Most unusual confessional

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turtle18

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Yesterday I went to a church that had a small room in the back labeled “Confessional.” I entered, there were three (?) chairs in it and a…refrigerator. Even the visiting priest admitted he had never seen a confessional with a refrigerator in it. Also, there was no screen for private confessions, either.
 
Maybe at the time that church was built, they didn’t do traditional confessions there. Seems odd, but it’s not impossible. The campus parish church at the local university doesn’t have confessionals (they encourage the students to go to the cathedral, which is only about a mile away), and the only time I have seen them have confession is during holy week. I went there once simply because it fit my schedule the best, and they had a makeshift confessional in a small room which might have been an office, I don’t know. There was no kneeler, but there were three chairs. One chair was behind a window curtain which they had strung up to make a screen, one was for the priest, and the other one was directly across from the priest if you chose to confess face-to-face. There wasn’t a refrigerator there, though. I’m guessing that the “confessional” you encountered did dual-duty as the church staff’s break-room. 🤷
 
turtle18 said:
Yesterday I went to a church that had a small room in the back labeled “Confessional.” I entered, there were three (?) chairs in it and a…refrigerator. Even the visiting priest admitted he had never seen a confessional with a refrigerator in it. Also, there was no screen for private confessions, either.
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There is a parish near me where the Bride’s room doubles as the confessional. I only went there once and don’t remember a refrigerator but there was a full length mirror, a make up table and couches!
 
turtle18 said:
Yesterday I went to a church that had a small room in the back labeled “Confessional.” I entered, there were three (?) chairs in it and a…refrigerator. Even the visiting priest admitted he had never seen a confessional with a refrigerator in it. Also, there was no screen for private confessions, either.
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That’s what the refrigerator is for. The penitent and the confessor sit on opposite sides. If the penitent wishes to make a face to face confession, he merely closes the refrigerator door.

No, I am not serious.
 
turtle18 said:
Yesterday I went to a church that had a small room in the back labeled “Confessional.” I entered, there were three (?) chairs in it and a…refrigerator. Even the visiting priest admitted he had never seen a confessional with a refrigerator in it. Also, there was no screen for private confessions, either.
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Well if you’re going to sit around a table with the priest chit-chatting about your sins for a while, maybe he likes to have the fridge there to offer you a beverage? 🤷
:rolleyes:
 
turtle18 said:
Yesterday I went to a church that had a small room in the back labeled “Confessional.” I entered, there were three (?) chairs in it and a…refrigerator. Even the visiting priest admitted he had never seen a confessional with a refrigerator in it. Also, there was no screen for private confessions, either.
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Was there a sign “Reconciliation, Saturday, 3:45-4:44 PM. Refrigerator use, Saturday, immediately following 5 PM Mass”?

Seriously- Could it be for unconsecrated wine, once the bottle has been opened? Could it be because they have no other place with an outlet to stick it? I went to a parish that did not refrigerate their unconsecrated wine, and the results were not good at all!!!:eek:
 
Well I hope the confession was good, despite the rustic venue. I confessed in a basement hall once. We just found some chairs and pulled them up, and I confessed my sins. We went upstairs for pizza and beer afterwards.
:cool:
 
I read an obituary for one English priest that said he used to hear confessions at a boy’s school by sitting on opposite sides of the garden hedges ;^), and one time someone wanted to make an impromptu confession, so he held up a tennis racket to maintain a screen of anonymity.
 
Matas said:
Well I hope the confession was good, despite the rustic venue. I confessed in a basement hall once. We just found some chairs and pulled them up, and I confessed my sins. We went upstairs for pizza and beer afterwards.
:cool:
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So, was your penance that there’d be no cheese on your pizza?

ONLY KIDDING!! ONLY KIDDING!!
 
Tinlin said:
I read an obituary for one English priest that said he used to hear confessions at a boy’s school by sitting on opposite sides of the garden hedges ;^), and one time someone wanted to make an impromptu confession, so he held up a tennis racket to maintain a screen of anonymity.
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Maybe for the penitent, the penance was LOVE!

(get it? Love? The score? … never mind… 😊 )

Actually, I think I’d like to have that priest hear my confession. He sounds like a man who was truly called to the priesthood!!
 
Tinlin said:
I read an obituary for one English priest that said he used to hear confessions at a boy’s school by sitting on opposite sides of the garden hedges ;^), and one time someone wanted to make an impromptu confession, so he held up a tennis racket to maintain a screen of anonymity.
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are you sure the racket wasnt to administer penance?? :confused:
 
You know, we can never make it to confession because we shop for family groceries on Saturday and cannot just leave all that food in the car - problem solved 🙂
 
At NCYC 2005 in Atlanta, Georgia I confessed in a room with about 15 priests all hearing confessions spaced maybe 10 feet from each other. I had to block out all the confessions that I could hear around me. :eek:
 
turtle18 said:
Yesterday I went to a church that had a small room in the back labeled “Confessional.” I entered, there were three (?) chairs in it and a…refrigerator. Even the visiting priest admitted he had never seen a confessional with a refrigerator in it. Also, there was no screen for private confessions, either.
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Most likely it was a spare room pressed into service as a “confession room”. The third chair might be for an interpreter if there is a large “other” language population.
 
donusII said:
are you sure the racket wasnt to administer penance?? :confused:
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I’m sure! That’s because penance is not “punishment.” It’s what we who have just celebrated the Sacrament of Penance (a.k.a. Reconciliation / a.k.a. Confession) to complete – and participate ourselves – in the grace that we have just received in the Sacrament. Without doing our penance after Confession, the Sacrament just has not been completed.

I get your joke, though, Donusll. :rolleyes: :cool:
 
About 2 years ago I ran into my pastor in WalMart and he heard my confession in the Customer Service area.
I wonder how many times a Sacrament has been celebrated in WalMart?
True story!
V.D.
 
Deczynski said:
About 2 years ago I ran into my pastor in WalMart and he heard my confession in the Customer Service area.
I wonder how many times a Sacrament has been celebrated in WalMart?
True story!
V.D.
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I believe ya! Hmmmm… I sure do hope that those Store Security cameras… and especially hidden microphones… were not active at the time!

Though, not too long ago I had missed Confession time on Saturday afternoons that end 15 minutes before Saturday night (Sunday vigil) Mass was to start. My new pastor was in the vestibule, prior to going into the room where the priests robe… so I grabbed the moment to askhim if he might have time to hear my Confession before Mass. And if not, could he maybe have time to hear my confession after Mass?

He looked to me like he really wouldn’t have time, and I didn’t want to delay Mass, so when he said “will it be a long one?” I said, “well, no… it’s just that I’ve missed Mass the last 2 Sundays and I’m really sorry about that.”

He immediately said, “I absolve you! now, get into Mass!”

He started off to the door where the room is that priests robe… so as he started walking away, I said, “But, Father! What about my penance?!?”

His answer, over his shoulder as he headed away to robe, was simply … and sincerely … this…

“Pray for me!”

Man!! What a great, and simple penance! Yup, you betcha I prayed for him!
 
Tinlin said:
I read an obituary for one English priest that said he used to hear confessions at a boy’s school by sitting on opposite sides of the garden hedges ;^), and one time someone wanted to make an impromptu confession, so he held up a tennis racket to maintain a screen of anonymity.
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Fr. Barret-Lenard
Noted for his piety, he was also admired for his unshockability and flexibility. He was once summoned to a room at the Oratory to find a woman who had removed all her clothes; Barrett-Lennard swathed her in a carpet. On another occasion, during the 1950s, a woman asked for confession outside church and he held up a tennis racket to serve as a grille, so that the separation of confessor and penitent was maintained.
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He had the title of extraordinary confessor, and his usual practice was to dump his bag on arrival at the school and immediately set off on a tour of the houses, where he received an enthusiastic welcome; and although he mostly heard confessions in his room he was prepared to do so behind a hedge.
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