Last evening we had our Advent Penance Service at Sacred Heart Parish.
Three of my brother priests assisted me and each of us heard confessions for a solid 75 minutes each, without any lull; it was quite remarkable. I've no idea where so many penitents came from for such a small parish; I think we had more people present last night than we have parishioners! God be praised!
One of the moms in the parish told me that as she brought her family to the church last night she reviewed with her children how to go to confession and remarked that there would be different priests present that he might they not know.
One of her boys thought for moment and said, "I think I'll go to regular Father." She found it amusing that I didn't have a name, just "regular Father." It is amusing, but also quite profound.
At the altar and in the confessional the priest acts in persona Christi, in the person of Christ. In this way, he himself does not matter. When the action is done and words spoken the sacrament happens. He is just a "regular Father."
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