Sacrament of Reconciliation

[ellzeena]

The church I’m attending has almost NO ONE standing in line (confession is only offered at 4:30 just before 5:00 mass on Saturday). I THINK I NEED this sacrament because I FAIL every day (along with everyone else!) But because this sacrament is offered SO scantily, and sometimes the (only) priest in this parish shows up 15 minutes before 5:00 mass, I feel like some sort of WEIRDO. HOW is it possible that so few people feel the need for this sacrament and yet receive the Eucharist every week? Should I find another church?

ALSO I have a very recent, very real tragedy in my life. AND NO ONE from this church calls and the priest NEVER comes over to me to ask me if I’m ok. I don’t understand this! Shouldn’t the representative of Jesus (the priest) be more concerned or has it become NORMAL for EVERYONE to just not care?

 

[Edward_H]

Well…you’re not alone.

We need more Confession…more manly or womanly done too.

Pray for it…and be ever more grateful that you can go at all. And over time consider bringing a luke warm friend to confession.

Mother Teresa used to use the expression…“eck eck eck” [one one one]

one at a time.

Don’t look for big changes, from the top…let your holiness overflow and slowly and quietly affect others.

 

[Barb3]

I’m pretty old and I can remember we went to Confession every month – of course, I don’t remember when all this changed but in our Parish we only have Confession the first Saturday of the month. In our bulletin, it does state that should a person have need of Confession they can contact the Pastor. In addition, we have a newly ordained priest in our Parish and every time he says the daily Mass he says that he is available for Confession.

 

[beth40n2]

A priest who truely teaches what sin is, and teaches the need for confession and schedules plenty of time for confession will start getting people into the confessional.

It start with the priest! Talk to you priest about your concern.

 

[puzzleannie]

The. HOW is it possible that so few people feel the need for this sacrament and yet receive the Eucharist every week? Should I find another church?

as long as confession is offered at a time convenient to you, how is it your concern how often others confess, or where?

A

LSO I have a very recent, very real tragedy in my life. AND NO ONE from this church calls and the priest NEVER comes over to me to ask me if I’m ok.?

does the pastor know about it? did you call and ask for the priest to visit or for an appointment? quite frankly I have not known a priest in over 20 years in 4 parishes who has leisure time to visit parishioners except when called for sacraments, anointing etc.

 

[Gertabelle]

The church I’m attending has almost NO ONE standing in line (confession is only offered at 4:30 just before 5:00 mass on Saturday). I THINK I NEED this sacrament because I FAIL every day (along with everyone else!) But because this sacrament is offered SO scantily, and sometimes the (only) priest in this parish shows up 15 minutes before 5:00 mass, I feel like some sort of WEIRDO. HOW is it possible that so few people feel the need for this sacrament and yet receive the Eucharist every week? Should I find another church?

ALSO I have a very recent, very real tragedy in my life. AND NO ONE from this church calls and the priest NEVER comes over to me to ask me if I’m ok. I don’t understand this! Shouldn’t the representative of Jesus (the priest) be more concerned or has it become NORMAL for EVERYONE to just not care?

The parish where I play the piano (as a job) is like the one your describe. The pastor (only priest there) is in the confessional for about 15 minutes on a Saturday. When I went on Palm Sunday, only THREE people were there! On the other hand, I didn’t have a long wait.

The parish where I am registered has confession every single day! Monday through Friday, a line forms around 7:15 for the timeslot that only goes from 7:30 - 7:55. If you don’t get there early, you don’t get in! Then there are about three hours for confessions on Saturday and Sunday. And there are always lines – get there early, or you may not get in before mass starts.

Another parish (the “liberal” one) has confessions twice a week, and again there are long lines – get there early!

I can think of a couple others without even looking them up that offer confessions several times a week as well.

My point is – you are not a weirdo. You are a precious Child of God, and His grace is working on your heart So find another parish to go to confession. It pays to do a little research to find out when local parishes offer confession - I keep a list on my computer for my own reference.

As for your recent tragedy, I’m praying for you and any others who may be involved. Are you sure your parish community is aware of your tragedy? If they don’t know, they may not be aware that you need any help or support. If they do know, they may not know what sort of help or support you need and are waiting for you to ask.

When I mangled my hand last year, it turned out that people were just waiting for me to ask for help. Even people in the parish where I had played the piano didn’t realize I’d suffered life-altering injuries. But as soon as I asked for help, people were on the phone gathering the troops and coming over to the house, helping in any way they could.

So I care, and I’m praying for you. And God bless you for seeking the sacrament of confession – this is God’s grace at work in you!

Gertie

 

[smichhertz]

The church I’m attending has almost NO ONE standing in line (confession is only offered at 4:30 just before 5:00 mass on Saturday). I THINK I NEED this sacrament because I FAIL every day (along with everyone else!) But because this sacrament is offered SO scantily, and sometimes the (only) priest in this parish shows up 15 minutes before 5:00 mass, I feel like some sort of WEIRDO. HOW is it possible that so few people feel the need for this sacrament and yet receive the Eucharist every week? Should I find another church?

Hi ellzeena! So sorry to hear about your troubles. Hopefully I can help.

Unfortunately, this is a common problem in the Catholic Church. We live in a society that has a tendency to over justify their actions. In other words, everyone always has an excuse. We’ve forgotten what it means to apologize, and as such, we don’t see the reason to confess. Thank God every day for His gift to you. He has spared you this common problem and you are correctly able to see the important need of Confession. You may find it helpful to sort of advertise for confession amongst your parishioners. Not in a “holier than thou” way, but just simply talk about the beauty of confession and how much better you feel afterwards, etc. I find that singing the praises of confession is more likely to bring people back to the sacrament than fire and brimstone.

If I were you, I’d speak to the priest privately about him coming late. Not in a disrespectful way, but just politely explain that you would like to have a more consistent starting time for Confession. Hopefully that will resolve that issue.

ALSO I have a very recent, very real tragedy in my life. AND NO ONE from this church calls and the priest NEVER comes over to me to ask me if I’m ok. I don’t understand this! Shouldn’t the representative of Jesus (the priest) be more concerned or has it become NORMAL for EVERYONE to just not care?

I’m so sorry to hear that. Life tragedies are always dificult, but the worst is when we feel alone while we face them. Sometimes people don’t reach out to others because they don’t want to be intrusive. If I were you, I’d set up a spiritual direction meeting with the priest and ask if he could be your spiritual director to help you through the tragedy. I’m sure once he fully understands the situation you’ll find that he does care, he was just either ignorant or unsure if you wanted his help.

All the best! I will say a prayer for you!