Stiffest Penance?

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I was told to not change the channel when the rosary came on EWTN for a whole week - I had to pray it with Mother Angelica. It was very good for me.

Of course, it had come out in confession that I was avoiding praying the rosary - especially when it came on EWTN! I have a feeling I led the priest to assigning that penance.

My mom once had to tell a person that she was stinky - don’t know much more of the details on that one! I think that it was about being truthful with a friend.

Danielle
 
Brain said:
5 hours of adoration.
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REALLY???

Gosh, did you actually manage to complete it?

I got a Creed, five Our Father’s five Hail Mary’s and five Glory Be’s. Methinks I’m getting a similar penance later today.
 
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cailliaugirl:
I was told to not change the channel when the rosary came on EWTN for a whole week - I had to pray it with Mother Angelica. It was very good for me.

Of course, it had come out in confession that I was avoiding praying the rosary - especially when it came on EWTN! I have a feeling I led the priest to assigning that penance.

My mom once had to tell a person that she was stinky - don’t know much more of the details on that one! I think that it was about being truthful with a friend.

Danielle
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Funny you should mention that. It occured to me recently that I have some explaining to do about how certain prayers actually annoy me. Something tells me this is not a healthy thing. I think I know what will be coming for penance there. I had that EWTN problem too except in my case I could get past the channel fast enough. I fessed that one up already.
 
I was given as a Penance “Perform some spontaneous act of kindness sometime this week or next.” This was the first time I’d been to Confession in a few years, and I don’t remember what I had as a Penance the last time I had been (the first time as well…:o )

This was a particularly hard penance, believe it or not. Kindness is well within my capacity for dealing with people, but it was hard to make it “spontaneous”…I kept thinking about it…Finally, I realized I just had to do all sorts of kind things and recognize them as that after the fact.

Very thought provoking penance…

-ACEGC
 
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porthos11:
REALLY???

Gosh, did you actually manage to complete it?

I got a Creed, five Our Father’s five Hail Mary’s and five Glory Be’s. Methinks I’m getting a similar penance later today.
Click to expand...
I was unable to in a very quick amount of time, but im sure that since then i have had well over 5 hours of adoration.
 
My first confession coming back to the Church was on a Friday during Lent, and finished right at 3pm – you know what penance that means!! 🙂

Fr. had to go upstairs (we were in his office) to get one of the little Divine Mercy booklets, and then he went over with me to the church and started me off on it too!

Since then I’ve gotten a good variety of penances:
  • the usual Hail Mary/Our Father packages
  • the Memorare
  • spending time in Adoration for various specific intentions related to my confession
  • reading the 150th Psalm, II Corinthians, other Biblical passages
  • praying for someone who is too afraid to come back to confession (during Lent)
  • meditating upon the cross itself, not just on Jesus upon the cross, but the cross (hmm… that was actually good food for thought, though at first I said “what?”)
Oddly enough, I don’t recall being given the Rosary or even a decade of the Rosary… weird, since pretty much every priest I go to has a deep Marian devotion.

I think there should be a sub-thread to this, where we list our ideas for good penances that we have never gotten ourselves!! Give the priests some ideas! 😉

+veritas+
 
+veritas+:
I think there should be a sub-thread to this, where we list our ideas for good penances that we have never gotten ourselves!! Give the priests some ideas! 😉

+veritas+
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Doh! :banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

Just kidding. Kind of cute. :rotfl:
 
The stiffest one I’ve ever gotten was to read a passage from the Bible. Usually it’s just 3 Hail Marys or something like that. I’ve been to a lot of different priests too. I hate to admit this, but I’m kind of disappointed with these types of penances. I always think “today I’ll get a tough penance” and then…same thing: 3 Hail Marys. I haven’t been to Father Perrone though!!😉
 
the most i’ve gotten is 10 Our Fathers, 10 Hail Marys, and 10 Glory Bes and Adoration. (I thought he let me off easy, though 😉 )I have to admit, though, getting a “weak sauce” penace sort of makes me feel like I gypped God (yes, yes, I know that’s not the way it works…)
 
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Giannawannabe:
The stiffest one I’ve ever gotten was to read a passage from the Bible. Usually it’s just 3 Hail Marys or something like that. I’ve been to a lot of different priests too. I hate to admit this, but I’m kind of disappointed with these types of penances. I always think “today I’ll get a tough penance” and then…same thing: 3 Hail Marys.
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I too have felt disappointment that no matter how bad it was, the penance was always 3 Our Fathers and 3 Hail Mary’s. When I went in giving probably the most significant confession of my life, it did justice to get an entire Rosary in contrast to what has happened elsewhere.
I haven’t been to Father Perrone though!!😉
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Good man - Give him a shot next time you see his light on. I think you’ll find that he has a kind and merciful heart, and with a stiffer penance than I had ever received, a just heart. This was my experience. But, I knew after reading his, “Fallacy of the Middle Ground” article, I had found myself a priest who was “Father” and wouldn’t try to be “Friend”. I’ve had enough of those.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving doesn’t need to make commercials that say “Fathers don’t let their children drive drunk”, but they do need to make them to remind friends not to do so. Biggest mistake I’ve made and I think some priests make is thinking that they can be our friend and father at the same time. Friends will show you love and mercy, but aren’t as good at justice. A father will never hesitate to tell you what you don’t want to hear or ask what you don’t want asked because he does so out of love. A friend may avoid it because he doesn’t want to take you out of your comfort zone. I told Father this when we first sat down - “I need a Father, not a friend.” He obliged.

Hmmmm…sounds like another topic for an article - friend vs. father.
 
Pray the Litany of St. Joseph for 10 days straight.

Btw, I don’t like the “act of kindness” penance. It’s too vague and trendy. It’s like something from a public service announcement from some celebrity. When do you complete it? If you open the door for someone, that’s an act of kindness. Does that fulfill the penance?
 
At my college parish, the priest ALWAYS gives a rosary for penence for the intentions of the Holy Father and an increase to the priestly vocations. (ALWAYS is based on personal experience and asking around).

it is a lot, but it is a good kick-start to saying it daily and it is a small price to pay for penence (lets see: eternal fires, crucifixion or a rosary - I know with one I would pick…)
 
Brian Crane:
Pray the Litany of St. Joseph for 10 days straight.

Btw, I don’t like the “act of kindness” penance. It’s too vague and trendy. It’s like something from a public service announcement from some celebrity. When do you complete it? If you open the door for someone, that’s an act of kindness. Does that fulfill the penance?
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I have to agree and it has been a long time since any priest gave this to me.
 
Anima Christi:
Has anyone ever been asked to pray the Divine Mercy Chaplet as penance?
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Yes, Fr. Klotter at St Martin assigned me an entire Divine Mercy chaplet. I loved it!

My hardest penance by far (and it’s still in the works) was from a Legionary of Christ.
 
Probably the “stiffest penance” I have ever gotten was to apoligize to my sister and be extra nice to her for a week (when I was about 10 - it hurt!). Our parish priest now almost always gives the same penance, no matter what the confession - 10 Hail Mary’s, usually for a particular intention. Except when he tells me to say a Hail Mary for each member of my family…which equals 10! So I get the same penance no matter how it is given, I guess… LOL!
 
Fifteen decades of the Rosary, and reading the 8th chapter of John’s Gospel.
 
I have been given the Rosary to say about 3 - 4 times. Never by the same priest.

Quite a few novena prayers.

Once I was given a decade of the Rosary for over a month.

While on a pilgrimage, I had a priest give me a homily for 50 minutes during confession. I only added 5 minutes to the conversation. The hard part was staying on the wooden kneelers. When I left the people waiting in line for confession were so scared of me they spread out to give me plenty of space to walk. I guess they didn’t want any of my sins to attach to them. :whacky:
 
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Giannawannabe:
Usually it’s just 3 Hail Marys or something like that. I’ve been to a lot of different priests too. I hate to admit this, but I’m kind of disappointed with these types of penances. I always think “today I’ll get a tough penance” and then…same thing: 3 Hail Marys.
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I heard one saint gave light penances and then did the heavy penances for the people personally. I can’t remember if it was St. Philip Neri or St. John Vianney. Just because the priest gives a light penance, doesn’t mean you (or he) can’t do more. I’ve also heard a wonderful confessor (same one who told the story about the saint) say he likes to give light penances to make the point that God’s mercy is freely given and not earned.
 
Sometimes I think there is a misery factor that goes with the guilt factor. When you get a stiffer penance when you are feeling more guilty and miserable, I think it helps life the misery while erasing the guilt.

Going from a lifetime of 3 Our Fathers and 3 Hail Mary’s to an entire Rosary when I emptied my closet, seemed justified. Or, shall we call it “satisfaction”, which is what penance is.

Anyone else feel this way?
 
Well Opus Dei priests are told by St Josemaria that they should give easy penances and make up what is necessary themselves. Wonderful spirituality.

I have never received a stiff penance but I know of a lady who did.

She went and Confessed her sins to none other than the Cure of Ars.

As a penance he told her to walk through the streets plucking a chicken until every feather was gone. She was suprised and a little amused by the request, but did as he said.

She returned a month later and confessed once again. As a Penance she was told by the beloved Cure to walk through the streets and find the feathers and put them back on the chicken.

“That’s impossible!”, she said “I will never find them all they have blown so far away and in so many directions.”

“So it is with your words”, he said. “They have gone out from you and have been blown about affecting folk here and there. They have been scattered to the ends of the earth and you can never retireve them.”

A very important lesson was learned that day.
 
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