The Final Sinner

Father Patrick O’Halloran was a much respected priest.

His village church was very old, and as such difficult to maintain; but this had no effect on the regularly high numbers in his congregation. The consensus among the village parishioners was that they were lucky to have him. He always found time to stop and talk, listen patiently to their problems and give holy guidance whenever it was needed.

It had been a day of stormy weather and as the evening came on it was still raining. Despite this, there had been a good turnout. This evening Father O’Halloran would be hearing confessions; a regular service he performed with such reverence that he always had at least a dozen in the queue, sitting in front of the rather ancient looking confessional. This evening was no different, at least, not in numbers. Fifteen sinners had occupied the front pew waiting their turn. They all knew each other of course, being a small village, so they were all very much aware that on this occasion they had a guest.

The stranger, who they noticed had actually come in shaking off his wet clothes halfway through the service, had taken a seat further along the bench away from the others, taking the last place in the line. Naturally, a few whispered comments ensued, mainly giving him the credit of allowing the locals to go first; giving them priority as it were. This resulted in an occasional smile being sent his way that seemed to cause him more than a little discomfort.

The stranger sat in an agitated manner until it was his turn. When the last person came out, he sat waiting for the last of the stragglers to leave the church. He then rose, and after taking a final look looking around, cautiously entered the confessional booth and sat down.

He coughed nervously, then announced “Bless me father, for I have sinned. My last confession was several years ago”.

The priest, who was almost invisible through the little mesh window, but clearly heard, said “What is it that you have done my son.”

“I have killed a man, Father”.

There was a long silence, followed by an audible sigh from the priest.

“Tell me more about your sin; how was it done, and…” then after a short pause the priest said “why was it done?”

The stranger leant a little closer to the dividing window and spoke in a softer voice. “It was done with a gun, Father”.

The priest sighed again.

“Yes, it was done with a gun and all of the instructions I received were followed to the letter. Of course, I did not know the man myself, I was following the instructions. I was paid… and I followed all of the instructions”.

The priest could now be heard whispering a prayer. He said “Thank you my son. Before I can grant you absolution, you must vow never to repeat this terrible sin. Do you promise this my son?”

“I do Father. I will never commit such a dreadful sin again. As God is my witness, never again”.

“Very good”. The priest sounded satisfied with this response.

“For your penance, say fifty Hail Marys every day for the remainder of this year. Will you do this?”

“Yes Father I will”.

“God bless you my son”.

With this, the priest uttered his prayer of absolution.

After a further awkward silence the man said. “Is that it Patrick? Is everything OK now?”

“That’s fine Mikey, just fine. That sews it up neatly. I do have to ask you one more thing before you leave… Did he suffer?”

“No, not at all Patrick. It really was all done exactly as you instructed”.

“Thank you Mikey, you be on your way now. You mind the roads, they can be treacherous in this filthy weather, and you’ve a long drive in front of you”.