friendofsaints&angels wrote:

I've noticed that the lines at Mass are very long for Communion, but there are no lines for Confession. is this just at my church, or is this just the way it is nowadays in everyones church? we have Confession at my church on Saturdays from 4:00 - 4:30 p.m. every week, and Iv'e noticed that many times, I don't even need to wait to get into the Confessional. many times the priest is just sitting in there by himself, waiting for people to show up.  it also saddens me sometimes to see that Mass has become a social hour for many people. immediately after Communion, many people are too busy putting on their coats & looking at their watches, to even realize that they just entered into a very special Sacramental covenant with God. I also see many people leaving right after Communion. people don't even bother going back to their seats, singing the final hymn, listening to the final Parish messages, or even have the decency to  wait for the priest to walk down the aisle & exit the church. don't people know that they are eating & drinking a judgement upon themselves, when they receive the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin? why does it seem that so many Catholics are so uneducated, or just plain ignorrant to the words in Sacred Scripture? and while I'm busy ranting here, do people really need to bring their cellphones to church? I feel like I'm going to scream every time I hear someones phone ring in church, and this seems to be happening  more frequently. do people really need their cellphones in church? if people have that big of an emergency going on outside of church, maybe they should not be in church that particular week in the first place. is it really that difficult for people to be without their cellphones for an hour? would it be that rough for people to leave their phones in the car, or atleast put them on vibrate while they are at Mass? Iv'e also noticed that no more than a handful of people take advantage of all the special things that the church offers like Eucharistic adoration, Liturgy of the hours, Stations of the cross, etc. how can we as devout Catholics change this? I know one thing for sure, I'll  keep praying.

gosh, you're so busy keeping tabs on what everyone else is up to at mass, can't help but wonder if you're too busy watching and judging all those sinners around you that you don't have time for that special sacramental moment yourself.  i mean, honestly, just how close can you be feeling to God after communion when you're seething inside that all those other people aren't living up to your personal idea of what a "good" catholic is?

btw, just curious here - but indulge me - how do you know that they're all in a state of "mortal sin"?  got some kind of special  sixth sense that allows you to see their black and sin-filled souls?

how can you chagne folk into being what YOU think they should be and doing what YOU think they should do?

hate to break it to you, but  you can't.

but you could change your own rather, hmmm - would JUDGMENTAL be the right word? maaybe UNCHRISTIAN? something like that anyway -  attitude.  that would be a really great start. 

haven't been around here lately. but i see not much has changed. still a lot of "true catholics" ready to sti judgment on other catholics who don't quite fit into their narrow, rigid little mold.

recommend that you learn to worry about yourself and let the rest of it go (good for the blood pressur too).  . just taking a wild guess here, but it seems there may still be plenty of work you can do to make yourself a better christian without trying to shape up everyone else in the pews.

as for me, once i'm perfect i'll start working on everyone else.  should be ready to start on that any day now.  :D

I do feel your pain, friend.  After every Mass when I get through handing out weekly bulletins, I go to the reserve chapel to be with Jesus a few moments without any distractions.  I'm writing this during Lent, so more people are in adoration and church, didn't get to confess last Saturday because of the long line, so for now spirituality is on the rise at our local parrish.  Hopefully the same is happening at yours.  Keep your chin up and God bless!

Mar 3, 2009 -- 6:32PM, noseington wrote:

The fact that there are short lines for confession shows that Catholics are finally getting the message that the destiny of our souls  is between us and God - no intermediary necessary. 

I agree. That genie won't go back in the bottle, either.

Many of us are not pleased that priests molested chldren and Rome and the American bishops did nothing, but not all of us keep our knickers in a knot forever about it. It is symbolic, though, of the great divide between prelates and laymen.

Most priests don't go to confession often, and many of us never go.

One Sunday a few years back, our pastor reminded us that it is God Who forgives for the asking, right then and there. He went on to say that it is CHURCH law that demands aural confession before communion if one feels one has committed grave sin.

I don't know personally many people running around doing grave evil--quite the opposite.

Personal confession is just going by the boards. In my former parish weekly confession is at 4:30 on Saturday. If no one shows up, which seems to be fairly frequently, the priest leaves.