Posted on 03/25/2007 12:52:43 PM PDT by NYer
"Bless me Father, for I have sinned."
The words which usually serve as the opening to confession, a sacrament in the Catholic Church, are being heard more by local priests these days. The reason - confession seems to be making a comeback.
Although fewer people sought absolution in the post-Vatican II era, it appears as though confession, also known as the Sacrament of Penance or Reconciliation, is on the rise in the Diocese of San Bernardino.
The Sacrament of Penance allows Catholics to confess their sins to a priest through a screen in a small closed confessional, under cover of darkness. They were then granted absolution from the priest.
But some things about confession have changed. The pitch-dark stalls of the confessional are mostly a thing of the past. Today, some confessionals have windows and many seeking confession face their priests.
Not all confessions are private anymore, either. Some of the devout partake in communal penance services.
The Rev. Michael Manning, pastor of St. Anthony's Church in San Bernardino, said he has seen the numbers rising at weekly confession services every Saturday and for seasonal penance services.
"Now what we're offering before Christmas and Easter is a communal confession time," Manning said. "We have several priests there, and we share a reflection on Scripture, then people will share one or two of their sins."
Highland resident Donna Rice, who is a practicing Catholic, said she prefers the penance services to whispering in the confessional.
"Speaking for myself, going to confession helps," said Rice, 56. "It's a good thing, to be reconciled back into the community, to hear from a priest, `Yes, you are forgiven.' Some people need permission to forgive themselves."
It isn't just older Catholics who are coming to confession, either. It's a good mix of young and old alike, Manning said.
"I think what's going on is we're living in a world that has become much more sensitive to our spiritual life and afterlife," he said. "The whole challenge of the afterlife is very strong in movies and television, and I think the media is simply mirroring the concerns of people these days. People are realizing they need more.
"There's an awareness of fragility of our own lives, with the war and the accounts of so many people who are dying. The security we once had we don't have any more with the gangs, violence and the war."
Rice agreed and said events such as Sept. 11, 2001, the war in Iraq and the sexual abuse that occurred within the church, may be driving people back to confession.
"I think people are just looking for answers as to why these things are going on," she said.
Michael Houran, a professor of religious education and pastoral theology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said a communal service could be socially appealing.
"Nationally, there has been much written about Catholics' interest in a form of reconciliation that allows them to publicly celebrate their desire to be forgiven of their sinfulness," Houran said.
"This seems to me to be a positive trend because it recognizes that our sinfulness has social consequences. Therefore, why wouldn't you want to celebrate forgiveness in fairly large social context rather than only one-on-one with a priest?"
In the Diocese of San Bernardino, the 10th-largest diocese in the country, church officials say confession is on the rise.
In Hesperia, at least one church had been taking two hours for confession, and a penance service in Rancho Cucamonga this week served more than 1,000 people, officials said.
"The Catholic Church has always treasured the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation," said the Rev. Howard Lincoln, spokesman for the San Bernardino Diocese, which encompasses San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
"And confession is increasing in our diocese."
Lincoln attributed the rise partly to the diocese's already large population. Catholics number more than 2.1 million in both counties.
Another reason is that the diocese is growing and there is a major influx of new residents from ethnic backgrounds that tend to be Roman Catholic.
Post-Vatican II, Catholics began to neglect the practice of confession. A 1980 University of Notre Dame study showed that 26 percent of active Catholics never attended confession.
The Rev. David Fitzgerald, pastor of Our Lady of Assumption in San Bernardino, said he too, has noticed confession making a comeback.
"There's no arguing that it was on the decline, but probably in the last five years, it's definitely making a big comeback," Fitzgerald said. "I encourage people to go to confession not just for renewal, but because it plays a role in their overall psychological and spiritual health and helps people live more balanced lives."
Two years ago, Our Lady of Assumption Church remodeled its confessionals, putting in windows to bring in natural light and widening the doors to make it more accessible for the disabled.
After the remodel, the number of confessions increased so much that the time for Fitzgerald to hear confessions jumped from 30 minutes to three hours.
"I am never, ever sitting in the confessional waiting for someone to come in," he said.
Your post is an excellent example of why we need priests. Without priests, we would have no Eucharist and no Confession! To fuly grasp the significance of that statement, read this:
Example of Japanese Catholics who had no Priests for 200 years
I believe the "bliss" - I see it being hauled to detox centers and laying in the gutter passed out on a daily basis.
As to those who do not know how to hold their liquor, the detox center serves them right and well, for everything takes skill in which they are damnably lacking. The skill includes, inter alia, knowing when to pause. There are even commandments on how to do it:
Thou shalt not mix; what you started with, continue with;
Thou shalt eat - before, during and after; and
Thou shalt observe the clouds and regard the seasons, for no sprinter has finished a marathon. Regulate the timing of your intake, for there is a time for every thing under the sun, and that necessarily includes the next drink.
"THE author"? Both were pretty cool guys.
In your "plagiarism" message # 28 you quoted "because to laugh is human" - which was properly attribited by me to Rabelais, and thus not plagiarized in any way, form or fashion. More, my reply to your # 28 was dealing with that very quote and its author. Thus the charge can not stand. When you are dealing with the previous quote, then, as it was done from memory, I could not have properly used quotation marks on the imprecise text; more, I attributed the text as not mine immediately afterwards and without prodding. Thus it does not qualify as the plagiarism either.
I was commenting on BOTH your statements. You adduced the Rabelais to explain your bringing mocking cynicism to the discussion. I commented on the Rabelais to distinguish between human laughter simpliciter and mockery. Then I commented on the one you made earlier, which you described -- NOT immediately but, rather, after some challenges -- as coming from either Menken or Bierce.
(But I must say, I'm glad you set me straight! I appreciate Rabelais but was wondering how anyone would attribute massive learning to either Menken or Bierce. Great wit, yes, but massive learning? )
I guess I made the mistake of thinking that it was clear that I wasn't criticizing the Rabelais because, well, who can deny the truth your attributed quote? And, as you say it was clearly not plagiarized, so why would I describe it as such?
Further, I can't imagine any relationship between slow progress and the Rabelais quote, while the frustratingly slow process of developing virtuous habits is not unlike the movement of an hour hand -- only slower. I'll grant that I could have been clearer about which quote I was referring to. You came looking to start a fight, clearly. I hope I have given some satisfaction.
"K, what is the frequency in the Orthodox Church?"
It depends on the jurisdiction and even the parish. Some "rules" say four times a year, others once a year. Some jurisdictions require confession before every communion. The frequency rate I would say runs from never (a lot of people, especially older cradle Orthodox types among the Greeks at least) to once a month or so. Converts and younger folks seem more faithful to the sacrament. You should know that Orthodoxy makes no distinction between mortal and venial sins as such.
I figure I can go about 2 weeks before I start messing up even more than usual. This once or twice a year isn't getting it for me.
"This once or twice a year isn't getting it for me."
We probably all ought to do what the Slavs do...confession before every communion, and they enforce it too.
But I'm sure others are less habituated to vice than I.
Heigh Ho, another week approaches.
We have communal penance services all over the Milwaukee Diocese, but they always end with individual confessions.
Our pastor brings in 6-8 priests (sometimes the Archbishop comes) and everybody present offers an individual and private confession to any priest there. And it's not one or two sins, either.
It's quite moving, and I love it. My husband and I are going this coming Wednesday to a neighboring parish because we missed ours last week.
As a general proposition, we Orthodox are really, really great sinners (well, not so much the converts...they tend to be pretty holy). We are lucky God is so understanding! :)
The first year the Archbishop came to our parish to hear confessions,a long line formed in front of his station. someofthem were sorry, though because he talked to an elderly lady who was first in line for almost 20 minutes. She was a tiny little thing, and the Abp (a big man) had his hand on her shoulder and his head leaning over her all that time. I think she was even tinier by the time they were through. I was in the next line and quite far back. I was nearly to the front of my line before they were through.
You're right about this article. If more Catholics are returning to Confession that is, indeed, a good thing. But communal penance services that offer general absolution give people an excuse to avoid receiving the real Sacrament of Penance. These kinds of services are an abuse. But, there is a legitimate form of the communal penance service that does not give people general absolution but that gives them the opportunity for individual confession and absolution. This kind of service is a good thing. It's too bad the article confused the two.
We had over 150 people at our Lenten Penance Service. Not bad for a small church! Seven priests!
**but they always end with individual confessions**
That's the way it's supposed to be!
Communal confessions are illicit.
Ambrose Bierce.... hmm...
A cuckold with two sons... one died of alcoholism, the other was shot in an ill-considered duel. He, himself, disappeared while touring Mexico.
That's someone to take spiritual wisdom from /s
Mencken... social Darwinist and radical leftist...
But then something happened: the bitter nihilist scorned Arkansas as a state of Booboisie. (Note the Marxism.) The state responded by praying for his soul in 1931: ""The Holy Spirit informed and inspired me," Mencken said. "Like all other infidels, I am superstitious and always follow hunches: this one seemed to be a superb one.""
With God's grace may the path you choose be far closer to Mencken, GSlob...
Not a penny.
How's that workin' for ya?
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