If you confess face to face, my hat's off to you!

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lux_perpetua said:
i love face-to-face confession and am annoyed when i must confess with a screen. it helps me because it makes me realize that when i come before the face of God, there will certainly be no screen to hide behind. so if i am so embarrassed to confess to a mere man… welll…

also, i do think that f-t-f tend to be longer confessions. they make me feel like i am actually getting spiritual growth and advice from the priest, and not just popping in like any number of lemmings in a line waiting for the static words of absolution and the standard penance of “1 our father and 1 hail Mary”. i think that maybe if more people had this experience with lengthier [and more fruitful advice-wise] confessions, that our parishes might be forced to provide more confession times instead of the meager once-a-month, or half-hour-before-8-am-Mass that so many of us are used to.
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I am in complete agreement, that dark little box irritates me, gotta be some childhood thing. Also f-t-f does take longer and I have always received the best advice. I have had the same confessor for many many years, he was transferred to a new parish last month. I explained this to our new priest when I stepped into the confessional and asked him to please have patience with me, which he did. I also try to wait until I’m the last one waiting for the confessional, don’t want anyone having to wait on me;)
 
Benn said:
Hello to all,
I am not Catholic but I respect your beliefs.

Why do you have to confess your sins to a man…other than the Man Jesus Christ? When Jesus was crucified the the veil was rent into permitting us to go into the presence of God personally…no mediator other the Christ.

Man cannot forgive sins only God.

Benn
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Don’t want to derail this thread so here’s just a couple of things too consider
Only God forgives sin. But He entrusted the excercise of the power of absolution to the apostolic ministry which is charged with the “ministry of reconcilliation” 2 cor 5:18
Then of course we have Matthew 16,the word of Jesus Christ to Peter, the binding and the loosing
So here’s what I’d ask myself …how can a sin be bound or loosed if it is not spoken to someone?
 
maryj said:
I am in complete agreement, that dark little box irritates me, gotta be some childhood thing. Also f-t-f does take longer and I have always received the best advice. I have had the same confessor for many many years, he was transferred to a new parish last month. I explained this to our new priest when I stepped into the confessional and asked him to please have patience with me, which he did. I also try to wait until I’m the last one waiting for the confessional, don’t want anyone having to wait on me;)
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You seem to have handled it just right. At my parish if you waited to be the last in line, though, you might never get your confession heard!
 
Besetta said:
What exactly does “saved” mean? That concept is extremely vague. Does a “saved” person have some sort of “ticket to heaven”, and an “unsaved” person does not? What happens to “unsaved” people? Suppose you live a good life of service to others, honest work, and dedication to your family. BUT you never go to church, was never baptised, and generally have nothing to do with religion? Do you then go to “hell” when you die?
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Hi Besetta, Like I told Benn, anyone can be saved ( go to heaven and live forever with Jesus Christ our Lord). We do not know who will go to heaven or hell. Jesus will be the judge of that. Here is the quote on this from the catechism of the Catholic Church. I hope this explains it better.

“Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ and His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.”
 
JimG said:
You seem to have handled it just right. At my parish if you waited to be the last in line, though, you might never get your confession heard!
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Praise God for long confession lines. I’ll wait as long as I have too.
 
Our new priest recently made behind-the-screen possible again. I’ve only ever done face to face. In fact, back in RCIA, the priest expected us to be sitting facing him so close that our knees touched, and he held both our hands in his, for everybody. That was really something. I expect that many priests couldn’t pull that off without it being creepy, but he did it and it only ever felt like intense concern. Subsequent confessions with him were just the regular setup.
 
I’m just the opposite,I always confess face to face. You can tell alot about a person when you see thier face**
 
hi i go face to face as that’s the way i was taught and i think for me its like having a piece of humble pie especially as our priests know me quite well so they would recognise my voice behind the screen anyway and it would be for me like hiding again (a struggle of mine) so i go face to face
 
All three confessions I’ve made (I was baptized at Easter Vigil 2009) have been face-to-face.

I’m wondering what it’s like in an actual confessional. :confused:
 
George_C said:
All three confessions I’ve made (I was baptized at Easter Vigil 2009) have been face-to-face.

I’m wondering what it’s like in an actual confessional. :confused:
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Face to face is an actual confession. It’s no different behind the screen except that you are kneeling and you can’t see the priest.
 
Three years ago I decided I wanted to go back to the Church. I called my priest and scheduled a confession. I went the day before Ash Wednesday. When I got to the church, I saw the priest and we went into his office. I gave confession to him face-to-face, sitting opposite him at his desk.

I know that I too must have looked like a chameleon, changing colors with every sin I confessed. I even started to get into a little too much detail for the priest at one point, and I was instructed that he had enough information about that one particular sin…😊.

All in all I thought it was a very liberating and wonderful experience.
 
Grace and and Peace be with you. As a convert, I know that the first confession can be stressful, but please bear in mind that the priest is not there to yell at you or make you feel bad. As to your question about the confessional, I can only speak to my own experience. It is understandable that the “box” may be intimidating but it is not meant to be. If you have never been to a confessional, this is what you may expect…at least according to my own experience.

Find out what time confessions are heard. Some churches offer daily confessions, others only on Saturday afternoons. Usually daily confessions are heard for 20 minutes to a half hour, so if you need more time it is best to go on a Saturday afternoon, usually between 4 and 5 p.m. ( call your rectory for times, as they may vary. ) There may be a line, please keep a respectful distance between yourself and other penitents. It is important that no ones’ confession be overheard by anyone other than the priest. Maintain a respectful silence.

In a confessional booth, the priest sits on one side and the penitent enters from the other. If both doors are closed, it means that someone is in the booth confessing. When the penitent is through confessing, he will leave the door of the booth open, indicating that another penitent may come in. When someone enters the booth, they close the door and kneel . There will be a screen that will conceal your face from that of the priest. When you enter the booth be sure to close the door behind you.

The priest will bless you, then you will say the usual words that you would say if you were going to confession face to face… Do as you would normally do, confess your sins, receive advice from the priest, say an Act of Contrition, and accept your penance. Then when you leave the confessional booth leave the door open so that other penitents will know that they may come in. I would like to stress that there is no need to fear this procedure. Every time I have been to confession, either face to face or in the booth, the priest has always said “Thank God you are here” and given me good counsel.

Also, nothing that you can say in confession will shock the priest. Please go to confession. I have found that regular confession has done me more good than years of therapy for which I paid a great deal of money. May God bless you all.
 
Besetta said:
What exactly does “saved” mean? That concept is extremely vague. Does a “saved” person have some sort of “ticket to heaven”, and an “unsaved” person does not? What happens to “unsaved” people? Suppose you live a good life of service to others, honest work, and dedication to your family. BUT you never go to church, was never baptised, and generally have nothing to do with religion? Do you then go to “hell” when you die?
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Hi Besetta,
In Acts 16:31 it says.“Believe in the Lord Jesus and you and your household will be saved.” To me that is the Word of God and I believe every Word. Get a Bible and start reading it…It will amaze you…when you see how simple it is Just ask Jesus into your heart and the Holy Spirit will lead you into total truth. in 1 John 2:27 it says…As for you, the anointing, (which is the Holy Spirit) that you received from Him remains in you, so that you do not need anyone to teach you. I know that Jesus loves us and He died on that cross for the sins of the world, and that He rose from the dead and He is alive, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. In 1 John 1:9 it says…If we acknowledge our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrongdoing.
These Scriptures are from the St. Joseph New American Bible. I hope this helps.
Love in Christ,
Jesus
P.S. Just remember Jesus loves us just the way we are and He will lead us by His Holy Spirit if we just ask Him.
 
Besetta’s question and tomjoans reply probably belong in the Apologetics Forum rather than Liturgy and Sacraments, since this thread specifically concerns the sacrament of confession. But, for more information on the topic of salvation, you might try this link:
catholic.com/library/salvation.asp
 
Where I go to confession they have old fashioned confessionals and the priest doesn’t even have a light on so it is completely dark. I love it like this. It really helps me to just hear the loving and merciful voice of Jesus. I am able to let go of all self-consciousness and just pour out my heart to Him. Sometimes I have just sobbed and sobbed not holding back anything. It is so healing. And when I hear the beautiful words of absolution I can’t hardly contain my tears of joy. I love this sacrament! I will never go back to face to face confession.
 
I’m 58 and always went to confession behind the screen. I felt as others have said that the priest is ’ in persona Christi ’ and I wanted it to be a sacred thing.
However, about 8 months ago we had a new assistant priest and I new him quite well. I just decided to go face to face and told him it was my first time doing so. He was a late vocation and is 55 ish and only been ordained 15months or so. I found it great! I was able to talk and ask questions. Also I have started going every 3-4 weeks because of that.
 
I always confess face to face when it is with my spiritual director but otherwise I don’t often do that.
 
Hello:

I’m in my Neophyte year, and face to face reconciliation is all I know. I like to experience the priest’s body language. It’s good practice for dies irae…😉

Respectfully,

Breakout80
 
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