Strange confession lectures

[Jimdandy]

Back when I lived in California, I used to go to confession on Sat. evening, after which I (planned to) go home for the rest of the evening. One of the priests at the church I attended usually gave the penance of, “Go out and say something nice to half a dozen people today!” I had to go out trolling the mall to find the people to complete my penance!! (I lived alone)

I think this is a beautiful, thoughtful penance-it took effort and humility to perform-just what Jesus would desire.A++

 

[Georgia]

When I worked in another large city, a co-worker and I were talking about going to confession just before Easter. He had not been in quite a while and shared what was said.

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been 23 years since my last confession.”

“Well, just hit the high points.”

 

[FickleFreckled]

And I thought I’d been specially chosen for weird confessions! I stopped going to confession in the parish I used to belong to because the pastor talked so loud he could be heard in the waiting area and the associate admitted he hated doing confessions…the funniest one, though, was a priest who I realized was deaf and hadn’t heard anything I confessed. His penance to everyone was “say something nice to somebody today.” I was with a friend who’d gone ahead of me to confession; I came out and told him I liked his shirt. He busted out laughing because he’d been given the same penance.

 

[Orpheus2112]

When I worked in another large city, a co-worker and I were talking about going to confession just before Easter. He had not been in quite a while and shared what was said.

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been 23 years since my last confession.”

“Well, just hit the high points.”

Ahhh. A realist. How refreshing.

 

[mdgspencer]

I thiink you should give leeway to this eldely priest, who may have mental problems because of his age. Though if this causes you difficulties, such as causing you to stay away from confession sometimes, you ought to try to go to someone else.
Congratulations, by the way, for going to confession. Some Catholics don’t go at all. There is a book called “Whatever became of sin,” that proposes that many people don’t go to confession because that the idea of sin hardly enters their minds.

 

[puzzleannie]

So I just had to ask to see what else was out there. In my parish, there is usually only one priest out of the three available for confession when I can make it. He is a very old, very Polish immigrant. I always get the same lecture no matter what I confess:

1. The devil is with you
2. You are destroying America (punctuated with “Poof! Boom! Ahhh! America gone!”)

bless his heart, he is probably past it, but still in there working, God love him. When we visit San Antonio we go to Mass at old St. Mary’s just above the river walk, and there is usually an elderly priest their who gives a rant in a crackly wavering voice about fornication and so forth. I have heard small children ask their parents on the way out, “Mommy what is fortification, did I do that? it is a sin?”

 

[rkrispies]

I would absolutely not fault him for staying with it in our diocese, where we closed probably 20 parishes last year due to lack of priests. I can handle a few random rants if it means having a faithful priest in the parish. And it definitely does not deter me from confession. I just thought it was something quite a few of us could relate to.

Chris

 

[Timothy_Capps]

I recently thought a priest was “mean” to me in confession. I’m used to a different style. It bothered me, but I realized I probably did need a good slap up side the head. Don’t know if a steady diet of it would be salutary, but sometimes a pat on the head just won’t do with me.

 

[JPUSC]

I recently thought a priest was “mean” to me in confession. I’m used to a different style. It bothered me, but I realized I probably did need a good slap up side the head. Don’t know if a steady diet of it would be salutary, but sometimes a pat on the head just won’t do with me.

I encountered a “mean” priest when I was a teen at my old parish. It was his first day and every single person in line got 20 min with him!! Before, I usually got in and out of there in two minutes, tops! I’ve never encountered anything like it.

He scolded me on everything and was asking a lot of accusatory questions and stuff, even the parts I mumbled . My sins weren’t even that bad, LOL! That experience definitely decreased the frequency of my Confessions (which used to be once a week or every two weeks since I was an altar boy).

A Redemptorist priest who visited my current parish recently said that it is wrong for priests to scold penitents.

 

[Sir_Knight]

I once had a priest start laughing during my confession and when I was done, told me that because of the “humorous” nature of my sin, there would be no penance and he gave me absolution.

 

[Methodi]

I once had a priest very rudely slam the petition window on me after I made my confession. It was a confession of venial sins, maybe he thought I was wasting his time…

 

[armywife]

When I worked in another large city, a co-worker and I were talking about going to confession just before Easter. He had not been in quite a while and shared what was said.

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It’s been 23 years since my last confession.”

“Well, just hit the high points.”

That is sooo funny!!

 

[BSHoop96]

My funny story:

I went to confession at not-my-regular-parish one weekend. There was an ancient priest in the confessional. I honestly don’t even know if he could hear my confession. I didn’t even have anything particularly “bad” to confess… just a couple of things. and venial at that… Should have been 2 minutes in the confessional and be on my way.

Well, he proceeded to give me pastoral advice for** 20 minutes**. This “pastoral advice” consisted of rambling reminiscing of his 50 years of priesthood. Confession was only allocated for 30 minutes. The line was a mile long when I came out and everyone stared at me as if I was Hester Prynne herself in the confessional.

I know I’m coming in on this thread late but it touched me…perhaps if he was really “ancient” he has a tendency to wander in his thoughts…maybe he’s lonely…maybe he feels that there is not much he can offer now…maybe you listening (hopefully patiently ) for 20 minues made him feel as if he were once again helping someone find their way…perhaps you helped him too.

 

[Methodi]

I know I’m coming in on this thread late but it touched me…perhaps if he was really “ancient” he has a tendency to wander in his thoughts…maybe he’s lonely…maybe he feels that there is not much he can offer now…maybe you listening (hopefully patiently ) for 20 minues made him feel as if he were once again helping someone find their way…perhaps you helped him too.

I definitely agree with U on that assessment BS Hoops. I thought the same things. One time on TV I saw a documentary all about broken priests, It was the saddest thing I ever saw, to realize that these men were staunch & strong etc & to see them sitting there broken & needing help with everything , & they weren`t all old either, felt saddness for them. Proves that they are just human Like u & Me. I work with this catholic man, he tells me that they have a visiting priest sometimes, & says he is so old U cant hear him ETC, I told this man But he is still a priest, Give him a break. In Our diocese, we have a great shortage of priests, I am grateful that some of them are working past retirement age

 

[maryjk]

“Well, we have to remember we’re not God.”

Opps, guess I need to be more patient with people.

 

[BSHoop96]

I definitely agree with U on that assessment BS Hoops. I thought the same things. One time on TV I saw a documentary all about broken priests, It was the saddest thing I ever saw, to realize that these men were staunch & strong etc & to see them sitting there broken & needing help with everything , & they weren`t all old either, felt saddness for them. Proves that they are just human Like u & Me. I work with this catholic man, he tells me that they have a visiting priest sometimes, & says he is so old U cant hear him ETC, I told this man But he is still a priest, Give him a break. In Our diocese, we have a great shortage of priests, I am grateful that some of them are working past retirement age

I agree. We have many around our diocese still working. I have a sore spot for the elderly anyway. We all need to remember, “there but for the gace of God, go I.” And someday probably will.

 

[LilyM]

I once had a priest very rudely slam the petition window on me after I made my confession. It was a confession of venial sins, maybe he thought I was wasting his time…

Who knows, maybe it slipped out of his hand or was stuck and came unstuck suddenly or something. Charity charity charity …

 

[Methodi]

Who knows, maybe it slipped out of his hand or was stuck and came unstuck suddenly or something. Charity charity charity …

Oh well of course Lily, trust me he deliberately slammed the petition