Sacrament of Reconciliation

Oct 15, 2008
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In my Catholic parish, there are HUUUUUGE long, line that look like Soviet bread lines to get to confession!

If you go on Wednesday to confession, there are 3 to 4 priests hearing confessions with about 18-25 people in each line! Then on Saturday nights there are five priests hearing confessions with about 8-10 in each line.

Confession isn't on its way out in my area! Like W.A. said, people in general are on their way out. I concur!
 
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steve_bakr

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In my Catholic parish, there are HUUUUUGE long, line that look like Soviet bread lines to get to confession!

If you go on Wednesday to confession, there are 3 to 4 priests hearing confessions with about 18-25 people in each line! Then on Saturday nights there are five priests hearing confessions with about 8-10 in each line.

Confession isn't on its way out in my area! Like W.A. said, people in general are on their way out. I concur!

Wow! Big parish. Lots of Confessions. I wonder what's up with my area's parishes.
 
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Ave Maria

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The Sacrament of Confession will always remain just as the Catholic Church will always remain. The availability of the Sacrament of Reconciliation may vary from place to place and one time period to another though due to priest shortages or an abundance of priests. Unfortunately it seems as though we are facing priest shortages in many places. Here in the Diocese of Evansville, Indiana we are facing a priest shortage. Many priests are pastors of 2 and sometimes 3 parishes and often one or more of those parishes is quite large. I hope and pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood. I recommend that after each decade of the Rosary that people would add this prayer in addition to the Glory Be and the Fatima prayer which is, "God our Father, please send us holy priests. All for the Sacred and Eucharist Heart of Jesus, all for the sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, in union with Saint Joseph. Amen."
 
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Needing_Grace

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The Sacrament of Confession will always remain just as the Catholic Church will always remain. The availability of the Sacrament of Reconciliation may vary from place to place and one time period to another though due to priest shortages or an abundance of priests. Unfortunately it seems as though we are facing priest shortages in many places. Here in the Diocese of Evansville, Indiana we are facing a priest shortage. Many priests are pastors of 2 and sometimes 3 parishes and often one or more of those parishes is quite large. I hope and pray for an increase in vocations to the priesthood. I recommend that after each decade of the Rosary that people would add this prayer in addition to the Glory Be and the Fatima prayer which is, "God our Father, please send us holy priests. All for the Sacred and Eucharist Heart of Jesus, all for the sorrowful and immaculate heart of Mary, in union with Saint Joseph. Amen."

I thought the Fatima prayer was "Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your mercy."
 
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ivebeenshown

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I thought the Fatima prayer was "Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins. Save us from the fires of Hell and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those in most need of Your mercy."
Probably more than one prayer given by our Lady at Fatima. Generous is she! :)

I have received the sacrament twice now (and am in dire need again :blush:) but I have never gone at the 'walk-in' time so don't know how 'popular' it is. If the people I know who identify as Catholic clue me in to any local trend, though, it is that they don't necessarily think they need to confess certain things (particularly, taking the Lord's name in vain) before receiving Communion. :sorry:
 
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amen....

It's a self-fulfilling reality. Offering confessions "by appointment only" is pathetic, and I would report him to the bishop. Confession should be offered daily and failure to do that is failing to do your job as a priest.
 
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TheOtherHockeyMom

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I don't know if this was widespread, but back about 30 years ago, the Church I attended with my family went from scheduled confessions to a group penance service. Some years after that, they stopped the penance services, but never got the participation back at the confession times. Now I think they go by appointment only too, and the Church doesn't even have a confessional booth.
 
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that's AWFUL!?

I don't know if this was widespread, but back about 30 years ago, the Church I attended with my family went from scheduled confessions to a group penance service. Some years after that, they stopped the penance services, but never got the participation back at the confession times. Now I think they go by appointment only too, and the Church doesn't even have a confessional booth.
 
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JimR-OCDS

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General absolution isn't allowed in the Catholic Church. Priest who have done it, are disobedient.

That being said, there was a time in the Church when confessions were made before the entire congregation and private confessions to a priest were prohibited, by Papal decree.

However, there were only a few serious sins that had to be confessed publically, and they were adultery, stealing and apostasy.

As time went on, when the Church was being persecuted in Ireland and priest were forbidden from preaching outside of their monasteries, the set up small rooms along the outside wall, where people could enter from the outside. A little window was open and the priest heard confession and provided spiritual direction.

It became so well received, that it took and became the norm.

Anyway, the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation provides us with the grace and discernment in helping us to avoid sin. So, it should be a regular part of every Catholic's life.

The general assembly of the United States Catholic Bishops just recently decided that the Bishops need to go back to their dioceses and focus on the necessity of the sacrament of Penance.

Jim
 
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QuantaCura

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In a homily I heard awhile back, an old priest said that there used to be one psychotherapist in the phone book, but the lines for confession went all around the church; now, the lines for confessions are short, but there's pages of psychotherapists in the phone book. People still want to fulfill the human need of confession, they're just not doing it where their sins can actually be forgiven (and they're paying a lot of money for it!).
 
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AvilaSurfer

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I don't know if this was widespread, but back about 30 years ago, the Church I attended with my family went from scheduled confessions to a group penance service. Some years after that, they stopped the penance services, but never got the participation back at the confession times. Now I think they go by appointment only too, and the Church doesn't even have a confessional booth.
This has never been legal. Parishes here have a penance service to prepare for one-on-one confessions prior to Christmas, but general absolution has never been allowed.
 
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ZaidaBoBaida

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I'm straining my poor pitiful brain and I can't think where the confessionals in our local Catholic church is or even if they exist. Granted I only go to Mass 1 or 2 times per year, but still...

The last time I went to confession was when I was 13 and in Catholic school. My teacher decided we were all a bunch of heathens and needed to confess whether we were Catholic or not. Well, I got sentenced to 300 Hail Marys and 50 Our Fathers. I was in the church ALL afternoon. Oh and did I mention the priest yelled at me so loud they heard him outside the confessional? The only thing that was accomplished was that I never went to confession again. I don't fancy being yelled at.

Then, when I was in high school they had a day for confession and one of the priests was young and good looking and the other was really old. I was wasting time hanging out by my locker while EVERYONE else was in line to see the young priest for confession - including my fellow non-Catholics. My religion teacher said, "Aren't you going to Confession?" I said no because I wasn't Catholic. My teacher said, "Neither are most of the other girls in that line." I said, "They're only going because the priest is cute, and that's not right. It's like flirting with a married man." He laughed and said he ageed and that the first thing they should all confess to was lust.
 
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CatholicMother

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The confession lines at our Parrish are usually pretty long and last the entire hour + confession is offered. But our Parrish has a few thousand members and confessions are heard three times a week for a little more or less than an hour. (45 mins one day and 1.5 hours the other two days.)
 
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waterlemona

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The line is pretty long on Saturdays at my parish too I have to get there early if I want to make sure my confession will be heard before mass starts! But it does have a lot of members. We have confession offered daily, I'm not sure what the lines are like on other days. Our priest (God bless him!) is really trying to encourage more confession though. I've heard him talking about it in pretty much every homily, is really enthusiastic if you ask him to hear your confession, and he's trying to add more confession times. :)

Also, we were told that the Year of Faith was a time to really renew and emphasize this sacrament- so if it was on its way out, let's hope it's on its way in now :)
 
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