[metmom]

If we are in Christ, we have His righteousness and there is no sin left for us to have to do penance for.

Besides, penance has no Scriptural basis. There’s nothing we can do to earn the forgiveness of our sins. If there was, Christ didn’t need to die. We could just do enough penance and be done with it.

Jesus said that he who has the son has life and he who does not have the son does not have life. (John 3)

Believers are the church, the bride of Christ. God’s not going to beat Christ’s bride black and blue to make her pay for sins that Christ’s shed blood forgave.

We are rewarded for good works. We don’t earn salvation with them.

[Legatus]

I was recounting the practices of the early church... If you have problems with the way the first few generations of Christians organized things then go throw The Book at them. That was the way things were done before Constantine showed up and "corrupted everything" and "founded the Catholic Church" btw. The trend in the west has constantly been to make things easier and accommodate the weaknesses of the faithful; liturgies shortened, fasts reduced, penances eased, obligations lifted, etc, etc. These prudential decisions of the popes governing the Church can even be questioned by faithful Catholics.

Additionally, temporal/eternal consequences of sin. They're not the same thing.

We don’t earn salvation with them.

That old saw is tiresome, no practicing Catholic believes it and everytime I see someone use it I wonder how I'm expected to take anything they say seriously.