Very fast confession

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ItalianCavalier

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Hello guys,
I wanted to tell you something as I am not feeling too good about it…
So yesterday I went to confession and the whole thing lasted less than 2 minutes, the priest just told me to say the hail Mary three times and absolved me… i could have thought that maybe he was in a hurry for personal reasons but he was not. And it’s not the first time or the first priest with whom this happens.

I start wondering if there is something wrong with my confession…
 
Try to have more serious, or complicated sins. Seriously, the Sacrament is a juridical absolution. You confessed. The priest absolved you and assigned penance. What else is there?

If you desire spiritual direction, simply make an appointment and discuss whatever is troubling you.
 
You went to Confession on First Saturday. Typically, a large crowd goes that day, and the priests may hurry a bit so everyone gets through the line. No biggie.
 
In fact with the shortage of priests maybe we should have a recommended throughput standard!
 
My confession usually lasts shorter than that. I notice that longer confessions are well, longer, because they tend to have a conversation in the confessional about help etc, which is not really required for a confession to be valid
 
When Padre Pio heard confessions generally they lasted around 5 minutes, even if it had been years since the penitent had been to confession.
 
Yes, and everyone behind them in line is becoming impatient that one person is taking 15 minutes of the half hour allotted.
If you need longer to discuss than 5 minutes, you should really make an appointment with the priest.
When I went back after 18 years I chose to go during regular confession time to just get it out of the way as fast as possible. I was done in 5 minutes. Explain situation, rattle off sins, have priest express happiness I was back, act of contrition, absolve me, assign a penance, goodbye.
 
A confession should be just that, a confession, not your chance to get free therapy. Tell your sins, get absolution, get out. If you want a longer discussion make an appointment. I am 65, but my pet peeve is waiting for a half hour in the Confessional line and seeing a 70 year old lady who is there every week take 15 minutes in the booth. What has she done in the last week that takes 15 minutes to tell?

Absolution is absolution. If you are being honest about your sins, it is up to the priest when he has heard enough or he has said enough. A lot of people don’t realize that military chaplains can give general absolution in certain circumstances. I have had it when I was deployed in the Navy. Your sins are forgiven and the priest hasn’t heard anything from you. It still counts.
 
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Yeah, I admit I find it annoying when people decide to have a counseling session in the 15 minutes before mass (in my parish we basically have confession then, unless you specifically asked a priest for one). I haven’t been to confession for around 2 months because of this, and I’ve actually queued for it.
 
Two minutes is perfectly fine. If you have prepared yourself by examining your conscience then it should be rather quick on your end. I made a general confession in my forties when I entered the Church and even that didn’t take too long.

I try to be quick for the sake of this in the line. I know how difficult it can be to have a confession heard with limited times offered and long lines.

Sometimes the priest can spend a good amount of time discussing your sin and ways to avoid it. But this isn’t a requirement for a valid confession.
 
Good friend who is also a priest reminds people that confession should take about two minutes:

Bless me Father… It has been blah since my last confession

I have committed: X sin Y times, sinned against the 1st commandment 6 times and against the 6th commandment one time (etc, kind and number, one word for kind or simply name the commandment you sinned against).

If priest needs more detail he will ask.
 
Several months ago, I was troubled about regret for my wild days, and expected a long confession. Instead of that, he pointed me to the time when I turned away from God. Quick confession, and satisfying.
 
Examine your conscience using the Ten Commandments as your guide. The confession itself shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. Our priest schedules confession the half hour before Mass. Amazingly, I’ve never seen the long lines of my youth. I go in and it’s over quickly. But the lightness I feel after receiving absolution and doing my penance stays with me.
 
If the confessor wishes more he will ask. We are to confess sins in kind and number. When we get into details that are unneeded we can be trying to justify our sin or to “tell on” others. That is why the Church states "“A member of the Christian faithful is obliged to confess in kind and number all grave sins committed”
 
I’m thinking more of I sinned against the 6th commandment which could be adultry, porn, contraception, masturbation etc. It does not seem to cover kind.
 
ItalianCavalier said:
Hello guys,
I wanted to tell you something as I am not feeling too good about it…
So yesterday I went to confession and the whole thing lasted less than 2 minutes, the priest just told me to say the hail Mary three times and absolved me… i could have thought that maybe he was in a hurry for personal reasons but he was not. And it’s not the first time or the first priest with whom this happens.

I start wondering if there is something wrong with my confession…
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Look at the Gospels.

When Christ forgives sinners, how long does it take?

Seriously. Do exactly that. Look at how long and how complicated Christ made things for people seeking forgiveness.

Then think of a modern day priest acting in persona Christi why should it take any longer?

Yes, we do have a set rite (ritual) which is not found directly in the Gospel, which makes things a little bit longer. Nevertheless, there’s no reason why confession & absolution should take a long time.

2 minutes is about right; for the average practicing Catholic.

One thing to note is that he should have asked you to make an act of contrition–even one of the short ones. Maybe he did but you just didn’t include that in your description. If he doesn’t, the penitent should pray one quietly while the priest says the absolution.
 
Elf01 said:
I’m thinking more of I sinned against the 6th commandment which could be adultry, porn, contraception, masturbation etc. It does not seem to cover kind.
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This is why I generally don’t participate in confession threads; it can get too personal.

Suffice to say that if the priest understands the sin being confessed, that’s all he needs to hear. If he needs more he will say so.

I am going to leave it at that and hope everyone understands it—let the priest-confessor be the judge of how much detail is enough.
 
One time I confessed and the priest said (I believe he was in a rush, there was someone in there for a really long time) and he said that I had already expressed contrition while confessing or something like that, so I didn’t need to say an act of Contrition, is that allowed?

I tried to say it at least mentally I think,it was a while back. I don’t know if I also did it while he gave absolution but I am pretty sure I tried when I went to my pew.
 
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