Confession etiquette

[Hoosier]

If you have a penance/prayer to do after confession, is it OK to go into the sanctuary and do it right then? I did so last Saturday; prayed briefly and left. There were some people there setting up for the 5:30 p.m. mass, and one of the women came out after me, worried that I was there for mass and had left feeling ignored or snubbed (I usually go to the Sunday morning mass).

Should I have waited until I got home, or gone in the chapel?

 

[Other_Eric]

You can’t reorder your life simply because of someone else’s mistaken impression.

 

[jmcrae]

If you have a penance/prayer to do after confession, is it OK to go into the sanctuary and do it right then?

I’m assuming you meant the Church; not the Sanctuary - I can’t see a problem with this; I do it all the time. I find that if I wait until I get home, I can’t remember what my penance was supposed to be, or else I get distracted and forget to do it at all.

I did so last Saturday; prayed briefly and left. There were some people there setting up for the 5:30 p.m. mass, and one of the women came out after me, worried that I was there for mass and had left feeling ignored or snubbed (I usually go to the Sunday morning mass).

It’s nice that she wanted to welcome you.

I would have just explained to her that I was just finishing my penance after Confession, and that I was planning to return for Mass in the morning.

 

[Hoosier]

Thanks, jmcrae. I meant a pew in the church… It was just a mix-up, and I appreciated her good intentions. I’m pretty new to confession. I joined the church this Easter.

 

[jmcrae]

Thanks, jmcrae. I meant a pew in the church… It was just a mix-up, and I appreciated her good intentions. I’m pretty new to confession. I joined the church this Easter.

Welcome!! :extrahappy: Was this your First Confession?I hope it was a good experience for you.

 

[ElizabethPH]

If you have a penance/prayer to do after confession, is it OK to go into the sanctuary and do it right then? I did so last Saturday; prayed briefly and left. There were some people there setting up for the 5:30 p.m. mass, and one of the women came out after me, worried that I was there for mass and had left feeling ignored or snubbed (I usually go to the Sunday morning mass).

Should I have waited until I got home, or gone in the chapel?

I’ve always done my penance in the church right after confession, unless my penance is of a nature that I have to do it someplace else.

 

[NPC]

I think it really depends on the situation, as others have said. Usually the church where I go to Confession has Eucharistic Adoration all day on Saturdays, so I like to spend time with the Lord and do my penance there and then…not that spending time with the Eucharistic Lord is a penance!

However, one time the priest told me to say the Rosary as my penance. I decided on that occasion to wait until the evening when I was at home. Either way though, I never leave the church immediately after Confession. I have my own prayers after Confession that I like to say as well as the penance directed by my confessor. I wouldn’t feel right leaving straightaway - it is always such a joyous moment walking out of the confessional, that I have to stay and give thanks to the Lord!

 

[dachsiemom]

Though I don’t go to confession frequently, I have always went back to the church to complete my penance. I feel such a peace afterwards and love to sit for a while and speak to and listen to the Lord.