To Discipline or Not To Discipline

In the 1950s I was a lay teacher teaching the 6th grade in a Catholic school. In these days before Vatican II once a month we took the students to the church for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. On such a day the sixth graders and I were all lined up and ready for Confession. Mackey, one of my 6th graders, began causing all kinds of trouble, running around the church, punching on some of the guys, talking out loud. He was certainly not an angel, but he had never caused so much turmoil before. I cornered him and took him outside and asked him what his trouble was. His reply was, “I didn’t have any sins and I had to commit a few.” (As his teacher I think I could have helped him with his list).

This experience brings home to me what Benedict is talking about when he tells the abbot that discipline must vary with the circumstances. Did Mackey need some kind of discipline or did he need some explanation about what sin really is and what the Sacrament of Reconciliation is all about?

Sr. Veronica, OSB