When to do penance?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Anabel01
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Anabel01

Guest
I’ve not been able to find an answer on the web about this and I feel ashamed to ask at my church so I’m hoping you guys can help.

Background story: I’m from Croatia. I’ve been raised Catholic but sadly I’ve neglected my faith for almost the last 8 years. I’ve recently been finding my faith again but now I live in England. I’ve been learning the prayers now in English and I’m going to mass for the first time in England tomorrow! I’m so excited to go, and I’m sure God will not mind if I stumble over some words in prayers (I think I’ll go with the flow of mass and if I can’t follow then say the prayers quietly in Croatian till I learn them in English, after all God won’t care what language I speak to him in).

What I’m worried about is confession. I know the ‘procedure’ and everything in English, but its been so long since I’ve been to confession I don’t really remember. When I was young back in Croatia I remember my assigned penance would be something along the lines of ‘make sure this week you are kinder to your siblings’ etc. But I know some Priests will assign to say a few Hail Mary’s or another prayer.
Question: Do I say these prayers to the priest I’m confessing to right there and then, or after confession?

I’m sorry if its a silly question, but I’m really worried and I don’t want to mess things up. And I know penance is a personal thing, and I have to work on it long after confession and try to work on avoiding those sins again.

Peace 🙂
 
Anabel01 said:
I’ve not been able to find an answer on the web about this and I feel ashamed to ask at my church so I’m hoping you guys can help.

Background story: I’m from Croatia. I’ve been raised Catholic but sadly I’ve neglected my faith for almost the last 8 years. I’ve recently been finding my faith again but now I live in England. I’ve been learning the prayers now in English and I’m going to mass for the first time in England tomorrow! I’m so excited to go, and I’m sure God will not mind if I stumble over some words in prayers (I think I’ll go with the flow of mass and if I can’t follow then say the prayers quietly in Croatian till I learn them in English, after all God won’t care what language I speak to him in).

What I’m worried about is confession. I know the ‘procedure’ and everything in English, but its been so long since I’ve been to confession I don’t really remember. When I was young back in Croatia I remember my assigned penance would be something along the lines of ‘make sure this week you are kinder to your siblings’ etc. But I know some Priests will assign to say a few Hail Mary’s or another prayer.
Question: Do I say these prayers to the priest I’m confessing to right there and then, or after confession?

I’m sorry if its a silly question, but I’m really worried and I don’t want to mess things up. And I know penance is a personal thing, and I have to work on it long after confession and try to work on avoiding those sins again.

Peace 🙂
Click to expand...
Welcome home! Of course you can follow along the best you can and say prayers to yourself in Croatian until you get the hang of how Masses are said in English. G-d certainly won’t care what language you are speaking—His main concern is that you are at Mass.

Regarding your question about saying the prayers for penance: No, you do not say the prayers in front of the priest in the confessional, but rather when you leave. Most kneel down in the church and say prayers before leaving; however, this isn’t even technically required. You can go home and say the prayers at that time. However, it is best to say the prayers as quickly as you can, which is why most say them in church.

Depending on the priest, you may ask to recite the Act of Contrition. You can find a copy of this online and probably even on catholic.com. There are a few different versions, so don’t be confused and don’t worry about which version to say. The other option is to inform the priest of your situation–I’m sure he would be sympathetic, helpful, and be happy to walk you through the form and procedures. Just tell him how long it has been and that you are not entirely with the form and procedures and he will help you.

Good luck and G-d Bless! I’ll be praying for you.
 
after confession. Is when I do it. I think you have a few days, actually.
 
Anabel01 said:
I’ve not been able to find an answer on the web about this and I feel ashamed to ask at my church so I’m hoping you guys can help.

Background story: I’m from Croatia. I’ve been raised Catholic but sadly I’ve neglected my faith for almost the last 8 years. I’ve recently been finding my faith again but now I live in England. …

What I’m worried about is confession. I know the ‘procedure’ and everything in English, but its been so long since I’ve been to confession I don’t really remember. When I was young back in Croatia I remember my assigned penance would be something along the lines of ‘make sure this week you are kinder to your siblings’ etc. But I know some Priests will assign to say a few Hail Mary’s or another prayer.
Question: Do I say these prayers to the priest I’m confessing to right there and then, or after confession?

Peace 🙂
Click to expand...
Welcome back!

Regarding the time since last confession, suggest that you just tell the priest your situation, and best honest guess on how long “about 8 years ago”, or “I don’t remember exactly, but more than 7 years ago” or something like that.

I think an Act of Contrition is required in the confessional before absolution, so you might try to learn one in advance. Here in the US, there are printed cards in some confessionals with them, but not always. I suppose it’s OK for you to bring your own printed copy to help if you want to.

Any penance would be done outside the confessional. Most here do prayers privately in the church immediately after confession.

Welcome again–may Christ’s peace be with you.
 
Don’t worry at all about not knowing the English words of the Mass. There will probably still be cards in the benches with the new translation on, and everyone will be reading off them still as it’s only been in use since September. Nobody knows everything off by heart yet.

Whereabouts in England are you? Anywhere near Liverpool?
 
Thanks everyone for your replies, your help has truly given me a lot of confidence. So glad that the penance is done outside of the confessional, I won’t feel under pressure and I’ll be able to focus on the meaning of it better.

paperwight66 - just slightly east of you, I’m in Sheffield. I’ve always wanted to visit Liverpool though, big fan of The Beatles!

I’ll say a prayer of thanks to you all for your kindness.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top