My most grievous fault

- How long is it since your last confession, my child?
- A long time, father.
- A month, my child?
- Longer, father.
- Three months, my child?
- Longer, father.
- Six months?
- Eight months, father.
He had begun. The priest asked:
- And what do you remember since that time?
He began to confess his sins: masses missed, prayers not said, lies.
- Anything eles, my child?
Signs of anger, envy of others, gluttony, vanity, disobedience.
- Anything else, my child?
There was no help. He murmured:
- I... committed sins of impurity, father.
The priest did not turn his head.
- Whit yourself, my child?
- And... whith others.
- With women, my child?
- Yes, father.

- James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man

[Paulo Ferreira]