Alternative to Confession

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kgmlg

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What do you do when the universe aligns and refuses to allow you confession?

This has happened many times in my life already, I guess the area I am in just does not have enough priests. I have been told several times to come back another day as they are too busy.

A lot of times, the church is closed during “official” confession times. Argh!

This is getting frustrating….is there an alternative? I don’t know, on-line confession or something? LOL.

If this goes on any longer, I will forget my sins!

Any ideas?

Thanks.
 
That’s sad that the church is closed when there is supposed to be confession. I’m guessing you would need to schedule an appointment with the parish.

When you go to confession, you are saying that you are sorry for ALL of your sins, even the ones you don’t happen to remember at the time. Forgetting to confess a sin isn’t the same as witholding it. You are given absolution and forgiven for ALL your sins.

I can’t tell you how many times my mind would go blank and I’d remember something later. Sadly I get haunted YEARS later about some of the dumb things I did or said in my younger years. I’ll just be going about my business and suddenly some memory will come out of the blue and I cringe.

Just make an appointment and pray for patience and trust in God’s mercy in the meantime.
 
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That’s just the thing, I try to make an appointment and they tell me to come back one hour before mass….and they don’t open the church until 5 minutes before mass, so of course there is no more time for me. 😦 I am actually looking for churches farther away to see if someone answers the phone! Sigh Lord…it can’t be this hard!
 
I suppose you will just have to be persistent but try not to beat yourself up in the meantime.

I remember one time I wanted to go to confession before mass and was feeling somewhat distressed about the whole thing because someone was in the confessional for what felt like ages. AGES! It was taking so long I wasn’t able to go because the priest was going to have to get ready for mass.

FINALLY a man with dark spiked hair and a nose ring came out of the confessional and the priest came out and genuflected towards the altar – he looked like he had just been to war. 😅
 
LOL…thanks for putting everything in a different perspective. I hope the priest I finally catch does not come out looking like he had been in a war zone…that will be very bad indeed. 😂

PS. this is a challenge now, I will snag a priest even if it kills me. 😹
 
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I would go right to the rectory door and tell them I need to see the priest… there are times I needed to do the same thing…If need be " snag " a priest as you said and tell him " Father, I’m glad I caught up with you 'and let him know what an ordeal it was, Prayers are with you. God bless
 
Once I go to Confession and receive absolution, He has certainly forgiven me.
 
I’ve had that too when somebody is in the confessional for about the whole half hour and then Mass starts. I always wonder who is in there and what they possibly could have done that takes up so much time. In my case, it’s always some benign-looking little old lady or man who eventually shuffles out. Maybe they haven’t been to confession in 30 years or something 🙂
 
You could try making an appointment with the priest, though you will lose you anonymity in that case if it’s really important to you. If they try to push it off to official Confession times, just explain the situation of why you can’t go. Hopefully, they at least take complaints about the church being closed during that time to heart and be better about making the sacrament available. Alternatively, you might get an explanation about what is going on.
KevinK said:
Did God not forgive you?
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While God may provide the graces of the sacrament of Confession prior to partaking of it, He does so because He knows your heart and intent to do so ASAP. If you ask God for forgiveness and claim that you love Him but have no intent to obey Him, such as going to the sacrament He gave us, then your heart doesn’t really seem to be in the right place.
Tis_Bearself said:
I always wonder who is in there and what they possibly could have done that takes up so much time.
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One time when I went to Confession, I was second in line, but the first person was taking forever. I kept thinking to myself, “Is this her first Confession in ten years?” The woman behind me ended up leaving.

When I eventually got to go, I realized that the priest was taking a little time to offer spiritual guidance. In my case, we even said a semi-lengthy prayer. I think he was taking advantage of it being one of the two times in the week Confession lasts for an hour (normally, it is 30 minutes), because the other times I’ve gone he has been much faster.
 
Not engaging in this. If you choose not to be Catholic, that’s your choice. However, by having spent time on this site you are fully aware of our teachings regarding the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It seems to me especially lacking in charity to willingly and knowingly provide advice to Catholics that contravenes church teachings.
 
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Just asking if your sins are forgiven when you ask God. Seems simple yes or no. I am here to learn.
 
KevinK said:
Just asking if your sins are forgiven when you ask God. Seems simple yes or no. I am here to learn.
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Since I ask God to forgive my sins by participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, then yes, they are forgiven.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
In my case, it’s always some benign-looking little old lady or man who eventually shuffles out. Maybe they haven’t been to confession in 30 years or something 🙂
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Or they wasted an inordinate amount of time giving unsolicited details about their life completely irrelevant to their actual sins, and in so doing made it nearly impossible for anyone else to avail themselves of the Sacrament.

I try really hard to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, but this is one of my Catholic bugbears. There’s one older gentleman who is notoriously bad about it. It doesn’t matter how early I make it to the Saturday Reconciliation slot he’s already there waiting in line… every single week. The time slot is only 30 minutes and he regularly spends up to 15-20 minutes in there. Every. Single. Week! I’ve skipped my lunch hour on the weekdays to rush to the Cathedral and have my confession heard at their daily time slot at noon… just to find that same retired man first in line!

I’m sorry, I cannot fathom any reason why a senior citizen would rack up so many mortal sins within days that he must selfishly use the confessional like this. I’ve brought this up with some priests and they’re wont to do anything about it: “What do you expect me to do about it?” Oh I don’t know! Maybe make a quick note in the bulletin or at the start of your homily about giving consideration to your fellow parishioners when in confession? Learn how to be concise and quick? Don’t blather on about your life story that the priest did not ask for? Jump into the box, state (don’t narrate) your sins, say the Act of Contrition, get absolved, and GET THE HECK OUT!
 
ZMystiCat said:
You could try making an appointment with the priest
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(S)he has:
kgmlg said:
That’s just the thing, I try to make an appointment and they tell me to come back one hour before mass….and they don’t open the church until 5 minutes before mass
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This is just downright rude. You’ve done your due diligence and a priest is flaking on you. It’s one thing if a priest is stretched thin for time and just can’t accommodate an “on the fly” confession right before or after a Mass, or if an emergency came up and the scheduled confession times had to be canceled, but here a priest is making an appointment and then just not showing up.

I would show my disappointment in one of two ways: I’d either show up unannounced at the rectory and demand that my confession be heard after being canceled and flaked on, or I’d leave a little note in the offertory that said something along the lines of “I’ll donate to the parish when the priests around here get their act together and keep their word/commitments .” Yes, that’s passive aggressive as heck, but so be it. It doesn’t sound like you have many other options.
 
I think that making an appointment and providing the explanation that you have been unable to have your confession heard during normal confession times might also be a good way to let the parish know that the scheduled confession times are inadequate.
 
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