Confession Topics

[Thunderbird]

Backstory time! Up until recently, I was what you would call a Pirate. No, I didn’t have a parrot on my shoulder (though I do have the Tricorn! ), but I did unapologetically download software, movies, etc. basically whatever I needed that I couldn’t directly afford or couldn’t be bothered to buy.

Long story short, I realized the error of my ways and gave it up. I also went to confession for it. My confessor that day was an older Chinese priest that I knew for a fact doesn’t know anything about the internet, much less piracy. I confessed, there was this long pause and he finally said something about taking things what aren’t yours, gave me five Ave Marias and sent me on my way.

Mind, this confessor is usually very good but this time I reaaally think he had no clue what I was babbling about. So I was thinking about it and while I was in confession today, I thought to mention it in confession this time around and essentially ‘re-confessed’ to a slightly more, ah, computer-savvy priest. Got a much better response, and my penance felt more ‘fitting’ to the crime.

The question then… was it over-scrupulous of me to re-confess? Does it really matter if the priest understands what you’re going on about?

 

[LilyM]

You were confessing to Jesus, through the priest, in both instances. Jesus who knows your sins perfectly well even before you confess them. And not really to the priest per se. So you doubled up. Yes I think it was a mite over-scrupulous, after all you surely could’ve done the additional ‘penance’ yourself, without needing to be told by the priest, couldnt’ you?

I’ve done a little bit of downloading and received a heck of a lot of illegal copies of friends’ CDs. I am well able to figure out, even without a priest telling me, that the appropriate penance is to get rid of those illegal downloads and copies.

 

[acadian]

All’s well that ends well?

It sounds like the first priest had an inkling if he mentioned something about taking things that aren’t yours. But if it was still weighing on your mind, and you are not normally a scrupulous person, it was probably fine to mention it again.

I have confessed some things and in the interest of trying to keep things brief, sometimes I wonder if the priest understands at all what I’m trying to say. But I figure, God knows, and if the priest thinks its important to understand better, he can always ask.

Glad things worked out for you.

 

[Stjudeprayforus]

Ugh… you just reminded me of a sin.

 

[Thunderbird]

Well, it wasn’t so much NEEDING my confessor to prescribe my penance (I’d deleted the offending material long before stepping into the confession the first time) as it was feeling like the priest was sorta just staring at me like I’d sprouted a third ear on my forehead.

Besides, it wasn’t just the occasional song… piracy was a large part of my day-to-day activities. Up until last month sometime, I had five hard drives FILLED with stuff, and an entire binder of CDs with software and the like. I downloaded as you live and breathe.

…which is why I fully agreed with the penance that the second confessor presented me. I also mentioned it wasn’t the first time I was confessing that particular sin, and he just nodded…didn’t say anything about it. Which is why I was asking here. Normally I’m not nearly as scrupulous (mentioning a sin once is bad enough~!)…but this one kinda nagged at me.

Anyway, thanks guys for your (name removed by moderator)ut, I’m beyond grateful.