What's wrong with this scenario?

[fastenatingguy]

I live in a large urban parish with approximately 12,000 parishoners. We celebrate six masses each Sunday. The neighborhood is middle upper class and easily accessible. The parish is 75 years old, well established.

If the Pew Research stats hold up, and maybe ours is a little better than average, one third or 4000 attendance on Sundays. Most (95%) receive holy communion.

We have confession available on Saturday morning only, from 8:45 to 9:15 with one priest.

 

[CB_Catholic]

I live in a large urban parish with approximately 12,000 parishoners. We celebrate six masses each Sunday. The neighborhood is middle upper class and easily accessible. The parish is 75 years old, well established.

If the Pew Research stats hold up, and maybe ours is a little better than average, one third or 4000 attendance on Sundays. Most (95%) receive holy communion.

We have confession available on Saturday morning only, from 8:45 to 9:15 with one priest.

I don’t think you are confused at all. Your post is pretty straightforward, and you know what you are getting at. I think you just think things should be better and don’t like them the way they are, and could answer the question yourself. This type of thread leads to nothing but complaints.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

I live in a large urban parish with approximately 12,000 parishoners. We celebrate six masses each Sunday. The neighborhood is middle upper class and easily accessible. The parish is 75 years old, well established.

If the Pew Research stats hold up, and maybe ours is a little better than average, one third or 4000 attendance on Sundays. Most (95%) receive holy communion.

We have confession available on Saturday morning only, from 8:45 to 9:15 with one priest.

The necessity and fruits of frequent Confession should be preached and your pastor should offer Confessions on other days and at different times. He should make it known that he will hear Confessions as long as someone is in line waithing, even if this takes him beyond the announced end time. Of course if he is the only priest, this may be a problem.

Linus2nd

 

[jmjconder]

I wish that Confession was offered before every Mass…weekday and weekend. May it would give a better message to all.

 

[Cavaille-Coll]

Someone once said that a parish should have as many hours available for confession in a week as they have hours for weekend Masses, i.e. five weekend Masses, five hours of confession during the week. Makes sense to me.

 

[MarkInOregon]

I live in a large urban parish with approximately 12,000 parishoners. We celebrate six masses each Sunday. The neighborhood is middle upper class and easily accessible. The parish is 75 years old, well established.

If the Pew Research stats hold up, and maybe ours is a little better than average, one third or 4000 attendance on Sundays. Most (95%) receive holy communion.

We have confession available on Saturday morning only, from 8:45 to 9:15 with one priest.

I rarely go to confession at my parish. I go to a neighboring parish on Saturday–or to a downtown parish that has confession daily for an hour before their 12:05 mass–always a line and often two priests. So, if I attended your parish, you would be counting me as one of your parishioners who you beleive doesn’t go to confession. I also know people who make an appointment with the priest for confession and I have seen people at our parish ask father to hear their confession before Sunday mass and he does. Perhaps it would be better if you gave people the benefit of the doubt?

The peace of Christ,
Mark

 

[donna369]

i mentioned in another post that we only have confession at my church after saturday mass. or by appointment. the priest has encouraged in the past to take the eucharist regardless.
the thing i notice though is that we have very few people in line for confession…

 

[Mike30]

When Bishop Chavez was the Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego, he celebrated daily Mass at St. Josephs Cathedral at 12:00 pm. Confession was offered prior to every Mass, and the person who heard confessions was the Bishop himself. Sadly, after his retirement his successor stopped the practice.

It was great while it lasted and I think, spoke volumes about the Bishop and his priorities.

 

[InThePew]

I can definitely sympathise with the OP. I recently drew up a list of confession times in my diocese - the most common time was 9:30am on a Saturday morning

 

[ProVobis]

Most (95%) receive holy communion.

That seems to be typical for an English Mass. At the Spanish and Polish Masses, roughly 50% don’t present themselves for communion.

The confession lines at my local parish on a Saturday afternoon are almost non-existent, while there are always bake sales and other things going on.

 

[larsont7]

It’s a shame that such a large parish has so few Confession times. It certainly doesn’t send the right message about the incredible importance of this most necessary Sacrament. Unfortunately, the same is partly true in my city as well. The largest parishes have the fewest Confession times. That being said, I am blessed to be in a city that has many other smaller parishes with frequent Confession times.

I carry around a printed copy of Confession times for 21 of our archdiocese’s parishes (you just never know, right?), and here is the breakdown of Confession times:

• 3 parishes have Confessions before all Masses - the parish run by the FSSP, the “very conservative” parish (for lack of a better term - this was the parish that EWTN did a special on), and the popular downtown parish with the quick Masses.
• 6 parishes have Confessions Mon-Sat, but not necessarily before all Masses
• 1 parish has extra Confessions on the Thursday before First Fridays
• 11 parishes only have Saturday (morning or evening) Confession times, and most of these are the biggest parishes in our city with, by far, the greatest number of parishioners

Here’s hoping and praying we see a resurgence in Catholics coming back to this most beautiful Sacrament!

 

[Bergon]

I live in a large urban parish with approximately 12,000 parishoners. We celebrate six masses each Sunday. The neighborhood is middle upper class and easily accessible. The parish is 75 years old, well established.

If the Pew Research stats hold up, and maybe ours is a little better than average, one third or 4000 attendance on Sundays. Most (95%) receive holy communion.

We have confession available on Saturday morning only, from 8:45 to 9:15 with one priest.

There is liitle point to this type of post. Will things in your parish change in ways you seem to want? No.

Are you judging the state of the souls of your fellow parishioners? If you are, why?

Do know that people aren’t going to confession at other times in your parish? Do you know that people aren’t going to confession else where?

Are you in the position to cast the first stone?

 

[clem456]

Unfortunately, in the eyes of most Catholics, confession is seen as a pious relic of the past that is a very optional sacrament. If more people simply started attending confession, more hours will be available.
And honestly, I think face to face is a deterrent to confession. I am active in my parish, and as much as I know it shouldn’t matter, it does bother me to confess face to face with a priest I work with every week. There is something to be said for good old-fashioned confessionals.

 

[Bergon]

Face-to-face might be a deterrent. Where I live face-to-face is very uncommon. A confessional is the norm. The amount of published time devoted to hearing confessions is very limited. It’s nothing like the amount of time that was available.

 

[maryjk]

Unfortunately, in the eyes of most Catholics, confession is seen as a pious relic of the past that is a very optional sacrament. If more people simply started attending confession, more hours will be available.

When my parent’s generation was growing up, everything was a sin. My mom talked about going to Confession every Saturday, and sometimes during the week too. And EVERYONE was there.

When I was growing up, we moved all the way to the other side of the spectrum where nothing was a sin.

It will take at least another generation to come back to center.

And honestly, I think face to face is a deterrent to confession. I am active in my parish, and as much as I know it shouldn’t matter, it does bother me to confess face to face with a priest I work with every week. There is something to be said for good old-fashioned confessionals.

I agree. I tend to go to Confession when I am away from my home town. I work for our parish and I don’t feel that going to my boss for Confession is a good idea.

 

[Beachcomber]

My parish recently changed its confession times. Used to be 4 to 5pm Saturday afternoon (or by appointment). Now, it’s still by appointment but the Saturday time is now 4 to 4.45pm (Mass starts at 5pm). Unfortunately, the pastor has decided that confession will stop exactly at 4.45 even if there is a line.

The priest saying confession isn’t always the same one as saying the 5pm Mass. IMO, I think they should let everyone have confession instead of cutting it off. That worked well for decades.

 

[Aelred_Minor]

People whose parishes offer confession once a week don’t know how lucky they are. Mine offers it twice a year, and you have to sit through a general absolution service before the priest will hear individual confessions.

 

[Usagi]

People whose parishes offer confession once a week don’t know how lucky they are. Mine offers it twice a year, and you have to sit through a general absolution service before the priest will hear individual confessions.

Seriously? Wow. That has to be breaking some rules or at least guidelines.

Usagi

 

[gracepoole]

the priest has encouraged in the past to take the eucharist regardless.

Wow – why do you think he does this?

 

[Oneofthewomen]

People whose parishes offer confession once a week don’t know how lucky they are. Mine offers it twice a year, and you have to sit through a general absolution service before the priest will hear individual confessions.

Hope you don’t live in the Diocese of Syracuse or Rochester.

The very first thing +Cunningham did when he became Apostolic Administrator of the Rochester diocese was send out a memo banning all general absolution services unless he gave explicit permisson. A few have asked, based on it being “parish tradition”, he basically said no, and change the tradition!