Posted on 23 March 2013 by Fr. John Zuhlsdorf
I think the world of Bp. Slattery of the Diocese of Tulsa. He initiated a liturgical renewal in the diocese, he has been supportive of the Clear Creek Monastery, he sponsored workshops for exorcists. A few more bishops like this and… who knows what we could do?
A reader sent me this.
Bishop Slattery promoted an effort for confessions. He even has billboards. This doesn’t need more explanation.
Doesn’t that Roman collar look a little familiar?
Check out my swag for priests and bishops HERE.
And let’s no forget Bp. Slattery’s fantastic sermon.
This is beautiful…the way it is supposed to be…the confession lines should be full…they are at my parish…in many parishes I see the communion line full, and the confession line empty…not good
Whatever it takes. I remember the lines all around the inside of a church on Saturdays with whole families waiting for a “box” to become available. It was the norm that you didn’t receive on Sunday if you hadn’t gone to confession on Saturday.
and I just had a bad experience today with a priest when he didn’t allow me to finish my confession at Most Precious Blood parish. Instead he kept on insulting me and kept reading into too much, over analyzing( I felt like I was in a nightmare instead) asking questions that didn’t pertain to me at all, as if I was on trial….I feel sorry that this priest did not take his vows seriously instead he made me feel unwelcome. How is one to logic with anyone in that state of mind. I tried to be respectful but it was best that I walked out because he was growing angry.
Don’t priest who behave that way realize that they can provoke others into more sin…..he was more bothered with me because I didn’t have an appointment and just walked in or didn’t wait till Saturday…..that was his main concern. If he had only allowed me to finish my confession that would of been fine. Instead he asked inappropriate questions as if I was in therapy session and he was trying to analyze me…he doesn’t know me. I don’t know…it just felt like a demonic attack, it didn’t feel right. God help me…I feel so sad right now. This has shook me.
This article is refreshing to read, it helps me to hang on hope. I usually drive far to look for a good priest to go to confession because I have had some bad experiences from our local parishes when it came to confession. I think that today was the worst experience I have ever had….
abeca, I used to go to confession once a month but I stopped because the priests interpreted it as low self-esteem and a lack of confidence in God’s love and forgiveness. Mental health issues are huge in the Church. When you only go to Mass and don’t get to know the other people at Church you may not be aware of it; but I cannot tell you how many of my fellow Catholics have told me they have some disorder or are on a medicine for depression and/or anxiety or speak or behave in ways that indicate they have some problems. I wondered when you posted it, whether you got caught up in that type of issue. At my parish, a person who needs to confess at unscheduled times is seen as a person with anxiety. The priests always hear the confession and treat the person well, though.
Most of the priests at the churches where I go tell the parishioners to go to confession at least once a month and more often to get more graces. They tell us to go at least once a month even for venial sins. I find it works for me, and I do not have a self-esteem problem. In fact if the confessors are good, one gets more self respect, along with humility too.
There is a difference between self respect and too much pride.
Anne T thank you….that is what many good priests have advised in the parishes that I usually attend. God bless you for sharing your wisdom and knowledge about the faith….comments like concerned concern me because they come off as ignorant and they can also add scrupulous confusion.
Abeca Christian, there is another reason I like to go to confession at least once a month, and it is Church approved. I like to make indulgences for the Holy Souls in purgatory, including for my dead relatives. In order to make an indulgence, one has to go to confession a week before or a week after making the indulgence. That is one of the stipulations for making an indulgence, so any priest who tells you it is wrong to go once a month, or even more often at times is just plain wrong.
Abeca Christian, the only time a priest might rightly tell someone not to go to confession so often is if they suffer from scrupulosity — confessing over and over again sins that they have already confessed because they worry too much that they were not forgiven, or because they confess things that are not really sinful too often.
concerned you are so way off base….I am thankful you are not a therapist….your poor patients will go misdiagnosed often under your care. There is no tone of charity in your last response. NO pun intended but I do feel sorry for you. Perhaps you and that priest can use some spiritual guidance.
Abeca, Concern’s priest might have told him that because of a shortage of priests in his area or because Concern does suffer from scrupulosity. We do not know. Please do not be too hard on him. Also, I try to go at the regular hours when the priests are taking confessions because many of them are really, really busy, but the secretary at the church you mentioned could have solved the problem just by saying she was sorry but there were no priests available at the time for confessions and by recommending another parish. Quite often there are not any priests available for confessions at a particular parish, or they are on their way to a death scene to give the last rites. I am very lucky that there are churches all around me that have regular confession times, some even have them before every Mass.
Also, Abeca, if I am in the confessional line and I only have venial sins or want the priest’s advice on some small issue, I leave the line and still go up for Communion if the priest is unable to do my confession because of an extremely long line. Therefore, I never judge someone who does not complete a confession and still receives Communion.