The Shock of Recognition
- Donald R. McClarey
Donald R. McClarey
Cradle Catholic. Active in the pro-life movement since 1973. Father of three, one in Heaven, and happily married for 43 years. Small town lawyer and amateur historian. Former president of the board of directors of the local crisis pregnancy center for a decade.
😂
…and the priest has to get ready to celebrate Mass in five minutes…
When this happens to me I always pray for that long-winded penitent. I figure if it’s taking that long there must be some serious grace on the way. 😇 Also that helps me avoid adding another sin to my own list.
Better label for this photo:
This is me when I am travelling and there is no priest in the confessional at the advertised time!
I am blessed in that our pastor repeatedly reminds the flock that “Reconciliation is not therapy” and that if more than 5 minutes is needed, make an appointment.
Some of this rests on the priest (confessor). Some people (often female in nature) tend to elaborate on circumstances that aren’t ad rem, to say the least. Others (often young, but not only the young) have grandiloquent circumlocutions (like this) to say something quite plain: example, fornication. The confessor can certainly cut a lot of this short or even head it off at the pass by simply interrupting (politely) and directing the penitent to the point (“Which sin exactly are you confessing? Envy, malice, backstabbing? Call it by its proper name.”) In more severe cases, the confessor should take over completely and interrogate the penitent, simply asking about the more commonly confessed mortal sins.
[…] & Punditry: Barely an Exaggeration – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American Catholic The Shock of Recognition – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American Catholic A Two-Tier Justice System is a Feature […]
Fr. J: I imagine after that interrogation you’d be getting a look through the screen similar to the one pictured above
😀
Maybe so CAG, but that hasn’t been my experience. The penitent usually responds to it.