Repentance versus Penance?

[RNRobert]

I have a question concerning the words repentance and penance. In all Bibles except the Douay-Rheims, they use the words ‘repent’ and ‘repentance’, while the DRB uses the terms ‘penance’ and ‘doing penance.’ My question is, is there a real difference between them? Looking the words up in my Webster’s New World College Dictionary, I find that they both come from Latin words meaning ‘penitent.’ Both words indicate a person’s sorrowful attitude towards wrongdoing. However, ‘repentance’ refers more towards remorse and contrition, while penance is more of an action taken to atone for the wrongdoing. Any thoughts, comments or opinions on the subject?

 

[JimG]

I am not sure how they are distinguished in particular bible passages, but *repentance * commonly means the turning away from sin, signifying remorse and a change of direction in life. Penance is an action done to demonstrate one’s repentance. (In the early Church, penances given for serious public sins tended to be serious and lengthy; completing the assigned penance was an indication of interior repentance.)

 

[Todd_Easton]

Repentance seems to mean the same thing as ‘interior penance’ as defined in the following Glossary entry in the Cathechism of the Catholic Church:
PENANCE: Interior penance: a conversion of heart toward God and away from sin, which implies the intention to change one’s life because of hope in divine mercy (1431). External acts of penance including fasting, prayer, and almsgiving (1434). The observance of certain penitential practices is obliged by the fourth precept of the Church (2043).

Also under PENITENT/PENITENTIAL:
Penitential acts or practices refer to those which dispose one for or flows from interior penance or conversion…

 

[RNRobert]

JimG:

I am not sure how they are distinguished in particular bible passages, but *repentance *commonly means the turning away from sin, signifying remorse and a change of direction in life. Penance is an action done to demonstrate one’s repentance. (In the early Church, penances given for serious public sins tended to be serious and lengthy; completing the assigned penance was an indication of interior repentance.)

The Douai-Rheims Bible uses “penance” in places where other translations (Catholic and non-Catholic) use “repentance.” For instance, Luke 15:7 in the DRB reads:

I say to you, that even so there shall be in joy in heaven upon one sinner that doth penance, then upon ninety-nine just who need not penance.

On the other hand, the NAB translates the same passage thusly:

I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.

Other translations, like the RSV-CE, and the Protestant NIV and KJV, read similarly to the NAB.

To give another example, look at Matthew 3:2 in the DRB:

And saying, do penance: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Now the NAB:

[and] saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!”

I’m just curious why the DRB tanslators used ‘penance’ instead of ‘repentance.’

 

[RNRobert]

I posted this question in the AAA forum, and this was the response from Fr. Serpa:

You just gave the real difference. Doing penance gives credibility to our repentance. Otherwise our penitential attitude can ring hollow. Talk is cheap. Anyone can say that he is sorry. Integrity is proven by what we are willing to do about it.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.

This reminds me of when Paul told King Agrippa that after seeing the heavenly vision of Jesus, he declared to Jews and Gentiles “that they should repent and turn to God, and perform deeds worthy of their repentance.” (Acts 26:22, RSV-CE).