I went to confession before Father Hood realized he was not validly ordained. Did I receive absolution of my sins through him?
No, you did not receive sacramental absolution, which is the act of a priest during confession through which God grants the penitent pardon and peace. Since Father Hood was not validly ordained, he was unable to provide sacramental absolution.
However, in this situation, you should reflect on the fact that you attempted to do as Jesus instructed us in the Gospel when he gave priests the power to absolve sins (Jn. 20:22–23). You can always be comforted in the fact that God knows that you made every effort to follow His plan exactly for the forgiveness of your sins. The Church, following St. Thomas Aquinas, maintains that God has bound Himself to the sacraments, but He is not bound by the sacraments (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church , 1257 and St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa theologiae III, q. 64 a. 7 and III q. 68 a. 2). This means that while we can have certainty that God always works through the sacraments when they are properly conferred by the minister, God is not bound by the sacraments in that He can and does extend His grace in a sovereign way. We can be assured that all those who approached Father Hood, in good faith, to make a confession did not walk away without some measure of grace and forgiveness from God.
That said, if you recall any grave (mortal) sins that you would have confessed to Father Hood before he was validly ordained and you have not yet been to a subsequent confession, you must bring them to your next confession explaining to any priest what has happened. If you cannot remember if you confessed any grave sins, you should bring that fact to your next confession as well. A subsequent absolution will include those sins and will give you peace of mind.
