Both Uses of
penance
in
Change of Heart, by Picoult
- "It's my pleasure," I lied, and mentally marked the rosary I'd say later as penance.†
*
- Each night, I said three consecutive rosaries—penance for lying to Father Walter—but I had to be there.†
Definition:
an act that shows sorrow for wrongdoing -- such as expressing regret, asking for forgiveness, or trying to make up for the harm done