No Meat On ALL Fridays?

[Cor_ad_Cor]

Why is going to mass a penance? I consider it an honor and a privilege?

Correct, but prayer is also a privilege, yet it is the most commonly assigned penance in the confessional. Penance is something ‘extra’ that we do, not necessarily unpleasant. Many don’t attend daily Mass or have the opportunity to do so, and thus it makes perfect sense to be a penance on a weekday. It would require something extra or a bit of sacrifice.