In elementary school, the nuns taught us how to confess our sins. The whole procedure was a bit daunting for a 7 year old. At that age, you really had to dig deep for sins. When I refused to eat broccoli was I disrespecting my mother or just being stubborn? Both were sins according to the nun's list of possibilities so it was just a matter of which commandment I chose to violate. Of course, locating sins became easier the older I got but the actual confession part remained as daunting as ever.
In case you don't know about confession here's how it goes. First you examine your conscience. The easiest way is by commandment. Start with the first one and mentally scroll through the other nine. That should give you a list of no-nos to tell the priest for which he will forgive you, pending your saying a few prayers.
It's all supposed to be anonymous but I always felt the priest could see through the mesh screen that separated us and, after 8 years of elementary school, I was sure he recognized my voice. I was afraid he'd tell my parents what a sinner I was, but it's all confidential even the mortal -- or "you did what!" -- sins. Ah, the trauma of Catholic school.
According to NPR, the French have modernized the confessional process by inventing a, well, phone line to the Lord. Just dial the number, press trois, et voila, you're asked to spill your sinful guts.
Do you think there'll be an app for that on my smart phone?
1 comment:
That's a great idea actually. I think people would feel relief to tell their transgressions without any possibility of being punished or such. I know I would !
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