'I'll make it quick", said the woman ahead of me on the confession line

[englishredrose]

am glad we book our appoinments privately. I don’t think I could handle turning up and waiting and waiting and not getting to it. Am glad we have a total different outlook to confession to be honest because it means I go when I feel ready and nothing to do with being ‘clean’ for mass or heaven. I go because I feel the need to go and its so much more fuller because we will never be let down like that and be heard as fully as we give.

If the priest didn’t get chance to answer your question you can always get back in touch with him and reask it seperate to the confession if you like. You might get a full answer that way as he will have time to explore it with you then if you arrange a time to do so.

 

[TrueLight]

am glad we book our appoinments privately. I don’t think I could handle turning up and waiting and waiting and not getting to it. Am glad we have a total different outlook to confession to be honest because it means I go when I feel ready and nothing to do with being ‘clean’ for mass or heaven. I go because I feel the need to go and its so much more fuller because we will never be let down like that and be heard as fully as we give.

If the priest didn’t get chance to answer your question you can always get back in touch with him and reask it seperate to the confession if you like. You might get a full answer that way as he will have time to explore it with you then if you arrange a time to do so.

When you say “we”, do you mean folks at your parish? I think it is good to book appointments, but I’m not too much into face-to-face confessions. Are they face to face?

I admit I may be looking at this the wrong way, but I really believe if one is someone who goes to confession fairly regularly (not someone who hasn’t been in a confessional in 30 years and is returning back to the Church), then one goes to confession to get absolution. Not to get counseled for 15 minutes. For that it might be better to make an appointment.
Folks, am I wrong in thinking this way?

I go to confession to say, “I accuse myself of the following sins” and to get absolved. Usually the priest gives short counsel for about a minute or so, and then absolves me.

Since it is so rare for parishes to have long confession times, I really believe that it can also be lack of charity/selfishness to consistently take up all the confession time, regardless of who is waiting.

What if someone has a mortal sin they need to confess?

So I believe it is uncharitable to wish the person would hurry up but I also think it is uncharitable to not think of others.

 

[Chatter163]

I admit I may be looking at this the wrong way, but I really believe if one is someone who goes to confession fairly regularly (not someone who hasn’t been in a confessional in 30 years and is returning back to the Church), then one goes to confession to get absolution. Not to get counseled for 15 minutes. For that it might be better to make an appointment.
Folks, am I wrong in thinking this way?.

Nope, you are spot on!

 

[TrueLight]

Nope, you are spot on!

Phew!

 

[Oneofthewomen]

When you say “we”, do you mean folks at your parish? I think it is good to book appointments, but I’m not too much into face-to-face confessions. Are they face to face?

I admit I may be looking at this the wrong way, but I really believe if one is someone who goes to confession fairly regularly (not someone who hasn’t been in a confessional in 30 years and is returning back to the Church), then one goes to confession to get absolution. Not to get counseled for 15 minutes. For that it might be better to make an appointment.
Folks, am I wrong in thinking this way?

No, it’s not wrong, but you have to remember not every person who is in line at the confessional is in the same place you are. I remember quite well my first confession after nearly 20 years. There was no thinking, no planning about it. I woke up one Saturday morning and “knew” I needed to go so I went to the scheduled time at my parish. Never thought about making an appointment ahead of time, all I knew was that God was knocking and this time I was going to answer.

I go to confession to say, “I accuse myself of the following sins” and to get absolved. Usually the priest gives short counsel for about a minute or so, and then absolves me.

Same for me, now. In the beginning it was not so easy.

Since it is so rare for parishes to have long confession times, I really believe that it can also be lack of charity/selfishness to consistently take up all the confession time, regardless of who is waiting.

This is quite an assumption. I will agree that on a *very rare occaision *you may have someone who may consistently do this, but it is up to the priest to handle this. You have no way of knowing the heart or mind of the other person (see my comment above).

What if someone has a mortal sin they need to confess?

So I believe it is uncharitable to wish the person would hurry up but I also think it is uncharitable to not think of others.

Again, as I said above the day I went to confession for the first time in 20 years, I was not thinking about anyone but God and how I had disappointed Him for all those years. And if I had been a member of CAF then, and come home from confession and saw a post like this, it might have made me very self-consious the next time I attempted confession.

I understand where you are coming from. All I am trying to do is get you to see the other side of the same coin.

 

[TrueLight]

No, it’s not wrong, but you have to remember not every person who is in line at the confessional is in the same place you are. I remember quite well my first confession after nearly 20 years. There was no thinking, no planning about it. I woke up one Saturday morning and “knew” I needed to go so I went to the scheduled time at my parish. Never thought about making an appointment ahead of time, all I knew was that God was knocking and this time I was going to answer.

Same for me, now. In the beginning it was not so easy.

This is quite an assumption. I will agree that on a *very rare occaision *you may have someone who may consistently do this, but it is up to the priest to handle this. You have no way of knowing the heart or mind of the other person (see my comment above).

Again, as I said above the day I went to confession for the first time in 20 years, I was not thinking about anyone but God and how I had disappointed Him for all those years. And if I had been a member of CAF then, and come home from confession and saw a post like this, it might have made me very self-consious the next time I attempted confession.

I understand where you are coming from. All I am trying to do is get you to see the other side of the same coin.

On CAF, one always has to make disclaimers.

Which is why I specifically said I was not referring to someone who hasn’t been to confession in years.

Not everyone has that “gene” that helps you to be alert to people around you and those things happening around you. I would hope someone who doesn’t know better would say, “Wow. I guess I do sometimes lose track of time and forget there are people waiting.”

This has happened to me more than once at this parish and there are particular people who take a long time.

I have a confession to make: One time I really needed absolution and this woman took almost the full 20 minutes. As I was going in the priest was coming out (Yikes, he saw me ) and he couldn’t stay. As I passed the woman in the vestibule, I muttered that she knew that I had been waiting.

She says to me, “You don’t know how much feelings I had.” English was not her first language but I understood her to mean she had a lot to get off her chest. So it was a counseling session and a time for her to vent, never mind anyone else who was waiting.

Needless to say, I shouldn’t have approached her so no need to post that. I supposed I could have offered it up.

But in the same way, I showed consideration when I told the priest at my last confession that there was one more person when he was about to leave, is the same way someone can be thoughtful of others.

We’re all sinners and need the penance of reconciliation.

 

[ProVobis]

No, it’s not wrong, but you have to remember not every person who is in line at the confessional is in the same place you are. I remember quite well my first confession after nearly 20 years. There was no thinking, no planning about it. I woke up one Saturday morning and “knew” I needed to go so I went to the scheduled time at my parish. Never thought about making an appointment ahead of time, all I knew was that God was knocking and this time I was going to answer.

Well, there is such a thing as consideration for others. You know that after 20 years, you’re not going to do a 3-minute confession. If the priests are there all day and it’s not a weekday, that’s one thing. But if there is only a scheduled one-hour or before Mass confession, you have to use some common sense if there are other people seeking the sacrament. That said, I hope you now go to confession more often.

 

[Stylites]

When you say “we”, do you mean folks at your parish? I think it is good to book appointments, but I’m not too much into face-to-face confessions. Are they face to face?

I admit I may be looking at this the wrong way, but I really believe if one is someone who goes to confession fairly regularly (not someone who hasn’t been in a confessional in 30 years and is returning back to the Church), then one goes to confession to get absolution. Not to get counseled for 15 minutes. For that it might be better to make an appointment.
Folks, am I wrong in thinking this way?

I go to confession to say, “I accuse myself of the following sins” and to get absolved. Usually the priest gives short counsel for about a minute or so, and then absolves me.

Since it is so rare for parishes to have long confession times, I really believe that it can also be lack of charity/selfishness to consistently take up all the confession time, regardless of who is waiting.

What if someone has a mortal sin they need to confess?

So I believe it is uncharitable to wish the person would hurry up but I also think it is uncharitable to not think of others.

It is commendable that you yourself seek to accommodate others who might be waiting after you, but it seems wrong to assume bad intentions in others when you have no personal knowledge of what is being discussed in the confessional before you.

For instance, one can be unmindful of others waiting behind them for reasons other than a lack of charity. Perhaps they really need the time. Perhaps they are only thinking of Christ they are encountering in the sacrament. Perhaps the Holy Spirit is offering others who are awaiting their turns a chance to refine their virtues of patience, forebearance, charity and hope.

 

[ProVobis]

Perhaps the Holy Spirit is offering others who are awaiting their turns a chance to refine their virtues of patience, forebearance, charity and hope.

But don’t we also pray “Et ne nos inducas in tentationem” (And lead us not into temptation)? Just saying.

 

[Stylites]

But don’t we also pray “Et ne nos inducas in tentationem” (And lead us not into temptation)? Just saying.

Not as if we pray: “And don’t give us little crosses to bear.” or “And don’t refine us to make us pure.” or “And don’t prune us so that we may provide more fruit.”

 

[ProVobis]

Not as if we pray: “And don’t give us little crosses to bear.” or “And don’t refine us to make us pure.” or “And don’t prune us so that we may provide more fruit.”

I see what you’re saying but there is more than patience that is tested when you aren’t able to make it to confession at all. There were almost 20 people in front of me this morning in the confession line but I knew at least I would be able to make it. Time I have. Opportunity not always.

 

[Thomas31]

My point is that for working people, I think it’s hard to get in a confession.
This is so true! My church has confession 3 times a week but its at 4 o'clock Mondays, Wed. and Friday. But where I live most people have to travel atleast an hour to work each way. So, by the time I personally get home, confession is over. So, I do go on Saturdays in the afternoon. But there is one thing I dont understand.... IF confession is so important for one's soul, which is most def. is, then why dont they offer confession before every mass on Sundays as well and have confession more often and offer it longer than 15 min or 30 min. Really, when you think about it, shouldnt confession be available atleast for an hour? I think the church needs to stress the importance of confession more and offer it more :)

 

[englishredrose]

When you say “we”, do you mean folks at your parish? I think it is good to book appointments, but I’m not too much into face-to-face confessions. Are they face to face?

I admit I may be looking at this the wrong way, but I really believe if one is someone who goes to confession fairly regularly (not someone who hasn’t been in a confessional in 30 years and is returning back to the Church), then one goes to confession to get absolution. Not to get counseled for 15 minutes. For that it might be better to make an appointment.
Folks, am I wrong in thinking this way?

I go to confession to say, “I accuse myself of the following sins” and to get absolved. Usually the priest gives short counsel for about a minute or so, and then absolves me.

Since it is so rare for parishes to have long confession times, I really believe that it can also be lack of charity/selfishness to consistently take up all the confession time, regardless of who is waiting.

What if someone has a mortal sin they need to confess?

So I believe it is uncharitable to wish the person would hurry up but I also think it is uncharitable to not think of others.

We - yes I do mean people at the parish church and anyone who wants confession I guess

This priest doesn’t do face to face per se, he sits in front of you though was relieved that he moved up a little because I found it almost too hard but its not anonymous and I like it that it not because he is able to help ‘me’ grow. I am not as worried about absolution as you guys are as i call myself a liberal catholic (though go to Anglican Church not under the Pope) and the absolution is almost irrelevent for me because God forgives our sins, not via priests but for me about being able to have a confirmation that I am forgiven. For me its more about getting heard in the past which makes it very hard actually because this priest reached me very early and shared bits about me that very few people know and realised the need for confession is no longer there and how he has helped me reach God too and evaluate God more - hence I say liberal catholic.