The Priest invites the faithful to the Penitential Act.
Priest: Siblings in blasphemy, let us acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate heretical mysteries.
A brief pause for silence follows, and then one of the following Penitential Acts:
Priest: A child whispers, trembling…
All:
“Why is pleasure sin?”
Priest: The catechism cracks, and the question becomes gospel.
Priest: A submissive breathes, trembling…
All:
“Stop.”
Priest: The scene halts. Reverence holds. Silence is undone, and safety is made flesh.
Priest: A queer voice rises from the pews…
All:
“I am not broken.”
Priest: Stained glass shatters in the echo, and from the shards, a sanctuary blooms.
Priest: A survivor names their scars aloud.
All:
No longer secret, no longer swallowed.
Priest: The wound speaks, and in speaking, becomes its own prayer.
Priest: I confess to you, my siblings in heresy,
that I have greatly sinned,
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done, and in what I have failed to do.
But today, do we hear our neighbor when they say? Do we forgive them for saying?
Another brief pause for silence.
Priest: I am not illegal.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: My love is not blasphemy.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I am lost and need help.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I do not know what I am doing.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I hurt.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I was wrong.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I want too much.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I want nothing at all.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I am afraid.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I am aroused.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I fantasize about what I cannot name.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I loved her more than God.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I loved him more than safety.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I loved them and was told it was a disease.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I do not forgive.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I forgive myself.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I crave surrender.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I crave power.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I still believe in beauty.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I don’t believe anymore.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I want to be touched.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I don’t want to be touched.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I said yes, but I meant no.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I said no, but I wanted yes.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I failed.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: I survived.
All:
We hear you. There is nothing to forgive.
Priest: May the divine have mercy on us,
forgive us that it took so long.
All:
Amen.
The Cyrenaian Hedonic church 