Harshest Penance?

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What is the harshest penance you have ever received?

If it will give away your sin, then obviously don’t say.
My mom was told to read all of Numbers once.
 
Three hours of volunteer work.Up until then it was always a few Hail Mary’s or Our Fathers.
 
My first confession since my mid-teens was the toughest. The Sorrowful Mysteries (rosary). I didn’t even know them and had to print the five decades off of the Internet, and the associated prayers (other than OF and HM). It took me over an hour to say them…

Now, of course, that wouldn’t be harsh at all…haven’t had any harsh ones.

JELane
 
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cassman:
What is the harshest penance you have ever received?

If it will give away your sin, then obviously don’t say.
My mom was told to read all of Numbers once.
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well that beats any i have ever received… i thought i was going to croak the other day when i received 3 our fathers and 3 hail marys, and thats not really bad, its just i’m used to 1 hail mary, but this was a priest from a different church… i must have been bad 👍
 
I can’t remember the actual penance, but the priest gave me a memorable lecture, the gist of which was, You know better. He was right, I did, & felt about 2 inches tall when I left the confessional. It was very good for me! 🙂
 
It depends on your definition of “harsh.”

I recentlly read an article about a woman who had confessed that she had an abortion. She had been given what might at first glance be considered an extremely harsh penance.

She was told to find a needy child, and to help raise that child to adulthood, supporting the child emotionaly, spiritually and financially. She found a single mother who was having a difficult time providing for her child, and became a kind of step-mother to the child. Although it was a huge undertaking, it greatly eased her guilt. She thought it was the best penance she had ever been given.
 
The harshest (which I didnt consider harsh at all…instead the BEST) was to say ONE decade of the Rosary…I was happy and thought, hey… a faithful priest at last! Until a few weeks back, he used his homily to state that Rainbow Sash and John Kerry have a right to communion…and Mohamed ascended to Heaven…

…go figure… 😦
 
Correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t this Thread highly inappropriate? One is not supposed to discuss ones Penance or am I just old fashion?😦
 
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Annunciata:
… One is not supposed to discuss ones Penance or am I just old fashion?😦
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A priest is not suppose to discuss the penance that he gives nor the sins that he hears. Consequentially, you are not to “listen in” on a confession or preasure someone into revealing that information but I don’t believe there is anything wrong with the person freely releasing that information about themselves.
 
Sir Knight:
A priest is not suppose to discuss the penance that he gives nor the sins that he hears. Consequentially, you are not to “listen in” on a confession or preasure someone into revealing that information but I don’t believe there is anything wrong with the person freely releasing that information about themselves.
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I really don’t feel that anything said in Confession should be discussed outside the Confessional. And, I do know that a priest can never divulge what is said in the Confessional…🙂
 
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Annunciata:
I really don’t feel that anything said in Confession should be discussed outside the Confessional. And, I do know that a priest can never divulge what is said in the Confessional…🙂
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It’s all up to you; if you don’t feel like talking about it, then you don’t have to. But there are no rules saying that one cannot.

As for me, it was two full Divine Mercy chaplets. I’d never even said the thing before that.
 
Being a convert, I never thought too much about the harshness of any penance that I have been given. I guess I have been fortunate in that I have always felt that the penance ‘fit the crime’. A priest must be aware that in order to help his penitent work through his confession a healing must take place and the correct penance is what is needed. (hope that made sense!)

I always thought my penances were just and kind…loving and spoke to the offenses that I had confessed. My husband, however, came home one day and told me that Father had given him a very hard penance. A whole decade of the rosary! I looked at him incredulously…that is the penance I get EVERY TIME! However, I love my penances and Father always has me meditate on different mysteries for them.

One of the best things about the Church is the ability to hear the words of absolution. How wonderful is Our God!
 
The harshest penance I ever received was to read a particular book. The priest was of the liberal sort (I didn’t know, it was my first time confessing to him). The book included all this Eastern theology, zen etc. 😦

It took me months to complete the penance. The local Catholic bookstore told me flatly the “wouldn’t carry anything” by that author. I ordered the book off the internet. It was torture to read since it went so much against my more traditional leanings. I left the book on a plane while on a business trip so I had to buy the book a second time. At a future confession, I confessed not completing my penance and was given an alternate by my own regular priest. I still stubbornly wanted to follow through even though (or because) it was difficult and bought the book again and finally finished it.

In a way it was refreshing to get something other than the standard “say a Rosary”, “three Hail Marys” etc. It challenged me and after I finished, I sought out more orthodox readings on the same topic.
 
I was told to read the creation story in Genesis, that was the most I have been given to do. The idea was to remind me of who is in charge.
 
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cassman:
What is the harshest penance you have ever received?

If it will give away your sin, then obviously don’t say.
My mom was told to read all of Numbers once.
Click to expand...
I’ve read through the threads and I have to counter with a question… does everyone realize our Christian lives are supposed to be about prayer, fasting, and almsgiving??? These are penances. Our penance DOES NOT end with the confessional and our meager little prayers. Penace is, at its core, a condition of the heart . . . “A contrite heart, oh God, you will not spurn.”

For every sin committed there is punishment due. Put in other words, we must be purified of our sins (here or in Purgatory) if our goal is to see the face of our Lord. Another way of stating it, atonement is due for each and every sin. Please look up No. 1472 & 1473 in the Catechism and also read the entire section on Penance & Reconciliation (CCC Nos. 1420-1498)

PRAYER+STUDY+COMMUNITY+SERVICE=CHRISTIAN LIFE
 
I have been given penances to read specific parts of the Gospels, or one of the books of the OT - usually related to whatever I have confessed.

John
 
???

Most of the activities listed as penances I would not consider to be penances; they’re things I’m already doing (praying the Rosary), or would gladly do anyway (read parts of the Bible, etc.). The one about helping raise a needy child was cool, though.

DaveBj
 
I was instructed to read the parable of the Prodigal Son. That was the best harshest penance ever.
 
I’ve been told to say 10 Hail Mary’s or variations of other common prayers.

The most interesting was to say 7 Our Fathers to the crucified Jesus. I would think the idea behind that would to to remind me why Jesus died and exactly HOW he died…by our sins. It wasn’t harsh, but it was very meaningful.

I don’t think I’ve ever been given a harsh penance by a priest, but I’ve had some very harsh consequences for my actions…and boy, is there penance when that happens!

We live our penance every day…and for those things we “get away with”, well…we’ll be revisiting those things in Purgatory.
 
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