“Promise you won’t tell anyone.”
Most of us have either made that request or had it made of us. A key unlocks the heart and the lips, and what was confined within is entrusted to the care and keeping of another.
Sometimes, the things we keep close to our chest are good news—an upcoming promotion our employer wants kept confidential or a pregnancy unannounced to a mother-in-law until just the right moment. More often, however, our secrets are wrapped in a darker fabric, wrongs and evils committed as long ago as adolescence or as recently as yesterday.
The Catholic confessional and the multitude of therapists scattered around the country bear witness to the need to unburden ourselves of guilt and regret. Both priest and counselor listen while we speak without fear of our words going beyond the walls around us….