Absolution at Mass?

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ICXCNIKA

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In the GIRM, paragraph 51 dealing with the Act of Penitence we read, “The rite concludes with the priest’s absolution, which, however, lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance.”

Why does it “lack the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance?”
 
Because that would make it a general absolution and general absolution is only used in cases of emergency…like a plane going down, or soldiers going off to war.

We need to confess our sins to a priest for absolution to be complete.
 
Exactly - mortal sins are only effectively forgiven by auricular confession to a priest followed by absolution. Venial (minor) sins are forgiven in the Penitential Rite of the Mass and by numerous other means too.
 
LilyM said:
Exactly - mortal sins are only effectively forgiven by auricular confession to a priest followed by absolution. Venial (minor) sins are forgiven in the Penitential Rite of the Mass and by numerous other means too.
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Why?
 
ICXCNIKA said:
Why?
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Cos them’s the rules 😉

It makes sense - confession of serious sins to a priest before absolution gives him the chance to be sure you’re truly sorry for them and actually refuse absolution where it might be prudent to do so.

And you’re more likely to need appropriate advice and a penance that’s tailored toward the nature of the sin.

In the case of minor sins
a) I’d be confessing every fifteen minutes and
b) I usually don’t need advice about them. If they’re really problematic I can bring them up at my weekly/fortnightly/monthly confession and get advice for them then instead of having to go every time I do a minor wrong.

Besides, the penitential Rite of Mass is good - reminds us all that we’re all sinners in need of salvation!
 
There’s another thread on this - basically with mortal sins, because they’re more serious in nature there’s a much greater need for care in granting absolution.

Before absolving someone of mortal sin, it’s important to establish that the person a) is genuinely sorry for the sin (otherwise it should be retained) and b) receives appropriate advice or counselling so as to avoid committing the sin again - and preferably a penance that’ll make them think twice where appropriate.

These things can really only done with individual confession to the priest.
 
It’s a similar situation that we can get over-the-counter remedies for simple ailments, but for life-threatening ones we need to put ourselves into the care of those who can be sure we’re getting the right treatment.

It is also a positive thing, as is every “burden” that God places on us. Sins that we know are grave, possibly mortal, will weigh on us much more, and it is a great blessing that God gives us to be able to hear the words of absolution and know without doubt that we are forgiven. If we didn’t hear those words we may brood and worry and never be assured of our forgiveness.
 
A related question: If I have just gone to confession prior to Mass, what should I be thinking about when the priest calls us to “call to mind our sins”? What should I think about as I then participate in the penitential rite and effectively confess again?
 
Spirithound said:
A related question: If I have just gone to confession prior to Mass, what should I be thinking about when the priest calls us to “call to mind our sins”? What should I think about as I then participate in the penitential rite and effectively confess again?
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No reason you can’t call to mind the sins you’ve just confessed and ask for strength to avoid them in future.
 
LilyM said:
Cos them’s the rules 😉

It makes sense - confession of serious sins to a priest before absolution gives him the chance to be sure you’re truly sorry for them and actually refuse absolution where it might be prudent to do so.
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My question is, why isn’t the Mass as efficacious as the Sacrament of Penance?

At Mass we make a general confession of sin and the preist says “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.” Does God not forgive our sins at that point?

How often in Mass do we ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness?

The CCC says (Para. 1392) “Communion with the flesh of the risen Christ, a flesh ‘given life and giving life through the Holy Spirit,’ preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism”

And paragraph 1393 says “…the eucharist cannot unite us to Christ without at the same time cleansing us from past sins and preserving us from future sins…”

If receiving the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ renews the grace received at Baptism and if it cleanses from past sins, why then isn’t it as efficacious as the sacrament of Penance?
 
LilyM said:
There’s another thread on this - basically with mortal sins, because they’re more serious in nature there’s a much greater need for care in granting absolution.

Before absolving someone of mortal sin, it’s important to establish that the person a) is genuinely sorry for the sin (otherwise it should be retained) and b) receives appropriate advice or counselling so as to avoid committing the sin again - and preferably a penance that’ll make them think twice where appropriate.

These things can really only done with individual confession to the priest.
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I know when I am in mortal sin and when I am genuinely sorry for my sins.

I’ve never had a priest evaluate me on the level of my contriteness. They’ve always been happy to hear me recite the act of contrition by rote.

I rarely receive a stringent penance, even when the sin was a serious matter. So, how is that more efficacious when a priest hears my mortal sin, tells me to say one Hail Mary, mutters through the prayer of absolution and tells me to say my act of contrition in the pew?
 
ICXCNIKA said:
I know when I am in mortal sin and when I am genuinely sorry for my sins.

I’ve never had a priest evaluate me on the level of my contriteness. They’ve always been happy to hear me recite the act of contrition by rote.

I rarely receive a stringent penance, even when the sin was a serious matter. So, how is that more efficacious when a priest hears my mortal sin, tells me to say one Hail Mary, mutters through the prayer of absolution and tells me to say my act of contrition in the pew?
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I’m assuming you don’t confess things you’re not truly sorry for. Most people don’t, since it’s voluntary, and priests know this. So in that sense, yes, they evaluate you.

Some people, however, are not like yourself. Imagine a child forced by their parents to go but really thinks they’ve done nothing wrong. Or someone in an illicit relationship who, upon questioning, has no intent of giving up said relationship. And yes, priests do ask, I know I have been asked sometimes!

The truth is, if you confess properly and sincerely it benefits you regardless of the priest.

You’re enumerating by number and kind your own sins to a man who is a fellow sinner, and sometimes a complete stranger. Hopefully you’re not sugarcoating or omitting anything. That alone is a truly humbling experience. And I suspect that may be (partly) why you’re trying to find reasons not to do it - I know I find reasons to put off confession too at times.

Secondly - if you say you’re sorry and intend to, with God’s grace, avoid future sin, without meaning it - what kind of confession is that? The whole point is to mean what you say. If you don’t mean what you say you’re not fooling God even if you may fool the priest (he being human) and may as well not have done it.

Confession is like Mass itself - some people attend merely to go through the motions and don’t enter into the spirit of the thing. To do so does indeed render it a meaningless exercise.

If one DOES put more effort, thought, preparation and so on into either Confession or Mass one gets a lot OUT of them. Even (I can tell you this from my own experience) with an ordinary or substandard priest.
 
ICXCNIKA said:
I know when I am in mortal sin and when I am genuinely sorry for my sins.

I’ve never had a priest evaluate me on the level of my contriteness. They’ve always been happy to hear me recite the act of contrition by rote.

I rarely receive a stringent penance, even when the sin was a serious matter. So, how is that more efficacious when a priest hears my mortal sin, tells me to say one Hail Mary, mutters through the prayer of absolution and tells me to say my act of contrition in the pew?
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Sometimes if I feel in some way beyond the penance given I am still bothered by something, I don’t receive any of the sacraments until it is clear (except confession). After all, we can miss some things in confession which do need to be forgiven, and we need to take some time to ‘know thyself’ and deeply explore our own minds and hearts and understand what it is that makes us tick and whether God’s prescence is there or not, and if you can’t find God’s prescence within yourself, or feel you have in some way cut yourself off from his prescence, you then need to examine your life and actions and see what it is that might be cutting you off from God. I find this is extremely effective in terms of penance, and this can take some time.

As St Gregory of Nyssa remarks, if our hearts are pure then we see God from within, like a light shining which illumines the soul from within as the Sun makes a window light up and become bright and beautiful with colour. The state of a soul in mortal sin is like a window which is covered in thick dust and dirt, grimy so it doesn’t reflect God’s image and likeness. But a soul which is pure and clean of sin, mortal and venial, shines with grace and holiness and mirrors God’s light as like sunlight shining through and in a mirror (as St John of the Cross says somewhere, God is at the centre of the soul). We need to look within and see whether our soul shines in God’s reflected light, or if that light is smothered and darkened and even extinguished by sin. Clearly if the sin is a very grave mortal one, the light is extinguished; if a garden variety one, greatly diminished, and if venial, reduced as if sunlight were blocked by a thin layer of dust and smoke. If cleansed as much as possible, then God’s prescence is like a radiantly beautiful light which lights up the soul gloriously and purely.
 
After reading the replies here in this thread, I would like to express my opinion.

It seems that the sacraments provide a way for us to feel closer to God - like spiritual food. How else can we come to love him if we cannot experience him? Also, I believe that God hears and will forgive us our sins wherever we are, and for whatever reason, as long as we are truly contrite. He is the best judge of that and not a priest. 🙂

Kimberley
 
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