Is the penance valid?

[Corpus_Cristi]

Yesterday, I went to confession right before daily mass. The penance the priest gave me was to go to the mass he was about to say and during the concecration, to either both pray for God to help me with what was troubling me and to reconcecrate myself to God, or to just reconcecrate myself to God, I was so worked up about it that I forgot which. Anyway, when the concecration came, I was ready to say my prayer, but I only remembered to pray that God help me with my problem and the rest of it completely slipped my mind until I went up to receive communion. I received communion and thought “it’s okay, relax, it’s not like you didn’t try to do your penance, you legitimately forgot to do something, that’s okay, you don’t have to worry about it”, but I felt guilty afterwards. I kept telling myself that it was okay, and convinced myself, partially, I really needed to hear it from someone else, Proverbs 3:5 says: trust the lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding. We can tell ourselves things, but we could be blinded from seeing the truth by our own understandings. So, i decided to ask someone on the forums. So . . . is the penance valid?

 

[Poisson]

I would have to say you’re ok. You did your best to do your penance.
I once had a priest give me as a penance 3 hrs of volunteer work. It seemed very stiff but I do more than that in a regular week as it is so I thought easy. So I have since wondered if I actually completed my penance by doing the work I had already planned to do. I decided that if there is confusion God would give us the benefit of the doubt provided we were sincere in our attempt.

 

[Dr.Colossus]

Penance cannot be valid or invalid. The thing that matters is the absolution. So long as your priest said the words “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”, you were forgiven from that moment forward, even if you hadn’t started your penance yet. One thing I would suggest is to just go to Mass again and try to do the penance you forgot. Remember that the Mass is a re-presentation of Christ’s sacrifice, so every Mass you attend is really the same one, just at a different time.

 

[Trinitatem]

I think what needs to be stressed is that you went to confession, offered yourself to the Father and received absolution. Worrying in itself is what Jesus does not want for you to do. If you forgot, then just tell Him, and perhaps offer something to him in the future (a work of charity, a kindness for someone, a prayer). We should not get hung up on things such as this (imagine having the conversation with Jesus, and you’ll already know you worried about it too much). There is much work to be done in this world, and He needs for you to move forward. He loves you, knows your heart and that you’re a good person. Trust Him to guide you by listening to the holy spirit that dwells within you.

 

[parishminister]

Follow your heart and your conscience. You did not have the intention to avoid doing penance, so make amends if you feel the need to, and as Trinitatem so lovingly pointed out, let go and move on.
I don’t agree 100% about absolution being the only necessary action to focus on…to achieve reconcilation with God and each other, all of the elements of the sacrament are necessary: contrition, confession, absolution and penance.

Peace…

 

[thisismyusrname]

“Corpus Cristi”, i’m not totaly sure about the penance, but…wtih regards to you having recieved communion, i am pretty sure that i read somewhere (it might have been the Q&A forums at ewtn.com, which I reccomend reading if you have never been there) that you may recieve communion even before performing your penance.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

The Rite in which the Sacrament is contained is made up of four parts. Repentance, Personal Confession, Absolution, and Penance. The Sacrament is made up of 1. The intent to Confess and Absolve, 2. The person confessing and the sins committed, and 3. The Absolution. The other parts of the Rite bring additional Grace when completed. The exception is if you intentionally and willfully omit the penance then Sacramental Grace may be withheld until the penance is at least attempted.