Love the Sinner

Some secrets need to be shared.

Matthew has strayed far from the path his parents had planned for him but he’s finally ready to confess his many, many sins. In the darkness he sits, anxiously waiting judgment. Come along for the journey, as Matthew relives his wicked deeds and attempts to release his oh so heavy load. Salvation is at hand!

Excerpt:

The heavy mahogany door shut behind Mathew with a loud clunk that immediately muffled the intrusive sounds of the outside world. Matthew’s heartbeat quickened. It had been an age since he’d been in this position and he was so glad of the privacy and protection afforded by the thick door and solid walls. It all felt very familiar…the darkness, the relief of spilling one’s secrets and the prospect of being cleansed once more. Who’d have thought that after all this time he’d willingly be in a confessional with a priest about to recount all his sordid sins?

Matthew couldn’t even remember the last time he’d been inside a church, outside of visiting them whilst on vacation…and that was more to admire the architecture rather than due to any latent religious calling. His ‘lifestyle’ was not particularly conducive to the type of worship he’d grown up with. These days Matthew’s Sunday morning rituals involved brunch with friends and recovering from the indulgences of the night before, rather than listening to a priest prattle on about the evils of modern living. To say that he had lapsed was something of an understatement.

Matthew knew he had been guilty of straying from the path of a faithful Roman Catholic boy many times over. In fact, Matthew was so far off course now that he may have discovered another country altogether. All that talk of Hell, fire and brimstone, had scared the crap out of him when he was younger, but if it was true, then it didn’t sound like such a bad place. Plus, there was a good chance that the majority of his friends would end up joining him in purgatory, so he could still enjoy a bit of a party really…and he had always loved the heat.

It had been years since his last confession; sixteen, in fact. It had been on Matthew’s last day at Saint Francis Xavier – an all-boys Roman Catholic school that his parents had insisted on his attending. It was an institution filled to the brim with stodgy priests and harsh nuns who all seemed to share the consensus that children were a trial from God that they must bear. All, that is, except for Father Paul, who had been the school counselor as well as in charge of the physical education program. Matthew felt he could tell him everything. Father Paul had bright blue eyes that had seemed to pierce Matthew’s soul…ah the fancies of a hormone-fueled teenage boy.

Back to his current predicament, he had all these secrets bottled up inside that he needed to tell someone. Even better that it was an anonymous man on the other side of a light gauze curtain. Matthew could see the dim outline of the Priest, a big hulking figure in the dim lighting of the booth. The closeness was quite different to the other confessionals he was used to as a youth.

“Forgive me Father, for I have sinned.”

The familiar words spilled from Matthew’s lips in an automatic fashion. “It has been many years since my last confession.”

“Tell me what is troubling you my son,” replied the Priest.

“I don’t know where to start Father. There have been so many sins.”

“Take your time, my son. I am here for as long as you need me.”

Matthew started to think back upon all the ‘immoral’ things he had done in the years since his last confession at the age of seventeen. He knew that while he hadn’t killed anyone, or even intentionally caused anyone harm, he had still perpetrated each of the seven deadly sins fairly regularly. As he thought back, the stories started tumbling from him in a cascade of vice and naughtiness. Matthew became so lost in the memories he was barely aware of recounting everything in vivid detail for the Priest.