How often should one go to Confession?

[antonabe]

Confession is the best way of showing ones’ humilty to God and ask his pardon for Sins committed.But is the frequemcy diminishing now? In our Parish arrangements are made for Confession to be heard During Lent and before Christmas but not during other times.In fact I took this up with the Parish Peiest and suggested that a Priest should be at the Confessional for 15 minutes before Sunday Mass and his reply was that he tried it and the response was bad.I believe that one should Confess even the so called Veniel sins and that Confession is not only for those who are guilty of the Mortal sins.

 

[Verbum_Caro]

antonabe,

That is a shame.

I think we should go to confession very often, and regularly.

Maybe you could ask Fr. to preach a homily about the value of frequent confession? Another approach would be to try to have a parish mission, focused perhaps on the reality of sin and the need for repentance and confession.

I’m fortunate enough to have confession available every weekday at my parish, as well as Saturday. I wish it were so at every parish!

VC

 

[LilyM]

Amen Verbum Caro! Get the priest preaching a good homily whenever the Gospel talks about repentance and the lines will probably get longer.

Antonabe, do remember that when you need confession you can call the priest to arrange an appointment.

I think these days priests are busier with other duties than in times past, and so find that it relieves the time pressure to rely more on parishioners asking for confession, rather than to metaphorically sit and twiddle their thumbs in the confessional with not many people coming.

Not how things should be by any means, but in these days of severe priest shortage for some it’s really the only reasonable option.

 

[antonabe]

Amen Verbum Caro! Get the priest preaching a good homily whenever the Gospel talks about repentance and the lines will probably get longer.

Antonabe, do remember that when you need confession you can call the priest to arrange an appointment.

I think these days priests are busier with other duties than in times past, and so find that it relieves the time pressure to rely more on parishioners asking for confession, rather than to metaphorically sit and twiddle their thumbs in the confessional with not many people coming.

Not how things should be by any means, but in these days of severe priest shortage for some it’s really the only reasonable option.

Thank you Lily.Yes when Ineed to go for Confession I do make an appointment but I was rather concerned with the PP’s response.Is the general attitude towards Confession changing because people too have become more secular and involved in Worldly matters.

 

[LilyM]

Thank you Lily.Yes when Ineed to go for Confession I do make an appointment but I was rather concerned with the PP’s response.Is the general attitude towards Confession changing because people too have become more secular and involved in Worldly matters.

I think so, sadly. Probably the same reason fewer people are going to weekly Mass and so on.

 

[nsper7]

My personal opinion is one can never go to Confession too much, but the Priests at my parish disagree. I go once a week and I’d go more often, but the Priests probably would not let me.

I find I truly love going to Confession. Even though it can be embarrassing confessing some sins (especially if it is a repetitive/addictive one), I come out feeling clean, like I have had a spiritual bath or something.

Thus, I would say the more, the better.

 

[Shin]

There should be a priest in the Confessional before every mass, so that before every mass any parishioner who needs it has access to it and so can truly prepare for the mass and the Eucharist.

15 minutes before every mass is a simple method that can suffice, if the practice bears fruit a little longer.

For the parishioner, once every two weeks is a good minimum to aim for, depending on one’s spiritual state one could go more often or less to a degree naturally.

For example, when battling a particularly troublesome sin, one could go each day (St. Charles Borromeo) on the other hand a senior citizen might go once every one-two months.

The patient visits the doctor as often as is best for the patient’s health, and hopefully learns what this is with time.

 

[acadian]

Wow. Confession is only available during Lent and Advent…

Our parish has confession “15 minutes before” daily Mass - 4 days a week and for 30 minutes on Saturdays. I go every 6-8-10 weeks, as my schedule allows. Rarely have I had to wait in a line. It takes prior planning and committment to make it during the assigned times, but at least there ARE times.

I have a priest friend who has a parish where confessions are heard 30 minutes before EVERY Mass. (This was in place before he was assigned there) I went one Sunday to visit, with the intention of going to confession if the opportunity presented itself. I would have had to knock someone down and then run into the confessional before they got up off the floor. I knew I could go the following weekend at my own parish with absolutely no waiting in line.

 

[Jerry-Jet]

Pope Pius X went to confession daily and was the last pope to become a saint.

I wouldn’t say that everyone needs to follow that practice but it worked for him–who knows–it might work for many of us?

We should confess our venial sins to God everyday directly if we aren’t going to confession–but going to confession and confessing venial sins is not without merit–it isn’t required but grace can come from it.

 

[Sina]

I wish there was access to confession every day in my city. I find it one of the most important sacraments.

 

[JerrySeibert]

Am I to understand that a Priest can discuss ‘whatever’ during the Homily? I always understood that he was to discuss the Liturgy only. I assume that I have been incorrect on this my entire life.