Concluding sacrament of penance by saying "thank you, Father"

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Is this correct? I say it out of politeness and habit.

But sacramentally, the priest doesn’t forgive me, but rather God. So thanking the priest may be… innappropriate?
 
I just say to the priest thank you and God bless you. Because its through them why we are able to eat the Lord’s body every week
 
You’re thanking the priest for his time and service in providing you with the sacrament. You’re not thanking him for his forgiveness.

I always say, “Thank you Father” as I was taught in second grade, and often add that I will pray for him.
 
Searching1 said:
Is this correct? I say it out of politeness and habit.
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If the priest ends with “go in peace”, then “thanks be to God” would be an appropriate response. A “thank you” after that? Polite, and nice.
Searching1 said:
But sacramentally, the priest doesn’t forgive me, but rather God. So thanking the priest may be… innappropriate?
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Ahh, but the priest does absolve you, so there is something he’s done that you might wish to thank him for… 🤔
 
I’ve also read in The Little Catechism on Confession that “His Mercy endures forever” is an appropriate prayer to say in conclusion. But often, when I have said that, I get silence. But when I say “thank you, father,” I get a “go in peace.”
 
You usually would only say that if the priest dismissed you with the words “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.” It’s a little weird when I say “Go in peace,” and the response is “His mercy endures forever.”

-Fr ACEGC
 
I always say Thank you Father.
Gratitude.
Now, if you consider gratitude as a a “tit for tat”, as fulfilling some some sort of commercial transaction, then yea, that’s not gratitude.
 
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My pastor always says, “Go in peace” to which I reply, “Thanks be to God.” Then after a brief pause I say, “Thank you, Father.”

It’s a courtesy. I try to thank my priests whenever I can. They do a lot for us, and deserve our thanks.
 
I always say thank you to the priest too…Also I think he would appreciate that we thank him!
 
From Rite of Penance, Chapter I, Rite for Reconciliation of Individual Penitents:

“PROCLAMATION OF PRAISE OF GOD AND DISMISSAL

47 . After the absolution, the priest continues:

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.
The penitent concludes: His mercy endures for ever.

Then the priest dismisses the penitent who has been reconciled, saying:

The Lord has freed you from your sins. Go in peace.”

This dismissal has no response. There are four other dismissal options in the book. One of them has the response “Amen” at the end. The others have no response. The one with the response is:

“ The Lord has freed you from sin.
May he bring you safely to his kingdom in heaven.
Glory to him for ever.

R. Amen.”

It has in n. 21:

“SHORTER RITE
21. When pastoral need dictates, the priest may omit or shorten some parts of the rite but must always retain in their entirety the penitent’s confession of sins and acceptance of the act of penance, the invitation to contrition (no. 45), and the formularies of absolution and dismissal.”

So “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good” is optional. It is not a dismissal, but a Proclamation of Praise. The dismissal is required.

[Excerpts from the English translation of the Rite of Penance © 1974, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. All rights reserved.]
 
I always say thank you Father for your service to Holy Mother Church.
 
Nothing wrong with saying thank you. It isn’t said enough, these days.
 
The expectation is that the priest would give his life before revealing your confession. I think it’s worth a “thank you”.
 
The statement that we use here in Korea is “Amen, thank you (thanks to be God)”.

I don’t think being polite is necessarily wrong. I think it’s okay.
 
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