‘I could stand in the rain and snow
And I could listen to him all day’
Wasn’t that a nice thing to hear!
Wasn’t that a nice thing to say!
A Dublin woman in London
Talking would you believe about me!
A Mayo lady told me
And walked home laughingly
But I saw a priest this evening
Indeed I know him well
Well enough to know
I’d buy whatever he’d sell
A thinker and a writer
A teacher of the heart
The words he utters worthy words
From a deep well they start
Tonight he spoke of conscience
The depth the heart of man
And how good it is to find someone
And talk as best we can
The priest became redundant
When the confessional box was closed
But the chance of gentle counselling
Is a godsend heaven knows
The Lord gives invitation
All burdened come to me
The yoke I offer easy
My burden light you’ll see
Brian Fahy
31 October 2021
+ I was a young priest in Clapham, south London, in 1971, and a parishioner, Mamie Coyle Mooney, from Geesala in Erris told me about my Dublin lady admirer.
+ This evening I caught the end of a sermon by Raphael Gallagher CSsR inviting people to use confession again. Not for the old trotting out of sins, but to express the human heart and find relief from stress and to gain peace of mind.
Erris Poetry 