Yep, I'm Catholic. Thoughts on confession

I was raised a Catholic. It gave me many things, structure, belief, thoughtfulness. Believe it or not (maybe I'm a renegade Catholic) a questioning mind. There is man made dogma I don't believe (yes, yes, 'cafeteria catholic' I've heard it all). I don't believe the Pope is infallible. I think people who are called to be priests, with all the sacrifice that entails, should be ordained regardless of gender. Like any thinking person, the sex abuse scandals in the church have been hurtful, hurtful, and such a breach of trust. Those annointed hands being used for harm, and the corporate church 'powers that be' allowing and facilitating it.

So, I am still Catholic, not practicing very regularly. But I just can't seem to get into the groove of another established religion. I'm inculcated in the ritual and the sacraments, from the time I was little. Confession, that is something I think is pretty uniquely Catholic. I can remember as a child my sisters and I would make up 'sins' to tell the priest. Good grief. How many sins can a 7 year old have? "I disobeyed my parents 7 times". "I lied to my teacher 1 time". My sister Lori and I have concluded however, that it was the best laxative in the world, going to confession. Nothing sent one to the bathroom quicker than the prospect of pre-first Friday confessions.

I think this is a better expression of what 'confession' is really all about.



First Confession

When the landlord turns
off the heat and the only
tune that can be heard
is the clatter of your own
teeth, take heart, and enjoy
the music given
to you by the cold.
When the woman you love walks
out because you earn too little and dream too much,
smile, empty your pockets
and bid farewell. When the fat
lout next door junks his rusty
Buick in your favorite
field of wildflowers,
open your refrigerator
and offer him your last
beer. But when you find
yourself at rest in the tall
grass of a spring day,
watching the clouds
amble across
the sky like polar
bears traveling on the open sea,
confess to God, for the first
and last time, that you love
this life which is yours,
because it is unlike
anything else you have ever known.


Robert Edwards
Thousand Oaks, CA

BTW I took this photo in a church in Killarney, Ireland. I wandered in, and the entire church was empty, except for a casket in the center aisle. I assume it was occupied. I was intrigued by the statue and by the circumstance, and was happy with the photo I took. I had several unique experiences that first trip overseas to Ireland, and this is one of them. Thank you, Killarney.