I was registered in as many as 4 different parishes in the last 15 years. I didn’t realize what I was looking for, but left each time it seemed to be too progressive for me. Then one day, I walked through the doors of a nearby parish that was about 15 minutes away. I never knew it existed - like an oasis. It is highly traditional and orthodox, and quite loaded up with people from all over Southeast Michigan who are traditional-minded Catholics.
In all of those other parishes I was in over those years, plus about another three I visited frequently, I could only spot a handful of people waiting for confession and they all had grey hair. The exception was Divine Mercy Saturday when there were about 20 people (mostly with grey hair and only 2-3 younger folk).
Advertised times in the parish I just joined in June are 2:30-3:30 on Saturday and 1/2 hour before each Sunday Mass. The priests put way more time in than those advertised hours…
On Saturdays there are between 2-4 confessionals running and rather than stopping at 3:30, they continue on until 4:00 Mass. It is a continuous stream of people.
Then, on Sundays before each Mass there are 2-4 confessionals running, each line having between 5-7 people standing in line and more waiting in nearby pews for the lines to go down! The priests often cannot finish them before Mass, so they come back after Mass and are in there until the next one often. I’ve even seen them come back after the last Mass of the day.
Not only that, but I go to weekday Mass before work at 7:30. At least one priest always goes to his box after the 7:30 Mass and before the 8:30 Mass and will hear a small number of confessions…daily! One priest almost always comes out to hear confessions before the 7:00 pm daily mass too.
One thing I’ve noticed in this parish (Assumption Grotto - Detroit), priests seem to know that people will respond to a priest in the confessional - so they go, often unadvertised and the people come. Conversely, I’ve noticed that if people go stand outside the confessional when there is no priest, he responds and comes to hear their confession. Many people seem not to be bothered that the priest will see them as he goes into the box.
Aside from the sheer numbers, were the ages that struck me. The lines are well-balanced with all age groups. I’ve seen young children of about 8 on up to elderly. Entire families go together.
Why is it so? I’ve pondered this and have conlcuded that the priests feel it is their responsibility to foster an environment where confession thrives. They do this by making themselves available. This tells the people that it is important. However, that is not all. It is in the homilies.
Homilies here are anything but fluff. However, they are not fire & brimstone, “your going to hell” types either. Rather, they are simply well-balanced. There is plenty of talk about peace, love, and mercy. But there is also talk of sin, sacrifice, humility, God’s justice, and devotion. Unlike other parishes, you will hear about contraception, abortion and other hard issues. What I have found in myself is that their homilies are the type you might encounter on a retreat that will make you dig deep.
In order to be of clean spirit, you must let the Holy Spirit clean house. Therefore, these priests also emphasize the need to spend time in silence in adoration - a place where house cleaning often takes place. Many cannot sit in silence for this reason - it is painful. But any personal change is painful so they are there to support too and I find this support in confession.
I pretty much stopped going two years ago and before that only went 3-4 times yearly. It was always the same list. I now go twice monthly, face-to-face, and my confessions are ever changing - an indication of progress, imho.
In conclusion, I believe we must pray for our priests because the confession problem is a pastoral one. Too many homilies are based on fluff and there is too much concern over self-esteem. The focus in church should be more of salvation than of self-esteem. For so many Catholics in the pews to have such mistaken ideas that confession is no longer needed, means that the priests must start discussing the issue in their homilies. And, when there is more than one priest at a parish, there is really no reason one shouldn’t be in the box 30 minutes before each Mass. In time, people will come.
In order to fix the problem, priests will need to spend time in prayer, along with the rest of us who understand this great need. Then they will need to begin talking about mortal sin and accepting Holy Communion and the necessity of confession.
Think about when you last heard a priest talk about it at Mass???
