HelloWorld Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Yeah. I am home for xmas break, and my mom made me and my siblings all go. I figured it would be easier to just go, so I did. It was really weird. I hadn't been to this particular church in a VERY long time. When I walked in...the SMELL of the place almost made me revert on the spot. If I had let myself, I would have burst into tears right then and there, begging God for forgiveness. I made extra care not to let those emotions surface. I went into the confessional and did exactly what I advised CrazyCatLady to do a couple of weeks back (I know she decided against taking the advice for very good reasons). I told the priest no lies. I said: "Bless me father, for I have sinned. The last time I was to confession was sometime at Easter. My sins are lying to get myself out of awkward situations, starting fights with my family, not praying enough, not paying enough attention to the magnitude of what goes on during the mass, and reading/looking at/listening to impure things in order to be sexually aroused and then letting myself give in to those sexual thoughts." The end. I had been debating about whether or not to add the sexual part at the end, but decided that for a girl my age, not adding something like that might be suspicious. So I said it. Funny thing is, I got the smallest penance out of anyone in my family. I got 3 Hail Marys. My siblings each got 5 Hail Marys. My mother got 6. How ironic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R. S. Martin Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Congratulations! Actually, I'm not Catholic in any way, so I don't know if that is the appropriate thing to say. I'm glad you found a way to deal with the situation and that you feel good about how it went, or that it went as well as expected or better. Hopefully the rest of your time with your family will be enjoyable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelloWorld Posted December 21, 2008 Author Share Posted December 21, 2008 Congratulations! Actually, I'm not Catholic in any way, so I don't know if that is the appropriate thing to say. I'm glad you found a way to deal with the situation and that you feel good about how it went, or that it went as well as expected or better. Hopefully the rest of your time with your family will be enjoyable. Ha. It has been anything but enjoyable lol, but thanks for the well wishes. I decided to just go because (1) Not going would have in a way "outted" me, or at least made them suspicious that something was up (2) We have been arguing all week (3) It would not be that hard to just go in there and say truthful, but meaningless stuff. The scariest part was actually how much the smell of the church affected me. It was insane. But it also further convinced me of the fact that a lot of my beliefs and reactions *and sudden feelings that I am about to revert) are the result of classical conditioning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitchu Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 The olfactory sense is very powerful, a very reptilian part of us. Good for you for recognizing the nature of the lure. (I love that you won the hail Mary contest!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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