Tip : Try Not To Sound Drunk At Confession - Slurring the Real Stuff

Catholic Hadley Arkes who a convrt from the Jewish Faith  has a nice positive piece talking about talks he gave to some of the inspiring young hopeful Priest of the Catholic Church . See The Jewish Past and the Young Priests .

I like this story  also because it has two Louisiana  Catholic connections also. That is Professor Brant Pitre and  convert  Federal Judge Martin Feldman.

However in the midst of this story something that made me laugh because it's all so true for even those of us that go to the Grace of this Sacrament often:


...They had all come through an exhausting weekend, dense with Masses. Why would they not put their feet up and have long naps? Why would they want to spend time following the weave of argument on matters of philosophy, law, and some vexing issues of the day? And yet these young men said that they found it so buoying for their morale to be in the presence of fellow priests, sharing their concerns – and their sense of mission.



They also found a certain pleasure in listening to talks that someone else had to do the work to prepare. They were also an audience to be treasured – they laughed readily because they listened closely. At times, I’ll unfold a long, winding sentence from Henry James, which cannot be understood until the last word falls into place. And that word has to be repeated: people don’t hear the word because it is a word they are not expecting.


For the first time in my experience this was an audience that actually heard that last word. What accounted for that? As Fr Arne suggested, these young priests were used to listening closely in confession as people tried to slur, at the end, the words that told the real story....