Is it inconsiderate to ask a priest to hear confession after mass?

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I’ve never had a priest say no to this request, but I hope it’s not a great inconvenience. My church has a scheduled time for hearing confessions every saturday, but many times I’ll mean to go and then forget about it until it’s too late.
 
Binary said:
I’ve never had a priest say no to this request, but I hope it’s not a great inconvenience. My church has a scheduled time for hearing confessions every saturday, but many times I’ll mean to go and then forget about it until it’s too late.
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In general, I think it is ok in case of emergency. In your particular case, I am not sure what causes you to forget. (ie: your age, your busy schedule, your health, etc … ) I’d suggest that you work on your part trying to go to confession on Saturday. If you have a cell phone, setup an apointment on its calendar. It will ring! You can also do the same thing with your alarm clock; or ask someone to remind you. (including your loved ones, your guardian angel, etc …) My Guardian Angel does great job in reminding me to pray a certain prayer during my working day) 🙂
 
Binary said:
I’ve never had a priest say no to this request, but I hope it’s not a great inconvenience. My church has a scheduled time for hearing confessions every saturday, but many times I’ll mean to go and then forget about it until it’s too late.
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I wouldn’t do it. But, in case of an emergency, I would. My parish is blessed with the fact that confession is offered twice daily Monday- Saturday.

Paul
 
We have a family in my parish, that for whatever reason, can not make to the scheduled time for confessions. Once a month or so, they call and schedule a time for the family to go and our assistant pastor meets them in the church. I have seen him do this for others also and he never seems to mind.
 
I haven’t done it either. However, a priest once told me that he gets asked a lot and doesn’t mind. If he can’t, he will tell the person he can’t. Usually though, he said, he is able. I don’t think it would go over well if the same person did it all of the time just because he’s extremely busy.
 
Binary said:
I’ve never had a priest say no to this request, but I hope it’s not a great inconvenience. My church has a scheduled time for hearing confessions every saturday, but many times I’ll mean to go and then forget about it until it’s too late.
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I wouldn’t do it except in an emergency.

“Forgetting” to go to confession on Saturday doesn’t constitute an emergency. If you missed confession this week then make it a point to go next week, and don’t forget.

What if other people started following your example? What’s the point in scheduling a time for confessions if everyone is going to grab Father for a few minutes after Mass?
 
I have done this on occasion. When I have, I always first ask the priest if he has a few minutes. If he says yes, then I ask if he can hear my confession. This applies if I am asking either before or after a Mass, pretty much anytime outside of scheduled confession times. That way, they have an out without having to refuse to hear a confession if they are indeed busy.

I believe that canon law requires that priests must always stop what they are doing to hear a confession except for a grave reason. So just walking up and asking a priest to hear a confession without first asking if they have a few minutes may out them in a bind. I may be wrong, so if someone, especially those good at canon law, has more info either way, please post it.
 
I would try to have your confession prior to mass, if at all possible. It is better to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord is a forgiven state…

Most priest will not refuse to hear a confession, time permitting.

If you can’t confess during your church’s scheduled times, then make an appointment with the church office.

Blessings…

Will B.
 
Binary said:
I’ve never had a priest say no to this request, but I hope it’s not a great inconvenience. My church has a scheduled time for hearing confessions every saturday, but many times I’ll mean to go and then forget about it until it’s too late.
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I would say that if you have no mortal sins to confess and you are asking a priest to hear your confession at an unscheduled hour for the reason that you “forgot”, then yes: it is inconsiderate.

You did not need anybody to tell you that; you knew the answer and gave it in your question!

Mark it on your calendar. LOOK at your calendar. Go on schedule.

Now, if there is a respectable reason that you cannot make it to confession at the scheduled time (and with parishes generally having fewer and fewer scheduled times, that is more common), then call ahead and ask the priest in advance to hear your confession after (or better yet, before) Mass.
 
mercygate said:
I would say that if you have no mortal sins to confess and you are asking a priest to hear your confession at an unscheduled hour for the reason that you “forgot”, then yes: it is inconsiderate.
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I have to agree, especially if you only have one priest or the priest has another Mass. Bear in mind that even if he is able to hear you, it might mean missing a meal or any other inconvenience. I understand that emergencies occur, but lack of planning does not constitute an emergency.
 
I think, as a general rule, any priest who refuses to hear a Confession at any time should re-think his vocation.

A priest should hear a Confession at any time unless there is a very good reason, such as the next Mass starting in three minutes and he’s the celebrant.

Unless the priest knows the person, what if the man or woman asking has just gotten up the nerve to ask after listening to an inspiring homily, and he or she has been away from Confession for a long time? If the priest refuses, it may lead to a lost opportunity of grace for the individual.

If the priest does know the person, then I think it’s more acceptable to ask if it can wait until this afternoon/tomorrow/etc. but then only if the priest has a legitimate excuse such as needing to leave immediately to give someone last rights. (Needing a cigarette is not a legitimate excuse.)

That being said, I don’t think this gives anyone carte blance to ring a rectory bell at midnight!
 
GemmaRose said:
I think, as a general rule, any priest who refuses to hear a Confession at any time should re-think his vocation.

A priest should hear a Confession at any time unless there is a very good reason, such as the next Mass starting in three minutes and he’s the celebrant.

Unless the priest knows the person, what if the man or woman asking has just gotten up the nerve to ask after listening to an inspiring homily, and he or she has been away from Confession for a long time? If the priest refuses, it may lead to a lost opportunity of grace for the individual.

If the priest does know the person, then I think it’s more acceptable to ask if it can wait until this afternoon/tomorrow/etc. but then only if the priest has a legitimate excuse such as needing to leave immediately to give someone last rights. (Needing a cigarette is not a legitimate excuse.)

That being said, I don’t think this gives anyone carte blance to ring a rectory bell at midnight!
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But the OP said he was asking for the sacrament because he “forgot” to go at the regularly scheduled time. You have given a beautiful answer but to a completely different question.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
“Forgetting” to go to confession on Saturday doesn’t constitute an emergency.
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You are certainly right about that. Even if you miss your parish, there are no doubt (at least hopefully) other parishes in the area.
SuscipeMeDomine said:
If you missed confession this week then make it a point to go next week, and don’t forget.
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I wouldn’t advise that. You never know what could happen. Fr. Serpa has in fact directly advised against this. In one of his “ask the apologist” threads, he said not to wait for next Saturday.

After all, anything can happen between now and then (including the Second Coming-remember the maidens who ran out of oil?). There could be a house fire, a car accident, a sudden heart attack, a tornado, or a banana peel on the basement steps (or the last two happening at the same time)-you just never know.
SuscipeMeDomine said:
What if other people started following your example? What’s the point in scheduling a time for confessions if everyone is going to grab Father for a few minutes after Mass?
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A very good point. They schedule confessions for a reason. Things happen and sometimes you’re running late. But I find it difficult to believe that every single Saturday, someone can never make it-I think the OP may be subconsciously avoiding it out of fear.

OK, let’s say you can’t make it on Saturday-call the parish office, ask for the Priest, and then make an appointment. It can be done without him knowing who you are. Or go to a parish where no one knows you.
 
Realizing one is in a state of mortal sin always constitutes an emergency. But not one worth waking or significantly inconveniencing a priest.
 
Ha. I didn’t expect to catch so much **** for being forgetful. I’ve been forgetful all my life, and my various ways of dealing with it still don’t help me remember everything.

That said, I appreciate the (name removed by moderator)ut I’ve received. I think I will take the first suggestion given and create an alarm in my cell phone.

To address some specific statements: I am not intentionally avoiding confession. As much as I forget to go, I *still *go to confession more often than I do to mass. So basically every time I go, I’m in a state of mortal sin.
 
rpp said:
Realizing one is in a state of mortal sin always constitutes an emergency. But not one worth waking or significantly inconveniencing a priest.
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I know, but if you are not concerned enough to remember Saturday night…
 
pnewton said:
I know, but if you are not concerned enough to remember Saturday night…
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It has happened to me. I am terribly scatter-brained. Once I got busy working on a backyard project, lost track of time and when I looked up, confession time had passed. 🤷

It is human nature to err. Not only to sin, but to make honest mistakes. In the case I mentioned, it was shortly after my confirmation and I did not know one could just walk up to any priest and ask. So I waited until the next scheduled confession. However, as a penance for being absent minded, I fasted the entire time until I went to confession (the next day).
 
Seems like most of the posters here think that the priest doesn’t want to be bothered. I don’t know about you guys, but if I were a priest, I’d find it flattering and productive if anyone were to ask me for confession at any time. After all, that would be one of the things God called on me to do. So inconsiderate, definitely not. Through the priest, Christ forgives sins. Would Christ not find the time to listen to our confessions?
 
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