Horrified, Appalled, Disappointed

[SanctaMommy]

Hello,

I want to tell you how horrified I am by the custom of EVERYONE going to communion and receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist at Mass on Sunday! I go to confession at least twice a month (it is scheduled for Saturday afternoons from 3:30-4:00) and there are usually, at most, 7 or 8 parishioners in line. And it’s usually the same older ladies every week!

Now, let me tell you - our parish has a few thousand parishioners. Masses are full. And come time for Communion, practically everyone gets out of their eat and accepts Christ like he or she is without mortal sin.

The size of the parish being what it is, I have to assume that very few of these individuals attend confession on anything resembling a regular basis. Which is one thing…as long as they do not accept Communion while not in a state of grace! But this is NEVER discussed at Mass. The priest never goes over what makes a person worthy of Communion or not.

I am just horrified. Does anyone care anymore? These people think Communion is a right - or just a “thing” they do at church. They don’t care if they are not in a state of grace. It’s appalling!!!

 

[Cathryn]

Hello,

I want to tell you how horrified I am by the custom of EVERYONE going to communion and receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist at Mass on Sunday! I go to confession at least twice a month (it is scheduled for Saturday afternoons from 3:30-4:00) and there are usually, at most, 7 or 8 parishioners in line. And it’s usually the same older ladies every week!

Now, let me tell you - our parish has a few thousand parishioners. Masses are full. And come time for Communion, practically everyone gets out of their eat and accepts Christ like he or she is without mortal sin.

The size of the parish being what it is, I have to assume that very few of these individuals attend confession on anything resembling a regular basis. Which is one thing…as long as they do not accept Communion while not in a state of grace! But this is NEVER discussed at Mass. The priest never goes over what makes a person worthy of Communion or not.

I am just horrified. Does anyone care anymore? These people think Communion is a right - or just a “thing” they do at church. They don’t care if they are not in a state of grace. It’s appalling!!!

Your post is a little scary. I hope you eliminate from your wrath those of us who don’t go at the regularly scheduled time.

 

[Cristiano]

You could write to the pastor with the list of names of the people that are in a state of mortal sin and attach the specific sin to each of their names.

 

[Jegudiel]

Hello,

I want to tell you how horrified I am by the custom of EVERYONE going to communion and receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist at Mass on Sunday! I go to confession at least twice a month (it is scheduled for Saturday afternoons from 3:30-4:00) and there are usually, at most, 7 or 8 parishioners in line. And it’s usually the same older ladies every week!

Now, let me tell you - our parish has a few thousand parishioners. Masses are full. And come time for Communion, practically everyone gets out of their eat and accepts Christ like he or she is without mortal sin.

The size of the parish being what it is, I have to assume that very few of these individuals attend confession on anything resembling a regular basis. Which is one thing…as long as they do not accept Communion while not in a state of grace! But this is NEVER discussed at Mass. The priest never goes over what makes a person worthy of Communion or not.

I am just horrified. Does anyone care anymore? These people think Communion is a right - or just a “thing” they do at church. They don’t care if they are not in a state of grace. It’s appalling!!!

Who are you to judge?

 

[The_Scott]

You could write to the pastor with the list of names of the people that are in a state of mortal sin and attach the specific sin to each of their names.

:clapping:

Also, just because you don’t see them going to confession during that half hour once a week, doesn’t mean they never do. There are other priests that could hear their confession, or they schedule at another time.

 

[Daralharb]

Who are you to judge?

WELL… I’d say it’s not judging, just using common sense.

Thousands at a parish… hardly anyone at confession but the same old ladies, hmm, I wonder?

Please, do the math on the issue of thousands of people confessing amidst the schedule of the diocesan priests in single, scheduled confessions. It’s impossible. We’re then left with two options:

1. these people are extremely holy against the trend of sin
2. they’re unworthily taking the Body and Blood of Christ.

I’m going with option 2.

Common sense just makes me.

 

[Hokomai]

Is there no survey of priests to find out how common confession is? Surely some hard data would be useful.

 

[edward_george]

WELL… I’d say it’s not judging, just using common sense.

Thousands at a parish… hardly anyone at confession but the same old ladies, hmm, I wonder?

Please, do the math on the issue of thousands of people confessing amidst the schedule of the diocesan priests in single, scheduled confessions. It’s impossible. We’re then left with two options:

1. these people are extremely holy against the trend of sin
2. they’re unworthily taking the Body and Blood of Christ.

I’m going with option 2.

Common sense just makes me.

Nobody’s saying those are the only two options. Is there no possibility that you’re misjudging and that these people are yes, guilty of sin, but they’re also going to confession outside of your awareness? How about some charity–give them the benefit of the doubt, instead of launching into an internet tirade about knowledge of someone’s soul that would be between them, God, and presumably their confessor? Would you want someone assuming such things about you?

-ACEGC

 

[Anna_Claire]

You could write to the pastor with the list of names of the people that are in a state of mortal sin and attach the specific sin to each of their names.

That is just sick!, hope you are joking but it’s not funny.

Sancta mommy…get over it! I have no doubt Christ is pleased that so many want his graces.

 

[Corki]

Hello,

I want to tell you how horrified I am by the custom of EVERYONE going to communion and receiving Our Lord in the Eucharist at Mass on Sunday! I go to confession at least twice a month (it is scheduled for Saturday afternoons from 3:30-4:00) and there are usually, at most, 7 or 8 parishioners in line. And it’s usually the same older ladies every week!

Now, let me tell you - our parish has a few thousand parishioners. Masses are full. And come time for Communion, practically everyone gets out of their eat and accepts Christ like he or she is without mortal sin.

The size of the parish being what it is, I have to assume that very few of these individuals attend confession on anything resembling a regular basis. Which is one thing…as long as they do not accept Communion while not in a state of grace! But this is NEVER discussed at Mass. The priest never goes over what makes a person worthy of Communion or not.

I am just horrified. Does anyone care anymore? These people think Communion is a right - or just a “thing” they do at church. They don’t care if they are not in a state of grace. It’s appalling!!!

“Horrified” implies a certain level of shock. Are you recently returned to the Church or is this a new development at your parish?

 

[Leegal]

My parish has only one priest and 45 minutes of confession on Saturday, if he’s not called away. I’ve gone and there were no confessions being heard because there was no priest.

So, I usually do confession at a Church in another borough because they have confession every day.

So, when my priest sees me at Mass, but not confession, can he assume I am in mortal sin?

 

[Jamey77]

SanctaMummy I understand where you are coming from. As the excellent preacher Fr Bill Casey, the Superior of the Fathers of Mercy says, “since many have stopped going to confession, either alot of people are ready for canonisation, or there are many sacrilegious communions, which do you think?” Signs that gives things away is whether there is a mass exodus before the final hymn is finished or immediately afterward with no thanksgiving and the level of noise that fills the sanctuary. The parishes I have been to, there is a distinct lack of reverance and I try as much as possible to get to the Tridentine Mass in our local archdiocese, the reverance is much greater and personally I seem to get alot more graces from it. I know some people that drive 250km each way on Sunday to get to a traditional mass. I saw a guy do the gospel reading recently in a NO parish and he looked as though he had just played a game of tennis and was heading to the corner deli. Very bizarre and a remote incident but one priest I know of, recently had a woman come up for communion with a coin on her hand! She wanted him to put the sacred host on the coin, he refused.

 

[mdgspencer]

I agree with the original post. Something is out of whack when everyone goes to communion. In my case I know a family member went when he should not have gone.
It is interesting to see how several posters have negatively judged the original poster, as they say such things as who are you to judge?

 

[Leegal]

Assumptions.

I get to Mass early and I light candles for deceased members. But I have not done so for awhile because of a lack in my funds. I had money this week. I got there early. I had to light 8 candles. Many were lit already, so I had to light one in one row, two in another and so on.

It appeared that I was just lighting candles, but I had the money in my left hand to drop into the box when I had finished.

A woman automatically assumed that I was randomly lighting candles just to light them and confronted me. I showed her the money in my left hand and told her that I was going to put the money in the box when I was done, as the last one would not light. She persisted (she wanted to make sure I put the money in the box).

It upset me before Mass that this woman assumed something about me and took it upon herself to confront me about lighting candles.

 

[bobballen_18]

Hmmm…sounds like you have a problem with being a little too judgmental. I do things like that too, so I’m pretty much just as guilty. But…try to give them benefit of the doubt.

 

[dailey]

I go to confession approx. twice a month too. I have to admit one of the sins I regularly confess is being judgmental. Sure, the lines are long for communion and short for confession. But we need to focus on our relationship with the Lord…and just pray for those who are receiving Him unworthily.

And I make sure to remind myself that I used to be one of those people.

 

[sw85]

WELL… I’d say it’s not judging, just using common sense.

Thousands at a parish… hardly anyone at confession but the same old ladies, hmm, I wonder?

Please, do the math on the issue of thousands of people confessing amidst the schedule of the diocesan priests in single, scheduled confessions. It’s impossible. We’re then left with two options:

1. these people are extremely holy against the trend of sin
2. they’re unworthily taking the Body and Blood of Christ.

I’m going with option 2.

Common sense just makes me.

Seems reasonable, esp. given that poll after poll shows that the majority of Catholic laity are open heretics.

I know “judgmentalism” is pretty much the only sin Catholics are allowed to publicly condemn nowadays, but let’s be reasonable, folks. The spirit of charity does not demand that you believe obvious nonsense (such that several hundred people, minimum, are receiving confession outside the scheduled time without imposing anything like a noticeable strain on parish resources).

We live in a degenerate and apostate age. The Church is no more invulnerable to this fact than anyone else. The body of Christ is almost certainly received unworthily and I see no reason to suspect that it’s limited to a tiny minority.

Of course we ought not to make judgments about any particular person. But who’s doing that? We’re talking about trends. Numbers. Aggregates. And the trends, numbers, and aggregates are not encouraging.

 

[dailey]

Assumptions.

I get to Mass early and I light candles for deceased members. But I have not done so for awhile because of a lack in my funds. I had money this week. I got there early. I had to light 8 candles. Many were lit already, so I had to light one in one row, two in another and so on.

It appeared that I was just lighting candles, but I had the money in my left hand to drop into the box when I had finished.

A woman automatically assumed that I was randomly lighting candles just to light them and confronted me. I showed her the money in my left hand and told her that I was going to put the money in the box when I was done, as the last one would not light. She persisted (she wanted to make sure I put the money in the box).

It upset me before Mass that this woman assumed something about me and took it upon herself to confront me about lighting candles.

Wow, what a rude thing for her to do. Geeze…

 

[ricofall]

As my Priest said when this was brought up last week at a class.
“Do not worry about other people. Worry about yourself first”
He went on to say that you have no idea what life other people live and therefore you should not judge them at all. He also said that you have no idea if they already talked to me and are doing the best they can to solve what problems they do have. Judging their souls is not for you to do.

I believe he is right on this issue.

With that said, the fact that the OP opened with a judgement, let other people judge against the OP. If violence begot violence, can the same be said about judging?

 

[Debora123]

The size of the parish being what it is, **I have to assume **that very few of these individuals attend confession on anything resembling a regular basis.

To ASSUME is to make an @#$ out of U and ME.

Don’t “assume” anything. You’re at Church. It’s a time for prayer, not a time to look around you and make assumptions about your fellow parishioners.

When you must assume, assume the best.