What has caused confession to take a back seat?

[Usige]

This whole idea that God is your best friend, and that Jesus was really this liberal hippie guy, ought to fall on its head. Those who see Jesus this way, are going to be sorely disappointed, to say the least.

I think you and nodito point to a very valid point. In the past most people would see any father as both loving yet still ready to put you back on the straight and narrow. Ideally parents embody both mercy and justice. With the utter lack of respect for authority in our society many parents have tried to become their kid’s buddy and place mercy over justice. (“Johnny cursed at me last night, but he’s under stress so I let it slide”) I think many have extend that same dysfunctional relationship to the heavenly Father. Since he loves us he’ll just give us a pass.

 

[smead2942]

I got to thinking about this the other day and thought it would be an interesting topic of conversation. I have frequently noticed at Mass that when it comes time for communion, if I have unconfessed sins, I am usually the only one who stays behind in the pews. Now, I cannot, of course, judge the souls of anyone else in the church (perhaps they are all in a state of grace.), but it seems the general emphasis on the sacrament of penance has decreased. Rarely do I hear anything mentioned from the pulpit about the importance of going to confession, and trying to find a church with a convenient 30 minute slot to receive the sacrament is difficult. Once, when I approached an usher before Mass to inquire about confession, he looked at me in disbelief and said “Really?!”. The only place where I hear a consistent message about the beauty and importance of the sacrament is EWTN. So, what has caused this phenomenon? I have a few thoughts.

-Popular culture
-Poor catechesis (When do we ever hear about Purgatory anymore? I know I didn’t growing up.)
-Availability of priests.

Lack of belief in the Real Presence.
Back when people believed they were receiving the body, blood, soul and divinity of Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, they would not dare profane Him by receiving unworthily. Now that very few people truly believe, why would they care about confession?

 

[Memaw]

One of the other reasons might be an emphasis on confession only for mortal sin. When I was received we were told we only “had” to go when we royally messed up. While technically correct it is not the whole story. We were never told that you can still receive the sacramental graces even if you confess only venial sins.

Given that we as a culture have seem to have lost a sense of sin it’s not surprising. I’m not just talking about mortal sin, but that even venial sin is bad. Too often the emphasis on the Eucharist being the source and summit of the faith can down play the importance of the other sacraments.

That may be a product of the “blame it on Vat. II” era. I know cause I raised 7 kids, taught CCD for 20 years right thru that era and it was like swimming up stream to teach what the Church actually teaches. I was thankful I went to a parish where the pastor wouldn’t allow ANY false teaching. Thankfully we seem to be coming back slowly but surely thanks a lot to all the Catholic Radio stations, Catholic Answers and EWTN. I give Catholics United For the Faith a lot of credit for keeping this young mother on the right track. God Bless, Memaw

 

[signit]

Also, people tend to forget that at the conclusion of the Penitential Rite there is an absolution.

I was told, when they put the Penitential Rite in the Mass, that we didn’t have to go to Confession any more.

I understand now that that’s not true, but that’s what I was told at the time by adult Catholics and that’s probably a commonly held belief.

 

[ProVobis]

This judgement thing is sooo far overrated it is pathetic. Just because one knows the line to Communion is far greater than the lines for Confession and knowing that fact, (as Father said in his Homily, to many people don’t believe in sin anymore) doesn’t makes us judgmental. You have NO reason to be “scared” of us for speaking the TRUTH. We are NOT judging their souls as you put it. Maybe your judging our souls??? God Bless, Memaw

Good points.

When it is taught that confession is only for mortal sins, then what can we assume about those standing in confession lines? Then the so-called “judgement” will be automatic. Is this what we want to do when we see the Pope, for example, going to confession?

I think one of the things following Vatican II is the emphasis on community. But penance is a private thing and not seen as a community event per se. As is evidenced here, the Penitential Rite is held by some to be in higher esteem than confession. Well, we’re not all saints yet and we all need to answer to God one by one. Thus the communion of saints argument does not work at Mass or any where else.

 

[clem456]

It is hard not to notice the dramatic neglect of the sacrament.
One day we had lines, and the next we had none. This did not of course happen in one day, but in a very short period of time the sacrament became passe for most Catholics.

So it is impossible to avoid then, that the reasons for going to confession were not very substantial to begin with. A person does not desire something intensely one day, and the next day see it as unnecessary. That doesn’t follow. I desire my wife today, I desire her tomorrow.

The conclusion must be that the laity did not ever desire confession to any great degree. Might it be said that it was empty observance for most people? Or guilt? Guilt is one motivation to do something, but it is not lasting motivation. Or simply expectation. to be a good citizen in the Catholic community your were expected to go. Also a motivation, but not a lasting motivation. And when Church culture changed we breathed a sigh of relief and said “thank god that’s over”?

So we were sacramentalized but not evangelized (stealing a common phrase these days). And we still are. Sacramentalized but not evangelized. As long as Confession is seen as a punishment for sin, or a bargain with God to escape the consequences of sin, or a procedure to go through, people will not have a desire to go.

Rather, let’s talk about an encounter we have with the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, in the confessional. The Good News is that he knows us. He knows our sins and weaknesses, and he is waiting to forgive us and heal us. Our desire to encounter him can be awakened but we must talk about him, both in our pulpits and our common conversation.

 

[babochka]

I think one of the things following Vatican II is the emphasis on community. But penance is a private thing and not seen as a community event per se. As is evidenced here, the Penitential Rite is held by some to be in higher esteem than confession. Well, we’re not all saints yet and we all need to answer to God one by one. Thus the communion of saints argument does not work at Mass or any where else.

I think it is a problem that Confession is not seen as a community event. The thing is, the sacrament is not a private thing, although sins are privately confessed. There really are no “God and Me” sacraments; all sacraments have a community component. This is the community aspect emphasized by Vatican II, and misinterpreted by many. They are not mutually exclusive. Vatican II emphasized that the Church is the People of God - all of us. Sin wounds more than just the sinner and reconciliation heals that wound. If we could only get beyond the common perception of “Community” and “Active Participation”, we’d be in much better shape.

From the Catechism:

Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God’s mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time,** reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity**, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion."
1443 During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness:** he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God’s forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God.**441445** The words bind and loose mean: whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his.** Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.

 

[babochka]

Not my experience. I frequently hear from the pulpit not just the need to go to confession but also about the beauty of the Sacrament. I particularly remember a homily and the priest telling of the overflow of Graces he receives when he hears confessions. In fact probably the biggest obstacle to going to confession is the long lines. I have driven to other parishes hoping for shorter lines and have run into parishioners I know doing the same thing.

That’s also my experience. In fact, my pastor preached about Confession just last Sunday. Here’s his homily.

stphilipofsacramento.wordpress.com/2015/09/13/todays-homily-september-13-2015/

Every parish that I frequent has regularly scheduled confession times and lines. Some have more than one hour per week.

 

[808Catholic]

Good points.

When it is taught that confession is only for mortal sins, then what can we assume about those standing in confession lines? Then the so-called “judgement” will be automatic. Is this what we want to do when we see the Pope, for example, going to confession?

I think one of the things following Vatican II is the emphasis on community. But penance is a private thing and not seen as a community event per se. As is evidenced here, the Penitential Rite is held by some to be in higher esteem than confession. Well, we’re not all saints yet and we all need to answer to God one by one. Thus the communion of saints argument does not work at Mass or any where else.

I respectfully would like to offer another take on the communion of saints and the notion that confession is a private sacrament. The priest, as we all are, is part of the Body of Christ (the Church). The priest represents the head while we represent the body but at the center is Christ. When we sin, it is a sin against the entire Church as well as Christ so we confess to another, who is the priest and who acts as God’s instrument. If confession is truly “private”, we can confess to God directly and, as our Protestant brothers and sisters say, “cut out the middle man.” If we sin against the entire church, it stands to reason we perform penance in front of the entire church.

I hear in the “old days” we confessed our sins, literally, in front of the entire church. Don’t know if that meant there were no confessionals/ private areas or if penitents would say their sins out loud so all could hear. What courage it must have taken to lay out your sins in front of your neighbors!

 

[clem456]

I get that there is a private aspect to confession, but the sacrament has a deep communal aspect. I would say the communal nature of the sacrament is inseparable from any private aspect.

1443 During his public life Jesus not only forgave sins, but also made plain the effect of this forgiveness: he reintegrated forgiven sinners into the community of the People of God from which sin had alienated or even excluded them. A remarkable sign of this is the fact that Jesus receives sinners at his table, a gesture that expresses in an astonishing way both God’s forgiveness and the return to the bosom of the People of God.44

1444 In imparting to his apostles his own power to forgive sins the Lord also gives them the authority to reconcile sinners with the Church. This ecclesial dimension of their task is expressed most notably in Christ’s solemn words to Simon Peter: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."45 "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of the apostles united to its head."46

1445 The words bind and loose mean: whomever you exclude from your communion, will be excluded from communion with God; whomever you receive anew into your communion, God will welcome back into his. Reconciliation with the Church is inseparable from reconciliation with God.

1455 The confession (or disclosure) of sins, even from a simply human point of view, frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others. Through such an admission man looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them, and thereby opens himself again to God and to the communion of the Church in order to make a new future possible.

1469 This sacrament reconciles us with the Church. Sin damages or even breaks fraternal communion. The sacrament of Penance repairs or restores it. In this sense it does not simply heal the one restored to ecclesial communion, but has also a revitalizing effect on the life of the Church which suffered from the sin of one of her members.76 Re-established or strengthened in the communion of saints, the sinner is made stronger by the exchange of spiritual goods among all the living members of the Body of Christ, whether still on pilgrimage or already in the heavenly homeland:77

It must be recalled that . . . this reconciliation with God leads, as it were, to other reconciliations, which repair the other breaches caused by sin. The forgiven penitent is reconciled with himself in his inmost being, where he regains his innermost truth. He is reconciled with his brethren whom he has in some way offended and wounded. He is reconciled with the Church. He is reconciled with all creation.78

 

[808Catholic]

I think it is a problem that Confession is not seen as a community event. The thing is, the sacrament is not a private thing, although sins are privately confessed. There really are no “God and Me” sacraments; all sacraments have a community component. This is the community aspect emphasized by Vatican II, and misinterpreted by many. They are not mutually exclusive. Vatican II emphasized that the Church is the People of God - all of us. Sin wounds more than just the sinner and reconciliation heals that wound. If we could only get beyond the common perception of “Community” and “Active Participation”, we’d be in much better shape.

From the Catechism:

 

[808Catholic]

I’ve had similar experiences. Even though we were getting closer and closer to Mass and the priest hearing confessions was going to be the celebrant at Mass, he stayed until the very last minute. There was still one man who hadn’t confessed so the priest asked his forgiveness and promised to hear his confession right after Mass. And he did! God bless the clergy!

 

[babochka]

It is hard not to notice the dramatic neglect of the sacrament.
One day we had lines, and the next we had none. This did not of course happen in one day, but in a very short period of time the sacrament became passe for most Catholics.

So it is impossible to avoid then, that the reasons for going to confession were not very substantial to begin with. A person does not desire something intensely one day, and the next day see it as unnecessary. That doesn’t follow. I desire my wife today, I desire her tomorrow.

The conclusion must be that the laity did not ever desire confession to any great degree. Might it be said that it was empty observance for most people? Or guilt? Guilt is one motivation to do something, but it is not lasting motivation. Or simply expectation. to be a good citizen in the Catholic community your were expected to go. Also a motivation, but not a lasting motivation. And when Church culture changed we breathed a sigh of relief and said “thank god that’s over”?

So we were sacramentalized but not evangelized (stealing a common phrase these days). And we still are. Sacramentalized but not evangelized. As long as Confession is seen as a punishment for sin, or a bargain with God to escape the consequences of sin, or a procedure to go through, people will not have a desire to go.

Rather, let’s talk about an encounter we have with the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, in the confessional. The Good News is that he knows us. He knows our sins and weaknesses, and he is waiting to forgive us and heal us. Our desire to encounter him can be awakened but we must talk about him, both in our pulpits and our common conversation.

Yes. This.

We hear a lot about the good old days, the glory days of the 1950s, when people were well-catechized with memorized responses from the Baltimore Catechism and, of course, went to Confession. (Or, as my dad tells me, sinned on Friday so they’d have something to confess on Saturday.) But where are those people now? Where are their children? They were the first to stop going to confession and the generation to not send their children. How is it that they completely dropped such good practices in such a short period of time? Why were they not longing for the sacramental graces?

 

[ProVobis]

I hear in the “old days” we confessed our sins, literally, in front of the entire church.

This is where things can get sticky and maybe even creative. It seems there might be an allowance to confess to one crowd “I have sinned in thought, word, and deed” while to another crowd “I have sinned against the 6th and 7th commandments.” To a priest it would probably be a little more detailed and expected to draw some comment or advice, not to mention a suitable (and private) penance for that sin.

Interestingly enough, confessions at St. John Cantius are somewhat open. You have to really work on keeping your voice low and/or keep details of the sin to a minimum. So it’s not like it’s totally private there either.

 

[babochka]

Interestingly enough, confessions at St. John Cantius are somewhat open. You have to really work on keeping your voice low and/or keep details of the sin to a minimum. So it’s not like it’s totally private there either.

Confessions in the Byzantine Church are always “out in the open”, in front of the iconostasis, in full view of whomever might happen to be there. But the confession itself is still made privately, to the priest. And yes, it is sometimes necessary to whisper. But for the most part, people are quite respectful when someone is going to Confession.

 

[ProVobis]

But for the most part, people are quite respectful when someone is going to Confession.

Yes, but why they decide to sit so close to the confessionals leaves me wondering sometimes.

 

[JWH123]

Larger parish in my town, where most of the rich people belong:
Confessions Saturdays from 1:00-1:15

Smaller parish in my town, which is mostly working/middle class
Confessions Saturdays from 11:00-noon

hmmmm…

 

[clem456]

Larger parish in my town, where most of the rich people belong:
Confessions Saturdays from 1:00-1:15

Smaller parish in my town, which is mostly working/middle class
Confessions Saturdays from 11:00-noon

hmmmm…

Yes.
Our new priest has an idea for confessions on weekday evenings to accomodate more working people. We’ll see what happens.

The sacrament is a powerful source of grace and healing. We need to be reconciled with Jesus Christ.

 

[Memaw]

This is where things can get sticky and maybe even creative. It seems there might be an allowance to confess to one crowd “I have sinned in thought, word, and deed” while to another crowd “I have sinned against the 6th and 7th commandments.” To a priest it would probably be a little more detailed and expected to draw some comment or advice, not to mention a suitable (and private) penance for that sin.

Interestingly enough, confessions at St. John Cantius are somewhat open. You have to really work on keeping your voice low and/or keep details of the sin to a minimum. So it’s not like it’s totally private there either.

That would be breaking the Seal of the Confession!!! God Bless, Memaw

 

[TK421]

I got to thinking about this the other day and thought it would be an interesting topic of conversation. I have frequently noticed at Mass that when it comes time for communion, if I have unconfessed sins, I am usually the only one who stays behind in the pews. Now, I cannot, of course, judge the souls of anyone else in the church (perhaps they are all in a state of grace.), but it seems the general emphasis on the sacrament of penance has decreased. Rarely do I hear anything mentioned from the pulpit about the importance of going to confession, and trying to find a church with a convenient 30 minute slot to receive the sacrament is difficult. Once, when I approached an usher before Mass to inquire about confession, he looked at me in disbelief and said “Really?!”. The only place where I hear a consistent message about the beauty and importance of the sacrament is EWTN. So, what has caused this phenomenon? I have a few thoughts.

-Popular culture
-Poor catechesis (When do we ever hear about Purgatory anymore? I know I didn’t growing up.)
-Availability of priests.

Cowardice.