Am I allowed to postpone my penance?

[JD27076]

First off, let me introduce you to my situation.

I went for usual confession today and since the priest took a little longer than expected, I decided to pray the Rosary to allow time to pass. I prayed the whole thing.

Well… when it was time for me to go to confession, I went in, confessed my sins…and do you know what my penance was? … To pray the Rosary.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy praying the Rosary and its virtues it calls down… but since I already prayed it today, am I allowed to postpone it for tomorrow after Mass?

I know if you purposely do not do the penance, its a mortal sin, but since I am not purposely not doing it, but rather postponing it for tomorrow in which I will do it then…is that okay?

Thanks!

 

[Ignatius]

First off, let me introduce you to my situation.

I went for usual confession today and since the priest took a little longer than expected, I decided to pray the Rosary to allow time to pass. I prayed the whole thing.

Well… when it was time for me to go to confession, I went in, confessed my sins…and do you know what my penance was? … To pray the Rosary.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy praying the Rosary and its virtues it calls down… but since I already prayed it today, am I allowed to postpone it for tomorrow after Mass?

I know if you purposely do not do the penance, its a mortal sin, but since I am not purposely not doing it, but rather postponing it for tomorrow in which I will do it then…is that okay?

Thanks!

Normally, It’s best to do your penance directly after exiting the confessional.

 

[InternetWoman]

I think your plan is just fine. Think of it this way, maybe your guardian angel just gave you a head start:

 

[Delaine75]

Here’s how I see it: the rosary takes about 15-20 minutes usually … I’m pretty sure you could spare that much time for something so special even if you HAVE already said the rosary once that day. Just do your penance and don’t postpone it, LOL!!

 

[JD27076]

Here’s how I see it: the rosary takes about 15-20 minutes usually … I’m pretty sure you could spare that much time for something so special even if you HAVE already said the rosary once that day. Just do your penance and don’t postpone it, LOL!!

Just what I done.

 

[mardukm]

First off, let me introduce you to my situation.

I went for usual confession today and since the priest took a little longer than expected, I decided to pray the Rosary to allow time to pass. I prayed the whole thing.

Well… when it was time for me to go to confession, I went in, confessed my sins…and do you know what my penance was? … To pray the Rosary.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy praying the Rosary and its virtues it calls down… but since I already prayed it today, am I allowed to postpone it for tomorrow after Mass?

I know if you purposely do not do the penance, its a mortal sin, but since I am not purposely not doing it, but rather postponing it for tomorrow in which I will do it then…is that okay?

Thanks!

The spirit of contrition for our sins is what informs whether our actions are actually “penance.” There should be a good reason for postponing your penance, and having already done the Rosary prior to confession does not count, IMO.

I’m a bit cautious. If you do daily Rosary anyway, it seems your postponing it to the next day is a way for you to avoid your penance. On the other hand (from my perspective as a Copt, not a Latin), our penitential spirituality should inform every action of our lives. In that sense, maybe your daily Rosary will count as penance. Dunno.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[mardukm]

Here’s how I see it: the rosary takes about 15-20 minutes

Really? I’ve had occasion to do a set of 5 Mysteries with my Filipina wife, and it normally takes us about 30-35 minutes.

Blessings,
Marduk

 

[paperwight66]

It takes 20 mins when it is said by a group in our parish before Mass. MInd you, they know they have to finish ten minutes before Mass so as to allow other people time to pray in silence so they do keep up a brisk speed and only do the basics.

 

[kmo_9000]

Your sins are forgiven regardless of your penance. The purpose of penance is to repair the temporal effects caused by your sins, that is the purpose of penance. It’s not meant to give reparations for your sins, Jesus already paid the price for that.

If you can help it though, you should do it as soon as you can. It should also be noted that you may also add extra prayers to the penance already given if you wish.

 

[englishredrose]

me being me would have told the priest I just done that whilst waiting for my turn per se
regardless of whether that is right thing to have said or not but thats just me because I like my penance to be relevent to my situation but there again am Anglican as you’ll point out and see deeper purpose in penance so like meaning to it otherwise there isn’t much point in it for me. But yeh, I would have blurted out that I just done that so he knew for sure whether I should just do it again or give me something else

 

[Cristiano]

I postponed my penance a lot of times, mainly because it involved reading passages from the bible. Other times I just had to rush home and I did my penance once I got home.