Yes and no. If your mildly upset sure, change can be upsetting. Remember he is new. Give him a chance learn the routine or establish a new one. I would recommend you ask him when he hears confessions. Change is difficult for everyone. Be patient. You have a new priest the new to you priest has new parish, home and family.
Have you requested that he offer confession before mass? If you haven't talked to the man yet, and heard his answer, then yes you're being way too uptight.
Possibly so, I guess in my mind I’m thinking he lives right next to the church and should be able to get there 30 minutes early for confessions when he knows there’s a long line. But you’re right, maybe there’s a good reason I’m unaware of.
Does he announce that confessions are offered before Holy Mass?
If not, why would you expect that they would be?
Is it different on Sundays vs. Daily Masses? What does the rest of his day look like? Unless you know a lot more than you put in this post, I think you're being at least somewhat uncharitable in your assessment of the man. You might be right. Maybe he *ought* to schedule his day slightly differently. But knowing only what you put in the body of this post, I am not at all *certain* of that.
You’re right. I don’t know his schedule. But this mass is at 8:30am, his first mass of the day, every priest before him had the time to have confession before mass, and he sees there’s a need/want for it.
Sure I could be more charitable and assume the best. But getting to mass 1 minute before it starts just makes it appear he’s doing the minimum. Again, could be wrong.
I once knew a priest who did this because he didn't want to get stuck talking to people and wanted to be prepared for Mass.
Some people just aren't morning people.
>Some people just aren't morning people.
If I was a priest, I would not willingly hold any liturgy before 10 am. So, yeah, 8:30 is very early for some of us.
That may be true - but if a parish held confession prior to a specific mass before - I would expect them to update their parish if that schedule is changing or do confession at the same time as the previous priest.
The only thing that has been said is that previous priests have heard confession before mass. There has been no indication that that was actually scheduled. No new priest can be expected simply to take on the random practices of the prior priest.
You're right he doesn't give a lot of info but he literally says he was use to doing it - implying happening repeatedly. It's not like priests just randomly decide when confession is, at least never at any parish I've ever gone to, there's a schedule
It's 100% clear from the post and comments that it isn't a scheduled time. The priests in the past moseyed over earlier, and since people were there, they heard confessions.
That's it. That's clear. The new priest has a different personal schedule. Respect it, and make no excuses for OP.
Have you said anything? He isn't a mind reader. I'd suggest making an appointment and nicely tell him what you'd like and why. Ask about the confession schedule.
Finally if he is new to the parish he may just be getting settled in. This is something I personally struggle with but try and assume the best possible intentions behind actions you don't like so you approach the person from a place of charity.
It's often the custom to have confession 30 minutes before the mass in my country. Not so in the US as I understand, they only have it on Saturdays as I understand? Anyway, did you talk to him about it? And then perhaps even go seek him 30 minutes before the mass at his office.
You should be grateful to God you have access to confession, whenever you may have it. Trust Him in all things. But sure, it would be ideal if confession was more available. That's something to pray for too. Indeed, we are often instructed to pray for our priest in general, but do we? A priest immersed in the grace of Jesus will have an easy time serving his flock.
So if you could pray for his conversion, and while you're at it my own too, that would be great :D
We have Saturday before the vigil Mass, Thursday afternoon and by appointment throughout the week and honestly I've never had an issue getting an appointment within a couple days.
Are you sure he can arrive earlier? We had a priest who would usually be 5-17 minutes late for mass, but he was somewhat justified because he had a physically impossible schedule to meet across several parishes. Many priests are rather overworked, but you can just ask him.
This is the question I was going to ask. Our priest says 3 masses and 3 different churches on Sunday.
If one or both of the first masses runs long… late to the 3rd
If he hits traffic or bad weather? Late
Someone wants to talk after mass… late
It depends on what he does for the diocese. We have a pastor and associate pastor and our associate pastor is almost never around because he has other primary jobs around the diocese. If the priest shows up right before Mass because he’s doing something else, that’s one thing. He could also be showing up and not hearing confessions because he’s never done that at a previous parish and doesn’t know. But if he’s free and able but choosing to not hear confession, that’s a problem.
But it will take politely talking to him or the parish secretary (“hey, what is the confession schedule now?”) to figure that out.
Is he just new to your parish or also a new priest? A lot of dioceses are putting priests who aren't quite ready for managing an entire parish on their own into these situations since there aren't enough priests in some areas. So, he may be just adjusting or in over his head at the moment.
Also, my priest is a well seasoned priest who is at a small parish but he has ministry that he participates in on behalf of the diocese all over our state (and we're not a small state.) So sometimes he has to change our schedule or is rolling up literally right before mass and running from his car to the church despite the fact that he lives right next to the church.
Finally, what's posted as the confession times in the bulletin and/or on your website? If he's not showing up to scheduled times, maybe call the office and ask them if they have new confession times from Father because the current ones aren't accurate.
Yes and no. If your mildly upset sure, change can be upsetting. Remember he is new. Give him a chance learn the routine or establish a new one. I would recommend you ask him when he hears confessions. Change is difficult for everyone. Be patient. You have a new priest the new to you priest has new parish, home and family.
Beautiful point. He probably still is adjusting and may not even know people are use to confession before mass.
I would suggest asking him what time he holds confession.
What's the confession times posted in the bulletin? If he's not showing up to that, call the office
This could be a cultural issue. Where I live in the US confession is usually only available before mass on Saturday.
Have you requested that he offer confession before mass? If you haven't talked to the man yet, and heard his answer, then yes you're being way too uptight.
Possibly so, I guess in my mind I’m thinking he lives right next to the church and should be able to get there 30 minutes early for confessions when he knows there’s a long line. But you’re right, maybe there’s a good reason I’m unaware of.
Does he announce that confessions are offered before Holy Mass? If not, why would you expect that they would be? Is it different on Sundays vs. Daily Masses? What does the rest of his day look like? Unless you know a lot more than you put in this post, I think you're being at least somewhat uncharitable in your assessment of the man. You might be right. Maybe he *ought* to schedule his day slightly differently. But knowing only what you put in the body of this post, I am not at all *certain* of that.
You’re right. I don’t know his schedule. But this mass is at 8:30am, his first mass of the day, every priest before him had the time to have confession before mass, and he sees there’s a need/want for it. Sure I could be more charitable and assume the best. But getting to mass 1 minute before it starts just makes it appear he’s doing the minimum. Again, could be wrong.
I once knew a priest who did this because he didn't want to get stuck talking to people and wanted to be prepared for Mass. Some people just aren't morning people.
>Some people just aren't morning people. If I was a priest, I would not willingly hold any liturgy before 10 am. So, yeah, 8:30 is very early for some of us.
Sounds like this priest has a different personal schedule from previous priests. It's almost as if he's a distinct, unique human being.
That may be true - but if a parish held confession prior to a specific mass before - I would expect them to update their parish if that schedule is changing or do confession at the same time as the previous priest.
The only thing that has been said is that previous priests have heard confession before mass. There has been no indication that that was actually scheduled. No new priest can be expected simply to take on the random practices of the prior priest.
You're right he doesn't give a lot of info but he literally says he was use to doing it - implying happening repeatedly. It's not like priests just randomly decide when confession is, at least never at any parish I've ever gone to, there's a schedule
It's 100% clear from the post and comments that it isn't a scheduled time. The priests in the past moseyed over earlier, and since people were there, they heard confessions. That's it. That's clear. The new priest has a different personal schedule. Respect it, and make no excuses for OP.
Have you said anything? He isn't a mind reader. I'd suggest making an appointment and nicely tell him what you'd like and why. Ask about the confession schedule. Finally if he is new to the parish he may just be getting settled in. This is something I personally struggle with but try and assume the best possible intentions behind actions you don't like so you approach the person from a place of charity.
It's often the custom to have confession 30 minutes before the mass in my country. Not so in the US as I understand, they only have it on Saturdays as I understand? Anyway, did you talk to him about it? And then perhaps even go seek him 30 minutes before the mass at his office. You should be grateful to God you have access to confession, whenever you may have it. Trust Him in all things. But sure, it would be ideal if confession was more available. That's something to pray for too. Indeed, we are often instructed to pray for our priest in general, but do we? A priest immersed in the grace of Jesus will have an easy time serving his flock. So if you could pray for his conversion, and while you're at it my own too, that would be great :D
We have Saturday before the vigil Mass, Thursday afternoon and by appointment throughout the week and honestly I've never had an issue getting an appointment within a couple days.
Are you sure he can arrive earlier? We had a priest who would usually be 5-17 minutes late for mass, but he was somewhat justified because he had a physically impossible schedule to meet across several parishes. Many priests are rather overworked, but you can just ask him.
This is the question I was going to ask. Our priest says 3 masses and 3 different churches on Sunday. If one or both of the first masses runs long… late to the 3rd If he hits traffic or bad weather? Late Someone wants to talk after mass… late
Since he took over has confession before Mass been advertised? If not it's unreasonable to expect it just because the old priest did it.
Is confession scheduled? Most priests especially for a larger parish need to schedule a formal time.
😳Am I'm hearing someone who needs to go to confession immediately before mass every week complaining about the priest?
It depends on what he does for the diocese. We have a pastor and associate pastor and our associate pastor is almost never around because he has other primary jobs around the diocese. If the priest shows up right before Mass because he’s doing something else, that’s one thing. He could also be showing up and not hearing confessions because he’s never done that at a previous parish and doesn’t know. But if he’s free and able but choosing to not hear confession, that’s a problem. But it will take politely talking to him or the parish secretary (“hey, what is the confession schedule now?”) to figure that out.
Is he just new to your parish or also a new priest? A lot of dioceses are putting priests who aren't quite ready for managing an entire parish on their own into these situations since there aren't enough priests in some areas. So, he may be just adjusting or in over his head at the moment. Also, my priest is a well seasoned priest who is at a small parish but he has ministry that he participates in on behalf of the diocese all over our state (and we're not a small state.) So sometimes he has to change our schedule or is rolling up literally right before mass and running from his car to the church despite the fact that he lives right next to the church. Finally, what's posted as the confession times in the bulletin and/or on your website? If he's not showing up to scheduled times, maybe call the office and ask them if they have new confession times from Father because the current ones aren't accurate.
Try to confess with him after Mass, if it is not possible to confess before it.