| Don't be late. A parish priest was being honored at a dinner on the twenty-fifth anniversary of his arrival in the parish. A leading local politician, who was a member of the congregation, was chosen to make the presentation and give a little speech at the dinner, but was delayed in traffic, so the priest decided to say his own few words while they waited.
"You will understand," said the priest, "that the seal of the confessional can never be broken. However, I got my first impresssions of the parish from the first confession I heard here. I can only hint vaguely about this, but when I came here twenty-five years ago I thought I had been assigned to a terrible place. The very first chap who entered my confessional told me how he had stolen a television set, and when stopped by the police, had almost murdered the officer."
"Further," continued the priest, "he told me he had embezzled money from his place of business and had an affair with his boss's wife. I was appalled. But as the days went on I knew that my people were not all like that and I had, indeed come to a fine parish full of understanding and loving people."
Just as the priest finished his talk, the politician arrived full of apologies at being late. He immediately began to make the presentation and give his talk.
"I'll never forget the first day our parish priest arrived in this parish," said the politician. "In fact, I had the honor of being the first one to go to him in confession."
(Thanx to MICROMIDGET of HHT.)
__________________ When the world was better.
Last edited by cloasters : 18th May, 2003 at 01:06 PM.
|