Penance

=====Assigned penance=====
The act of penance or satisfaction that the priest imposes helps the penitent to overcome selfishness, to desire more strongly to live a holy life, to be closer to Jesus,  and to show to others the love and compassion of Jesus.<ref>Ronzani, Rinaldo.''Conversion and Reconciliation'' (St Paul Communications 2007 {{ISBN|9966-08-234-4}}), p. 89</ref> It is part of the healing that the sacrament brings: "Sin injures and weakens the sinner himself, as well as his relations with God and neighbour. Absolution takes away sin, but it does not remedy all the disorders sin has caused. Raised up from sin, the sinner must still recover his full spiritual health by doing something more to make amends for the sin: he must 'make satisfaction for' or 'expiate' his sins."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4D.HTM |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1459 |publisher=Vatican.va |access-date=2012-09-20}}</ref> This is done by prayer, charity, or an act of Christian asceticism.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FwP7UTl2zWoC&q=%22spiritual+health+requires+more%22&pg=PA69 |title=J.A. DiNoia et al., ''The Love That Never Ends'' (Our Sunday Visitor Publishing 1996 ISBN 978-0-87973-852-5), p. 69 |access-date=2012-09-20|isbn=9780879738525 |last1=Dinoia |first1=J. A. |last2=Cessario |first2=Romanus |last3=O'Donnell |first3=Gabriel |last4=Cameron |first4=Peter J. |year=1996 |publisher=Our Sunday Visitor Pub. Division, Our Sunday Visitor }}</ref> The rite of the sacrament requires that "the kind and extent of the satisfaction should be suited to the personal condition of each penitent so that each one may restore the order which he disturbed and through the corresponding remedy be cured of the sickness from which he suffered."<ref>Rite of Penance, 6 c</ref>

Penance may consist of prayer, works of mercy, service of neighbor, voluntary self-denial, sacrifices, "and above all the patient acceptance of the cross we all must bear. Such penances help configure us to Christ, who alone expiated our sins once for all."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ccc.usccb.org/flipbooks/catechism/index.html#385/z|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|website=ccc.usccb.org}}</ref>