Maybe My Math is Off

I belong to a vibrant, growing parish. We are blessed with over 3,000 registered families, with an ebb and flow of approximately 30 families per month. Ministries abound. The parish school has a waiting list. New buildings are under construction to meet the burgeoning need. By all the usual indicators, we are perceived as a strong Catholic community. After receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation one Saturday, I paused to reflect on why, in such a robust parish, the line outside the confessional was so short. I decided to crunch a few numbers. Suppose that our 3,000 registered families have four members each - husband, wife and two children. Further suppose that only one of the two children in each family is over the age of reason, which means they have received their First Communion. Given this demographic, there are then three people in each household whom (we hope) routinely receive the Eucharist. These same people would incur a commensurate obligation to receive Reconciliation, so they are in a state of grace to receive Holy Communion. This yields a total of 9,000 Catholics in need of sacramental absolution. Minimum. Reconciliation is typically administered on every Saturday of the year except Holy Saturday, which means 51 Saturdays are available for the Sacrament. Again being conservative, let