Return to General Absolution

[Tis_Bearself]

I’m extremely confused by these stories we constantly get on here from people who say no one goes to confession where they are located. I don’t doubt the stories, but why is it that people in Diocese A are not going to confession, while people in Diocese B and Diocese C are forming lines on Saturday to get in the confessional?

Is this something based on the size of the parish? Several of the parishes I see with regular, sizable lines are very large parishes of several thousand families each. If your parish is little then maybe that affects the number of people in line?

 

[BoomBoomMancini]

I’m extremely confused by these stories we constantly get on here from people who say no one goes to confession where they are located. I don’t doubt the stories, but why is it that people in Diocese A are not going to confession, while people in Diocese B and Diocese C are forming lines on Saturday to get in the confessional?

Is this something based on the size of the parish? Several of the parishes I see with regular, sizable lines are very large parishes of several thousand families each. If your parish is little then maybe that affects the number of people in line?

Having moved around a lot, I’ve noticed dramatic differences in dioceses. The best I can do is that in more traditional parishes, confession is emphasized, whereas in more “modern” ones (which, ironically, seem to have the fewest people under 50) it’s seen as old fashioned or something.

 

[tafan2]

I don’t get it. All of the parishes around here have confession times at least three times a week. Our parish has an hour if confession every day except Sunday. There are always lines. I haven’t been to confession in years without standing in line at least 15 minutes ( that’s when I show up 15 minutes early). The trend for 10 or 15 years has been an increase in both people going to confession and the availability of confession times. Even not counting my parish, where the daily time doesn’t always fit my schedule, if I decide I want to go to confession, I can almost always find a parish close by that fits my schedule the same day, or next day at worse.

Two things are the cause of the trend, IMO. If confession times are often and convienuent, people go. I remember when we started having confession everyday, the pastor told me, “if the Church wants people going to confession again, it has to be convienuent, besides it’s my job.”
The second cause, all of the parishes around have Eucharistic adoration often. Three of them have it everyday, all day.

 

[tafan2]

Nothing ironic about that, those 60 and 70 year olds spent most of their adult life under the “spirit if Vatican II” mentality in the 70s and 80s.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

The thing is, most of the parishes I go to are not traditional, yet there’s still a line on the Saturday.

Several of them are parishes where I attend Masses on a fairly regular basis and I can attest that the priests are not giving homilies about sin or pushing the idea of confession from the pulpit.

 

[Phemie]

It might have to do with the size of the parish, but the one I am in now has as many Catholics as the population of my village growing up. Confession then always had a line-up and was for a couple of hours every Saturday afternoon. We also had the option of several other parishes to go to confession, all of which also had line-ups. I remember a Saturday shopping trip to the town 7 miles away was not complete without a stop for confession.

Here we have confession every Saturday from 1-2 p.m. at the only parish available. It’s rare to see a car in the parking lot at that time and in recent years I’ve only run into another penitent there when I showed up on two occasions. I’m often at the church for other reasons at that time and again, crickets.

Could it have anything to do with the fact that one pastor, about 12 years ago, cancelled confession time altogether because, “It’s a waste of time, nobody ever comes”? I bit my tongue but I really wanted to say, “Well, if every time you tell us that ‘God loves us and forgives us everything,’ you added, ‘but we have to recognize our sins, be sorry for them, and confess them,’ you might see more people.”

Of course I also bit my tongue when he told me about visiting a family who were planning to take their 15 or 16 year old daughter out for an abortion and how he told them, “Well, you have to do what’s best for your family.” I didn’t know murdering one’s grandchild was ever considered the best one could do for one’s family.

 

[Roguish]

We later discussed it and she believed the general penance at mass (I confess to…) replaced it or covered everything now.

And that belief is somewhat understandable, isn’t it? I’ve always found it a little strange that the Mass includes the “confiteor”, since we are required to confess our sins before taking Communion. I have often felt a little uncomfortable during the confiteor, thinking “hey, didn’t I just take care of this in the confessional?” The sacrament of reconciliation is supposed to be entirely efficacious, so after receiving it I am in the proper State of Grace to commune with God. I feel that in that state I am not supposed to announce that “I have greatly sinned”. My sin is not supposed to be on my mind at that point; it should be on my mind during confession. Announcing it anyway feels incongruent.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

Most of us don’t confess immediately before every Mass we attend. At most of the Masses I attend, confession isn’t even available before the Mass, so even if I had wanted to go to confession, I couldn’t do it.

Since venial sins are forgiven during Mass, it makes sense to confess sins or at least think about one’s sins during the Mass.

http://www.ewtn.com/library/liturgy/zlitur88.htm

 

[tafan2]

There are a few things wrong with your thinking. First of all, you are assuming everyone just went to confession prior to mass. That’s not even close to accurate for almost every one in attendance. Secondly, we are required to confession our mortal sins, it’s is strongly advised to confess venial sins, and I assume we all do. But your statement about the requirement is not quite accurate. Thirdly, it is very likely almost everyone at mass has venial sins in their soul. Finally, most of us, unless we have become very holy, are somewhat blind to many (most?) of our sins. Jesus said even the just man sins seventy times a day. How many of us are aware of that. Even if we went to confession immediately prior to mass, do we have some uniind thought of another, fail to greet someone with a smile, take a little too much notice of a beautiful lady walking into mass, get overlly irritated with the selection of the opening song.

The idea of feeling strange, uncomfortable, or incongruent during the confitior is really, really strange and incongruent to me. It is such a wonderful way to start the mass.

 

[ConcernedConvert]

I don’t think that it needs reviewed at all. People just need to go. Priests and bishops need to announce the seriousness of going to confession and the seriousness of avoiding dying with mortal sin unconfessed.
I have seen priests announce in their homily the need for people to go, and a lot of times people respond.

 

[mVitus]

but why is it that people in Diocese A are not going to confession, while people in Diocese B and Diocese C are forming lines on Saturday to get in the confessional?

Speaking from experiences, my parish has Confession twice a month in the morning. The times I’ve gone, it’s usually fairly empty. Amother parish near me has Confession every week in the afternoon. There’s usually a line. So I’d imagine that in general if Confession is more easily accessed elsewhere, people go there if they go.

 

[exnihilo]

The thing is, most of the parishes I go to are not traditional, yet there’s still a line on the Saturday.

Several of them are parishes where I attend Masses on a fairly regular basis and I can attest that the priests are not giving homilies about sin or pushing the idea of confession from the pulpit.

I often go to confession at a parish that is not very traditional. The reason is the lines are short there whereas the lines at my parish tend to be long. I often see other people I know from my parish there.

 

[tafan2]

So I’d imagine that in general if Confession is more easily accessed elsewhere, people go there if they go.

It really is that easy. Have more confession times, and more and more people will go. I think pastors think, well the one time a week is adequate for who shows up, why do more. It’s a “if you build it, they will come” situation. Just like adoration, one can say: few people ever make visits to the Blessed Sacrament, how can we do a 24 hour adoration?". Just do it, start with a couple of daytime only adoration. Most parishes around here no longer need sign up sheets for 24 hour adoration. At first they did, but after a while, people just show up.
All of this stuff goes hand in hand. We often have threads lamenting the lack of “fellowship” opportunities in our parises. Guess what, have two masses every day, confessions several times a week, adoration during the day every day, and you will be shocked at how alive your parish will seem after a couple of years. Prayer groups and youth groups and other events will be fighting for space reservations.

And oh, after a few years you will learn that you have had a few priestly and religious vocations from your parish.

This stuff ain’t hard folks.

 

[FrDavid96]

glad2bhome:

Apparently it was valid

I don’t know if I believe that. To my knowledge it’s only valid, even in emergency situations in current times, if the parties resolve to privately confess at the next availability.

I also don’t think most people would want the ancient practice to actually be renewed. The ancient practice was to actually confess publically not just get absolved.

It’s valid, but illicit.

 

[FrDavid96]

The absolution given in general confession is still good, (FrDavid, correct me if I’m wrong here) it just requires you go to individual confession assuming you survive whatever the impending disaster is. If a nuclear missile had actually hit Honolulu and killed the people in the cathedral, they would’ve been covered by the general confession.

Right. Valid, but illicit (that is, illicit except for genuine emergencies).

I know I just posted this, but I’m getting caught-up in this thread, and since you mentioned me by name, I thought I’d reply directly.

 

[FrDavid96]

Tis_Bearself:

I’m extremely confused by these stories we constantly get on here from people who say no one goes to confession where they are located. I don’t doubt the stories, but why is it that people in Diocese A are not going to confession, while people in Diocese B and Diocese C are forming lines on Saturday to get in the confessional?

Is this something based on the size of the parish? Several of the parishes I see with regular, sizable lines are very large parishes of several thousand families each. If your parish is little then maybe that affects the number of people in line?

Having moved around a lot, I’ve noticed dramatic differences in dioceses. The best I can do is that in more traditional parishes, confession is emphasized, whereas in more “modern” ones (which, ironically, seem to have the fewest people under 50) it’s seen as old fashioned or something.

Actually, that pattern doesn’t hold.

Frankly, I don’t know what pattern does hold, if any. I wish I did.

 

[FrDavid96]

It really is that easy. Have more confession times, and more and more people will go. …

Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.

Last Lent, I tried scheduling Confessions for 3 days a week instead of the usual 2. (Fri & Sat, one hour each, but I added an hour on Wed evening). The result was statistically insignificant (statistically, not spiritually).

 

[tafan2]

With all due respect Father (and I really mean that, ), nothing works overnight. It’s been around a 12-15 years since out parish went to daily confessions (6pm weekdays, 4pm Saturdays). Our pastor at the time was, and still is, a good friend, I remember people thought he might be a little crazy. For a year or two, it gradually built up, now there are lines every day and people complain that when 7pm mass starts the priest ends confession and tells folks to come back tomorrow.
I have seen the same thing with Eucharistic aforation, people learn over time when/where adoration is going in and guess what? They pop in for a visit during lunch or on the way home from work.
Another parish close by only had confessions on Saturday mornings for years, it’s at 830 right after 8am mass. They started having confession a couple of years ago at 5pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. I often go to the Saturday morning mass, confession lines never got smaller. And lines on Monday and Wednesdays? Now they are just as long .

I believe this pattern holds.

 

[Tis_Bearself]

I have to admit there seems to be a monkey-see, monkey-do effect to Confession. I go to a number of special Masses at shrines, daylong retreats, etc. for stuff like Fatima devotion, Flame of Love devotion, causes for saints etc and invariably there is Confession offered at these events and the lines get really long, even with multiple priests. It’s likely that these events do tend to draw the more devout Catholics, but there also seems to be a lot of “oh look, there’s confessions going on, hmmm I guess I should go.”

 

[chessnerd321]

Wait I don’t understand. The Canon quoted by @vico begins with “in order to validly receive”. I admit I’m not expert on how to interpret canon law, but to a layman that’s pretty clear.

Can you explain where I’m wrong?