Unknown He becomes a priest He becomes a priest Luther was ordained a priest on May 2, 1507, when he was twenty-three years old. He began to do as much good as he could by visiting the poor and preaching and teaching as well as he knew how. Being a priest meant that he could perform the sacrament of the mass. He listened to people as they confessed their sins to him. He would sit in a little room that had a curtain between the priest and the person confessing his or her sins. Then Luther would have to decide what the punishment for the sins would be. Perhaps he would tell them to recite the Lord’s Prayer twenty-five times, or give an offering to the church, or fast for three days. When the person had completed the penance, Luther could tell them their sins were forgiven.4 This was one of the tasks of the priest.