Confession: A Gift
I got to confession yesterday. It's scheduled for 3:45 - before the 4:30 Mass. I got there about 3:50.
One woman was sitting there praying, having gone. A person was in with Father.
I had already thought ahead about what I wanted to confess, so I just prayed.
The person who was in with Father came out. I went in. I said what I needed to say.
I came out. There was no one in line. I went over to a pew to pray. After a few minutes, Father came out, looked around, saw no one was waiting, and went to the sacristy.
I waited for a while longer and said a few prayers. No one else showed up outside the confessional.
Sad. When confession is available, only three of us that I'm aware of took advantage (unless someone was there before I got there). This is one of the gifts of the Church. I am grateful for it. I pray that more people might take advantage of it. Perhaps if they realized what a freeing experience it is, and how much it can help, more would do so.
Confession needs to be promoted - by those preaching, and by the laity. One way would be to hold it more often. One of the things I liked at Our Lady of Victory was that there was Confession before every Mass I've ever attended there. What if we had it before at least every weekend Mass? That would be a step in the right direction.
As for me, Thank you Lord for the opportunity. Thank you for your forgiveness and mercy. Help me to continue to wrestle with the sins to which I'm prone.
One woman was sitting there praying, having gone. A person was in with Father.
I had already thought ahead about what I wanted to confess, so I just prayed.
The person who was in with Father came out. I went in. I said what I needed to say.
I came out. There was no one in line. I went over to a pew to pray. After a few minutes, Father came out, looked around, saw no one was waiting, and went to the sacristy.
I waited for a while longer and said a few prayers. No one else showed up outside the confessional.
Sad. When confession is available, only three of us that I'm aware of took advantage (unless someone was there before I got there). This is one of the gifts of the Church. I am grateful for it. I pray that more people might take advantage of it. Perhaps if they realized what a freeing experience it is, and how much it can help, more would do so.
Confession needs to be promoted - by those preaching, and by the laity. One way would be to hold it more often. One of the things I liked at Our Lady of Victory was that there was Confession before every Mass I've ever attended there. What if we had it before at least every weekend Mass? That would be a step in the right direction.
As for me, Thank you Lord for the opportunity. Thank you for your forgiveness and mercy. Help me to continue to wrestle with the sins to which I'm prone.
posted by A Secular Franciscan | 9:16 PM
3 Comments:
The Jesuit parish in downtown Buffalo offers daily confessions before each mass (three daily) and I know many who take advantage of this gift, myslelf included. I am amazed at the father's faithfulness to offer this; I know that they, too, have times when no one seems to need confession, or at least doesn't go...
I'm so new to HI that I am still looking for a place to go to that I can get to w/out a car . . . etc. Anyway, I can go Saturday before evening Mass at the base. I told my hubs I need/want to go so we'll go Saturday. I'm excited to get this grub off of my soul, yeah?
Thanks for coming by my blog and commenting about the NCIS show. I like the show, but that was a weird episode.
Hello, Lee...I totally agree that confession needs to be promoted and further, sin, and sins effects needs to be preached about. I go to confession at least once a week. At OLV, the confession lines can get very long especially around the First Fridays and First Saturdays (we need to hear preaching about them too). I would say that on an average, OLV has about 10 to 12 confessions a day, not including the First Fridays/Saturdays. The lines double or more on those days.
People go to counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, etc and pay good money to tell them what we tell a priest for nothing. And we get ABSOLVED; they don't. I am not suggesting there isn't a need for counselors, etc. because there is.
One suggestion is if you haven't been to confession in many years, don't wait until the last 5 minutes of confession time. Go early or make an appointment with a priest. Believe me, there is not a sin that the priest hasn't heard. The priest, who forgives in the name of Christ, wants to show you the mercy of God and absolve you from your sins. He will not put you down for the sins you have committed.
Please go to confession, you will be eternally the better for it! I should know.
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