Can a penance last the rest of my life?

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fleebag

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I gave my confession the day before I was confirmed 2 years ago. My penance was to say some Hail Marys and one other thing. The priest told me to kiss the floor every morning when I wake up FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE and say “Lord, I offer this day to you. Let not my will, but your will be done.” One reason he did this is so that I may never forget the day I was confirmed (Thursday February 12th, 2009.)

Is it possible that he may have just mentioned this at the time of my penance without actually meaning to include it in the actual penance? My concern is that my sins still haven’t been forgiven since I haven’t completed my penance…

Nolan
 
Your sins are forgiven as soon as the priest pronounces the absolution. Completing the penance has no effect on your forgiveness.

What a cool thing for the priest to advise you to do. And a great motivation to keep the floors clean. 😉
 
fleebag said:
I gave my confession the day before I was confirmed 2 years ago. My penance was to say some Hail Marys and one other thing. The priest told me to kiss the floor every morning when I wake up FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE and say “Lord, I offer this day to you. Let not my will, but your will be done.” One reason he did this is so that I may never forget the day I was confirmed (Thursday February 12th, 2009.)

Is it possible that he may have just mentioned this at the time of my penance without actually meaning to include it in the actual penance? My concern is that my sins still haven’t been forgiven since I haven’t completed my penance…

Nolan
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You are forgiven when the priest absolved you, not when you complete your penance.
 
I would go to confession and ask the priest (same who gave the penance or other) and would ask relief from kissing the earth or even saying a definite prayer every morning when you wake up.

The priest has the right to give you lifetime penance, but this does not delays the absolution from your sin. The Church (in this time other priest or he himself) has the right to change that penance.
 
baltobetsy said:
Your sins are forgiven as soon as the priest pronounces the absolution. Completing the penance has no effect on your forgiveness.

What a cool thing for the priest to advise you to do. And a great motivation to keep the floors clean. 😉
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Not so sure it was great as a penance. When you are old or incapacitated you may not be able to get down and kiss the floor. For people with some scuples, this could cause a problem with their conscience, or for people like the OP who honestly think that forgiveness is dependent on completeling the penance and were never informed otherwise, they would think they were never forgiven. I think a lifelong penance is an unnecessary burden on people. IMHO.
 
CB_Catholic said:
Not so sure it was great as a penance. When you are old or incapacitated you may not be able to get down and kiss the floor. For people with some scuples, this could cause a problem with their conscience, or for people like the OP who honestly think that forgiveness is dependent on completeling the penance and were never informed otherwise, they would think they were never forgiven. I think a lifelong penance is an unnecessary burden on people. IMHO.
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It didn’t seem to me to be part of the penance, but rather a recommendation in addition to the penance.
 
baltobetsy said:
It didn’t seem to me to be part of the penance, but rather a recommendation in addition to the penance.
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I would also think so…but in your next confession ask the Priest to change it --if it was so–to something you can finish…
 
fleebag said:
I gave
Is it possible that he may have just mentioned this at the time of my penance without actually meaning to include it in the actual penance? My concern is that my sins still haven’t been forgiven since I haven’t completed my penance…

Nolan
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your sins were still forgiven even if you did none of your penance
are you quite sure the confessor was not simply reminding you of the need to express your gratitude to God each day, and not imposing alifelong penance? if he had already assigned something else that is much more likely.
If this is causing you anxiety, simply ask him
 
[edited] Many people responded that the penance given by a priest (if any) is not necessary to the forgiveness of your sins. I thought it was; that if you complete the penance (or have a legitimate reason to be unable to do so) your sins are forgiven, but if you do not your sins are not forgiven. Your sins would be forgiven or not at the time of absolution because God knows if you will complete your penance or not, but the penance is still necessary. Can anyone give an official teaching on this?
 
It seems to me that once the priest grants you absolution, the sins are forgiven. However, there remains what is called temporal punishment (as contrasted with eternal punishment) which can either take place in this life (penance) or the next (purgatory). If you perform the penance, you’re fine: you have no debt. If not, then you’re still forgiven, you’re on your way to Heaven, but you stop to pay your debt, now increased (sorta like interest and late fees?) in purgatory. The smart thing to do is pay early; do your penance.
 
k8e308 said:
[edited] Many people responded that the penance given by a priest (if any) is not necessary to the forgiveness of your sins. I thought it was; that if you complete the penance (or have a legitimate reason to be unable to do so) your sins are forgiven, but if you do not your sins are not forgiven. Your sins would be forgiven or not at the time of absolution because God knows if you will complete your penance or not, but the penance is still necessary. Can anyone give an official teaching on this?
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Your sins are forgiven at absolution. If you do not complete your penance you are simply guilty of not doing penance. That’s a new sin committed after confession. Everything before is forgiven.
 
baltobetsy said:
Your sins are forgiven as soon as the priest pronounces the absolution. Completing the penance has no effect on your forgiveness.
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This is not correct. In order to make a valid Confession three things are necessary:

**You must confess your sins to the priest.

You must have sincere sorrow for your sins, and a firm purpose of amendment.

You must perform your penance.**

All three are required to be present or your sins are NOT forgiven. The priest assumes that you are sincerely sorry and have an intention to amend your life, and that you will perform your penance when he gives the absolution. But you will **not be forgiven **if one of these elements is missing. Just as the priest must have the correct intention when he offers the Mass, the penitent must have the proper intention, and meet all of the requirements, in order to be truly forgiven.

An example would be withholding the confession of a mortal sin. Not only are you not forgiven in your Confession, but you commit another mortal sin. The priest may give you absolution, but you have made a bad Confession and you are NOT forgiven for your sins.

Not performing your penance means you have made a** bad Confession**.
 
SaintGobban said:
Not performing your penance means you have made a** bad Confession**.
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I’ll wait while you go check on this. If you go to confession with the intention to omit your penance, then, yes, you’re missing something essential. Other than that, your failure to perform your penance might be another sin, but it does not invalidate your confession.
 
From the Catechism:

1459 Many sins wrong our neighbor. One must do what is possible in order to repair the harm (e.g., return stolen goods, restore the reputation of someone slandered, pay compensation for injuries). Simple justice requires as much. But sin also injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relationships with God and neighbor. **Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused.62 Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must “make satisfaction for” or “expiate” his sins. This satisfaction is also called “penance.” **

It would appear to me that absolution is granted regardless of penance. The sinner’s spiritual health only recovers fully by doing penance.
 
This is the number of the paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

78. For this reason, after the sinner has confessed his sins, he receives a penance from the priest. The penance must be completed in order for the Sacrament of Confession to be completed in itself and for the soul of the sinner to be reinstated in the fullness of righteousness in the eyes of God.
 
baltobetsy said:
I’ll wait while you go check on this. If you go to confession with the intention to omit your penance, then, yes, you’re missing something essential. Other than that, your failure to perform your penance might be another sin, but it does not invalidate your confession.
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I don’t really understand why YOU can not check on this yourself.

I recited the above from memory. And, I don’t have to check, because I KNOW.

I’m almost 60 years old.

The memory derives from my experience of being TAUGHT the catechism of the church in grade school 53 years ago. It has never left me, nor have I left it…

Obviously, that catechism is no longer being taught.

That is sad. However, knowledge of one’s faith is still a personal responsibility for which we will all be answerable one day.

Believing what one reads on a computer website is clearly part of the problem.

This is the numbered paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
  1. For this reason, after the sinner has confessed his sins, he receives a penance from the priest. The penance must be completed in order for the Sacrament of Confession to be completed in itself and for the soul of the sinner to be reinstated in the fullness of righteousness in the eyes of God.
 
SaintGobban said:
This is the number of the paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

78. For this reason, after the sinner has confessed his sins, he receives a penance from the priest. The penance must be completed in order for the Sacrament of Confession to be completed in itself and for the soul of the sinner to be reinstated in the fullness of righteousness in the eyes of God.
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Actually, paragraph 78 says the following:

78 This living transmission, accomplished in the Holy Spirit, is called Tradition, since it is distinct from Sacred Scripture, though closely connected to it. Through Tradition, "the Church, in her doctrine, life and worship, perpetuates and transmits to every generation all that she herself is, all that she believes."37 "The sayings of the holy Fathers are a witness to the life-giving presence of this Tradition, showing how its riches are poured out in the practice and life of the Church, in her belief and her prayer."38

A search of “penance must be completed” in the Catechism reveals no hits.
 
SaintGobban said:
I don’t really understand why YOU can not check on this yourself.

I recited the above from memory. And, I don’t have to check, because I KNOW.

I’m almost 60 years old.

The memory derives from my experience of being TAUGHT the catechism of the church in grade school 53 years ago. It has never left me, nor have I left it…

Obviously, that catechism is no longer being taught.

That is sad. However, knowledge of one’s faith is still a personal responsibility for which we will all be answerable one day.

Believing what one reads on a computer website is clearly part of the problem.

This is the numbered paragraph from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
  1. For this reason, after the sinner has confessed his sins, he receives a penance from the priest. The penance must be completed in order for the Sacrament of Confession to be completed in itself and for the soul of the sinner to be reinstated in the fullness of righteousness in the eyes of God.
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Can you give the definition of “the fulness of righteousness in the eyes of God”. It doesn’t necessarily mean that absolution has been obtained. But it could mean that the damage caused by sin has been repaired. Therefore the person once he has been absolved has been forgiven, however, he is still doesn’t have the fulness of righteousness in the eyes of God because the person still has to repair the damage of the sin through penance. But the sin is still forgiven. Penance is only done after forgiveness. Therefore the stages of confession are: Confession of sin, contrition, forgiveness through the absolution the priest gives, then penance. So therefore forgiveness is obtained during the Sacrament of Confession but not at the end of it.
 
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