Order of Franciscan Penitents

Order of Franciscan Penitents The Order of Franciscan Penitents (OFP) is a Franciscan Religious Order of vowed religious men and women in the Charismatic Episcopal Church.

09/07/2026

Hello to all. I am penning this missive on Labor Day, which seems fitting--that is, me laboring on Labor Day. I do hope it is a good restful weekend and we pray, especially for all essential laborers that their rights may always be defended by us who do appreciate their work. And while we are at it, we pray for the many who live in fear that because of their status may be snatched up and not given their constitutional rights. God help us become a more welcoming people.

Our upcoming readings will be Sirach 27: 30--28:7; Psalm 103; Romans 13: 7-9(10-12); and Matthew 18: 21-35. Both the first reading and gospel challenge us to forgive wrongdoing done to us from our heart. In the gospel, we are to forgive 70x7 times. Basically we must challenge ourselves in this, because if we do not, it POISONS our soul and spirit. The gospel goes on with a story by Jesus of an unforgiving servant whose debt has been forgiven, but who will not forgive a fellow servant. These texts are so germaine given the anger and unforgiveness going on in our culture these days. We Christians must lead the way in turning this way of being around.

The Romans reading reminds us that whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord and following from this is the thought that we must not stand in judgement or contempt of each other. We will have to give an account to the Lord at the close of our life.

Chapel Schedule
Noon Eucharist Tuesday (September 8), Fr. John presiding
Noon Eucharist Thursday (September 10), Fr. Jim presiding
5 pm Eucharist Saturday (September 12), Fr. Jim presiding

This is the second weekend of the month, which means Fr. John is going to preside at Eucharist on September 13 at St John's CEC parish in St. Joseph, Missouri.
Also, hold Fr. Jim's wife, Ginny in prayer. She has surgery on Tuesday September 8

SAYINGS OF THE SAINTS

"Breathe into me, O Holy Spirit,
That my thoughts may all be holy.
Act in me, O Holy Spirit,
That my work, too, may be holy.
Draw my heart, O Holy Spirit,
That I love but what is holy.
Strengthen me, O Holy Spirit,
To defend all that is holy.
Guard me, then, O Holy Spirit,
That I always may be holy. St. Augustine

Again, May the Lord bless us and keep us and make His face shine upon us. Have a blessed week. Fr. John ofp

08/31/2026

Hello to all! Also, it is Labor Day weekend coming this weekend. So I am opening with Psalm 90:17 which says 'Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us; give success to the work of our hands. O give success to the work of our hands!'

The scriptures for this Sunday are Ezekiel 33: 7-9; Psalm 95; Romans 13: 8-10; and Matthew 18: 15-20. Ezekiel has God speaking 'You are a watchman and I hold you responsible if you see evil being done and you don't do anything about it.' Romans 13 says basically owe no one anything except to love one another. (I wonder what that says to our capitalist credit/debt system? There goes my Franciscan conscience asking questions again.) And the gospel gives us specific instructions in the setting of the Church community on how to handle controversies and wrong-doing between one another. We are to honor each person and deal with it privately at first before it gets out of hand. Then if necessary take it to others. These are good and practical teachings directly from the Word of God.

Chapel Schedule

Noon Tuesday Eucharist (September 1), Fr. John presiding
++++++++7:30 pm First Tuesday of the Month---Franciscan Fraternity Fellowship on GoToMeeting++++++
Noon Thursday Eucharist (September 3), Fr. Jim presiding
5 pm Saturday Eucharist (September 5), Fr. John presiding

SAYINGS OF THE SAINTS
"Not to share our wealth with the poor is to rob them and take away their livelihood. The riches we possess are not our own, but theirs as well" St. John Chrysostom

"When we provide the needy with their basic needs, we are giving them what belongs to them, not to us." St Gregory the Great

"The right to private property can only be considered a secondary natural right, derived from the principle of the universal destination of created goods. This has concrete consequences that ought to be reflected in the workings of society." Pope Francis in the encyclical FRATELLI TUTTI

I hope it is a good and restful weekend for you. Please continue to pray for all fearful and oppressed peoples of our world. And do what you can to announce Jesus Christ's Kingdom of LOVE , JUSTICE AND PEACE!

Much love to all in this 800th year of St. Francis' TRANSITUS FROM DEATH TO ETERNAL LIFE in 1226.

Fr. John ofp

08/24/2026

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!
Our upcoming scriptures for consideration this next weekend are: Jeremiah 20: 7-9; Psalm 63: Romans 12: 1-2; and Matthew 16; 21-27. These readings are very challenging. The first one has Jeremiah powerfully regretting his call to be a prophet and then realizing that his call is an interior "burning" within his person and that he must respond to God's call. The account from Romans 12 speaks of offering our total selves to God as a "living sacrifice" to God. The problem with that for us is that we (as living sacrifices) always want to crawl off God's altar. And the gospel is the strong conclusion to last weekend's gospel that has asked us along with St. Peter, "Who do we say Jesus is?" It presents Jesus saying 'yes', that He indeed is the Christ, but that He must endure His passion and face the torture of the cross. Peter says, 'God forbid!' to which Jesus responds 'Get behind me, Satan!'. Then He tells us that we too must deny ourselves and embrace 'the cross'. All of these readings fit together and are a deep challenge to us Christians in this troublesome age.

Here in Columbia, MO, our schools, colleges and university are beginning their semester. We lift in prayer all our teachers, students.

Chapel Schedule
Noon Tuesday Eucharist (August 25), Fr. John presiding
Noon Thursday Eucharist (August 27), Fr. Jim presiding
5 pm Saturday Eucharist (August 29), Fr. Jim presiding

SAYINGS OF THE SAINTS
"If we truly think of Christ as our source of holiness, we shall refrain from anything wicked or impure in thought or act and thus show ourselves to be worthy bearers of His name. For the quality of holiness is shown not by what we say but by what we do in life." St Gregory of Nyssa

"The most resplendent manifestation of God's glory is the salvation of souls, whom Christ redeemed by shedding His blood. To work for the salvation and sanctification of as many souls as possible,, therefore, is the preeminent purpose of the aposolic life." St. Maximilllian Kolbe ofm

"Jesus is my kingdom. If He is all I have, I shall have everything. If I don't have Him, I lose everything." San Luis obispo ofm, (known to us in English as St. Louis of Anjou, a Franciscan bishop)

Blessing to all. Carry Jesus Christ in you and with you wherever you go. Remember that we are often the only Gospel that people encounter. Fr. John ofp

08/10/2026

Blessings of the Living Lord Jesus Christ to all!

Our upcoming scripture readings are Isaiah 56: 1-7; Psalm 67; Romans 11: 13-32 and Matthew 15: 21-28. There is a wonderful theme in all of our coming weekend scriptures which is Jesus' outreach to all the Gentile world. We Christians believe Him to be the Savior of the World. The Isaiah reading highlights that 'foreigners' will come to the God who has revealed Himself in the covenant to the Jewish people. The section of Romans highlights that St. Paul, the apostle sent to the Gentiles, hopes that his ministry will make his fellow Torah observers jealous and come to see Jesus as their Christ, whom he preaches. And the gospel presents Jesus in Tyre and Sidon (present day Lebanon), healing the daughter of a Canaanite woman, praising her for her faith.

Chapel Schedule
Noon Eucharist Tuesday (August 11), Fr. Jim presiding
Noon Eucharist Thursday (August 13), Fr. John presiding
5 pm Eucharist Saturday (August 15), Fr. John presiding

SAYINGS OF THE SAINTS
"We should try to live in such a way that if the Gospels were lost, they could be re-written by looking at us." Archbishop Anthony Bloom, Russian Orthodox Bishop of England, who died in 2003

"Even if we sin ten thousand times, and even if we turn from Him, He does not cease to arrange what is for our salvation, so that we may turn again and be saved." St John Chrysostom

"The family is the place where one learns to love; it is the natural center of human life. It is made up of faces, of people who love, dialogue, make sacrifices for one another, and defend life, especially the most vulnerable and the weakest." Pope Francis

I hope you have a pleasant week being a living Gospel to those you meet. God bless you. Fr. John ofp

08/03/2026

Hello and blessings to all!

Our upcoming weekend scriptures are 1 Kings 19: 9-13a; Psalm 85; Romans 9: 1-5 and Matthew 14: 22-33. The first reading is the well known account of Elijah the prophet being called to go outside his cave because the Lord God would be passing by. As he does, God is not in the obvious earthquake or fire. No God comes to him in "the whisper". The second reading begins Romans 9-11, which begins St Paul's section with strong prayer and good wishes that his brothers and sisters of Judaism would realize that Jesus, risen from the dead IS INDEED 'THEIR CHRIST'! And the gospel is the account of Jesus coming to the disciples as they were struggling against the wind and waves, welcoming Peter to walk on the water and then His calming of the storm.

Chapel Schedule
Noon Tuesday Eucharist (August 4), Fr. John presiding
+++++In Missouri, be sure to VOTE on Tuesday August 4+++++
++++++also, Franciscan Fraternity (First Tuesday of the month), at 7:30 pm on GoToMeeting.
Noon Thursday Eucharist (August 6), Fr. Jim presiding
5 pm Saturday Eucharist (August 8), Fr. Jim presiding

Fr. Jim and I have responded to our bishops by setting aside the second weekend of the month to provide the CELEBRATION OF THE EUCHARIST for our CEC parish (St John the Evangelist) in St Joseph, Mo. They are pastored by deacon Barry White. This coming weekend I will be the one to serve our parish in St Joseph.

SAYINGS OF THE SAINTS
"Charity begins today. Today, somebody is suffering. Today, somebody is in the street. Today somebody is hungry. Our work is for today. Yesterday has gone, tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today to make Jesus known, loved, served, fed, clothed, sheltered. Do not wait for tomorrow. Tomorrow, we will not have them if we do not feed them today." St Mother Teresa of Calcutta
"Do not rebel against your desires, but seize them and tend them to God. You shall not stifle your surging powers, but let them work a holy work and rest a holy rest in God." Jewish Rabbi Martin Buber.

That does it for me. Have a great week serving the Lord and His Coming Kingdom. Love, Fr. John ofp

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903 Old Highway 63
Columbia, MO
65201

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