Standard disclaimers apply and this is the first draft of the complete version. Thanks

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…” said the young man, broke the silence in the confessional in the Cathedral of Good Shepherd. It was a few minutes after lunch time mass ended but there were only a few people left. There was a group of old women praying the Rosary in front of the tabernacle and a couple of people who were kneeling  in the pews. As usual, the lunch time mass was always full of people trying to use their time for lunch and mass and getting back to the office on time.

———————————————————————————————————————-

Jonathan was born in a Catholic family but his parents were just Sunday Catholics, so he didn’t know the Catholic teachings well. However, a few weeks ago, a new teacher showed up in his religion class. His name was Fr. David., a  Jesuit Priest from Portugal. He was different than Mr. Peter, the previous religion teacher who only taught what was in the textbook, which was more about Catholic Social Teachings. In other words, boring!

Fr. David taught different things. He talked a lot about Catholic doctrines, dogmas and the real teachings. Suddenly, Jonathan saw his religion from different perspective. He found himself actually listening to the Fr. David during religion class.

Last week, Fr. David taught about Sacrament of Reconciliation and he lent them a book by Scott Hahn; “Lord, Have Mercy.” Jonathan finished reading the book two days ago and it touched him deeply. He knew then that he had to go to receive the sacrament of reconciliation. It was the reason why he had the courage to approach the priest after Mass to do confession.

Jonathan was very nervous when the celebrant priest gave the final blessing because he knew than soon he had to go to that priest for sacrament of reconciliation. A small piece of paper was crumpled in his right right hand. It was the ‘sin list’ that he jotted down after he did Examination of Conscience last night. He waited impatiently near the Blessed Virgin Mary grotto next to the rectory. Suddenly he saw a small figure in white, carrying a small wooden basket, walking slowly towards him. Jonathan quickly approached him and said quietly, “Father, I need to do confession.”

“Hey son, come,” he made his way back to the Cathedral gesturing Jonathan to follow him, while taking something out from his pocket, “When was your last confession?”

“I’m not very sure, Father. I did yearly confession when I was in high school, but it was also because the students were required to do it, I don’t think it was valid. So can you help me?,” Jonathan answered him hastily.

“Yes, yes. I’ll guide you then,” said the priest while unlocking the padlock to the confessional. He opened the door and let Jonathan enter first.

“Thanks” said Jonathan awkwardly.

“Well, I think it’s better if you just sit here,” he stated while pointing to the chair opposite him. After Jonathan sat down, he continued, “In the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Son, you may start whenever you’re ready. Take your time.”

Jonathan could only nodded his head, he was very anxious and his mouth felt dry.  He opened the small piece of paper in his hand which already crumpled, then he started, “Bless me, Father, for I have sinned…”

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“That was a good confession, son. You see, the path to holiness isn’t easy, even Jesus didn’t say that it would be easy. The most important thing is that we keep striving for holiness and do not despair easily. From the day of Adam and Eve, our lives is a battle between the good and evil, and if we believe in  God, we know that He will help and guide us,” said the confessor gently. Jonathan was sobbing quietly. It was such a good confession indeed.

“From the beginning, God already knew that human would disobey Him greatly but that didn’t stop Him from creating us and even give us the freewill to do what we want. However, we must use our freewill responsibly as our action will affect people around us greatly. For your penance, pray 3 times Our Father, Hail Mary and the Glory be. Now say the act of contrition in your heart, tell God that you are sorry for your sins and that you will not do it again,” The Confessor told him while extending and laying his hand on Jonathan’s head. He then continued with the absolution:

“God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself
and sent the Holy Spirit among us
for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins
in the name of the Father, and of the Son, +
and of the Holy Spirit.”

“Amen,” Jonathan replied promptly.

“Remember that God is always waiting for you in the confessional if you sin again. Now go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” the priest smiled at him.

“Thank you, Father,” Jonathan thanked the confessor joyfully and left the confessional. He felt a heavy burden was lifted off his shoulder. He felt so pure and clean, after all, he just did his first confession in a long time. He walked quietly to the Blessed Sacrament. There were fewer people now praying on their own, mostly old ladies praying the Rosary. He knelt in front of the Blessed Sacrament and prayed. He knew it was God behind all this, so it was Him he should give praise and honor.

~The End~

]]> http://savetherabbit.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/confession-part-1/feed/ 0 vinzpablo http://savetherabbit.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/the-love-letter/ http://savetherabbit.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/the-love-letter/#comments Thu, 10 Dec 2009 10:57:36 +0000 Vincent http://savetherabbit.wordpress.com/?p=31 ]]> Standard disclaimers apply. I also don’t own the song “Love Me” by Collin Raye

Grandpa took the paper from the inner pocket of his coat. It was yellowish and old looking. He slowly opened the fold  up and showed it to Mark, his only grandson who just celebrated his tenth birthday last month. The ink was fading badly, but Mark could still see the writing on it. It was dated April 25th, 1923.

If you get there before I do, don’t give up on me.
I’ll meet you when my chores are through, I don’t know how long I’ll be.
But I’m not gonna let you down, darling, wait and see.
And between now and then, till I see you again
I’ll be loving you,
love me.

Judith

It was a short letter and Mark didn’t understand everything but it touched Mark’s heart deeply. It was simple but he could feel how much love was put into those words.

“Grandpa, tell me all about it, I want to know,” asked Mark while pulling his grandpa towards the sofa in the living room. He followed Mark and sat on the sofa. He took a deep breath and thought for awhile.

“Your grandma was the most beautiful girl in the whole town. I was only 17 years old the first time I saw her in the church on Christmas day, but I knew she was the one for me. It was love at the first sight. However, I didn’t get the chance to talk to her until Easter the following year. We were asked to be part of the youth committee. She helped me  did the games for the children. We clicked immediately and I truly enjoyed every single minute with her. Many of us usually went out for supper after meeting. That was when I got more time to talk to her freely.” Grandpa stopped  his sentence, seemed lost in thought.

“Dinner’s ready!”  Mark heard my mum’s voice from the dining room.

“Well, that’s all for now, Mark. Go and have your dinner. Tell your mummy Grandpa will be there in a minute,” He said to his grandson while folding the letter carefully and slipped it back into his coat.

“Thank you, grandpa, promise me that you’ll continue the story next time. I love you grandpa,”  Mark rushed to the dining room.

(to be continued)

Constructive critics and comments are welcome.

“One more box and it’s all cleaned!” Darren tried to motivate himself to finish off cleaning the storage room. It’s been years since the last time he came here to tidy up the room. Usually, he just came to keep junks that he didn’t want to throw away yet.

The last one was a dusty black box. It was the size a sport shoe box, but there was no label or writing on it. Darren couldn’t remember ever seeing that box before. It appeared that the owner purposely hid the box at the corner of the room so that it would be invisible.
“Whose box is it? I didn’t notice it before, but it looks aged,” Darren told himself while tearing the scotch tape slowly. He opened it carefully and there were many insignificant things; books, photos, medicines, name card, rosary, a set of keys, and a CD.

Darren took the black wooden Rosary first. It looked so familiar but he couldn’t remember anything about it. He gathered the photos next and he realized that those were his family photos from his childhood, before mum left dad and moved here. Some of the photos were taken during school holiday to the beach. His family went to the beach often. As far as he could remember, the beach was a must go every year. Other photographs were taken during birthday celebration, dad’s birthdays to be precise.

The name card was from Haven hotel. It was the hotel that his mum used to bring him and his sister. As a kid, he never understood why they had to left home, without dad,  early in the morning and stayed in that hotel. Darren  always wanted to ask but he never did as mum looked very sad and scared every time they left home.  He disliked being in that hotel, The room stank badly. There was only 2 beds and a coffee machine. No fridge or snacks and the air-con was noisy like a locomotive.  However, in the end mum always brought them back to his father’s house.

The book was the next item Darren took from the box. He flipped the pages quickly and realized it was blank, mostly. Only the first page was written a date – 26 March 1999. He couldn’t remember anything happened on that day. Well, he was still 10 years old then and honestly, he barely remembered anything from his childhood. There were many things that he’d rather forget.

Darren picked up the keys but didn’t recall anything about it so he put it aside and took the last thing inside the box, the CD. It was a  CD-R in a clear, purple case. Attached to the case was a piece of paper with a few words written on it, “Be brave, the kids need you and I know you can do what’s right for yourself and for them.” That was it, no name or signature. He put everything back into the dusty black box and place it back.

Darren took the CD and played it on my laptop. There was only a song inside. It was the first time he ever heard it. He listened attentively to every single word.

And she takes another step
Slowly she opens the door
Check that he is sleeping
Pick up all the broken glass
And furniture on the floor

Been up half the night screaming
Now it’s time to get away
Pack up the kids in the car
Another bruise to try and hide
Another alibi to write

Another ditch in the road you keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through

And there are children to think of
Baby’s asleep in the back seat
Wonder how they’ll ever make it
Through this living nightmare
But the mind is an amazing thing
Full of candy dreams and new toys

And another cheap hotel
Two beds and a coffee machine
But there are groceries to buy
And she knows she’ll have to go home

Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through

Another bruise to try and hide
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Silent fortress built to last
Wonder how I ever made it

At once, he understood what happened in the past; why mum left dad, why they have to stay in Haven hotel frequently and yet had to go back to his dad’s house, and why they never get to see his dad ever again. Darren cried realizing how much his mum suffered silently so that he and his sister could have a place to sleep and food to eat. He felt guilty remembering the times when he was angry with his mum because he missed dad or other time when he accused his mum being selfish because she left dad.

Darren knew that he owed an apology to his mum so he took his mobile phone and scrolled down the contact list till he saw ‘Mum’ and pressed ‘Call’.

“Hey, what’s up, sweetheart?” he heard his mum’s voice answering his call. For the first Darren realized how lucky he was to have a mother like his.

]]> http://savetherabbit.wordpress.com/2009/12/07/a-dusty-black-box/feed/ 0 vinzpablo http://savetherabbit.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/favorite-christmas-songs/ http://savetherabbit.wordpress.com/2009/12/04/favorite-christmas-songs/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:20:19 +0000 Vincent http://savetherabbit.wordpress.com/?p=19 ]]> In random order:

Mariah Carey – All I Want For Christmas is You
Jim Brickman – The Gift
Kelly Clarkson – My Grown Up Christmas List
Coldplay – Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Clay Aiken - Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day
Christmas Aguilera – These Are The Special Times
Relient K – Angels We Have Heard on High
Oda Yuuji – Last Christmas
Trans-Siberian – Christmas Canon

Actually, there are many and difficult to choose but these are some that I really like.

The weather has not been kind lately, it’s been raining a lot and it usually happens suddenly. It could be shiny in the morning and an hour later it could rain cats and dogs. So I MUST be extremely careful with my laundry and also must not forget umbrella whenever I want to go out.

I really want to write about so-called autobiography, but I have something important tomorrow morning, so I think I have to get a good rest tonight. So good night all!

Hope you enjoy reading and do comments my posts!