The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1920-05-15
THE "ViCTIM" OF THE CON-
FESSIONAL.

Some years ago a number of young
ariStOcratS sat feasting in a fashion
able hotel of one of the larger cities
of France. writes J. G. Raupert. Wine
had been flowing freely and they were
}engaged in an animated discussion of
%politics and Of the news of the day.
After u while, as is so frequently the
case, the conversation turned on re-
.ligiouS subjects. All the young men
present, although Catholics in name
}and brought mp by devOut Catholic
parents were of that age at which
so many young men consider them
tselVes called upon to better the state
Of the world and to spread more lib
eral" and "enlightened' views of life
and religion.
They had succeeded, with the aid
of the irreligiOus literature of the day,
in sitting the Faith of their child
hood in their own hearts. The doc
trines and practices Of our Holy Re-
ligiOn, therefore, around which their
conversation began 10 turn, were
made the objects of their wit and
derisiOn. One StrOVe 10 excel the
other in ridiculing its doctrines and
practices. And it was the Sacrament
of Penance to which their minds re-
verified again and again, and of which
they spoke with the most bitter ScOrn
and contempt.
"What a good joke it would be-"
finally remarked one Of them, eff we
all went to confession just for the
fun of the thing" Some of the others
declared that such a joke did not al
together commend itself to them, and
that they did not believe the speaker
would have the courage to carry it
out But he replied that he was will
ing to bet them 4 certain number of
bottles Of wine that he would make
q mock confession before their next
meeting. and that he would tell them
Of his experiences.
The bet was accepted and early the
following Saturday morning the young
mans friends came to remind him OF
his undertaking. and challenged him
to keep his word. He assured them
laughingly that he could not fail to
win the bet. On the evening Of the
same day he went to one of the
churches Of the city, and, taking a
seat near the first confessional he
saw, waited patiently until his turn
should come. He knelt down and said
to the priest:
Sir, | have not come with the in
tention of really making a confession.
1,,t inIy in npIn to
win a bet | confess, therefore, that
l have done so and so, but | don't
care in the very least I have COM
mitted such and such a sin, but | do
not care in the least And in this
way he went on for some time, again
and again adding: But l don't care
in the least
When he had finished his mock con-
fessiOn, the priest, who had been lis
tening very calmly and quietly, said
to him: "YCu have now done your
part in order to win your bet. You
have confessed your sins. It is now
for me to do my part and to impose
a penance upon you. And your pen
ance will be as follows: You will, for
three days say three times daily,
morning, noon and night:
II must die; but | do not care in
the least.
There is a judgment after death;
but dc not care in the least
There is a hell; but do not care
in the least"
And with these words he dismissed
him.
On the evening arranged the friends
met together and the mock penitent
related what had happened and
claimed that he had won his bet. But
the others. not prepared to give in
so easily, declared that the bet could
not be considered won until the pen
ance, too, had been performed.
IF that is ALL replied the young
man, Il give you my word Of honor
that l will perform my penance and
win my bet" And he really began to
pronounce the words mentioned-at
first hastily and without reflection;
but, after a while with a sense of
their meaning and significance. A
strange feeling took possession of
him. The words began to recall the
stif1ed belief of his early childhood
They caused him to become restless
and silent, and he found it impossible
finally to pronounce them at all Grace
supervened and made these words the
means of awakening the slumbering
and paralyzed soul.
He began to think seriously Of
death, of eternity and the state of
his soul, and, after a few days, grace
had completed its work. The young
man returned to the priest to whom
he had made his mock confession and
besought him to aid him in making a
true confession and in effecting a
thorough reconciliation with God.
Thus restored to faith and to right
mode of living, he strove with all
earnestness to atone for the grave
sins committed and never failed to
tell the story of how he was, by the
extraordinary Providence of God, led