This weekend I went to confession at a parish near my son’s soccer game. I am weird that way, I seek out parishes away from home for my confession obligations.
Anyway, I went to a parish. Nice enough looking Church with the standalone wood confessionals.
I picked a pew a few rows up from the confessional at the back of the Church to prepare and wait my turn.
A lady came into the Church and stood right near me but closer to the confessional, clearly not intuiting that I was waiting my turn.
So she is standing maybe 8 feet from me when her cell phone rings. Of course, she answers it. As loud as can be, she says…
April 8, 2014 at 9:17 am
I'm in grad school – but here I see everyday what you describe: daily mass, lines of confession, students serving altars. We're not in the US though, but that shouldn't be a problem if you're serious about sending kids to college and keeping them catholic! Check out this: University of Navarre, Spain.
April 8, 2014 at 1:22 pm
"I did what any third grader would have done in this situation. I pressed my fingers to my ears and began to hum."
OMG, that was hilarious!!
SATURDAY
DOORS
Of all the happy
Saturdays
Of all my happy
Life
Confessions in the
Afternoons
Were best for
Cutting strife.
Upon my head
A beanie
Or sometimes
Chapel veil
In summer’s heat
Tar-bubbled street
I’d run
Like wind in gale.
Holy water font
Into, my fingers dip
Made the sign of the Cross
So careful not to drip
Dark and cool and quiet
One red rose candle lit
And in the corners’ cornices
My soul saw Angels sit.
For they were there to help me
Come face to face with self
With poor man’s free psychologist
The Priest, behind dark shelf.
It wasn’t always easy
But always was absolved
And light with grace, back to the race
To live His Word, resolved.
And at this very moment
Saturday doors are there, no locks –
A place of virtual reality
Sacramental Confessional box!
April 8, 2014 at 3:26 pm
Oh, dear….
I knew that some folks who yell into their phones are deaf, but that's about the biggest validation of hearing loss you're going to get.
WHAT DO YOU MEAN, WHY DO I YELL INTO THE PHONE? THIS IS MY NORMAL VOICE.
April 8, 2014 at 3:51 pm
My only experience with a loud confession occurred when Fr. forgot to turn off his lapel mic before entering the Reconciliation Room. The elderly sacristan could have broken the 4-minute mile at the speed at which she booted it down the aisle to go inform him of his technical difficulty.
April 8, 2014 at 6:00 pm
I wish more actual practicing Catholics would send their kids to Georgetown and Notre Dame in order to evangelize and reclaim them as truly Catholic!
April 8, 2014 at 10:50 pm
That's not a test, it is blackmail.
April 9, 2014 at 2:27 am
A bit off the subject, but why can't Cardinals and Bishops pull the Catholic "rug" out from underneath places like GT, ND, and BC? Laicize them
April 9, 2014 at 3:20 am
It's all the grads from Jesuit colleges that are running America. The "faithful" catholic colleges are small and far between…..the Jesuit network or MAJOR colleges that destroy the faith are running the Catholic show.
And we are reaping the culture of death because of it.
April 9, 2014 at 8:00 pm
The location of my regular confession is fairly well known for thin walls. Not the nice wood confessionals of old but more like a hot water heater closet. Heck, for all I know, it was a hot water heater closet at one time.
So, I always stand about 15 ft away and people get why I'm not standing so close and the line usually forms accordingly.
There was one occassion where a woman and her son (~8 Y0 or so).
She went in to confession. I was waiting behind here for my turn. Very shortly after entering, the little boy walked up to stand out side of the confessional door. I was so very aware that he would hear his mothers confession. I cajoled him back to me and he and I chatted quietly while I reminded him his mom needed some privacy with the Fr and she'd be right back. She came out and never knew…. 🙂