Posted 6/14/2024 12:09 PM (GMT 0)
“Bless me Father, for I have sinned. it’s been two weeks since my last confession,” the contrite-sounding penitent says to the priest.
“Go on, my son,” replies the priest.
“Last week, I stole some lumber.”
“Well, my son, you must say three Hail Mary’s and an Our Father, and resolve to sin no more.”
“Thanks Father, I’ll do that.”
A week passes. The man returns to the confessional. “Hello, Father. I'm afraid I stole some more lumber.”
“I thought we went over this, my son! To impress upon you the seriousness of this matter, you must now say five Hail Marys, and three Our Fathers. And I don’t want to hear about you stealing lumber again!”
“Thanks Father,” the man says sheepishly. “I’ll try my best.”
The fellow returns the following week with the same confession. "Father, I'm afraid I did it again. I stole some lumber."
The priest, obviously becoming rather irritated, says "My son, this is becoming ridiculous! You must say five rosaries. And if you return to say you've stolen more lumber, I’m going to have to insist you do a novena.” [A novena is a devotional prayer, done over the course of nine days].
Silence …
“You do know how to get a novena done, don’t you?” asks the priest.
“Well … er … no, Father. But if you get me the plans, I know where we can get some lumber."