A party of young men met at an hotel in one of the towns of France. They were Catholic in name, but irreligious reading had caused them to become lax in the practice of virtue and indifferent and even scornful of religion. They were speaking of Confession once, among other things, in a tone of contempt, when one of them remarked that it would be quite a joke to go through a mock Confession. His companions agreed it would be quite humorous, and dared him to do it.

“Very well then!” he replied, “What would be easier? In fact, I’ll even wager on it. I bet you as many bottles as we have had here tonight that I will do it, and that at our next meeting I will tell to you everything that happened in the confessional.” And thus it was agreed.

The next day, Saturday, some of the party sought out their bold companion to remind him of his promise.

“The promise,” he said, “I will fulfill.”

Accordingly, he went in the evening to a church, and sat himself down in line for Confession, where he waited with much impatience until his turn came. He then entered, knelt down, and addressed the priest in these words: “Sir, I beg of you to understand that I have not come here for the purpose of really making my Confession, but in order to win a bet that I have made. I confess, then, that I have committed these sins, but I don’t trouble my head in the slightest about them; I have been guilty of this crime, but I don’t care in the least about the matter.” And so the proud young man went on to tell other sins with no remorse whatsoever - always adding, scornfully, that the evil he did gave him no concern.

When he had finished, the poor priest calmly said, “You have done your part and won your bet - you have confessed your sins; it is for me now to do my duty, to impose on you an appropriate penance. For three successive days, then, you will repeat three times, morning, noon, and night, these words: ‘I shall die, but I don’t care about it. There is a judgment to come, but I don’t care about it. There is a Hell for sinners, but I don’t care about it.’ ” With that, he dismissed the audacious and unrepentant sinner.

In the evening the young man returned to his companions, told them how he had gone to Confession, and demanded the immediate payment of his bet. But his companions insisted, however, that he should first perform the penance he received, as it was an important part of the Sacrament of Confession. The mocker, however, was hesitant to do the penance and insisted his part was done. When he found that his friends were persistent, he reluctantly agreed.

“If that is all, so be it.” He answered haughtily, trying not to appear concerned, “I give you my word of honor that I will go through with the whole business. The bet is fairly won.”

He began later then to follow the priest's instructions, and repeated the words given to him. At first he did it hastily and thoughtlessly, but by degrees he started to say them with unusual emotion. The three small sentences touched something deep within him and seemed to reawaken the long abandon beliefs of his childhood. Slowly the man grew restless and dejected. He began to not just say the words, but to listen to them. He reflected seriously upon death, eternity, and the state of his soul.

In a few days, grace had accomplished its work. The young man returned to the same priest and told him everything and the dangerous state of his soul. He begged assistance to make a sincere and true Confession and obtain the forgiveness of God. The good priest, happy and consoled at the change in the young man, kindly agreed to help him. The true penitent then made a good Confession, and during the remainder of his life was most devoted in the practice of his Catholic Faith.