Confession and a Problem

[seekingjesus]

I have a fear of confession, mainly due to several bad experiences and it usually takes me about 3 or 4 trys to actually make it to and through the sacrament.

My problem is this, in my home parish we have 3 priests, on of whom is very nice and I know he means well but any time he sees that I don’t go up for communion during daily mass he makes a huge announcement about hearing confession after mass and looks straight at me while doing so but doesn’t offer to hear confessions after every daily mass. And yes I am usually the only one during daily mass who won’t go up for communion and it is usually because I need to go to confession:imsorry: but sometimes because I didn’t make the fast

I have tried going over this with him, but he won’t respond to my email (I am now at school some distance away but return at Christmas when I graduate). I know where my issue stems from but it isn’t something that I can really talk to him about as it involves one of his brother priests. It makes me feel extremely self conscious and frequently causes me to keep away from the sacrament longer then normal because of anxiety and a fear of what happened with another priest will happen again.

What should I do?

 

[Orchanian]

Would it help to go to confession in a parish near your school rather than at home? Perhaps you will find a confessor who makes it easier for you. Also, think about why you abstain from communion. You may be abstaining when it is not necessary. Talk to another priest about that as well.

 

[Joan_M]

I have a fear of confession, mainly due to several bad experiences and it usually takes me about 3 or 4 trys to actually make it to and through the sacrament. …

**I have tried going over this with him, but he won’t respond to my email (**I am now at school some distance away but return at Christmas when I graduate). I know where my issue stems from but it isn’t something that I can really talk to him about as it involves one of his brother priests. It makes me feel extremely self conscious and frequently causes me to keep away from the sacrament longer then normal because of anxiety and a fear of what happened with another priest will happen again.

What should I do?

I know that people use email communications as much as they use phone calls and face to face conversations, but it is NOT a good mode of communications to use to discuss confession problems! Email is not totally secure. People can hack into it quite easily. No priest should respond to emails discussing sins or anything else that would normally be discussed in confession.

If you have a problem with anything another priest does or says, you need to talk to that priest. You may be taking personally something that is not personal at all. You may be imagining that the priest is looking directly at you - sometimes, even if a person is quite close to you he may be looking at the person beside you, yet you feel he is looking at you. In this case, the priest may actually be directing his vision over the heads of all the people there.

 

[seekingjesus]

I never discussed anything that was a sin or anything that happened in confession in email format.