I Confess!

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).


Admit it! You feel better when you go to confession.

I do.

In the last 20 years there has been a strong resurgence in catechesis on the Eucharist leading to much Eucharistic adoration and returning many to the practice of attending daily Mass - something that was once much more common. Marian devotion has also been on the rise - gloriously so.

But for many Catholics - and I have been one of them - the practice of regular or frequent confession has not been common. Many times I would think “I’ll get to it later.” Or Saturday would come and by the time I noticed the time - it was too late for me to make it to the set hour confessions were being heard.

What I didn’t really make a plan to do, I never really did much.

Many priests I have talked to have told me that this is something that they have noticed and it has bothered them. Many of them, being troubled by how few are coming during the set hour most parishes have, decided it was time to reconsider how this important source of grace and healing is presented. Many have expanded the hours they are heard, to include weekday - sometimes even daily - times for confession. More than a few parishes have montly times when multiple priests are brought in to aid in the administering of this important mystery.

And for good reason. See: Benefits of Frequent Confession

Take a gander at some of these articles, and see why this is something we might need to reconsider in our own lives.

The YouTube.com clip is the latest installment of That Catholic Show. I have linked to it before… If you haven’t watched any of them, take a few minutes. They are fun, funny, and informative. The presentation of the material in each episode is pretty well done, and at the end of each episode they include some of the out-takes. They look like they are really enjoying themselves while doing this!


Confession and Growth in Chastity

Some Difficulties in the Practice of Frequent Confession and Communion: Two Instructions Given in a Retreat

This entry was posted on September 10, 2007 at 6:01 pm and is filed under Confession, Education, Growth, Sacraments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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