Confession before Mass?

[Archer]

It literally is the worst time to do anything.

It's almost as if they want to prevent people from confessing.

This.  It may not be right, but convenience sure plays a huge part.  People naturally tend to be lazy, especially if they've been instructed poorly.  The plain fact is that our Priest's aren't teaching the faithful about the importance of confession. 

If Priest's today actually cared about souls, wouldn't they place more emphasis on confession? Wouldn't they teach the dangers of sin, the reality of hell, and the importance of confession from the pulpit?  And wouldn't they make confession more readily available? St. John Vianney often spent 14-18 hours PER DAY in the confessional.  We know people are committing the same sins today as they were 200 years ago, but Father Joe can only find time to offer "reconciliation" on Saturday from 3:30-4:00pm?

[poche]

It literally is the worst time to do anything.

It's almost as if they want to prevent people from confessing.

Confession has to be a priority.

[Mithrandylan]

It literally is the worst time to do anything.

It's almost as if they want to prevent people from confessing.

Confession has to be a priority.

I must say, I agree with Poche.  There's never a bad time to save your soul!  That doesn't mean that confession times can't be better, but keep in mind that the confession time for a parish is based on the entire congregation which is usually made up of families: mom, dad, kids.  Except for parents who work Saturday afternoon, this is an ideal time for "most" of the parish, assuming that most of the parish are families.  Dad's not working, kids aren't in school.

This coming from someone who does work Saturday afternoons, and can never make it to Saturday afternoon confession.  Our chapel has confession before each mass, so if we need to go we just get to mass an hour earlier. 

[totiusque]

If there is one benefit to infrequent Confession times, it has to be reducing the chances of the sin of presumption.  When so many Confession times are available and one falls into sin, it makes it that much easier to just say, "Well, I can just make it to Confession tomorrow after work" or something like that, and then persist in the sin. 

OTOH, if there is only one Confession time available and the lines tend to stack up for it, one may work harder to keep his soul "cleaner" since he knows he'd have to linger in the state of mortal sin for an extended period of time.

[Penelope]

It literally is the worst time to do anything.

It's almost as if they want to prevent people from confessing.

Confession has to be a priority.

I must say, I agree with Poche.  There's never a bad time to save your soul!  That doesn't mean that confession times can't be better, but keep in mind that the confession time for a parish is based on the entire congregation which is usually made up of families: mom, dad, kids.  Except for parents who work Saturday afternoon, this is an ideal time for "most" of the parish, assuming that most of the parish are families.  Dad's not working, kids aren't in school.

This coming from someone who does work Saturday afternoons, and can never make it to Saturday afternoon confession.  Our chapel has confession before each mass, so if we need to go we just get to mass an hour earlier.

Yeah, true, but does that mean that Janey can't sign up for ballet because the classes are on Saturday afternoon and her mother and father might need to go to Confession a couple times a month? I mean, ideally, Confession would be offered more than just once a week so that people don't have to rearrange their entire lives for something that should only take a few minutes per month of their time.

[Mithrandylan]

Is there only one ballet course and is it held only during confession times and at no other times?

We shouldn't think of confession as some sort of drive thru.  Sacraments aren't really quantifiable things.  Confession "should" take as long as it takes for someone to gather their sins, pray for forgiveness and a sense of sorrow and amendment.  Whether that only takes a few minutes out of the month or a few hours every week. 

I understand that confession times might conflict with someone's schedule.  If it's important, we make time.  We make time for our friends, for internet musings, for our "me time."  We should be able to make time for confession, even if it means that Janey has to miss ballet practice once a month.  It boils down to priorities, and it's actually quite simple I think.

We really should be grateful for confession at all these days.  There are Catholics who don't have access to the sacrament, and there has been in the past.  In the early church you confessed to the bishop, and you got to do it like once a year, and your penance usually took a year or more to do. 

It's really not that bad.

[Penelope]

Is there only one ballet course and is it held only during confession times and at no other times?

We shouldn't think of confession as some sort of drive thru.  Sacraments aren't really quantifiable things.  Confession "should" take as long as it takes for someone to gather their sins, pray for forgiveness and a sense of sorrow and amendment.  Whether that only takes a few minutes out of the month or a few hours every week. 

I understand that confession times might conflict with someone's schedule.  If it's important, we make time.  We make time for our friends, for internet musings, for our "me time."  We should be able to make time for confession, even if it means that Janey has to miss ballet practice once a month.  It boils down to priorities, and it's actually quite simple I think.

We really should be grateful for confession at all these days.  There are Catholics who don't have access to the sacrament, and there has been in the past.  In the early church you confessed to the bishop, and you got to do it like once a year, and your penance usually took a year or more to do. 

It's really not that bad.

Again, you're right, but let's think about the average NO Catholic here. If we want to encourage Confession among those with hectic, modern lives, the sacrament has to be more available to them. Trads make time for these things because they're important, but people who don't understand the importance aren't going to make the time unless it's convenient.

[Mithrandylan]

What is more convenient for MOST people, though? 

I don't have any stats, it just seems to me that the average parish is made up of families, primarily.  Dad, mom and kids.  Most career people work mon-fri.  Most kids are in school mon-fri.  So Sat afternoon makes a lot of sense.  It won't be the best time for everyone, but it's probably the one time out of the week that people don't schedule anything on. 

I'm all for more confessions.  But Saturday afternoon really isn't that bad of a time for most folks.  It is for me, but I'm not most folks. 

If the average NO Catholic isn't making time for confession, I think it has much, much more to do with their lack of catechesis and understanding the need for the sacrament than it does an inconvenience of time. 

[Archer]

What is more convenient for MOST people, though? 

I don't have any stats, it just seems to me that the average parish is made up of families, primarily.  Dad, mom and kids.  Most career people work mon-fri.  Most kids are in school mon-fri.  So Sat afternoon makes a lot of sense.  It won't be the best time for everyone, but it's probably the one time out of the week that people don't schedule anything on. 

I'm all for more confessions.  But Saturday afternoon really isn't that bad of a time for most folks.  It is for me, but I'm not most folks. 

If the average NO Catholic isn't making time for confession, I think it has much, much more to do with their lack of catechesis and understanding the need for the sacrament than it does an inconvenience of time.

Is 30-60 minutes once a week really enough time for an entire parish? I think you're really oversimplifying things.  The majority of a parish may be made up of families.  But how many of those families have teenagers in sports or music or involved in other activities? How many of the kids work or have parents who work on the weekends? You yourself admitted that you can never get to a Saturday afternoon confession, but brushed it off that you aren't most people.  I know you're kind of playing devil's advocate but that's the point.  People work weekends.  I work weekends now and I know a lot of Catholics who have to too.  Also, lot's of people use Saturday to run errends and work around the house.  Growing up Saturdays were always chores, yardwork, and projects with Dad since he worked M-F and Sunday was a day of rest.  And that was when we weren't gone at sporting events all Saturday.  People have commitments. So you ARE like a lot of people.  If your Parish didn't offer confession before Mass how would you go to confession? Would you be able to arrange your schedule so you didn't work weekends? What if you couldn't? 

Again, St. John Vianney spent 14-18 hours a day in the confessional.  He obviously thought it was important to make the sacrament widely available to his parishioners.  I agree with you that if people were taught about the importance of confession maybe more would make time or arrange their schedules better.  So that goes back to my other point: Priests aren't teaching it.  If they were then it would logically follow that they would be available more often for confessions.

If there is one benefit to infrequent Confession times, it has to be reducing the chances of the sin of presumption.  When so many Confession times are available and one falls into sin, it makes it that much easier to just say, "Well, I can just make it to Confession tomorrow after work" or something like that, and then persist in the sin. 

OTOH, if there is only one Confession time available and the lines tend to stack up for it, one may work harder to keep his soul "cleaner" since he knows he'd have to linger in the state of mortal sin for an extended period of time.

Priests, Popes, and Saints have taught about the importance of frequent confession.  We shouldn't only confess when we have sinned gravely and we shouldn't encourage withholding sacraments or making them less available with the hope that it will prevent people from sinning. 

Finally, you never know when someone may need it or be spurred by the grace of God to seek forgiveness and change their life.  I wouldn't want to be that Priest standing before God when He asks where I was when that one soul needed me. 

[Spooky]

If there is one benefit to infrequent Confession times, it has to be reducing the chances of the sin of presumption.  When so many Confession times are available and one falls into sin, it makes it that much easier to just say, "Well, I can just make it to Confession tomorrow after work" or something like that, and then persist in the sin. 

OTOH, if there is only one Confession time available and the lines tend to stack up for it, one may work harder to keep his soul "cleaner" since he knows he'd have to linger in the state of mortal sin for an extended period of time.

I could be wrong, but I think committing a sin by saying "eh, I'll just go to Confession for it tomorrow" invalidates the Sacrament. There wouldn't be a "firm purpose of amendment" to not sin again.

[Mithrandylan]

If there is one benefit to infrequent Confession times, it has to be reducing the chances of the sin of presumption.  When so many Confession times are available and one falls into sin, it makes it that much easier to just say, "Well, I can just make it to Confession tomorrow after work" or something like that, and then persist in the sin. 

OTOH, if there is only one Confession time available and the lines tend to stack up for it, one may work harder to keep his soul "cleaner" since he knows he'd have to linger in the state of mortal sin for an extended period of time.

I could be wrong, but I think committing a sin by saying "eh, I'll just go to Confession for it tomorrow" invalidates the Sacrament. There wouldn't be a "firm purpose of amendment" to not sin again.

I don't think one can pre-emptively invalidate a sacrament.  The intent needed for validity is the intent when the matter and the form come together.  So if a priest is about to celebrate mass and thinks to himself that he will withold intention (and intends on withholding intention) but then later has the proverbial change of heart and actually intends to confect the sacrament, his earlier "commitment" to simulate a sacrament would not serve to invalidate the sacrament.

Now, if a penitent went into the confessional and left the confessional thinking that he can just go back and confess again, that would definitely invalidate the sacrament-- that is, if he lacked any purpose of amendment.  But it would have to be surrounding the actual sacrament.  Sinning today because you can go to confession tomorrow is bad, but it doesn't invalidate that confession as long as you form sorrow and amendment afterwards.

[Spooky]

Ah. Thanks Mith, I knew I read something about it somewhere. I mixed up the "invalidate" part.

[Bernadette]

There are some parishes that only have confession "by appointment"

How does that work in terms of protecting your identity?

Speaking from experience, it doesn't. Which is why if I had anything that I was particularly embarrassing to confess, I would find a way to go to the next parish over, half-hour drive and all. 

[OCLittleFlower]

There are some parishes that only have confession "by appointment"

How does that work in terms of protecting your identity?

Speaking from experience, it doesn't. Which is why if I had anything that I was particularly embarrassing to confess, I would find a way to go to the next parish over, half-hour drive and all. 

Yeah seriously.  I could see that being enough to scare some souls right off of Confession entirely.

[jovan66102]

There are some parishes that only have confession "by appointment"

How does that work in terms of protecting your identity?

Speaking from experience, it doesn't. Which is why if I had anything that I was particularly embarrassing to confess, I would find a way to go to the next parish over, half-hour drive and all. 

Yeah seriously.  I could see that being enough to scare some souls right off of Confession entirely.

If you know your confessor, there's not much anonymity unless you disguise your voice. I used to confess 'in the box' to a very conservative NO priest who knew I was a Trad and encouraged me. He always recognised my voice and absolved me in Latin. He passed a little over two years ago. I miss him. He was my director as well as my confessor. Please say a prayer for the soul of Father Matt Horvat, R+I+P.