Fr. Spidey
Disclaimer: I don't own Spider-Man, and it really stinks, too! Oh well, I do own Fr. Matt, Officer Mark Parker, and Massimo Laretto.
"Ora, ora, ora pro nobis!" Fr. Matt hummed softly as he walked into the sacristy to take off his vestments.
It had been an excellent day at St. Patrick's Cathedral thus far. Fr. Matt had said the morning Mass and led the benediction afterwards, and he had not made a mistake the entire way through! The twenty-six year old had been an ordained priest for a month now, and it certainly had been a hectic experience. However, he was finally beginning to feel like he had made the transition from being Matt Parker, to being Fr. Matt Parker.
"A priest forever, they say in the Scriptures," Matt murmured thoughtfully as he looked at himself in his vestments. He felt rather impressive in his clerical garb, yet strangely humbled at the same time. "A most unique thing, the priesthood," Matt thought.
"Hey there, kid!" a voice cried behind him, breaking his chain of thoughts.
Fr. Matt whirled around and grinned at his brother, Mark. "Hi, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you've come for a confession!"
Mark laughed and shook his head. "I don't mind going to confession, but I'm not going to have my little brother as my confessor! Actually, I've got another case for you."
Fr. Matt could guess what the "case" was about. As a fairly young priest, Matt had really connected with the youth of the parish, especially the boys. As a result, Mark Parker, who was an officer for NYPD, often sent troubled boys over to talk to Fr. Matt.
"So, what do I need to know about this kid?" Matt asked.
Mark pulled out a file from a binder, and explained, "He's an eleven-year old boy named Massimo Laretto, and he's been getting into a little trouble. You know, shoplifting, fights at school, hangs out with a tough crowd."
"So why exactly did you want my help?" Fr. Matt queried.
"Well, I suspect Mario has trouble at home, and I think he's more likely to talk to a priest about it than the juvenile delinquent officer," Mark said.
Matt nodded knowingly. "Yeah, that's probably true."
"Parker, we need you at the 7-11 on Laurel and 21st! Right now!" Mark's police radio squawked loudly.
"Well, see you later, Mark!" Matt said as Mark turned to leave.
"Yeah," Mark called, "I'll send Massimo over to see you sometime tomorrow!"
/\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
Massimo showed up in Fr. Matt's office shortly after school the next day. Matt examined him as the boy walked in and plunked himself down in a chair. The sixth-grader was of slight build, and his straight, dark hair was cut short and highlighted. He wore a baggy T-shirt and equally voluminous jeans. The stubborn scowl scrawled across his boyish face indicated that this might be a difficult interview.
"Hi, I'm Fr. Matt Parker, you must be Massimo Laretto." Matt started pleasantly.
"Hi," Massimo mumbled sullenly.
Cracking a smile, Fr. Matt asked, "So, how was school today?"
"Okay," the boy shot back in a monotone.
Matt sighed, then said briskly, "Well, why don't we start with a confession?"
Massimo squirmed uncomfortably. "Oh, that's alright, you don't have to."
Grinning amiably, Fr. Matt commented, "A person can always use another confession."
Massimo glowered nervously as Fr. Matt pulled his purple confession stole from a drawer and put it on. Making the sign of the cross, he motioned for the boy to start.
Massimo mumbled quickly, "Bless me Father, for I have sinned, um, um…."
"Do you know when your last confession was?" Matt interjected.
"Yes!" the boy spat, "Well, actually no, I can't remember."
"That's all right. Just tell me your sins," Fr. Matt said kindly.
Gulping, Massimo began, "Well, I wasn't very nice to my teacher today…."
Fifteen minutes later, Fr. Matt had managed to extract a full confession from Massimo Laretto. Judging by the wide repertoire of sins he had committed, Massimo had been leading a most unpleasant life lately. The question however, Matt mused, was why the boy was that trouble-prone in the first place.
"Massimo, it's often easier not to sin, if you know what's causing you to want to sin. Can you think of anything that makes you angry, or sad, for instance?"
Massimo sulked, "I dunno."
Fr. Matt asked, "Are you sure?"
"Well, maybe it's because I'm mad at my dad, I dunno," Massimo ventured nervously, his scowl lifting ever so slightly.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Matt thought, quirking an eyebrow.
"So why are you mad at your dad?" he asked Massimo.
Massimo shrugged. "I don't know, he's just never home, and when he is, he just yells at me."
Fr. Matt listened sympathetically, then he said slowly, "I can see how it would be hard to behave with that going on at home."
"Yeah, it is!" Massimo stated emphatically.
"But you've got to try, alright, dude? Say a little prayer for dad next time you're mad at him. It sounds like he needs it. Okay, now say your Act of Contrition." Matt replied reassuringly.
Massimo bowed his head and repeated the prayer. Fr. Matt absolved the boy's sins and gave a penance, then he said, "It was nice meeting you, Massimo. Let's do this again same time next week, okay?"
Massimo nodded and got up to leave. As he was walking out the door, he turned and said, "You're alright, Fr. Matt. Thanks for the confession."
"Anytime," Matt answered, smiling.
Well, that's the first chapter! Come back soon and read the second chapter! I'm working on it right now. Thanks for reading my story and don't forget to review!