The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1902-03-15

myself, and if he makes bad confess
sion, and doesn't repent of it and make
a good one, he is damned. Oh, If you
only knew it, that burden of hearing
confessions is the most terrible thing
a priest has to do. Sitting day after
day, listening to tales of sorrow and
crime and doing the marvellous work
Of loosing from sin.
'"There is only one objection left, and
am almost ashamed to touch publicly
upon 1.-THE outcry against the immor-
atty of the confessional. Well, was
Protestant once, my dear brethren,
but l thank God never said anything
of that kind. There is something so
low, so incredibly vulgar, not to say
malicious, in respectable, well-educat-
ed, cultured ladies and gentlemen lis
tening to the vile tales of so-called es-
capped nuns and unfrocked priests and
friars! The idea Of ladies listening to
such persons telling nasty lies! They
would be ashamed to go to saloon
or to bad house, but they will go and
drink in these detestable, damnable
lies. l am speaking to you as an hon
est convert. When was going to my
first confession, previous to being re-
ceived into the Church, stopped off
at the city Of Newark to visit Bishop
Bayley, afterwards Archbishop of Bal
timorc, himself convert and former
Episcopalian minister. I told him was
going to confession. You are going
to the real thing, now,' he said, and
[ thought of that general confession
had so often read, we have done those
things which we ought not to have
done, and we have left undonc those
things which we ought to have done,
and there is no health in u.s. etc. 1
thought of that sweet, familiar prayer.
1t is upon my mind now and it all
comes back to me. How delightfully."-
general that confession was! But now
l had to go into my conscience and
seek out the weeds of thirty years that
had grown in the garden. When 1 got
through l found it was the real thing
and felt so light and so happy that
1 thought 1 might, with good run,
have jumped across the Schuylkill
river.
"a gentleman of New York city,
whose two servant girls We're good
practical Catholics who went regularly
to confession, was much tormented in
his mind because the confessional en-
posed them to great temptation, rs he
thought. So he followed them to st.
Stephens Church, one Saturday night,
and saw the crowds standing around
the confessional. When they had gone,
he determined to find out the mystcr-
les of, the confessional, and, being n
man of courage. he went in himself,
He found himself in a little dark place,
but there was nothing going on, as the
slide was closed, the priest being en-
gagged hearing the person on the other
side. He heard confused murmur
and whispering of voices, and, as he
afterwards said. he began to picture to
himself the sharpening of the axes of
the inquisition and was now somewhat
nervous. The priest opened the slide
and waited silently for him
to begin; but since he said nothing, the
priest spoke: well, how long since
your last cOnfession| 4 have never
been to confession The answered.
Thank God! said the priest. you have
come mt last. How old are your 'For-
ty-fivc' Come around to tile sacrsty,
You will have to be instructed. and
haven't time tonight. but I'll give YOU
a catechism and you can look over it
and come back Monday afternoon
The good man had no idea of becoming
n Catholic, but lie was so ashamed he
never let on, but took the book and
went home. Hc read the catechism.
however, and went back and became
an out and out good Catholic.
"My dear Protestant friends, Catho-
lies know very well that there is no
danger in the confessional. They know
even II a man were n villain and a
rascal he would not dare to use sacri-
the sacrament Of penance,
because one of the most terrible laws
Of the Catholic Church is that IL any
priest in the Holy Sacrament OF Pen.
ance suggest any immoral temptation to
the pcnitent, he must be reported to his
bishop, and the penitent canot be alb
solved until that obligation is fulfilled.
Any priest who might be inclined to
make a bad use of the confessional
knows this. There are black sheep IN
every fold. There was one in the
twelve. I do not believe there is one
in a hundred among priests. I never
found one rs big a rascal as myself,
but there is no such fool among them
rs to abuse the confessional.
eve have just finished mission
here. How many confessions do YOU
suppose we heard? Seven thousand!
Many fathers and mothers of children
came and also urged their children to
come. Tell inc. sensible men and