Confession is required only once a year

[georgewithfaith]

The august sacrament of Confession has quietly disappeared in importance from our Church. Why is this?

Yes, the Church requires a single Confession annually but if one commits a mortal sin that requirement changes to: Go to Confession ASAP!

How about all the venial sins that pile up in a year and then become a mortal sin? Could that happen?

At many parishes Confession is almost an afterthought. The priests may schedule a half an hour and if one is lucky maybe a full hour once a week for Confession. After Vatican II of course the name changed to Reconciliation and people were given an option of sitting in front of the priest and confessing sins. Anonymity was stripped away.

Also, the many priests of the wood stock generation will forgive just about anything. They want us to know they care about our feelings and are not trying to judge us too harshly. However, Jesus is the judge and not the priest. The priest must follow the truth that Jesus set down for us.

I thought a priest is held accountable by God for the souls of his flock. Does anyone see the problem with little to no priestly concern about Confession?

Is there not a great risk that many souls in the Church today run around misinformed and
ignorant about the value of Confession? Are many not in grave mortal sin yet continue to receive the Eucharist because they have a misguided belief that Jesus believes only in peace and justice and will forgive them anyway because he is not a meanie?

Are these priests not putting their salvation in grave danger by for all intense and purposes ignoring the importance of Confession.

St. Padre Pio would be outraged by today’s thinking on Confession. The only good news I know of is that FSSP priests take Confession very seriously. These priests will sit and listen for as long as it takes. They care about the soul and they are prepared with the truth and with helpful prayers and ways for one to amend his ways. The priests who take Confession seriously are a small group but they are young and I can only hope that as they become leaders in the Church that Confession begins again to take on the great importance it warrants from all of us in the Catholic faith.

 

[Joannm]

The august sacrament of Confession has quietly disappeared in importance from our Church. Why is this?

Yes, the Church requires a single Confession annually but if one commits a mortal sin that requirement changes to: Go to Confession ASAP!

How about all the venial sins that pile up in a year and then become a mortal sin? Could that happen?

At many parishes Confession is almost an afterthought. The priests may schedule a half an hour and if one is lucky maybe a full hour once a week for Confession. After Vatican II of course the name changed to Reconciliation and people were given an option of sitting in front of the priest and confessing sins. Anonymity was stripped away.

Also, the many priests of the wood stock generation will forgive just about anything. They want us to know they care about our feelings and are not trying to judge us too harshly. However, Jesus is the judge and not the priest. The priest must follow the truth that Jesus set down for us.

I thought a priest is held accountable by God for the souls of his flock. Does anyone see the problem with little to no priestly concern about Confession?

Is there not a great risk that many souls in the Church today run around misinformed and
ignorant about the value of Confession? Are many not in grave mortal sin yet continue to receive the Eucharist because they have a misguided belief that Jesus believes only in peace and justice and will forgive them anyway because he is not a meanie?

Are these priests not putting their salvation in grave danger by for all intense and purposes ignoring the importance of Confession.

St. Padre Pio would be outraged by today’s thinking on Confession. The only good news I know of is that FSSP priests take Confession very seriously. These priests will sit and listen for as long as it takes. They care about the soul and they are prepared with the truth and with helpful prayers and ways for one to amend his ways. The priests who take Confession seriously are a small group but they are young and I can only hope that as they become leaders in the Church that Confession begins again to take on the great importance it warrants from all of us in the Catholic faith.

You seem to be making an awful lot of assumptions about how priests veiw confession. Every priest I know (and I know many since I work for the Church) do take confession seriously.

You say priests will “forgive just about anything.” Well, that is the purpose of the Sacrament. There is nothing that cannot be forgiven in the Sacrament if the penitant is contrite. How do you know what priests say to penitants? How do you know they do not speak the truth and counsel people how to avoid their sins? Do you wan them to speak to penitents harshly. I know I once was and it kept me away from the sacrament for many years. Our God is a merciful God and people need to know that they will be treated with dignity and love in the confessional.

You complain about face to face confession gets rid of anonimity but you also state that there is a choice to go face to face, it is a choice that is up to the penitant. Also many people prefer to go face to face. I find it humbles me more to look at the priest while confessing sin. My confessor, and many that I know, will also sit with people for as long as it takes. They also make themselves available for confession outside of regular confession times. I prefer to go by appointment and I know others who do as well.

I hear priests preaching abou confession all the time, in fact it was mentioned in this morning’s homily. They might have shorter times for confessions because people don’t show up, but that is not the fault of the priest who is sitting a waiting, who does preach about it, and who is loving and caring to those who do come to him for confession. Also in our area different parishes which are in close distance stagger confession times so people can go when more convenient.

As I said, you make an awful lot of assumptions.

 

[Joan_M]

How about all the venial sins that pile up in a year and then become a mortal sin? Could that happen?

.

It is impossible for venial sins, no matter how many, to become a mortal sin. Venial sins are not grave matter, the first requirement for a sin to be mortal, so no matter how many venial sins you committed they just cannot “become mortal sins”.

 

[catholicgirl201]

The Church may state that you must go to confession at least once a year however you can go to confession whenever you want and whenever you sin. I think that Priests do take confession seriously.

 

[ChrisCrop]

I agree with the OP…the church I attend has confession only on first fridays of month.
Any other time you are supposed to schedule an appointment.
Makes it difficult, that is for sure!

 

[Timothysis]

Also, the many priests of the wood stock generation will forgive just about anything.

This is a very ignorant thing to say. You set very high standards for priests, yet don’t have any problem with disparaging those whom you believe aren’t living up to their vocation. Nice.

They want us to know they care about our feelings and are not trying to judge us too harshly. However, Jesus is the judge and not the priest. The priest must follow the truth that Jesus set down for us.

Yes, and the Gospels are just replete with occasions where Jesus, instead of caring about feelings, judged everyone “too harshly…”

 

[bkayw]

As a revert, I find this a discouraging aspect of present day Catholicism.

The central reason for the Son of God coming to earth was the removal of sin, to be a direct aid for humanity to become holy before God the Father.

Fr. Barron had a 3 session talk on EWTN about our lives here on earth. He talked about how we all can have the souls of saints.

IMO, the Church needs a permanently established and centrally guided spiritual director program for all ages to challenge the sins of this age. To identify negative behaviors before they trap us into addictions and compulsions.

A spiritual warfare program

All of the 12 Step programs (to overcome compulsive behaviors and addictions) have as central to their programs a conversion of heart, a taking of a personal inventory and finally an admitting to God, to one’s self and to another person the exact nature of our wrongs.

See the 12 Step Creeds:

aa.org/en_pdfs/smf-121_en.pdf

www.oa.org/new-to-oa/twelve-steps.php

www.12steprecovery.com/12-steps-of-na.html
Cached - Similar

saa-recovery.org/OurProgram/TheTwelveSteps/

 

[Lutheranteach]

I’m still trying to make sense of the myriad of Catholics who commit what are said to be mortal sins day in and day out with no intention of changing who still fully partake of the sacraments and call themselves good Catholics who merely refuse to follow a teaching that is outdated, out of touch, etc. my guess is this probably 50% or more of American Catholics. Probably 80% or more of American Catholic women.

 

[Biedrik]

Ok, as a seminarian I have to give my perspective on some of the issues brought up here, given that I will someday be hearing confessions.

The august sacrament of Confession has quietly disappeared in importance from our Church. Why is this?

Yes, the Church requires a single Confession annually but if one commits a mortal sin that requirement changes to: Go to Confession ASAP!

How about all the venial sins that pile up in a year and then become a mortal sin? Could that happen?

Ok, first of all, venial sin never becomes mortal sin. When venial sin piles up, it just becomes more venial sin. That’s it. All it is, is more time in purgatory. Besides, venial sin can be forgiven through prayer, if I remember correctly.

At many parishes Confession is almost an afterthought. The priests may schedule a half an hour and if one is lucky maybe a full hour once a week for Confession. After Vatican II of course the name changed to Reconciliation and people were given an option of sitting in front of the priest and confessing sins. Anonymity was stripped away.

I’m sorry, but this lack of confessional time is not because the parish doesn’t care. It’s because the laity doesn’t care. Not enough people come, so the priests don’t give as much confession time. They simply have more important things to do than to sit quietly for a few hours, with nobody coming to them.

Now as for the choice to do it face to face, it’s a choice, and option. It’s not mandatory, so why are you objecting? If people wish to do it, I see nothing wrong with it.

And in fact, I know that many of the guys here with me in the seminary prefer actually talking to the priest face to face, not anonymously. It can make the confession more personal, and the experience more humbling. An important thing to remember is that in the beginnings of the Church, confessions were totally public. They were done in front of the entire congregation at church. A lack of anonymity is nothing new in the Church.

Also, the many priests of the wood stock generation will forgive just about anything. They want us to know they care about our feelings and are not trying to judge us too harshly. However, Jesus is the judge and not the priest. The priest must follow the truth that Jesus set down for us.

sigh

Priests are supposed to “forgive anything.” Unless they can magically read the minds of the people confessing to them and see a lack of a contrite heart, they cannot deny absolution. That’s the point of confession, that all sins are forgiven.

I thought a priest is held accountable by God for the souls of his flock. Does anyone see the problem with little to no priestly concern about Confession?

Priests are far more concerned with confession, and quite a few are frustrated with the fact that much of the laity pretty much refuses to go to confession. While no doubt some priests are part of the problem, much of it is in the fact that many people just will not, even when the priests at their parish will tell them to. I remember a homily, where our pastor was practically pleading that we go to confession more often. Did the number of confessions significantly go up? No, because most people simply don’t want to. You can’t just dump the whole blame on the priests.

Is there not a great risk that many souls in the Church today run around misinformed and
ignorant about the value of Confession? Are many not in grave mortal sin yet continue to receive the Eucharist because they have a misguided belief that Jesus believes only in peace and justice and will forgive them anyway because he is not a meanie?

Yes, this is a problem, and you cannot attribute it solely to the priests.

Are these priests not putting their salvation in grave danger by for all intense and purposes ignoring the importance of Confession.

Once again, you can’t blame this entirely on the priests. You might as well blame them for the Catholics who only show up for Mass around Easter and Christmas. This doesn’t happen because priests don’t believe the Mass is important. It happens because many people in the laity think it’s not important.

St. Padre Pio would be outraged by today’s thinking on Confession. The only good news I know of is that FSSP priests take Confession very seriously. These priests will sit and listen for as long as it takes. They care about the soul and they are prepared with the truth and with helpful prayers and ways for one to amend his ways. The priests who take Confession seriously are a small group but they are young and I can only hope that as they become leaders in the Church that Confession begins again to take on the great importance it warrants from all of us in the Catholic faith.

You know what benefit the FSSP priests have? That you only really get devout people going to the TLM. The lukewarm Catholics stay at their regular parish with a novus ordo Mass. If you have a congregation that actually wants to go to confession, then of course it will seem like they “care” more. Also, what’s this about them listening for as long as it takes? I have never had a priest who has told me to hurry up or anything like that.

Now then, because I’m in the seminary, I interact with a lot more priests than the usual layman does, and I can tell you that priests do care about confession. Far more than you think. The problem lies simply in the fact, that many people do not want to go to confession, even if a priest tells them that it’s necessary. Priests can only do so much. In the end, it’s up to the laity.

So be a bit more kind to priests, and do not be so quick to judge.

 

[jpjd]

The august sacrament of Confession has quietly disappeared in importance from our Church. Why is this?

I think you are about to tell us.

Yes, the Church requires a single Confession annually but if one commits a mortal sin that requirement changes to: Go to Confession ASAP!

Yes.

How about all the venial sins that pile up in a year and then become a mortal sin? Could that happen?

As a previous poster mentioned, venial sins can not become mortal sins. They can however, if unaddressed, weaken our relationship with God, which makes it easier for us to commit a mortal sin.

At many parishes Confession is almost an afterthought. The priests may schedule a half an hour and if one is lucky maybe a full hour once a week for Confession.

I disagree that such a schedule is an “afterthought”. Priests set regular Confession time on a Saturday because, in general, that is still when most people are available. If Confession is really that important to you, you will make it a priority and schedule your other activities around the scheduled Confession time. For those who are not working at your job during scheduled Confession time, what exactly are you “busy” with so that you can’t make Confession? The kid’s ball game, mowing the lawn, grocery shopping, watching your show on TV, are not good excuses.

For those who aren’t available at the scheduled time, priests offer Confession by appointment. They offer you that flexibility. Really, what more do you want??? It is completely unreasonable for people to expect a priest to sit in a Confessional for a myriad of hours, waiting for the off chance that YOU happen to need to go to Confession. As you well know, priests are in short supply and their plate is full. Flexibility in being available to go to Confession is required by both parties.

After Vatican II of course the name changed to Reconciliation and people were given an option of sitting in front of the priest and confessing sins. Anonymity was stripped away.

The sacrament is called by various names: Confession, Reconciliation, and Penance, depending on what aspect of the sacrament one wants to emphasize. Given that so many people are apprehensive about going to Confession (just look at all the posts on this subject in this forum), it’s quite a good idea to emphasize that the purpose of sacrament is to reconcile oneself with God.

Anonymity was not stripped away, because every confessional should be set up so that you can go either behind a screen or sit face-to-face. If the confessional that you go to is not set up with the option you prefer, you should, at another time, address that with the pastor. In the meantime, find a parish that has a set up with the option you prefer.

Also, the many priests of the wood stock generation will forgive just about anything.

Wh-a-a-t??? How do you know what goes on in another person’s confession? Also, did you know that every sin is forgivable if the penitent is contrite? Do you presume to know the contrition of a penitient?

They want us to know they care about our feelings and are not trying to judge us too harshly. However, Jesus is the judge and not the priest. The priest must follow the truth that Jesus set down for us.

What sin(s) do you have in mind that the priest is letting a penitent off on, that Jesus would judge harshly? What exactly does “harsh judgement” mean, anyway…that the sin is unforgivable? Even if the penitent is sorry?

I thought a priest is held accountable by God for the souls of his flock. Does anyone see the problem with little to no priestly concern about Confession?

Is there not a great risk that many souls in the Church today run around misinformed and ignorant about the value of Confession? Are many not in grave mortal sin yet continue to receive the Eucharist because they have a misguided belief that Jesus believes only in peace and justice and will forgive them anyway because he is not a meanie?

Are these priests not putting their salvation in grave danger by for all intense and purposes ignoring the importance of Confession.

St. Padre Pio would be outraged by today’s thinking on Confession.

I don’t agree that there is little to no priestly concern about Confession. I don’t know how you know what St. Padre Pio would think.

The only good news I know of is that FSSP priests take Confession very seriously. These priests will sit and listen for as long as it takes.

So, now not only do priests not offer Confession often enough to suit you, but neither will they sit and listen for as long as it takes??? Are priests to have open-ended blocks of time? Is the sacrament a confession or a couseling session?

They care about the soul and they are prepared with the truth and with helpful prayers and ways for one to amend his ways. The priests who take Confession seriously are a small group but they are young and I can only hope that as they become leaders in the Church that Confession begins again to take on the great importance it warrants from all of us in the Catholic faith.

Well, you certainly give a blanket condemnation against priests. However, my experience is that priests are quite concerned with helping to bring people to Christ, and offering the sacrament of Confession is a part of that effort. Remember that Confession is scheduled and by appointment. If you can’t make the scheduled time, pick up the phone. It’s that easy.

 

[Beachcomber]

It is impossible for venial sins, no matter how many, to become a mortal sin. Venial sins are not grave matter, the first requirement for a sin to be mortal, so no matter how many venial sins you committed they just cannot “become mortal sins”.

I know this sounds really lame, but when I was a kid I used to think that a lot of venial sins somehow turned into a mortal sin. I don’t know how I came to that conclusion, but I remember thinking that. It worried me so much I asked a priest about it and he was very kind and understanding and explained that this does not occur!

When I returned to the Church after nearly 30 years away, one thing I did notice about confession is that the priests seemed more understanding in the counsel that they gave. At least the ones I ran into. I don’t think that is a matter of a ‘woodstock generation’ forgiving everything, but more like better instruction in seminary, lthat sort of thing.

I also found that confession was quite accessible. Just did a little leg work and I discovered a church where there was daily confession before mass. Seven days a week!

Just my opinions.

 

[ConstantineTG]

I don’t get it, why shouldn’t priests forgive everything? Isn’t that what the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation all about?

 

[Vico]

It is impossible for venial sins, no matter how many, to become a mortal sin. Venial sins are not grave matter, the first requirement for a sin to be mortal, so no matter how many venial sins you committed they just cannot “become mortal sins”.

Fine point. A venial sin may be grave.

Example: I tell a little lie to get a girl to have sex with me, and then do it. Both the fornication and the lie are mortal.

 

[georgewithfaith]

Also, the many priests of the wood stock generation will forgive just about anything. They want us to know they care about our feelings and are not trying to judge us too harshly. However, Jesus is the judge and not the priest. The priest must follow the truth that Jesus set down for us.

Yes a priest can forgive any sins and I now realize I did not complete my intended thought clearly. Sorry for that. Let me clarify what I meant.

Priests of the wood stock generation seem to be forgive grave sins without caring to stop and question the person making confession a bit more about their attachment to certain grave sins. Thus a person may conclude that he can continue to incur the same grave sin over again and simply have the slate clean at another Confession without truly making an effort to change his ways and not continue with the grave sin again.

 

[Joannm]

Yes a priest can forgive any sins and I now realize I did not complete my intended thought clearly. Sorry for that. Let me clarify what I meant.

Priests of the wood stock generation seem to be forgive grave sins without caring to stop and question the person making confession a bit more about their attachment to certain grave sins. Thus a person may conclude that he can continue to incur the same grave sin over again and simply have the slate clean at another Confession without truly making an effort to change his ways and not continue with the grave sin again.

Again how do you know what priests tell other in confession. Almost every priest I have gone to for confession has counseled me…except for some elderly ones (obviously not the “woodstock” generation) who just listened to my sins, told me to try harder, and absolved me.

 

[ASD]

In our local parish there are 6 confession booths, all locked up because they aren’t needed any more. A single pair of chairs near sacristy suffices now.

So, what to make of this from Sacrosanctum Concilium?

…
It is therefore of the highest importance that the faithful should easily understand the sacramental signs, and should frequent with great eagerness those sacraments which were instituted to nourish the Christian life.

Sad.

ASD​

Traditional Latin Mass: Translation and Grammar

 

[Phemie]

It’s fortunate that many of you have scheduled confession. We don’t. We used to have 30 minutes before each of the 2 Sunday Masses but the last pastor decided he didn’t want to sit there by himself for 30 minutes and cancelled that.

Now our only option, other than the annual Advent & Lent Reconciliation services with private confession, is to go tap Fr. on the shoulder and ask to go to confession just before Mass. When you have to do that, regardless of whether the ‘Reconciliation Room’ is set up with a screen, you have lost any anonymity you might have had and people just aren’t comfortable with that.

Because I work there I have access to confession any time there’s a priest around and I’ve been known to say, “Fr., if you’ve got a few minutes I need to go to confession.” They’ve always been most accommodating and actually happy to have someone request the sacrament.

Unfortunately, the other parishioners aren’t so lucky.

 

[Joannm]

It’s fortunate that many of you have scheduled confession. We don’t. We used to have 30 minutes before each of the 2 Sunday Masses but the last pastor decided he didn’t want to sit there by himself for 30 minutes and cancelled that.

Now our only option, other than the annual Advent & Lent Reconciliation services with private confession, is to go tap Fr. on the shoulder and ask to go to confession just before Mass. When you have to do that, regardless of whether the ‘Reconciliation Room’ is set up with a screen, you have lost any anonymity you might have had and people just aren’t comfortable with that.

Because I work there I have access to confession any time there’s a priest around and I’ve been known to say, “Fr., if you’ve got a few minutes I need to go to confession.” They’ve always been most accommodating and actually happy to have someone request the sacrament.

Unfortunately, the other parishioners aren’t so lucky.

We have had rare situations where people call for an appointment for confession but stipulate that they want it anonymous. The priest would go sit in the confessional about 5 minutes before the appointment time and the person will go in and the priest will not leave for 5 minutes after so the person can say their penance in the church without the priest seeing them.

 

[asnate]

I always think of confession as of Sacrament of Reconciliation: that’s not about mortal sins only, but just when you feel like you have done something not quite OK regarding your relationship with Jesus.
And also once a priest pointed out to me that confession is Sacrament helping us to overcome temptations, and I see now he has been right.

 

[Matthew_Holford]

The august sacrament of Confession has quietly disappeared in importance from our Church. Why is this?

I don’t think the Church sees confession as less important. I would agree that some priests do not encourage the faithful to seek this sacrament as frequently as they once did.

Yes, the Church requires a single Confession annually but if one commits a mortal sin that requirement changes to: Go to Confession ASAP!

I may be wrong, but I think the Church says you must confess mortal sins ASAP. Venial sins don’t need to be confessed. Even if you haven’t committed any mortal sins you must still go to confession at least once a year.

How about all the venial sins that pile up in a year and then become a mortal sin? Could that happen?

Mortal and venial sins are different. I can’t see how ever many venial sins one commits that the sum of these would equal a mortal sin. Who’s to decide how many venial sins make one mortal sin.

At many parishes Confession is almost an afterthought. The priests may schedule a half an hour and if one is lucky maybe a full hour once a week for Confession. After Vatican II of course the name changed to Reconciliation and people were given an option of sitting in front of the priest and confessing sins. Anonymity was stripped away.

I think the use of the confessional with a screened grille is still the norm. No one is forced into face-to-face confession. This point is probably difficult to answer. If a priest only schedules half an hour for confession per week then not many penitents can access confession. But, let’s say the priest scheduled two hours on Saturday afternoon - what is the point of the priest sitting in the confessional for that length of time and no one shows up. Is the reduction in the time set aside for hearing confessions because priests have reduced its availability or is it because people weren’t coming to confession anyway. Personally, and of course this is just my opinion, I think a lot of the fault lies with our priests. I cannot recall the last time I heard a priest tell the faithful of the great importance of this sacrament and that we should access this sacrament with any regularity.

Also, the many priests of the wood stock generation will forgive just about anything.

But, that’s the whole point of confession. We also need to use the right terms here. The priest grants us absolution, not forgiveness. Forgiveness is given by God. But, priests are meant to grant absolution for even the most heinous of sins.

I thought a priest is held accountable by God for the souls of his flock. Does anyone see the problem with little to no priestly concern about Confession?

We shouldn’t make a rash judgement on whether priests are concerned about confession. I agree it can “appear” that way but how can you prove this point?

Is there not a great risk that many souls in the Church today run around misinformed and ignorant about the value of Confession? Are many not in grave mortal sin yet continue to receive the Eucharist because they have a misguided belief that Jesus believes only in peace and justice and will forgive them anyway because he is not a meanie?

I don’t think people are going to confession as often as was the case. If people have committed mortal sin and they do not confess them then they do place their soul in grave danger. Those who receive the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin are of course committing a further mortal sin.

Are these priests not putting their salvation in grave danger by for all intense and purposes ignoring the importance of Confession.

Again we need proof positive that priests do not see this sacrament as important. Is not seeing confession as important a mortal sin? I don’t know. If it is then priests who may see confession as not important would place their salvation in grave danger.

St. Padre Pio would be outraged by today’s thinking on Confession. The only good news I know of is that FSSP priests take Confession very seriously. These priests will sit and listen for as long as it takes. They care about the soul and they are prepared with the truth and with helpful prayers and ways for one to amend his ways. The priests who take Confession seriously are a small group but they are young and I can only hope that as they become leaders in the Church that Confession begins again to take on the great importance it warrants from all of us in the Catholic faith.

This goes back to the point of whether the availability of time for confession has reduced because priests were sitting in confessionals with no one or very few people coming to confession or whether they’ve reduced the time because they don’t see offering this sacrament as important. I do believe there has been a general decline in going to confession among the faithful. In my opinion this is due to the fact that we’re no longer taught by the Church about the dangers of the Devil, hell, evil, etc.