Confession and absolution

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Hi! I went to confession today. My last confession was approx 35 years ago so I was really nervous.I explained to the preist that I have been away from the sacraments for awhile and went on to confess. After confessing Father and I spoke about certain things then he asked me to say the Act of Contrition. Then he gave me my penance. After that he said next is the absolution…and something like I absolve your sins. Now I was still really nervous and did not hear exactly what he said during the absolution. My question is that since I did not hear the absolution is my confession valid?

Thanks!
 
LICath said:
Hi! I went to confession today. My last confession was approx 35 years ago so I was really nervous.I explained to the preist that I have been away from the sacraments for awhile and went on to confess. After confessing Father and I spoke about certain things then he asked me to say the Act of Contrition. Then he gave me my penance. After that he said next is the absolution…and something like I absolve your sins. Now I was still really nervous and did not hear exactly what he said during the absolution. My question is that since I did not hear the absolution is my confession valid?

Thanks!
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Welcome home!

Yes, it’s valid.

If someone sneezed next to you in Mass and you couldn’t hear a couple words of the final blessing, would it mean you didn’t get blessed? Of course not.
 
LICath said:
Hi! I went to confession today. My last confession was approx 35 years ago so I was really nervous.I explained to the preist that I have been away from the sacraments for awhile and went on to confess. After confessing Father and I spoke about certain things then he asked me to say the Act of Contrition. Then he gave me my penance. After that he said next is the absolution…and something like I absolve your sins. Now I was still really nervous and did not hear exactly what he said during the absolution. My question is that since I did not hear the absolution is my confession valid?

Thanks!
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Congratulations on your return to the Sacraments. Your absolution was valid. I never hear the words of absolution because my priest says it while I’m praying the Act of Contrition. Besides, he often says it in his native language, which I don’t understand. Again, congratulations and welcome back.
 
Congratulations and welcome back Home!!

May this be the relationship that brings you back Home to be a Saint!!
 
Thank you all for your support. It has been tough gaining the courage to actually go to confession after 35 years but I felt the need and want to reconnect with my Catholic upbringing.
Thanks again for your quick replies on this 🙂 I really appreciate it!
 
Congratulations and welcome home. Your next step is to cling to the sacramental life of the Church as if your eternal life depended on it - and it does. Frequent reception of the Eucharist and frequent confessions will cleanse your soul and purify your spirit. There is no better feeling than remaining in a state of grace and knowing that if you do stumble, the Church is there to catch you and send you back on your way toward God.
 
LICath said:
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For reference, the words of absolution are shown below.**

Catechism of the Catholic Church**

1449 The formula of absolution used in the Latin Church expresses the essential elements of this sacrament: the Father of mercies is the source of all forgiveness. He effects the reconciliation of sinners through the Passover of his Son and the gift of his Spirit, through the prayer and ministry of the Church:

God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself
and sent the Holy Spirit among us
for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give you pardon and peace,
and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.48
 
I stumbled upon a very useful meditative prayer in which one recalls all causes of pent up anger, bitterness or any kind of grudge and forgives the person who caused it. When I prayed this in meditation before the Blessed sacrament I experienced a joyful peace that was heavenly.

I strongly feel that the process of administering the ‘sacrament of penance’ must be enriched to comprise both repentance and forgiveness. This will also be perfectly in line with our Lord’s teaching.
 
After thinking more about my confession yesterday I have another question.
Since my confession went back some 35 years ago,
when I was confessing a sin from awhile back I said that I committed the sin when I was 17 when I should have said between 17 and 18 because it was really 18…I think I was just still nervous. Would my confession still be valid or would I need to re-confess just this one sin again?
I have come back to the Church and don’t want to think my sins were forgiven if they have not been.
 
LICath said:
After thinking more about my confession yesterday I have another question.
Since my confession went back some 35 years ago,
when I was confessing a sin from awhile back I said that I committed the sin when I was 17 when I should have said between 17 and 18 because it was really 18…I think I was just still nervous. Would my confession still be valid or would I need to re-confess just this one sin again?
I have come back to the Church and don’t want to think my sins were forgiven if they have not been.
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You’re not required to confess to specific dates of events, or even to what age you were when the event occured (unless it is particularly germain to the situation). All you’re required to confess to is which grave sins and give an indicator of their number/frequency… such as “when I was young I stole 3 cars to make money”, or “I missed mass twice in the last month”.

As long as you weren’t intentionally deceiving the priest to hide your culpability for something, you should be just fine. You could always just make a brief appointment to speak with your priest about it if you’re TRULY uncomfortable…
 
“When Christ’s faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon.” (CCC1456)
Not only is that sin absolved, but so are any you might have unintentionally forgotten. Walk in that grace and don’t let the Enemy try to steal it from you. He’s like opposing political candidates. He takes all of your dirt (confessed or not) and likes to throw it at you to see if any of it sticks. Just look it/him square in the face, say “absolved” and go on your way. Eventually he gets the point.

Welcome back to the Church!
Kris
 
Welcome back to the Church!!! Your confession was valid and awesome!! I came back after over twenty five years of not going to confession. I know how you feel. I go to confession about once a week and receive the Eucharist as often as I can. You did great!! 👍 👍
 
The only essential words of the Sacrament are “ego te absolvo” i.e. “I absolve you” and all the rest is gravy. For liceity the entire prayer should be recited from the book, but for validity, not strictly necessary.
 
Elizium23 said:
The only essential words of the Sacrament are “ego te absolvo” i.e. “I absolve you” and all the rest is gravy. For liceity the entire prayer should be recited from the book, but for validity, not strictly necessary.
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In terms of formula, yes, that is correct… however, that does not negate the fact that all mortal sins must be confessed in kind and number for a valid confession.
 
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