Gabriel could hear his own breathing in the confined space. When the partition was removed, he made the sign of the cross. "Bless me, father, for I have sinned. It's been seven weeks and two days since my last confession." A long time, especially for a priest, but there hadn't been a priest beside Kemble nearby, and so he had put it off, until his accident had incapacitated him completely. He began with that sin, because it was easier to confess:

"I have shunned the sacrament of penance, for longer than I should have, just because I did not want to confess to the available priest. I..." He knew he really should start with the graver sins, but the smaller ones were easier.

"I have failed to keep a fast I had committed to. And I have hurried through Mass, at least three times in the past week, wanting it to be done, rather than being present and prayerful."