edited by Gabriele Cantaluppi
In my last confession a priest, to whom I was confessing for the first time, did not assign me any penance. But I often receive, even from my regular confessor, so-called "generic" penances, such as "offer the effort you make to avoid falling into sin" or "try to live according to the instructions I have given you" or “a few more prayers”. It seems to me that there is a lot of arbitrariness. Is there a criterion according to which penance is assigned in confession?
John Paul II, in the Apostolic Exhortation "Reconciliatio et poenitentia", recalls that satisfaction, or penance as we call it, is the final act that crowns the sacrament of Reconciliation.
And it underlines three aspects of the works of penance imposed by the confessor.
First of all, they demonstrate the personal commitment that the Christian has made in the sacrament to live a new existence and for this reason they should not be reduced only to formulas to be recited, but also go into works of worship, charity, mercy and reparation.
Then they induce the forgiven sinner to unite his own physical and spiritual mortification with the passion of Jesus, which earned him forgiveness, and therefore to participate in his redemptive sacrifice.
Finally, they remind the penitent that, even after absolution, the foci of sin still remain within him, which it is necessary to fight with mortification and penance.
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux reminds us that in sin we find the stain and the wound; the first is canceled by divine mercy, but the medicine of penance is indispensable to heal the second. Just as when a wound heals, scars remain in need of attention and care, so when guilt is forgiven in the soul, traces of sin still remain in need of remedy.
The works of penance that the Tradition of the Church, in the wake of biblical teaching, has always proposed are almsgiving, fasting and prayer, but it must not be forgotten that the virtue of justice also requires making amends, to the extent possible , the damage caused.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is explicit: “Many sins cause offense to others. We must do everything possible to make amends (for example, returning stolen things, restoring the reputation of those who have been slandered, healing wounds). Simple justice demands it.” (CCC 1459).
Even prayer can sometimes be an adequate penance. For example, if I resent someone who has wronged me and I still struggle to forgive them, prayer can be an authentic sign and the first step of my good will.
If I have envied someone or not wanted their good, praying to the Lord for them and asking Him to bless them can be a valid therapy.
Prayer imposed as penance must certainly not become an alibi for one's concrete commitment to works, but it remains a powerful help in welcoming the gift of the Holy Spirit who with his light pushes us to true conversion.
Some people object that prayer should arise from conviction and not be imposed. It is true, but experience teaches that many times we pray not only for pleasure, but also out of duty, as, for example, when we are convinced that it is right to go to Mass, but we would prefer to do something else.
Perhaps the best objective would be for the penitent and the confessor to seek penance together, which is more suited to the personal journey towards authentic conversion.