Stolen sin.
Growing up in a conventional Catholic family, we were taught the importance of going to “confessions” to narrate every turn, twist and contour of our sin to a chief confessor who is usually a Priest.
The problem with me is that I don't have a particular sin. Today I'll smoke paper with friends while watching Bruce Lee smoke cigarettes and tomorrow I'll fight in school or write on the school wall "I Love Fatima's breast". Another day, I'll do something totally different like buying bread from the bakery and not remitting the money.
It was so difficult to keep record of my sins to God that I bought a diary for this. At about the age of 11, I named this diary "Ledger of Transgressions". It was an improvised way of keeping account of my sins to God.
Every Friday night I'll go over it and then number my sins for that week and after morning mass on Saturday I'll join the queue to tell God through the Priest my offences.
One thing about keeping account of my sins is that I always record it in real time, so I get a perfect account of them. I usually take this Ledger to school, to catechism class (catechism class is a place were we are indoctrinated). I also take it to see friends when we meet to play video games, because I didn’t know who I'll insult while playing.
The day I stopped recording my sins, was when I misplaced it in my second year in junior secondary. My lord! somebody actually stole my sins and took them all away. I didn't know why, but it was stolen.
That week, during confession, I told my confessor all I've done, what I was likely to have done and then, I told him someone took the remaining from my bag. I guess he didn't understand what I was saying because he was surprised how someone will and can steal my sins during break.
Finally, he gave me my punishment in atonement for my transgressions. We call that penance. I left and felt anew after.
Praise the Lord!
Addendum: until this day, I don't know what informs the weight of your penance.
Some days I'll go to confession and the priest will ask me to say 10 Hail Mary and 10 glory be to the father (a prayer we say in the Catholic religion). Another day he will ask me to come to church every morning for one week.
I noticed my elder brother usually gets heavier penance. I don't know if it's done by age or he just does graver offences.
The most difficult penance I've received was when I was told to attend morning mass for one month during Harmattan. That was the height of it all. If it was in my power then, I would have changed to becoming an Anglican or even join Sabbath.
What! Brothers and sisters, my fellow Netizens, you wouldn't want to wake up in a “Nigerian January” just to go to morning mass.
The cold usually rough handles your palms so much so that if you are asked to clap for Jesus during church service you'll rather prefer to look like the first cousin to Lucifer than put yourself in such a condition.
Finally, It was beautiful being a Catholic and if for nothing at all, if I get another opportunity to chose, I'll like to be one, again and again and again.
Glory to Jesus!
