While most of us are familiar with performing a penance for our own sins, it is possible to do penance for a particular prayer intention. The word "penance," can have a wide variety of meanings. One ...

While rereading Edmund Morgan’s magisterial American Slavery, American Freedom, I was struck by his discussion of public penance performed by early Virginian fornicators and adulterers: The courts, ...

Good news: If your Lent needs some improvement, there’s no law that you can’t adjust your personal penance mid-stream. Here are a few things I’ve found helpful for ordinary Catholics to consider when ...

On Ash Wednesday my youngest son asked if the next two days were Holy Thursday and Good Friday. His question reflects my initial feelings of Lent: “We have to do this for 40 days?” I start looking for ...