Strange places you've receive the sacrament of Confession?

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Not a confessional

But a priest saved my faith when sat in a cemetary. Talk about symbolic…

we were in the cemetary because at the time I booked the appointment with him, he wasn’t to know someone else was in church doing the carpets and it was such a nice sunny day and we could have sat in the vestry and no doubt he would have found other anologies but the sun gave him a ready one and in the end quite symbolic and hadn’t actually realised just how alive a cemetary is. People came and went though acknowledge us at times, at the same time left us well alone. I wonder what they thought we were discussing if they thought perhaps bereavement where as it was a park bench far end of the cemetary of which he wouldn’t easily been found unless otherwise he had said… and actually wondered by the end of it, he had kind of thought to be there because if we had stayed in church he would have been called away to a specific duty which he may have been aware of it being possible and gave me the full uninterrupted hour which did make all the difference for me because he had literally saved my faith. 🙂
 
In a lutheran chapel (because our weekend retreat was snowed in).
 
Many of the same places others have mentioned - but NOT a bar, a war-time bunker, or a hut in the Serengeti! 😃
 
thistle said:
If this is really what the priest said then no absolution was given.
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A genuine observation:

There is enough fear on this forum when a Catholics posts on whether they are absoloved or not or if their confession was invalid because of xyz

So does one really have to be told quite so public that their confession (that may have been years ago now) hasn’t been absolved when it has nothing to do with the thread? Does this really have to be homed in on in public when the actual thread is about strange places. It would be nice to see some tact in place and instead of exciting fear into those who worry about their sins not being absolved and dealt with this with a little decorum please 🤷

This particular instance the poster themselves mayn’t mind but on the whole Catholics who do post here do seem to mind since there a lot of worried posts on is the absolving process. Please be tactful to the readers even if you don’t mind yourself. 👍
 
englishredrose said:
A genuine observation:

There is enough fear on this forum when a Catholics posts on whether they are absoloved or not or if their confession was invalid because of xyz

So does one really have to be told quite so public that their confession (that may have been years ago now) hasn’t been absolved when it has nothing to do with the thread? Does this really have to be homed in on in public when the actual thread is about strange places. It would be nice to see some tact in place and instead of exciting fear into those who worry about their sins not being absolved and dealt with this with a little decorum please 🤷

This particular instance the poster themselves mayn’t mind but on the whole Catholics who do post here do seem to mind since there a lot of worried posts on is the absolving process. Please be tactful to the readers even if you don’t mind yourself. 👍
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I and others were responding to what the poster quoted. We are simply saying if these were the exact words of the priest then that is not absolution. Nothing wrong in saying that. Are you suggesting we not be honest and let the poster think absolution was granted based on these words.
 
thistle said:
I and others were responding to what the poster quoted. We are simply saying if these were the exact words of the priest then that is not absolution. Nothing wrong in saying that. Are you suggesting we not be honest and let the poster think absolution was granted based on these words.
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Be honest yes 🙂
But use decorum and tact and we cannot really tell someone their confessional was invalid or not complete when they are being guided by a priest. We weren’t there so the telling of it may be inaccurate through the moment of telling. Tell them but do so privately and not in public domain space because like I say there seems to be enough worry from the Catholics who post on this board about whether their confessions were valid etc without adding to their stress. Always include the advice of getting them to go back to that priest or another priest if they can’t go back to that one for whatever reason… if you really think the confession is invalid because the priest needs to know too if he not carried something out to complete the process. But whom are we really to judge whether a confession is wrong either the penitent side or the priest side. If it is very wrong then the Bishop needs to know but otherwise whom are we really to make that judgement and cause more unrest.

Telling a person that their priest was wrong is on dodgy ground and 100% tact and decorum should be applied and best done privately and not publically because if turns out the priest was in fact 100% right then it kind of questions how you see the authority lies with the priest. If he is obviously breaking rules that is different again but telling someone their confessional wasn’t valid is not for us to do because it is also saying the priest is wrong too and like I say a fine line about questioning their authority. I wish you guys would learn what to post and what not to post in public domain and the sensitivity about being quick to say things are invalid when really none of us are there to know and can only give friendly advice rather than quick judgment.

I really don’t like this questioning of validity of each others confessionals and whether proper procedure followed etc. It isn’t good way forward in my own opinion and it show how loudly there isn’t trust of the Church if you really think about it. I am not trying to be sarcastic or anything just how I see it. I really wonder how much you guys do trust the Church.

Sorry,
 
hannajomar said:
This is a piggy-back to the penances thread.

I have two strange places, but both with the same priest. I used to know a young, spry priest who was obsessed with this sacrament. He once attended a Theology on Tap (a Catholic talk that take place at a bar.). When the talk ended, he and another young priest were sitting next to me and I heard them conferring, “yeah, I think we can do it here.” Then he stands up and announces, "anyone who wants confession, I’'ll be at the end of the bar, Fr. so-and-so will be in this booth. So, I went to confession while sitting at the end of the bar. No one could hear - it was a loud bar. And we were in a corner.

Sometime later, I went to an all-night prayer vigil outside an abortion place. I’m not prone to scrupulosity, but all of a sudden I started getting all these thoughts of “you’re just a sinner too. who are you to be witnessing to anyone else about morality?” This was a Saturday night near a college campus. So the kids going and coming to their parties were asking us why we were there. Well, this same priest comes along, and prays with us a while. He looked as though he was about to leave and says, "if anyone wants confession, I’ll be at the far end of the building. So I received Confession standing on the sidewalk outside an abortion place in the middle of the night. Once again, no one could hear. It felt as if God sent that priest there that night just to settle my heart.
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Walking around outside at a mall. It was one of the best confessions --I felt wonderful afterwards. I am strong advocate of walking confessions, LOL
 
On the grounds of one of the concentration camps in Germany (don’t remember the name).
 
englishredrose said:
Be honest yes 🙂
But use decorum and tact and we cannot really tell someone their confessional was invalid or not complete when they are being guided by a priest. We weren’t there so the telling of it may be inaccurate through the moment of telling. Tell them but do so privately and not in public domain space because like I say there seems to be enough worry from the Catholics who post on this board about whether their confessions were valid etc without adding to their stress. Always include the advice of getting them to go back to that priest or another priest if they can’t go back to that one for whatever reason… if you really think the confession is invalid because the priest needs to know too if he not carried something out to complete the process. But whom are we really to judge whether a confession is wrong either the penitent side or the priest side. If it is very wrong then the Bishop needs to know but otherwise whom are we really to make that judgement and cause more unrest.

Telling a person that their priest was wrong is on dodgy ground and 100% tact and decorum should be applied and best done privately and not publically because if turns out the priest was in fact 100% right then it kind of questions how you see the authority lies with the priest. If he is obviously breaking rules that is different again but telling someone their confessional wasn’t valid is not for us to do because it is also saying the priest is wrong too and like I say a fine line about questioning their authority. I wish you guys would learn what to post and what not to post in public domain and the sensitivity about being quick to say things are invalid when really none of us are there to know and can only give friendly advice rather than quick judgment.

I really don’t like this questioning of validity of each others confessionals and whether proper procedure followed etc. It isn’t good way forward in my own opinion and it show how loudly there isn’t trust of the Church if you really think about it. I am not trying to be sarcastic or anything just how I see it. I really wonder how much you guys do trust the Church.

Sorry,
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I disagree with you. If someone comes into the forums looking for an answer and your way is to respond only by private message then the forum concept is a waste of time.

You also seem to be missing the point others and I were making. We did not say the absolution was invalid. We said if the priest’s actual words were “then you are forgiven” then there was no absolution. The priest has no leeway to change the words of absolution. He must use the correct words.

Also I resent your assertion that myself and others here do not trust the Church. That is a very uncharitable remark to make and is a lie. You should talk to your priest.
 
thistle said:
I disagree with you. If someone comes into the forums looking for an answer and your way is to respond only by private message then the forum concept is a waste of time.

You also seem to be missing the point others and I were making. We did not say the absolution was invalid. We said if the priest’s actual words were “then you are forgiven” then there was no absolution. The priest has no leeway to change the words of absolution. He must use the correct words.

Also I resent your assertion that myself and others here do not trust the Church. That is a very uncharitable remark to make and is a lie. You should talk to your priest.
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And I can tell you what he would say as he has already kind of told me off when I’ve shared my thoughts and he said what I won’t say in case it gives you a wrong impression but also, I shouldn’t say such things. So he is aware. But I am not lying. It just how it comes over to me.

But sorry you resent it but to me that is how it comes over to me on the forum and may be posters need to take a little bit more time and care how they write things if they are at all concerned about how it might look and am sorry, for it isn’t a lie on how I see what is being put over and I am concerned quite how you guys do post about such topics and I am concerned that you guys fail to see what image is being portrayed and none of them are lies. Just concerns about what kind of message you guys are giving.
 
On the teebox of the 6th hole of some golf course in/ near Ft. Worth, Texas, playing with Father B. He was a MUCH better priest than he was a golfer. It was my second confession ever, and the first in 17 years (it was a long hole that day…).
 
In a submarine several hundred feet below the ocean surface.

Ungern
 
On a college campus. Just outside the church, actually, I had asked the priest when confessions were scheduled and he was kind enough to confess me right then.
 
Walking around the chapel outside in freezing temperature while the priest smoked a cigarette. He’s a character 😃
 
englishredrose said:
hmmm, thats bad not remembering the name of the concentration camp you were visiting… 😦
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Well, I was on a pilgrimmage and the “theme” of this group was to keep everyone completely in the dark as to where we were going and when. That’s why I don’t remember the names of a lot of the places we visited because they didn’t TELL us and all signs were in German.

I “think” it was Buchenwald but I can’t say for sure.

But the Penitential Service we had on the grounds was the most memorable part of my trip…other than seeing the Pope at WYD.
 
Outside church on a busy road just as the priest was leaving to go somewhere.
 
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