Around and About
a Catholic Church		 A Tour of
Corpus Christi Church
Clifton Nottingham

The North Transept



To the left of the Sanctuary is the North Transept.


On the left as we turn into The North Transept are the Confessionals. There is a small room behind each door. The priest sits in one room, the person seeking reconciliation in the other.

The sacrament of penance is a personal encounter with Jesus Christ represented by the priest (a legitimately ordained minister) in the confessional or reconciliation room. The rite is called reconciliation because the penitent is reconciled not only with God but with the Church community. The forgiveness is obtained through the absolution imparted by the priest. The priest acts as both judge and healer in the sacrament of penance; he is to act with prudence and fidelity to the magisterium of the Church. The priest's obligations under the sacramental seal are stated in Canon Law: "...it is a crime for a confessor in any way to betray a penitent by word or in any manner or for any reason."

This is a view into the confessional where the penitent admits to God that he or she has sinned, makes an act of sorrow, accepts a penance (prayers, acts of self-denial, or works of service to others) and resolves to do better in the future.

When Pope John Paul II visited the UK and Ireland in 1982 he visited Dublin and Liverpool among other places. In Dublin he said, "When I heard that you were preparing for my visit by going to Confession you could not have given me a greater gift". In Liverpool he included this in his address; "There is no sin which cannot be forgiven if we approach the throne of mercy with humble and contrite hearts. No evil is more powerful than the infinite mercy of God."
On the back wall are a series of pictures depicting Jesus journey to Calvary where he was crucified. The journey is known as the Way of the Cross. The pictures depict events on that journey and, because they are there to encourage us to stop and think, are known as Stations. There are fourteen Stations altogether. Four are in the North Transept, six are in the knave and four are in the South Transept. They are reproduced with some ideas to ponder as you move from one to another. The reflections are based upon some brought to us by Miss Una Doyle, a Diocesan Youth Officer.

1. Jesus is condemned to death		 The start of a daunting journey with the crowd screaming and demanding only one outcome from Jesus’ meeting with Pilate: that Jesus should die. Why did this happen? How was Jesus feeling in the midst of such anger?

Have things changed much? Who speaks up for the weak and defenceless?
Are Pressure Groups always arguing for what is right, or is there an element of ‘Might is right’ at times?
Do I condemn someone before knowing the facts?
Do I just follow the crowd?

Are individuals ridiculed, if not condemned, for what they believe to be right?
Do they feel isolated, as Jesus must have felt when Pilate gave in to the mob and condemned him to die on the cross?

Having been condemned, beaten up, scourged and mocked, Jesus had to accept his cross to carry it to the place of execution. A heavy burden and a painful one too with, no doubt, sharp splinters digging in. But it had to be done.

No one is spared from pain of some sort. Sometimes we have to accept the situation. That does not mean we have to give up. Let us pray for the courage to keep going, to accept our cross as Jesus accepted his.
2. Jesus accepts the Cross

3. Jesus falls the first time		 How many times have we fallen, failed to do what we know to be right? What are the things that might cause us to fall - drugs, alcohol, behaviour? Who tripped us up? Who helped us when we were down? Do we feel we want to try to make amends or do we want to give up trying? Have we tripped others up?
Have I caused my parents hurt and grief? How many times have I hurt others in my family? Have they hurt me? Was any of this deliberate? What is it like to stand by and watch somebody suffer knowing that you cannot help them or reach them?
4. Jesus meets his Mother


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