Another Saturday when it is impossible to go to confession!

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Fortiterinre

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[WARNING: EXTREMELY CRANKY POSTER!]

Why oh why, in an area which is over 50% Catholic and where the priest shortage is (thank God) mostly unfelt, is it almost impossible for me to go confession most Saturdays?! Every parish seems to allow barely half an hour for confessions right before the Saturday Vigil Mass. There are inevitably a dozen or more penitents, and the priests generally still take up to ten minutes per person because they seem to want to have a counseling session with each person. When Mass is to begin, the priest sometimes jumps out of the box and announces to the irritated multitude that he will hear whoever wants to hang around after Mass, but usually he simply sprints to the altar with barely a guilty glance at us. I usually bolt out of the parish and try to speed to the closest parish with the latest Vigil Mass, but it is quite possible to drive to three parishes and miss confession at each one. I know that a regular confessor is a great idea and would forstall this problem, and I hope to get a regular confessor soon, but as it is I only try to go to confession once a month and feel like I might need to aim for every week just to confess this often! I apologize for my perturbed post, but does anyone else repeat this experience as often as I seem to?
 
Around here most parishes have 1 hr of confessions on Saturday afternoons, and usually 25 or 30 minutes before daily Mass. The lines are longer than one might expect.

But *10 minutes * for a confession?? I could do a general confession of my whole life plus all my siblings lives in 10 minutes. I heard one of the priests say that the average confession is 1 1/2 minutes. I don’t need therapy, just forgiveness.

JimG
 
it’s saturday, and i went to confession… i live in God’s country and we have one little old priest … usually i am the only one who ever shows on saturdays… most go their required once during easter or christmas… sad i know… one thing father has always told us,
if you need to go to confession and you can’t wait… don’t wait, come see him he will here your confession anytime especially if the normal saturday hours are inconvenient… my point?

Have you tried asking one of the priest (you are blessed not to feel the shortage) if you can come by on a week night? I would almost bet he would be happy of oblidge… 👍
 
In my parish, depending on how many are confessing. Usually on Sunday there is Confession before, during and after Mass, intermittingly. And during and after each evening weekday Mass. (The during Mass confessions are done respectfully and you barely notice that there is confession going on).

We also have 2 Confession boxes with face/screen options…for those heavy confession traffic days. I notice this big difference from my old parish in another state and I think it’s primarily due to Formation classes that are strongly promoted. These make people more active in other ministries and much more likely to go to Confession. Not only that, but just seeing people that you know must’ve gone through Formation makes you want to get up and active. Especially the pious layman and layteenage guys.

We have some really great priests, and since they are connected to the laypeople due to interaction with those Formation classes, they are more likely to be more pro-active in hearing Confession and helping out with ministries.

I say this because in my old parish we had some GREAT priests. Absolutely fantabulastic, but the connection wasn’t there, at least not with the laycommunity as a whole…mostly with just the people that took the extra-effort of being involved with the parish…you know who I’m talking about, the small group. Those people are really great, but just by them being a small group you tend to think ‘Oh, well they got it covered. No need for me to get active.’

The more connection with the priests IMO the less I think they can get away with being lax about serving laity needs. Also the laity as a whole pick up the slack and really help out in the parish, thus giving priests more helping hands.
 
I have found a parish near my workplace that has confession on the Thursday before the first Friday of every month. I am lucky to have found such a convienient time for confession, on my way home from work. This has also inspired me to start the “9 First Fridays” devotion.
 
Fortiterinre said:
[WARNING: EXTREMELY CRANKY POSTER!]

Why oh why, in an area which is over 50% Catholic and where the priest shortage is (thank God) mostly unfelt, is it almost impossible for me to go confession most Saturdays?! Every parish seems to allow barely half an hour for confessions right before the Saturday Vigil Mass. There are inevitably a dozen or more penitents, and the priests generally still take up to ten minutes per person because they seem to want to have a counseling session with each person. When Mass is to begin, the priest sometimes jumps out of the box and announces to the irritated multitude that he will hear whoever wants to hang around after Mass, but usually he simply sprints to the altar with barely a guilty glance at us. I usually bolt out of the parish and try to speed to the closest parish with the latest Vigil Mass, but it is quite possible to drive to three parishes and miss confession at each one. I know that a regular confessor is a great idea and would forstall this problem, and I hope to get a regular confessor soon, but as it is I only try to go to confession once a month and feel like I might need to aim for every week just to confess this often! I apologize for my perturbed post, but does anyone else repeat this experience as often as I seem to?
Click to expand...

When I got “left behind” one day, I went to the rectory after Mass – but the priest was already in a meeting. I called him on the phone the following Monday and discussed the situation. He has been my confessor for 2 years now; he sees me privately by appointment. He’s a fantastic confessor. Maybe people just need to make it clear to priests that we actually DO value this sacrament.
 
What irritates me is when the priest is late arriving for confession. They dont allow enough time to begin with. I have experienced this at many different parishes.
I usually have a hard time making Saturday confessions becuase i work a retail job.
Just wondering, does anyone know of a modern day “confession” priest such as St. John Vianney or St. Padre Pio who spends a couple of hours a day or more in theconfessional and always has a line of people waiting?
 
Can. 986 §1. All to whom the care of souls has been entrusted in virtue of some function are obliged to make provision so that the confessions of the faithful entrusted to them are heard when they reasonably seek to be heard and that they have the opportunity to approach individual confession on days and at times established for their convenience.

§2. In urgent necessity, any confessor is obliged to hear the confessions of the Christian faithful, and in danger of death, any priest is so obliged.

*All to whom the care of souls has been entrusted *in this case means the Bishop and the Pastor.

I read this to say that Confession must be available at times convenient to the penitent, [within some reasonable limits].
 
The last two Saturdays I tried to go to confession, there were weddings being held in the church and nobody to be seen anywhere near the confessionals. I didn’t know what to do, so I ended up just going home. After the second attempt, I got smart and started going to another church, where confessions are heard before Masses on Sundays.

Does anybody know what the usual procedure is when there are weddings scheduled at the same time as confessions?
 
At my parish there are often weddings coinciding with confessions, but confessions still go on. People are just churchmouse quiet about it and try to slip in and out unobtrusively.
 
At my Parish, we have scheduled Confessions for 45 minutes before the Vigil Mass (4:00 - 4:45, with the Mass starting at 5:00) and from 7:00 - 7:30. The 7:00 o’clock time really ends at 7:30 or after all have been heard, whichever is later. I think Monsignor wants people to get there by 7:30, so he’s put an end time in place. After all, it’s human nature to be late, isn’t it?😃
 
Fortiterinre: Ask the person in the front of the line when you arrive what time they got there. Then go 15 minutes before that next time.

Betsy
 
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