What if I don't feel the Penance is enough?

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Condottiero

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So for Penance a couple weeks ago, the Priest just had be say five Hail Mary’s, five Our Father’s and one each for him as well.

What if I don’t feel that’s enough? Should I look at it as getting a traffic violation bumped down to a parking violation? :^P
 
Yes, but since you damaged someone else’s car during the traffic violation (all sin wounds the Church), you still have to pay to have their car fixed. (That’s why we should all frequently do penance of our own choosing.)

If you fail to do so, the judge might have you thrown in jail (Purgatory). Fortunately, others may help pay off your debt so you can get out of jail early (others offering prayer, penances, and indulgences on your behalf — your spiritual insurance company).
 
If you feel that the penance you got was in sufficient you can always discuss that with the priest before you leave. Penance may be negotiated so the same is true if you feel the penance is excessive.

Deacon Ed
 
The penance a priest gives is understood to be partial, and not entire.

Therefor, you should undertake such penitential acts as you deem necessary on your own.
 
Dont beat yourself up. I have thought the same way as you a number of times. GOD has forgiven you. You have reconciled with the church thru the priest. The penance is from GOD.
 
I take whatever the confessor tells me to do. In my opinion, we will never do penance enough but we do rely on the great mercy of God.

Praying one short prayer as being requested by the confessor with a true contrite heart and trust in His Mercy is far more difficult than just praying thousands of prayers and thinking that it is not enough.
 
I once told my confession that I didn’t think the penance he gave me was enough and he told me that he could require me to sleep on a bed of nails but that still probaly would not be enough. Then he told me to stop beating myself up and to sayt he one Our Father that he gave me.
 
Condottiero said:
So for Penance a couple weeks ago, the Priest just had be say five Hail Mary’s, five Our Father’s and one each for him as well.

What if I don’t feel that’s enough? Should I look at it as getting a traffic violation bumped down to a parking violation? :^P
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No no no no no. Your penance is decided by the priest through the action of the Holy Spirit. What you are given you are given and please be assured that when it is completed, no matter what it is long or short, it makes satisfaction for the sins confessed.

St Josemaria Escriva told Priests that they should always give to those who are confessing a short penance and make up the rest themselves. Opus Dei Priests always give very short penances.

Length of penance is not important. The desire to please and be reconciled with God is most important.
 
Condottiero said:
So for Penance a couple weeks ago, the Priest just had be say five Hail Mary’s, five Our Father’s and one each for him as well.

What if I don’t feel that’s enough? Should I look at it as getting a traffic violation bumped down to a parking violation? :^P
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Faith, hope and love; the greatest of these is LOVE!

If your unable to accept your pennance, perhaps it is because we forget at times how very much God Loves us?:love:

Sometimes it takes a greater act of obedient humility, to accept what we are told to do than to confess, even the most serious sins.

Let us acknowledge that NOUTHING you and I can do:crying: can truly make ammends for our sins. But God knows that, accepts that, but wants us to “repent and convert” … Confess, do our Pennance and get on with trying to do better, always with the grace and help of our God in the future.

Pennance is not alway’s to “make ammends” in the sense that doing our given pennace makes things right. No, there are times and situtations that we are required to again “make right a wrong.” For example if we sreal something we must return it. Other times, a conversation of our hearts towards God is what God seeks.

Penance as prayer, is to reunite us with our loving God. The priest try’s to tie where you are at spiritually, with what you have Confessed, and makes a charitable decission, on what is best for
your soul’s spiritual growth.

God forgives you, the priest guides you. Humbly and obediently accept these facts.

It is NEVER the amount of Pennance, rather it is about true repentance, true conversion of heart, sincerely, with God’s help avoiding the near occassion of sin in the future.
**:extrahappy: **
 
Whatever the priest tells you, do it. Do not second-guess his judgment. If he tells you to pray one Our Father after you’ve just confessed to murder and adultery, say one Our Father, and consider your penance fulfilled. Then if you want to voluntarily add penances, you are certainly free to do so.
 
For the first 50+ years of my life, I was given a steady diet of X number of Our Fathers or Hail Marys as my penance. Then 2 years ago, something strange [to me] happened. A new pastor arrived at my parish. The first time I went to him for confession, after I had confessed my sins, he gave me a short lecture, [for want of a better way to describe it], about what I had said to him and for my penance told me to read a certain passage from Scripture and meditate on it. I waited a moment and then asked him if that was all? “Yes”, he replied. It didn’t seem like much to ask of me and I did leave the confessional slightly bemused.
Later that evening when I read the passage in my Bible, I realized that it was all about the sin I most struggled with. It was very difficult for me to force myself to meditate on that particular passage and truly understand the meaning. It took several re-readings and much thought before it really sunk in.
Since then, in the many times I have gone to this same pastor for confession, my penance has always been the same . . . not the same Scriptural passage . . . but one which addresses whatever sin is the most grevious or habitual I have confessed. Yes, I was truly sorry in all the years previously when I said whichever prayers were given to me for penance and I always understood that God, in his mercy, had forgiven me, However, this new type of penance has been so much more meaningful for me. It has been a learning experience that has given me a vastly deeper understanding of my faith.
I know that many people would not care for this type of penance at all, preferring the more traditional prayers and that’s fine. I only thank God for sending us a priest, extremely well versed in Scripture, who has taught me to really think about my sins and why they are displeasing to God. It is a humbling experience to search deep into one’s own self and face one’s shortcomings.
 
Condottiero said:
So for Penance a couple weeks ago, the Priest just had be say five Hail Mary’s, five Our Father’s and one each for him as well.

What if I don’t feel that’s enough? Should I look at it as getting a traffic violation bumped down to a parking violation? :^P
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If you feel you should do more penance (which is normally a good disposition), do something penitential and offer it up as reparation.
 
Deacon_Ed said:
If you feel that the penance you got was in sufficient you can always discuss that with the priest before you leave. Penance may be negotiated so the same is true if you feel the penance is excessive.

Deacon Ed
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I doubt that “excessive” penance being conferred upon penitents is a problem these days.
 
To what Frosty said about being given a scripture verse to read, my priest does that too. I had been away from the sacrament of confession for many years and went back. Had always been told to say certain prayers. And was surprised when I was told what the priest wanted me to read. So I looked it up when I got home and sure enough, it specifically pertained to what I had confessed! I too am grateful for a priest who is so familiar with the scriptures. He has also helped me in tough times by telling me certain things to read like which Psalm would be most helpful to me in that situation. He is always right on the money.👍
 
Condottiero said:
So for Penance a couple weeks ago, the Priest just had be say five Hail Mary’s, five Our Father’s and one each for him as well.

What if I don’t feel that’s enough? Should I look at it as getting a traffic violation bumped down to a parking violation? :^P
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Condottiero, I would be careful…I see pride lifting its head.
In obedience and humbly you do as requested remembering that it is the priest who is nurturing your soul. Dont give God what you THINK He should have give Him what He is asking (via the priest).
God Bless
GraceAngel.
 
If you don’t have a Spiritual Director, it may be time to find one. This is a pretty typical issue for a lot of people.

A good Spiritual Advisor can either help you work though this issue or can steer you toward some fuller penance/mortification. But they will be a better guide than a bunch of people on the internet. 🙂
 
Joannm said:
I once told my confession that I didn’t think the penance he gave me was enough and he told me that he could require me to sleep on a bed of nails but that still probaly would not be enough. Then he told me to stop beating myself up and to sayt he one Our Father that he gave me.
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Joann excellent discernment by your priest and I hope you kept going to him. One perfect Our Father As Jesus meant it to be said) or one perfect Hail Mary (said as the Angel would have said it) are worth more than all the prayers in the world which are rattled off.
Blessings
GraceAngel.
 
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