I would go to confession regularly to confess a “cover sin”—lying, swearing, or something else instead of what I really held inside. I’d quietly ask God for forgiveness for lying, and then I’d redeem myself by doubling whatever penance the priest gave for the cover sin. He would instruct me to pray my rosary, starting with the Apostles’ Creed, and to follow that with some number of Hail Marys and Our Fathers. In my mind, if I just doubled that number, I would set things right. I
