Pope:There's an Answer to Empty Confessionals

[stbruno]

Pope: There’s an Answer to Empty Confessionals
Explains St. John Vianney’s “Virtuous Circle” Secret

VATICAN CITY, JUNE 18, 2009 zenit.org/article-26211?l=english Pope Benedict XVI is urging priests to not become resigned to empty confessionals, but to help people rediscover the beauty of the sacrament by deepening their understanding of the Eucharist.

The Pope stated this in a letter to the priests of the world, on the occasion of the Year for Priests, which begins Friday in celebration of the 150th anniversary of the death of St. John Mary Vianney, the Curé d’Ars.

The saint “taught his parishioners primarily by the witness of his life,” the Pontiff affirmed. “It was from his example that they learned to pray, halting frequently before the tabernacle for a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.”

He taught them about the Eucharist, but it was “most effective when they saw him celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass,” the Holy Father said.

He added that the saint “was convinced that the fervor of a priest’s life depended entirely upon the Mass” and “was accustomed, when celebrating, also to offer his own life in sacrifice.”

This identification with the sacrifice of the Cross led him from the altar to the confessional, Benedict XVI affirmed.

He continued: "Priests ought never to be resigned to empty confessionals or the apparent indifference of the faithful to this sacrament. In France, at the time of the Cure of Ars, confession was no more easy or frequent than in our own day, since the upheaval caused by the revolution had long inhibited the practice of religion.

"Yet he sought in every way, by his preaching and his powers of persuasion, to help his parishioners to rediscover the meaning and beauty of the Sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence.

Please read the entire article. Join our Pope in praying also in this new year beginning today…of the Year of the Priest.

 

[Tigg]

Yes, there is an answer and it’s called “Catechesis.”

Most of our priests have closed their eyes and handed over the reins of instruction, sometimes in the most harmful way, to their DREs, paying no particular attention to the content or the programs being taught to our children. Just a few months ago I spoke with a woman who teaches sacramental prep (this current year happens to be First Reconciliation.) I asked her if she thought it just bad parental example that the kids never went to Confession. Her answer was something to words of this effect, “Oh, I mainly tell my class that it is their own personal relationship with Christ that really matters.”

Sounds like Protestantism to the highest order to me. Do these kids (by 4th or 5th grade) even have any understanding of a sacrament any more? Do they, on any level, understand that grace must be restored to them through a sacrament after confession and contrition of sin? I think not.

And adults? Are we hearing from the pulpit on Sundays an uncompromising version of the Gospel of Christ woven into a little catechism lesson now and again. Or does Fr. Feelgood simply spout empty words of love of neighbor while we sing Kumbaya during the collection? Please excuse the sarcasm…this article has obviously hit a nerve!

"Yet he sought in every way, by his preaching and his powers of persuasion, to help his parishioners to rediscover the meaning and beauty of the Sacrament of Penance, presenting it as an inherent demand of the Eucharistic presence.

But with only 30% of practicing Catholics even believing in the Real Presence…??

 

[jmcrae]

When I ask Catholic school children what they think they need to do if they find that they have done something on purpose that goes against God’s commandments, they say, “I have to talk to Jesus and tell him I’m sorry.”

While that’s certainly a good first step, they somehow have missed the teaching that we are to go to Confession at the first reasonable opportunity, when we find ourselves in that situation.

 

[Catholic20064]

I’ve never noticed the empty confessionals problem. At Notre Dame the lines are usually long. The lines are long at several parishes nearby as well. I don’t know if that makes us good Catholics or bad Catholics …

 

[peregrinus_WA]

There are always lines at my parish on both Saturdays and Sundays and we can have as many as 5 “boxes” going at any one time.

 

[edwest2]

Thanks for posting this. Get this message out. Be Catholic 7 days a week, not just Sundays.

Peace,
Ed

 

[Scoobyshme]

Many parishes, from what I’ve seen, have Confession maybe once/week for half an hour, usually at the convenience of the priest. It needs to be much more available, say, like daily. The best parish I’ve seen for this was at my old parish in Louisiana, when I lived there. Fr. Matt (retired now, God bless his soul) used to have Confession on Saturday afternoons, plus before every Mass on Sunday!

But the faithful definitely need to be taught more. They have lost almost all sense of sin, except what the culture of death tells them, and even that is sometimes wrong. It’s sad that all these people go out and spend the time and effort to get high school diplomas, college degrees, etc., but have a 2nd or 3rd grade education in their Catholic faith! Especially young people. They are being taught “values” which is fine as far as that goes, but it does nothing for the soul. What they should be taught is virtue! How to live virtue!

The further we get from Christ, the dimmer our view of His truths and where we stand in relation to them. The closer we get to Christ, the brighter the light of Christ, the easier we can see His truths and where we stand in relation to them.

 

[Shin]

One of the things the Cure of Ars, the Patron Saint of Parish priests is famous for, is continually, endlessly preaching sermons on Hell.

He once showed his reliquary to a visitor. He took the man to his parish’s graveyard.

He defied the statistics and had a parish full of people going to Heaven.

Quotations from the Cure:

‘Shall we all be saved? Shall we go to Heaven? Alas, my children, we do not know at all! But I tremble when I see so many souls lost these days. See, they fall into Hell as leaves fall from the trees at the approach of winter.’

‘Alas, my friend. We cannot be together in Heaven unless we have begun to live so in this world. Death makes no change in that. As the tree falls, so shall it lie. . . Jesus Christ said . . . “He that does not hear the Church, let him be to thee as a heathen and a publican.” And he also said, “There shall be one fold and one shepherd,” and He made St. Peter the chief shepherd of His flock. My dear friend, there are not two ways of serving Jesus Christ. There is only one good way, and that is to serve Him as He Himself desires to be served.’

'My children, we are going to speak of hope: this is what makes the happiness of man on earth. Some people of this world hope too much, and others do not hope enough. Some say, “I am going to commit this sin again. It will not cost me more to confess four than three.” It is like a child saying to his father, “I am going to give you four blows; it will cost me no more than to give you one: I shall only have to ask your pardon.”

That is the way men behave towards the good God.

They say, “This year I shall amuse myself again; I shall go to dances and to the alehouse, and next year I will be converted. The good God will be sure to receive me, when I choose to return to Him.” . . . Do you think that He will adapt Himself to everything in your will? Do you think He will embrace you after you have despised Him all your life? Oh, no, indeed! There is a certain measure of grace and of sin after which God withdraws Himself. . . God would not be just if He made no difference between those who serve Him and those who offend Him. My children, there is so little faith now in the world, that people either hope too much, or they despair. Some say, “I have done too much evil; the good God cannot pardon me.” My children, this is a great blasphemy; it is putting a limit on the mercy of God, which has no limit – it is infinite. You may have done enough to lose the souls of a whole parish, and if you confess, if you are sorry for having done this evil, and resolve not to do it again, the good God will have pardoned you.’

'Oh, how mistaken in his calculations is he who labours hard on Sunday, thinking that he will earn more money or do more work! Can two or three shillings ever make up for the harm he does himself by violating the law of the good God? You imagine that everything depends on your working; but there comes an illness, an accident. . . . so little is required! a tempest, a hailstorm, a frost. The good God holds everything in His hand; He can avenge Himself when He will, and as He will; the means are not wanting to Him. Is He not always the strongest? Must not He be the master in the end?

There was once a woman who came to her priest to ask leave to get in her hay on Sunday. “But,” said the priest, “it is not necessary; your hay will run no risk.” The woman insisted, saying, “Then you want me to let my crop be lost?” She herself died that very evening; she was more in danger than her crop of hay. “Labor not for the meat which perisheth, but for that which endureth unto life everlasting.” [Jn. 6: 27]’

'A Christian who is pure is upon earth like a bird that is kept fastened down by a string. Poor little bird! it only waits for the moment when the string is cut to fly away.

Good Christians are like those birds that have large wings and small feet, and which never light upon the ground, because they could not rise again and would be caught. They make their nests, too, upon the points of rocks, on the roofs of houses, in high places. So the Christian ought to be always on the heights. As soon as we lower our thoughts towards the earth, we are taken captive.’

‘See my children; the treasure of a Christian is not on the earth, it is in Heaven. Well, our thoughts ought to be where our treasure is. Man has a beautiful occupation, that of praying and loving. You pray, you love – that is the happiness of man upon the earth. Prayer is nothing else than union with God. When our heart is pure and united to God, we feel within ourselves a joy, a sweetness that inebriates, a light that dazzles us. In this intimate union God and the soul are like two pieces of wax melted together; they cannot be separated. This union of God with His little creature is a most beautiful thing. It is a happiness that we cannot understand. . . God, in His goodness, has permitted us to speak to Him. Our prayer is an incense which He receives with extreme pleasure.’

St. Jean Marie Baptiste Vianney, the Cure of Ars

 

[Tigg]

Although our parish has confessions for a solid hour, once a week (one priest only,) our Cathedral, which should be shouting from the rooftops, “Repent ye sinners and come to the Sacrament of Life” only has confessions twice a MONTH, for 1/2 hour, or a total of one hour per month. (We live in a town of approx 100,000.)

 

[Another_Mary]

My suggestion would be to have a demonstration for adults who have forgotten the procedures for confession in their church.

I came back after many years and was not sure how to go about it. Which door? Is there a light? Does it mean someone is in there or not? Is that side face to face or through a screen?

It’s hard enough just getting to confession after all those years without having to ask someone how to go about it.

 

[joeflow]

My suggestion would be to have a demonstration for adults who have forgotten the procedures for confession in their church.

I came back after many years and was not sure how to go about it. Which door? Is there a light? Does it mean someone is in there or not? Is that side face to face or through a screen?

It’s hard enough just getting to confession after all those years without having to ask someone how to go about it.

Thats funny you say that. After many years of no confession, I discovered a church by my work run by the Franciscans, who offer confession every weekday 730am - 530pm. Pretty convenient, huh?

Before I went, I emailed about it, and the response gave instruction concerning the confessional boxes and how the lights work and such. Definitely made me feel a bit more comfortable about going.

I love the confessional box, after never experiencing one till recently. Unfortunately my parish uses them for storage.

 

[SIb4G]

I’ve never noticed the empty confessionals problem. At Notre Dame the lines are usually long. The lines are long at several parishes nearby as well. I don’t know if that makes us good Catholics or bad Catholics …

You seem to be implying that the sacrament is not that big a deal. That’s nice.

 

[jmcrae]

You seem to be implying that the sacrament is not that big a deal. That’s nice.

Actually, I took it as a joke - either they are very pious and make good use of the Sacraments to take advantage of the many graces that they impart (good Catholics), or else they are terrible sinners who commit mortal sins on a weekly basis (bad Catholics).

 

[Charbeau]

Many parishes, from what I’ve seen, have Confession maybe once/week for half an hour, usually at the convenience of the priest. It needs to be much more available, say, like daily.

I actually need to go to Confession and have been abstaining from the Eucharist for three weeks now because I cannot manage to get to Confession during the half hour per week that it is offered. Maybe that is a lousy excuse, I don’t know, but I have two small children and I am pregnant with a third and my husband is out of town for work each week M-F and getting childcare for such a small window of time is difficult. Maybe I should just call my parish and see if they can’t find someone on staff to sit with my children for the 10 minutes it would take to confess.

I am a new convert of this past Easter, my husband is not Catholic and I can imagine that there are other women out there - even with Catholic husbands - who have this same issue. It would be a great service for the Church if mothers of young children could get together and swap childcare during Confession times. Do any parishes do that? I should look into seeing if there is any interest in that in my own parish.

 

[Tigg]

I love the confessional box, after never experiencing one till recently. Unfortunately my parish uses them for storage.

That is very sad and perhaps contributes to the lack of confessions…some people are very uncomfortable going face to face. Why did they start that anyway?

 

[markeverett49]

I remember After joining the Church (-I was raised S. Baptist) and entering seminary I was scandalized by a parish priest who would hear confessions “by-appointment only.” I asked him why and he said he was tired of hearing them and had better things to do. “People here all have cars; if they want to confess on a Saturday afternoon, they can drive to St Lucie’s.” I still shake my head at that. I also check bulletins wherever go. Unfortunately, his isn’t the only “by appointment only” once I’ve discovered.

 

[Maureen_Fiore]

I think that the reason why there are no one going to Confession is because we lost the purpose of this sacrament. This sacrament should be at the helm of our Catholic Faith. When we sin we move away from Jesus and live in darkness. Confession helps us move closer to Jesus because we ask Jesus for forgiveness and he wants us to chose what is right not what is wrong.

Many people don’t like to go to Confession because they are afraid to tell another person (priest) their intimate sins. They would rather continue to live their lives without any type of fear. I truly worry about my family and about their sins. As a mother I feel I have an obligation to tell my children how important Confession is and that they should go atleast once a month.

 

[Scoobyshme]

I think that the reason why there are no one going to Confession is because we lost the purpose of this sacrament. This sacrament should be at the helm of our Catholic Faith. When we sin we move away from Jesus and live in darkness. Confession helps us move closer to Jesus because we ask Jesus for forgiveness and he wants us to chose what is right not what is wrong.

Many people don’t like to go to Confession because they are afraid to tell another person (priest) their intimate sins. They would rather continue to live their lives without any type of fear. I truly worry about my family and about their sins. As a mother I feel I have an obligation to tell my children how important Confession is and that they should go atleast once a month.

Maureen, good point. People forget sometimes, I think, that the Sacrament of Confession was instituted by Jesus Christ in the same upper room that He instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. The two go hand-in-hand and should be the mainstay of our sacramental life.

 

[Teelynn]

Yes, there is an answer and it’s called “Catechesis.”

Most of our priests have closed their eyes and handed over the reins of instruction, sometimes in the most harmful way, to their DREs, paying no particular attention to the content or the programs being taught to our children. Just a few months ago I spoke with a woman who teaches sacramental prep (this current year happens to be First Reconciliation.) I asked her if she thought it just bad parental example that the kids never went to Confession. Her answer was something to words of this effect, “Oh, I mainly tell my class that it is their own personal relationship with Christ that really matters.”

Sounds like Protestantism to the highest order to me. Do these kids (by 4th or 5th grade) even have any understanding of a sacrament any more? Do they, on any level, understand that grace must be restored to them through a sacrament after confession and contrition of sin? I think not.

And adults? Are we hearing from the pulpit on Sundays an uncompromising version of the Gospel of Christ woven into a little catechism lesson now and again. Or does Fr. Feelgood simply spout empty words of love of neighbor while we sing Kumbaya during the collection? Please excuse the sarcasm…this article has obviously hit a nerve!

But with only 30% of practicing Catholics even believing in the Real Presence…??

They are calling (now) young adults “The Lost Gereration”. Relativism was running rampant (still is in some Catholic circles) I would presume it might take another generation for the “real Catholic Church” to emerge.

 

[Jerry-Jet]

Empty confessionals = Hell for many.

If in doubt–Go! What do you have to lose?