Degree Type
Thesis
Date of Award
2004
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
English
Abstract
Once, the priest of my morn's parish began Mass by asking each of us to greet the person next to us by sharing our name and admitting we were sinners. "Hi, I'm Molly," I said, shaking the pruned hand of the white-haired man behind me. "I'm a sinner." And then to my right, I turned and repeated the words. "I'm a sinner." The growing din of the church peaked with nervous laughter, the noticeable discomfort of a congregation owning up to its imperfections. Sweaty palms exchanged the accounting of sins. Every Sunday as a Catholic I am called to a public confession, but this priest's tactics were highly unusual. In the Liturgy of the Word, the first half of the Mass, the congregation rise from our pews and in unified voice professes: we confess to Almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own thoughts, my own words, and my own actions.
A work of non-fiction creative writing by Molly Jo Rose.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.31274/rtd-180813-5180
Publisher
Digital Repository @ Iowa State University, http://lib.dr.iastate.edu
Copyright Owner
Molly Jo Rose
Copyright Date
2004
Language
en
Date Available
2013-10-14
File Format
application/pdf
File Size
77 pages
Recommended Citation
Rose, Molly J., "Confessions of a Catholic" (2004). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. 202.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/rtd/202