What we've got here is failure to communicate

[pianistclare]

Sorry about sounding confused, I really didn’t sleep last night. I called the church office to make an appt for confession since it has been a very long time and that I needed to speak with a priest about the state of mortal sin that I am in. They told me to just go during regular confession hours. So after trying to be in a peaceful state, praying in front of Mary for mercies and grace, I was relieved to see no one else there for confession. Yet I felt rushed. I was told that I couldn’t make a confession now, I had to make an appt. Next week would not work, maybe the week after. So I stayed in the church, praying. The priest wasn’t busy. The 45 minute time slot for confessions came and went and no one else showed up. Then a prayer service, a benediction started. As I was at the opposite side of the church, in the back, it made me feel very alone. The priest didn’t have time to listen to me, and my prayers went in answered.

That is odd, and not the norm. If the priest knows you and your situation, perhaps he wanted to allot much more time, and speculated that others would be waiting.
Or…maybe you should just try a different parish.
Priests are human like all of us. Maybe a really bad day for him…not making excuses, but if you are as upset as you seem to be here, it would be in your best interest to seek another parish. Try not to despair. If there was a Benediction with Adoration, you **surely **were not alone. Christ was present with you, and heard your cries.
Be assured of my prayers.

 

[Elizium23]

I once had a priest tell me this was not a confession, and please make an appointment if I need some kind of spiritual direction, and I immediately recognized in myself that I was not telling him sins but instead kind of dumping my life situation on him. In order to make a good confession, you examine your conscience and then accuse yourself of sins in number and kind to the priest. This will naturally take a long time if you have not been there for a while. So if you find yourself going off on tangents, explaining situations with too much detail, or just telling stories that have nothing to do with sins you have committed, then the priest is likely to say that. To me it is a huge red flag in your story. Now occasionally you will get an undesirable priest who tells you that you haven’t sinned when you could look in the Catechism and point out the sins you are confessing. I will allow that that is possibly what happened to you. But you need to reflect on yourself and ensure that you are not causing these difficulties, because most pastors are more than willing to help the lost to return to the fold.

 

[drafdog]

1. Show up. Mass is on Sunday morning. Be there.
2. Pick up a parish bulletin. They hand them out free after Mass. Very traditional thing to do.
3. Read the bulletin and pay attention to times of confession.
4. Go to confession.
5. Repeat step 1) weekly. Without fail. Take communion.
6. Congratulations and WELCOME HOME!

Reb Levi