Notes from Patrician Meeting - Penance

Here are some notes I took down from the Patrician Meeting.

Disclaimer: Most of these are from Fr. Marin's short talk but this is not a word-for-word transcription. Some are, but others are only paraphrased, summarized versions of the ideas he presented. My sincere apologies to him if I misrepresent anything that he said.

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Why do we do penance? First of all, because Our Lord asked us to do penance. We also do penance because we have sins and we have to atone for our sins.

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Usually, we commit sin when we seek some pleasure and because of that end up doing something that displeases God. To make up for it, we do something unpleasant for us to atone.

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Penance must be done with obedience. Jesus voluntarily accepted His sufferings. However little it may be, willingness must be present from the one doing the penance.

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Love is expressed with sacrifice.

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Very few people are called to do corporal mortification. Nobody should do these things without the permission of a prudent confessor.

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When we commit sin, it is always because there is a disorder in our will. That is why we must subdue our will sometimes through mortifications. The penance that is given in the Sacrament of Confession is sufficient for forgiveness but it probably not enough to correct our will. We all have disorders in our passions. Doing penance can help us correct these disorders.

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Jesus called us not just to carry our cross but also to deny ourselves.

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Penance is the spirit and attitude; it is not merely actions.

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As students, we can do penance by using our time well, keeping to our schedule of study and prayer, being charitable to everyone around us, etc.

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Non-Christians may find it difficult to understand the value of penance. A helpful analogy would be that of physical health and spiritual health. Some people spend a lot of time exercising to either look good, slim down, or just to keep healthy. For them, they do not mind the sacrifice of having to exercise. In the same way, we do not mind the sacrifice we do for penance because it improves our spiritual health.