The Parish™
6 July 2023
4 April 2024
This beautiful sunny yet cool Roman day started by the sun’s rising at 06:45 and it will end at 19:42.
The Ave Maria (which you know all about now) is at 20:00
It is the feast of St. Isidore, Bishop and Doctor as well as that of St. Francisco Marto (+1919) the apparition seer of Fatima.
I will say Holy Mass today for my Roman Sojourn donors.
Also, thank you to ML for shifting from “Continue” to Zelle. And a huge thanks to
I had a note from a priest friend who has people help to keep stats on certain feasts. He wrote that they heard 2100+ confessions during Passiontide, 727 confessions in 10 hrs on Good Friday, and 1,400+ on the Easter vigil.
Fathers! If you have a parish, and you are not preaching about morals, sin and the Sacrament of Penance, if you are not scheduling reasonable, accessible, adequate hours for confessions – which will increase when people know and trust that you will be hearing – then you are probably going to go to Hell.
That said, here’s a lovely little vehicle, a Fiat 500L, probably late 60’s with a roaring 18HP!
On the way home from shopping, down the wonderful V. dei Cappellari.
Please remember me when shopping online and use my affiliate links. US HERE – UK HERE WHY? This helps to pay for health insurance (massively hiked for this new year of surprises), utilities, groceries, etc.. At no extra cost, you provide help for which I am grateful.
Meanwhile, black to move and mate in 3.
NB: I’ll hold comments with solutions ’till the next day so there won’t be “spoilers” for others.
CLICK!I am now a chess.com affiliate. So, click and join! Maybe we can build a fun and active Catholic Chess Club within Chess.com.
In chessy news, TODAY beginneth the Candidates Tournament in Toronto! This is an eight-player double round-robin clash. Eight grandmasters (including one whom I hope loses in with significant defeats) will compete to play against present World Champ Ding Liren, who defeated Ian Nepomniachtchi when Magnus wouldn’t defend his title. This should be good watchin’!
My prediction: Fabiano Caruana will prevail. It’s either he or Hikaru Nakamura. Nepo is not to be ruled out as a spoiler, but the way Fabiano has been playing, and Hikaru… whew.
Ceterum censeo Alirezam delendum esse.
Give the sisters some attention!
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1. … Qxh2+
2. Kxh2 Rh5+
3. Rh3 Rxh3#
Q to A7+
K to A7
R to A4+
R to A6
R to A6#
Everyone is SO well preped for the Candidates – you almost have to evaluate it separately from everything else. I think Ian has a decent chance. Both Fabi and Hikaru probably really want it – playing second fiddle to Magnus their whole careers. I think the Indian youngsters do well, but they won’t win.
Those are some astounding numbers for the number of confessions wherever that may be. If only every parish had priests as devoted to hearing confessions as tirelessly as that.
Conversely, I ran a calculation a while back, based on the stated number of Catholics in my diocese, the number of parishes, and the assumption that each parish (on average) has one priest hearing confessions for a single hour a week — and that led to the result that every Catholic in the diocese has the opportunity to get to the Sacrament for about 35 seconds per year. The neighboring diocese, using the same assumptions, had it worse.
But based on the short length of lines and the amount of time taken for a single confession, it would seem that there are an almost statistically insignificant number of Catholics availing themselves of this Sacrament.
My thought is that a drastic increase of the regularly scheduled times for Confession (at attendable times) will, by itself, dramatically increase the length of the lines for Confession.
Again, those numbers for confessions, and the number of hours cited thereof, during Passiontide and the Triduum by your priest friend are very inspiring.
My thought is that a drastic increase of the regularly scheduled times for Confession (at attendable times) will, by itself, dramatically increase the length of the lines for Confession.
Absolutely!
My former pastor made confessions available 5 days a week. And he would never stop confessions if people were in line (except to start mass, and then right back to confession after mass). Great priest on that score. And there were plenty of people who showed up.
Current pastor…not so much. Berates people for saying the act of contrition because “it implies that God is so small that He could be offended at our sins”! Never mind that the Church tells us to say the act of contrition, never mind that the prayer says that WE offend against God, not that GOD takes offense at us.
I do suspect that the number of Catholics who avail themselves of confession more than once a year is probably about than 5%. Certainly the 75% who don’t go to Mass don’t go to confession much. Of the rest: If (which is chancy but at least possible), if the polls are correct that over 90% of Catholics use birth control, then at least 15% out of the 25% that DO go to Mass, probably don’t go to confession.
I am a sinner. I need confession, regularly.