What is the most memorable penance you were ever given?

[Duesenberg]

What is the most memorable penance you were ever given? For me that’s an easy one to answer. After not going to confession for far too long (decades), I made a nice, long, integral confession. My penance was to go sit in the church adjacent to the tabernacle and read the Gospel of Matthew from beginning to end. I’ve never been given a penance anything close to that since.

 

[UpUpAndAway]

“Thoroughly clean your home* before your next confession.”

*“spring cleaning” style - in other words, in minute detail, long and tiring.

At the time, I confessed weekly.

 

[RandomAlias]

Read St. Paul’s Letter to the Galatians.

 

[Gertabelle]

Add 15 minutes to your daily prayers, fast one day a week, and give alms from your need – through Advent.

 

[itsjustdave1988]

After having gone to confession and routinely receiving rather “light,” or what I imagined was too lenient a penance, I had one priest give me the penance of reading “The Confessions of St. Augustine.”

Longest penance I ever had, but an outstanding book.

Also, be careful what you complain about.

 

[Duesenberg]

After having gone to confession and routinely receiving rather “light,” or what I imagined was too lenient a penance, I had one priest give me the penance of reading “The Confessions of St. Augustine.”

Longest penance I ever had, but an outstanding book.

Also, be careful what you complain about.

Ha! That’s a good one!

 

[De_Maria]

Father said, “Have your wife pray for you every evening for 15 days. If she objects, tell her to come see me.”

When I got home, my wife said, “How does that work? You go to Confession and I do the penance?”

So, I said, “Father said that if you object, you need to go see him.”

So, she prayed.

 

[Ridgerunner]

This isn’t really about a penance, but it was pretty penitential to me.

Once when I was home during holidays from college, I went to confession with my mother and my sister. The priest hearing confessions was an older fellow and possibly hard of hearing. Anyway, his voice volume tended to fall to the point you could barely hear him, and then rise to very loud.

Anyway, my confession was sort of routine, and I was a little short of sins, so I confessed that I had been dating a particular girl for really too long and that I was afraid she was getting rather attached to me, and I guess I was taking a risk of leading her on.

The priest mumbled something I didn’t really hear, and then his voice rose to a tremendous volume and he asked “DO YOU HAVE ANY INTENTION OF MARRYING THIS GIRL”.

“No” I mumbled, a red flush beginning to crawl up my neck to my face. “Well, then” he said in a quiet voice “It’s better that you date others and encourage her to do the same.”

I don’t remember my formal penance, but whatever it was, it was nothing compared to the “penance” of walking out of the confessional. And horror of horrors! My mother and my sister were the next two in line!

Later, I asked my sister if she could hear what the priest said when his voice rose while I was in there. She gave me a knowing and somewhat disapproving look and nodded.

Now THAT’S a penance!

 

[Gertabelle]

This isn’t really about a penance, but it was pretty penitential to me.

Once when I was home during holidays from college, I went to confession with my mother and my sister. The priest hearing confessions was an older fellow and possibly hard of hearing. Anyway, his voice volume tended to fall to the point you could barely hear him, and then rise to very loud.

Anyway, my confession was sort of routine, and I was a little short of sins, so I confessed that I had been dating a particular girl for really too long and that I was afraid she was getting rather attached to me, and I guess I was taking a risk of leading her on.

The priest mumbled something I didn’t really hear, and then his voice rose to a tremendous volume and he asked “DO YOU HAVE ANY INTENTION OF MARRYING THIS GIRL”.

“No” I mumbled, a red flush beginning to crawl up my neck to my face. “Well, then” he said in a quiet voice “It’s better that you date others and encourage her to do the same.”

I don’t remember my formal penance, but whatever it was, it was nothing compared to the “penance” of walking out of the confessional. And horror of horrors! My mother and my sister were the next two in line!

Later, I asked my sister if she could hear what the priest said when his voice rose while I was in there. She gave me a knowing and somewhat disapproving look and nodded.

Now THAT’S a penance!

 

[Bruised_Reed]

I was told to pray for the next person in line for confession. It was very moving to know the person before me prayed for me and that there was a chain of prayers of those confessing. I still say a prayer for the person after me. I want to continue that chain…

 

[7_Sorrows]

I was told to write a letter to my deceased father.

 

[greenrangerx]

I was told to pull out my smartphone, open the calendar app, and schedule a daily reminder to meet with Jesus. He told me I didn’t necessarily have to do it right at the time my phone says, but that everytime I open the phone, I’ll see the notification and remember to do it at some point during the day

 

[starlady]

After being frustrated with the pace at which my life was going at the time, a priest told me to take everything slowly and savor being in the moment. Even eating, to take one bite at a time and enjoy it, rather than just doing it and trying to move on to the next thing.

 

[fhansen]

What is the most memorable penance you were ever given? For me that’s an easy one to answer. After not going to confession for far too long (decades), I made a nice, long, integral confession. My penance was to go sit in the church adjacent to the tabernacle and read the Gospel of Matthew from beginning to end. I’ve never been given a penance anything close to that since.

One time I was confessing how I’d been overeating-and how bad that was for me. And this older Irish priest just said, “Well, don’t do that then.” Matter-of-factly. I felt kind of foolish and laughed and thought, ‘yeah, that is pretty dumb.’