Taking the kids to confession

Today was “last chance” day for getting confession before Holy Thursday and the Triduum. We had it pretty together this year in and I felt the kids were well prepared and ready to make good confessions.

Izzy still struggles with saying the act of contrition, so we have been reciting it every morning for weeks. Still she was afraid that she was going to freeze when her moment to say it came. Luckily the confessionals were doing a brisk business this morning and Father let her say the prayer by herself outside, after she received absolution.

The interesting part of going to confession for me as a mom has always been how to do that with a toddler. I remember trying to make it to confession when I was a brand new mom with a preschooler, toddler and a newborn. As I was trying to get get the toddler and baby comfortable and happy, Calvin opened the door to the confessional and started jumping up and down on the kneeler! I ended up putting all three kids in the confessional with me, keeping one arm on the little ones, and a death grip on Calvin’s neck so that he couldn’t squirm away or talk! That was one of my more memorable confessions.

But today, things went much more smoothly. Sam went to confession first and when he came out, he took Rosie. Then Gabe went to the same priest and joined Sam when he was done. This was working so well that I had Noah and Izzy go too and soon I had all of my kids in the vestibule playing with their feisty little sister!

When I went into the confessional I mentioned to the priest that I was the mother of those previous four children and he made an audible groan. After that he was sympathetic to me for just about everything I confessed! In fact my penance is to go out and do something nice for myself this week or next! My kids received similar penances except they have to do things nice for each other and for me. I can’t help but feel that I hit the jackpot with this particular confessor.

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