Confession Makes a Comeback

  • Thread starter Thread starter mommyof4
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
This is the best line I read from the article.Several Protestant pastors said they felt their churches had become too soft on sinners, citing the rise of suburban megachurches that seek converts with feel-good sermons, Starbucks coffee and rock-concert-like services, but rarely issue calls to repent.:yup:
 
I wish our priest would talk more about this. It seems as though the more it is spoken of and emphasized the better the turnout.
 
Maranatha said:
Does anyone know on what information they based the statement, “Private confession, which arose in monasteries in the seventh century, became mandatory for Christians in 1215.” This seems to imply that confession was not mandatory prior to 1215.
Click to expand...
Canon 21 at Lateran IV made the annual use of private confession mandatory for all Christians:

“All the faithful of both sexes shall after they have reached the age of discretion faithfully confess all their sins at least once a year to their own (parish) priest and perform to the best of their ability the penance imposed, receiving reverently at least at Easter the sacrament of the Eucharist, unless perchance at the advice of their own priest they may for a good reason abstain for a time from its reception; otherwise they shall be cut off from the Church (excommunicated) during life and deprived of Christian burial in death.”

The earlier history of it varies considerably from region to region, Though I think it would be wrong to say that private confession was not an important part of sacramental life prior to 1215, it was not explicitly understood to be mandatory in the same way in the early church. If you look at some of the earlier Irish-Celtic penetential manuals, they show extremely harsh (and often public) penances. Certainly, from a historical perspective, the use of individual confession became much more prominent (and popular) in the medieval period, especially with the rise of the Dominicans and Franciscans who became confessors par excellance.

Although many Catholics would not view individual confession and absolution in Lutheran/Episcopal churches as the same thing, there is a growing minority working to revive its use. This is not unrelated to our increased willingness to acknowledge that our own identity is heavily indebted to the medieval Roman Catholic church (then again, I am a medievalist who studies medieval theology, so I have an especially great love for the medieval Church).

Peace in Christ,
A Regularly Confessing Lutheran
 
mystified said:
Haven’t heard sin mentioned from the pulpit in a very long time. I did hear one priest explain why the two hours a week for confessions in our parish with three priests was being cut to a single hour. He said, “Confession is a ‘minor sacrament’.”
It is good to hear that Papa Ratzi is trying to turn the tide, and apparently with some success. In the parish where I now live, it is not unusual to have two or three priests with long lines, even though sometimes the weekly confessions are cancelled with no notice.
Click to expand...
Our Rector patted himself on the back recently for adding a 20 minute before-morning Mass confession time *once a month *to the 20 minutes before evening Mass on Wednesdays and 30 minutes on Saturdays. Woo hoo! This in a Parish with 2600 registered families.
 
Praise be to God! I pray that this trend of revival continues. :signofcross:
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top