Why no confessions

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return2faith

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I have not been to confession for a while (17 yrs to be exact) and I decided I would go today; I did not want to go to my own Priest as I know them (sounds strange I know).

I went to a parish 15 miles away that had confessions from 16.00 - 16.30, I arrived at 16.10 and waited in an empty church, there was a sign saying to press bell for confessions, so I pressed it twice and no one came, I waited until 16.30, and tried the bell again and nothing.

I now travelled 15 miles back where a church did confessions from 17.00 - 17.30, when I got there the doors were locked, so I asked someone nearby if the church opens and they said it would be open at 17.30 and they do confessions then before Mass.

I went in just after 17.30 and went to the confessional and rang the bell and sat until the Priest came, I waited and waited, the church was filling up ready for Mass and no Priest came to hear my confession.

I gave up and came home, I remember the days when you could go in to the church and ask a priest to hear confessions, but know I begin to wonder.

I may be better ringing up and asking to be scheduled in:rolleyes:

Oh well, can not receive this week, so better luck next week;)
 
return2faith said:
I have not been to confession for a while (17 yrs to be exact) and I decided I would go today; I did not want to go to my own Priest as I know them (sounds strange I know).

I went to a parish 15 miles away that had confessions from 16.00 - 16.30, I arrived at 16.10 and waited in an empty church, there was a sign saying to press bell for confessions, so I pressed it twice and no one came, I waited until 16.30, and tried the bell again and nothing.

I now travelled 15 miles back where a church did confessions from 17.00 - 17.30, when I got there the doors were locked, so I asked someone nearby if the church opens and they said it would be open at 17.30 and they do confessions then before Mass.

I went in just after 17.30 and went to the confessional and rang the bell and sat until the Priest came, I waited and waited, the church was filling up ready for Mass and no Priest came to hear my confession.

I gave up and came home, I remember the days when you could go in to the church and ask a priest to hear confessions, but know I begin to wonder.

I may be better ringing up and asking to be scheduled in:rolleyes:

Oh well, can not receive this week, so better luck next week;)
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I would at least call both parishes and let the pastor know what you experienced. It may very well have been an emergency, he may have been at the hopspital or at the home of a sick person. All you can do is let them know and see what they say.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
I would at least call both parishes and let the pastor know what you experienced. It may very well have been an emergency, he may have been at the hopspital or at the home of a sick person. All you can do is let them know and see what they say.
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I have tried phoning the first parish and asking whether the times had been changed, but could not get an answer.

And I’ll pop in to the other parish tomorrow on the way to Mass and see the Priest.

As you say, there is a reasonable explanation.
 
Our priest has told us often that if we want to know if there is a devil, just plan to go to confession and see how many obstacles come your way!

I congratulate you on your returning to this beautiful sacrament! Since it has been several years, you might want to consider making an appointment to confess anyway, that way you don’t have to worry about taking too much of the priest’s time if others are waiting.

I have done this a few times, especially if I’ve really been struggling and need more spiritual direction than a few-minute confession might allow. Most priests are very happy to do this. Just tell him you need about 15 min. or 30 min. or whatever you think so he can schedule the time.

It’s unfortunate the priests were not available, but I agree that you should call those parishes to let them know. There may be a logical explanation or somebody may have been slacking on their duties. Nobody will know if nobody says anything.
 
👍 I know how you feel. It took my 25years to go back to his church and go to confession. I love it. I have 3 priests that are my friends so it’s kinda easy for me to make monthly confession. What every you do, don’t give up. The more you go the easier it gets. Good luck and God bless.
 
Yeah but that ain’t the point. The sign said “Confessions 4-6pm.” And no one was there. The priest should be in the proper setting at the appointed time. No run around, calling here, knocking there, in there ready to go.

Someone needs to be accountable for not doing what the sign says. If not, take the sign down and, “call us, and we’ll get over there” Not a govt job, folks get fired in the working world for inconsistency. I dunno, maybe I’m being too harsh.
 
If it helps, the bigger the city in which you are, the better the chances of having more confessions and more parishes offering confessions. So, if you are not too far away from a really big city (and parking is not too expensive, or you can take public transportation), and you can look up confession times on the Internet, you are probably in better stead.
 
Our priest has occasionally been late for confession or missed it entirely. I haven’t pressed him for a reason because he’s the only priest for miles, with 3 parishes, & this past winter his health hasn’t been great.

He could have been up at the hospital, attending a dying parishioner, he could have been stuck somewhere in the snow, he could have been at home being sick. Anyhow, none of it’s my business. I’m sure he has a good reason & it’s not like I’m dying & need confession right away.

The Church waited for you for 17 years - couldn’t you be a bit patient with the Church? 🙂
 
so, OP, did you ever call the church and find out what the problem was?
 
puzzleannie said:
so, OP, did you ever call the church and find out what the problem was?
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I spoke with a member of that parish (Priest was out), and she said that they have a Polish Priest standing in until the church receives it’s new parish priest, and because he is the only Polish speaking Priest in the area, he is often dealing with them and may not have remembered about the confessions.

But she will let him know.
 
Don’t give up and do communicate what you experienced.

The fact that wanted to go to confession and attempted is a pure grace from God. In such a case when you are attempting to use the sacrament, but it is not available, God in his mercy knows your intent.

I would highly recommend that you scope the area and find out if there are any more traditional parishes within a 1 hour radius. Confessions in traditional parishes are typically abundant.

I am aware of various traditional parishes around the US. If you at least give us the closest major city, we can try to give you some parishes or monasteries that might be worth checking out.

And, they don’t have to be traditional in architecture. It has nothing to do with old, traditional architecture, but it is a state of mind. The mind of the Church which has repeatedly begged it’s priests to encourage frequent confession, even in the absence of serious sin so that the faithful may grow in holiness.

There is an awesome book on this by Benedict Baur called, Frequent Confession. In the Introduction by Fr. S.M. Ferigle, he points out the many attempts made by several popes to halt the alarming indifference to the Sacrament that was seen in “younger priests” of the time. This was in the 40’s and 50’s. Now, all that was feared has come full circle: A generation of priests (not all, bt a good many) who not only discourage confession of venial sins, but do not encourage confession of serious or grave sins.

Fr. John Boyle, in his blog, South Ashford Priest, has an excellent commentary up based on recent comments by a bishop saying Confession was in Crisis. In it, he points out:

In his talks, Bishop Fulton Sheen was not kind on those priests who do not have queues for confession. He considered that there must be something wrong in their attitude to souls, that if a priest gave an appropriate image of Christ the Good Shepherd, souls would come to him.Last year I had a proper confessional built - it’s quite nice. Whereas in some parishes I have visited, the confessionals are used for storage!

Read his post, Confession in Crisis - it will give you some insight, and also a few chuckles from the perspective of a parish priest who has the opposite problem: He waits and no one comes.

If you are not comfortable revealing the largest city near you, you might try Masstimes.org. If you can find a parish that offers Adoration (see the list there), you will have likely found a parish where confession is valued. Look through parishes there with confession times and call around. If you are anywhere near Detroit, I can tell you that Assumption Grotto is probably the confession capital of the metro area.
 
I’ve encountered the same. Some pastors will only hear confessions until the last one is heard, so it’s wise to get there at the very beginning of confession time.
 
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