Penance is the actual name of the Catholic Sacrament of Reconciliation/ Confession. In this Sacrament, the penitent (sinner) accuses himself of his sins to an ordained priest. The priest may then offer advice and imposes a particular penance to be performed. The penitent then prays an Act of Contrition, the priest administers absolution, thus formally forgiving the penitent of his sins, and finally sends him out with words of dismissal. A sacrament is a Christian rite that mediates divine grace. ... Roman Catholic priest LCDR Allen R. Kuss (USN) aboard USS Enterprise A priest or priestess is a holy man or woman who takes an officiating role in worship of any religion, with the distinguishing characteristic of offering sacrifices. ... The Act of Contrition is a prayer recited by the penitent during the Roman Catholic sacrament of Confession. ... Absolution in a liturgical church refers to the pronouncement of Gods forgiveness of sins. ...

Penance, as imposed during the Sacrament, may consist in prayers, fasting, or the giving of alms. The most common penances are prayers, such as an Our Father and Hail Mary.

Penance also may be self-imposed, as during the Lenten fast and Advent. Self-imposed penance, also called mortification serves to detach the penitent of his worldly passions, as to draw him into closer union with God. Flagellants mortifying the flesh, at the time of the Black Death Mortification of the flesh literally means putting the flesh to death. The term is primarily used in religious contexts, and is practiced in a variety of ways. ...

In eastern religions (Hinduism, etc.), acts of hardship committed on oneself (fasting, lying on rocks heated by the Sun, etc.) in order to attain a higher form of mental awareness or favours from the Gods. This article is about the Hindu religion; for other meanings of the word, see Hindu (disambiguation). ...

Penance in fiction

• Colin Kapp. 1972, 1973. Patterns of Chaos. New York: Award Books. No ISBN. Pp. 31-36.