Phew, I made it, Lord!
Well, …we made it
didn’t we? Me, my four year old, my two
year old, and every other person in this valley who heard that this parish
offers confession during all masses.
Although they all probably made it here more quickly than I
did, what with my two year old’s bowls becoming vigorously active right before
walking out the door, and my four year old’s recalcitrance not to leave the
house without her Cat Woman mask.
And let’s not forget the person who thought it would be a
good idea to do a three-point turn right at the mouth of the Church’s driveway
as slowly as they possibly could (but, hey, if I was at a loss for things to
confess, I acquired at least 3 new sins just in trying to park the car).
But here we are, baby, in our favorite confession line!
I know my children always look forward to trying to play ‘piano’
on all of the “button candles” in front of the image of Our Lady of Perpetual
help.
Speaking of perpetual help.
Thank goodness for that one sympathetic older lady who only took about 3
minutes for her confession.
It’s only been a seven to ten minute average for everyone
else so far. Don’t we have spiritual
direction appointments for that? (I’m
not sure that I packed enough snacks to stand here for an hour).
A line like this one makes that confession app look like a
better idea all the time.
But, no, shoo! Away,
negative thoughts! I am happy for those souls coming to confession today! Really!
No, really. Even if it means I
might not make it into the confession today, or for another month. Perhaps it
means that someone needed it more than I did!
And hey, I have three words for you: confession-of-desire.
Should I tragically kick-the-bucket before the next time I
head to confession
I can point to St. Peter’s clipboard and say, “See! Right there. On Tuesday. Tried!”
This might help explain why I hardly see other moms in the
confession line. Ever.
They’ve all either just given up, figured out a way to stop
sinning or maybe they have just gotten wise and found someone to watch the
kids.
Not I, though Lord.
Horribly sinning, incapable of thinking ahead Catholic mom, I. Am. Still.
Standing. Here.
Barely. Now, I’m more
leaning my aching vertebrae against the wall.
If the other people in line only knew, Lord.
But then again, maybe today we aren’t really lined up for a
confessional. Maybe on Tuesdays it morphs into a gateway to Narnia and those
that enter find themselves in a snowy, dreamlike wood and proceed to have
centuries of adventures before emerging after only a few minutes in our world’s
time.
By that measure, all those minutes don’t seem very long at
all.
Anyway, it’s a more pleasant thought than thinking about all
the times my daughter has already asked to go play outside on the kid structure.
Oh that reminds me, add “I’ve tried researching boarding
schools for the four year old already,” right after, “I’ve been impatient” to
the list.
I get it, Lord. In your Mercy, you have called me here and this
is part of the penance. It must be –
this line is punishing. If nothing else,
please help me remember the line because standing here for so long makes
acquiring a plenary indulgence look like a cake walk.
Which reminds me, did I shut off the oven before we left?
Lord, in your mercy, hear my prayer.
