The Sacrament of Reconcilliation

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cathdoki

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:eek:

So many Catholics avoid the Sacrament. They feel no need for it. Is part of this the fault of priests that are lax in expressing the importance?

I just went for the sacrament at St Andrew the Apostle Church in Massachusetts. It was supposed to start at 3 PM. I finally left at 3:55 PM after no priest showed up. What does that do to indicate the importance of the sacrament? I was told by the deacon that the priest will be glad to hear my confession after Mass. Well, according to CCC I am separated from God in the state of mortal sin. Why go to Mass?

This is the sad state of affairs in the Church today. On many occasions the priest has not been there when he was supposed to be. In more than one parish. Where is the obligation to the faithful?

Then we wonder why people look at confession as not needed. 🤷

Very disturbing.
 
it could be a localized issue as i don’t see the same thing in the parishes i have attended here. we even have a Confession Service every Advent and Lent where the priests will group together and go around each parish, so at a given service there’s 4-6 priests hearing confessions. and the turnout is quite good. besides the fact that there are regularly scheduled confessions
 
choy said:
it could be a localized issue as i don’t see the same thing in the parishes i have attended here. we even have a Confession Service every Advent and Lent where the priests will group together and go around each parish, so at a given service there’s 4-6 priests hearing confessions. and the turnout is quite good. besides the fact that there are regularly scheduled confessions
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But I do believe the figures for Catholics going to Confession is far under 50%. I’m looking for some sources now. 🙂
 
cathdoki said:
But I do believe the figures for Catholics going to Confession is far under 50%. I’m looking for some sources now. 🙂
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The requirement is to go once a year, if in the state of mortal sin.

Mortal sin requires that the matter be serious, that the person have freely committed the act, and that the person knew at the time that the act was a sin.

Hopefully those who attend daily Mass, or even if they are just meeting their minimum obligation of Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation, are not deliberately committing serious sins more than once a year, or even as often as once a year.

Now, by the same token, it is good for the soul to go to Confession at least once a month to confess your venial sins - however, this is not required and people who don’t do that (but who are otherwise good Catholics) cannot be labeled “bad Catholics,” because they aren’t doing anything wrong by not going to Confession every month or every week.
 
jmcrae said:
The requirement is to go once a year, if in the state of mortal sin.

Mortal sin requires that the matter be serious, that the person have freely committed the act, and that the person knew at the time that the act was a sin.

Hopefully those who attend daily Mass, or even if they are just meeting their minimum obligation of Sunday Mass and Holy Days of Obligation, are not deliberately committing serious sins more than once a year, or even as often as once a year.

Now, by the same token, it is good for the soul to go to Confession at least once a month to confess your venial sins - however, this is not required and people who don’t do that (but who are otherwise good Catholics) cannot be labeled “bad Catholics,” because they aren’t doing anything wrong by not going to Confession every month or every week.
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Hi,

I don’t disagree and certainly didn’t mean to belittle anyone. I go to confession frequently. It’s a great sacrament filled with many graces. But this time I did something that I know puts me in a state of mortal sin. It wasn’t big. But it was done with the knowledge, consent and freewill. Again, it wasn’t big, but it weighs on my soul.
 
cathdoki said:
Hi,

I don’t disagree and certainly didn’t mean to belittle anyone. I go to confession frequently. It’s a great sacrament filled with many graces. But this time I did something that I know puts me in a state of mortal sin. It wasn’t big. But it was done with the knowledge, consent and freewill. Again, it wasn’t big, but it weighs on my soul.
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Right - and your priest should have been there at the time appointed for hearing Confessions. Hopefully he had a good reason for not being there. If it were me, next time, I would go to a different parish for Confession - one where the priests are known to take their duties seriously.
 
cathdoki said:
I was told by the deacon that the priest will be glad to hear my confession after Mass. Well, according to CCC I am separated from God in the state of mortal sin. Why go to Mass?
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Why add one mortal sin on top of another?

You go to Mass even if you cannot receive Holy Communion.
 
cathdoki said:
:eek:

So many Catholics avoid the Sacrament. They feel no need for it. Is part of this the fault of priests that are lax in expressing the importance?

I just went for the sacrament at St Andrew the Apostle Church in Massachusetts. It was supposed to start at 3 PM. I finally left at 3:55 PM after no priest showed up. What does that do to indicate the importance of the sacrament?g.
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and you know for a fact the priest was not called away for an urgent reason?
 
This is the sad state of affairs in the Church today. On many occasions the priest has not been there when he was supposed to be. In more than one parish. Where is the obligation to the faithful?
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I’m sorry that the priest(s) failed to live up to their obligation for whatever reason. You sound hurt. 😦

A priest is also a man. Men are sinful and needful of penance.

I am sure God is aware of your intention to confess, and I can tell that you will be persistent! How wonderful. I hope you find a parish where the Sacrament is offered without fail.

When my priest was late for Confession this afternoon, I prayed for patience and joy of anticipating absolution. 😉
 
I would hunt the priest down and ask to go to Confession. Or go to Confession at another parish.

I also would not pile sin upon sin by missing Mass. Just don’t take the Eucharist until you’ve been to Confession.

One of the problems we have in this country, as well as other places, is poor formation of priests. Many have just not learned what they should’ve learned in the seminary.

There were some “experiments” done lately, where parishes started offering Confession more often. Before Masses, and twice a week, I think. Incredibly, more people started going to Confession. (Duh!)

But, seriously, back to the priests. When was the last time you heard a good homily that mentioned sin? All we get across the U.S., with some notable exceptions of course, is mealy mouthed, watered down, sugar-coated homilies that say almost NOTHING! The people are not getting fed. Some priests, unfortunately, look at their vocation as a “job.” It’s not! It’s their identity! THEY will be held responsible by God for not just what they say and do, but for what they don’t say and don’t do! Pray for them! Please!
 
Scoobyshme said:
I would hunt the priest down and ask to go to Confession. Or go to Confession at another parish.

I also would not pile sin upon sin by missing Mass. Just don’t take the Eucharist until you’ve been to Confession.

One of the problems we have in this country, as well as other places, is poor formation of priests. Many have just not learned what they should’ve learned in the seminary.

There were some “experiments” done lately, where parishes started offering Confession more often. Before Masses, and twice a week, I think. Incredibly, more people started going to Confession. (Duh!)

***But, seriously, back to the priests. When was the last time you heard a good homily that mentioned sin? *** All we get across the U.S., with some notable exceptions of course, is mealy mouthed, watered down, sugar-coated homilies that say almost NOTHING! The people are not getting fed. Some priests, unfortunately, look at their vocation as a “job.” It’s not! It’s their identity! THEY will be held responsible by God for not just what they say and do, but for what they don’t say and don’t do! Pray for them! Please!
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Not recently.
 
jmcrae said:
The requirement is to go once a year, if in the state of mortal sin.

Maybe I’m misreading what you wrote, but the requirement is to go to confession once a year, period. Doesn’t matter whether you are in a state of mortal sin or not, and hopefully you are not in a state of mortal sin. Anyone in a state of mortal sin should go to confession as soon as possible, because you cannot receive the sacraments in such a state and also, if you should die unrepentant, you will go to hell. That is the teaching of the Church.

As you say, to stay spiritually healthy, we should go to confession on a regular basis. Venial sin can add up and become quite serious if not dealt with.
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Yes it is the fault of the priests absolutely, they care more about human respect than they do about sanctifying their people and so avoid telling them the hard and unpleasant truths of our faith, if they even accept them themselves.
 
While I understand the frustration of not having the priest available at the appointed time to hear confessions, I want to make a small comment in defense of the priest.

I don’t know the the situation with priests in the OP’s location or diocese. But in my diocese, and especially in my community, priests are not a dime a dozen. In fact they are strung out very thinly.

Assuming that may be the case in the OP’s locale, it could very well be that the priest was called out to administer the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick to a dying parishioner.

I’ve had the opposite happen, when I needed a priest to attend to my dying 92 y.o. aunt for whom I was responsible, he took forever to arrive because he was busy saying Mass at one of the local parishes.

I remember one time that the same priest showed up late for Mass, very visibly shaken. At the homily, he apologized and asked us to be understanding with him as he didn’t feel up to giving his homily. He explained that he had been called away to baptize a baby that died very shortly after birth, and that he was very heartbroken about the experience and was having difficulty composing himself or understanding God at that very moment.

Priests are human, and I would want to know why he missed confessions before criticizing him.
 
cathdoki said:
:eek:

So many Catholics avoid the Sacrament. They feel no need for it. Is part of this the fault of priests that are lax in expressing the importance?

Very disturbing.
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The answer to your question is yes. It is almost entirely the fault of the priests.

If you are very disturbed about the how the “sacrament of reconciliation” is handled, I suggest that you leave the novus ordo. It is not a priority there.

Most trad parishes have confession before every mass.
 
pro_multis said:
The answer to your question is yes. It is almost entirely the fault of the priests.

If you are very disturbed about the how the “sacrament of reconciliation” is handled, I suggest that you leave the novus ordo. It is not a priority there.
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These sweeping generalizations are neither true nor charitable.
 
pro_multis said:
The answer to your question is yes. It is almost entirely the fault of the priests.

If you are very disturbed about the how the “sacrament of reconciliation” is handled, I suggest that you leave the novus ordo. It is not a priority there.

Most trad parishes have confession before every mass.
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I just got a FaceBook message today from a “Novus Ordo” (OF) priest who spent three and a half hours in the Confessional today - and the priest at my local parish was hearing Confessions from 3:30 pm until just a few moments before the start of Mass - so although it happens from time to time that priests don’t take the Sacrament of Reconciliation very seriously, it’s certainly not an issue around here. 🙂
 
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