Going Out Into the Highways & Byways

In this day & age when it is rare to find a Catholic parish that offers people more than an half hour to an hour on Saturdays for them to go to confession. In fact some don't even offer it that often. I have seen 1 that only offers it 1 Sat afternoon a month. Otherwise you have to make an appointment. While that would be OK in the case where someone has the need to confess before the regularly scheduled time, the message that sends to the average person is different. To me it implies that Father is too busy to be bothered to minister to his parishioners. I will be fair & say in some situations the priest does have several parishes to cover & is doing his best to be available as he can. But for many it is because they see being a priest as only a job. & that means they treat it as a 9-5 job rather than in the way it should be. (IMHO they could use a good dose of Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen's The Priest Is Not His Own.*)

I do know of 1 or 2 that offer it on 3 weekdays, after Mass on Sat am, between the last Masses on Sun as well as Sat afternoon. But that is the exception to the rule in many places.

So what would you say if I told you I know of a chapel that makes confession available 11 hrs a day, 6 days a week? I recently came across the Catholic Center at the Citadel that does just that. The center is located on the upper level of the Citadel Mall in Colorado Springs, between Burlington Coat Factory and Dillards. Yup, in a Mall.

Well, if you can't get the people to come to you then it would seem that you need to go where they are to evangelize. & a Mall is definitely a place to find people who need to hear the message of Christ.

The chapel also offers Mass twice a day as well (Once on Sat). It is open the regular mall hours. But never on a Sunday. I suspect that that is in part to keep from competing with the local parishes.

The chapel operates under the direction of, Bishop Michael J. Sheridan, D.D. It is staffed by five Capuchin Franciscans under the leadership of Fr. Curtis Carlson, O.F.M. It is promoted & financially supported by the Capuchin Province of Mid-America, the Diocese of Colorado Springs & the Colorado Knights of Columbus. It also receives donations from those who visit the chapel.

In 2007 the Colorado Connection did an article on the chapel (Is confession making a comeback?). In it Fr. Carlson said that their main focus is the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It also talked to 1 of the volunteers, Elaine Gardner. Gardner said she worries communion lines are getting longer and confession lines are getting shorter. "That bothers me," she said.

She said she herself goes to confession at least once a month. Every time, she said looks forward to hearing the priest say three simple words. "'I absolve you.' I can literally feel my soul lift at that moment, because I know my sins are forgiven."

The location also provides them with plenty of opportunities to reach out to teens, esp Fri & Sat nights.

In this day & age when you see so many in the Catholic Church trying to pretend like sin doesn't exist at all, it is refreshing to see at least 1 place that is doing the opposite & offering people an oportunity to experience God's mercy & forgiveness.

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* The Archbishop Sheen Foundation recently announced a campaign to get copies of this book into the hands of every seminarian they can. More on that can be found in the August 2009 newsletter.