In the confessional box

Pray father give me your blessing

Oh we don’t do confessions anymore and the Catholic church.

I don’t care what other people do I want to confess my sins now.

Oh well if you insist carry on but you’re supposed to be in the confessional box so I won’t know who you are

Oh don’t worry about that.

Well what have you done wrong?

I used the wrong cutlery when I went to a meal in a hotel with some clients but that’s not a sin is it?

Well it could be a sin if you did it to try to humiliate somebody even to humiliate yourself.

But why would I want to humiliate myself?

Well you know people are very strange and many people are cruel to themselves

Well that is me something to think about. Making myself suffer all these years thinking it was a good thing and now I find it’s a sin.

Any other sins?

Well I need to look at a list really because I probably haven’t heard of some of them for example adultery.

Well you must have heard of it otherwise you wouldn’t have said it would you?

Very true but so many years I was puzzled about what it was I thought it was something that adults did which in one sense was true but I didn’t realize it was anything to do with sex.

Well what else could people vdo that was wicked?

They could hit somebody or swear at somebody or steal the housekeeping money from the wife’s purse

Why would you give your wife  housekeeping money and then steal it back?

Well you wanted her to think that you were generous so you will give her the money but then in the night you could steal it back and she wouldn’t know that it was you

So it’s a combination of deceit and lying and theft my goodness in this carries on I’ll have to take you to the police station

The police weren’t bothered about this sort of trivia not when we’ve got young children being murdered in a dancing class.

Yes I do see what you mean nevertheless the existence of greater evil does not give us licence to commit smaller evils

Now do you repent of these sins?

Yes I do I agree it’s very wrong because it made my wife very unhappy and although it wasn’t a adultery in the sexual sense nevertheless it was very bad to do that to an adult especially while I’m supposed to love.

Well do you love her?

Yes when I’m feeling alright I do but when I’m feeling bad because I’ve lost my job or I’ve been gambling and bu lost money there then it’s harder too love anyone even my own children because my feelings of guilt and horror are too strong for me to be able to focus on anybody else.

Well if you don’t feel that you can stop doing these things then we’ll have to find someone to help you. There are places where gamblers can get help for example.

But suppose I don’t want to go

In that case you’re making yourself more likely to do bad things and to harm your family and other people

Yes it all seems so easy just talking to you here but when it comes to the crunch it is hard

But you see this is how you show your love for your family and your friends by being brave enough to get help for your weaknesses which otherwise will harm them not to mention harming yourself but that’s for you to think about

Alright I will absolve you from your sins as long as you promise me that you will never do these things again.

Yes I am very thankful I spoke to you. I know definitely will get help if I find I’m getting tempted too much.

Very well my child.

I’m not really your child am I m after all you are a Catholic priest

No you’re not my child but I was married at one time and my wife died so I decided I would enter the religious life.

Do you think that was a good idea?

Yes I think so because I can help people who are in a sense like my children would have been in my wife hadn’t died and so I feel I’m using my paternal feelings and instincts to make society better. You can’t deny that God will be pleased if society gets better

I suppose that’s true but there’s so much badness.

Just start small that’s all you have to do. We might be weak but we can all do small things.

And so  say all of us

Mioaw