A priest hears a confession at the 2025 Diocese of Charlotte’s Bishop’s Youth Pilgrimage. During Advent make time for confession. (Troy C. Hull | Catholic News Herald)MOUNT AIRY — The Advent season is in full swing, marked by lighting candles each week on wreaths in churches and homes. Many Catholics use the season as a time to do special spiritual reading or works of charity in preparation for Christ’s coming.
But the weeks leading up to Christ’s birth also can be a season of penance as people ready their hearts for Christ.
“This season is a moment when we prepare our hearts and minds as we await the coming of the Messiah,” said Father Peter Nouck, pastor at Holy Angels Church in Mount Airy. “We renew our desire for His return in the Second Coming and prepare to celebrate his birth at Christmas. In the penitential aspect of this season of preparation, we are called to repent and convert to make room for Christ.”
Catholics most often associate Lent with penance and are actively encouraged to go to confession then. However, Advent is also an important time to consider confession as a way of welcoming the Savior at Christmas.
The idea of penitence as preparation for Christ’s birth was a central part of Church practice prior to the early 20th century. Advent was considered a penitential season, with practices that varied depending on the region and the historical era, including fasting and abstaining from meat on Fridays. Mandatory fasting during Advent was removed by the 1917 Code of Canon Law.
Today, the season has shifted to preparation that can also ideally include confessing sins.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has called for Advent with “an element of penance … in the sense of preparing, quieting and disciplining our hearts for the full joy of Christmas.”
During Advent, many parishes offer penance services that include communal prayers and Scripture readings, followed by private confessions. St. Matthew Church in Charlotte, for example, held one Dec. 1 that drew more than 700 people, Father Patrick Cahill reported.
“Advent penance services give us an opportunity to receive God’s forgiveness and prepare for the coming of Christ,” said Father Nouck, noting that Holy Angels Church will hold its Advent penance service at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9.
Attending a parish penance service also raises awareness of how sin can impact those around us, he said.
“Penance services are communal because sin does not just have a personal dimension but a communal dimension as well – our sins influence others, too,” he said.
During Advent, check your parish bulletin to see if a service is planned at your parish or one nearby, or attend confession on your own.
— Christina Lee Knauss