them. They were not advocating rebellion against Roman rule, unlike the Jewish zealots. Only later, in the 60’s AD, after the first Gospels were written, did the Romans first start to see the “King of the Jews” as a danger to them. Even then, their fears were unfounded since the Lord had told Pilate, “My kingship is not of this world.” (Jn 18:36)

The two insurrectionists who were crucified with Jesus must have also read the “crime” of Jesus. They knew that He took no part in their insurrection against Roman rule. Why was He being crucified with them? He was being crucified because He was the “King of the Jews”. The responses of these two criminals to this charge were very different. One of the criminals made demands of Jesus. “Are you not the Christ? Save yourself and us!” (Lk 23:39) This demand on Jesus has been echoed for the last two thousand years. “If you are truly the ‘King of the Jews’, the ‘Christ’, the ‘Messiah’ why are there still wars, poverty, and injustice? Why do innocent children still die of hunger? Why illness, disease, and suffering? Why is evil still so rampant in the world?”

The other criminal said something different. “Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we are receiving the due reward for our deeds; but this man had done nothing wrong.” (Lk 23:40-41) Unlike the first criminal, this criminal did not demand that he be saved from the just consequences of the evil he had done. He recognized that he was being punished, ultimately by God, for his crimes. We must embrace the just punishments of our evil because God is just. He certainly was wondering why Jesus was being crucified, since it was plain that Jesus had not violated Roman law. He made no demands on Jesus, but he did make a request. “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingly power.” (Lk 23:42) Like Pilate, he recognized that Jesus really is a King. He only asked that he be “remembered” by Jesus. The Lord granted his request, telling him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Lk 23:43)

Jesus had told Pilate, “My kingship is not of this world.” (Jn 18:36) “Paradise” is where Jesus is King. Unlike this world, Paradise is where the Will of the Father is supreme. “Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Mt 6:10) This criminal, who lived his life in rebellion against God’s laws, suddenly decides that he wants to be in the place where Jesus is King. He wants to be His subject. He was rejecting his rebellion against God and choosing obedience to God. Pope Benedict, in Jesus of Nazareth, tells us of the relevance of what the Lord did for this criminal for us here and now. Jesus knew he would enter directly into fellowship with the Father,-that the promise of "Paradise" was something he could offer "today". He knew he was leading mankind back to the Paradise from which it had fallen: into fellowship with God as man's true salvation.

So, in the history of Christian devotion, the good thief has become an image of hope-an image of the consoling certainty that God's mercy can reach us even in our final moments, that even after a misspent life, the plea for his gracious favor is not made in vain.

Besides the inscription written on the Cross, there was also another manifestation of the Kingship of Jesus. Kings, of course, wear crowns, and Jesus had His Crown, the Crown of Thorns. (Mt 27:29, Mk 15:17, Jn 19:2,5) This Crown was a Crown of mockery, yet it also revealed the truth of Christ’s Kingship. The glory and majesty of Christ’s Kingship flows from His suffering for us. He wore His Crown as He suffered for us on the cross.

Jesus again wears a Crown in the Book of Revelation. “Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand. And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat upon the cloud, ‘Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap had come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.’ So he who sat upon the cloud swung his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.” (Rev 14:14-16) However, the Crown of Thorns comes before the Crown of Gold. This was part of the price of the Lord’s obedience to the Father.

In modern times, kingship is not taken seriously. Kings and queens are figure heads. Some would want Jesus only as a figure head while others want nothing to do with Him. For Christians, however, He is a real King, and like the second criminal, we want Him to “remember” us. Of course, we need to remember Him. The Christian life can be thought of as “remembering” him in all that we say and do. Perhaps, sin can be thought of as “forgetting” him. At the end of our lives, if we are found remembering Him, like “the good thief”, we will not regret it. – Jim Nugent, CfP

HUMOR

Today, I donated my watch, phone, and $500 to a poor guy. You don't know the happiness I felt as I saw him put the knife back into his pocket.

I miss times when I was working at the zoo. My boss fired me just because I left the lion's gate open. I mean, who would steal a lion?

I was in a cab today, and the cab driver said, "I love my job, I'm my own boss. Nobody tells me what to do.“ Then I said: "Turn left."

???

Why is *'abbreviated'* such a long word?
Why is it that doctors and attorneys call what they do 'practice'?
Why is lemon juice made with artificial flavoring, & dish washing liquid made with real lemons?
Why is the man who invests all your money called a *broker?
Why is the time of day with the slowest traffic called the *rush hour?
Why do they *sterilize* the needle for *lethal* injections?
Why are they called “apartments*when they are all stuck together?*
If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport, 'the terminal' ?*

CFP PHOTO ALBUM

NEW ROOF AND GUTTERS FOR GUADALUPE MEN'S VITA DEI HOUSE

Thanks to your donations and prayers, Guadalupe Men’s Vita Dei House received a new roof and gutters in December.

God bless each of you who contributed to this needed update which completed the renovations needed for this men’s residence

Currently, three men live at Guadalupe House with a fourth coming in March. Two additional men live at Saint Joseph Men's Vita Dei Hermitage. The men voluntarily assist the Confraternity in it work. Please pray for them: Mike, Joey, John, Dave, David, and Lance

(see www.GuadalupeVDH.com)

Over the Christmas holidays, former resident Charles Coey (center) visited Guadalupe House.

Charels is pictured in the house chapel with two of the house residents CFP Property Manager Mike Freygang (left) and CFP Events Coordinator Dave Vaughn (right)

Annunciation Women's Vita Dei House is the female version of Guadalupe Men's Vita Dei House (see www.AnnunciationVDH.com ) It currently has three residents.

Residents at both houses can provide volunteer work for the Confraternity of Penitents and its CFP Holy Angels Gift Shop which covers the program fees for staying in the houses. Each house has a house administrator plus weekly formation and meeting, awe well as community prayer and meals plus ministry and other activities. Residents may be discerning a religious or other vocation, a life choice such as career or marriage, or they may be seeking long term living in a Catholic community.

The Confraternity is so grateful for the wonderful residents of both houses. They are blessings to all of us!

OUR RULE, OUR FUTURE: KEEPING YOUR FINANCIAL PEACE

It was Christmas morning, and the family was gathered for the annual opening of presents. One of the children wasn’t happy. “Mom,” she began. “Thank you for this. But you didn’t get me the one thing I REALLY wanted. I sent you the link in October or earlier November. Now, it’s sold out. If you’d just respect me enough to get me what I ask – especially when I send you the link.” Her voice put a decided period to the statement.

“Well, money was a little tight, then,” Mom said. “I hadn’t really started thinking about Christmas and presents.”

I suspect that conversation is typical in many houses on Christmas past, present, and future. With some planning, you can minimize such conversations. Financial gurus will tell you to have a budget. I prefer to think of it as a spending plan. Whatever you want to call it, here we are at the start of a New Year and there's no better time than now to start.

This is especially important for penitents since our rule requires us to “pay up our debts” as quickly as possible. But we can’t do that if we spend more than we take in. So, let’s talk about budgeting. Remember our objective, expressed with crystal clarity by St. Paul: “Owe nothing to anyone except the debt of love you owe one another.” It may take us years to become debt free, but the journey of 1,000 steps begins with just one step.

With the right information, you can put together a plan for your financial life and do a reasonable projection of how it’s going to work out over the next few months or a year. Let’s start with income.

How to Build a Budget

You can do this with a plain sheet of paper, with an accountant’s analysis pad, with an Excel or Google Sheets or similar spreadsheets or with a computer program The principles are the same

Start with Income

Take a sheet of paper and list, each item on a separate line, your various routine forms of income:

Earnings (take home)
Social Security
Retirement/401k, etc.
Second job earnings (take home)
Dividends
Interest
Anything else.

Add those all up and you have your monthly income. Simple, right? Easy-peasy. Yes?

Now admittedly it’s more complicated if your income varies. Such as a commission salesperson. For the moment, let’s just take any variable income in 2025 for the entire year, divide, and assume that will be your income every month this year. If you are in a job such as a teacher where you work only part of the year, take your total annual salary and divide it by 12 – unless you plan to construct a detailed monthly budget that squirrels away money for that time when you don’t get a check.

Expenses

Next, we turn to our expenses. You can draw these from your bank and credit/debit card statements. It’s smart to have at least two separate bank accounts – one for those essential monthly payments and one for other payments.

Recurring Essential Expenses

List the essential monthly expenses – electricity, gas, water, trash, insurance, rent or mortgage, etc. Also list the minimum monthly payment for every debt you have and put it here.

Put each of these on a sheet of paper, one bill to a line, add them up and you have your recurring monthly expenses would have one checking account for recurring essential expenses, and as much as possible have all recurring expenses automatically withdrawn from that account.

Debt Repayment

I had you list the minimum monthly payment for debts such as credit card debt, mortgage, auto loans, etc., under Recurring expenses. You want to do that so that you insure you never have a late payment.

To get out of debt, you want to pay more than the minimum, Make a separate extra payment for the largest amount you comfortably can and list that under variable expenses. Which debt to eliminate first by making that extra payment? The one with the highest interest rare, of course. You’ll save more money because you’ll pay less interest.

Variable expenses

Not every expense is the same every month, of course. You can be as granular as you wish. If it suits your purposes, simply deduct Recurring Essential Expenses and Debt Repayment from Income; then your Variable Expense account is whatever is left over.

I would suggest avoiding some expenses you know you will incur, such as:

Charitable – Yes, I know. We’re supposed to give 10% of our income to church and other charities. But this is not mandatory in the same sense as paying the mortgage or the electric is mandatory. You can cut back on charitable giving if you have to until your debts are paid up, so it’s a variable expense.
Kids’ activities. Summer camp, etc., These, too, are not mandatory activities. Yes, you would be well advised to accumulate money for these over the course of the year. But if you lost your job, you would be well advised to tell the kids no summer camp this year.

I believe in making life easy for myself. So I would have two separate bank accounts for variable spending. One in which I’m accumulating money for specific purposes – presents, kids’ summer camps, summer vacation, etc., and the other a regular checking/debit card account that I can use for normal spending.

At the end of this exercise – which many people view as an act of penance in its own right – you might discover that you earn more than you spend. If so, congratulations. But if you find you spend more than you take in, start looking for places to cut back.

Be sure to include an overdraft fund. Most bank customers overdraw their checking accounts at least once a month. Therefore, you want to include an overdraft fund. You can do this in one of three ways:

Carry extra money in your checking account, perhaps $1,000 or $2,000.
Have $1,000 or $2,000 in a savings account at the same bank on which the bank can draw in the event of an overdraft. It would be preferable if this was a high-yield checking account, but it probably will have to be a regular checking account on which most banks pay no more than 0.003% yearly interest.
Use a credit card to pay the overdraft. The bank will treat this as a cash advance, but an actual cash advance is often more expensive than a regular credit card charge. -- Joel Whitaker, CFP