What is penance ?
Penance are actions that a sinner undertakes in order to undo or makeup for a sin. Penance and punishment are not the same. The purpose of penance is to reconcile the individual with the community. Thus, both the community and the sinner need to feel that the penance is adequate. While penance is often viewed as punishment, it has many other dimensions. It is a time for the sinner to think about the sin and the harm. It is an attempt to undo the harm if possible. Learning new behaviors or other rehabilitation may be part of a penance. Lastly, the community may need to see the sinner’s penance as an expression of regret and remorse. This latter role is when penance may have aspects of punishment.
