So this stupid sign has been making it's way around facebook again. Every time i see the damn thing it reminds of why I have issues with the sacrament of Confession. Lifelong Catholic who went when she had to while at school, went while on retreats in high school and college. As an adult doesn't go as much. I could get up in front of a room full of a thousand people and give a talk but ask me to enter "the box" and I freeze. Yeah it mostly has to go with my own perceptions and having admit that I am at fault,
I hate this picture because it shows so much why people dislike the Church. It's always make an appointment. Could I do that, sure, am I going to, fuck no.
Reason one I hate this picture, it shows we need more priests. I tell my priest friends all the time, I'm not looking for you guys to have more work to do, but changing your weekday Mass schedule so that all the churches in an area don't have Mass at the same time would be nice. I hate that our parish makes the poor guy saying Mass at 5:30 also hear confession for an hour before hand. Dude, one of you can say Mass and the other hear confessions. I get that it says there is only one priest and that's the big issue.
Reason two I hate this sign is the whole keep it short shit. Dudes I know, I don't want to talk about everything but sometimes it helps. A lot of people besides me have issues with Confession and things like this don't help. Most of the time when this is posted people say "if you know you're going to take a long time, call and make an appointment." How about don't be a judgmental asshole, and don't assume shit about the people in line with you. That person could have used up all of their energy to get to confession and now has to deal with "make sure you keep it short" or other things.
I have had good and bad experiences in the confessional. I have been told that what I have said is not a sin and told it is a sin; I chalk that one up to inexperience on the younger priests part. Keep it short could be I stabbed my brother, but did you stab him with a pencil or a bloody sword, one obviously worse than the other. I have a religion degree I know my shit, but was corrected by a priest when I mistakenly said Vatican 1 instead of Vatican 2 or something like that.
I love my priest friends and they all know that I will not go to them for confession unless it's an emergency. I love my priests and my issue isn't with them, they won't deny someone the sacrament. It's the judgmental assholes who say "why are you in there longer than 5 minutes." if you're going to be longer than 5 minutes make an appointment. Anxiety exists and it keeps people from doing things that person who is "taking too long" might not have been to confession in years. Asking this person that has been away for so long to go away and make an appointment is wrong.
Case in point, it's been a while since I have been to Confession. I tried to go one day and realized I was in my personalized and the families from the first Communions that day were either still there taking pictures or coming for the next one. I literally froze and said, nope, can't do it. The intention was there and it still is but you don't know what that person is going through.
I guess this sign just shows that we need to better education people on the Sacrament and more importantly Churches need to offer it more than just once a week or via appointment. Because I have been trying to get there, but Saturday afternoons get pretty busy, pretty quickly.
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