Walking on Air
When I was a child, I attended Immaculate Conception grammar
school in Rochester, New York, where we were encouraged to go to con-
fession weekly. Father Wood was the dynamic pastor at the time, and he
and the other parish priests, Father Dunn, Father Roach, and Monsignor
Cameron, were loved by all the children.
We lived about a mile or so from the school, and had to walk there and back four times a day. One Saturday, my mother told me to walk to church for confession. I did as she said, but when I got there I was so scared that I turned around and walked back home. Mother told me to go back to confession, which I did. When I arrived back at the church and talked to the priest, he was so understanding, patient, and kind that I felt as if I were walking on air when I left.
I realized then that I didn’t need to be afraid of confession after all.
I also fondly remember the nuns walking us over to church from the school and staying with us as each child went to confession. As I think back on it now, it was a wonderful experience to see long lines of children, each waiting to see one of the priests, and then to see the smiles on their faces as they returned to their seats.
We lived about a mile or so from the school, and had to walk there and back four times a day. One Saturday, my mother told me to walk to church for confession. I did as she said, but when I got there I was so scared that I turned around and walked back home. Mother told me to go back to confession, which I did. When I arrived back at the church and talked to the priest, he was so understanding, patient, and kind that I felt as if I were walking on air when I left.
I realized then that I didn’t need to be afraid of confession after all.
I also fondly remember the nuns walking us over to church from the school and staying with us as each child went to confession. As I think back on it now, it was a wonderful experience to see long lines of children, each waiting to see one of the priests, and then to see the smiles on their faces as they returned to their seats.
101 Inspirational Stories of the Sacrament of Reconciliation