Why the lack of Confession times?

[HeDa]

It is easy to have a survey in the parish for when good times for confession are. Print suggestions on a piece of paper like before morning Mass, mid day Mass, evening Mass, Saturday afternoon, Sunday Mass. After evening Mass on XYZ day etc. Tick the times you prefer and are likely to go.

If there isn’t anyone confessing at the moment then there are priests who pray the LOTH or read a heavy duty Theology book in the confessional while waiting for the next penitent. And then there are those priests who continue to hear confessions after Mass for 1.5 hours as there were more penitents.

As I say very often: Long lines for confession are not needed if the priests hear Confessions several times per week. Long lines just show that the priests don’t hear confessions often enough.

 

[tafan2]

Long lines just show that the priests don’t hear confessions often enough.

Perhaps, but not my experience. Lines do not tend to shrink as confession times are increased.

 

[phil19034]

HeDa:

Long lines just show that the priests don’t hear confessions often enough.

Perhaps, but not my experience. Lines do not tend to shrink as confession times are increased.

I agree… this is a form of positive peer pressure. When people see long confession lines they start hearing a small voice telling then that they should go too.

It’s funny, our Cathedral has confessions starting at 5pm before our weekly 6:30 PM Sunday mass with the Archbishop. We typically have 4-6 priests (including the Archbishop) hearing confessions, packed lines. Then, when mass starts, they still keep one line open which a priest who isn’t concelebrating. He keeps hearing confessions during mass until the line is gone.

It’s not uncommon for 100+ people to receive confession before that Sunday mass.

 

[InThePew]

It is easy to have a survey in the parish for when good times for confession are. Print suggestions on a piece of paper like before morning Mass, mid day Mass, evening Mass, Saturday afternoon, Sunday Mass. After evening Mass on XYZ day etc. Tick the times you prefer and are likely to go.

In which case (forgive my cynicism) I would most likely receive a mixed bag of responses which in turn may well have no effect whatsoever on how many come to confession! Judging confession numbers in a tricky business - in the same time slot each week I’ve experienced both feast and famine so to speak. Obviously if no ones coming week after week, it may well be an issue with the times but trying to find an ideal time even for most people (never mind all) is like trying to nail jelly to a wall!

As I say very often: Long lines for confession are not needed if the priests hear Confessions several times per week. Long lines just show that the priests don’t hear confessions often enough.

Long lines mean that people are seeking the sacrament - thanks be to God. It’s also seasonal - there’s typically an upsurge before Christmas. Other than that, it can vary even day to day in some parishes (large inner city parishes and cathedrals tend to be more popular than suburban ones probably because of a desire for anonymity as well as more - and more suitable - times) so it’s just not as simple as saying schedule more times especially given that priests have other responsibilities to balance.

 

[Joe_5859]

To a certain extent I think that the demand for confession is a function of its availability.

I think there is definitely some truth to this. I’ve seen this play out in my own parish in the last 6 months. Previously, we had Confession 4 times a week (Saturday afternoon, two mornings during the week before daily Mass and one evening during the week before daily Mass). And there were generally lines. But then during Advent and Lent, my pastor decided to offer Confession during Mass on Sundays where one of the other priests would be sitting in the confessional the whole time. Now the lines are even longer.

But my parish has 3 priests, so we can do this. The simple fact that there are many fewer priests in most dioceses in the U.S. than there were 50 years ago is definitely going to impact the amount of Confession time that can be regularly offered.

 

[Aquinas11]

Because few people come to confession.

Not in my experience. My parish has 1 hour each weekday and every time I go there is people lined up 45 minutes early so they can get in and after 1 hour Priest has to leave and say mass and tells everyone in line “I’ll be back after mass”. They have confession time set 1 hour before mass and yet only half of people have their confession heard before mass. That happens at every parish I’ve gone.

 

[TheLittleLady]

That is wonderful! Pray for such a revival in other places.

 

[babochka]

I think you make a fair point. 15 minutes before Sunday mass is a non-starter (there’s almost always something which needs sorting) but certainly weekday mass could work at least for my parish and other parishes I’ve been in. The objection you’d hear from a lot of priests is that “no one comes anyway so why should I bother” which reminds me of the old definition of insanity: doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result! If people aren’t coming during the scheduled time then the problem may well be with the scheduled time (it might also be the the sacrament doesn’t get promoted as much as it should).

That said, no single time will suit everyone but that’s why priests need to make themselves available at other times as well. Parishioners also need to remember that a priest is obligated to hear their confession at any reasonable time and hold them to it!

Father, why don’t parishes coordinate with each other, perhaps by deanery, to offer confessions on different days and times? 90% of the parishes within 10 miles of me have confession for 1 hour, occurring on Saturday afternoon between 3 and 5. Why don’t more parishes offer confession on Thursday evening? Or Wednesday morning? Maybe even instead of Saturday afternoon if time is a problem. I have never come across a parish that doesn’t have scheduled confession times, but it is frustrating that they are all at the same time.

 

[Schmitmom]

I agree. It is rare to hear homilies on the sacrament of reconciliation. The sheep need to be led by the Shepherd!

In our rural parish we are SUPPOSE to have reconciliation twice a month before mass. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone with the intention to go to reconciliation at these times with a NO SHOW from our pastor. (Do I a get absolution if I had the desire?) i have decided I will just need to go to another parish or make an appointment.

 

[kdsuomi]

Our church has confession once a month for thirty minutes. People don’t go because it isn’t valued here.

 

[po18guy]

Father has to have an innate love of all the Sacraments. The priests have been forced to become such administrators that their pastoral capabilities have suffered. They suffer - eventually we suffer. But God sees into our hearts.

 

[Donkey]

• Lack of Priests.
• Lack of (or perhaps too many) penitents.
• Lack of Faith and Trust.
• Lack of interest. (Separation of Church and State)
• Competing churches.
• And, probably, the onset of psychology.

All this plus I think some priests don’t believe in it or are not prepared for it.

 

[Joe_5859]

It is rare to hear homilies on the sacrament of reconciliation.

Interestingly enough, my pastor spoke at length about Confession in his homily this past weekend (since it was Divine Mercy Sunday and Confession is nothing if not a sacrament of mercy). It made me think of this thread.

He challenged everyone to go to Confession at least once a month for this next year.

 

[InThePew]

Father, why don’t parishes coordinate with each other, perhaps by deanery, to offer confessions on different days and times? 90% of the parishes within 10 miles of me have confession for 1 hour, occurring on Saturday afternoon between 3 and 5. Why don’t more parishes offer confession on Thursday evening? Or Wednesday morning? Maybe even instead of Saturday afternoon if time is a problem. I have never come across a parish that doesn’t have scheduled confession times, but it is frustrating that they are all at the same time.

Well they say that organising priests is like trying to herd cats… I suppose that may have something to do with it!

Seriously though, Saturday morning (or evening) tend to be the most popular time because that’s when a lot of people can go unlike say 9:30 on a weekday morning (most have these things called jobs…). Other commitments - such as parish council / finance / school board meetings also take up weekday evenings - along with marriage prep and other such assorted things. So it’s hard to arrange things by deanery so that there’s complementarity of times (although that does happen for mass times). Also in some deaneries the size of the region means that there are only a handful of parishes (at that) within a reasonable driving distance.

Ultimately, it’s up to each pastor to decide what works best for his parish - if confessions are scheduled for 9am on a Saturday at no one ever comes then a review of that time would seem to me to be a good idea.