Correct me if I'm wrong but it seems there used to be a kind of mathematical certainty associated with various types of penance.
How do we know if we have done enough?
Can you ever do enough?
I know that I do not do enough.
I could never think of penance in terms of mathematical certainty, like one days fast equals 5 mins off purgatory. We have to let God do the calculations so, really, we can never know how much we really need.
But even in the remote possibilty that I am going straight to Heaven (
) because I have done enough for me, I know lots of people who also need my penances.
Penances are incalculable.