St Dunstan's, Canterbury: Penance and Repentance

This Church of St Duntan, Canterbury, is where the mighty King Henry II changed out of his royal robes to don sackcloth before walking, barefoot, to the more famous cathedral to do penance for his part in the death of Archbishop Thomas Becket. Many folk in the twelfth century England wore fabric little better than sackcloth on account of their poverty, but this wealthy, powerful man did so to repent of his actions. Or to appear so, at least, in order to placate an angry Pope and nobility apt to rebel. Roman Catholic penance emphasises its outward signs, which are so readily forged. The Hebrew prophet Joel urges in 2:13:

So rend your heart, and not your garments;

Return to the Lord your God,

For He is gracious and merciful,

Slow to anger, and of great kindness;

And He relents from doing harm.

The God who loves to forgive and restore is implacably hostile to artificial shows of piety and pride, used as coverings for hardened hearts and brittle spirits. True repentance ushers in salvation and peace; outward displays of penance may chaff the skin while still massaging one’s deepest vanity.