I was in the confessional earlier this month.

Blessed Sacrament Parish in Seattle does a great job of “setting the mood” for reconciliation on Friday evenings – low lighting, the presence of the Blessed Sacrament, brief song.

Among other items on my list that evening, I told the priest “I hate crows.”  I went on tell him about my road rage about crows who hop around in the streets of Seattle.

In addition to not liking crows, I don’t like going to reconciliation (i.e., “confession”). I know a person who says they like going to reconciliation because they feel forgiven when they’re done. I know that reconciliation is about being sorry for what we’ve done and being forgiven. I don’t feel forgiven when I’m done in the confessional. Despite that, I go because I’m trying to really live my faith.

While I don’t feel forgiven when I go to reconciliation, I do often feel closer to God afterward. In my case, the act of my living out my faith by doing something I don’t want to do is a good thing….. Somehow, I think God likes that I’m doing what’s asked of me despite my grumblings about attending reconciliation (i.e., confession). Also, having to tell another human how I’ve sinned is good for humility (there are ways in which I’m stubbornly vain).

I considered a key point while in the confessional. After saying, “I hate crows” and told the priest about my ongoing road rage about crows, the priest made a comment geared toward trying to get me to ease up about crows. An act of contrition happened at the end of reconciliation and my sins were forgiven. However, I hadn’t fully gotten done with my animosity toward crows-in-the-streets-of-Seattle. ”Why,” I was thinking, “can’t crows just wise up and stay out of the road! Sociologists who study crows talk about how smart crows are!

Perhaps, however, some good is now being achieved by my acknowledgement of hating crows-in-the-street – and then blogging about it. I am blogging about this to illustrate the need for us to focus on repentance during Lent (we’re all called to be penitent during Lent).  I started to explain the following: “This ‘hating crows’ matter is a case of ‘road rage.’ Crows hang out in the road, getting in the way of traffic. Do they think they own the road? What business do they have interrupting my day and the days of other drivers by hopping around in the road?” This got me to thinking. Hmmm…. “Perhaps this is about me being self-absorbed. How am I suppose to expect crows to take into the consideration drivers’ self-perceived needs to drive around uninterrupted by crows hopping around in the street? Crows are a part of nature. They have as much right to live in Seattle as I do. I can’t reasonably expect crows to figure out human perceptions (i.e., about drivers not wanting our driving to be interrupted by hopping crows). I should be able to co-exist with crows.”

Yes, Lent is a time for us to be repentant. One small positive outcome of Lenten reconciliations this year (okay, I actually went to reconciliation just before Lent started….) is that Seattle’s crows and I may end up on better terms (including these crows that I photographed at Seattle’s Green Lake – they had no idea that I’ve been experiencing road r). We’ve all got something for which to repent.

Kim Burkhardt blogs at A Parish Catechist and The Books of the Ages (and a member of the Association of Catholic Publishers). If you are a new visitor, it would be great to have you follow this blog (thank you!). If you know someone who would like this blog, please share it with them (thank you!). You can also support this blog by clicking here when you are going to shop on Amazon (that lands A Parish Catechist a commission on Amazon sales).