@freewritehouse March Madness Chapter 11 ”Hunger”

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I'm am taking part in March Madness by the @freewritehouse! This is the first attempt from me and I hope I can see it through! I will try. If you would like to play along please check out more here.

Thanks for reading these free writes and I hope to one day edit them all! I am open to constructive criticism.

Word count: 1,616

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Chapter 11
Hunger

Part of going to St. Marys Parish Catholic School was attending a religious Mass once a week that was led by the parish Preist Father Don. The Mass for the school children was always held on Wednesday and was largely attended by the community. It was exciting having all the students in the church it always energized the service. All the children sang along loudly to the hymns and Father Don always gave his best sermons on Wednesdays with the full house.

Usually, by Sunday Service, he was exhausted from the week-long mass and hurried everyone out of church so he would not miss the Green Bay Packers football game.

The Church was a medium sized Catholic Church built with a Romanesque style in the 1880s. There was enough room to seat 150 people and even though it was a small community it was not uncommon for a service without available seating. During the Wednesday ”school” service the whole left side of the church was filled by the students, a row reserved for each grade.

The high vaulted ceilings create the perfect chamber for singing and giving sermons. Stain glass windows line the perimeter walls of the church depicting saints and apostles, and an entire widow dedicated to Jesus. Front and center of the church is a large golden Tabernacle for holding the communion wafers and wine. The altar is a large marble slab draped in fine linen table cloths. Hanging above the golden tabernacle is a large ceramic statue of the crucified Jesus looking down in agony with blood dripping in his eyes at the attending parishioners.

Flanking the sides of the altar are hand painted statues of the Virgin Mary on one side and of St. Frances on the other. The solid oak wooded pews for sitting and kneeling, creaked and moaned anytime anyone made the slightest adjustment in their seat and became a part of the church service atmosphere.

For the community of Pine Grove, the church acts as the center of the town. People are baptized there, attended school there, are married there, and ultimately are buried there as Grant knew all too well. For Grant, he loved the Wednesday school services it was a time for him to escape the demands of his teachers and daydream about the forest, girls, his model tanks, or just invent stories to entertain himself.

When students wished they were also allowed to attend mass on Fridays. This was a special mass that held the sacrament of reconciliation, here you could meet privately with the priest in a booth and confess your sins. Each student was expected to go once a month, but it was not recorded or monitored. They were allowed to decide for themselves when they thought they needed to go. Often times Sister Sue would offer a reminder when a child misbehaved or acted out.

Since Grant had promised his grandmother he would attend reconciliation, he had signed up to go this week and was not looking forward to speaking to the priest. Grant had run into Father Don several times, in school, since the candy store incident but he never mentioned anything to Grant. Grant knew that Father Don was waiting for his confession to the hear what the boy had to say.

The reconciliation Mass was similar to most church services only it was a little shorter and afterward Father Don would invite anyone to stay after and confess their sins. The mass seemed anything but short to Grant and he was trying to figure out exactly what he was going to say. He knew what he did was wrong and felt awful for it, but he just wanted to forget about it.

Once the service had concluded people waiting for confession typically would kneel and pray to wait for their turn in line with Father Don. There were a number of people in front of Grant and as he knelt in the pew he could feel his palms beginning to sweat as he was pretending to pray. It was seldom that Grant actually prayed when it was time to kneel in Mass, he usually only thought quietly to himself.

As Grant entered the confessional booth he took a small breath. Even though there was a privacy screen setting the two chambers, Father Don already knew it was him and welcomed him into the booth.

It was dark and smelt like church incense and damp wood.

”Please, sit my son” Father Don welcomed him.

Grant took his seat and sat in silence for a moment.

”There are many others waiting for absolution today, my child. Please make your Peace.” the priest was hurrying the boy.

”Okay, Father.” Grant started.

”Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been a few months since my last confession.” Grant muttered in the dark and silent space that was similar to the size of a broom closet.

”Please, continue my son.” Father Don spoke in a loud stern voice.

”I have three sins to confess to you today, father, and I hope the lord can forgive me.” Grants voice was wavering with the pressure of the situation.

”When we open ourselves up to the lord and beg for mercy, he will Grant us forgiveness that is his way,” Father said with an emphasis on the grant.

”I told a lie.” Grant professed his first sin.

”Oh, ” said the priest ”To whom did you lie and what was the reason?”

”I told my Grandma that I wouldn't get in trouble, but I did. I didn't mean to but I really messed up and now she knows that I lied to her.” Grant confessed.

”My child, it's best for one not to make a promise he or she might easily break. Perhaps you should have chosen your words more wisely. Perhaps you should have tried harder to stay out of trouble.” Father Don counseled the boy.

”Yes, Father.” Grant sighed.

”I got into trouble. I stole candy from the church store. I.... I stole from the church.” Grants words were painful to speak. He felt ashamed and here he was in front of his priest vulnerable and scared.

”This surely is a serious offense. You don't have to answer, but I want you to ask yourself a few questions. If you hadn't been caught, what would you have done? Would you have stolen from the store again? Would you lie to yourself and to God that what you are doing is okay? You must remember that a sin is a sin, it doesn't matter who has seen it. If you commit a sin, you are acting out against God. This is not a righteous path. It will not lead you to heaven. Do you understand?” Father Don asked sounding serious and scary for the twelve year old.

”I think so, Father. I wasn't thinking. I'm sorry.” Grant was feeling sorry for himself.

”Grant, I know what you have been through is a lot for a boy your age. It is something that most everyone must go through, the loss of a parent. At times the flesh may hunger for attention, the body and mind try to act out in order for others to know their pain, you may want someone to feel what you feel. These are the times when the Lord can help you the most. Trust in him to protect your soul and your mind will follow.” Father Don said breaking protocol by speaking to Grant directly.

Grant didn't really understand, but for the sake of escaping the torture chamber of the congressional he replied; ”I understand Father.”

”This is a time for you to learn and grow. Pray for your mother and pray for yourself. I have heard two of your sins. Would you like to speak your final transgression?” Father Don asked.

Grant was hesitant. He wanted to proceed and hoped to find some comfort from the priest, but if he confessed his third sin he was not sure what would happen to him.

”I don't know Father, I'm scared you will be mad,” Grant said.

”Please, I act as a messenger between my people and the lord, it is not my place to cast judgment. He will judge us. With my help, you can obtain forgiveness and unburden your soul.”

Grant was feeling a little more confident.

”Okay, Father. I have doubts...”

”Are you questioning your faith, Grant?” Father Don was concerned. He knew the boy was having a rough time but to this extreme was rare for a child so young.

”I don't know... I guess I just don't think I believe in Heaven and Hell. I can't make sense of it.”

Father Don busted out a laugh and quickly silenced himself, trying to maintain professionalism.

”Grant. Heaven and hell are not for us to understand. How could we? It is just up to us to believe, okay? I would like to meet with you and your grandparents, make sure and have them give me a call me soon. Now, return to your pew and meditate on our conversation and ask for God’s forgiveness and say three ”Hail Mary’s” and three ”Our Fathers. We are going to work through this together, okay?”

”Yes, father.” Grant obeyed.

”In the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit. Now go in peace.”

Surprisingly, Grant was feeling good. In a way, it felt like he escaped punishment for his actual crime. The priest was more concerned about his lost sheep than what Grant had actually done. It felt good. It was like Grant had manipulated him and it worked. How could it be so easy? He thought.

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