My priest confessed to me last Sunday
that he’d never seen the film everyone
talks about. Every time someone came
in to confess, they’d mention this film
whether they liked it or hated it and even
though he was basically required not to
give his opinion, he still felt like he should
have one, you know, in his mind. He felt like
he needed to watch it but each time he left
work he forgot about the film entirely until
he was confronted by it again. He tried taking
a notepad into confession to write the film
down but inevitably the film would not be
mentioned, or if it was, he would forget to
take a note. He tried going to the cinema
when he wasn’t working but none of the films
jogged his memory and he was too shy to ask
one of the ushers about the film. He didn’t know
anything about the film, even, apart from feeling
left out, apart from wanting to see it. And sometimes
when he got home, he’d will himself to remember.
On his worst days he’d pray. He told me he didn’t
want to waste a prayer, or that because of his position
God would feel obliged to answer.