"Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned"?

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I don’t go to the same confessor very often. Some priests will offer a greeting and others do not. Last time I went in (behind the screen) and the priest just said “you can begin”. I was always taught “Bless me Father for I have sinned. It has been ___ long since my last confession.” Seems to be the standard.
 
You should not say “Forgive me…” but rather “Bless me father for I have sinned.” Once when I was young I said “Forgive me…” and after my confession the priest corrected me. The priest does not forgive you, he absolves you. God forgives you.
 
pete_29 said:
I used to say bless me father, but it sounded like I wasking for a favor from God for not obeying Him. Forgive me sounds a bit more humble.
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Isn’t absolution a blessing though? Maybe not in the liturgical sense, but in a very real sense?

Father always greets us with a quick “May the Lord help you to make a good confession, in the name of the +Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.”
I’ve been saying in response, “Bless me Father for I have sinned, it has been _ since my last confession. I have done _ , _ number of times… for these sins I am truly sorry.”

Of course I haven’t been going to confession for very long and have mostly been to just our one priest. My understanding though was that the “Bless me Father…” was just customary and not required, at least not with any particular formula. Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.
 
Is it 100% required to say “Bless me, Father, For I Have Sinned.”

Or can we confess our sins right away?
 
It is not required for you to say “Bless me father for I have sinned…” what is absolutely required is simply your confession of sin and the priest using the correct words of absolution.

I have always been told to begin with the sign of the cross, then saying, “Bless me father for I have sinned. It has been _____ since my last confession.” Then accusing myself of my sins and making the Act of Contrition. The priest then assigns the penance and gives the absolution.

In my Manual of Prayers there is a very large section that includes several different acts of contrition, and examination of conscience and an order of confession. This order includes all of the above elements in addition to the reading of scripture. The book says that either the penitent or the priest can read the passages but I have never read scripture, nor have I been in a confessional where the priest reads scripture.
 
This is one of those examples of people saying “we don’t do that anymore” when in fact, the Church doesn’t say that, but says the exact opposite.

The instructions for the “new” rite of Penance say this
  1. The penitent then confesses his sins, beginning, where customary, with a form of general confession: I confess to Almighty God. If necessary, the priest should help…*
The words themselves can vary, but yes, the penitent should begin by saying something like “I confess to Almighty God” or “Bless/forgive me Father for I have sinned” or some other customary formula.

*The red letters and italics are in the original.
 
FrDavid96 said:
This is one of those examples of people saying “we don’t do that anymore” when in fact, the Church doesn’t say that, but says the exact opposite.
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Father, are you referring to my reference to not reading scripture anymore?
 
mwscott said:
Father, are you referring to my reference to not reading scripture anymore?
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No. That wasn’t what I meant.

I meant that I’ve heard people say more than one time “we don’t say ‘bless me Father for I have sinned…’ anymore.”

The rite approved by Pope Paul VI in 1973 still calls for the penitent to express how long it’s been since the last confession, one’s state in life, etc (at least if the priest doesn’t already know this), even though many Catholics today like to throw out the phrase “we don’t do that anymore.”
 
Seatuck said:
Are you talking about the opening of confession? I don’t say that I say “Bless Me, Father for I have sinned” and I am talking to the priest who is there to stand in for Christ.
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^ Me, too! That’s exactly what I say, every time.
(And then I say how long it has been since my last confession. Then I say, “These are my sins, Father…” )

That’s what I was taught to do when I was 6, and no one has ever corrected me for that, even in a very liberal parish I have attended, with few opportunities for confession.
 
Angel7 said:
Is it 100% required to say “Bless me, Father, For I Have Sinned.”
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I don’t think so. I usually just make the sign of the Cross, say how long it’s been, and then start in on my Confession. No one has ever told me that it’s wrong. (I was never actually taught how to go to Confession - the Catechists in our RCIA just set up appointments for us and pretty much threw us in there - we were told to make an Examination of Conscience, and take a look at the ritual as outlined in the St. Joseph’s Missal - but the priest didn’t do anything at all like that ritual, so I kind of made up my own that went with what he was already doing. I never heard of the “Bless me Father” thing until I started teaching Reconciliation to kids a couple of years ago, and by then I was already pretty set in my habits.)
 
I always say, Bless me Father for I have sinned, and they say how long it was since my last confession
 
I don’t think there’s a right way and a wrong way. Simly a good way, and a better way…maybe. I would hope if we said something wrong, the priest would correct us.
 
As a new convert I just had my first confession the beginning of December, and have gone one more time since then. The second time I went (the other day) I forgot to say “Bless me Father for I have sinned”… I started saying it was 3 weeks since my last confession… and the priest interrupted and had me say “Bless me Father…” So I guess my priest wants it done that way, but from reading everyone else’s responses it seems to vary with the priest.
 
NOT saying those specific words won’t make a Confession invalid right?! :eek: :eek: :eek:
 
For a number of years I had a confessor who knew me by name. He heard confessions behind a screen, so I would just plop down on the kneeler and say, “Hi, Father, it’s Betsy.” He’d greet me, and then I’d go on to “It’s been three weeks. Etc.”

Betsy
 
Confess with God only . No one have the right to forgive some other’s sins.

gerard majilla:mad:😊🙂
 
Eucharisted said:
First time reader, long time poster 😃

Whom do we address when we say “Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned”? Are we apologetic to the priest or are we asking God for mercy?
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Both. In third grade, when I made my first Confession BEFORE receiving the Eucharist, by the way (and you know how many years ago THAT was!), my teacher - a saintly nun - told us that we were directing our repentance to both - the priest whom we called Father, and, through him, God, our Father in Heaven because it is through the priest that God forgives us.🙂
 
Something to consider: starting things off with a formula has the advantage of setting a professional, persona Christi, tone. I am too close to my priest. We both must put aside everything for a while as I become penitent and he is confessor. It is not a conversation, but a rite, a Sacred Sacrament. It may be just my opinion, but I think some sort of formality makes it easier, expecially if into the confession things are going to get heavy.
 
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