Chapel of Mercy“I see the church as a field hospital after battle. It is useless to ask a seriously injured person if he has high cholesterol! You have to heal his wounds. Then we can talk about everything else.” – Pope Francis

We live in a time that cries out for Divine Mercy…

Christ has already given us the tools we need to accept our salvation: the Seven Sacraments

And yet, we don’t use them.

Three-quarters (75%) of Catholics report that they NEVER participate in the sacrament of Reconciliation or that they do so less than once a year.*

How often, if ever, do you participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession?

* (According to a 2008 study by CARA, the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate, located at Georgetown University)

2005 2008

Once a month or more 2% 2%

Several times a year 10% 12%

Once a year 14% 12%

Less than once a year 32% 30%

Never 42% 45%

In the past twelve years, three Popes have called attention to this in different ways

“Local Ordinaries, and parish priests and

rectors of churches and shrines, should

periodically verify that the greatest

possible provision is in fact being made

for the faithful to confess their sins.”

– Pope John Paul II (April 7, 2002)

Blessed Pope John Paul II

“The New Evangelization… begins in the

confessional!”

– Pope Benedict XVI (March 9, 2011)

Pope Benedict XVI

And now Pope Francis

“Open the doors of the Church, and then the people will come in … if you keep the light on in the confessional and are available, then you will see what kind of line there is for confession.”

– Pope Francis (2013, as recounted by Msgr. Enrico Feroci)

Everyone needs God’s love and mercy

Even the Pope.

Click above to turn on video

But there is one problem looming for us…

It’s far too difficult to find convenient times for Confession in America today.

Practical Barriers to Confession

•Intimidating

•Inaccessible

•Inconvenient

Intimidating

•The very nature of Confession is intimidating to many people.

•People are often embarrassed and fearful.

•When people feel this way, they avoid it.

•We can’t change this fact, but we can make finding Confession easier.

Inaccessible

• 168 hours in a week

• Typical parish: Offers 2 hours per week

• That’s 1.4% of all the available hours.

• Therefore 98.6% of the time Confession is NOT readily available.

Inconvenient

•People have to find and remember complicated schedules.

•Sometimes only a start time is listed.

•Oftentimes the scheduled times are inconvenient or impossible to make.

There are just too many barriers.

Because the practical barriers to Confession support the psychological barriers, the people who need it most are the often the least likely to take advantage of it.

It’s time for us to build a model for the Church which REMOVES the practical barriers.

If not US, who?

If not NOW, when?

It’s Time for Perpetual Confession

•Medicine only works when it is taken. It does not work when it sits on the shelf unused.

•Confession is medicine for the soul. We have to make it more available.

•Perpetual Confession is the solution.

Hospitals have Emergency Rooms

• Isn’t the health of one’s soul even more important than the health of one’s body?

•Why doesn’t the Church have spiritual Emergency Rooms!

Long Lines and Inconvenient Times are Discouraging

• A sacrament for healing must be available as soon as people need to be healed.

• Inconvenient times and long lines are not acceptable!

• People need the sacrament at all hours of the day and night.

• Pope John Paul II said that Confession availability must be a top priority in every diocese.

Experience gained from Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration

• Perpetual Adoration has exploded in the past 25 years.

• Why? The schedule is SIMPLE and easy to remember.

• People no longer have to find out when it is offered – it is ALWAYS offered.

• In the course of busy and hectic lives, this REMOVES a tremendous BARRIER.

Experience gained from Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration

• People can pray when they

NEED to pray, when the

Spirit moves them to pray,

even in the MIDDLE OF

THE NIGHT.

• The same principle would

hold true for Perpetual

Confession.

Imagine this…

• A beautiful chapel where both Eucharistic Adoration and the Sacrament of Confession are ALWAYS available.

• 12 retired priests, 4 priests on a normal sabbatical and up to 4 embattled priests seeking comfort, all living a semi-monastic, sacrament-centered life with no cumbersome administrative duties.

• All this located in a major population center of the diocese.

It gets even better.

• Also located along a major interstate corridor (Indiana Toll Road) with a traffic count of nearly 10 MILLION vehicles per year.

• That’s over 26,500 vehicles PER DAY.

• Billboards along the Toll Road that catch the eye of long distance drivers who are often thinking about their lives while they drive by.

The Strategy

To make the grace of Sacrament available to people who are already present in the area

just like this priest from Indianapolis!

Click above

Approx. 26,500 vehicles per dayPictured above is the Mishawaka, Indiana, Toll Road Interchange. Exit 83

A Chapel of MercyA Spiritual Emergency Room

• Main Chapel provides Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration AND Perpetual Confession

• Open 24/7/52

• Coffee Shop to meet with and provide hospitality to visitors:

- Coffee and simple snacks

- Volunteer staff trained to lead people to conversion (Local parishioners and college/university students)

- Spiritual reading and audio presentation resources

• Outdoor gardens with Stations of the Cross

• Bell Tower with interiorly illuminated stained glass windows that serves as a visual invitation to all passersby.

Q: How to staff a chapel with Perpetual Confession?

A: A home for retired priests, sabbatical priests, and embattled priests.

Retired Priests

• Retiring priests in good health apply for this opportunity

• Chapel of Mercy priests typically spend 2-3 hours each day in the Confessional

• Live a semi-monastic life of friendship in community

• Sacramental and monastic duties only

• Affordable room and board

• Three year terms (renewable once)

• Classes of 3 or 4 retired priests each year so that 2/3 of the house each year remains stable

Priests on Sabbatical

At least 4 of the 16 priests who live as regular members of the community will be non-retired priests who are on a sabbatical. Typically, they will stay for 6-12 months of prayer, study and renewal.

Embattled Priests • With such an abundance of accumulated wisdom, it only makes sense to put this

community also at the service of priests in a vocation crisis.

• As a contribution to the healing of the Church, the Chapel of Mercy Community will also welcome up to 4 priests who feel embattled and in need of renewal.

• By living among the wisdom of the 16 retired and sabbatical Chapel of Mercy priests, these embattled priests will have access to great mentors and role models.

• These priests will live for varying terms and will enter fully into the life of the community.

• This is NOT a place for priests with criminal problems, significant psychological problems or addictions.

• This IS a place for priests who are having a crisis of faith, are experiencing burnout, or are recovering from a traumatic event regardless of whether it was their own doing.

Sample Daily Schedule

7:00 a.m. Prime (Early Morning Prayer) and Mass

7:45 a.m. Breakfast9:00 a.m. Terce (Mid-Morning Prayer) 9:15 a.m. Work period A11:15 a.m. End work period A11:45 a.m. Choir PracticeNoon Sext (Midday Prayer)12:15 p.m. Lunch1:00 p.m. Work period B3:00 p.m. End work period B3:15 p.m. None (Mid-afternoon Prayer

- optional)3:30 p.m. Work period C5:30 p.m. End work period C6:00 p.m. Vespers (Evening Prayer)6:15 p.m. Dinner and Communal

Recreation8:30 p.m. Compline (Night Prayer)

Communal Life is structured but

relaxed. Communal prayers are

offered daily. Breakfast and Dinner

are full of casual conversation. Sacred

Silence is kept from Terce until None.

Each priest contributes to one 2 hour

work period per day (Either A, B or

C). In addition, each priest also takes

at least two 1 hour shifts in the

confessional daily. Some will take 3

shifts during peak periods.

Sample Confessional Schedule

• Midnight A1• 1:00 a.m. B2• 2:00 a.m. C3• 3:00 a.m. D4• 4:00 a.m. F5• 5:00 a.m. G6 N13• 6:00 a.m. H7 O14• 7:00 a.m. I8 P15• 8:00 a.m. J9 Vol• 9:00 a.m. K10 Vol• 10:00 a.m. L11 Vol• 11:00 a.m. M12 Vol• Noon A1• 1:00 p.m. B2 Q16• 2:00 p.m. C3• 3:00 p.m. D4• 4:00 p.m. F5 N13• 5:00 p.m. G6 O14• 6:00 p.m. H7 P15• 7:00 p.m. I8 Q16• 8:00 p.m. J9 Vol• 9:00 p.m. K10 Vol• 10:00 p.m. L11• 11:00 p.m. M12

• Vol = volunteer• Floaters / Substitutes = Guest Priests

In each Confessional is a

communication system where a priest

who notices a people waiting can call

for back-up. Some times of the day

will require two priests due to

demand. Some bedrooms look into the

chapel so that many people are

keeping an eye on it at all times.

There is a balcony walkway all the

way around the interior of the chapel

on the second floor. Hearing

Confessions takes priority over any

other house duty.

Come Holy Spirit!• This apostolate, besides touching thousands upon thousands of souls, could

have a worldwide influence on the Church by serving as a model for effective evangelization and service.

• It would greatly benefit the people of the Diocese of Fort Wayne – South Bend

• It would serve the 10 million travelers who pass through our diocese on the Indiana Toll Road every year.

Estimated Start-Up Cost is under $7 million!

To Inquire please contact:

Robert Kloska

(574) 274-9744

rlkloska@gmail.com