penance


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Related to penance: Sacrament of Penance

penance

Christianity
a. a punishment usually consisting of prayer, fasting, etc., undertaken voluntarily as an expression of penitence for sin
b. a punishment of this kind imposed by church authority as a condition of absolution
Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

penance

Catholic sacrament, whereby the penitent is absolved of sins by the confessor. [Christianity: NCE, 2096]
See: Penitence
Allusions—Cultural, Literary, Biblical, and Historical: A Thematic Dictionary. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Penance

in the Catholic and Orthodox churches, a moral corrective measure as well as a punishment for sins. It may be imposed by a member of the clergy or church body or performed voluntarily by the penitent. The penance may take the form of extended prayer, the distribution of alms to the poor, fasting, or the making of a pilgrimage.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
References in periodicals archive ?
'The central message of Our Lady of Fatima was 'penance.' She sought to remind the world of the need to turn away from evil and repair the damage done by our sins.
Jesus and John the Baptist started their mission with a clarion call for repentance, but they did not recommend any penance as atonement for one's sins.
Emegwa said that during the Lenten season, people of God were called to commemorate and reflect on the Lord's passion through spiritual preparation, conversion and penance.
The faithful are also encouraged to go to confession, to perform works of mercy, to support the Church's Fast2Feed program, self-denial, and penance, and to visit the adoration chapel aside from the customary practices done during Lent such as prayer, alms-giving, personal sacrifices, and missionary work.
Maralit said the Church was taking the role of reminding people of the religious origin of Moriones-penitence and penance.
Dubai: Parents should teach children through "penance" -- instead of punishment -- to embrace non-violence as a way of life, says author Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
On this day a day of strict fasting and abstaining from meat, a priest or deacon makes the sign of the cross with ash on the foreheads of believers, saying "Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return," or "Repent and believe in the gospel!" This act explains the difference between strict fasting on this day, and that on the Easter Friday: the first one is fasting as penance for sins committed, while the second one is fasting mentioned by Jesus: "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them?
At one time public penitents at Rome were ceremonially admitted to begin their penance on this day; and when this discipline fell into disuse, between the 8th and 10th centuries, the general penance of the whole congregation took its place."
Arguing that the focus of Advent should not be penance, as symbolized by the use of purple, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America teaches that the Advent wreath should be made with four blue candles, symbolizing hope and expectation.
a trying and often frustrating time for those most interested in the life of the Church and most deeply committed to it," including the series' authors, who had "undertaken the study [with] sober optimism." (6) Notable among the contributions were Nathan Mitchell's on the sacrament of order, (7) James Empereur's on anointing of the sick, (8) and, arguably most impressive of all, Hellwig's contribution on penance. Her Sign of Reconciliation and Conversion: The Sacrament of Penance for Our Times appeared just a little over one year prior to John Paul's convening of that episcopal synod in October 1983.

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