One of the things I have noticed while doing the Sacrament of Reconciliation, is how unaware most people are of what exactly their sins are.
Perhaps that's because it gets no attention after First Confession. For example, in almost 20 years at St. Al's, I do not recall hearing anything about confession in a homily. Our previous pastor pushed for General Absolution. Penitential Rite A ("Confiteor") is a rarity.
This might help explain why so few parishioners go to confession. A fairly recent census found our parish has over 7,000 members. Back when I would go to confession here, there were as few as one other person. From what our pastor said in his October 25, 2009 bulletin column, attendance is down since then.
Please remember that the priest will be in the reconciliation room at 3:00 p.m. If no one is there, he may well leave in a few minutes.
Our Associate Pastor's post raised a concern about an excess of guilt. I haven't noticed that being a problem in the Church for a long time. It certainly doesn't look like it's a problem at our parish.
I've been to St. Al's for confession 3 times over the past two years I think, there was never more than 4 people (including myself) in the line.
ReplyDeleteChoir practices went on during the time as the confessional, the people in choir (who I would assume are there every saturday around the time confessions are offered) asked what we 3-4 people were just standing around for. They were very surpised when we told them.
Incidentially at St. Al's, I have been at Masses where there are 100's of people present and, near as I can tell, every single one, went up for communion.
The student parish on State Street in Madison, St. Paul's, offers confession, daily, and before many Masses, often with two priests hearing confessions, there are almost always lines. Clearly this is not a generational thing, young people will go to confession if priests speak about the importance of it in the homily and make it availible.
The less you offer it and threats that the priest will leave if people are not waiting in line at 3 pm on the dot just diminish the number of confessions.
If a parish is not a vehicle for saving souls, it is failing.
I have never been to St. Al's but what you say here, and it is like so many other parishes in the diocese, it should be closed. There is no reason for it to stay open, if it is not going to provide the sacraments to the people. How much are those two priests being paid? Isn't it true that the Milwaukee priests are the highest paid in the country? For what?
ReplyDeleteOther Anon, I am not sure if they are the highest paid, though I have heard this before, as near as I can tell the high-pay is so they can get condos miles from the parish instead of living in the rectories that our ancestors paid for and built for priests to live in.
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