âYes? Is anybody there?
âYes, Father.
âHello?
âIâm here, Father.
âYouâll need to speak up, boy.
âYes, Father.
âWell?
âIâm sorry, Father?
âAre you going to start?
âDo I start it off, Father?
âYes.
âHave we not already started?
âDid your teachers not prepare you for this? Your mummy?
âAh ⌠yes, Father. But Iâve forgotten. Itâs dark in here, Father.
âYes.
âI canât see much at all.
âGod sees.
âIn the dark?
âWhat?
âGod sees in the dark?
âJesus, boy. Yes. Obviously yes. God sees everywhere. Everything. God sees everything.
âDoes he now?
âYes. Heâs God, thatâs what God does.
âGod, really? Every little thing?
âYes. And he sees into your heart, and he knows whether or not youâre truly sorry.
âSorry for what, Father?
âYour sins. Thatâs why youâre here, isnât it? Itâs your first confession.
âIs that what this is?
âHow did you even get in here? This is the first confession of a good many girls and boys. Theyâve been preparing for this for months. How is it you seem to know nothing about it whatsoever? You â you do go to Mary Immaculate, donât you?
âYes, Father.
âAnd have you not been having instruction in this very day? The day of your first confession?
âYes, Father. Iâm sorry. Itâs just â
âWhat? What is it?
âItâs just ⌠I couldnât say the first bit. You know, the âbless me Father, for I have sinnedâ bit.
âAnd why ever not?
âWell, I just ⌠I donât think I have, Father.
âDonât think you have what?
âSinned, Father.
âYou donât think youâve sinned?
âThatâs right, Father.
âNot at all?
âI donât think so, Father.
âAnd what makes you so sure?
âWell, Iâm seven, Father.
âSeven is plenty old enough to have been sinning, my boy.
âReally?
âYes. Donât you know weâre all born with the stain of sin on our souls?
âEven you, Father?
âEven me, of course even me. Especially me.
âEspecially: why âespeciallyâ you, Father?
âI am a sinner too, is what I mean. But I am a priest, a man who has devoted his life to God, so itâs fair to say the devil, he tempts me more.
âHow does he tempt you, Father?
âHow do you mean?
âWell, you said he tempts you. The Devil. So, how does he tempt you?
âWell, he ⌠He makes me feel like I want to do the wrong things.
âAnd how do you know thatâs the Devil?
âWell, who else would it be?
âYou, Father.
âWell, itâs not. Itâs the Devil. Itâs the Devil, and you ought to watch for him, boy. This curiosity of yours â no, now wait a moment, please â itâs all well and good, but itâs the Devilâs doorway. Itâs how he gets in. The first sin, donât you forget, was a sin of curiosity.
âThe fruit.
âSo you do know. Yes, the fruit. The fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Curiosity leads to â can lead to â disobeying God. And that â well, thatâs what sin is.
âWell, I donât see how I can have sinned, then.
âHowâs that?
âWell, I havenât disobeyed God.
âYou must have. Come on now. How is it possible to have not disobeyed God in seven years of life?
âI donât know what he wants, Father.
âWhat?
âHe hasnât told me.
âAh, but now ⌠but now, you see: he has. Scripture. Divine revelation. He might not have told you directly, but he left his commandments, his teachings, his examples, for all to follow. Do you see?
âI think I do, Father.
âSo. Are you ready to confess, now?
âI donât think so, Father.
âWhy ever not?
âI just ⌠I canât think of anything that might count as a sin.
âYou want some examples?
âThat might be helpful, yes. Thank you.
âRight, well ⌠Letâs see. Ah. Right. So, a sin might be if you disobey your parents.
âBoth of them?
âEither of them?
âThatâs right.
âEven my dad?
âYes.
âEven though my mum says heâs a sinner?
âWhat?
âMum says â mum and dad split up last year â that dadâs a sinner, a really bad one, and that itâs so bad he smells of it, and that heâs going to hell for sure. Itâs because he had an affair, which is when you do sex with someone youâre not married to. And most of the time doing sex is a sin, mum says. So how can I do as my dad says if heâs a sinner? Wonât he be telling me to do things that might be sins?
â âŚ
âFather?
â âŚ
âFather, is that right?
ââŚ
âFather, are you still there?
ââŚ
âDo I let myself out?
This piece is (hopefully) the first in a series of vignettes all set as two-handers within confessionals. Iâm still trying to work out what it is; while I do, I figured it couldn't hurt to post them here.
This is a very you, very thought provoking bit of writing. Thank you.