(Catholic News Agency) — Father Donald Planty, the pastor at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Arlington, told CNA he has seen the initiative lead to an increased demand for confessions — so much so that at his parish they decided to continue offering confessions every Wednesday night of the year. 

rev. donald j. planty jr. photo  And the results have been positive: Planty said he and his fellow priests at the parish have heard an estimated 25,000 total confessions on Wednesday nights since 2014. And that doesn’t count all the confessions heard on the other four days of the week they offer it at St. Charles. 

Planty said they’ve found a simple but winning formula to get people to come back to the sacrament: Make confession more available and preach on it at Mass.

“It’s like a field of dreams: If you build it, they will come. If you offer it, they will come. It’s very simple,” he said. 

He emphasized for fellow priests the importance of putting people at ease when they arrive in the confessional, especially if they’ve been away from the sacrament for a while. He said he welcomes penitents to the confessional with a variation on the phrase he also preaches on during Mass, assuring them that the Lord welcomes them “with open arms.”

“‘In the sacrament of penance, the Lord Jesus welcomes you with open arms. He forgives your sins, and he forgets them. And you start a new life with his love, with his grace in your heart,’” Planty said, reciting the typical phrase he offers in his homilies. 

“I often add, especially when I’m preaching: ‘There is no unforgivable sin. There is no unforgivable sin. There is no unforgivable sin.’ I repeat it three times. There’s nothing to be afraid of, and everything to gain [by coming to confession],” Planty explained.

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