Saturday, August 13, 2011

Rebuilding a Culture of Confession


And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 20:23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." -John 20: 22-23


"My hearer, thou to whom my discourse is addressed, thou who today art come hither in remembrance of Him to partake of a holy feast, the Lord's Supper-today thou didst go first to confession before coming to the altar." -Søren Kierkegaard, Training in Christianity

I was deeply struck by this excerpt from a sermon delivered by Kierkegaard. It shows that even the Protestants once had an awareness of the need for confession. It was not sacramental in the Catholic sense, of course, but it is remarkable that they also believed in the necessity of being purified before receiving communion.

This is something that unfortunately, many Catholics need to hear today, as Confession has, in many respects, fallen by the wayside. Once an essential component in the weekly and monthly life of a Catholic, Confession has become a total mystery, something unnecessary and to be avoided for far too many of the faithful. A priest friend related to me that, at his parish here in St. Louis, only thirty minutes are allotted for Confession per week on Saturday afternoon. I was also told that, in his thirty years of priesthood, this is the first time ever that he has been in the confessional and, at times, no one will come for the Sacrament. This is a serious problem, and one that is not at all isolated to this particular parish. I have noticed that there are far too many parishes that do not properly encourage the reception of this most important Sacrament of Penance. If the pastors do not convey this to their flock by a combination of a failure to preach and to avail themselves, how are everyday Catholics supposed to appreciate the need for the great gift of sacramental absolution?

Contrary to this common practice of limiting the Sacrament of Penance to thirty minutes a week is the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis. Everyday during the week, after the 7:00am Mass, confessions are heard until the line is gone. The weekend also gives ample time for Confession. I have noticed that there is almost always a line of people waiting to confess, even with the generous availability of the Sacrament. This demonstrates that, if Confession is offered frequently, people will go. One doesn't have to rely on a once a week, thirty-minute window, or on "Calling to schedule an appointment." Sadly, the norm is not the practice of the Cathedral-Basilica.

Priests who have neglected to properly avail themselves for Confession, and to catechize the faithful about the need for this Sacrament will have to answer to God for the disservice that has been done over the past several decades.

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