How to approach priest about confession being almost non-existant

  • Thread starter Thread starter havemercy
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
H

havemercy

Guest
Our parish uses the confessionals as closets, basically. Whenever I’ve gone to confession, I’ve gone into Father’s office where I had to ask him if he had a few minutes to hear my confession. We have the monthly Reconciliation liturgies, but I can never make it to them. Does 20 minutes before each mass sounds reasonable? At least on weekends.

How can I approach my priest without sounding like a jerk or being offensive?

I ask this because I think I’d feel a little weirded out by a 19 year old asking if I could make confession part of the weekly schedule while encouraging me to tell the parish to get going to confession (because honestly, either I’m under a huge false impression, or everyone in my parish are angels or saints).

Thanks,
tony
 
First off, I want to address these so called “Reconciliation liturgies” your priest is holding. I’m not sure exactly what is going on, but if he is giving general absolutions to all the parishoners who attend one of these masses, that is very wrong, and your just as good off not going to these.

You may want to check this document out for further clarification:

rc.net/rcchurch/popes/paul6/p6absol.txt

Now, to your real question, most all parishes I know of have Confession before the Saturday mass. If you cannot make it, or you do not have one on Saturday, just tell him that you need to go to Confession, and if he tells you just to go to this “reconciliation mass”, say you would prefer to speak with him one-on-one. That is not rude…after all he is the shepherd, and this is part of his duty.

(While your at it, you might want to discuss the reconciliation liturgy.)
 
Just ask him nicely. If he hears it from a young person as yourself he may be more disposed to listen. For the moment don’t talk about Church documents and all the technical stuff but approach him as you are - with a desire to have confession more available. Then come back and let us know how it went and then maybe we can have some more formal advice. But if you just talk to him as one of his flock in honesty, humility and love it will have more effect than any document or source that can be given.
 
Kevin42 said:
First off, I want to address these so called “Reconciliation liturgies” your priest is holding. I’m not sure exactly what is going on, but if he is giving general absolutions to all the parishoners who attend one of these masses, that is very wrong, and your just as good off not going to these.
Click to expand...
No, its not that at all. Every first friday of the month priests from some neighboring parishes come to my parish and we have scripture readings and time for silence and recollection. Afterwards, confessions are held.
mosher said:
Just ask him nicely. If he hears it from a young person as yourself he may be more disposed to listen. For the moment don’t talk about Church documents and all the technical stuff but approach him as you are - with a desire to have confession more available. Then come back and let us know how it went and then maybe we can have some more formal advice. But if you just talk to him as one of his flock in honesty, humility and love it will have more effect than any document or source that can be given.
Click to expand...
Indeed. I’ll report back!
 
havemercy said:
No, its not that at all. Every first friday of the month priests from some neighboring parishes come to my parish and we have scripture readings and time for silence and recollection. Afterwards, confessions are held.
Click to expand...
Oh thank goodness I was wrong!😃
 
My parish has Confession each Saturday from 3;30-4:30 PM, or by appointment. Reconciliation Services are fine, provided no Mortal Sin is involved. The Precepts of the Church require Sacramental Confession at least once a year. Obviously, approaching the Sacrament of Penance more often than that is encouraged.
 
havemercy said:
No, its not that at all. Every first friday of the month priests from some neighboring parishes come to my parish and we have scripture readings and time for silence and recollection. Afterwards, confessions are held.

Indeed. I’ll report back!
Click to expand...
your parish is doing 90 % more than a lot of parishes to make the sacrament more accessible. talk to you pastor, you will probably find he got tired of sitting in an empty confessional on Saturday afternoon, that is when he shortened the time and went to the monthly services. ask him if it is his impression that more people are availing themselves of the sacrament since these changes.

you could also politely call at least once or twice a month for an appointment, explain why you don’t or can’t come to the other service, how many times you did not get to confess because there were still people in line when it was time to begin Mass etc.
 
PhilipCal said:
. Reconciliation Services are fine, provided no Mortal Sin is involved. .
Click to expand...
Reconciliation services are fine if they prepare people for individual confession of sins, mortal and venial, to a priest and enough priests are present for that purpose, and they follow the Rite of Communal Reconciliation in the revised sacramentary.
 
When I was growing up, confessions were available for an hour EVERY morning and two hours on Satuday afternoon. Now that hour every morning has been cut back to only 15 minutes per day and only half an hour on Saturday afternoon.

Very sad.
 
Pax vobiscum!

I am very lucky. The church right by my school has daily confession from 11:30-12 right before the 12:05 daily Mass. The church I normally go to on Sunday has daily confession from 11-12 before their noon daily Mass. These two churches also have confession before their Saturday vigil Masses.

In Christ,
Rand
 
I am so fortunate to have a parish like the Cathedral where not only do they have confession an hour before the Saturday Mass, if you don’t get there early enough you might not get in because so many people go every week. This is the first parish I have been to that people have to wait in a lengthy line every Saturday for confession!

Plus most of the time they will have confessions either before or after the TLM on Sundays.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top