Of all Christian vocabulary, "penitence" is perhaps the most loaded word — and the most misunderstood. It conjures up a jumble of hairshirts and fasting, the solemn face of Lent, the formula murmured on leaving the confessional, and, for many, a bygone era of Catholic life. It is spontaneously associated with punishment: "doing penance" would mean depriving oneself, suffering, "paying" for one's faults. Yet this is exactly the opposite of what the Gospel says. The very first word of Jesus' public preaching is a call to penitence — "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"[1] — and this word announces not a penalty, but good news: there is still time to return.
"Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." — Jesus, Gospel according to Saint Matthew 4:17[2]
The misunderstanding lies first in the language. The Greek of the Gospel says metanoeîte — "change your heart, change your mind" —, which the Latin Vulgate renders as "pænitentiam agite", "do penance", and which today's French liturgical translation renders as "be converted"[3]. Three phrases for a single reality: a turning of the heart toward God. The Catechism says it bluntly: "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"[4].
The whole point of this article lies in this forgotten priority. Almost all common errors about penitence arise from the same shift: we start with the outer shell — deprivation, penalty, formality — forgetting the core, which is conversion. Conversely, another family of errors, inherited from the Reformation, is so keen to escape the trap of outward show that it ends up dissolving all real penance into a vague "living better". Let us review these misunderstandings, grouped according to whether they concern the nature of penitence, its place in the Christian life, the sacrament and satisfaction, or the spirit in which it is practiced. For each, we state the error in its common formulation, show why it appeals, why it is false, and then what the Church truly teaches.
This is neither a practical guide nor an anthology: to learn concretely how to grow in this virtue — its three senses, its two pitfalls, its works and its fruits — see How to Grow in Penitence; to hear the distinctive voice of the Fathers and saints, see What the Saints Say About Penitence. Here, as in the companion article Frequent Errors Concerning Contrition, we clear the ground: first recognize the counterfeit coins in order to receive the gold all the better.
A loaded word: why is "penitence" so misunderstood?
Three realities under a single word
The first difficulty is that French uses "penitence" to designate three different things, and we slide from one to another without noticing. There is first the virtue of penitence, that is, interior conversion, the "radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart"[5]. There are then the works of penitence — fasting, prayer, almsgiving, mortifications — by which this conversion of the heart expresses itself in the body and in life[6]. Finally, there is sacramental penitence: on the one hand the whole sacrament ("sacrament of Penance"), on the other, in the narrow sense, the "penance" — prayer, offering, service — which the confessor imposes at the end of confession and which is also called "satisfaction"[7].
The Catechism arranges these senses in an order that is not incidental: "it is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, penance, and satisfaction"[8]. Conversion governs repentance, which governs satisfaction — never the reverse. Most errors consist precisely in taking one sense for the whole: reducing penitence to its works, or to the penalty of the confessional, forgetting that it is first a turning of the heart. For the detail of these three senses, see How to Grow in Penitence.
A word grown suspect
The second difficulty is cultural. To the contemporary ear, "penitence" sounds like a punishment: the word evokes the child sent to the corner, chastisement, a debt to be paid off. We hear it through the penal and psychological vocabulary of "guilt", so that "doing penance" becomes suspect — either because people see in it a religion of fear and merit, or because they detect in it a remnant of religious masochism that an adult faith should have outgrown.
This suspicion rests on a misunderstanding. Christian penitence is not born of fear of God but of the discovery of his love: "it is in discovering the greatness of God's love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin"[9]. The movement is not "I punish myself to deserve being taken back", but "I return because I am already awaited". That is the whole meaning of the parable Jesus placed at the heart of his teaching on conversion, that of the prodigal son, "whose center is the merciful father"[10]. Penitence is the way home of a son, not the sentence of a convict.
Errors about the nature of penitence
"Doing penance means first of all depriving and mortifying oneself"
The error. In the popular imagination, penitence is measured by what we give up: a successful Lent means a fast kept, a pleasure abandoned, a physical effort undertaken. Penitence is judged by its visible exterior.
Why it appeals. Because the exterior is measurable and reassuring. A deprivation can be counted, planned, checked off; the conversion of the heart cannot be measured or checked off. We prefer a program to a turning around.
Why it is false. Because this exactly reverses the order set by the Gospel. "Jesus' call to conversion and penance does not aim first at outward works [...] but at the conversion of the heart, interior penance. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false"[11]. The prophet Joel had already cried out: "Rend your hearts and not your garments"[12]. A mortification without conversion is not penitence: it is a performance, and sometimes vanity.
What the Church teaches. Outward works are good and necessary — "interior conversion urges expression in visible signs"[13] —, but as fruit, never as root. The body follows the heart; it does not replace it. For the right practice of fasting and almsgiving as penitential works, see Frequent Errors Concerning Fasting and Frequent Errors Concerning Almsgiving.
"Penitence means punishing oneself to pay for one's faults"
The error. Doing penance would mean inflicting on oneself a punishment equivalent to the fault, as one repays a debt: so many sins, so much voluntary suffering, and the account is settled.
Why it appeals. Because it flatters a deep instinct — that of redeeming oneself. It is more bearable to pay than to receive: paying leaves pride intact, while receiving freely humbles. Accounting logic reassures; grace disconcerts.
Why it is wrong. Because no man “pays” for his sins by his own strength. The Council of Trent is explicit: “this satisfaction, which we render for our sins, is not ours in such a way that it is not through Jesus Christ; for we who, of ourselves, can do nothing that comes from us, with the help of him who makes us strong, can do all things”[14]. Our penances add nothing to the Cross, which alone expiates; they conform us to it. “Such penances help to conform us to Christ who, alone, expiated for our sins once for all”[15].
What the Church teaches. Satisfaction is not a payment but a healing and a conformation to Christ. Voluntary penances “greatly turn us away from sin, hold us back as with a bridle, and make penitents more prudent”[16]; they do not redeem, they heal and strengthen. That is why “all our glory is in Christ […] in whom we make satisfaction, by bringing forth worthy fruits of penance”[17]. On repairing the wrongs done to one's neighbor, see Common errors about reparation.
“Penance is a sad thing, contrary to Christian joy”
The error. Penance would be the opposite of joy: a religion of downcast faces, cultivated remorse, sadness nurtured as a virtue. A “joyful” Christian should therefore be wary of it.
Why it appeals. Because an old caricature — cramped, scrupulous, dolorist devotion — really existed, and people confuse the virtue with its counterfeit. And because easy joy prefers to ignore what disturbs it.
Why it is wrong. Because penance has nothing to do with bitterness or inner agitation. Saint Francis de Sales, master of gentleness, teaches it plainly:
“If we must flee evil, it must be peacefully, without troubling ourselves; for otherwise, in fleeing, we could fall […]. Even penance must be done peacefully.” — Saint Francis de Sales, Complete Works[18]
Sorrow according to God is not sorrow according to the world: “sorrow lived according to God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, without causing regret, whereas sorrow according to the world produces death”[19]. The first is liberating; the second corrodes.
What the Church teaches. Penance leads to joy, because it is a return, and the return is a celebration. The Catechism describes the prodigal son's conversion as entry into “this new life, pure, worthy, full of joy, which is the life of the man who returns to God”[20]. Penance does not extinguish joy: it makes it possible by removing what was stifling it.
Errors about the place of penance in Christian life
“Penance is Lent's business”
The error. Doing penance would be a seasonal parenthesis: forty days a year, the time of an effort, then the parenthesis is closed until the next Lent.
Why it appeals. Because penance with a fixed duration is more comfortable than a permanent state. People limit it so as not to be inhabited by it.
Why it is wrong. Because conversion is not an episode but a condition of the whole baptized life. The Catechism speaks of a “second conversion” which is “an uninterrupted task for the whole Church”[21]. The Council of Trent goes so far as to say that the whole Christian life “must be a perpetual penance”[22]. Lent is not penance: it is its high point, the annual reminder, the intensified exercise[23].
What the Church teaches. Penitential liturgical seasons — Lent, each Friday in memory of the Passion — are “high points of the Church's penitential practice”[24], precisely because they nourish a conversion which, for its part, never stops. “Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is the surest path of penance”[25].
“Penance is for monks and great sinners”
The error. Penance would be reserved for a spiritual elite — religious, ascetics, spectacular converts — or for those who have committed grave faults. The ordinary Christian, with no notable crime, would have little to “do penance” for.
Why it appeals. Because it exempts. By relegating penance to heroes and great sinners, people conveniently exempt themselves.
Why it is wrong. Because the call to conversion is addressed to all the baptized, without exception. “Christ's call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians”[26] — not only in that of great sinners, but in that of anyone who still bears within “the frailty and weakness of human nature”. Saint John wrote it: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us”[27]. And Jesus, commenting on two news events of his time, made no exception:
“Unless you are converted, you will all perish likewise.” — Jesus, Gospel according to Saint Luke 13:3[28]
What the Church teaches. Daily penance is lived “in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, by concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice […], fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience […], acceptance of sufferings”[29]. So many paths open to every Christian, in whatever state he finds himself, without needing to enter the cloister or having a great fall to weep over.
“Since the Council, penance is outdated”
The error. The word “penance”, penitential practices, the spirit of mortification would belong to a pre–Vatican II Catholicism that the Church has quietly abandoned. To speak of it would be nostalgic, even suspect.
Why it appeals. Because a cultural climate hostile to any idea of effort and renunciation finds it convenient to baptize its own lukewarmness with the name of “conciliar renewal”.
Why it is wrong. Because the Catechism promulgated after the Council devotes an entire section to the “many forms of penance in Christian life”[30] and maintains, with canon law to back it, the Church's penitential times and days[31]. The Council of Trent had moreover already spotted and condemned this temptation in another form: that of the “innovators” who “teach […] that the best penance is a new life” and “remove all proper force from satisfaction”[32]. Replacing real penance with a vague “living better” is not a conciliar novelty: it is an old error, already refuted.
What the Church teaches. Far from being abolished, penance remains an “uninterrupted task”[33]. The Second Vatican Council itself describes it as an effort the Church “constantly pursues”: she is “at once holy and always in need of purification” (Lumen gentium 8, quoted in CCC § 1428).
Errors around the sacrament and satisfaction
“Doing penance is simply going to confession”
The error. “Doing penance” and “going to confession” would be one and the same thing: penance would come down to the sacramental step, and once it is done the duty is fulfilled.
Why it appeals. Because it reduces conversion to a one-off, localized gesture — a quarter of an hour in the confessional — instead of a movement of one's whole life.
Why it is wrong. Because the sacrament “consecrates” a journey of conversion that precedes and prolongs it: it “consecrates a personal and ecclesial journey of conversion, repentance and satisfaction”[34]. Conversion of heart is not the automatic effect of absolution; it is its living condition and the fruit to be nurtured. One can confess without being converted, and one must be converted far beyond confession.
What the Church teaches. The sacrament is the place where interior penance finds its fulfillment and its certainty — “daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist”[35], and their forgiveness in the sacrament of Reconciliation — but it does not dispense from the permanent conversion it presupposes. On the regular practice of confession and its own misconceptions, see Common errors about regular confession.
“The penance given by the priest is a mere formality”
The error. The “penance” prescribed at the end of confession — a few prayers, a gesture of charity — would be a symbolic ritual of little significance, to be dispatched distractedly.
Why it appeals. Because, absolution already being received, satisfaction seems superfluous: forgiveness is secured, the rest seems incidental.
Why it is wrong. Because absolution erases the fault without repairing all its effects at once. "Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health. He must therefore do something more to make amends for his sins"[36]. Sacramental penance is not a symbolic fine: it "must correspond as far as possible to the gravity and nature of the sins committed" and seek "the spiritual good" of the penitent[37].
What the Church teaches. Satisfaction continues the healing begun by absolution: prayer, offering, works of mercy, service of neighbour, "and above all [...] the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear"[38]. A penance received seriously is an act of configuration to Christ, not a chore to get rid of. For the imposed penance and its meaning, see Imposed Penance.
"Absolution erases everything: satisfaction is useless"
The error. Since God's forgiveness is free and total, requiring "satisfaction" would be doubting mercy, even bargaining with it. True faith would consist in receiving forgiveness and adding nothing more to it.
Why it appeals. Because it has the appearance of greater respect for grace. It is exactly the argument "under cover of piety" that the Council of Trent had identified in the 16th century.
Why it is wrong. Because the council declares it "wholly false and contrary to the Word of God to say that guilt is never remitted by the Lord without the entire punishment also being graciously remitted"[39]. Scripture itself bears witness to it: David, forgiven for his sin, nevertheless bears its punishment (2 Sam 12:13-14). Removing satisfaction does not honour grace: it treats sin as if it had left no wound. Saint Basil recalled it as early as the 4th century:
"It is not enough for those who do penance, in order to be saved, to turn away from sin; they must also bring forth worthy fruits of penance." — Saint Basil of Caesarea[40]
It is the exact echo of John the Baptist at the Jordan: "Bear fruit, then, that expresses your conversion"[41].
What the Church teaches. Satisfaction takes nothing away from the freeness of forgiveness: it is its grateful fruit, accomplished "through Christ" and not without him[42]. Refusing all penance after forgiveness is falling into the error Trent names by name — the one that reduces "the best penance" to a vague "new life" without works[43].
Errors about the spirit of penance
"The harder it is, the more it is worth"
The error. The value of a penance would be measured by its rigour: the harder the mortification, the more it pleases God. The highest point would be the ascetic feat.
Why it appeals. Because harshness gives tangible proof of generosity, and secretly flatters the desire to be a great spiritual figure. It is pride disguised as fervour.
Why it is wrong. Because penance is only a means ordered to charity, never an end in itself. The Eternal Father teaches it to Saint Catherine of Siena in terms of great freedom:
"Virtue is the principal goal; penance is only a means to attain it, and it must always be used only to the extent possible. By relying too much on penance, one harms one's perfection, because one does not follow the light of self-knowledge and of my supreme goodness." — Saint Catherine of Siena, The Book of Dialogues[44]
A disproportionate penance, chosen for its own sake, can therefore "harm perfection": it ruins health, breaks gentleness, and feeds the illusion of progress.
What the Church teaches. The measure of penance is not maximum suffering, but charity and prudence. That is why sacramental penance itself "must take into account the penitent's personal situation"[45], and not crush under the weight. For the two symmetrical deviations — the rigorism that drives to despair and the false penance that never converts — see How to grow in penance.
"Penance is measured by what it costs"
The error. A good penance would be the one that costs the most: its value would be judged by the effort expended, regardless of what God really asks here and now.
Why it appeals. Because it leaves the initiative to oneself: it is I who choose my penance, I who set its price, I who congratulate myself for having paid it. Self-will remains in charge.
Why it is wrong. Because the value of a penitential work lies not in its cost but in its conformity to God's will. Saint Alphonsus Liguori is categorical:
"Our works, penances, communions, alms, please the Lord only on condition of being in conformity with his divine will; otherwise, they are no longer works of virtue, but defective works deserving punishment." — Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Preparation for Death[46]
The first penance is often not the one we choose for ourselves, but the one we receive: "the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear"[47], the day's annoyances, illness, the unchosen trial. The Council of Trent stresses it: "temporal trials inflicted by God and borne by us with patience" are the "greatest mark of love" and can satisfy for our sins[48].
What the Church teaches. The best penance is not the most costly but the most fitting to what God asks: done out of love, in obedience, and received from his hand before being invented by our own.
"Doing penance means despising yourself"
The error. To repent would be to lower oneself, to dwell on one's faults, to cultivate a poor self-image — as if self-hatred were proof of sincere penance.
Why it appeals. Because self-contempt imitates contrition and gives the impression of great humility. Scrupulosity always looks more pious than peace.
Why it is wrong. Because penance targets the sin, not the person; it hates the evil committed and loves the sinner God wants to raise up. Brooding and lasting turmoil are not fruits of grace but traps, against which Saint Francis de Sales warns: repentance must be "peaceful", never "embittered"[49]. Self-contempt locks one in the past; true penance opens the future, for it "entails the desire and resolution to change one's life with hope in God's mercy"[50].
What the Church teaches. Sorrow for sin is directed toward mercy, not toward despair of self. The misunderstanding here closely touches the misconceptions about contrition: to distinguish them in detail — contrition versus guilt, sorrow versus emotion, repentance versus self-contempt — see Frequent errors concerning contrition.
What the Church really calls "doing penance"
At the end of this journey, penance appears as the exact opposite of its caricatures. It is neither a punishment inflicted on oneself, nor first a bodily deprivation, nor a gloomy mood, nor a formality of the confessional, nor an outdated custom. It is the return of the heart to God: a "radical reorientation of the whole life"[51] which then expresses itself in works, which is completed in the sacrament, and which lasts as long as life itself. Its face is not that of a convict paying his debt, but that of a son rising: "I will rise, I will go to my father, and I will say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you"[52].
Doing penance, then, is not despairing of oneself: it is trusting a God who "does not want any to perish, but [...] wants all to come to conversion"[53]. It is hearing the first word of the Gospel not as a threat, but as a promise: there is still time to return, and the Father's house is rejoicing for those who return.
"And now — oracle of the Lord — return to me with all your heart [...]. Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love." — Joel 2:12-13[54]
To go further
- How to grow in penance — the practical guide: the three senses of the word, the two pitfalls, the works, the concrete means and the fruits, with the Curé of Ars as a model.
- What the saints say about penance — the anthology: Tertullian, Ambrose, Chrysostom, Basil, Augustine and the great penitents.
- Frequent errors concerning contrition — the companion article on the penitent's first act: remorse, guilt, tears, self-contempt.
- Frequent errors concerning regular confession — the misunderstandings about sacramental confession, where penance finds its forgiveness.
- Frequent errors concerning reparation — the misunderstandings about satisfaction and making amends for wrongs.
- The imposed penance — the meaning of the penance the confessor prescribes at the end of confession.
Notes and References
Gospel according to Saint Matthew 4, 17, official liturgical translation (AELF): "From that time on, Jesus began to proclaim: 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" The Greek verb metanoeîte ("change your heart, your mind") is rendered by the Latin Vulgate as "pænitentiam agite" ("do penance"), hence the French word pénitence. Same call from John the Baptist (Mt 3, 2) and from Jesus according to Saint Mark: "Repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mc 1, 15).
1 2 3Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1430: "As is already the case with the prophets, Jesus' call to conversion and penance does not aim first at outward works, 'sackcloth and ashes,' fasting and mortification, but at the conversion of the heart, interior penance. Without this, such penances remain sterile and false; on the other hand, interior conversion urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance" (cf. Jl 2, 12-13; Is 1, 16-17; Mt 6, 1-6.16-18).
4 11 13Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1431: "Interior penance is a radical reorientation of our whole life, a return, a conversion to God with all our heart, an end of sin, a turning away from evil, with repugnance toward the evil actions we have committed. At the same time it entails the desire and resolution to change one's life, with hope in God's mercy and trust in the help of his grace."
5 50 51Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1434: "The interior penance of the Christian can be expressed in many and various ways. Scripture and the Fathers insist above all on three forms: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving, which express conversion in relation to oneself, to God, and to others" (cf. Tb 12, 8; Mt 6, 1-18). Title of section V: "The many forms of penance in Christian life."
6 30Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1459: "Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused" (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1712). "Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health. He must therefore do something more to make amends for his sins: he must 'make satisfaction for' or 'expiate' his sins. This satisfaction is also called 'penance.'"
7 36Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1423: the sacrament "is called the sacrament of conversion because it makes sacramentally present Jesus' call to conversion [...]. It is called the sacrament of Penance, since it consecrates the Christian sinner's personal and ecclesial steps of conversion, of repentance, and of satisfaction." § 1424 adds the names of confession, forgiveness and Reconciliation.
8 34Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1432: "It is by discovering the greatness of God's love that our heart is shaken by the horror and weight of sin and begins to fear offending God by sin and being separated from him." Conversion is "first of all a work of the grace of God": "Convert us, Lord, and we shall be converted" (Lm 5, 21).
9Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1439: the movement of conversion "was wonderfully described by Jesus in the parable called 'the prodigal son' whose center is 'the merciful father'" (Lc 15, 11-24). "The beautiful robe, the ring, and the festive banquet are symbols of that new life — pure, worthy, and joyful — of anyone who returns to God and to the bosom of his family, which is the Church."
10 20Joel 2, 12-13, official liturgical translation (AELF): "And now — oracle of the Lord — return to me with all your heart, in fasting, weeping and mourning! Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in love, and relenting in punishment." Verse quoted by CCC § 1430 to ground the priority of interior penance over outward signs.
12 54Council of Trent, Session XIV, ch. 8 (DS 1691): "But this satisfaction which we render for our sins is not ours in such a way that it is not through Jesus Christ; indeed we who, of ourselves, can do nothing as of ourselves, with the help of him who strengthens us, can do all things (Ph 4, 13). Thus man has nothing in which to glory, but all our glorying is in Christ [...] in whom we make satisfaction, bringing forth worthy fruits of penance (Lc 3, 8)."
14 17 42Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1460: "The penance the confessor imposes must take into account the penitent's personal situation and must seek his spiritual welfare. [...] It may consist of prayer, an offering, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we must bear. Such penances help us to be conformed to Christ who alone expiated our sins once for all" (cf. Rm 3, 25; 1 Jn 2, 1-2; Council of Trent: DS 1690).
15 37 38 45 47Council of Trent, Session XIV, ch. 8 (DS 1690): expiatory punishments "greatly deter from sin, restrain as with a bridle, and make penitents more cautious and more vigilant for the future; they are also a remedy for the after-effects of sin." "By suffering when we make satisfaction for our sins, we become conformed to Christ Jesus who made satisfaction for our sins" (cf. Rm 5, 10; 1 Jn 2, 1-2; Rm 8, 17).
16Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Œuvres complètes, XVI, p. 130-131: "If we must flee evil, we must do so peacefully, without troubling ourselves; for otherwise, in fleeing, we might fall, and give the enemy leisure to kill us... Even penance must be done peacefully." The doctor of gentleness teaches that trouble and agitation spoil penance instead of perfecting it.
18 49Second Letter to the Corinthians 7, 10, official liturgical translation (AELF): "For godly sorrow produces a repentance that leads to salvation, without regret, whereas worldly sorrow produces death." Pauline distinction between the supernatural sorrow that converts and the sterile regret that gnaws away.
19Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1428: "Christ's call to conversion continues to resound in the lives of Christians. This second conversion is an uninterrupted task for the whole Church who, 'clasping sinners to her bosom,' is at once holy and always in need of purification, and follows constantly the path of penance and renewal" (quoting Lumen gentium 8). Distinction between the first conversion (Baptism) and the second, permanent one.
21 26 33Council of Trent, Session XIV, preamble of the Doctrine on the sacrament of extreme unction (DS 1694): extreme unction is "the consummation not only of the sacrament of penance, but also of the whole Christian life, which must be a perpetual penance." Classic formula of the tradition: the Christian's entire life is a continued conversion.
22Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1438: "The times and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year (the season of Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense moments of the Church's penitential practice" (cf. SC 109-110; CIC, can. 1249-1253). These times are especially suited to "voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and fraternal sharing."
23 24 31Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1435: "Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right [...], by the admission of faults to one's brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one's cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance" (cf. Lc 9, 23).
25 29First Letter of Saint John 1, 8, official liturgical translation (AELF): "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." The call to conversion is addressed to all the baptized, without exception.
27Gospel according to Saint Luke 13, 3.5, official liturgical translation (AELF): "No, I tell you! But unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." Jesus, commenting on two news events (the Galileans massacred by Pilate, the eighteen dead of Siloam), refuses to make the victims greater sinners and turns the warning back on all his hearers.
28Council of Trent, Session XIV, ch. 8 (DS 1692): the council reproaches the "innovators" for teaching "that the best penance is a new life" in such a way that they "do away with all force proper to satisfaction and all recourse to it." The sacrament is nevertheless not "a tribunal of wrath and punishments — which no Catholic has ever thought": satisfaction neither obscures nor diminishes "the force of the merit of our Lord Jesus Christ."
32 43Catechism of the Catholic Church, § 1436: "Daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God [...]; it is the antidote that frees us from our daily faults and preserves us from mortal sins" (cf. Council of Trent: DS 1638).
35Council of Trent, Session XIV (25 November 1551), Doctrine on the sacrament of penance, ch. 8 "Necessity and fruit of satisfaction" (Denzinger-Schönmetzer 1689): "The holy council declares that it is totally false and contrary to the Word of God to say that guilt is never remitted by the Lord without the entire punishment also being graciously remitted. Indeed, evident and well-known examples are found in holy Scripture which [...] very manifestly refute this error" (cf. Gn 3, 16-19; Nb 12, 14; Nb 20, 11; 2 S 12, 13-14).
39Saint Basil of Caesarea (c. 329-379), quoted in Petit recueil ascétique (Éditions de Bellefontaine, 2013, p. 96): "For those who do penance, it is not enough, in order to be saved, to turn away from sin; they must still bring forth worthy fruits of penance." Patristic echo of Lc 3, 8: conversion does not stop at abandoning evil, it must bear positive fruits.
40Gospel according to Saint Luke 3, 8, official liturgical translation (AELF): "Produce good fruits as evidence of your repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves: 'We have Abraham as our father.'" Preaching of John the Baptist by the Jordan: the conversion of the heart must bear visible fruits.
41Saint Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), The Book of Dialogues, Treatise on Discretion, ch. IX (words of the Eternal Father): "Virtue is the principal goal; penance is only a means to reach it, and it must always be used only within the measure of what is possible. By leaning too much on penance, one harms one's perfection, because one does not follow the light of self-knowledge and of my sovereign goodness, and one does not obey the truth." Penance is subordinate to charity and governed by discretion.
44Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), Preparation for Death, 36th consideration, first point: "Our works, penances, communions, alms, please the Lord only on condition of being in conformity with his divine will; otherwise, they are no longer works of virtue, but defective works worthy of punishment." The value of a penance lies not in its cost but in its conformity to God's will.
46Council of Trent, Session XIV, ch. 9 "Satisfactory works" (DS 1693): "So great is the divine generosity that not only the punishments we inflict upon ourselves spontaneously in chastisement for sin or which are imposed by the will of the priest according to the measure of the fault, but also (which is the greatest mark of love) the temporal trials inflicted by God and borne by us in patience, can make satisfaction before God the Father through Christ Jesus."
48Gospel according to Saint Luke 15, 18, official liturgical translation (AELF): "I shall get up and go to my father and I shall say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you." The parable of the prodigal son: penance as the decision to rise and return to the Father.
52Second Letter of Saint Peter 3, 9, official liturgical translation (AELF): "The Lord does not delay his promise [...]. He is patient with you, because he does not want any to perish but wants all to come to repentance." God's patience is the time offered for penance.
53