Sacarament of Reconciliation (aka Confession)

[jerome_ky]

I don’t know if this is just in my archdiocese. I’d like to get some opinions. As a relatively recent convert, I have had the unrealistic and Hollywood-induced opinion that confession is something that is just there when you need it. I have since learned that, at least in our area, confession is offered by some churches (like mine) for all of 30 minutes a week. Other churches in our archdiocese offer it more often, but it still seems to be at a time when I have this job I need to be at. Also, and I’ve only been to two, but I haven’t seen the old-fashioned, movie confessional booth where the priest slides the little door by his face and there’s a screen there, and it all looks very anonymous. My priest does have a screen near him, but there’s also a chair, and it seems rather rude not to take the chair, especially when I know he knows my voice by now.

I’m sorry if this sounds peevish, but I feel like confession should be easier to access. It’s very important from a theological standpoint, from all I’ve read, to be in a state of grace. I freely admit I can get there if I need to, but it is nothing if not inconvenient. Am I the only one with this opinion? Was it easier pre-Vatican II? Some of you will say, “Just go and stop complaining.” I’ll take some lumps on this one, but please add your 2 cents.

 

[Gene_Church]

Yes, there were times that it was easier, and that there was more accessable priests. And, times when people believed in the graces they received from going to confession. I suspect that there is plenty of blame to go around.

 

[Bookcat]

It varies from place to place…

Cathedrals often have daily confession. Shrines also could have.

Some parishes do. But generally they have a weekly schedule.

One can also make an appointment anytime…or just ask a Priest.

 

[YoungTradCath]

The only archdiocese in KY is that of Louisville. If that is the city you live in, there are tons of churches and you can definitely find one that has confession when you need it. If you live outside the city or you still can’t find scheduled confession when you need it, then you can make an appointment with a priest to hear your confession. Just call a church office, and they will set it up. It’s no problem.

In the past confessions were heard more often. This is true. The reason most churches don’t offer it much nowadays is because there’s not exactly a huge demand for it, and there’s plenty of blame to go around for that… ahem nevermentioningitinhomilies ahem Of course, there are a considerably less amount of priests available now than there were before Vatican II, but this is only part of it. My own parish, for example, has five priests and yet confession is only heard for 30 scheduled minutes a week. The parish has no more than 500 total families. That’s one priest to every 100 families, and that is an excellent ratio, and yet we still have so little scheduled confession time.

Bigger churches, especially cathedrals, definitely usually have more scheduled confessions than do smaller churches.

I personally really hate face-to-face confession, but I’m sure there are people who absolutely love it. There was this push, I suppose you could say, after Vatican II for face-to-face confession. It is more common now than anonymous confession, to be sure. But you can find a church with anonymous confession, as it isn’t exactly rare or anything. For me, face-to-face confession feels more like a shrink session than a place to have your sins forgiven. When I converted, I too was expecting the old dark confessionals, and I was actually looking forward to that. Alas, none of the three churches in my city have anonymous confession :/. I hate that. I feel this turns a lot of people off from confession, but not my decision, so whatever I guess.

 

[trinichiqn]

At the Church that I go to for confession (not my church) it is offered after Monday morning Mass the priest makes himself available to all who want it, if he is not officiating that Monday morning but it is scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening before Mass, also by appointment. I will admit it is not always easy to get to confession after work, and I prefer not to go on Saturdays (my choice) but I usually make it so I don’t have a problem.

Now after all that I think some of the problem is that people do not make themselves available for confession. I went to confession on the evening before Christmas Eve, confession is available for 30 mins on Friday evenings when I get there no line. After I am finished there is no one waiting so Father and I start talking and had a good conversation going until pass the time for Mass to start and still no one approached for confession, yes where we are you can see if someone is waiting. Confession was mentioned at the Masses I attended throughout Advent and my Parish priest is a big promoter of confession.

What I am trying to say is confession may have a supply and demand factor, priests are limited and their tasks are great so sometimes, most times they have to choose where they may be of most use. I was supposed to go to confession the day before but time was against me so if I hadn’t Father would have sat there waiting and no one would have shown up.

 

[1ke]

It is not “rude” to use the screen versus chair/face-to-face. That’s what it is there for.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

Every parish I’ve been with has had a three-tiered system of confession availability: regularly scheduled times once or twice a week with the parish priest, communal penance services with multiple priests to choose from for individual confession and absolution once or twice a year, and an opportunity to make an appointment with the parish priest.

Besides all this if you catch a priest at a good time and ask if he’ll hear your confession, he normally will do so. Of course, three minutes before mass starts is not likely to be a good time.

The old-fashioned confessionals are pretty rare these days. I’ve only used one once in my nearly eight years as a Catholic. It’s interesting how Hollywood’s depiction of the Catholic Church is almost always extremely traditional, even if it’s a present day setting.

Most of the time in my experience there’s a “reconciliation room” in which some sort of veil is available if you want it, but as you walk in the priest greets you face to face so it seems a little silly to then go behind the veil. A better modern arrangement was at the Catholic Center at my college, in which you walked into a room and there was a sort of wood screen with slots through which you could barely see the priest on the other side, with a cushion for kneeling in front of it. You could kneel there in front of the screen or, if you wanted to, walk around it to a chair for face to face confession. Really quite ideal.

 

[YoungTradCath]

Does anyone else think that penance services influence people to only confess when there are penance services?

 

[beth40n2]

I am in the Diocese of Sioux Falls, SD which is in the Archdiocese of St. Paul, MN. We are in a rural area with very small churches where most priests have 3 churches. There is always confession a half hour before mass. Also one of the priest’s churches schedules a Saturday afternoon around 3pm and stays as long as needed. Also my priest has Eucharistic Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament on Thursday nights in one of his churches and confession is available at that time. And of course we can get confession by appointment anytime the priest has time to do it.

Definately use the screen if you are more compforable that was. In my case the priest knows my voice so I just sit in the chair, but going face to face has definately been a blessing for me.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

As others have said, if you live or work near a moderate to large sized city, you will find have more options for confession times. Check your (arch)diocese website and find the churches close to your job, on your commute, or other places you visit and see what their scheduled confession times are. You could also call a church close to work and make an appointment for lunch or after work.

It is true that confession was more available years ago, and folks tended to go more often. It dwindled down for many reasons, the church’s teaching on birthcontrol being a primary one. As vocations to both the priesthood and consecrated life dropped, so the remaining priest’s workloads increased. If there are 100 things to do in a parish, and no one is coming to confession, sitting in the confessional is not going to be high on the priest’s list.
sigh

So look around for your opportunities, and make them yourself if necessary by making an appointment with a priest.

Welcome home!

 

[Incomplete]

My own parish, for example, has five priests and yet confession is only heard for 30 scheduled minutes a week. The parish has no more than 500 total families. That’s one priest to every 100 families, and that is an excellent ratio, and yet we still have so little scheduled confession time.

I personally really hate face-to-face confession, but I’m sure there are people who absolutely love it.

You have what??? Five priests for 500 families? Incredible. We have one priest and a much larger parish. That being said, one priest dealing with the large congregation we have, plus his many other commitments (such as the nursing home, on call at the local hospital, and many, many other things), there are only so many hours in a day to offer scheduled confession. Yet he has made it clear that he welcomes appointments for confession as well.

I am one of those who love face-to-face confession. It may feel like a shrink session to you, but it’s nothing like that to me. My priest would never allow it to be that way. My priest would know my voice anyway, and so instead of pretending he doesn’t know who I am, I can just refer back to things I have in the past told him and update him, so he knows where I still struggle. Confession has been a wonderful way to continue to grow.

 

[YoungTradCath]

You have what??? Five priests for 500 families? Incredible. We have one priest and a much larger parish. That being said, one priest dealing with the large congregation we have, plus his many other commitments (such as the nursing home, on call at the local hospital, and many, many other things), there are only so many hours in a day to offer scheduled confession. Yet he has made it clear that he welcomes appointments for confession as well.

I am one of those who love face-to-face confession. It may feel like a shrink session to you, but it’s nothing like that to me. My priest would never allow it to be that way. My priest would know my voice anyway, and so instead of pretending he doesn’t know who I am, I can just refer back to things I have in the past told him and update him, so he knows where I still struggle. Confession has been a wonderful way to continue to grow.

Yes, the parish is run by Redemptorists, who live in community.

And about face-to-face confession. I think that’s wonderful, but I still think every church should have confessionals available to those who want to use them.

 

[Incomplete]

Does anyone else think that penance services influence people to only confess when there are penance services?

What I have seen is that some people will go at both Christmas and Easter because we offer penance services both times. Some of these people would only go at Easter without them.

I have also seen people who go more regularly to confession also take advantage of the penance services.

These can be a good influence on people. For those who don’t come at other times, they at least have the penance services and might one day grow to come more often. I suspect some wouldn’t go to confession at all without them.

 

[Incomplete]

Yes, the parish is run by Redemptorists, who live in community.

And about face-to-face confession. I think that’s wonderful, but I still think every church should have confessionals available to those who want to use them.

Totally agreeing with this. I’ve never gone to a parish that didn’t offer a screen.

 

[nickybr38]

Does anyone else think that penance services influence people to only confess when there are penance services?

I think it depends on the mindset of the person. I, for one, was thrilled to see people whom I NEVER see on Sunday at the penance service… but I was also disheartened by how few actually showed up.

I think penance services probably help more then they hurt. There are people who probably wouldn’t go to confession at all, especially in my area where you have to specifically make appointments for confession. Lots of people aren’t going to do that. Whereas the penance service is like the only time where there’s a set date for confession so it’s easier for us shy folk.

 

[Incomplete]

…especially in my area where you have to specifically make appointments for confession.

That’s a very sad statement.

 

[YoungTradCath]

Totally agreeing with this. I’ve never gone to a parish that didn’t offer a screen.

Yeah, but there’s still a psychological effect to having the closed-off, tiny room in a confessional versus just a screen in a wall in a regular room.

 

[Mrs_Sally]

Yeah, but there’s still a psychological effect to having the closed-off, tiny room in a confessional versus just a screen in a wall in a regular room.

Possibly true, but we are not in confession for psycological effects, but for real, life-giving spiritual effects. If you go back even farther than confessional rooms, you’ll see rather open confessional “chairs” where the priest may have been behind a curtain, but the penitents knelt to the side of it and were not curtained or walled off at all.

 

[nickybr38]

That’s a very sad statement.

Last year we had a set time… one hour on the weekend. Usually just me and one other person showed up. :\ So they changed the day and I’m not sure what they do. I’ve since moved to a new parish that has no set time because people never showed up.

So now us shy folk have to make appointments. sigh ah well.

 

[Incomplete]

So now us shy folk have to make appointments. sigh ah well.

Maybe there’s some good to that (though I still think it’s sad.) I used to go to priests I didn’t know. Eventually I realized there was a particular priest I should be going to because he is the priest who has led me closer to God than anyone. I didn’t want to go to him. I didn’t want him to know who I really am deep inside. But then I realized that I could show God how much I love Him by doing exactly this.

So every time you have to make an appointment, realize that God understands the love behind it!