So little time given for confession

[mattkubes]

I woke up this morning excited to go to confession - I love living away from home this summer in part because I live fairly close to the Cathedral of Christ the King in Hamilton, Ontario.

Skipping the boring details, when I got to the Cathedral, I saw the usual confessor outside, in lay clothes, about to get on his bicycle. It turns out that I had just missed the alloted time by a minute or two. In a city of nearly 500,000 people, the central church of the Diocese of Hamilton offers 30 minutes for confession each week. And I missed it.

So I came home on the bus feeling completely dejected…not to mention worrying about the loss of eternity - you know, little things like that (and yes, I feel that I really did need to go to confession). I can’t help but wondering; could part of the reason for the staggering decrease in the use of the Sacrament of Reconciliation also be due to the lack of time allotted to it (in addition to the drop in participation)? I realise that it’s not practical to expect priests to sit in a confessional for hours on end in the hopes that someone shows up…but 30 minutes per week at a Cathedral??

I also realise that it is possible to make an appointment for confession, but (call me silly) I still like to go anonymously. If I have to meet with the priest at a certain time to go to confession…well that would just defeat the purpose of sitting behind the screen. Is there a proper channel for addressing these issues? Or should I just keep my faith in the public transportation system and hope that I make it in time next week?

I’m sorry if I came off rude in any way, but hearing “Oh, the Cathedral is closed, sorry you just missed it” this morning - well it simply broke my heart.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

 

[jstreets]

Well technically since you tried you are eligible to recieve Holy Communion, in that you go to confession as soon as possible.

 

[Dauphin]

Well technically since you tried you are eligible to recieve Holy Communion, in that you go to confession as soon as possible.

Wow! What? No!

If you’re in a state of Mortal sin, you must not receive communion.

30 minutes a week is a disgrace. I find it hard to believe. At my Cathedral, we have confession directly before the daily 12:10 p.m. Mass, and between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays. The lines for confession are usually very long

 

[mattkubes]

Wow! What? No!
If you’re in a state of Mortal sin, you must not receive communion.

Don’t worry, I’m with you on this one - apart from an act of perfect contrition (I really doubt my ability to do this) I’ll just have to wait until next week. And I don’t mean to sound melodramatic, but I’ll probably be living in fear for the next week - that’s what bothers me most.

30 minutes a week is a disgrace. I find it hard to believe. At my Cathedral, we have confession directly before the daily 12:10 p.m. Mass, and between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays. The lines for confession are usually very long

Trust me, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first moved here, but their website even confirms that it is only on Saturday from 9:00am - 9:30am It really is a shame - it’s such a beautiful Cathedral and every time I’ve gone there for confession, there have been people waiting…I really don’t understand why they offer it during such a small time period.

Hamilton is also a big university town and so most students who want to go there will have to make use of public transport - they certainly don’t give us much leeway!

 

[Madaglan]

Confession at the Roman Catholic parish near me is allocated 30 minutes before Saturday vespers (really early late afternoon) service. Mass begins 4:30 on Saturday, and confession is 3:45-4:15. It’s a really inconvenient time to go, since I’m usually busy Saturday afternoons and usually attend services on Sunday. In any case, I haven’t been to confession for…months now. Mostly because of theological struggles, not because I’m not sorry for my sins and wish to repent.

 

[JesusSaves17]

I don’t think you should live in fear. I have always been under the impression that since you made a sincere act to get to Confession, that if you die in the next week the Lord will have mercy on you since you did the best you could. I still wouldn’t receive communion, but the Lord knows and he saw you make an attempt to get to Confession. It’s like I’ve been taught, if you die on the way to confession, the Lord will have mercy on you. In this case, you can only go next Saturday and you sincerely plan on going, so don’t worry!

 

[Dauphin]

Don’t worry, I’m with you on this one - apart from an act of perfect contrition (I really doubt my ability to do this) I’ll just have to wait until next week. And I don’t mean to sound melodramatic, but I’ll probably be living in fear for the next week - that’s what bothers me most.

Trust me, I couldn’t believe my eyes when I first moved here, but their website even confirms that it is only on Saturday from 9:00am - 9:30am It really is a shame - it’s such a beautiful Cathedral and every time I’ve gone there for confession, there have been people waiting…I really don’t understand why they offer it during such a small time period.

Hamilton is also a big university town and so most students who want to go there will have to make use of public transport - they certainly don’t give us much leeway!

There must be somewhere else you can go for confession! I thought that every church offered weekly confession… even the little parish I’m staying at for the summer offers 2 hours on Thursday and another 2 on Saturday.

I went to the website and looked at your Cathedral! It’s stunning!

http://www.christthekingcathedral.org/images/ext-photo2.gif
I think it rivals Notre Dame in Montreal. Judging the outside alone, I think it must be the most beautiful Cathdral in Canada. It’s a shame that so many people there must be receiving the Eucharist in a state of grave sin…

 

[mattkubes]

There must be somewhere else you can go for confession! I thought that every church offered weekly confession… even the little parish I’m staying at for the summer offers 2 hours on Thursday and another 2 on Saturday.

Really?? I feel like moving to Kingston now… I wish there was some easy way to find out, but since I’m not from the Hamilton area, I’m not sure how I could!

I went to the website and looked at your Cathedral! It’s stunning! I think it rivals Notre Dame in Montreal. Judging the outside alone, I think it must be the most beautiful Cathdral in Canada. It’s a shame that so many people there must be receiving the Eucharist in a state of grave sin…

It really is beautiful, and the pictures can hardly do justice to the interior - their goal when it was built was to make the most beautiful Cathedral in North America. Even to this day, I don’t think they’ve been overtaken by too many (not even by modern cathedrals like Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles…IMHO )!

 

[Dauphin]

Here are a list of parishes in Hamilton with links to their websites:

hamiltondiocese.com/directory/Parishes/Hamilton/

If you can get there, Our Lady of Lourdes at 416 Mohawk Rd. E. offers confession from 3:45 - 4:45 p.m. today.

St. Patrick’s at 440 King Street East offers it from 4:00 - 4:45 p.m.

Hope you see this in time!

 

[Andy_K]

30 minutes a week? Lucky!

At my parish we only get 30 minutes per month.

Yes, I realize the OP is at a cathedral, but count your blessings, folks.

Also, I’m an avid Confession connoseiur with the same " by appointment" caveat. Oftentimes at my parish trying to schedule these appointments turns into another mess altogether.

When I become a parish priest (God willing) I’m going to make sure that confession is offered for at least 1 hour a week, if not everyday. Souls in mortal sin shouldn’t have to take painstaking measures to receive graces - the priest needs to make himself available, imo

ends rant

 

[JesusSaves17]

I guess I’m lucky, living in Lincoln, NE I have the opportunity to go to confession every day without appointment. Only a city of 250,000 and so many churches offering so many different confession times.

 

[mattkubes]

At my parish we only get 30 minutes per month.

There has to be some sort of rule against that…30 minutes per month?? That hardly encourages participation in this important sacrament!

 

[chicago]

Part of the problem is a practical one. It used to be that Satuday afternoon confessions were significantly patronized. This was when the culture fostered such and Saturday wasn’t necessarily so busy as it tends to be now. But parishes are slow to adapt to the real needs of a changing culture. I find that at the parishes where there is confession offerred evenings (often in conjucntion with a Mass or other devotion) and Sundays (scheduled around - or even during - Mass), this Sacrament is doing quite well. The other problem is that Advent and Lent communal pennance services have tended to innoculate the Catholic population against any more frequent reception. They’re just in the mindset that, "I can go twice a year.’ But, in reality, a lot of people never bother to get there at those times, anyway.

So what are we left with? Pastors who sit around for an hour on Saturday afternoon with few people coming. They get the message and cut back to 30 minutes. Still no one shows. So, then they decide that in order to give something to the two regulars or provide a technical chance for anyone else who might show up, per chance, they best be there from 4 to 4:15. Or since this is when weddings are, anyway, it gets scheduled only once a month, maybe. Perhaps people get the hint that this is their one chance and a monthly confession ought to be enough for the devotees.

It is a problem which leads in an downward spiral.

 

[mattkubes]

The downward spiral you described is exactly what scared me this morning! I know we can’t blame out priests - I can’t imagine how disappointing it must be for some of them. But it doesn’t help that I rarely if ever hear confession being mentioned from the pulpit…it truly is a vicious cycle. I guess I shouldn’t get so worried in the here and now since we all know that, in the end, God’s Will prevails! But that doesn’t mean we can’t pray

And Dauphin - thank you very much for that link. I did manage to find a parish near me that was offering confession today! I actually just got back…time to add a new bookmark to my browser. I’m still saddened to know that our Cathedral only offers 30 minutes per week (always keeping in mind that Hamilton is no small town), but I guess c’est la vie

 

[water]

ah, I used to live in Hamilton, Ontario. It is nice there with the big lake but some big steel factory gives the city some bad smell from steels.

 

[Catholig]

Mattkubes,

If you feel that you really need it make an appointment.

Catholig

 

[mattkubes]

Well, a couple of us have already mentioned the issues we have with making appointments, but I guess if I get desperate it could be an option. However, appointments usually have to be made well in advance and pretty much guarantee that the penitent cannot take advantage of an anonymous confession (which I do believe is a right Catholics have according to Canon Law…please correct me if I’m wrong!).

Having said that, I don’t think that embarrassment is a valid reason to scare anyone away from confession - but you have to admit that it can be a very real concern.

 

[Teelynn]

I guess I’m lucky, living in Lincoln, NE I have the opportunity to go to confession every day without appointment. Only a city of 250,000 and so many churches offering so many different confession times.

It seems to me that Nebraska has their act together. I have kind of taken a mental note of that throughout visiting these forums. We used to NEVER have weekly or monthly confessions in my parish or in some of the surrounding parishes. They would have it 2 times yearly at Easter and Christmas and then only a “penance service”…no individual. Somewhat better lately, we are supposed to have them weekly but with consolidations we are lucky if a priest shows up for them. We now are supposed to have 30 minutes a week. People in my area seek out other parishs to go. That’s why it did not surprise me a bit for this Cathedral to only have 30 minutes weekly for confession. Still struggling in my area to give confession the importance it deserves. This shouldn’t be news to most people. Lots of areas in this country and probably in others that have downplayed confession for a long time now. The clergy just doesn’t give it the credence it’s due. Too busy, not enough priests, no one goes anyway are the reasons we hear. They just don’t push it. I believe this mindset is misleading alot of people by giving them the idea that it’s not really all that necessary any more. But, on the brighter side, there are a lot of people who do go even if they have to travel out of area.

 

[LilyM]

Well, a couple of us have already mentioned the issues we have with making appointments, but I guess if I get desperate it could be an option. However, appointments usually have to be made well in advance and pretty much guarantee that the penitent cannot take advantage of an anonymous confession (which I do believe is a right Catholics have according to Canon Law…please correct me if I’m wrong!).

Having said that, I don’t think that embarrassment is a valid reason to scare anyone away from confession - but you have to admit that it can be a very real concern.

You should ordinarily be able to keep it anonymous - call the priest or presbytery, don’t reveal your name (‘Good morning, I’d like to make an appointment for confession, but I’d rather not give my name because I’d like to keep the confession anonymous’), arrange a time and ask that he be in the confessional before that time - voila, anonymity preserved!

I know, some priests don’t operate that way in the real world. Perhaps try one of the other parishes mentioned?

I thank God every day that I live in the big smoke and that there are three parishes in the area that offer daily or near-daily confessions.

 

[whatevergirl]

Wow! What? No!

If you’re in a state of Mortal sin, you must not receive communion.

30 minutes a week is a disgrace. I find it hard to believe. At my Cathedral, we have confession directly before the daily 12:10 p.m. Mass, and between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. on Saturdays. The lines for confession are usually very long

The alloted time at my parish in PA, was one hour, on Tuesday evenings, and in my new Florida parish–it’s about 45 minutes, but the line is so long, that it usually runs over an hour…however, you can’t bank on the line always being long, and run late…

I think 30 minutes is kind of short…I remember when I was growing up, that our parish had a few days of week for Confession.

mattkubes–I’m sorry you missed Confession today --maybe look for other parishes in your area…or even outside of your area, so you can have a few times as back ups if you miss the main one you like to attend.