What is the distinctive mark or charism of Franciscan Tertiary life? The answer is to be found in the earliest designation of the Order: The Order of Penance of Francis of Assisi. The Order of Penance in the church did not begin with Francis; it actually predated him by centuries. Initially instituted for sinners who were publicly alienated from the church and were seeking restoration, the order eventually welcomed those who wished to enter upon a life of penitence, even though they were guilty of no serious public sins. This Order of Penance had its highs and lows through the centuries, but received a renewed impetus in the middle ages, especially through the efforts of Francis...

But of what, specifically, did this penitential life consist? To a considerable extent, the term "penance" had come to be associated with acts of mortification and self-denial. It was external forms of penance such as fasting, abstinence, and self-denial that were at the forefront, rather than the traditional biblical notion of a basic change of life.

After the Second Vatican Council, it was understood that any revision of the Third Order Rule must identify penance as the central value, classifying the word as synonymous with "turning one's life around." The Greek verb metanoein rendered the Hebrew shub that in its most concrete sense meant a "turning around" on the road. This meaning carries over into the New Testament's call to conversion of life, which signified a change in direction in life or in the Pauline assertion of setting aside the "old person" and walking in a newness of life.

Fr. Roland Faley, TOR. "Recapturing a Vision: Conversion," in History Of The Third Order Regular A Source Book (2008).