Tonight we want to speak about the inner workings of confession, including why you can't confess by Skype.

I've been asked to describe the inner workings of this sacrament.

We want to see how the sacrament moves a person from a sinful life to a saintly life.

But before we do that, we should start with sin. Not doing sin,

but describing sin. Last week there was Earth Day. Let's say a man, in recognition of the

good of the earth, went outside to enjoy nature, to get some exercise during the lockdown.

And let's say this man stubbed his toe on a rock,

a piece of the earth. What if the man said to himself, how dare this rock insult me so,

and attack me so viciously? And what if the man then started pounding on the rock with his cane,

shouting, I'll teach you a lesson, I'll teach you a lesson,

Mr. Rock. You'd think that this man was off his rocker. It's the Rock's fault, he would say.

But no, rocks cannot attack. They have no personal agency. Now what if a dog ran up and bit the man?

The man could shout,

How dare you, Mr. Fido?

How dare you try to rescue that perverse Mr. Rock

from the beating he deserves?

I shall take you to court.

But no serious court would entertain a lawsuit, a lawsuit of John Q. Public

against Mr. Fido. Dogs, yes, are better than Rocks. Dogs have some agency, but not rational, intellectual

agency. They're not persons. And as for sin, neither Mr. Rock nor Mr. Fidel can sin.

Only persons sin. And persons can sin only against other persons. Sometimes we talk figuratively about

sins against the earth or sins against animals.

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