Nobody's there for confession?

[roadsend]

If a soldier, policeman, fireman leaves his post, it is not uncharitable to report that. He shall be there for reason. To hear confessions is much more important task than that of the soldiers, firemen or policemen; the eternal life can depend on a missed confession.

Every parish has staff outside of the priest. If the priest has call for a deathbed (since hearing confessions is the most important function of a priest any other reason is unacceptable) he still must have time to call somebody to leave a note that he will be there at such and such time

Once I went to make confession when there was a funeral. The priest sent an altar server to tell me that the confession will be 30 minutes late, and he came and heard my confession.

As for the funeral colluding with regular confession time, my opinion is, that the confession should have priority. As everyone takes it natural that there is no funeral at Sunday, so had to accept also that there is no funeral at regular confession time.

Exactly. A funeral is not an emergency. There is some flexibility.
In this day and age the cell phone can make it easy easy task to get a note posted on the door of the church and the confessional, should an emergency sick call occur.

 

[Oneofthewomen]

My church has confession listed at 11am on Saturdays. I showed up yesterday just before 11 and nobody was there. The church was locked. I waited around, and at 11:15 I left without anyone showing up.

This is only my second time going to confession (I was baptized last Easter). Last time, the church was open, but there was a funeral going on. I waited, and after the priest just happened to noticed me and told me confession is cancelled when there is a funeral. But he was able to hear my confession anyhow.

Was I correct in thinking that I would normally just show up at the time listed and a priest would be there for confession? Or am I doing something wrong?

I was all ready to confess, and it was really upsetting to leave without getting the opportunity.

There are a couple things about this thread that bother me.
In the OP quoted above, the poster says this is only the 2nd time they have gone to confession at this church. The first time, although not at the “posted time” the confession was heard. My question to the OP is, would you have approached the priest yourself after the funeral to ask if he was able to hear your confession, or would you have left if he did not come to you? I only ask because the priest is not a mind-reader, and might not have known you were there for confession, he might have thought you arrived late for the funeral.

What I find most distressing is the attitude that a priest is a “sacramental machine”. Any number of things could have happened that prevented the priest from being there. Should a note have been left? Yes- in a perfect world!
But, alas, we do not live in a perfect world and sometimes “sh-- happens”!

I would say if it continues to happen, then yes, by all means ask the priest what is going on. In the mean time, the best thing to do is pray for an increase in vocations, so we do not have to spead our priests so thinnly!

 

[JimG]

There are a couple things about this thread that bother me.
In the OP quoted above, the poster says this is only the 2nd time they have gone to confession at this church. The first time, although not at the “posted time” the confession was heard. My question to the OP is, would you have approached the priest yourself after the funeral to ask if he was able to hear your confession, or would you have left if he did not come to you? I only ask because the priest is not a mind-reader, and might not have known you were there for confession, he might have thought you arrived late for the funeral.

What I find most distressing is the attitude that a priest is a “sacramental machine”. Any number of things could have happened that prevented the priest from being there. Should a note have been left? Yes- in a perfect world!
But, alas, we do not live in a perfect world and sometimes “sh-- happens”!

I would say if it continues to happen, then yes, by all means ask the priest what is going on. In the mean time, the best thing to do is pray for an increase in vocations, so we do not have to spead our priests so thinnly!

I agree with your thoughts here. Often there seems to be the feeling that a priest must be instantly available to meet our every need. That seems a little presumptuous. I recall that in earlier centuries, confession was not available daily or monthly. Sometimes it was available only yearly or only once in a lifetime. And what if confessions are scheduled for 3pm but the 2nd coming happens at noon?

 

[roadsend]

…
What I find most distressing is the attitude that a priest is a “sacramental machine”. Any number of things could have happened that prevented the priest from being there. Should a note have been left? Yes- in a perfect world!
But, alas, we do not live in a perfect world and sometimes “sh-- happens”!

…

A priest is not a “sacramental machine” but administering the sacraments is the most important thing he does.
There are very few emergencies which are important enough to cause a padre to miss Mass or confessions.

 

[Oneofthewomen]

A priest is not a “sacramental machine” but administering the sacraments is the most important thing he does.
There are very few emergencies which are important enough to cause a padre to miss Mass or confessions.

I certainly hope that if you or someone you love is in need of a priest’s services you will wait until after regularly scheduled confession times.

 

[roadsend]

I agree with your thoughts here. Often there seems to be the feeling that a priest must be instantly available to meet our every need. That seems a little presumptuous. I recall that in earlier centuries, confession was not available daily or monthly. Sometimes it was available only yearly or only once in a lifetime. And what if confessions are scheduled for 3pm but the 2nd coming happens at noon?

I would tend to agree with you in the that the “2nd coming” constitutes one of those emergencies which justify missing a scheduled confession time, perhaps even missing Mass…
If a priest is stretched so thin that he cannot reliably make confession (or for that matter Mass) times, he needs to not schedule them as frequently.

 

[roadsend]

I certainly hope that if you or someone you love is in need of a priest’s services you will wait until after regularly scheduled confession times.

Barring an emergency sick call, you bet I will.

 

[Merry]

There are a couple things about this thread that bother me.
In the OP quoted above, the poster says this is only the 2nd time they have gone to confession at this church. The first time, although not at the “posted time” the confession was heard. My question to the OP is, would you have approached the priest yourself after the funeral to ask if he was able to hear your confession, or would you have left if he did not come to you? I only ask because the priest is not a mind-reader, and might not have known you were there for confession, he might have thought you arrived late for the funeral.

What I find most distressing is the attitude that a priest is a “sacramental machine”. Any number of things could have happened that prevented the priest from being there. Should a note have been left? Yes- in a perfect world!
But, alas, we do not live in a perfect world and sometimes “sh-- happens”!

I would say if it continues to happen, then yes, by all means ask the priest what is going on. In the mean time, the best thing to do is pray for an increase in vocations, so we do not have to spead our priests so thinnly!

Our church has a Vietnamese parish which has separate services on Sunday in Vietnamese. The funeral was a Vietnamese funeral. The priest was Vietnamese, not our usual priest. I waited outside, trying to be out of the way. That priest left with the funeral, I believe. After the funeral, I was sitting outside the empty church. The regular parish priest stopped by for some other reason, saw me sitting there, and asked if I had been waiting for confession. He explained that confession is not on when there is a funeral, but he was happy to hear my confession. I was very grateful for his time.

I certainly don’t feel that a priest is some kind of machine. I am a new Catholic, and still trying to figure out how things work. I thought perhaps that I was in error again. I am sorry if I gave the impression that I was angry at the priest. I have three small children and it is not always easy for me to get away for confession. If I have done something wrong in terms of accessing confession at my end, I would like to rectify that before making arrangements for child care again.

As it seems I have not, and it is normally okay to simply show up at the appropriate time, I will try again. There are several parishes that seem to offer confession during the week. I am planning an early supper on Tuesday so that I can leave my children with my husband and hopefully be back home before bedtime. If that doesn’t work, I guess I will call my parish to see if I can make an appointment.

 

[Oneofthewomen]

Our church has a Vietnamese parish which has separate services on Sunday in Vietnamese. The funeral was a Vietnamese funeral. The priest was Vietnamese, not our usual priest. I waited outside, trying to be out of the way. That priest left with the funeral, I believe. After the funeral, I was sitting outside the empty church. The regular parish priest stopped by for some other reason, saw me sitting there, and asked if I had been waiting for confession. He explained that confession is not on when there is a funeral, but he was happy to hear my confession. I was very grateful for his time.

I certainly don’t feel that a priest is some kind of machine. I am a new Catholic, and still trying to figure out how things work. I thought perhaps that I was in error again. I am sorry if I gave the impression that I was angry at the priest. I have three small children and it is not always easy for me to get away for confession. If I have done something wrong in terms of accessing confession at my end, I would like to rectify that before making arrangements for child care again.

As it seems I have not, and it is normally okay to simply show up at the appropriate time, I will try again. There are several parishes that seem to offer confession during the week. I am planning an early supper on Tuesday so that I can leave my children with my husband and hopefully be back home before bedtime. If that doesn’t work, I guess I will call my parish to see if I can make an appointment.

Merry,
If I sounded harsh toward you, please know it was not my intention, I am sorry if I came across that way.

It seems as though you did everything in your power to do things “the right way”, and I commend you for that, especially considering you are the Mom of 3 small children- God Bless You!!

As far as going to confession, I myself, find it much easier to make an appointment for a time that is convenient for both me and my confessor.

What bothers me is the perception by some of the other posters here that nothing else should ever take a priest away from hearing confessions. As I said, in a perfect world maybe, but…

Peace be with you on your journey!!

 

[puzzleannie]

. Busy or not, he should not make other commitments during his posted confession times.

if there is no other priest and there is a funeral or sick call sometimes there is no alternative. I repeat this is something we are going to have to get used to as the number of priests diminishes in many areas. What I and other posters are trying to do is remind OP and the rest of us to use Christian charity in these situations, and not always assume the worst, that the priest is ignoring or de-prioritizing confession.

 

[roadsend]

if there is no other priest and there is a funeral or sick call sometimes there is no alternative. I repeat this is something we are going to have to get used to as the number of priests diminishes in many areas. What I and other posters are trying to do is remind OP and the rest of us to use Christian charity in these situations, and not always assume the worst, that the priest is ignoring or de-prioritizing confession.

I fully agree with you on the emergency sick call.
Never in modern times (other than in during a major disaster) have I heard of an emergency funeral.
I guess we just need to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[laszlo]

The regular parish priest stopped by for some other reason, saw me sitting there, and asked if I had been waiting for confession. He explained that confession is not on when there is a funeral, but he was happy to hear my confession.

This practice (not to held confessions is there is funeral) is wrong.

Unfortunately some priests were miseducated that during the mass no confession is allowed. John Paul II explicitly recommended to provide confessions during the Mass if there is available priest:

1. Local Ordinaries, and parish priests and rectors of churches and shrines, should periodically verify that the greatest possible provision is in fact being made for the faithful to confess their sins. It is particularly recommended that in places of worship confessors be visibly present at the advertized times, that these times be adapted to the real circumstances of penitents, and that confessions be especially available before Masses, and even during Mass if there are other priests available, in order to meet the needs of the faithful.

vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/motu_proprio/documents/hf_jp-ii_motu-proprio_20020502_misericordia-dei_en.html

 

[JimG]

In a sense, every funeral is an emergency, since death is not scheduled. And funerals cannot be unduly delayed. When the parish office receives notice of a death, the priest often goes to the family’s home, (not on the schedule) and arranges for a wake, or rosary, and funeral.

Our parish is blessed to have three priests, and they are ALL stretched thin. There is a lot going on. That doesn’t often interfere with scheduled confession times, but still, flexibility is needed.

On weekdays when the confession line has been too long to be accommodated before the priest must begin Mass, he will often return to the confessional after Mass, but a prior appointment may prevent this.

If on a Saturday I find that no confessions are being heard at the scheduled time–a rare event–or that the line is too long to be finished in an hour, I can drive 10 minutes down the street to the next parish, which has confessions an hour later than ours. There is no shortage of confession times available throughout the city.

 

[roadsend]

In a sense, every funeral is an emergency, since death is not scheduled. And funerals cannot be unduly delayed. When the parish office receives notice of a death, the priest often goes to the family’s home, (not on the schedule) and arranges for a wake, or rosary, and funeral.

Our parish is blessed to have three priests, and they are ALL stretched thin. There is a lot going on. That doesn’t often interfere with scheduled confession times, but still, flexibility is needed.

On weekdays when the confession line has been too long to be accommodated before the priest must begin Mass, he will often return to the confessional after Mass, but a prior appointment may prevent this.

If on a Saturday I find that no confessions are being heard at the scheduled time–a rare event–or that the line is too long to be finished in an hour, I can drive 10 minutes down the street to the next parish, which has confessions an hour later than ours. There is no shortage of confession times available throughout the city.

If proper planning is done there is no reason why a funeral should conflict with scheduled confession hours.
If, for example, funerals were scheduled say between 9:00 AM and 2:00 Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM and 12:00 Saturday there is no reason why there would be a conflict with the usual parish confession times of before early Mass and Saturday late afternoon and/or evening.

 

[puzzleannie]

I fully agree with you on the emergency sick call.
Never in modern times (other than in during a major disaster) have I heard of an emergency funeral.
I guess we just need to agree to disagree on this one.

this comes up often before HOly Week or right before Christmas for example when extra confession times are scheduled, but a funeral has to take precedence because it can’t wait.

repeat the priest cannot be in two places at once, get used to it

it also happens frequently when the “coverage” priest who already has his own parish and a couple of missions, is also on call for neighborhing parishes where the priest is absent, and if the funeral is scheduled there, he has to take it.

 

[Tigg]

It is so infinitely sad that we’ve come to this.

Before we moved four years ago, our situation was the opposite from the scenario presented in the OP. We were in a very traditional, dynamic parish and if you did not get in line 1/2 hour before the scheduled time, chances were, you’d have to wait until after Mass and get in line again (the priests always came out and said, sorry, Mass was soon starting and they would have to stop, but would stay afterwards until all confessions were heard.) May the Lord bless those faithful servants of God! Many times we were told by our pastor that the thing he was most proud of, was the number of penitents waiting in line for confession. No wonder it was such a Christ-centered parish and I think more priests today need to have such insight.

Imagine our surprise then, after moving to our current home, to rush to confession for the first time and not see anyone else waiting in line. We continue to be astounded that the Sacrament is not being frequented more often despite the fact that confessions are being pushed by the catechists and notes sent home to the parents to be more sensitive to the spiritual needs of their children. In our area, it is not a question of harried priests being unable to meet the schedule, but more of a casual attitude from many of the clergy themselves toward the confessional that has diminished the celebration.

We have a very good pastor who goes out of his way to ensure confessions are available twice a week so as not to give anyone an excuse not to go.