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On December 28, 2024, Fr. Tom Pringle observed on 𝕏, “I’ve been at my parish for about 3 years. What I’ve seen in that time is a resurgence in Catholics going to confession.” I am the pastor of a parish with about 900 families, and I echo what Fr. Pringle said.
This past Advent, I heard confessions for hours. I would arrive at the confessional 20-30 minutes early and hear confessions until the vigil Mass on a Saturday. I did not have a free moment to crack a book during my Tuesday confessions either. And I also added a time that had me hearing confessions beyond the scheduled time. It was apparent: confession is back, and people are seeking out God’s mercy. Additionally, our parish distributed Dave Durand’s book on confession, The Fountain of Youth, at Christmas; and, in the few weeks that have since passed, several people have commented on the impact the book has had—and it has, in fact, brought them to the confessional.
I think about confession every First Saturday too. The message that Mary spoke in Fatima, where she encouraged monthly confession as part of the five First Saturdays, proposes a spirituality for the faithful. What it means is that Our Lady wants us to go to confession monthly. When I celebrate Mass for a handful of the faithful on First Saturday, and hear confessions afterward, I think about this question: “What if every Catholic observed the message of Our Lady of Fatima?” As the pastor of a parish and a school, with the duties I have now, how many hours could I hear confession to meet the need for confession, if all the faithful went once a month.
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If the demand for confession was to rise, priests of today would have to become like St. John Vianney or St. Pio of Pietrelcina who heard confessions for hours a day. As a priest, I would rejoice at this reality, and I already do rejoice at the increased requests for confessions that I have seen. But it makes me wonder if the Church is ready for this revival.
The Catholic Church in the United States embarked upon a multiyear Eucharistic revival. I believe there has been good fruit from the revival. I am grateful for what it has done to reinvigorate Eucharistic faith and devotion. This revival could be sparking the renewal of celebrating the sacrament of Penance because if one wants to worthily receive the Holy Eucharist, then a good confession should be a part of the process.
We all desire for a renewal of the Catholic Faith and a steadfast practice of it by people in our communities, cities, country, and world. But are we ready for a renewal or revival? Does the Church today have the infrastructure to support a revival?
Unfortunately, as I see it, we do not. The shortage of priests in dioceses throughout the country is felt. Parishes are clustered together, sharing a priest. Communities once served by two or three priests are served by one priest who is split in many directions. Confessions, which would have been heard more regularly in each individual parish, are scheduled less frequently because of the split time.
When a diocese confers another responsibility upon the pastor, it means his time to his people is diminished, or he overworks, leading to health problems and burnout. If a Eucharistic revival takes place, and churches are filled every Sunday, will there be a need for the addition of more Masses? Can a priest, already celebrating four Masses on a weekend, possibly add another Mass to his schedule? I hope I am not the only person asking these questions and that chanceries are anticipating revival and what it will mean for the practice of the clergy. If a Eucharistic revival takes place, and churches are filled every Sunday, will there be a need for the addition of more Masses? Can a priest, already celebrating four Masses on a weekend, possibly add another Mass to his schedule? Tweet This
While some bishops, like my own, have an optimistic mindset regarding revival and its potential needs, there are other (arch)dioceses that seem content with decline and have no interest in renewal or revival. Closing churches and reducing the availability of the sacraments and the presence of Christ in the tabernacle is seen as more convenient than converting hearts and filling pews with people who desire the sacraments. In an ideal world, there should be a need to establish more churches because of the demand; but alas, the availability of clergy to serve those parishes is not yet there.
There is hope for the situation, but it will take a decade or more. The hope is more vocations to the priesthood. If a Eucharistic revival is taking place—and a return to confession— individuals will become aware of God’s calling for their life and pursue it. Herein another problem presents itself: the length of seminary formation. As demands for sacraments increase during a revival, the help a priest needs today won’t be ordained for eight years or more. This is not a call to shorten seminary formation but to realize that the solution to a pending problem is not immediate and that the infrastructure is not in place. The Church and her ministers will have to limp along in the process until the number of priests can alleviate the demands of a sacramental revival.
Christopher Smith, a Jesuit in formation, posted a picture recently during his Christmas home visit. He wrote, “This is the line for confession in Hendersonville, NC this morning. Young men, we need you, consider serving the Lord as a priest.” As a revival unfolds, we must pray for and encourage priestly vocations, or reimagine the ministry of a pastor today where a greater focus would have to be placed on celebrating the sacraments rather than being business administrators of a parish. Revival will allow priests to do what priests have always done: celebrate the sacraments and lead people to an encounter with Jesus Christ.
As of today, most dioceses are not ready for a revival that seems to be already happening. Ready or not, priests today live in the present moment, serving God’s holy people as best they can with the limited resources available, praying that the current revival extends to another revival—that of an increase in priestly ordinations.
This is exactly correct, Father. And we know that for every priest ordained in many dioceses, three or four men have to enter formation eight years earlier. So the real solution is to encourage couples to marry and have four or five children. If that were the foundation of the renewal, we would perhaps see the results in 20-30 years.