No secrets being revealed, don't worry. But a typical morning: confessions advertised 11am to 12 noon. Today I began at 11 and finished after 1.30pm. Good to be needed. One kind lady brought me in a sandwich and some water... Rather than the long line of people approaching for Holy Communion, it is the number of people going to Confession in a parish indicates the spiritual health of a parish.
That last sentence is very true!
ReplyDeleteAgree.
ReplyDeleteI have to say in the last two years I've changed my opinion re: allowing for Confession on Sunday WHILE Mass is going on.
Well up into the 70s, it was not uncommon for a priest to be "in the box" while another was saying Mass. Then the practise became discouraged as "After all, people should be paying attention to Mass." And there is logic and reason in that.
BUT. Noticably, confessions dropped. In Part, because of oddball available times, when people would have to make a special trip to church, and then it becomes a downward spiral...fewer people come, so less time is allotted.
But at the parish I now attend, it's like it was until the mid 70s...confession available DURING Sunday Mass. There's always another priest "in the box." Before and during the Mass. I must say the lines are constant, and I bet more people go to Mass in the parish on a Sunday than go in an entire two months in any other parish in the city.
There's also the psychologically advantageous "safety in numbers" vibe when confession lines are long. "well, I can just go in and dump these sins and he won't have time for a long lecture, just forgiveness!"