He laughed at my sins!
2 Mar
I went to a Lenten prayer service at my Church tonight that was given by a visiting Franciscan Friar. At the end of it they had Confessions. I was really worried about it because I haven’t been to Confession in a very long time. I was really determined to just do it tonight. Say all my sins and be absolved! I walked up to the altar… my knees knocking… all I could muster was a tiny whisper…
“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been 12 years since my last confession.”
“Why have you been away from the Church so long?” the friar said.
I explained that, in fact, I had not been away. I was closer than most. I’m quite active in my Church but Confession is just one sacrament I haven’t received in years. I sing at Mass (I’m the leader of song) every Sunday – sometimes two or three times a weekend – and I am at Choir practice during the week. I went to Catholic school for 6 years and then went to a private Catholic College. I sing lots of religious music too. Heck, I even have a Great Uncle who is a priest.
I told the friar my sins, all my deepest secrets that have been plaguing my heart and soul for so long, staring at my feet the entire time. I stopped, took a deep breath, and look up at him.
He laughed, and asked me if I was sorry for my sins.
“Of course!” I squeaked, appalled that he would even ask such a question. Then I remembered it was part of the script.
He told me I was absolved of my sins, and to go in peace.
I stared at him for a moment. “That’s it? Don’t I have to say Hail Marys? Our Fathers? The Creed? The Rosary? Anything?”
He laughed at me and told me to go do a good deed or something.
I was insulted. This was 12 years worth of sins that I just professed and he laughed in my face like I was a child. An insolent child! Silly Caity… your sins are cute… now go keep being good.
I guess in retrospect it’s a good thing. It’s better to have cute sins than really horrible, unspeakable sins. I am still angry, though… he shouldn’t have laughed. They are still my sins and they still weighed me down for 12 years.
Wow… I’m not Catholic, and admittedly don’t really know anything about confession, but that seems just… wrong to me. Even if they weren’t “bad” or “horrible” sins. For him to laugh at you? It seems really unprofessional to me (though I’m not sure if “unprofessional” is the right word since Ive never really seen clergy as professionals… I don’t know, I’m confusing myself!)
Thats really ridiculous that he laughed at you.
It doesn’t matter how little or how big it is. Wow, just wow.
I’m not even Christian and I’m offended by this.
I can only imagine how you feel. *Hugs*
While unprofessional of him to laugh, we always take ourselves and things we’ve done heavier than anyone else would.
Oh Caity, what a douche. Very unprofessional. I’d be feeling very offended if I were in your shoes :O
I completely 100 percent agree with Dez.
Also, is it wrong of me to think this story is kind of cute?!
Call me weird, but I’m Catholic and I’m not offended by the friar’s action. I thought this post was oddly cute, but then again, you are cute!!
But yes, I agree with what Dez said. We tend to take things heavier when it is our own sins.
Wow. I can’t believe he laughed!
However I agree with Amber, that story is sort of cute!
the same thing happened to me the last time I went for confession! I know I’m a goody-goddy, but come on, you don’t laugh at someone! Way to encourage going to confession!
And that’s why I didn’t go for years after that and now I’m not Catholic anymore, so it doesn’t really matter.
I don’t know anything about confession, but I think I would have been a little upset by it, too. Still, I would rather have cute sins, myself…
I can’t imagine you having many sins, Caity! But I guess we are all human and do err in our own ways.
Maybe he laughed because you are so sweet and wonderful??
xo
I’ve only been to confession once (I went to a Catholic school for several years) and found the whole thing to be really strange. I’m sorry to hear he laughed at you!
Oh wow, that’s not really the reaction I think you’d get from a friar, totally unprofessional! :S
It doesn’t matter what your sins are, there was no reason for him to laugh. What kind of a priest does that? Even if your sins are silly to some, it was still tormenting you and for him to shrug it off was completely unprofessional of him.
Well, I’ve been to a lot of confessions before when I was still a Catholic and I remember after every confession theres always Hail Marys and all of it but I think doing a good deed as part of the confession seems to be a better idea. Though the laughing part made it sound that he wasn’t taking you that seriously. Totally unprofessional! :)
I think he was so used to much worse confessions that he found yours squeaky clean sins. I am sure he could use a laugh – they don’t get to laugh too often, you know. (That’s the perspective of a NON-Catholic, so it’s yours to define. :-))
Wow, I haven’t been to confession for a long time
either. I think you should look at the laugh as something exchanged between and adult and and a remark of the child. They were huge sins for you, but after all he hears they were not so bad in comparison, some times like the worries of my son compared to mine…. I would not take offence Caity. Maybe laughing was not the ideal response, and you felt underminded, but I don’t think that was his intention. Perhaps he just has bad people skills that Friar… I tend to favor the confessions as a group. The ones where you write your sins on a paper, symbolically burn them in a small fire before the altar, followed by the priest absolving the group… One on one time with a priest is too much for me!
I admire your faith. I wish I could be as good as you to be present at mass every sunday. I pray, I do the readings, but I don’t often go to church…..
This post reminds me of the movie “SuperStar”. I can totally imagine you as that girl, lol.
Confessions are serious so it would’ve been more appropriate if he’d explained his feelings or else just kept them to himself, but then in a way it’s comforting that he laughed, to know that he considered you’d done little wrong.
if it makes you feel any better, i’ve never been to a confession. i don’t think i’d get a laugh. in fact, i’d prefer a laugh over what i imagine i’d get.
but that’s just me. however, you’re still letting out personal problems and for him to dust them off like nothing, i see how that could be offensive/inappropriate.
maybe he meant it in a nice way :)