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Peace and good!
Today we have quite a difficult topic to discuss.
It's connected with breaking up with one's sinful life. An internaut has written to us about his repentance.
After 20 years he changed his life thanks to God's mercy.
He went to confession, reconciled with God but he still feels remorse.
So he knows that his old life is over but he's still aware of the evil he'd done and he would like to make up for it somehow.
He wrote that he'd probably committed all the sins except ***.
So it's good that we have the possibility to make up for the evil. We need time to learn how to love and perform acts of love.
It's difficult to give advice to someone you don't know.
If your conscience is so sensitive that you want to make up for the evil, you should find a spiritual director, your confessor.
Someone who is driven by remorse can give himself such a harsh penance that he may lose himself in it.
I rememeber a beautiful scene from a film 'The Mission' in which a fratricide climbs a mountain, pulling a huge net full of iron weapon behind him.
Suddenly, seeing that he is really exhausted, one of the Jesuits accompanying him cuts this net off and lets it fall into a river.
So it's good to have someone who will guide you in doing penance.
But there are also people who decide to dedicate their lives to the poor, become engaged in voluntary work, which is their act of mercy.
Still, I would suggest consulting the details of your penance with your spiritual guide.
If this person wants to take some radical action.
If not, the simplest way to show you've changed is to live a good and honest life. Care for other people, for the poor, every day.
People have done many things throughout history in an act of penance. They funded churches or monasteries to compensate for their sins.
We can give you a few more ideas to realize :).
Of course, we're just joking. All in all, it's about prudent and wise penance.
For example, one can decide to participate in a holy mass once a week as a form of penance.
You can participate in a mass on the first Friday or Saturday of the month to reward the hearts of Jesus and the Blessed *** Mary.
I've also heard about a man who committed a lot of lustful sins on his bed.
So he decided to sleep on the floor to do his penance, as he felt that he had to experience some discomfort to cut himself off from his past habits.
It might seem funny or odd but he treated it as his act of penance, he mortified himself as people did in the past.
But once again I suggest consulting a decision about one's act of penance with someone wise, who knows us and our temperament, so as not to make it too demanding.
On the one hand, we appreciate the fact that someone wants to do penance for his sins, which is not very common. So it's really wonderful.
But on the other hand, the Devil can also use it and destroy this person completely. He can push him into excessive pride.
So doing everything with wisdom and prudence is important. And doing it with love.
The best reward, as I've already said, is our good, just and honest life. Our everyday acts of love towards other people.
It's much easier to do something spectacular only once, and then what?
Our everyday work and care for another person can sometimes be really difficult. But that's what we encourage you to do. Make your life a good one every day.
Peace and good!