typical penances

[MoNiCa4316]

I heard that not all priests give penances after confession, but mine does, apparently.

What are typical penances? I heard about someone receiving a month of Adoration, and someone else having to say the Rosary or the novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I know the point of having penance is to help the person get 'back on track' with God. It's not like a punishment.

My question is..can a priest make someone abstain from Communion as a penance? Like.."you can't receive the Eucharist for 2 months" ie: 'excommunication'.
My other question is: did this happen in the early Church?

thanks

 

[eastcoast_bsc]

Growing up in the Church, the pennance was always the same. Say a few Our fathers and a few Hail Maries. I can not recall anything different.

 

[DD2008]

I heard that not all priests give penances after confession, but mine does, apparently.

What are typical penances? I heard about someone receiving a month of Adoration, and someone else having to say the Rosary or the novena to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

I know the point of having penance is to help the person get 'back on track' with God. It's not like a punishment.

My question is..can a priest make someone abstain from Communion as a penance? Like.."you can't receive the Eucharist for 2 months" ie: 'excommunication'.
My other question is: did this happen in the early Church?

thanks

My penance for my first confession was like this:

After I had recounted over 20 years of vice, immorality, corruption, and wickedness, the priest told me my penance was to ask Jesus to come into my heart and bless my life and thank Him for his mercy. He gave the words of absolution and smiled at me. It was wonderful. I felt like a great weight had been lifted from my soul. I remember he said "Today there is great rejoicing in heaven."

Since, I have had various from various priests. Things like a few Hail Marys, a few Glory be's....etc. It all depends on the Priest.

I hear that some of the penances in the early Church were public, lengthy, and severe. Some could last for years.

Thank God we have had 2000 years to learn. Also I have heard that in the case of people confessing murder and such that Priests usually tell them that as penance they must turn themselves in to authorities. However, there is no way to verify this without hearing it from a priest.

 

[CathNancy]

When I was a kid the penance was always three Our Fathers and three Hail Mary's. Now the penance is usually more related to the sins I have confessed. One I remember in particular was to pray the Our Father, but really think about what I am saying. The part deliver us from evil had an impact on me, at that moment I was asking to be delivered from the evil within me.

Peace and all good,
Nancy

 

[Rhamiel]

say a few prayers, 3 hail mary's
normally what we pray for is either in some nature to our sins, like if i confess loosing my temper he asks me to pray for the people i got mad at or to pray for grace or something
or to pray for something that the sermon of gospel was about or to meditate on it
when i confessed that i was not trusting in Gods forgivness and mercy (i was suffering from despair) i was told to read a psalm about forgiveness
or to pay for the intentions of the Pope

 

[Globalnomad]

Same here (about the Our Fathers and Hail Marys) .... but it is true that they try to be more creative and precise these days. Last time I was given an appropriate passage of he Bible to read and meditate on.

MoNiCa, they ALWAYS have to give you a penance - that's a compulsory part of Confession - I'm surprised to hear that any priest does not!

Catholic confessors never tell people to abstain from Communion. But I know that it's done among the Orthodox.

 

[QuantaCura]

In regards to lengthy, severe, public penances for serious sins--they are still done, but I doubt anyone involved even realizes it anymore. Anyone ever hear of a penitentiary (from the root penitent)?

 

[QuantaCura]

Same here (about the Our Fathers and Hail Marys) .... but it is true that they try to be more creative and precise these days. Last time I was given an appropriate passage of he Bible to read and meditate on.

I've noticed that too. I have also has priests give a little piece of paper with beautiful prayers.

The usual prayers do have their significance too--prayer, such as the Our Father, is an act of turning again to God. A Hail Mary is act which signifies reconciliation with the Church too.

 

[Anhelyna]

MoNiCa

An Orthodox Priest can ,and will, tell his penitent that they may not receive Communion for a period of time - it's not as punishment but as 'medicine' for spiritual healing . I've heard of that being imposed because the penitent is coming time after time after time confessing the same sin and the Priest has the feeling that 1) they are not trying to avoid the sin , 2) are not really contrite , and 3 ) do not intend to stop comitting that sin.

 

[MoNiCa4316]

MoNiCa

An Orthodox Priest can ,and will, tell his penitent that they may not receive Communion for a period of time - it's not as punishment but as 'medicine' for spiritual healing . I've heard of that being imposed because the penitent is coming time after time after time confessing the same sin and the Priest has the feeling that 1) they are not trying to avoid the sin , 2) are not really contrite , and 3 ) do not intend to stop comitting that sin.

can you help me understand this a bit more? specifically ..how it can be spiritually healing. Because my impression is that we receive special graces through the Eucharist and it's receiving it that helps the most. Thanks

 

[QuantaCura]

it's not as punishment but as 'medicine' for spiritual healing .

Ahh, but they are one and the same . The purpose of punishment is medicinal. A purely motivated father punishes his children to help heal their disordered behaviors--even if sometimes the medicine tastes bitter or unpleasant, it is always for the ultimate good. A good spiritual father is no different (neither is Our Father in Heaven!).

 

[AMDG]

Have had everything from a few Hail Mary's or Our Father's to reflecting on the Gospel and readings of the day to praying for seminarians to doing good deeds. It depends on the priest.

 

[Rowan]

can you help me understand this a bit more? specifically ..how it can be spiritually healing. Because my impression is that we receive special graces through the Eucharist and it's receiving it that helps the most. Thanks

See 1 Corinthians 5:1-5.

 

[zhilan]

Monica,

I don't think we're allowed to explain too much our reasons here because it might be considered "debating" but if you want to PM me I can explain the reasons. The reason we don't have penance but sometimes a priest might tell us not to receive communion comes from our sort of different approach to these things. Basically the reasoning is that if receiving would be harmful to your soul, then the priest is going to protect you from that. The most common reason I know if is following a divorce. It's not because you are being "punished" for a divorce but because we cannot approach Christ's table if we are not at peace with our neighbors, and during a divorce you're probably not going to be at peace with your spouse.

But PM me if you want a more in depth explanation. =)

btw, most of the time the priest isn't going to tell you that. I've never been told not to receive. It's generally only for very serious things that are really hurting your spiritual life.

 

[Caedmon]

My most common penance over the past year or so has been to sit in the chapel for a while spending time with God, which is a too much of a non-specific "whoop-tee-doo" penance, in my opinion, not that I'm looking for a hair-shirt, mind you. A few other times, I've been told to say a prayer to God in thanks for Him being there and for the things that He's given me. And a very few times, I have been told to say a few Our Fathers or Hail Marys.

 

[Caedmon]

MoNiCa

An Orthodox Priest can ,and will, tell his penitent that they may not receive Communion for a period of time - it's not as punishment but as 'medicine' for spiritual healing . I've heard of that being imposed because the penitent is coming time after time after time confessing the same sin and the Priest has the feeling that 1) they are not trying to avoid the sin , 2) are not really contrite , and 3 ) do not intend to stop comitting that sin.

Monica,

I don't think we're allowed to explain too much our reasons here because it might be considered "debating" but if you want to PM me I can explain the reasons. The reason we don't have penance but sometimes a priest might tell us not to receive communion comes from our sort of different approach to these things. Basically the reasoning is that if receiving would be harmful to your soul, then the priest is going to protect you from that. The most common reason I know if is following a divorce. It's not because you are being "punished" for a divorce but because we cannot approach Christ's table if we are not at peace with our neighbors, and during a divorce you're probably not going to be at peace with your spouse.

But PM me if you want a more in depth explanation. =)

btw, most of the time the priest isn't going to tell you that. I've never been told not to receive. It's generally only for very serious things that are really hurting your spiritual life.

I've heard of this sometimes lasting for years at a time, which I find counter-intuitive, something akin to a doc telling you "take two nothings and call me in the morning." But the Roman Catholic clergy's take on the issue, esp. in the past decade or so, has been to encourage people to receive communion, even if they feel they've sinned gravely, with the possible exceptions of cases like re-marrying outside the Church, where a Catholic will sometimes be told to abstain from Communion since they're technically "living in sin," or whatever you want to call it. I'm not trying to tell Orthodox clergy what to do, it's just that it runs counter to contemporary Catholic clerical counsel, of course. I like alliteration.

 

[benedictaoo]

Back in the day penances used to be really extreme, now they are pretty wimpy. Back in the day folks would have to stand in front the Church and tell the other folks what they did and ask them for forgiveness.

I don't think you will find a Catholic priest gives out non Communion as a penance to often. I know years ago I reframed from communion volunatrily during a daily Mass and the priest after the Mass asked why I did that, and I said, I think I needed to and he said, NO! we need the grace and strength from Christ to battle the flesh or something to that effect he said.

 

[benedictaoo]

Monica,

I don't think we're allowed to explain too much our reasons here because it might be considered "debating" but if you want to PM me I can explain the reasons. The reason we don't have penance but sometimes a priest might tell us not to receive communion comes from our sort of different approach to these things. Basically the reasoning is that if receiving would be harmful to your soul, then the priest is going to protect you from that. The most common reason I know if is following a divorce. It's not because you are being "punished" for a divorce but because we cannot approach Christ's table if we are not at peace with our neighbors, and during a divorce you're probably not going to be at peace with your spouse.

But PM me if you want a more in depth explanation. =)

btw, most of the time the priest isn't going to tell you that. I've never been told not to receive. It's generally only for very serious things that are really hurting your spiritual life.

As I understand the EO view and I personally do not disagree with it. The EO is more of a working on the sin rather then confessing it and that being it until you do it again.

But Catholics are not to take Communion after a divorce either until they reconcile the whole thing through the Church.

 

[zhilan]

As I understand the EO view and I personally do not disagree with it. The EO is more of a working on the sin rather then confessing it and that being it until you do it again.

But Catholics are not to take Communion after a divorce either until they reconcile the whole thing through the Church.

You're right in your understanding of it. That's pretty much how we view it. It's not meant to be a punishment, but its seen as protecting your soul because you would hurt yourself more if you were receiving when you weren't spiritually ready. Also, if you were under penance, you would also be under spiritual direction, it's not like the priest says "get lost for a year and come back when you're more pious"

 

[DD2008]

Edit: I deleted my post because it was answered in a post above that I hadn't read until after I posted it.