Penance

"Facite ergo dignos fructus poenitentiae."
"Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance."

(Luke 3, 8)

This is exactly what John the Baptist preached to all the people in the desert. John pointed out that repentance is what we must embrace if we want to attain eternal life. Bring forth real fruits of penance so that your sins may be forgiven. In other words, if we have sinned we must do penance. However, we must realize that even if our sins have been forgiven, there is still punishment due which must be atoned for either in this life or in the next.

This is the difference between the Sacrament of Baptism and the Sacrament of Penance. In the Sacrament of Baptism, God forgives us without requiring anything from us. On the other hand in the Sacrament of Penance, God forgives our sins, but requires that we undergo a temporary punishment either in this life or in the next. God demands that we do penance simply to keep us from relapsing into sin.

God wants us to unite our works with His work of salvation. He wants us to often contemplate on how much He suffered to make our works meritorious. Let us remember that without the Passion of Jesus Christ, anything we do to atone for our sins is worthless.

As we approach the Nativity of our Lord, let us repent, do penance and amend our lives.

Sincerely in Christ,

Rev. Jeffery A. Fasching