Forgive me or Bless me?

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Vittorio23

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Alright- now I’m confused, lol. Is the form “Forgive me Father for I have sinned” or is it “Bless me Father for I have sinned”? I’ve read both under different guides to confession and now I’m just confused. 🙂 Help?
 
Vittorio23 said:
Alright- now I’m confused, lol. Is the form “Forgive me Father for I have sinned” or is it “Bless me Father for I have sinned”? I’ve read both under different guides to confession and now I’m just confused. 🙂 Help?
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It’s traditionally, “Bless me” but “forgive me” is also okay. It’s not integral to the Sacrament.
 
Niether is used in the official description of the ceremony.

From the liturgical book “Rite of Penance”, Chapter I, Rite for Reconiliation of Individual Penitents:

“RECEPTION OF THE PENITENT
41. When the penitent comes to confess his sins, the priest welcomes him warmly and greets him with kindness.
42. Then the penitent makes the sign of the cross which the priest may make also.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Then the priest invites the penitent to have trust in God, in these or similar words:
May God, who has enlightened every heart,
help you to know your sins
and trust in his mercy.
The penitent answers: Amen.
Other forms of reception of the penitent may be chosen from nos. 67-71.
READING OF THE WORD OF GOD (OPTIONAL)
43. Then the priest may read or say from memory a text from Scripture which proclaims God’s mercy and call man to conversion.
A reading may also be chosen from those given in nos. 72-83 and 101-201 for the reconciliation of several penitents. The priest and penitent may choose other readings from scripture.
CONFESSION OF SINS AND ACCEPTANCE OF SATISFACTION
44. Where it is the custom, the penitent says a general formula for confession (for example,** I confess to almighty God**) before he confesses his sins.”

In the General Introduction it has:
"WELCOMING THE PENITENT
“16. … The priest may also make the sign of the cross with the penitent. Next the priest briefly urges the penitent to have confidence in God. Penitents who are unknown to the priest are advised to inform him of their state in life, the time of their last confession, their difficulties in leading the Christian life, and anything else that may help the confessor in the exercise of his ministry.
READING THE WORD OF GOD
17. Next, the occasion may be taken for the priest, or even the penitent, to read a text of holy Scripture, or this may be done as part of the preparation for the actual celebration of the sacrament. …”

The “Other forms of reception of the penitent” (of n. 42) that may be chosen from nos. 67-71 are other things the priest can choose to say to the penitent. They include Ezekiel 33:11, Luke 5:32 and 1 John 2:1-2.

Reference: The Rites Volume One, Liturgical Press, 1990, ISBN: 0-8146-6015-0.
 
John_Lilburne said:
Niether is used in the official description of the ceremony.

From the liturgical book “Rite of Penance”, Chapter I, Rite for Reconiliation of Individual Penitents:

“RECEPTION OF THE PENITENT
41. When the penitent comes to confess his sins, the priest welcomes him warmly and greets him with kindness.
42. Then the penitent makes the sign of the cross which the priest may make also.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Then the priest invites the penitent to have trust in God, in these or similar words:
May God, who has enlightened every heart,
help you to know your sins
and trust in his mercy.
The penitent answers: Amen.
Other forms of reception of the penitent may be chosen from nos. 67-71.
READING OF THE WORD OF GOD (OPTIONAL)
43. Then the priest may read or say from memory a text from Scripture which proclaims God’s mercy and call man to conversion.
A reading may also be chosen from those given in nos. 72-83 and 101-201 for the reconciliation of several penitents. The priest and penitent may choose other readings from scripture.
CONFESSION OF SINS AND ACCEPTANCE OF SATISFACTION
44. Where it is the custom, the penitent says a general formula for confession (for example,** I confess to almighty God**) before he confesses his sins.”

In the General Introduction it has:
"WELCOMING THE PENITENT
“16. … The priest may also make the sign of the cross with the penitent. Next the priest briefly urges the penitent to have confidence in God. Penitents who are unknown to the priest are advised to inform him of their state in life, the time of their last confession, their difficulties in leading the Christian life, and anything else that may help the confessor in the exercise of his ministry.
READING THE WORD OF GOD
17. Next, the occasion may be taken for the priest, or even the penitent, to read a text of holy Scripture, or this may be done as part of the preparation for the actual celebration of the sacrament. …”

The “Other forms of reception of the penitent” (of n. 42) that may be chosen from nos. 67-71 are other things the priest can choose to say to the penitent. They include Ezekiel 33:11, Luke 5:32 and 1 John 2:1-2.

Reference: The Rites Volume One, Liturgical Press, 1990, ISBN: 0-8146-6015-0.
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No priest has ever read any Scripture in the confessional when I went.
 
John, you beat me to it.

As long as you get the idea across of how many days/weeks/months since your last confession, confess the mortal sins, if any, in species and number, and express sorrow for your sins, you’re OK. The rest is up to the priest.
 
Vittorio23 said:
Alright- now I’m confused, lol. Is the form “Forgive me Father for I have sinned” or is it “Bless me Father for I have sinned”? I’ve read both under different guides to confession and now I’m just confused. 🙂 Help?
Click to expand...
I think the “Bless me” is more suited to the older form of the sacrament in which the priest actually gave a blessing
Domine sit in corde tuo, et in labiis tuis ut vere et humiliter
confitearis peccata tua, in nomine Patris + et Filli, et Spiritus
Sancti. Amen
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The Lord be on your heart and on your lips that you may truely and humbly confess your sins, in the name of the Father, + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
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Since the priest is no longer giving such a blessing perhaps something else would be more appropriate? Or merely signing yourself with the cross and beginning your confession.
 
One priest would always try to find an application of that Sunday’s readings to whatever sins you were struggling with. One time the reading was so closely related to a particular sin I had confessed that he reassured me that he was already planning to say something in particular about it in his homily, and he wanted to reassure me that when he said that, it wasn’t going to be directed at me! :o
 
I’ve always used, “Bless me, Father.” But I never really understood why.

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” just seems counter-intuitive. it’s like saying, “Bless me for sinning!” before asking forgiveness.
lak611 said:
No priest has ever read any Scripture in the confessional when I went.
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Me, either.

But I am always a little jumpy when the priest says that I need to pray for the Holy Father’s intentions as part of my penance. I mean, what are those intentions (in the days before the Internet, specifically)? but do you offer up random prayers for those intentions, or say, “I pray for the Pope’s intentions?” There was never an outrline on how to do that, and it was always a little vague. It left me feeling uneasy, wondering what I was supposed to say.

Scrupulous? Nah. Just want to the the right thing.
 
CarrieH said:
One priest would always try to find an application of that Sunday’s readings to whatever sins you were struggling with. One time the reading was so closely related to a particular sin I had confessed that he reassured me that he was already planning to say something in particular about it in his homily, and he wanted to reassure me that when he said that, it wasn’t going to be directed at me! :o
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That is so kind of him to do that! I would have crawled under the pew if that had happened to me and he didn’t tell me about it first!!! :eek:

~Liza
 
In the old rite the priest gives a blessing when one first enters the confessional. This gave rise to penitents entering the confessional and saying, “Bless me, Father.” After he did so, they would continue, “It has been _____ since my last confession…” and confess their sins.

American confessionals have tended to have doors or at least heavy curtains, and priests were more likely able to hear people enter. (In Europe, they are more likely to have confessionals without doors or curtains outside the penitent’s box.) Priests (particularly Irish priests, who are masters are hurrying things along) began to give the blessing as soon as they heard someone enter the confessional. Thus, the “Bless me, Father” really became superfluous, but most people continued to say it and then launched directly into their confessions. This became so idenitified with the sacrament that the practice continues to this day.
 
Miserissima said:
I’ve always used, “Bless me, Father.” But I never really understood why.

“Bless me, Father, for I have sinned.” just seems counter-intuitive. it’s like saying, “Bless me for sinning!” before asking forgiveness.
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Kind of like “Thanks be to God” at the end of the Mass especially when the form “The Mass is ended” is used? 😃

No, but previously, in the older ritual for confession, an actual blessing was given, for the grace to make a good confession. One form, for example, was “The Lord be on your heart and on your lips so that you might truly and humbly confess your sins, in the name of the Father + and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

(Dominus sit in corde tuo, et in labiis tuis, ut vere et humiliter confitearis peccata tua, in nomine Patris +, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.)
 
lak611 said:
No priest has ever read any Scripture in the confessional when I went.
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just FYI

the only time that I have had scripture read to me was on my very first confession I made it in 1992
 
AJV said:
No, but previously, in the older ritual for confession, an actual blessing was given, for the grace to make a good confession.
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Miserissima said:
You are too kind to have shared that! Thanks!
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Chatter163 said:
In the old rite the priest gives a blessing when one first enters the confessional. This gave rise to penitents entering the confessional and saying, “Bless me, Father.”
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Aren’t I kind, too? :crying: :crying: :crying:
 
AJV said:
Kind of like “Thanks be to God” at the end of the Mass especially when the form “The Mass is ended” is used? 😃
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Now that’s uncool - you know we’re thanking God for the Mass we’ve just attended, not for the fact that it’s over :tsktsk:
 
Ravyn_Guiliani said:
I had a priest look up Psalm 139 and hand it to me to read once. and I have had many times scripture quoted while he was giving me counsel for what I was confessing.
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I was asked to read Scripture for my penance, but the priest never read it in the confessional.
 
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