Penitence is about being sorry about our sins.
Penitence is a step along the way to finding God's forgiveness that comes between recognising our sins and repenting of them. We have to identify and recognise what is coming between us and God before we can feel sorrow about it. And only if we feel a genuine regret about our failings and shortcomings can we really put them behind us and turn back to face God and rediscover his healing love for us.
A person who is penitent is sometimes called 'a penitent'.
In the sacrament called 'the reconciliation of a penitent', a Christian may 'confess' their sins to a priest (= tell the priest quietly about their sins in a formal setting). The priest will then assure them that God forgives them (= that they are reconciled to God) and probably suggest a prayer they might say or some act of generosity they might perform to demonstrate their penitence to God and to thank him for his forgiveness. This assurance of forgiveness is called 'absolution'. The prayer or action that shows our penitence is called a 'penance'.
Not every Christian will feel the need to receive the sacrament of 'the reconciliation of a penitent' (which is also called 'individual confession'). But in most of the worship services of the Church there is an opportunity for the worshippers all together to give voice to their feelings of penitence and repentance and their resolve to make amends for anything they have done wrong in an act of 'general confession'. A minister will then usually remind the congregation that God is always ready to forgive his children who show repentance. A minister who is a priest or a bishop may offer a 'general absolution' (assurance of God's forgiveness) at this point.
© J D Yule 2003