A fantastic problem to have!

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Karl_M

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Hello everyone,

My home parish generally has confessions from 3-3:30 on Saturdays, with Mass at 4pm.

It’s extremely rare for the priest to have more than one or two a week, if that.

However, this past Saturday, I looked back towards the confession room when I walked into the building, about 3:25pm, and there were still about six people waiting to go.

On top of that, the priest, not knowing about the line, left the confesisonal at about 3:40, saw three people still left, and he went back in! The last person, who got done about five minutes before Mass started, said Father didn’t rush or anything. It was a photo finish, but it was extremely heartwarming to see him go back in with so little time left before Mass and hear the rest of the confessions.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that story.

BTW: By “problem” I mean the number of people lined up for confession, and almost running out of time.
 
Karl_M said:
Hello everyone,

My home parish generally has confessions from 3-3:30 on Saturdays, with Mass at 4pm.

It’s extremely rare for the priest to have more than one or two a week, if that.

However, this past Saturday, I looked back towards the confession room when I walked into the building, about 3:25pm, and there were still about six people waiting to go.

On top of that, the priest, not knowing about the line, left the confesisonal at about 3:40, saw three people still left, and he went back in! The last person, who got done about five minutes before Mass started, said Father didn’t rush or anything. It was a photo finish, but it was extremely heartwarming to see him go back in with so little time left before Mass and hear the rest of the confessions.

Anyway, I just wanted to share that story.

BTW: By “problem” I mean the number of people lined up for confession, and almost running out of time.
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That would be nice if my parish had this “problem.” I laugh when I think of all the spare time my parish priest gets in the confessional. It really is sad though that people think that they don’t need confession
 
I believe much of the character of a Parish can be identified by the number of people in line for Confession. My beloved Parish, which I just recently had to leave, had Confessions from 3:14 to 4:45 every Saturday and people were always left with their Confessions unheard! It was not unusual to see 50 or 60 people in line. Truthfully, it was distressing for me to be turned away after waiting in line for nearly 2 hours, but I was gleeful to see so many there and I know Father gave each one his undivided attention. I sure do miss that Church!
 
Much of this has to do with the amount of time spent by the priest(s) preaching about the importance of the sacrament of confession, how Catholics are encouraged to use it frequently, and how frequently the priest makes himself available for confession. In other words, in many parishes, a shift toward a more truly Catholic practice and understanding, and away from contemporary American social mores, needs to take place. This can take a while (undoing damage of several decades), but it can and will pay off.

My parish is small, but the two priests are quite busy with confessions, which are heard seven days a week. They emphasize its importance, and by making themselves available for a period of time each day, people come to realize, “Wow! This is obviously serious business! Father spends a lot of time in that confessional!” (Shades of St. John Vianney…OK, not really, but the point gets across.) People need to see their priests first and foremost as ministers of the sacraments, then they can do their part.
 
We have confessions heard for 1/2 hour before every Mass ( 7 days a week). There are also confessions heard from 10:00-12:00 on Saturdays.

One of the priests living at our parish is a 90 year old ‘retired’ priest.

He says the 6:00am Mass every day, and is usually in the confessional before each Mass (along with the scheduled celebrant). He probably spends 1-2 hours in the confessional EACH DAY.

And yes, we still have full lines.
 
Brendan said:
We have confessions heard for 1/2 hour before every Mass ( 7 days a week). There are also confessions heard from 10:00-12:00 on Saturdays.

One of the priests living at our parish is a 90 year old ‘retired’ priest.

He says the 6:00am Mass every day, and is usually in the confessional before each Mass (along with the scheduled celebrant). He probably spends 1-2 hours in the confessional EACH DAY.

And yes, we still have full lines.
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Amazing. The fervour of some of our priests is something we ought to give thanks to God about. If only they were all like him.
 
Brendan said:
We have confessions heard for 1/2 hour before every Mass ( 7 days a week). There are also confessions heard from 10:00-12:00 on Saturdays.

One of the priests living at our parish is a 90 year old ‘retired’ priest.

He says the 6:00am Mass every day, and is usually in the confessional before each Mass (along with the scheduled celebrant). He probably spends 1-2 hours in the confessional EACH DAY.

And yes, we still have full lines.
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That is astonishing! So the Confession before the daily Mass starts at 5:00 am?!
 
That is really amazing! My parish has confession on Saturdays at 4 pm. Mass begins at 5 pm, and there are some Saturdays when the line is very long and the priest hearing confessions has to stop in order to celebrate Mass. Other weeks, there are just a few people in line.

I do think that hearing more about this wonderful sacrament is something we need. One of our priests spoke about confession during a recent homily. He said that we should not be concerned that we will surprise the priest hearing our confessions and reminded everyone that confessions are never discussed outside of the confessional. He is trying very hard to teach us, and I think he’s doing a terrific job.
 
Priests are supposedly instructed by their bishops to give priority to confession second only to Masses. But even if he has to go and say Mass he is supposed to go back to the confessional if people are lining up.
 
If only that were the case at my parish. We use the confessionals as closets, and there is no weekly (forget daily) confession. There is “reconciliation” once per month, but quite frankly, the sacrament out to be available at least once a week. If I have to go to confession I almost always have to go into the city!

On the island there’s St. Joseph’s Oratory which has confession pretty much all the time, but is out of the way for me. Another parish in the city that has regular confession 15 minutes before each mass. Two masses are celebrated each day at this church, but the priests are few and tired…Such is the predicament here in Quebec.
 
havemercy said:
If only that were the case at my parish. We use the confessionals as closets, and there is no weekly (forget daily) confession. There is “reconciliation” once per month, but quite frankly, the sacrament out to be available at least once a week. If I have to go to confession I almost always have to go into the city!

On the island there’s St. Joseph’s Oratory which has confession pretty much all the time, but is out of the way for me. Another parish in the city that has regular confession 15 minutes before each mass. Two masses are celebrated each day at this church, but the priests are few and tired…Such is the predicament here in Quebec.
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Here’s one thing I learned from travelling all over:

After the Mass, (assuming no time to line up before Mass), I just catch the Priest exiting at the back of the Sacristy and simply ask him I want to confess right where we are. 95% of the time I get what I want. The other 5% he sets an appointment for me. Try this and tell us what happens or what the Priest says if he denies your request.
 
At my parish, we have confession everyday except Sunday; however, it is hard for me to go during the week day because it starts at5:00 and ends at 6:00pm. I go home from work around 7:00pm. Saturday is perfect for me.

Pray hard and harder for the priests during this Lent season.
 
Our parish priest once stated that he would rather Mass start a half hour LATE then to deny even One person the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We have an awesome priest.👍
 
blessedtoo said:
That is astonishing! So the Confession before the daily Mass starts at 5:00 am?!
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5:30 actually. This my parish too.

On Sunday we have 6 Masses. Two to three priests hear confessions on those days and there is always a line.

Saturday we have three Masses (Two early and one vigil Mass). Three daily Masses except Tues. & Thurs. when there is four Masses. And 1st Fridays have 4 Masses as well. With Confession 1/2 before each and every Mass in addition to 2 1/2 hours on Saturday. No excuse not go. 😃
 
rayne89 said:
5:30 actually. This my parish too.

On Sunday we have 6 Masses. Two to three priests hear confessions on those days and there is always a line.

Saturday we have three Masses (Two early and one vigil Mass). Three daily Masses except Tues. & Thurs. when there is four Masses. And 1st Fridays have 4 Masses as well. With Confession 1/2 before each and every Mass in addition to 2 1/2 hours on Saturday. No excuse not go. 😃
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You both have a fantastic parish! Lucky you! 😃 Pray for those who do not.
 
at my church, the priests hesr confessions 7 days a weeek. they also preach from the pulpit the importance of going. it is awesome to see 4 or 5 people in line many days.
 
That is great! I went yesterday and there were eight of us already in line when our priest came in to begin hearing confessions. Last year during Lent, he added an extra evening each week for more confession time. He’s awesome.
 
I have actually been a part of a great many parishes in the past 5 years due to constant moving. I’m am glad to say that at the majority of these parishes confession was a problem for another reason:

You would have to rush to get to the Church or risk not being heard for confessions. Yes, the lines were THAT long. These parishes were located in: San Diego, Ca – Corpus Christi, Texas. Some even having more than one confessional going at the same time ;-).

I noticed that in Corpus Christi, Texas the confessionals get a lot of “business” no matter what parish you go to.

God Bless.
 
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