Holy Penance
Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12
Catechism of the Catholic Church. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.
1423 It is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus’ call to conversion, the first step in returning to the Father [1] from whom one has strayed by sin. It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner’s personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction.
1430 Jesus’ call to conversion and penance, like that of the prophets before him, does not aim first at outward works, “sackcloth and ashes,” fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior conversion. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; however, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance. [2]
[1] NABRE - Mk 1:15; Lk 15:18.
[2] ibid. - Joel 2:12-13; Isa 1:16-17; Mt 6:1-6; 16-18.
Penance or sacramental confession is the private confession of sins to a priest and the reception of assurance of pardon for sin, accompanied in many cases by an assignment of penances, or acts that express one’s contrition for sin.
Confession of sin is an essential element of spiritual and physical health in Scripture. We must be careful not to attribute all suffering in mind, body, and soul to sin (Job 1:22; 32:12; John 9:1–3). Nonetheless, the united witness of Scripture is that unconfessed sin leads to distress, disease, and suffering of various sorts, and confession of sin is a crucial aspect in the reception of healing and restoration (Pss 32:4–5; 38:3; Prov 28:13; Mic 6:13; Acts 3:19; 1 Cor 11:28–32; Jas 5:15–16). 1
Penance here is a supernatural moral virtue whereby the sinner is disposed to hatred of his sin as an offence against God and to a firm purpose of amendment and satisfaction. The principal act in the exercise of this virtue is the detestation of sin, not of sin in general nor of that which others commit, but of one’s own sin. The motive of this detestation is that sin offends God: to regret evil deeds on account of the mental or physical suffering the social loss, or the action of human justice which they entail, is natural; but such sorrow does not suffice for penance.
On the other hand, the resolve to amend, while certainly necessary, is not sufficient of itself, i.e., without hatred for sin already committed; such a resolve, in fact, would be meaningless; it would profess obedience to God’s law in the future while disregarding the claims of God’s justice in the matter of past transgression.
“Be converted, and do penance for all your iniquities … Cast away from you all your transgressions … and make to yourselves a new heart, and a new spirit” (Ezekiel 18:30–31; cf. Joel, 2:12; Jeremiah 8:6).
In the same spirit, St. John the Baptist, exhorts his hearers: “Bring forth therefore fruit worthy of penance” (Matthew 3:8). Such too is the teaching of Christ as expressed in the parables of the Prodigal Son and of the Publican; while the Magdalen who “washed out her sins with her tears” of sorrow, has been for all ages the type of the repentant sinner.
Theologians, following the doctrine of St. Thomas (Summa, III, Q. lxxxv, a. 1), regard penance as truly a virtue, though they have disputed much regarding its place among the virtues. Some have classed it with the virtue of charity, others with the virtue of religion, others again as a part of justice. Cajetan seems to have considered it as belonging to all three; but most theologians agree with St. Thomas (ibid., a. 2) that penance is a distinct virtue (virtus specialis). The detestation of sin is a praiseworthy act, and in penance this detestation proceeds from a special motive, i.e., because sin offends God (cf. De Lugo, “De paenitentiae virtute;” Palmieri, “De paenitentia,” Rome, 1879; theses I-VII.). 2
1 Warren P. (Pagán), Jonathan. 2018. “Penance.” In Lexham Survey of Theology, edited by Mark Ward, Jessica Parks, Brannon Ellis, and Todd Hains. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
2 Hanna, Edward. 1907–1913. “The Virtue of Penance.” In The Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church, edited by Charles G. Herbermann, Edward A. Pace, Condé B. Pallen, Thomas J. Shahan, and John J. Wynne. Vol. I–XV. New York: The Encyclopedia Press; The Universal Knowledge Foundation.