Posted on 03/24/2011 10:23:25 AM PDT by Mary Kochan
What about the 75% of American Catholics who, according to polls, receive the sacrament of penance less than once a year or never? Escapists perhaps?
This year as in other recent Lents, dioceses and parishes across the country are making a push to get Catholics back to this neglected sacrament. I wish them much success. The flight from sacramental penance has been one of the genuine disasters of contemporary Catholic life.
What explains it? Many things undoubtedly combine to play a part: an often-cited loss of the sense of sin, fatuous presumption that God approves of me no matter what, shame at the prospect of confessing one’s sins after a long time (give it a try: it won’t hurt). But part of it, I feel certain, has to do with contraception.
It works this way.
(Excerpt) Read more at catholiclane.com ...
Unbridled population expansions have led to wars including the two recent wars in the past. Somewhere between that and what we’re experiencing now is some sort of a happy medium...
It would be helpful if the Catholics actually understood what the word “contraception” means.
I can think of two reasons.
One, they confess their sins directly to God when they pray and ask for forgiveness.
Two, perhaps there is a lack of trust in the priests currently at their church.
I can ask God for forgiveness without a 3rd party.
I agree with SAM.
I’ve never found any compelling need to confess my sins to a priest. If God is to forgive me, then that’s between Him and me.
Is there a biblical justification for confessing to a priest vs in prayer?
Could you make this a caucus thread? I can see this going off the rails even more quickly with non-Catholics involved.
I agree with your assessment, asking God directly for forgiveness and the scandals in the church makes it a bit difficult to ask a priest for forgiveness.
I do not think it has to do with contraception
Were this observation correct, it would be a wonderful development of conscience regarding contraception. Nevertheless the impact of 'Nouvelle Theologie' and modernism in general has resulted in the widespread assumption that we're all saved, so why bother with confession! One of Hans Urs von Balthasar's books was titled "Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved?."
If the scheduled confession time is an hour a week before the vigil Mass for a parish of more than 1500 families, what message does that send to the laity about the importance of confession?
Freegards
The Bible says that we are to “confess our faults to one another” but it’s not as strict a command as opposed to confession to God directly. The idea of a priest hearing a confession I think gets to that notion of “confessing to one another” in a safe psychological way since in practice, confessions in an open group fashion have a way sometimes of back firing on the confessor. Some confessions of personal sin and fault may involve such sensitive issues that it is best for only a priest, pastor and perhaps a few wise trusted deacons to hear the issues at the time. Many pastors and priests have had advanced training in psychological counscelling which can be useful in detecting mental health issues as well.
It needn’t be a priest but it is wise to find someone in your church to talk to and pray with you since it does reinforce accountability and ones resolve to repent and leave a sinful matter or habit behind in obedience to God.
Oh relax, I’m not Catholic but I see great utility in the priest confessional system the Catholics use...churches “on the other side” should adopt it. As for contraception, I have great sympathy for arguements against it.
Think its off...
I think the biggest issue is simply time.
Most curches have pennance at off times and hours, when people who are busy with their jobs and other items cannot make it.
Obviously, yes anyone can change priorities and make something work, but if your goal is to maximize the number of folks involved in it, you have to make in convient to them.
100 years ago, everyone lived in walking distance to church. Kids weren’t involved in all sorts of organized activities that required trips away from the home in evenings and weekends... they played with their buddies in the neighborhoods and had pick up ball at the park.. etc etc etc.. they didn’t have to go to tutoring on weeknights because the schools actually educated them so they didn’t have to go somewhere else to actually learn.. etc etc etc.
Best way to up its use is to offer it around times when people are already going to be at the church, Sundays after or before services etc. And certainly reminding folks from the pulpit (marketing) won’t hurt either.
I have never in my life walked into a confessional feeling conflicted about the use of birth control, or at least not to a point where I wouldn’t go to the sacrement over it, nor have I ever heard any other Catholic ever espouse that as a reason or excuse.
That presumes that the priest to whom one is confessing is directly involved with or responsible for the scandals in the Church. Rather a harsh condemnation of a probably innocent man, isn't it? The priest is not representing himself or his parish; he is not even standing in for the Church, which has guilt and problems as any human institution does. He is standing in for Christ.
Non-Catholics sometimes don't realize that the priest also often has helpful suggestions in getting over a sin, avoiding it in the future, and devising a really good penance for it. Confession really is good for the soul.
“Is there a biblical justification for confessing to a priest vs in prayer?”
Well, there is a verse that tells us to confess our sins to each other, and verses that gave the apostles power to forgive sins, but nothing that explicitly spells out the Catholic practice.
“Could you make this a caucus thread?”
Why not just re-post it as a caucus thread yourself, and leave this one open?
“One of Hans Urs von Balthasar’s books was titled “Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved?.””
What’s wrong with that hope? God hopes for the same thing, doesn’t He?
I think it has more to do with complacency— people thinking God would never punish them and that God will forgive without them confessing to a priest.
I would love to make it a caucus thread, but I don’t know how to do that. When I go to post, I don’t see any link for the Catholic caucus. Advise, please.
RM, see #19.
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