Is Confession valid if you don’t do the penance?
Forgetting to do your penance does not invalidate the confession, but refusing to do it does.
Have you ever had to leave right after confession, intending to do your penance but then forgot? Or has a priest told you to do a charitable or self-sacrificial act for your penance instead of a prayer, and because you could not do it at that moment it slipped your mind? In both cases is the absolution valid? Well, it depends.
As with many of the laws and norms governing Christian life, your level of culpability depends on where your heart is. According to Canon law, “the confessor (priest) is to impose salutary and suitable penances in accord with the quality and number of sins, taking into account the condition of the penitent. The penitent is obliged to fulfill these personally.” (Canon 981)
What makes a confession invalid?
Confession is invalid under these conditions:
Forgetting to do a penance does not carry the same weight as willfully refusing to do it, and thus does not invalidate the absolution. However, for the Sacrament of Reconciliation to be valid, the penitent must:
The Importance of the penance
Receiving absolution is not the entire story. The penance given in confession plays an important role in making amends for your sins. Our Catechism states:
“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. This satisfaction is also called ‘penance.” (CCC 1459)
Penance is not punishment. Your sins are forgiven by God through the sacrament, but the effects of sin are still present in the world. Penance addresses the need to make reparation and make amends for the effects of sins.
Absolution restores your relationship with God and penance provides a tangible way to amend your life and the relationships damaged by sin. In these two actions, we receive God’s mercy and grace.