I will stick to walking.

[Gene Silva]

I would suggest that penance is not something you can improve or correct in terms of its intended goal. It is nothing more (or less) than turning back to receive God's forgiveness. In the old testament, the usual expression for repentance is "to turn back" (Jer. 8:4; Ezek. 33:19) and the equivalent New Testament term is "apostrepho" or "epistrepho"; that is, "I turn back on the road I have been traveling, I change my mind (metamelomai), I repent (metanoia), I change my attitude and reject the sin which divides me from God's grace". That is the "reward". For those who might be interested and for most Christians, the notion of pilgrimage is symbolic of repentance.

----- Original Message -----
  From: Leonie Galil
  To: GOCAMINOaPETE.URI.EDU
  Sent: Thursday, February 14, 2002 8:20 AM
  Subject: Re: I will stick to walking.


  I have always had a problem with penance per se and so made up my mind that instead I would try to be helpful to my fellow man/woman without expecting a reward all the while trying to improve or correct what penance is supposed to achieve (no easy task either).
  Any other thoughts on this subject?
  Leonie
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