Help with penance

[Ace86]

I went to Confession today, and my penance was to go out of my way and help others in need.

I just don’t know where to begin. How do I know who to help? How do I know they need help? I really would like to do this penance well and I don’t want to fail at it. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

 

[JCPhoenix]

Look right under your nose; focus on those you live with (if you live with your family). focus on those you work with.

Don’t get complicated and overthink it. If someone drops something, pick it up. If someone needs a ride to go pick up their car from the shop, offer to drop them off. If someone is missing a quarter and needs another to get a pop from the machine, lend a quarter without expecting anything in return.

Consider everyday things, not extraordinary things. The point is to take the focus off of yourself so that you can better percieve the needs of others.

 

[InLight247]

You can go to volunteer at the local soup kitchen. They always need help.

 

[Andruschak]

I went to Confession today, and my penance was to go out of my way and help others in need.

I just don’t know where to begin. How do I know who to help? How do I know they need help? I really would like to do this penance well and I don’t want to fail at it. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

Check your local newspaper. Most have, at least once a week, an article about volunteers being needed for various non-profit enterprises, My own Mother, age 82, still works twice a week as a volunteer at a local hospital. I love my Mother very much.

In my own case, my AA work can be regarded as helping others.

 

[kayla]

Any kind of Volunteer work is fun.
I work at our Community Free Lunch for the homeless on week-ends and holidays…it’s a wonderful feeling to help others.
Call your local Crisis Center and see what kind of volunteers are needed in your area.
good luck and God Bless!

 

[chevalier]

I’m not sure the priest meant volunteer work or any charity, but maybe he wanted you to take a good look and actually look for people around you who need help in some way. Perhaps interpret what he said in a literal way and, well, “go out of your way to help others”, whatever it means to you. Please do not listen to any advice as if it had superior authority over what the priest himself told you. It’s he who’s given you the penance, not any of us here.