Excuses From Childhood -- Confession Is Not Always Good For The Soul
When I was little, I'd come up with any excuse and though I wasn't a liar, I knew that if my mom made me go to confession, I'd lie. To a Priest!
It was awful. We went every Saturday for a few years. I was brought up Roman Catholic, so if you were to be a good Catholic, you went to confession, from a fairly young age. My problem, other than being terrified of the Priest, who had a booming voice, knew who we all were, as it was a very small church, was that I couldn't think of anything to confess.
This Priest wanted sins confessed. He'd even ask you how many times you did them in a week or a day! I went over the ten commandments so many times and I didn't find anything in them to confess to.
So, I went to confession every week and lied. One of the things I lied about, was that I told him that I lied, when I didn't. How many times a day? I'd make up some number. Another lie.
I talked back to my parents every week, that was one of the lies I told the most, figuring, that most kids probably did it. I even swore at them. In reality, if I'd done that, I'd have gotten beaten badly enough, so I wouldn't be able to get to confession.
I took the Lord's name in vain all the time. I really never did, but I told him I did. I think that made two lies. If I couldn't think of anything else and he kept wanting something else, I stole something. I never stole anything, but in that confessional, I did.
If he asked what else, I stole something else.
One week, I actually had a real sin and I proudly told him about it. I'd called my neighbor, who was calling me a poo-poo in the pot, a stupid ass. A real sin! I got my mouth washed out with soap for that, by mom, but I still sinned.
He wasn't impressed and I was disappointed. After all that time of making up sins, when I had a real one, it was lumped in with the others that I made up. I wondered why he couldn't tell.
Each week, no matter how many sins I made up, I was told to 'Go Forth And Sin No More' and given penance. Odd, it was always the same. Go to the altar, kneel and say three 'Hail Mary's', 'Three Our Father's' and 'Three Glory Be's'. This is part of the reason why I'm not a Catholic anymore.
Seriously, has this happened to anyone else? I can't be the only one.
mn - 2011
For this week let's write about excuses, any kind, some you use,
some that you used as a kid, anything at all. This is an excuse
because I can't think of another prompt :), Excuse me please ;)
Please write a poem or short story using excuses as your prompt in your
post. A poem can be any length and try to keep your stories to around 500 words.
Please post your submissions by next Monday night, September 26 at 12 AM
and tag it with TWE, post it to Gather Writing Essentials and Tuesday Writing
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Comments: 48
estimation you lived through a childhood of psychological abuse and the prople who (adults) were suppose to be caring for you were not. Talk about lies, you were forced into living lies your entire childhood.
Barbara H. Sep 22, 2011, 8:53am EDT
Its probably happened to every kid born into a Catholic family
You're absolutely right and you're right about the rest of it, too.
The confessional's set up with the priest in the middle little room and places on either side for a person to confess. Dad walked in with the priest. Got told to go on the side. He did and he'd drank a fifth of whiskey, so if the church had been full, everyone would have smelled him - the priest sure did. He asked my dad if he drank, dad says no.
End of confession, we go out to the car, get home (mom drove), dad passed out and slept through Sunday (all day). First and last time he went.
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The Surreal Circus.
Not.
i am sooo glad I did not grow up with any religion. My parents had their own: atheism. But I went to a variety of churches with friends when I slept over and my relatives always dragged me to LDS Sunday school, and my mom to UU and my father lectured me on atheism. So I guess I had religion. I 'became' Catholic when my kids were little, and we all had fun. I never went to confession. Once I did. I only believe what I want to believe and to hay with the rest of it. When my kids stopped wanting to go after First Communion, I said, Glory Be!
After the first Communion, most kids don't want to go any more. It's a long wait between that and Confirmation!
It "is" a long wait between first Communion and Confirmation (Mom made me do that too).
I could write a book about it, but no, I never made up any sins.
and yet, I went to this confession thing b/c it was expected of us all.
We attended Church on the Air Force Base and I always wondered what the soldiers would tell the priest... b/c even our priest was an active duty soldier and some things you have to do as a soldier isn't very 'Christian.'
I've never been through that myself. Besides, I confess to myself all the time... and that's enough, LOL!
Thank you posting to the Triple Name Club.