WHY DOES THE PRIEST GIVE US A PENANCE AFTER CONFESSION ?
The priest give us a penance after confession, that we may make some atonement to God for our sins, receive help to avoid them in the future,, and make some satisfaction for the temporal punishment due to them.
1. The penance is satisfaction for sin, some penitential work imposed by the priest as a reparation to God for the offense offered to Him by sin.
In earl days of the Church, public or canonical penance was imposed for public sins. One who apostatized for fear had to do penance for seven years, during which time he was excluded from Holy Communion, and was required to fast on certain days.
2. Justice requires that an injury done to another should be repaired. One who steals must restore the stolen property. God forgave Adam's sin, but his penance lasted his whole life. In the same way our guilt is forgiven in confession, but we must make satisfaction for our sins. Our eternal punishment is forgiven, but not our temporal punishment.
Temporal punishment is the punishment or penance that we have to suffer for our sins either here on earth or in Purgatory.
One who breaks the civil law is not let off even if he is sorry. He is given a penalty imposed by the judge. How much more should the priest, the spiritual judge, impose a penalty or penance to satisfy for the offense offered to God when we commit sin!
3. Today the most common form of satisfaction is the saying of certain prayers imposed. If the sin calls for material reparation, restoration of property or a public apology is also sometimes imposed.
One should not complain if the penance given by the confessor is more than other confessors usually impose. One should instead thank God for the opportunity to make some satisfaction here on earth, thus shortening his purgatory.
4. If the penance consists of prayers, we should say it if possible as soon as we leave the confessional. It is wrong to put off the performance of a penance too long. One who intentionally omits the penance commits sin, although the sin that were forgiven do not return. To omit a penance for venial sins, would be a venial sin; a serious penance for mortal sins, would be grievous.
Source: My Catholic Faith
