tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post8660557091643370796..comments2024-03-25T11:09:41.538-04:00Comments on a minor friar blog: Ramblings on PenancesBrother Charleshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07780326836452864455noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-70987757051606326842010-09-23T05:40:01.619-04:002010-09-23T05:40:01.619-04:00"One Hour Father." Priceless!"One Hour Father." Priceless!Brother Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07780326836452864455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-33872522298542760882010-09-22T22:39:28.687-04:002010-09-22T22:39:28.687-04:00I do not even remember the penance I got for my &q...I do not even remember the penance I got for my "worst" confession. I just remember the feeling of warmth and peace. Life changing.<br /><br />My previous pastor gave "one Our Father" as his standard penance. Once I had taken my boys to confession, and after a few minutes, I leaned over and asked my 11 year old if he was ready to go. He whispered back, "I think I have about 58 more minutes, mom." Apparently he had gotten the "One Hour Father" penance.<br /><br />My current confessor never gives rote prayers for a penance. My penance is almost always "connected" to what I confess, though they are sometimes a little "open-ended". Once - "go enjoy the quiet before Mass and let Jesus speak to you". More than once - to give something up for a day and offer it in thanksgiving or for a particular person. No doubt that the Holy Spirit works through confessors.Karenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18220245768356903862noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-73142970989346515242010-09-22T00:40:51.306-04:002010-09-22T00:40:51.306-04:00I have an excellent confessor (who knows me well) ...I have an excellent confessor (who knows me well) who gives penances related to the sins I confess. It might be one of the psalms or a particular chapter from an Epistle... Once he told me to look up St. Margaret Mary Alocoque and read what she said about the Sacred Heart. These kinds of penances are particularly helpful to me and I appreciate them.pennyantenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-73814223135192566592010-09-21T17:03:59.994-04:002010-09-21T17:03:59.994-04:00When living in our old parish, it was a standard j...When living in our old parish, it was a standard joke between my wife and me when either of us did something nice for the other- especially if it was done with a great big smile. "Wait a minute!!! Did you go to confession to Fr. Tom?" <br /><br />From Ignatius Press we have gotten a dvd of an Italian mystery series called "Don Matteo," an Italian "Fr. Brown." A few times he has given penances such as forty Hail Marys or fifty Our Fathers, and since this evinces no laughter or chagrin, I wonder if that is standard practice in Italy...<br /><br />Recently I had a penance to meditate on Sunday's Gospel, a penance I only remembered when I was examining my conscience for my next confession. The best I could do was look up the gospel from two weeks ago and read it two or three times. Meditate on it for how long? What is "meditate"? When am I done?<br /><br />One of the best and most useful penances I have ever gotten was to stay before the Blessed Sacrament for fifteen minutes thinking about my sins and the mercy of God.<br /><br />This, by the way, was from an Indian priest who after giving me a long and helpful exhortation repeated all my sins back to me, ALL of them, told me that God forgave me all of them, and then gave me absolution. Completely. Stunning.Lee Gilbertnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-3001428057222723712010-09-21T11:42:27.284-04:002010-09-21T11:42:27.284-04:00One of the things they taught us in school was to ...One of the things they taught us in school was to always give penances such that the penitent could be sure when they were completed.Brother Charleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07780326836452864455noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-54121484088631520592010-09-21T11:40:37.108-04:002010-09-21T11:40:37.108-04:00I am very thankful that you've put so much tho...I am very thankful that you've put so much thought into this! Most priests that I have encountered seem to have a set penance that they always give. I long ago learned that there is absolutely no correlation between what I confess and the penance given. <br /><br />On the negative side, by far the worst penances have been the vague ones: "do something nice for someone this season" where it is not at all clear when it has been completed. <br /><br />And I have never had a priest tell me to pray on behalf of my victims (ouch, it hurts just to type that!) but I have found it helpful when instructed to offer it for a specific intention as that helps me to focus on something/one other than myself.Raehttp://catholic.nowealthbutlife.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-28043452173416260592010-09-21T10:16:35.791-04:002010-09-21T10:16:35.791-04:00Sometimes when I get a small penance I worry that ...Sometimes when I get a small penance I worry that the priest thinks I am spiritually proud. <br /><br />I honestly have no concept of how "serious" my sins are relative to anything else, and I don't think I want to know.Saranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-4586412952936453692010-09-21T09:09:12.119-04:002010-09-21T09:09:12.119-04:00Sometimes a good confessor is not recognized until...Sometimes a good confessor is not recognized until long after the confession. I once was gingerly led into confession by a priest whom I thought I was having a secular discussion with. Confession was the last place I wanted to be! To this day I am in awe at how he managed to unveil the past 20 years of my life under the light of truth. My penance was to say the rosary, somthing I had not done since I was a child, and he referred me to a website where I would be instructed on how to say the rosary. Needless to say, once linked-in, my curiousity was aroused and the rest is history. I credit this priest for bringing me back into the Church.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26883902.post-68047165368694829172010-09-21T08:42:46.728-04:002010-09-21T08:42:46.728-04:00I'm still not sure why I am amazed everytime I...I'm still not sure why I am amazed everytime I read about a different way God works his graces through his sacraments, but I am. I enjoyed reading this and am excited to discover in what way this will affect my life.Benjamenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10190950631606656800noreply@blogger.com