Fathers…
Is this going on where you are?
This is from a friend, who sent it from a priest:
The church was packed for confessions this afternoon, and they were some of the best I’ve ever heard. The devotion and reverence during the distribution of Holy Communion was palpable. I could see a new boldness and fervor in the eyes of the faithful as I greeted them after Mass, and their comments confirmed as much. Things are falling apart and yet God’s people are becoming more and more rock solid. Something is happening, folks…
The saints we so desperately need are on their way. Buckle up.
This was so encouraging that I had to post it.
I wonder what the secondary effect of The Present Crisis will be. Will it turn out to be the primary effect?
GO TO CONFESSION!
Today I wrote to a friend that I thought it entirely possible that God will raise up certain saints who will help us in this period to sort our ecclesial problems.
It has happened before. There is no reason to think that it won’t happen now.
However… we have to do our part and GO TO CONFESSION, MAKE REPARATION and PRAY FOR INTERCESSION.
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Our parish was sparsely attended last Sunday. Attendance does tend to be less in the summer, but usually it has picked back up somewhat by the time school started. School started two weeks ago, but… still sparse.
I started the First Friday devotion last month. The devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus in reparation. At the time, I wasn’t even sure why — I just knew that I felt the nudge of the Holy Spirit to commit to it. So the first Friday in August, I went to Mass. Here it is, September already, and I admit I am so angry at the corruption and scandal revealed in this past month that I don’t feel motivated to go out of my way to go to Mass this coming Friday…. but again, that nudging that says go.
I do need to go to confession soon. Thanks for the reminder, Father.
(PS — I’m a convert and never knew anything about First Fridays or First Saturdays devotions until after I’d been Catholic for a decade. There’s so much I was never taught!)
I pray for uptick in my area. I haven’t seen it yet. But I’m hopeful.
I’m a priest and I recently went to confession in the only parish in our metropolitan area that has daily confessions. On the vigil before the Dormition Of Our Lady when I went to confession (which was a weekday during lunch hour) I counted over 30 people! Thanks be to God. Some women even were veiled. Regularly the faithful are starting to even show up 30 minutes early because there are so many penitents. Their faith and piety inspire me to be a better priest and struggle for virtue.
Took one of my kiddos with me to confession last Saturday, spurred by the desire to get in fighting shape for the spiritual battle ahead. I’d really slacked off my confession game during the summer but after reading wall-to-wall coverage of the catastrophe I knew the time for laziness was over. I’ve been adding fasting whenever I can, and saying the full prayer to St. Michael as found on the Laudate app.
I have been saddened and disappointed and sometimes angered by the response of many bishops and episcopal conferences to the abuse crisis. I am happy to say though that the response of my own bishop was not one of the ones that disappointed.
A few weeks ago I attended a mass where he was preaching. He did not avoid the issue but confronted it directly. In it he expressed his own grief and anger that something had happened that should never have happened in the first place. He comment that clearly the “policies and procedures” that were implemented were not adequate to addressing the problem and that, while it is necessary to review those policies and procedures and to revise them where necessary, policies and procedures will never be enough to deal with this issues. What is needed is not more or better policies and procedures, better compliance with policies and procedures or better enforcement of policies and procedures. While all those things may be necessary, they are insufficient. They will result only in cleaning the outside of the cup. We need to clean the inside of the cup as well. What is needed is repentance and much greater holiness, greater holiness among all the people of God, laity and clergy and at all levels of hierarchy. And he called on us, all of us seek and strive after holiness.
Hopefully that will be followed up with concrete plans for helping people achieve that.
This is most certainly not the case in my parishes.
I can only speak for myself, but I took advantage of the visiting priest filling in for our priest and made a good thorough confession after having fallen into routine week after week and no longer having a confessor who actually took a vested interest in the state of my soul and instead just gives the same “be sorry for your sins and pray more” for counsel. I know people say the confessional is not for spiritual direction, but giving counsel to help someone overcome sins is not the same as spiritual direction. Sometimes it seems like traditional Catholics fall to to extreme, “just give me Absolution and I’ll be on my way”. We need to actually amend our lives and it helps to have a confessor who can give practical advice on actually doing so, give you a little pep talk to keep up the fight, give you Absolution and send you on your merry way.
It may be that the response depends on what the faithful have been called upon to do. In my Northwest coast diocese we have only heard the usual four part dirge; sorrow, minors, new policies, better reporting. Nothing to fix the gaze on, keep on trucking towards Gomorrah. No wonder people in the pews are sleepwalking.
People want to be heros, want to be called to a noble cause, want to be saints. We want to hear that this is a death defying struggle against the evil in our hearts and families and community. We want to be told to wield our rosaries and never never never give up.
Call me, Lord, I will follow
Fr. Michael Gaitley, in his book the “Second Greatest Story Ever Told” mentions that St. Maximilian Kolbe spread marian consecration in an extraordinary way in Poland right before the Church went through tremendous trials. He quotes someone as saying that Mary was preparing Poland herself for them.
Fr. Gaitley’s own marian consecration campaign has been the second greatest in history (millions of people have done it), and it started in 2011… Mary has been preparing the US for something very big, perhaps this is the beginning of it. From where I am in Europe, it seems likely that aside a miracle, the US is heading towards some kind of mini-dark ages.
If you haven’t considered doing a marian consecration please do. It’s probably one of the most powerful things you can do for your spiritual life. It really does make an incredible difference.
Hmmm. We attend TLM. And I have noticed more and more visitors. I assume people tired of the vapid nonsense.
This Saturday me and a couple of the kids went to the local NO parish for confession. Our usual church has hours long lines for the confessional, the NO is like a drive through, no waiting, ever. This Saturday though there was a line. I have never had more than 2 people in front of me at this NO parish, ever. Perhaps the vile evil is bringing people to examine their faith more deeply. Please remember to give thanks to He that can bring good even out of this mess
“(PS — I’m a convert and never knew anything about First Fridays or First Saturdays devotions until after I’d been Catholic for a decade. There’s so much I was never taught!)”
Ditto! And therefore neither were my children or, for the most part, neither are my grandchildren. And I am spitting angry about it.
It’s Viganò.
He has given hope to millions. It’s providential that his name is chantable.
Not a priest, but when became aware of the current crisis realized I needed to do something besides feeling embittered.
I’ve started daily fasting between the hours of 8:00 pm and 12:00 pm the following day (I work a grave shift) in reparation for my sins and those of my Church. I’ve also fired up my LOTH app and have returned to morning prayer.
Probably most important, today I attended Mass for the first time in a few years, and I’ve arranged with my priest to attend Confession this week.
I can’t explain it, but I know that this crisis is having the same positive effects on many others. It’s as if in facing our Church’s failings, we begin to face our own and offer up repentance.
God be with us all
I had to go home to Wyoming this past weekend. I attended Mass at Our Lady of Peace in Pinedale. The priest who celebrated the Mass was a visiting Monsignor from Chicago who is associated with the “Food for the Poor” concentrating their efforts in central and south america. He was there for a fund raising effort. He began his homily by giving a explanation about his mission and also bringing to light the efforts of the Catholic Extension Society (which has contributed to Our Lady of Peace and St. Anne’s, the two parishes in that part of Wyoming, which are still considered mission territory).
Midway through his homily, he abruptly began to ask for forgiveness for all the cardinals, bishops, priests and deacons who had participated in the abuse situation now rearing its ugly head again. He finished his homily by asking for contributions.
At the end of Mass, the deacon did his routine announcements of upcoming events such as the annual Wyoming Catholic Women’s Conference to be held in Buffalo, the topic being the crisis of human trafficking in the state, a rummage sale to help fund the new church, the request of a parishioner for the return of a dutch oven with a glass lid and a red potholder that had gone missing at the annual potluck barbecue celebrating the first Mass (Pierre Jean DeSmet SJ, 1841, when Jesuits were Jesuits) said in what is now the state of Wyoming. He then announced that he had a letter from the current Bishop of Wyoming, Bishop Steven Biegler, The letter was to announce a third credible accusation of sexual child abuse against a previous bishop, Joseph Hart. He read the letter clearly, loudly, and without any apparent reluctance. He then asked a woman, obviously a native Spanish speaker, to read the Spanish version. I do not speak Spanish, but I will tell you she did a amazing job under the circumstances. As she neared the end of the Bishop’s letter, she began to cry. She regained her composure, and finished the letter, then turned and genuflected to the tabernacle.
As I was leaving the Church, the Monsignor and Deacon were greeting the people as we left. I grasped the Deacon’s hand, held it firmly, looked him straight in the eyes, and thanked him for his vocation.
Our Lady of Peace, pray for us.
What makes a confession one that is “good to hear”, as opposed to others which are implied not to be?