The tradition of confraternities

[FrancescaMaria]

Hello,
I was wondering, if I could get some information about the tradition of confraternities, and the benefits and obligations when one joins, or any experience that people might have. I am thinking of joining a confraternity dedicated to St. Anne, and I asked them for information, but all they told me was that if I wanted to join, I would just send them my name and address and they would add me to the register, and they sent me a short prayer of dedication to St. Anne. But I am hoping to get more information on what it actually means to join, and how a person might prepare spiritually, and what (if any) difference it would make in a person’s life. Any help would be appreciated, and thank you in advance for your answers.

 

[djames99]

Hello,
I was wondering, if I could get some information about the tradition of confraternities, and the benefits and obligations when one joins, or any experience that people might have. I am thinking of joining a confraternity dedicated to St. Anne, and I asked them for information, but all they told me was that if I wanted to join, I would just send them my name and address and they would add me to the register, and they sent me a short prayer of dedication to St. Anne. But I am hoping to get more information on what it actually means to join, and how a person might prepare spiritually, and what (if any) difference it would make in a person’s life. Any help would be appreciated, and thank you in advance for your answers.

One can’t go wrong in joining a confraternity. Why not just show up. Maybe the collective personality and devotion of the group may be to your liking? Besides what can you lose.? Go for it.! Some associations may not be that good on the administrative end of things.

 

[djames99]

I forgot to mention that my wife’s grandmother was a member of the same association, if it is the same one. She was a member of the very old Les Dames de Sainte-Anne. My wife has her very beautiful strung pin in purple. We think it dates back to 1910.

 

[corsair]

I joined the Confraternity of St. Peter a little over 8 years ago. Membership is free but there are a few thing they ask of us. A decade of the Rosary each day followed by the prayer for priests; a Mass said for the Confraternity each year and a couple of other things. Our FSSP parish is getting several new members to join so perhaps we can start a monthly Holy Hour for the Confraternity.

 

[Vico]

Hello,
I was wondering, if I could get some information about the tradition of confraternities, and the benefits and obligations when one joins, or any experience that people might have. I am thinking of joining a confraternity dedicated to St. Anne, and I asked them for information, but all they told me was that if I wanted to join, I would just send them my name and address and they would add me to the register, and they sent me a short prayer of dedication to St. Anne. But I am hoping to get more information on what it actually means to join, and how a person might prepare spiritually, and what (if any) difference it would make in a person’s life. Any help would be appreciated, and thank you in advance for your answers.

Here is an example for the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception (Marians).

By joining the Confraternity of the Immaculate Conception, the faithful take upon themselves certain obligations and receive spiritual benefits. The ceremony of admittance into the Confraternity includes the investiture with the Blue Scapular. Confraternity members ought to piously wear the Scapular always as an outward mark of veneration for the Immaculate Conception of the B.V.M. and a symbol that sets them apart as people particularly dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The rite of admission into the Confraternity of the Congragation of Marian Fathers takes place during a special liturgical ceremony, which may be presided over exclusively by a Marian priest or deacon.

marian.org/confraternity/

 

[djames99]

I joined the Confraternity of St. Peter a little over 8 years ago. Membership is free but there are a few thing they ask of us. A decade of the Rosary each day followed by the prayer for priests; a Mass said for the Confraternity each year and a couple of other things. Our FSSP parish is getting several new members to join so perhaps we can start a monthly Holy Hour for the Confraternity.

It’s good to hear from a confraternity brother.

 

[corsair]

Hang with the FSSP, djames99. They are my lifeline to sanity in a very crazy world.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Hello,
I was wondering, if I could get some information about the tradition of confraternities, and the benefits and obligations when one joins, or any experience that people might have. I am thinking of joining a confraternity dedicated to St. Anne, and I asked them for information, but all they told me was that if I wanted to join, I would just send them my name and address and they would add me to the register, and they sent me a short prayer of dedication to St. Anne. But I am hoping to get more information on what it actually means to join, and how a person might prepare spiritually, and what (if any) difference it would make in a person’s life. Any help would be appreciated, and thank you in advance for your answers.

It is hard to answer the question since I don’t know the specific confraternity of which you speak. In Europe, they can still involve meetings and a period of formation before admission; they also involve specific obligations.

In the new world, on the other hand, I find them often to be principally purely spiritual societies of piety or or regarding the practice of a devotion. One thinks, for example, of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity with its pious practice of wearing the Cord in honour of Saint Thomas Aquinas or the Rosary Confraternity.

The Confraternity of Saint Anne which I knew from her basilica in Canada was a pious association with no presumption of meetings. I presume many of the members had made a pilgrimage to her shrine, as indeed I had.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Hello,
I was wondering, if I could get some information about the tradition of confraternities, and the benefits and obligations when one joins, or any experience that people might have. I am thinking of joining a confraternity dedicated to St. Anne, and I asked them for information, but all they told me was that if I wanted to join, I would just send them my name and address and they would add me to the register, and they sent me a short prayer of dedication to St. Anne. But I am hoping to get more information on what it actually means to join, and how a person might prepare spiritually, and what (if any) difference it would make in a person’s life. Any help would be appreciated, and thank you in advance for your answers.

If, rather than the addition of a pious practice to your prayer life, you are seeking a sort of programme of life with a spiritual patrimony and a structured spirituality, I would suggest you consider one of the third orders secular or the secular oblature of a monastery instead looking to a confraternity.

 

[FrancescaMaria]

It is hard to answer the question since I don’t know the specific confraternity of which you speak. In Europe, they can still involve meetings and a period of formation before admission; they also involve specific obligations.

In the new world, on the other hand, I find them often to be principally purely spiritual societies of piety or or regarding the practice of a devotion. One thinks, for example, of the Angelic Warfare Confraternity with its pious practice of wearing the Cord in honour of Saint Thomas Aquinas or the Rosary Confraternity.

The Confraternity of Saint Anne which I knew from her basilica in Canada was a pious association with no presumption of meetings. I presume many of the members had made a pilgrimage to her shrine, as indeed I had.

Thank you. I am actually thinking about the Archconfraternity of St. Anne de Beaupre in Canada. I had a chance to visit the place and I found it very inspiring, so I have the desire to somehow stay connected to this place and to St. Anne. On the one hand, I am glad that they do not have any other requirements except having my name in their register, because I cannot go back and I have a busy family life, but on the other hand, I do not want my membership to be only arbitrary. So I was wondering, if there were some general expectations and pious practices that one is expected to do as a member of a confraternity.

 

[Don_Ruggero]

Thank you. I am actually thinking about the Archconfraternity of St. Anne de Beaupre in Canada. I had a chance to visit the place and I found it very inspiring, so I have the desire to somehow stay connected to this place and to St. Anne. On the one hand, I am glad that they do not have any other requirements except having my name in their register, because I cannot go back and I have a busy family life, but on the other hand, I do not want my membership to be only arbitrary. So I was wondering, if there were some general expectations and pious practices that one is expected to do as a member of a confraternity.

I very much recommend the Archconfraternity of Sainte Anne de Beaupre. It is a wonderful link to the Basilica. May the Lord keep alive in your heart the grace of your pilgrimage and may you often go back in thought and prayer to make a spiritual visit. I cherish the time I was able to pass there. It is a place of extraordinary beauty and grace.

If by any chance you read French, you can find an electronic version of the old French manual for the Archconfraternity. Now, mind you, the indulgences would no longer apply and the spiritual practices would have been adapted since this manual was written in the 1880s…but it would give you a sense of the organisation as it was in the 19th century.

You can elect to read it, for example, as a PDF.

archive.org/details/cihm_27796

 

[FrancescaMaria]

I very much recommend the Archconfraternity of Sainte Anne de Beaupre. It is a wonderful link to the Basilica. May the Lord keep alive in your heart the grace of your pilgrimage and may you often go back in thought and prayer to make a spiritual visit. I cherish the time I was able to pass there. It is a place of extraordinary beauty and grace.

If by any chance you read French, you can find an electronic version of the old French manual for the Archconfraternity. Now, mind you, the indulgences would no longer apply and the spiritual practices would have been adapted since this manual was written in the 1880s…but it would give you a sense of the organisation as it was in the 19th century.

You can elect to read it, for example, as a PDF.

archive.org/details/cihm_27796

Thank you Father Ruggero for your recommendation, kind words, and especially the Little Manual. Yes, I can read French and I like to pray in it too, because it is a language of my childhood. I don’t care about indulgencies anyway, but I really like the description of the pious practices, and I will definitely incorporate some of them into my spiritual life. I especially love the prayers in the Manual. It is a big help! Thank you so much!