LOVE THAT IS PRACTISED IN PENANCE; AND FIRST THAT THERE ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF PENANCES
Penance in general is repentance. By it, we reject and detest the sin we have committed. We decide to do reparation for the offence or the insult done to the one against whom we committed sin. I include in repentance the decision to repair the offence. The reason is that repentance does not sufficiently detest evil if it willingly allows the principal effect of sin to remain, which is the offence and the harm. It allows it to remain while it is possible to make up for it in some way. But it does not do this.
Now I leave aside the penance of many unbelievers. Tertullian testifies that they had among them some attitude that had the appearance of penance. It was vain and useless. Sometimes, they did penance even for doing well. I speak only of virtuous penance. Such penance is of different kinds depending on the motives from which it arises. There is, indeed, a purely human and moral penance. Such was that of Alexander the Great. After killing his dear friend Clitus, he decided to starve himself to death. So great was his repentance, says Cicero. Socrates convinced Alcibiades that he was not wise. So he began to weep bitterly, to be sad and distressed for not being wise as he ought to be, as St. Augustine narrates. Aristotle also recognizes this kind of penance. He assures us that a self-indulgent person is deliberately addicted to pleasure: It is impossible to correct him because he does not know to repent. He who is without repentance is incurable.
Certainly, Seneca, Plutarch and the Pythagoreans highly recommend examination of conscience. Above all, Seneca speaks so earnestly of the distress which interior remorse arouses in the soul. Doubtless, these philosophers understood that there was repentance. As for the wise man Epictetus, he describes so well the reproof we should address to ourselves that one could scarcely say anything better.
There is still another kind of penance. It is clearly moral as well as religious. It is divine in some way in so far as it originates from a natural knowledge that one has offended God by sinning. In fact, many philosophers knew that we please the Divinity by living virtuously. As a consequence, we offend God by living a corrupt life. The good Epictetus expressed a desire to die as a true Christian. (It is quite probable that he did so).[1] Among other things, he said that he would be happy if he could lift up his hands and say to God while dying: “For my part, I have not caused any dishonour to you." Moreover, he desires that a philosopher makes an admirable oath to God never to disobey his divine Majesty, never to blame or accuse him for what happens and not to complain of him in any way. He teaches that God and our guardian angel are present at our actions. Do you see, Theotimus, that this philosopher, still a non-Christian, knew that sin offended God just as virtue honoured him. Hence, he wished that we repent of our sins since he enjoined examination of conscience every evening. In its favour, with Pythagoras, he gave this warning:
If you have done evil, reprove it bitterly,
If you have done well, be content.
Now this kind of repentance is related to the knowledge and love of God which nature can provide. It was a subject of moral religion. Natural reason gave more knowledge than love to philosophers. They did not glorify him in proportion to the knowledge they had of him (Rom 1:21). Nature provided more light to understand how greatly God was offended by sin than warmth to arouse repentance necessary for repairing offences.
Religious penance was to some extent recognized by some of the philosophers. Even so, it was very rare and quite feeble. The Stoics had the reputation of being the most virtuous among them. They were convinced that the wise man never feels sad. From this, they formed a principle wholly contrary to reason. The premise on which it is based is contrary to experience, namely, the wise man never sins.
Hence, we can say very well that penance is a completely Christian virtue. On the one hand, it was so little known among non-believers. On the other hand, it is recognized among true Christians to such an extent that a large part of evangelical philosophy consists in it.. According to it, whoever says that he does not sin is senseless (1 Jn 1:8, 10). Whoever thinks that he can heal his sins without repentance is mad. For it is the exhortation of exhortations of Our Lord: Repent (Mt 3:2, 4:17). Now here is a brief description of the progress of this virtue:
We enter into a deep dread of sin. We realize the fact that sin is in us. We offend God by our sins. We despise and dishonour him. We disobey and rebel against him. God, on his side feels offended, annoyed, despised, displeased. He reproves and detests our iniquity. From this real dread, several motives are born. Either all of them or several together, or each in particular can lead us to repentance.
Sometimes, we reflect that God who is offended has decreed severe punishment in hell for sinners. He will deprive them of the paradise prepared for good people. Just as the desire of paradise is highly praiseworthy so too the fear of losing it is also worthy of esteem. Not only that, the desire of paradise being very valuable, its opposite, the fear of hell is good and commendable. Well! Who would not fear such a great loss, such a great punishment! These two fears, of which one is servile and the other mercenary, powerfully lead us to repent of our sins through which we incurred them. It is to this effect that this fear is recommended hundreds of times in Sacred Scripture.
At other times, we consider the ugliness and malice of sin, as faith teaches us. For instance, by sin the image and likeness of God that we have is defiled and disfigured. The dignity of our spirit is dishonoured. We have become like senseless beasts. We have violated our duty towards the Creator of the world. We have lost the good company of the angels in order to associate with and subject ourselves to the devil. We have made ourselves slaves of our passions. We have overthrown the good order of reason. We have offended our guardian angels to whom we are so indebted.
Sometimes, we are challenged by the beauty of the virtue which gives us as much good as sin causes us evil. Moreover, many times we are drawn to it by the example of the saints. Who could ever see the incomparable practices of penance of Magdalene, of Mary of Egypt, of the penitents of the monastery called Prison, described by St. John Climacus, without being moved to repent of his sins? Just reading this history urges those who are not stupid to repent of their sins.
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[1] Epietetus did not die as a Christian. His teaching was so close to Christian thought that some believed that he died as a Christian.