Kneeling for Confession?

[cargopilot]

I prefer to kneel to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Sort of a hold-over from doing it behind the screen, I guess. To me, it just seems natural, and I feel more sorry for my sins. Also, it somehow helps me to express my sins more fully and thoroughly.

Some Priests find this odd, and have told me I don’t have to kneel. Others have said not to do it.

Still others, usually the foreign Priests, say nothing about it at all.

Is this an odd behavior? Should I just sit in the chair and do it in the ‘normal’ face to face way, or is this penitants option?

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

I would say it is entirely your option. I myself avoid such things by just going behind the screen. But I know I’ve heard of having the penitent kneel beside the priest’s chair in the same configuration as a confessional, just without the screen in the middle.

 

[kmktexas]

cargopilot:

I prefer to kneel to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Sort of a hold-over from doing it behind the screen, I guess. To me, it just seems natural, and I feel more sorry for my sins. Also, it somehow helps me to express my sins more fully and thoroughly.

Some Priests find this odd, and have told me I don’t have to kneel. Others have said not to do it.

Still others, usually the foreign Priests, say nothing about it at all.

Is this an odd behavior? Should I just sit in the chair and do it in the ‘normal’ face to face way, or is this penitants option?

At one parish that I sometimes attend, the confessionals had a curtain instead of a screen that could be moved away. There was a kneeler and a chair so there were several possibilities (kneel + curtain, kneel + face to face, sit + curtain, sit + face to face).

Is there a reason you just don’t just use the regular confessional with the kneeler? If no kneeler is available, you could just chose the anonymous option and then the priest wouldn’t know if you were kneeling anyway.

 

[cargopilot]

A long time ago ‘the box’ was replaced by a little office thing. There is a screen with a kneeler, but I prefer the face to face, even though it’s a little harder.

So I just kneel on the floor, right in front of the Priest.

 

[NightRider]

The way I understand it is that it is entirely up to the individual. I’ve confessed both ways, and benefitted greatly from both. I tend to prefer the screen and kneeler because it just seems more Catholic to me, probably because it’s how I learned to confess. There is nothing quite like receiving absolution face to face, however, because the priest places his hands upon one’s head and I find that very powerful. It is more difficult for me to confess fact to face but sometimes I force myself to do it because it is soooooo humbling!! God bless!

 

[dumspirospero]

I go to confession in a couple of places…in one of them, I know the Priest personally, so I sit in a chair and confess to him face to face…just because I look at him as a 2nd father…I confess the deepest and darkest things to him and I always receive the best guidance and love from him…the other place I confess at is my home parish…it is very “old school”…we still celebrate the TLM…there are altar rails, receiving on the tongue, the old school baptismal font and 4 confessional “boxes” in the back…I have no option but to kneel when I confess there…my preference is to kneel, because to me it expresses my humility. However, when I am with the priest who I know personally, the confession also takes on the form of mentoring…I have a discussion with him…he counsels me…I really enjoy it.

cargopilot:

I prefer to kneel to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Sort of a hold-over from doing it behind the screen, I guess. To me, it just seems natural, and I feel more sorry for my sins. Also, it somehow helps me to express my sins more fully and thoroughly.

Some Priests find this odd, and have told me I don’t have to kneel. Others have said not to do it.

Still others, usually the foreign Priests, say nothing about it at all.

Is this an odd behavior? Should I just sit in the chair and do it in the ‘normal’ face to face way, or is this penitants option?

 

[cargopilot]

NightRider:

There is nothing quite like receiving absolution face to face, however, because the priest places his hands upon one’s head and I find that very powerful. It is more difficult for me to confess fact to face but sometimes I force myself to do it because it is soooooo humbling!! God bless!

That’s it, NightRider. And thanks. THAT’S why I like the face to face. Add kneeling, and for me, it doesn’t get any better.

I’m glad to see I’m not the only one…

God bless you all.

 

[jjwilkman]

i prefer face to face. if God knows my sins, why should i fear a man(sanctified). i have nothing to hide fron God, Lord of my life. author of my being. i’m a cursillista, i have confessed in the woods with peacocks cantando sus canciones.

 

[puzzleannie]

our confessional looks like it was remodelled in the 70s to become a reconciliation room, with the effect that the kneeler is quite close to the door. What happens is that, well quite frankly, I am too fat to kneel there, I would have to wedge myself in sideways, so I walk around and sit in the chair, no room to kneel on the floor.

 

[DaveBj]

My first two confessions were sitting in an easy chair in Father’s office. My third one was at EWTN (read: VERY traditional), kneeling, in a confessional. Either way, it gets done.

DaveBj

 

[Celia]

Our confessionals are set up with the curtain in between you and the priest, with a kneeler, or there is a chair set in front of Father if you prefer face to face. Oddly enough, we always went to confession face to face at school so since I’ve returned to the church I’ve done the anonymous kneeling thing because it feels more traditional, something they would have done in the old days. Also, I find it easier to say what I need to say instead of worrying about what the reaction is on the priests face, or that my face is red, or something. o I get nervous at confession.) Helps me focus. I may return to face to face at some point, though, not ruling it out.