Gossip

A women was gossiping with a friend about a men she hardly knew. I know none of you have ever done this. That night she had a dream. A great hand appeared over her and pointed down at her. She was immediately seized with an overwhelming sense of guilt. The next day she went to confession. She got the old parish priest, Father O'Rourke. She told him the whole thing.
"Is gossiping a sin?" she asked the old man.
"Was that the hand of God Almighty pointing a finger at me? Should I be asking your absolution, Father?"
"Tell me, have I done something wrong?"

"Yes" Father O'Rourke answered her.
"Yes, you ignorant, badly brought up female. You have borne false witness against your neighbor.You have played fast and loose with his reputation and you should be heartily ashamed!"

So the women said she was sorry and asked for forgiveness

"Not so fast," says O'Rourke
"I want you to go home. Take a pillow up on your roof, cut it open with a knife, and return here to me."

So the women went home, took a pillow off her bed, a knife from the drawer, went up the fire escape to her roof and stabbed the pillow.
Then she went back to the old parish priest an instructed.

"Did you gut the pillow with a knife?" he says.

"Yes, Father."

"And what was the result?"

"Feathers," she said.

"Feathers," he repeated.

"Feathers everwhere, Father"

"Now, I want you to go back and gather up every last feather that flew out on the wind"

"Well." she said, "it can't be done. I don't know where they went. The wind took them all over".
"And that," said Father O'Rourke, "is GOSSIP!"