Tag Archives: sacrament of penance

ASK FATHER: Could the Church make “communal services” the norm for the Sacrament of Penance?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Father, In John 20:22-24, it says “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you … Read More

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3 Comments

ASK FATHER: Priest attacked me for how I made my confession.

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Today, I went for confession to the capuchins like I usually do. The priests there tend to be great confessors. However, today I had quite a bad experience. I confess in kind and number and I … Read More

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23 Comments

ASK FATHER: Confessing remembered forgotten sins

From a reader… QUAERITUR: I tend to get very nervous in confession and I do better if I just stick to the script so to speak so I don’t start rambling. Is there a formula for confessing mortal sins that were forgotten … Read More

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16 Comments

A prayer for your confessor, the priest to whom you are about to make your confession

In the past I have posted some prayers for priests to say before and after hearing confessions, as well as before and after making their own confessions. Here is a prayer for people to say for the priest, for the … Read More

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12 Comments

PLEASE get rid of “reconciliation rooms”!

At Crisis there is an article which argues for the end of “reconciliation rooms”.  I have always called them “lawsuit rooms”. I’ve been arguing for this ever since I could argue anything.   I think he over plays a particular issue but, … Read More

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45 Comments

McCarrick resigned from the College of Cardinals. Wherein Fr. Z rants.

Before anything else… Lots of people are really angry, indeed enraged.  Horrid situations such as those caused by men like McCarrick are painful.  We can make choices about how to view them.  Anger is appropriate, but not to the point … Read More

Posted in GO TO CONFESSION, Hard-Identity Catholicism, SESSIUNCULA, Wherein Fr. Z Rants | Tagged , ,
37 Comments

ASK FATHER: When to make an appointment for confession

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Would it be better (in order for the priest to have more time with the penitent) to make an appointment for confessing VERY grave sins (something even the most lenient person would say needs confessing) or … Read More

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10 Comments

ASK FATHER: Forgetting sins during confession

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Dear Father, is it okay if I didn’t said the sin I was about to confess because my mind blocked? I didn’t finished it with the lines “for these and all my sins…” because I got … Read More

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ASK FATHER: Confession time frustration

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Hoping you can help me approach this situation correctly in future. Confession at parish is daily from 11:30 to 12 and mass starts at 12:10. Many times I arrive early and there is already a line so I … Read More

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21 Comments

ASK FATHER: Priest Mumbles Words of Absolution. Fr. Z says: FATHERS! Stop being JACKASSES and do it right!

FATHERS!  This fellow’s note gives another example of why we priests must must must be careful and precise when giving absolution to penitents. Use the prescribed form of absolution in Latin or appropriate vernacular language and say the essential words … Read More

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7 Comments

Levity, Severity, the Confessional and YOU!

At First Things there is a good piece about toughness when it comes to preaching and discipline and gentleness in mercy, especially with penitents in the confessional. It is hard for priests to find that balance out en plein air … Read More

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7 Comments

ASK FATHER: Absolution at jail through glass, phone in visitor’s room

From a priest… QUAERITUR:  I’m a priest who occasionally gets asked to hear confessions in a jail where the only way to speak to a person is through glass and a telephone headset. Without using the phone, one can barely hear the other … Read More

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25 Comments

Making the Church appealing. What “sells”?

When it is time to draw people in, do those in charge show ugly modern churches bereft of statues, windows and obviously Catholic elements?   SURE they do! When it is time to make a movie and portray something about … Read More

Posted in "How To..." - Practical Notes, GO TO CONFESSION, Hard-Identity Catholicism, Lighter fare, Liturgy Science Theatre 3000 | Tagged , ,
13 Comments

Singing and confession – Just Too Cool!

When I was very young, I used to curl up with the dictionary.  One word would lead to another and to another.  I wound up building my vocabulary as if by capillarity. I sometimes do this with tweets, specially with … Read More

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ASK FATHER: Would anything prevent a priest from always using the traditional formula of absolution?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: The reformed Rite of Penance added a whole bunch of stuff to the rite of confession—optional Scripture readings and so on—but I have never seen any of it used, even non-optional parts like how the priest … Read More

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8 Comments

Card. Müller on authority of Popes, possibility of others correcting contradictory papal teachings

Back in December, First Things published a piece by the former Prefect of the CDF, Gerard Ludwig Card. Müller on the sacrament of penance. His observations on objective sin and subjective guilt, about knowledge, etc., are germane to a whole raft … Read More

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8 Comments

ASK FATHER: If I remember a sin after confessing, should I interrupt the priest and tell him?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: If in Confession I forget a mortal sin (I do examine my conscience but my memory is bad), but then remember AFTER having told the priest that I have finished confessing, and he is talking, should … Read More

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11 Comments

ASK FATHER: If I confess to watching porn, must I say it was homosexual porn?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: Father, recently the catechist at our parish said that, when making our confessions, we ought to mention anything that might aggravate or mitigate the gravity of our sins, so that the confessor can get a clearer … Read More

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ASK FATHER: Should I tell a noisy penitent that we can hear everything said in the confessional?

From a reader… QUAERITUR: There is a young lady who regularly takes a very long time in Confession (25-30 minutes, sometimes longer). She is not making a long confession, and it’s not the priest spending long amounts of time giving … Read More

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10 Comments

Too ashamed to go to confession?

I saw an article at CNA which had a great point in it. [Fr. Fortea] also noted the importance of ensuring truly anonymous confessions. In each city, he said, “there ought to be at least one confessional where instead of … Read More

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29 Comments