Here's a genuine question for any practising Catholics out there - do you go to Confession? And if not, why not?
It is a well known from observation of Confessional queues in parishes that in recent generations there has been a steep decline in the practice of Confession; such that it must be concluded many Catholics regularly attending Mass are rarely, if ever, participating in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Given the centrality of Confession to the Catholic system of spirituality, this should be of great concern to anyone interested in the well-being of souls.
To that end, I would like to recruit the help of anyone interested in getting to the bottom of this problem: why are Catholics not going to confession?
Why Should I go to Confession? (Standard PDF)
Why Should I go to Confession (Printable PDF Booklet)
If you are a believing Catholic who has lapsed from going to Confession, can I encourage you to simply read it through - it will take you about 20 minutes? If, after having read it, you still decide that you are not going to make Confession a part of your life, can I encourage you to write to me at the address in the booklet, or leave a comment on this Blog, simply explaining your reasons why?
As a priest, the ministry of reconciling sinners to God is at the very heart of my raison d'être and if the faithful are not coming forward to access this important means of Grace, then I believe I have a responsibility to try and understand why.
Any who wants to get in touch is free to do so anonymously, and I promise neither to judge you, nor try and persuade you to change your mind. However, by sharing, you will be helping a priest of the Church to better fulfil his role in ministering to the People of God.
To anyone who is already fruitfully experiencing the Sacrament of Mercy, may I invite you to share this booklet with any Catholics you may know who are 'missing out', and invite them to consider why they are not receiving this Sacrament - and, indeed, whether perhaps they should.
As Fulton Sheen so powerfully put it: "if you do not live what you believe, you will end up believing what you live." I fear that for so many children of the Church the reason for not receiving the profound Graces available in the Sacrament of Reconciliation may simply be 'drift'. Let's invite them to think again, and make an intentional choice for their lives, such that whether they go to Confession, or not, they will have thought it through, prayed it through, and made an informed decision of conscience that they will be comfortable defending before Our Lord on the last day!
Image: Giuseppe Molteni, Confession, 1838, Cariplo Collection. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Artgate_Fondazione_Cariplo_-_Molteni_Giuseppe,_La_confessione.jpg
I had written a reply when I first read this to explain my reasons. There were quite a few of them. But I couldn’t escape the feeling that they were excuses rather than reasons, and reading the booklet only increased that discomfort. So I didn’t send it. Instead, after 12 years I went. I left a lot of things at the foot of the cross. Thank you very much for the encouragement.
ReplyDeleteLike many people, I thought that I could go directly to God as, after all, it is God who forgives. Why do I need to spill all the beans, especially the embarrassing and awkward beans, to a priest? But I think there is too much emphasis on forgiveness when we talk about the sacrament and not enough on confession as a healing experience. There is healing in verbalising it, and hearing the words of absolution, being assured it’s been let go of. We can then be healed more and more as we make it a regular part of our spiritual lives. That accountability is good, especially because it comes with an abundance of grace.
Dear Father Peter, I am replying as per your request at mass in Borough Green last weekend. I would like to go to confession regularly, but the opportunities in our parish seem to be limited to two half hour slots on a Saturday in Sevenoaks, which I can’t make. You might say that I could phone the presbytery and make an appointment for confession, but that just feels awkward. Or you might say that you will hear my confession before or after mass, but the priest often gets waylaid at these times and also I don’t want to go to confession with my two young children listening in. When I lived in London, I found the advertised slots at various parishes hit and miss. I wonder whether the priest would peep out of the sacristy right at the beginning of the allocated time and disappear if he didn’t see anybody within 30 seconds. My preference was to go to Westminster Cathedral when I knew I wouldn’t have a wasted journey. Please advise! Thank you!
ReplyDelete