Ask a Priest Anything...about Confession!

  • Thread starter Thread starter edward_george1
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Here is my two cents (not a priest just a layperson). So it is encouraged to go to the same confessor but it isn’t necessary to. I know people who have done this (I have done it in the past). Now about avoiding priest because you are ashamed about a past sin, remember that priest here it all and people have similar sins. Also just like how once God forgives you He forgets the sin. So the confessor actually ask God that they forget the sins confessed to them as well. As Mother Angelica said, after you go to confession you should have a party and get some ice cream, because it is in the past. Hope this helps. God Bless!
 
I’m sorry you had a bad experience with the priest. It’s good that you are able to forgive him and pray for him. I’m sure he was sorry when he had a chance to step back and think about that situation.
 
vz71 said:
I once protested what I felt a light penance.

I was told that it is about God’s love for us, not our feeling of satisfaction.
Click to expand...
True dat. One could also try just doing the small penance in a very sincere, thoughtful manner.

Also, a person who wants to do extra penances in order to grow spiritually should normally be able to just pick something themselves and do it without needing a priest to impose it on them.
 
Do you pray for your penitents? And do you do penance for them yourselves?
 
Why don’t you think less of your penitents for what they confess? Is it because we all sin more or less in the same way? Or is it because you respect their courage? Are you truly never shocked about what you hear in confession? Or at least a bit disappointed because you wish your parishioners were holier than they are?
 
The first is masturbation and the second is foenication. If the first happens in the situation of the second, it can be the two sins commited simultaneously…

But let’s wait the priests answer!
 
Father
At local OF Parish they removed the private screen that you kneel at so now only option is to sit in front of Priest. It’s located outside the confessional which is odd. Looks like they have brochures and literature on it so they’re using it now to give out literature
My question is is there any requirement that there is private screen in the confession booth? If not was that a recent change?
At TLM Parish I attend, there is only the private screen in the booth (priest positioned between two booths w private screens and slides a board when it’s time to hear confession),
Thanks God Bless
 
Canon 964 §2. The conference of bishops is to establish norms regarding the confessional; it is to take care, however, that there are always confessionals with a fixed grate between the penitent and the confessor in an open place so that the faithful who wish to can use them freely.
Click to expand...
 
The churches in our area have space for those who wish to confess behind a screen, but you have to be able to kneel in order to take advantage of it. There is no chair available behind the screen. If you need to sit rather than kneel, you must sit across from the priest, face to face.
 
Anna5 said:
Why don’t you think less of your penitents for what they confess? Is it because we all sin more or less in the same way? Or is it because you respect their courage? Are you truly never shocked about what you hear in confession? Or at least a bit disappointed because you wish your parishioners were holier than they are?
Click to expand...
The last one isn’t the case, because the people who are actually in the confessional aren’t the ones I’m disappointed with, since they’re trying to be holier. It’s the people who are nasty to me out in the open that I am disappointed with, who can’t be patient and adult-like about issues they might have, and instead just yell at me. It happens. Being a priest puts a target on your back, to where common courtesy goes out the window for some odd reason. So much for reverence for the sacrament of Holy Orders (to quote Band of Brothers, “We salute the rank, not the man.” You don’t respect me because I’m awesome or something, you should respect my priesthood).

The other things you listed are all reasons why I don’t think less of people when they come to confession. It depends on what they’re confessing, honestly, but it ranges from “I’ve heard this a thousand times” to “they’re really brave to be here.” For the most part, though, it’s that most of the confessions I hear are from behind the screen, so I don’t even know who it is, and as I’ve said, I rarely recognize voices, and even more rarely remember anything.
 
daisy20 said:
Is causing male climax outside of normal sexual intercourse a different sin than premarital sex? I was reading through an examination of conscience and both were listed. Thank you!
Click to expand...
“Causing male climax outside of normal sexual intercourse,” I would assume means masturbation, whether solitarily or mutually, while premarital sex would imply that the act has been completed. So yes, these are different kinds of sins and would need to be confessed differently.
 
Anna5 said:
Why don’t you think less of your penitents for what they confess? Is it because we all sin more or less in the same way? Or is it because you respect their courage?
Click to expand...
Both and.

It’s often very much a case of “there but for the grace of God go I”. Whenever someone comes to me struggling with habitual sin, I always tell them to keep coming back to confession, emphasising that even if they’re back again same time next week, I’m not going to think any less of them, instead I’m going to give thanks to God for a sinner who knows their need to the Lord’s mercy.
 
How do you decide what penance is appropriate after hearing the penitent’s sins?
 
Already answered above:
40.png
Ask a Priest Anything...about Confession! Liturgy and Sacraments
Each priest is different. For me, I try to give SMART penances: Specific (you know exactly what it is) Measurable (you know when you’ve done it) Attainable (you are able to do it) Relevant (not as important, see below) Timely (you can do it in a reasonable timeframe). I know some priests like to get cute and try to “make the punishment fit the crime,” and sometimes it’s warranted to give a more involved penance for more heinous sins. But the point of penance is not punishment so much as i…
Click to expand...
 
If there’s no one in line, I don’t care. I’m a pretty sociable person. But usually there is a line, and it’s discourteous to the people behind you to take up time like that. Whether I like it or not doesn’t matter. It’s not what confession is for. If you’d like to chat, we can go for coffee or lunch. Confession is for confessing sins.
 
Thank you both very much for your good and extensive answers. Father Edward George: It makes me very sad that there are people, even some of your own parishioners I guess, who are nasty to you and don’t even respect your priesthood. For me, this is unbelievable. Hopefully we all at his forum can compensate this a bit, by showing you our deep gratitude and reverence for your priesthood.
It is comforting to know that you are not disappointed with the people who come to you for confession. I think I often have a irrational fear of confession. I guess I am projecting my own feelings of disappointment in myself unto the priest. “I am disappointed in myself because of all my (often repeating) sins, then Father most surely must be disapponted as well.”
It is also reassuring to me, what you, Father Inthepew, wrote: that you are not disappointed with people who fall into the same sins over and over again. When I was younger, I didn’t dare to go for confession, to the same priest more than 2 or 3 times in a row. I was too afraid that Father would surely run out of patience with me. Now I am almost always going to the same priest for confession over one and a half year already, but I was just wondering how long I would still dare to go there…
So this is really helpful and encouraging to me what you wrote!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top