Do I need to reconfess?

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Arkadin

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I went to confession yesterday and it was to a priest who (last time I went to him) said the bare minimum for absolution. “I absolve you…”

He said it again this time. I realized it was valid and went off and said my penance. While praying, I thought about the validity and out of nowhere I wondered if he said “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. I couldn’t remember, but reasoned with myself knowing how scrupulous I am and never can find myself to be at peace.

So, I was able to dismiss it and went and received communion a little bit later. Well, last night the doubt came back to mind and now I wonder if I should reconfess or leave it alone and assume he said the words properly. I can’t seem to be at peace ever and I’m now spending my whole day worrying about it.

I can’t say for certain whether he said it properly or not. I think he did, but at the same time I don’t know.
 
I think that you can be safe in assuming the validity because even if he forgot to say that part, if he had the intention to absolve you then you are absolved. Men are fallible and sometimes, priests forget words. We are blessed that Our Lord set up sturdy Sacraments, and we can trust in Him.
 
I believe it’s safe to say you are absolved. If it still nags at you, the next time you go to confession go to a different priest and ask him. I’m sure he will say the same. A similar thing happened to me years ago so that’s what I did, only I did it the next day (it really bothered me). The priest said I was absolved already, but he gladly gave me a blessing and sent me on my way. 🙂

Pax†
 
Arkadin said:
I went to confession yesterday and it was to a priest who (last time I went to him) said the bare minimum for absolution. “I absolve you…”

He said it again this time. I realized it was valid and went off and said my penance. While praying, I thought about the validity and out of nowhere I wondered if he said “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. I couldn’t remember, but reasoned with myself knowing how scrupulous I am and never can find myself to be at peace.

So, I was able to dismiss it and went and received communion a little bit later. Well, last night the doubt came back to mind and now I wonder if I should reconfess or leave it alone and assume he said the words properly. I can’t seem to be at peace ever and I’m now spending my whole day worrying about it.

I can’t say for certain whether he said it properly or not. I think he did, but at the same time I don’t know.
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Scruples can put one in fear of this sort of thing.

Does this priest ordinarily say “in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”? …

Do you remember him NOT saying this?

The " I think so…but I fear not" is a good way to describe a scruple…

“it seems x happened…or maybe not…hummm…”

and even if it was* invalid*…if no certain mortal sins were confessed…nothing would need to be reconfessed…anyhow (not asking for a confession here :)…)

Today of course being Saturday…lots of scheduled confessions are out there this afternoon for any mortal sins…one can confess them and a couple of venial sins and tell the priest you were not sure about the absolution…but i would go to another Priest…

and then get a Regular confessor to work on your scruples with…

(I do not recommend running to confession each time you have fear …)
 
Arkadin said:
I went to confession yesterday and it was to a priest who (last time I went to him) said the bare minimum for absolution. “I absolve you…”

He said it again this time. I realized it was valid and went off and said my penance. While praying, I thought about the validity and out of nowhere I wondered if he said “in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit”. I couldn’t remember, but reasoned with myself knowing how scrupulous I am and never can find myself to be at peace.

So, I was able to dismiss it and went and received communion a little bit later. Well, last night the doubt came back to mind and now I wonder if I should reconfess or leave it alone and assume he said the words properly. I can’t seem to be at peace ever and I’m now spending my whole day worrying about it.

I can’t say for certain whether he said it properly or not. I think he did, but at the same time I don’t know.
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👍👍 this has happened to me a number of times.i recall one time not hearing anything after my confession. i ended up asking the priest if he gave me absolution. he got a little upset and said yes he did.at my next confession with another priest i mentioned this. his comment you were absolved your intentions were good and God knows that.put it behind you and don’t be afraid to question when in doubt. a priest will sometime say the prayers in silence. for your own piece of mind don’t be afraid to ask God Bless.
 
PS: My understanding is that the “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” is not absolutely required for validity…

so since he said at least “I absolve you” …that would be considered valid (though of course one should follow the full form…)

I confirmed this understanding with a Priest who teaches these things in University at Rome…
 
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