My seven year old son received the sacrament of reconciliation this week. The best evidence for the weak state of theological formation going on in the Archbold house I’ll tell you that on the way there he was nervous and asking his older sisters questions about it. I heard him ask, “Can I at least tell the priest that my sisters started it?”

I guess he thought that speaking of one’s sins deserves a little context. I explained to him at length why this wasn’t a good idea.

But there’s a happy ending.

When he sat back down in the pew and said his penance, he looked up at me and said, “I feel like a new person.”