Ed

For a priest, Confession is a time to reflect on how he is living his vocation. But habit can make us all miss quite important things. We asked the lay people on our email list what things they thought should be important to priest. This is the result. Some people requested anonymity so we omitted all names. We eliminated repetitions, but otherwise the list is unedited. ED

A worthy aspiration of every priest is that their audience should say to them 'It is no longer because of what you say that we believe, for we have seen and heard Him ourselves'.
Do I know Christ?
How can I help others to know Christ for themselves?
How do I sort out the issues of church membership or men coming to know Christ for themselves?
Can we rely on Mass to fill men with the Holy Spirit?
How has the quiet despair and frustration of the community been brought to light?
Should my emphasis for evaluation move from getting people to attend Mass to getting people to know Jesus?

What have I done today that others could have done ?
How much time have I given to preparing the Homily and the Sunday Liturgy?
How much time have I spent in the parish, rather than in the parish house?

When other people meet me do they go away realizing that God loves them?
Do I you strive to discern God’s will in my life and embrace it?
Have I enabled our parishioners to enter fully into their mission?

Have I taken control of events I could have shared with others today?
Have I humbly accepted that I need my parishioners more than they need me?
Have I been willing to allow people to know the real me?

If someone tells me something dire in the porch after Mass, and I can't deal with it then, do I make a time to see them later?

Have I visited the sick?
Have I taken sufficient time to prepare my homily?

Have I kept confidential things, confidential?
Have I kept the vow of celibacy?

Have I read the Gospel at Mass so that people felt they were hearing it for the first time?

Have I made a vulnerable parishioner feel important and then withdrawn the honour?