Priest ran out of time to hear my confession... twice!

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Me to. But the original comment was from someone who was leaving the church because, I guess, felt offended. There are many fallen away Catholics because of things priest did or did not do. So I think we need more empathy for peoples feelings whether they are right or wrong. Also, pray for more young men to say yes to God’s call.
 
We need more empathy towads, and appreciation for, our clergy. From so many of the complaining posts on CAF it does truly seem like a “thankless job” sometimes. No matter what they do, it’s wrong, and they are judged mercilessly for it.

As for the OP, several posters gave very sensible advice. What do you think should have been said that would have been more “empathetic”?
 
Theo2 said:
Yes, but you said he is taking care of all of this himself.
So I guess I was confused. The priest can, like any of us, only do his best. I said cancels a mass if necessary with advance notice. That would include the Bishop’s approval.
Now to the point. A priest or any of us should not excuse bad behavior by saying he is too busy. Now he did not say that but other people seem to be offering that excuse. My opinion.
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He’s taking care of all the arranging schedules, rides for the retired priests, etc. He has to make sure there is coverage. That’s a full time job in itself.

Since the Bishop is busy at another parish doing additional Masses I’m going to take a guess that the answer was no. It’s nearly impossible to cancel a Mass. And yes, that can mean a priest gets stressed.

Sometimes, in that state, running on auto-pilot, you literally don’t see the people that supposedly deserve an apology.

Priests, given the current state of affairs in America, should be given every benefit of the doubt in the world.
 
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It happened to me too ! Twice !
Last year, in the winter.
Place was packed with elderly people -
all giving me a dirty look -
as if we were applying for the same job - type thing.
Don’t feel bad.

When I watched Pio movie -
He did confessions for six seven hours in a row.
Not so anymore.
Now it’s 45 minutes - once a week.
 
You cannot compare what St. Pio did to a parish priest.
Way less people even going to confession these days.
 
Seagull said:
It happened to me too ! Twice !
Last year, in the winter.
Place was packed with elderly people -
all giving me a dirty look -
as if we were applying for the same job - type thing.
Don’t feel bad.

When I watched Pio movie -
He did confessions for six seven hours in a row.
Not so anymore.
Now it’s 45 minutes - once a week.
Click to expand...
Padre Pio had unimaginable time-luxary not available to priests today.
 
Okay - how about Saint John Vianny ?
By hearing confession - 16 to 18 hours a day
He turned the entire town around.
He caused the church to be packed full of people. Etc
 
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Seagull said:
Okay - how about Saint John Vianny ?
By hearing confession - 16 to 18 hours a day
He turned the entire town around.
He caused the church to be packed full of people. Etc
Click to expand...
Again, he had luxuries afforded to him–by the bishop–that priests today do not have. He was permitted to have a confessional ministry. Priests today do not have such ability.

And oh, those 16-18 hour days caused him to run away 4 times before he was eventually sucessful and lived as a hermit. So yeah, overworkng a priest is a terrible idea. Let’s try not to od that.
 
I’m just hinting at - what might get the Catholic Church - back on the map 🙂
 
This is an unfortunate situation. Luckily, there are many parishes around you (as you state) and you can try others. Or make an appointment with the priest. If you do, I would gently tell him what you experienced and ask him how you, a new Catholic, can best make it to confession.
I typically get to confession 1/2 hr to 45 minutes before it starts. I figure I’ll either get there super early and be first in line (or so), or I’ll wait that time in line if I arrive later. So planning ahead is key.
A little tip might also be: if you are near a Catholic college/university or other campus with daily Mass, check out the sacrament schedule there. On my campus, confessions are daily from 11:30-12:00, before the noon Mass. In summer, there is hardly anyone lining up, so it is a great time to go.
One thing stood out in your post to me. Please be aware that in Catholicism, like any other institution, you will meet saints and sinners, responsible people and slackers, great priests and so-so priests. Never, ever, base your faith in Catholic people or you will bail when you get hurt. Faith must be grounded in Jesus, the Rock, or it will remain shaky. If this situation makes you want to leave the Catholic faith, your faith is built on sand and needs foundation.
 
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The best practice is to be there when Confession begins.

It is from 4 - 5 PM? Be in line at 3:50 PM. If that is simply not do-able, then, schedule confession with the office.
 
I’ve yet to meet a priest who will not schedule confession at a time that will work for the penitent, they often go to homes to hear Confession.
 
OP: I can’t believe it! Twice he has gone to prepare for mass and did not hear my confession.

Priest: I can’t believe it! Twice this person has come too late for me to hear their confession! Well, the hours are posted and I am only a phone call away.

Seriously, call and make an appointment. Take Father to lunch or even dinner. They play their pastoral cards pretty close to their vest, but you will get an idea of the billion things that are expected of them.

Daily.

General note: Ever notice that the person in front of you always seems to confess starting World War II? Including the political intrigue which lead up to it?
 
I’m not the OP. My particular response was geared not to the confession, but to the fact that many people can only go to one parish due to lack of transportation and other factors. There are many reasons why a person might wish to attend a different parish, not simply wishing to confess to another priest (for whatever reason).
 
I have had similar experiences. Our parish priest can also sometimes be a bit grumpy…I hate to say that since he’s probably really busy when this has occurred, but, yeah…He gets grumpy at times…

I have heard on Relevant Radio that we should go to confession as often as we can. I think my parish priest may not necessarily concur with this. I was even kind of chewed out once because he said I should come in with mortal sins not venial ones…At the time I was a new Catholic, & I wanted to be safe rather than sorry. As a former Protestant, I’m not always sure of the difference, & some things I wouldn’t have even necessarily considered sinful, I have to now as a Catholic! And I’m told, if you don’t ask, you don’t get? So I asked…& I got chewed out.

Long story short - these experiences have left me kind of “gun shy” so to speak about going to Confession… :S So I have done the following to remedy these issues. If your priest can’t make it to you for Confession due to time constraints,
  1. Go earlier.
  2. Go to another church within your diocese. As far as I’m aware, you are not constrained by the Confessional at your own parish. If I can’t make it to Confession because of time constraints/life obligations, I have found that at one particular parish, the priest is not only gentle in listening to you, he gives feedback - even spiritual direction…
  3. Make an appointment to be seen by your priest/other priest you feel you can talk to. I had to do this once when I wasn’t able to make it to Confession before going out of town, & the priest at my destination was so kind as to see me. Considering the road conditions (I had to find my way back down an icy snowy hill), he’d even blessed a St. Michael the Archangel medal for me when hitting the road again - & he offered some spiritual direction to boot.
I understand totally where you’re coming from…
 
We will not ever agree. If the priest is taken advantage of it is in part his fault. He has to say no so he does not get in the state where he does harm.
 
Hold on a second. Before we get to Padre Pio and other saints.

Jesus sets the mission of each of us. Obviously, in the case of some of them it was to hear confessions for a long time. But don’t forget, he (Padre Pio) was denied by his Bishop for a time and obeyed him.

Some saints have been selected missionaries, some, like the Little Flower showed us another way and was not meant to travel the world.

What do we know of God’s particular path chosen for this priest? Perhaps it is not 16 hours of confession? Perhaps some other area of ministry. If one thinks of every possibility, He could even be building the priest up to become a bishop or more. Or like the Little Flower and spread love through small acts that we don’t know about. Who knows?

To the original poster, I would offer this. Nearly all saints talk about a dark hour of the soul (hour: figuratively) when they felt God abandoned them. In many cases, this was a test.

Now the question becomes, is this a test for you? Sure, confession can be easy when it’s where we are used to and expecting. But life isn’t that way. Now you are forced to find plan B. He might simply be testing your willingness to go the extra mile (so to speak).

And, in the future, I would urge you to stay for Mass, no matter how you feel. Staying for Mass is obedience to the Lord. Be thankful it’s not some true pain like persecution that He is asking you to go through. Staying means you are obeying His commands, even if you cannot receive Communion that day. It means you are keeping your faith when it’s not going how you expect. And that’s part of it!

Best of luck to you!!!
 
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All I’m saying is 45 minutes a week -
when people read that - in the bulletin-
they obviously decide not to go -
But if it was from - say - noon to 3:00 pm !
I’m convinced you’d start seeing good things happen.

 
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If they are not going during the 45 minutes allotted, they are not going to go because the time is longer. Many priests sit there and no one comes. Again, priests do not have time to sit there for 3 hours. They have other obligations to tend to, especially if there are only 1 or 2 priests for the parish.
 
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