Posted on 03/12/2015 2:19:00 PM PDT by NYer
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis is inviting every parish around the world to open its doors for 24 hours this Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, so that the faithful might encounter Jesus Christ anew in the Sacrament of Confession and Eucharistic Adoration.
The Lenten initiative, organized by the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, is called “24 Hours for the Lord.” It is intended also to be a time of reflection and prayer, an opportunity to speak with a priest, and a chance to rediscover — or perhaps discover for the first time — the great mercy at the heart of the Catholic Faith.
The theme chosen for this year’s initiative, in fact, is “God is rich in mercy” (Eph 2:4).
Dioceses, parishes and communities around the world are invited to adapt the initiative to their local situations and needs. A poster of the event can be downloaded for distribution at www.novaevangelizatio.va.
Pope Francis will open the initiative on March 13 in St. Peter’s Basilica, the second anniversary of his election. He is expected to repeat what he did at last year’s opening, when he surprised the world by publicly going to confession. The Holy Father then spent approximately 40 minutes hearing confessions in the basilica.
Afterwards, several churches in key locations throughout Rome will remain open for 24 hours, with confessors available and Eucharistic Adoration.
Pope Francis spoke of the initiative in his 2015 Message for Lent. “As individuals, we are tempted by indifference,” he wrote. “Flooded with news reports and troubling images of human suffering, we often feel our complete inability to help. What can we do to avoid being caught up in this spiral of distress and powerlessness?
“First, we can pray in communion with the Church on earth and in heaven,” the Pope said. “Let us not underestimate the power of so many voices united in prayer! The 24 Hours for the Lord initiative, which I hope will be observed on March 13-14 throughout the Church, also at the diocesan level, is meant to be a sign of this need for prayer.”
Asked how the faithful around the world can best become involved, the pontifical council’s president, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, told the National Catholic Register last month that the success of the event depends on how much "we priests are convinced about the good of the initiative” because to open churches for such a period of time “is a challenge everywhere.”
“This is not just a problem of security, not just a problem of overcoming difficulties we encounter. This is a challenge of understanding how we can, for 24 hours, become a concrete sign of mercy and welcome people into our churches,” he said.
The initiative will try to repeat the success of last year in Rome. Well-catechized and committed Catholics, many of whom were young people, stood outside churches and invited passers-by to enter. Archbishop Fisichella said Santa Maria in Trastevere was full of young people coming to confession, even at two in the morning.
Ping!
My diocese has at least confessions being done on Monday evenings.
God Bless the priests and young people involved in inviting Catholics to make use of the sacrament of confession.
First Confession Guide for Adults [Catholic/Orthodox Caucus]
Examination of Conscience
Examination of Conscience
A Guide for Confession
Why Go to Confession? (Part 1) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte
Why Go to Confession? (Part 2) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte
How To Make a Good Confession (especially if you haven't gone in years)
Why Go to Confession? (Part 3) - Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Bruno Forte
Pulling Sin up by the Roots: The Need for Mortification
Reasons for Confession [Sacrament of Reconciliation]
Cardinal Stafford's Homily at Penitential Liturgy With an Examination of Conscience
How to Go to Confession
Fr. Z’s 20 Tips For Making A Good Confession
Learning to Confess
Well, I hesitate to criticize this, but who’s going to go to Confession at 3, 4, or 5 o’clock in the morning? The Priest would be waiting there for hours, with nobody there.
Even when he does something right, Pope Francis seems unable to resist being a showman.
Wouldn’t it be more to the point to ask every parish priest to offer regular confessions, weekly or by appointment, and to preach to the congregation about the importance of confession, at least briefly, fairly often.
And by all means, let’s use the word “confession.”
Signed....you know who....
You make good points, and furthermore, if one really wants to make a push for this, why not plan it a little farther ahead of time?
I always get the e and i mixed up...darn...
I learn something new every day!
When did the Catholic Church begin strictly scheduling “confession” ?
(I’m not Catholic, nor am I bashing it, I ask to cure my ignorance)
Well, different parishes may have different practices. But I think ours is fairly typical. Confession is scheduled Wednesday 6-6:45 or by appointment, and Saturday 3-3:45.
All the parishes I’ve belonged to have had something like this.
The catch is that you have to understand the need to go to confession if you are in a state of mortal sin, and at a minimum once a year.
Thank you for your reply.
I had false assumptions, regarding the nature of Catholic confessionals.I thought is was more a 24/7 type spiritual opportunity.
Very positive!
There were a few churches in NYC that offered 24 hour confessions when I was growing up there in the 50s and 60s, and in fact, the Franciscans on 33rd St offered that until a few years ago. I think the collapse of the Franciscan order after VII, some bad provincials and AIDS (the Jesuits were the leaders in AIDS, but the Franciscans were second in line) and the resulting lack of vocations simply left them without enough priests to carry on.
But back before the introduction of the Novus Ordo, even for some years after VII, there were always people waiting for confession at 2:00 a.m., sometimes even lined up. In between, the priest would pray or read his Breviary (or probably the racing form, in some cases!). The duty rotated, and one priest I knew told me he liked it because you really got people who needed to go to confession and you felt you made a difference.
I think offering 24 hour confessions at least once a year would be excellent, for both priest and penitent. People wouldn’t have to go in their parish, but could drive or walk around and go anywhere, with nobody seeing them and nobody knowing. And the priest might learn a few things and start taking confession seriously.
A parish where they have confessions for one half-hour a week - which is the majority of parishes - does not take it seriously.
It used to be a 24/7 thing in certain parishes, mostly downtown parishes with a lot of pedestrian traffic at night, although you could always go to confession at any parish by ringing the bell and a priest would come down to hear your confession (anonymously).
After Vatican II, it became much more limited, especially after the introduction of the Novus Ordo (the new mass), for some reason.
Depending on the bishop, it’s still very limited. That’s something that should change, but they also have to teach priests how to hear confessions again, since many of the middle aged generation (after VII but before Benedict XVI) are seriously not good at it. They forget about this whole thing with God and Our Lord Jesus Christ and think they’re social workers or psychiatrists.
Nah. Nobody goes to confession for that.
Our parish offers confession 8:00-8:30 am weekdays, before the daily weekday mass, and Saturday 3:30-4:30 on, before the afternoon mass. If you have some particular issue, you can make a private appointment. And during Lent, there’s a campaign in which every Catholic parish in our archdiocese offers confession on Wednesday evenings. So yes, there is a regular schedule, but there is also flexibility for individual circumstances.
I believe you may be referring to the Church of St. Francis of Assisi on w. 31st Street in NYC. The Franciscans have always gone out to meet the sinners on the byways and highways. In the Capital District, a small community of Franciscans maintain St. Francis Chapel, which is located in a strip mall, wedged between CiCi's Pizza and a discount clothing store. Sponsored by the Holy Name Province of the Order Friars Minor, it began in the Northway Mall in Colonie, New York, on December 28, 1970. When the mall closed, it relocated to the Wolf Road Shopper's Park in Colonie. According to the St. Francis Chapel Mission Statement, its purpose is to continue the tradition of St. Francis of Assisi who preached in the marketplace.
The chapel offers 4 daily masses. Il is open from 9am to 7:30pm and is staffed by five Franciscan priests. The Sacrament of Confession is available throughout the day, most of the time when Masses are not taking place.
A healthy religious order can pull this (24 hour confessions) off, and the order, coupled with a large city, can make sense of such a project, even unto perpetuity. Asking that all parishes do it, even for 24 hours, is something else altogether. I am in a small town (1200 or so people) still blessed with two parishes and four priests. However, three of the priests are in their 70’s and in varying degrees of declining health (one does almost nothing publically anymore), and undertaking 24 hours of confession here (especially for both parishes) seems an undo burden with little upside. The Sacrament certainly is available frequently and encouraged.
Asking for something more realistic, like an additional four hours, might get more of a response, though less of a headline.
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