How to Get More Parishoners to Adoration/Confessions

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Dan_86

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Hello everyone, I have felt a calling to lead my parish to a deeper appreciation of the sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration. I have the approval of my pastor in this endeavor and I’ll be offering him a plan of action in January on how to do this. Currently, our parish has a weekly Eucharistic Adoration with confessions and I truly believe that greater attendance each week would will be the surest way to transform our faith community.

My current ideas are:
  1. Make the structured parts of the holy hour more devout:
    a. Add organ music to the hymns we currently sing (O Salutaris Hostia / Tantum Ergo Sacramentum)
    b. Use incense, and keep the thurible in the sanctuary throughout the holy hour
    c. Schedule altar servers to assist
  2. Develop a “kit” of laminated cards with the hymns and structure of the holy hour, rosaries, devotional booklets, examination of conscience guide, etc. Place this in the main aisle for people to draw from to assist them in their prayer.
  3. Pray the rosary aloud together at some set point in the holy hour
  4. Have each holy hour “sponsored” by a group from the parish (K of C, youth group, Eucharistic ministers, etc.) the sponsor group will be in charge of placing the materials out beforehand, leading the congregation in the rosary, and most importantly getting as many of their members to attend as possible. Members of said group will also be responsible for evangelizing by bringing other parishioners to their sponsored holy hour.
I welcome anyone’s thoughts on my ideas and would love to hear some of yours as well.
 
I would suspect that some may not like this idea, but I recently went to a Catholic Underground event at my parish in NY and I LOVED it. It’s geared mainly toward 20 somethings, but there was a surprising mix of age ranges. I have never seen the parish so crowded, and the lines for confession were crazy long!

catholicunderground.net/what.html
 
DeniseNY said:
I would suspect that some may not like this idea, but I recently went to a Catholic Underground event at my parish in NY and I LOVED it. It’s geared mainly toward 20 somethings, but there was a surprising mix of age ranges. I have never seen the parish so crowded, and the lines for confession were crazy long!

catholicunderground.net/what.html
Click to expand...
Someone I know described an event that was put on by Catholic Underground and it sounded awesome!
The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are truly inspired.
 
Dan_86 said:
Hello everyone, I have felt a calling to lead my parish to a deeper appreciation of the sacrament of Reconciliation and Eucharistic Adoration. I have the approval of my pastor in this endeavor and I’ll be offering him a plan of action in January on how to do this. Currently, our parish has a weekly Eucharistic Adoration with confessions and I truly believe that greater attendance each week would will be the surest way to transform our faith community.

My current ideas are:
  1. Make the structured parts of the holy hour more devout:
    a. Add organ music to the hymns we currently sing (O Salutaris Hostia / Tantum Ergo Sacramentum)
    b. Use incense, and keep the thurible in the sanctuary throughout the holy hour
    c. Schedule altar servers to assist
  2. Develop a “kit” of laminated cards with the hymns and structure of the holy hour, rosaries, devotional booklets, examination of conscience guide, etc. Place this in the main aisle for people to draw from to assist them in their prayer.
  3. Pray the rosary aloud together at some set point in the holy hour
  4. Have each holy hour “sponsored” by a group from the parish (K of C, youth group, Eucharistic ministers, etc.) the sponsor group will be in charge of placing the materials out beforehand, leading the congregation in the rosary, and most importantly getting as many of their members to attend as possible. Members of said group will also be responsible for evangelizing by bringing other parishioners to their sponsored holy hour.
I welcome anyone’s thoughts on my ideas and would love to hear some of yours as well.
Click to expand...
My Parish currently has daily Eucharistic Adoration from 12N - 6P with all of the above incorporated. In addition, we have a montly Prayer Group Holy Hour with the above Eucharistic Adoration as well as a monthly EMHC Holy Hour with the above Eucharistic Adoration. We also have a monthly Teen Club Holy Hour with the above Eucharistic Adoration. All of these Adorations include the Rosary, Reconciliation, etc. as stated above. In addition the use of organ, adoration hymns, incense, etc. We also have many Churches in my area that have 24 hour Eucharistic Adoration.
 
My parish only has a Holy Hour once a month and on special occasions. But when we do it, we make a big deal out of it. Its announced from the pulpit every Mass for a week or so in advance and its in the newsletter. It has music, solemn benediction at the end with incense and the Tantum Ergo, reflections read out, sometimes the Rosary is said, confessions sometimes occur at the same time. Bottom line is if your idea of a Holy Hour is simply that the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for an hour, that’s valid, but it will only attract people who can cope with sustained silent prayer. While maintaining of course the decorum of the event and the respect that should be afforded to the sacrament, cater for different preferences in prayer: silent, out loud (e.g. Rosary), reflective, singing/chant etc. Also, having it either before or after Mass will attract more people. As for more people going to confession, convenient times will help including accommodating people who work. but ultimately more teaching on both the importance of the sacrament and how to make a good confession is needed before you will increase confession lines, at least on a regular basis. On the later, I found this video quite instructive.

Edit: Oh and use themes. For instance, in November, we had a Holy Souls theme. For December, there was an Advent theme.
 
Dorothy said:
Someone I know described an event that was put on by Catholic Underground and it sounded awesome!
The Franciscan Friars of the Renewal are truly inspired.
Click to expand...
I have to tell you, it was the best confession I’ve ever had!
 
Education from the pulpit about its importance. You can have all the bells and whistles (and smoke) you want, but if the people in the pew are not clear on what it is…they still won’t come. You want to come for the right reasons, right?

The catechesis in some parts of the U.S. is fairly lacking. Ask your Pastor to preach on the Real Presence and the topic of Adoration, or offer a mini-mission about it.

That will build interest.
Once they are on board, then add in all those ideas. Then the priest can assure it is superbly and reverently done.

Good luck!
 
peter26 said:
As for more people going to confession, convenient times will help including accommodating people who work. but ultimately more teaching on both the importance of the sacrament and how to make a good confession is needed before you will increase confession lines, at least on a regular basis.
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I agree with this. Our Parish only does confession at 3PM on Saturday. That’s great, and it’s popular, but I wish so much that they would do confession at least one hour on a weekday evening. With Confession at 3PM on Saturday, it means I can’t really go anywhere on Saturday because Confession falls right in the middle of the day. I prefer to go to Mass on Sunday, so basically it kills my whole weekend. That sounds irreverent and I don’t mean it to sound that way- I am HUGELY grateful for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and I love Mass. But as a new Catholic I still struggle to determine what is mortal and what is venial sin and so for the time being I pretty much go to Confession every single week just to be safe and so that means that I really can’t do anything on the weekends at all except Confession and Mass. I work full time during the week, so the weekends are my only time for hiking, camping, ATV riding, fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, etc. and those are all day activities and I really wish I had one day that was just totally free. I can (and sometimes do) just go to Vigil Mass on Saturday nights to keep my Confession/Mass to a single day but it is not my preference and also leads me to wonder if I’m truly meeting my obligation to keep the Lord’s Day Holy when I use that day to go recreate.
 
peter26 said:
My parish only has a Holy Hour once a month and on special occasions. But when we do it, we make a big deal out of it. Its announced from the pulpit every Mass for a week or so in advance and its in the newsletter. It has music, solemn benediction at the end with incense and the Tantum Ergo, reflections read out, sometimes the Rosary is said, confessions sometimes occur at the same time. Bottom line is if your idea of a Holy Hour is simply that the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for an hour, that’s valid, but it will only attract people who can cope with sustained silent prayer. While maintaining of course the decorum of the event and the respect that should be afforded to the sacrament, cater for different preferences in prayer: silent, out loud (e.g. Rosary), reflective, singing/chant etc. Also, having it either before or after Mass will attract more people. As for more people going to confession, convenient times will help including accommodating people who work. but ultimately more teaching on both the importance of the sacrament and how to make a good confession is needed before you will increase confession lines, at least on a regular basis. On the later, I found this video quite instructive.

Edit: Oh and use themes. For instance, in November, we had a Holy Souls theme. For December, there was an Advent theme.
Click to expand...
Hi peter26, I think you’ve brought up a very relevant point as it applies to my parish. Currently the entire holy hour is silent prayer, minus the initial exposition and closing. Although I think silent prayer should be much more integral to the Christian life than just something to “cope” with (I imagine you agree), I think it would be prudent to have a period of audible, community prayer.

I cringe at the thought of making adoration more “palatable,” but I think the point of your post was to meet people where they are to some extent unless you want empty pews. I agree.

Thanks for your comments!
 
pianistclare said:
Education from the pulpit about its importance. You can have all the bells and whistles (and smoke) you want, but if the people in the pew are not clear on what it is…they still won’t come. You want to come for the right reasons, right?

The catechesis in some parts of the U.S. is fairly lacking. Ask your Pastor to preach on the Real Presence and the topic of Adoration, or offer a mini-mission about it.

That will build interest.
Once they are on board, then add in all those ideas. Then the priest can assure it is superbly and reverently done.

Good luck!
Click to expand...
Good point pianistclare, if people truly appreciated what we as Catholics have in Reconciliation and the Eucharist, the church would be overflowing on adoration nights. Your post is a good reminder that not everyone is on the same page when it comes to the Real Presence and how valuable the sacraments are. I’ll ponder the question of catechesis more, thanks!
 
AKDee said:
I agree with this. Our Parish only does confession at 3PM on Saturday. That’s great, and it’s popular, but I wish so much that they would do confession at least one hour on a weekday evening. With Confession at 3PM on Saturday, it means I can’t really go anywhere on Saturday because Confession falls right in the middle of the day. I prefer to go to Mass on Sunday, so basically it kills my whole weekend. That sounds irreverent and I don’t mean it to sound that way- I am HUGELY grateful for the Sacrament of Reconciliation and I love Mass. But as a new Catholic I still struggle to determine what is mortal and what is venial sin and so for the time being I pretty much go to Confession every single week just to be safe and so that means that I really can’t do anything on the weekends at all except Confession and Mass. I work full time during the week, so the weekends are my only time for hiking, camping, ATV riding, fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, etc. and those are all day activities and I really wish I had one day that was just totally free. I can (and sometimes do) just go to Vigil Mass on Saturday nights to keep my Confession/Mass to a single day but it is not my preference and also leads me to wonder if I’m truly meeting my obligation to keep the Lord’s Day Holy when I use that day to go recreate.
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Hi AKDee, I don’t see any problem with the recreational activities you listed on a Sunday as long as you fulfilled your obligation to attend mass (Saturday vigil included). Enjoying nature especially is a great way to honor Our Lord and connect in a different way with Him. Maybe a simple prayer of thanks for his creation or a quite pause at some point during your activity would round it out more and help tie the holy day of Sunday to your activities.

By the way, I assume you’re in Alaska. I recently moved from Fairbanks and I’m missing all those activities you mentioned!
 
Dan_86 said:
Hi AKDee, I don’t see any problem with the recreational activities you listed on a Sunday as long as you fulfilled your obligation to attend mass (Saturday vigil included). Enjoying nature especially is a great way to honor Our Lord and connect in a different way with Him. Maybe a simple prayer of thanks for his creation or a quite pause at some point during your activity would round it out more and help tie the holy day of Sunday to your activities.

By the way, I assume you’re in Alaska. I recently moved from Fairbanks and I’m missing all those activities you mentioned!
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Thanks for the feedback- perhaps I should talk to Father about that. Perhaps I’m being overly scrupulous. And yes, I am in Alaska, I live in Eagle River. I would surely miss it if I had to move!
 
Hi Dan_86,
Are confessionals available at your church?
Some churches in my area use confessionals, others reconciliation rooms, and others face to face confession. some churches provide several options for confession.
When I was teaching, I saw that the majority of my students would choose a private confession option over a less private confession option.
While correlation does not signify causation, I have noticed that confession has dropped off in my church as the confessionals have become closed to parishioners and I know other people who travel to access this sacrament at churches which utilize confessionals.
Perhaps ensuring that confessionals are an an option and letting parishioners know about this will encourage parishioners (and those from other parishes who travel to parishes which utilize confessionals) to frequent the sacrament at your parish.
May God bless your good work.
Amen.
 
Of course, providing a private facility for confession is mandated by canon law. If this is not available at a particular parish, it would be quite appropriate to ask the priest to make it available, especially if it is causing people to have to travel further to confess.
Can. 964 §1 The proper place for hearing sacramental confessions is a church or oratory.
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§2 As far as the confessional is concerned, norms are to be issued by the Episcopal Conference, with the proviso however that confessionals, which the faithful who so wish may freely use, are located in an open place, and fitted with a fixed grille between the penitent and the confessor. §3 Except for a just reason, confessions are not to be heard elsewhere than in a confessional.
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The point others have made about Reconciliation and convenient times is I think the big point. If you want people to come to Confession, offer it for more time on Saturday (which, by the way, is a super busy day for most people), but especially offer it on Sunday before and after Masses.

The priest is already there. The people are already there. Way more people turn out for Mass than for Confession. If you bring the Confession to where they already are, they’ll take it.
 
Thank you for the continued replies everyone! Yes, we have a confessional which provides the option for face-to-face or behind a screen.

Confessions on Sunday is an interesting idea and it makes sense if for no other reason than people are already there. I wonder if it may be a strain on our priests though as Sunday is already a very busy day for them. Regardless, my concern would be that making it more convenient is not getting at the root of the issue, i.e. a “one stop shop” day on Sunday for all your sacraments is not the message we’d be trying to convey. Still, I suppose we need to trust in the grace of the confessional and leave it up to the Holy Spirit to effect the real conversion of hearts.
 
Parishes have an interest in making it convenient for people to get to the Sacraments. If their interest was in making it less convenient, they would offer one mass a day at 3:00am, and offer Confession for two minutes a day, during the middle of the work day on Tuesday.The true believers would come!😉
Also, the Canon Law and the directives coming from the CDW, far from giving the impression that Confession should be celebrated less that people may prove they really want it, pushes Confession every day, and on Sunday. It is the only sacrament which may be celebrated on Holy Saturday or Holy Friday. It is the only Sacrament which can be celebrated during the Mass on Sunday. That’s right, I said “during.” I am not recommending this practice, because it seems like the Congregation would rather have you do it before and after than during, but even *during *is an option.
I wouldn’t worry about whether before and after makes it too convenient, when you could go even further and still be kosher.

But, the other end of it: People probably don’t know when you offer Confession. Yeah, you hand out those bulletins, and invite them before Mass starts, but they end up lining the floor of people’s cars, and no one’s listening that guy who’s droning on before Mass even starts. Offering it to them when they are there is the best scenario, because they’ll know it’s there.

Most importantly, Catholics get the distinct impression that because most churches offer far fewer Masses on Holy Days of Obligation (weekdays!), when Catholics have to work, than on Sundays, when fewer do, that Holy Days are not considered to be all that important by the parish. They get the same impression with Confession. “Offered thirty minutes a week on the busiest day of the week at the busiest time of the day? Yeah, they must think that’s real important.” I think the parishioner’s impression is basically accurate in most cases; the parish does not prioritize this stuff.
 
Great thoughts Clay, thank you!

Do you have a link to the canon law directives you mentioned, or at least the document they come from? That would be enlightening.
 
I’m referencing a couple canon laws here, and I don’t have sources at the ready, but I googled “confession during masses” and Fr. Z’s rather popular blog popped up, so, here’s a link to that.

wdtprs.com/blog/2011/03/quaeritur-confessions-during-mass/

He’s more of a fan of during than I am, but, certainly he is therefore a fan of before and after and every day of the year.
 
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