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kittyplant
Guest
is it difficult for priests when we make appointments to speak with them or appointments for confession or is that a regular part of the job?
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4love2God
Guest
kittyplant asks a GOOD Question** : “is it difficult for priests when we make appointments to speak with them, or appointments for confession, or is that a regular part of the job?”**
Part of a Priest’s “Duty” to his Flock is having regular Office Hours to meet with Parishioners.
That appointment can be for ANYTHING.
Some people make a Monthly Appointment, just to “feel connected” to their Priest.
So, call the Church Office … your Priest is awaiting your Call.
Part of a Priest’s “Duty” to his Flock is having regular Office Hours to meet with Parishioners.
That appointment can be for ANYTHING.
Some people make a Monthly Appointment, just to “feel connected” to their Priest.
So, call the Church Office … your Priest is awaiting your Call.
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Sunbreak
Guest
Some priests are busier than others, so a priest with a small parish might be able to meet with you easily. A priest that has responsibility for 2 parishes or a very large parish may have to prioritize what he is able to do.
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trevorhall
Guest
The Amarillo Diocese has about 39 active priests to cover the northernmost 26 counties of Texas. Our Cathedral’s rector is solely responsible for about 1800 families. He celebrates daily Mass, Saturday vigil, and 4 Masses on Sunday, in addition to everything else a priest does. My priest barely has time to breathe, but he works hard to meet with parishioners. Says he loves it!
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awsiukiewicz
Guest
Depending on the Parish…I recenlty relocated primarily to work in small town in SW Kansas…two Catholic Churches…I generally chose the poorer Parish to attend Mass…the Church with the more upper middle class Parishoners…has one Priest…he offers One Mass on Sunday…One vigil on Saturday…no regular schedule for daily Mass…and much to my dismay no Saturday monring Mass for those of us wishing to fulfill first Saturday obligations…I doubt the Priest even know about it…I have actually questioned him while working out at the YMCA…If he’s got time to go to the Y he should have time for offering an additional Mass…I’m not buying into that ,well he has another Parish to attend…when I grew up…and served (Latin Liturgy) which was acutally serviing…not just wandering around on the Altar…, Our blessed Parish Priest…offered daily 6 a.m. Mass Mon thru Fri…after V-2 offered Saturday evening Mass (vigil) 5pm…always offered a Saturday morning Mass in a neighboring small community…Offered an 8 a.m. Sunday and a 10:00 a.m. Masss Sunday…he had no help…a lot of the Priests today I believe are just lazy
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tawny
Guest
It is a responsibility of a Parish Priest to administer to the needs of the Parishioners. We need to pray for the Parish Priests today more than ever. There is such a shortage & some Priests now have to help administer to the needs of multiple Parishes today. Many Parishes are consolidating into cluster groups. This involves the sharing of Priests, Deacons, staff, etc, between Parishes. They are called to travel between Parishes for not only the Celebration of Masses, but also for Sick Calls, Confessions, Baptisms, Weddings, Funerals, any Sacramental or Spiritual emergency, etc. Also, there are times when Parishioners & non-parishioners drop by the Rectory just wanting to talk to a Priest. It is best to make an appointment, if you can. You may want to check the Parish bulletins for the Confession schedules. Be patient & flexible if you can, remember, you never know when the Priest maybe called away. Please keep all Priests in your prayers. God bless them.
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kittyplant
Guest
yes, thank you for this perspective
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His_helpmeet
Guest
My experience has been that the priest is ALWAYS willing to set up time to meet with parishioners. DH and I had a couple of meetings with our priest prior to our marriage, as part of our marriage preparation and DH’s proceedings for his declaration of nullity. There was never a problem scheduling time with him.
A few months ago, I had to attend Mass at a large city parish. The priest was talking about the Catholic understanding of death and Catholic funeral practices during his homily. He said that if a person is danger of death, the Anointing of the Sick should be administered, if possible. He pointed out that on the bulletin, there is an emergency number listed to contact the priest if it’s outside normal office hours - and he said that the number is for situations like this, where a priest is needed for a dire emergency and the office is closed.
A few months ago, I had to attend Mass at a large city parish. The priest was talking about the Catholic understanding of death and Catholic funeral practices during his homily. He said that if a person is danger of death, the Anointing of the Sick should be administered, if possible. He pointed out that on the bulletin, there is an emergency number listed to contact the priest if it’s outside normal office hours - and he said that the number is for situations like this, where a priest is needed for a dire emergency and the office is closed.
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maryjk
Guest
Since you don’t know his schedule, you have no idea if he has time to offer another Mass.
You might want to realize that even priests need down time. If your priest takes his down time, exercising, why is that a problem?
Was that sideswipe at the OF suppose to go unnoticed? Okay, we get it, you don’t like the OF. But that is no reason to make comments like you did about the young people that serve at it.
How about we don’t denigrate our priests? Not only is it in bad taste, it is also against forum rules.
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Hoosier_Daddy
Guest
I have seen two distinctly different diocese recently, in one, the priesthood is run like a business. You have to schedule a time during certain hours and you are only usually allotted that time. If you have a meeting from 3-330 you need to be out by 330 because the priest has tons of pressing things to manage.
In my current diocese and specifically at our parish the priests obvious first responsibility is to minister to his flock. I can walk right down to his house, or his office and him or one of the three priests in my parish will give me all the time they can muster. He is a true “Father” to his parish.
In both cases my advice is the same. Priests are hungry hungry people.
And every single priest I have ever met has never turned down an invitation to good food with some kids running around the house. I make sure I keep myself as flexible as possible so on any given night I can cook a great meal for our “Father”.I plan on doing this right after the busy time of year coming up next week. Perhaps a week or two after Easter I will invite Father over for dinner and I will have a nice evening of spiritual guidance and just plain old conversation.
They feed us, we should feed them!
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kittyplant
Guest
I have seen two distinctly different diocese recently, in one, the priesthood is run like a business. You have to schedule a time during certain hours and you are only usually allotted that time. If you have a meeting from 3-330 you need to be out by 330 because the priest has tons of pressing things to manage.
In my current diocese and specifically at our parish the priests obvious first responsibility is to minister to his flock. I can walk right down to his house, or his office and him or one of the three priests in my parish will give me all the time they can muster. He is a true “Father” to his parish.
In both cases my advice is the same. Priests are hungry hungry people.
I plan on doing this right after the busy time of year coming up next week. Perhaps a week or two after Easter I will invite Father over for dinner and I will have a nice evening of spiritual guidance and just plain old conversation.
They feed us, we should feed them!
J
Jared2914
Guest
Our priest is very busy. Part of it is for his own reasons. He is the kind of priest that likes to have a hand in everything. All the major decisions have to pass his desk. Part of it is not having any other priests. In our area there is a pretty bad shortage of priests. One parish even went without a priest for 6 months a couple years ago. The priests from other parishes had to fill-in until the diocese was able to transfer a priest over from outside the county.
Our pastor never says no to a request for an appointment, but it can be months before you get to see him. He warns anyone requesting a meeting about this. He also warns that he can’t always keep up with email. Our family has emailed him a few times and never got a response. When we do get a email response, it is a few weeks later. It took us 3-4 months to have him at our place for dinner.
Our pastor never says no to a request for an appointment, but it can be months before you get to see him. He warns anyone requesting a meeting about this. He also warns that he can’t always keep up with email. Our family has emailed him a few times and never got a response. When we do get a email response, it is a few weeks later. It took us 3-4 months to have him at our place for dinner.
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Marysann
Guest
It is true that our priests are very busy people, but in my experience, both as a parishioner and as a parish employee, that priests love to meet with parishioners to assist them with their problems. Priest become priests because they want to bring Jesus to the people through offering Holy Mass and the sacraments. Counselling is just an extension of that. Our priests are often busy because of administrative tasks which have to be done in any parish, especially in the situations of priests who have to handle more than one parish. The priests that I have known got much satisfaction from helping parishioners, even when they are called to deathbeds at odd hours. It is at these times that they are able to bring the comfort of the Lord to the people. It might be helpful if parishioners approach their priests to ask what administrative tasks they might be able to help with so that Father will have more time for his real work with the people. I hope that some of the priests who read this forum will chime in with their opinions.
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