My parish priest

At my parish, confession is only available on Saturdays, and only if you request it, and only if my priest has time to hear it; because of this, almost every time I go to confession I have to do it out of town. My parish priest doesn't like hearing confessions, he's made that clear to me and the parishioners as a whole on a number of occasions. Last time he heard my confession, he lectured me on my habitual sins; what he said was true to a number of degrees, but coming from him, (not to mention the last time he heard a confession from me was like over month ago, and probably much longer than that!) and a time when I am so close to being free from these sins, it puts me in a bitter mood right now. I had to go confession again this week, I tried to go to the at the Cathedral again, but once again, there is a funeral there and so there's no confession available. I'm worried that when I approach my parish priest tonight, I won't ask him in the most respectful of ways.

Can you please pray for both me and him, especially him, that he starts hearing more confessions in general from his flock, and becomes a better priest?

 

I will pray for your Priest - what is his name? Years ago our Parish didn't even have a Mass on Saturdays so we had to find Churches where we could at least fulfill our First Saturdays. But after years of prayer, we now have a new Pastor who has just recently started Masses on Saturdays - and we have THREE Priests available for Confessions after Mass - that added to our one hour of Confessions on Wednesdays. The answer is prayer and perseverance. Do not give up!

 

St John Vianney and St Padre Pio, pray for this pastor. Both saints heard many confessions.

 

Same here. We went through hard dry years but right now we are greatly blessed. I will pray.

 

If your Parish Priest does not want to hear confessions it is best for him and yourself that you never go near him again. It will do neither him or yourself much good doing so.

It is a bit like asking a tradesman who does not like his trade to do work for you, he will only do a bad job.

Love makes the difference with everything.

 

Thanks.

His name is Fr. Rafael Benosa.

 

I see. I am prayerfully considering this.

 

My father used to , 'Never go where you're not wanted'.

Good advice.

 

Dear Blessed Mother, we commend to you Fr. Rafael Benosa. Please ask your Spouse, the Holy Spirit, to fill him with love for his children and to encourage him to have confession available for them. Saint Joseph, pray for him that he become good father to the people of his parish. Amen
Hail Mary....Our Father....Glory Be

 

Perhaps you will need to do as I and my family have had to do and drive 1 hour away to go to 1st Saturday confession. It is worth it to me, to confess to a priest who can provide good counsel and who takes the sacrament with the seriousness that Christ intended from the priest. I will pray for you to discern if this is God's will for you and you find the means of receiving what your heart desires.

 

I used to have to do this. It is well worth it.

 

I am planning on ultimately moving to Kelowna and going to the Latin Mass parish there, (provided another one doesn't open up in my diocese closer to me, which I'm praying for.) however I have a long way to go before I'm able to move.

For now, I have stick with the status quo of taking the bus to neighbouring towns to go to confession.

 

Yes, I pray for all priests and bishops. All are in great need for each their own reasons.

 

Very good advise given my current need to move. I have been struggling with forgiveness and keeping charity in my heart toward my housemate. I am reminded of Christ's words to his Apostles. Wherever you are not welcomed, go to the edge if the city and shake the dust off your feet as you leave. I'm not sure how to incorporate that here other than to let go of the hurt feelings without looking back. No regrets!!

 

Jesus saying , 'Shake the dust of the street and move on', was so wise.

I am keeping my eye on a situation upstairs from me. I suspect a young poor girl is being abused. For a man such a situation is quite straightforward . For woman a lot different.

Life can be so complicated.

Still I can't help thinking walking away is often Plan A.

Yes looking through Scripture Jesus seemed to face things head on.

Yet the shaking the dust of the feet thing seems so often good.

Often though people don;t simply have the option to take a walk away.

 

But walking away, it seems to me is often a very,very good plan. Especially on the internet.

Think.

'Who needs this?'

 

I just thought that this morning

 

I was racking my mind thinking of occasions when Jesus walked away and if so what were they?

Well the first comes that comes to mind if the Flight into Egypt. Of course this was not Jesus's direct choice in that His mother and Father made that choice for Him, but I think it still kinda counts.

The Second that springs to mind was when He proclaimed the Gospel in his home village of Nazareth. he couldn't work many miracles in the region because of their lack of Faith. When He spoke they took Him away to kill Him, but He left them to it.

The third and biggest was the Ascension. Jesus went into Heaven and left us all to it. The biggest walk out of all time. But if He hadn't done so the Holy Spirit would not have come.

It rmeinds me of parents letting their kids go to College for the first time. They let them walk away so that they might come back as adults.

The Ascension walk out is very similiar.

 

Jesus kept trying to go off for some quiet prayer time and was being mobbed often.

 

Its kind of like that that in the Spiritual Life. he always sems to be doing a dissappearing act. He's there but not there at the same time. The more He's there; the more He's not there. His coming feeds the huger yet increases it at the same day.

We see this so well in the death process of St Therese of Liseaux. Her great agony was the anbsebse of Christ. Yet we, viewing her passion and death from the outside see Chirst so clearly present with every bat of her eye lashes.

We see it.

She doesn't.