the person in the confessional is speaking too loud, you
should move away so as not to hear; and if you cannot move, hold your
hands on your ears so that you may not hear what is being said.

*227 Q. What must we do when the confessor asks us questions?
A. When the confessor asks us questions, we must answer them truthfully
and clearly.

*228 Q. What should we do after telling our sins?
A. After telling our sins we should listen with attention to the advice
which the confessor may think proper to give.

The priest in the confessional acts as judge, father, teacher, and
physician. As judge he listens to your accusations against yourself, and
passes sentence according to your guilt or innocence. As a father and
teacher he loves you, and tries to protect you from your enemies by
warning you against them, and teaching you the means to overcome them.
But above all, he is a physician, who will treat your soul for its ills
and restore it to spiritual health. He examines the sins you have
committed, discovers their causes, and then prescribes the remedies to
be used in overcoming them. When anything goes amiss with our bodily
health we speedily have recourse to the physician, listen anxiously to
what he has to say, and use the remedies prescribed. In the very same
way we must follow the priest's advice if we wish our souls to be cured
of their maladies. Just as a person who is unwell would not go one day
to one physician and the next day to another, so a penitent should not
change confessors without a good reason; and if you have any choice to
make let it be made in the beginning, and let it rest on worthy motives.
In a short time your confessor will understand the state of your soul,
as the physician who frequently examines you does the state of your
body. He will know all the temptations, trials, and difficulties with
which you have to contend. He will see whether you are becoming better
or worse; whether you are resisting your bad habits or falling more
deeply into them; also, whether the remedies given are suited to you,
and whether you are using them properly. All this your confessor will
know, and it will save you the trouble of always repeating, and him the
trouble of always asking. Thus the better your confessor knows you and
all the circumstances of your life, the more will he be able to help
you; for besides the forgiveness of your sins there are many other
benefits derived from the Sacrament of Penance.

But if a