Unfortunately, pennance was miserably underemphasized in my Catholic upbringing. (As I heard Fr. Larry Richards say, "If you meet the Lord today and went through Catholic religious education in the last 30 years -- DENY IT!")
I'm embarrassed to even think about how many times I've accepted the Eucharist in the last ten years while in a state of mortal sin -- praise God for the grace communicated through this site!
Confession Bump!
What a wonderful story. Congratulations!
This is a topic that gets my attention. About three years ago my Mother returned to the faith after a 40 year absence. I called her Parish priest to explain her situation and get some info. In his zeal to welcome a lost sheep back to the flock, the Priest offered to hear her confession over the phone! I told him that wouldn’t be necessary, I just need to know the schedule for hearing confessions. This Priest is now on a Sabbatical somewhere to re-evaluate his vocation. He was a very personable man , but very unorthodox