Wednesday, December 30, 2015

Doing Penance

I recently wrote an account of my life, focused on how I became a Catholic.  For me, it was a very  spiritual experience, remembering the incredible graces that God has given me.  However, it also made me see the enormity of the sinful life I had prior to being received into the Church.  Although I know I have been forgiven for all of that, I feel a need to do penance for my past sins--for the rest of my life, frankly, because I was a pretty major offender.

A traditional way to do penance in Catholicism is by fasting, so I have decided to set aside Fridays as a personal fast day for me.  It won't be easy, as I am accustomed, like most Americans, to eating all day, whatever and whenever I want.  However, I actually want it to be hard, I want it to feel like suffering, because I really need and want to atone in some way for my sins.

I will be starting this coming Friday; I will let you know how it goes, and if I grow spiritually from this long-hallowed Catholic practice! +

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