A Priest-Drunkard and Repentance

I remember one case which shook me. Our small church in Paris was attended by a priest who never served because he used to drink heavily.

He came to the church with a deep repentance and a broken heart, and I put him in the corner and stood in front of him so that if he fell, he would fall on me and no one would notice it.

And then, at some point during the German occupation, our parish priest was arrested and replaced by the priest, who usually could not minister because he was not sober. Then he came to his senses and began to serve. He served with tears, with a deep belief that shook our souls. I once came to him for confession to open my soul, and he was standing next to me crying – not with drunken tears but with tears of compassion and understanding.

When I finished my confession, he told me, "You know what kind of man I am, I am not worthy to either hear your confession or give you advice. But you are young, you have a whole life ahead, wake up, don’t follow my example. And for this I will tell you what Christ would say to you in the Gospel ... ". And he quoted Christ the Savior.

It was one of the most stunning confessions that I have ever experienced. The man reached the bottom in his repentance, and from these depths he could make me feel repentant, could give advice – the advice taken from his own tragic life, but consecrated by the words and teachings of Christ. This is the second example of how you can confess.

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