Day Two of Lent...

Yes I've been at it again....

Today I joined the Confraternity of the Passion International.

Don't worry I don't intend to join a new one every day over lent!

Together with the Rosary Confraternity and Confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy that makes three or four if you count the Confraternity of Consolers (which is not as yet recognised by Mother Church) and I am a member of a Living Rosary Circle.

I joined the Passion International because of my Passionist leanings, and Our Lady of Mercy because of my regrets over my abortion (I joined the Confraternity of  Consolers in advent when I did the Consoling the Heart of Jesus do it yourself retreat) .

Each confraternity has its own commitments, but many of these overlap, such as making a yearly retreat and a nightly examination of conscience and act of contrition.

Many of the commitments are things that I already do regularly such as praying the rosary and for the souls in purgatory and for an end to abortion and making a yearly retreat, so I am not actually taking on heaps of new spiritual practises all at once.

I will have to make some changes, but mostly it will be a case of looking at my routine and tweaking it in order to make sure that all the commitments are met and fitting things together in a more appropriate way.

For instance I have realised that instead of going to Bible Study on Monday Nights (where we study the readings for the following Sunday) I would do better to go to Mass on Tuesday Nights instead, which will meet one of my commitments, to go to one weekday Mass per week.

Also there are lots of alternative resources for studying the Mass readings, but there is no substitute for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

What I am also doing is using my self knowledge, which tells me that I am more apt to be regularly devoted to the practises I have if I have the accountability of knowing that if I do not I will be letting others down as well as myself.

Well onwards and hopefully upwards into lent.....