Harder and harder to find confession times...WHAT DO YOU THINK?

[Silverburg]

No question that going to confession outside of Mass is preferable. On a practical level there are millions of Catholics whose ongoing exposure to the sacraments is one hour/week at the Mass. They just don’t come near their parish for anything else for a number of reasons.

For those I would have a priest in the box during Mass. I suspect though that it would take many months and a great many reminders before it became something many would availa themselves to.

 

[Middleman]

Long time reader, first time poster so pardon me if this has been debated before. However, several years ago when I met my current wife I began “relearning” my faith and have since been much closer to God and the church. Since this time I have found that the Sacrament of Reconciliation is extremely important in my own spiritual life.

Nonetheless, I’m curious what confession scheduling is like in parishes around the country where you all are from. Here in Connecticut it seems as though the only time confession is offered is Saturdays or the dreaded by appointment. When I listen to daily mass on Sirius at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in NYC I hear them advertise daily confession before each mass…Then I scramble through parish websites around here and confessions are only on Saturdays. Usually during the weekends I try to hit the outdoors so Saturdays I’m all over the place and I would really like to avoid visiting a different priest every time I go to confession.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this topic. God Bless,

My opinion is that many people just figure it’s not really necessary and stop going to a priest for confession.

 

[nice2000]

certain churches were open 24/7 for confession - just ring the bell :bigyikes:

That is amazing! I wish it was like that here in Delaware.

 

[nice2000]

ak85;5825535:

Nonetheless, I’m curious what confession scheduling is like in parishes around the country where you all are from. QUOTE]

My parish offers confession on weekdays from 10.30 am until 1.00 pm, and from 3 to 4pm. On Saturdays, from 11.00 am until 1.30pm and from 3.30pm until 5.45pm. And before you ask, yes, there is always

a priest there at those times!

I wish it was like that here where I live. The parish I attend only offers confession for 45 minutes (Saturday from 4:30 to 5:15pm). I thought confession lasted 1 hour. I went this past Saturday and got there too late…exactly 5:15pm. It kind of sadden me that I missed it.

 

[nice2000]

look for a Redemptorist Parish.
they are BIG on Confession times. our parish has confession twice daily, every day but Sunday…

as to the dreaded “by appt” i would say make an appt. and when you do, mention the difficulty in finding a confession time other than Saturday.

oh, and i am in Philly.

What is a “Redemptorist Parish”? Is it a Roman Catholic Church?

 

[Joe_5859]

What is a “Redemptorist Parish”? Is it a Roman Catholic Church?

The Redemptorists are a religious order (just like the Jesuits, the various Franciscan and Domincan orders, etc.). Some parishes are run by religious orders (with the permission of the local bishop). Thus, it is shorthand to refer to it as a “Redemptorist parish” or a “Franciscan parish.”

It’s simply a regular parish staffed by religious order priests rather than diocesan priests.

 

[nice2000]

The Redemptorists are a religious order (just like the Jesuits, the various Franciscan and Domincan orders, etc.). Some parishes are run by religious orders (with the permission of the local bishop). Thus, it is shorthand to refer to it as a “Redemptorist parish” or a “Franciscan parish.”

It’s simply a regular parish staffed by religious order priests rather than diocesan priests.

Thank you! I will have to look into that.

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Awesome! You may not be a liturgist, but you’re certainly “Johnny-on-the-spot”! Who knew the CDWDS already answered that exact question? Well, I guess you knew.

Ha ha! I didn’t know either, I have just become very adept at doing quick word searches on the internet.

Cordially,
“Jane-on-the-Spot”

 

[tbar51]

I’m from Central Pa. and all small towns around here only offer Confession on Sat. for 1hr.
When I read about St John Vianney sitting in the Confessional for up to 16hrs at a time I
couldn’t believe it. You’d never find any priest now day doing that!!!

 

[joanofarc143130]

I know exactly what you mean!! It was a major problem for me this summer. See, I was just received into the Church in April while at college – so during the school year, it’s no issue at all. But at home, I am lucky to even get to go to mass, as my parents were once very hostile to the Catholic faith. All the churches by my house offered reconciliation only on Sturdays from 3:30-4:30. Every single blasted church.

I have no car. My family has two. On Saturdays at this time, my mom is using one car to do weekly shopping and my dad is using the other because he is at work. I thought for a horrible while that I wouldn’t be able to go at all. Then God worked something out. I made a deal with my dad – on a day I wanted to go to confession, I would drive my dad to work in the morning so I would have the car, then go to confession, and pick him up from work later on. It was kind of an exhausting ordeal “just for a sacrament” – but to me, it made the sacrament all the more precious and reminded me of the sacrifice I had made to be Catholic.

Thankfully, at the Newman Catholic Student Center, my church while I’m in college, we have reconciliation at the following times:

Saturday 3:30-4:30 (4:30 mass)
Sunday 8:30-9:00 p.m. (9:00 mass)
Wednesday 11:30-12:00 p.m. (12:05 mass)
and 8:30-9:00 p.m. (9:00 mass)

Now, isn’t that more like it?

 

[Winthir]

What I think? Honestly, it is my conviction that confession is a two-way street between the penitent and the priest. In confession, we layfolk receive the grace of the sacrament, in addition to the holy example of the priest. But also, a priest, hearing a straight-forward, honest, humble confession, can be stirred to greater holiness. And it is the striving for holiness that urges a confessor to be as accommodating as possible to his penitents.
Blessings to all who try!

 

[ecce_ego]

ak85, i go to a cluster (all the churches around here are clusters) and we have like 30-45minute long confessions. But you really can’t blame the priests. Almost nobody comes. It’s a shrinking diocese. . And in Mexico its like in Poland, confessions are 24/7 practically.

I visited Warszawa and Gdansk and was surprised by this. I visited a large church in Warszawa at about 1am and was able to just walk in, light a candle and pray. There was no priest present but a couple of nuns were wisping about in the background- it was great. I feel sure that if I had asked, one of them would have found a priest or told me when to come back.

 

[daeve]

I checked the schedules for several of the parishes on our Archidiocesean website. Almost every parish had about 30 to 45 minutes on Saturday afternnoon for confession. The one I go to is from 4 to more or less 4:45 on Saturday. Some parishes also had confession on Saturday morning or one other time during the week, like Thursday evening. The “Old” Cathedral downtown has confession everyday at noon, and the “New” Catherdral had several times a week, for longer periods of time. When I worked downtown, I was across for the Old Cathedral. I never went to confession there, but the Catholics in my office went for Ashes and a couple times were able to go to Stations there. Not many people have a big church across the street, so that was pretty cool. There are a few other parishes that have confession almost everyday in the morning.

When I was in grade school, we went to Mass everyday. From 3rd grade on, you were expected to go to confession at least every two weeks during the weekday Mass. Saturday and Thursday evenings were reserved for adults. At least one of the nuns I had kept track, and if you were lagging she’d tell you about it. Or walk you right over to the line. I go on Saturday afternoon, and I’m usually the youngest person there. I’m 59. It’s mostly the old ladies, a couple ushers and once in a while me. I think those old ladies must go every week, because I see the same ones every time. There are two priests there, but most people go to the pastor.

 

[JimG]

My parish has confession 30 minutes before the weekday afternoon (5:30pm ) Masses, Mon-Fri, plus 3:00 to 4:00 pm on Saturdays, as well as several penance services during the year when visiting priests help to hear confessions.

Often the priest will come out 45 minutes before Mass on weekdays, and it’s good to get there early because often there is a line. On weekdays the priest will hear 10 to 15 confessions before Mass, and if the line is long a 2nd priest will come out to hear confessions at the altar, if available. (When there is a line, it’s charitable to those waiting if you keep the confession short and to the point.)

 

[KEVIN_WILCOX]

A Catholic priest is OBLIGATED to hear Confession.
A holy priest will be overjoyed you want to confess.
Theoretically a Catholic can go to a Catholic priest any time to confess.

Unfortunately since Vatican 2 there has been a move toward piety being considered a “dirty word.” Regrettably, often laity who frequent the Confessional or attend daily Mass are considered outcasts or those who have a personality defect.

One young man was asked to leave the seminary because it was thought inappropriate for him to be “taking the Church back 200 years.” Message being - if you want to stay you had better conform to common practise.
Padre Pio was often approached by “strange friars” who instructed him to leave. He used to invite them to pray the ‘Our Father’ with him. It was they who fled.

We need to pray for holy priests.

 

[datingtrappists]

The scheduled confession times at my church are at 5-6pm on Saturday and 12:45-1:25pm on Sunday (before the Sunday Latin Mass… most of the Latin Mass community prefer to confess to the Chaplain of the community, and since he is the only priest at the church at that time, he has to cut off confession time to be able to pray Mass) and immediately after Latin Mass until everyone’s confession is heard. Also, Fr. is really wonderful about hearing confession at almost anytime outside of confession. There have been several times that I’ve needed to confess during the week and perhaps only twice that I was told that he couldn’t hear my confession then (I think he was either making a sick call or had to immediately go to a meeting) but made an appointment with me to hear my confession. Never, in any of the times that I’ve asked for confession outside of scheduled times, have I felt like I’m a bother, and in fact, the majority of the times, I’ve been answered an enthusiastic, “Of course!” to the question, “Fr, do you have a minute to hear my confession?”

For those who are wary and perhaps a bit shy about approaching a priest for confession outside of scheduled times, their job is to be a shepherd to the souls entrusted to them, and one of the ways they are to protect those souls is through the administration of the sacraments, perhaps even most especially confession and Holy Eucharist.

 

[Anne1964]

In my area most parishes offer confession for thirty minutes to an hour on Saturday afternoons. At my parish our priest hears confessions on Weds evenings and Sat.afternoons. He will stay as long as necessary on Saturdays, sometimes two and a half hours.

The priests at the cathedral are happy to hear confessions after weekday masses, but you have to ask.

 

[John92]

At my parish there are confessions on Saturdays from 3:30 - 4:30, seems like a convenient time; once a week is just right for me, my soul isn’t too too heavy in one week’s time (usually ) and if I were going more frequently than that I’d just get into the ol’ scrupulosity, I think. Long lines too, which, as someone else here said, is great

I’ve also gone by appointment several times. Never had a problem with it, dunno why people don’t like it in this thread. The only beef I’d have is that it’s always been face-to-face.

 

[KEVIN_WILCOX]

What are subsciber’s thoughts on Confession via the internet?

It allows for anonymity

It allows for those chronologically challenged (both laity & clergy)

(Not saying whether I am for or against - just opening it up for the possibility of discussion)

 

[dachsiemom]

What are subsciber’s thoughts on Confession via the internet?

It allows for anonymity

It allows for those chronologically challenged (both laity & clergy)

(Not saying whether I am for or against - just opening it up for the possibility of discussion)

Can’t be done. I returned to church after 20 years and checked it out.