Sins...

A depressing subject but let's talk sins. Let's break up the sins into two categories -

1) Committed against another being
2) Committed against Him.

The system is based on fairness. What you sow is what you reap. If you are a sinner, there is a punishment. But again, the rule of double jeopardy applies. If you are punished in this world, you will not have to face a trial there. A note of caution - the punishment must be as per the severity of the sin committed. So, if you manage to get a 'lean' sentence for the sin in this world, your penance is not complete. The sentence must be completed.

Can penitence reduce/remove penance?

Well, this is a little tricky. The party wronged here is the one which has the right to forgive the perpetrator which can reduce/eliminate the penance but otherwise, it remains. Again, in the right sense of penitence, the perpetrator would feel so sorry about what he/she has done that the person may actually ask for penance. This again, is sort of an oxymoron since the purpose of penance is forgiveness and forgiveness leads to 'zero' penance.

Let me try to explain the para above, how many times do we ask for forgiveness where we genuinely feel that we need to be punished? Well, if that's not the case, then the penitence is asked out of fear of the punishment that we anticipate or are undergoing at the moment. So, if you look at it, we still have not realized the pain that we have caused the victim. And so, the penitence is not 'genuine'. And so, the penance remains. The problem with this is that even after reading this, you will realize that the penitence will only come from within, from the heart. Reading this or not will not get you any closer to genuine penitence....

Sin against God - this is what I know - He is the most Beneficent, the most Merciful. But the rules above apply.

Don't ask for punishment. Be genuine in your penitence. For He is the knower of which ye know not. If you don't understand the depth of the statement above, I suggest you don't take advantage of it.