2 OF 2
In the Communion of Saints, we the Church Militant, the Church Triumphant and the Church Suffering are all one. So the prayers of one member can benefit another. However, even though the sacraments have every eternal/heavenly implication for us, they are given to us for our pilgrimage here on earth…exclusively. Even in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which is timeless, Our Blessed Lord in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar, who is “eternally begotten of the Father”, bows down in His infinite humility becoming subject in space and time to the appearances of bread…out of love for us…to be with us.
Sacraments then are sense perceptible signs which effect what they signify;
so we are bound by them here – in time and in space. While slight variations in correct form or matter due to special circumstances sometimes arise, in general if the correct form and matter of a sacrament are not present, then neither is the sacrament present.
A penitent not meeting with the priest is incongruent with the meaning of the sacrament within space; and absolution for sins being granted by a priest after the death of a no-show penitent is incongruent to the meaning of the sacrament within time.
Quite simply stated, the sacraments can only be administered to a person from the moment of birth, to the moment of death. So we may say with certainty that no priest can grant absolution to a dead person retroactively.
There are so many things (if you find the word “
wrong” too strong)
misguided in the scenario presented. It is backwards to the real world. The priest is brought to the one in danger of death … the sins aren’t “sent out” to the priest.
The priest and penitent must meet in person for this sacrament. In their 2006
The Sacrament of Reconciliation: A Theological and Pastoral Reflection for the Ministers of the Sacrament, the Canadian Conference of Catholic bishops, in article 33 emphasize that, “Thought should also be given to the actual place or space assigned for the celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation with an individual penitent….”
cccb.ca/site/content/view/2574/lang,eng/
All of this presupposes a personal meeting between the penitent and Christ represented by the priest.
Considering the scenario again, how could the priest be certain that the person about to be hung did not have hateful or vengeful thoughts towards his executioners
after sending his “confession” to the priest?
How would the penitent, who is already dead, be able to perform the penance (satisfaction) recommended by the priest ? How could the priest make this known to him?
Again, **we are bound by the Sacraments **here,
but we need to remember that God is not.
Did you know that at the approach of death, if a priest can not be present, a rightly disposed person can receive a plenary indulgence simply by desiring it ?..
pph’s 9&10 from this link
catholic.com/thisrock/1994/9411fea1sb4.asp are identical to the
Handbook of Indulgences Article 28.(Catholic Book Publishing Company, 1991)
Consider the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick’s 4 major effects:
“The special grace of the sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick has as its effects: the uniting of the sick person to the passion of Christ, for his own good and that of the whole Church; the strengthening, peace, and courage to endure in a Christian manner the sufferings of illness or old age; the forgiveness of sins, if the sick person was not able to obtain it through the sacrament of penance; the restoration of health, if it is conducive to the salvation of his soul; the preparation for passing over to eternal life”
catholic.com/library/Anointing_of_the_Sick.asp
*(condensed from CCC 1520-1523).
So when in danger of death why settle for the forgiveness of sins alone, when we can additionally gain a special grace for what is to come and also have our sufferings take on a redemptive value being united more closely to the Passion of Our Lord. ?
Although the Ox Bow Incident may have been a great movie, the producer/director/writer really misses the boat on Confession. Pardon the colloquialism, but they surely were barking up the wrong sacrament on that one. The Anointing of the Sick provides much more abundantly for the faithful in those circumstances.
Sometimes questions can be a little too elaborate. This can cloud the issue making answers difficult to understand. Once the unnecessary props and glitter have been trimmed away, this is the question you’re asking, lotsofchuckles :
If one of the faithful, in danger of death and unable to see a priest, writes down what he/she considers to be their confession and sends it to a priest that they may be granted absolution by the priest after their death , is this a valid Confession ? The answer is no.
Could God, in His infinite Mercy, because of the admirable contrition manifested in a soul so disposed, grant that child of His equal or greater grace, blessings, remission (plenary indulgence) than those received in sacramental Confession ? Absolutely.
I pray that we don’t allow the sacramentally incorrect musings of a director or producer to hold too much sway in our minds which could prevent us from thinking “outside the box”.
It would appear, dear friend, lotsofchuckles that in order to prevent abuses, this “mail-order Confession” is going to have to be filed right beside my own “telephone-order Confession”… in the recycle bin.
God Bless
