If the Priest does not say "I absolve you..." is my confession still valid?

  • Thread starter Thread starter FishyPete
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
F

FishyPete

Guest
Hello,

I am new here, so please forgive me if I breach any protocol whatsoever. Here’s my question. I went to confession today and the Priest who heard my confession did not say the words “I absolve you…”. Instead he said something to the effect of: “Through the ministry of the church may God grant you pardon and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” I don’t remember the exact words because I was listening intently for the “I absolve you part”. He had a bit of an accent, so to be honest, I cant tell if he said the words or not.

Now I am fully sorry for my sins, both before, during and after my confession, but I am concerned that the confession is not fully valid?

A quick search on the web found these bits of info:

Absolution
Question from LR on 04-13-2001:

Father, i went to confession, and the priest did not say, “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, the SOn and the HOly Spirit” - what is the proper form of confession? where can I find more info? He said something like, “Jesus has freed you of your sins…” I prefer the other way (“I absolve you…”) but was that OK?
Answer by Fr. Robert J. Levis on 04-13-2001:

Dear LR, The priest recited only part of the formula. Enough to be valid however. Happy Easter. Fr. Bob Levis

COPYRIGHT 2002

And this…

The words “Ego te absolvo…” are absolutely essential to the validity of the sacrament. The priest must say, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father��.

In this case God would certainly restore a sincere penitent to the state of grace in spite of the priest’s omission. But this would not remove the obligation of confessing a mortal sin again and receiving absolution. It would not be necessary in the case of venial sin.

I would suggest that you go to confession at your earliest convenience and tell the priest what has happened. He will guide you.

But i’m not sure? I think this same Priest did the same thing to me last year (I go to this church only for confession), and that was my first confession in 15 years… do I need to confess ALL my sins again over the last year to another priest…

I AM SO Confused…

I can only hope that my confessions were valid. I felt so relieved after confessing my sins last year, have I been living a lie and taking the host every Sunday without being in a state of Grace?

Any insight is welcomed!
 
Hello,

I am new here, so please forgive me if I breach any protocol whatsoever. Here’s my question. I went to confession today and the Priest who heard my confession did not say the words “I absolve you…”. Instead he said something to the effect of: “Through the ministry of the church may God grant you pardon and peace, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” I don’t remember the exact words because I was listening intently for the “I absolve you part”. He had a bit of an accent, so to be honest, I cant tell if he said the words or not.

Now I am fully sorry for my sins, both before, during and after my confession, but I am concerned that the confession is not fully valid?

A quick search on the web found these bits of info:
Code: 
Absolution
Question from LR on 04-13-2001:

Father, i went to confession, and the priest did not say, "I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, the SOn and the HOly Spirit" - what is the proper form of confession? where can I find more info? He said something like, "Jesus has freed you of your sins...." I prefer the other way ("I absolve you...") but was that OK?
Answer by Fr. Robert J. Levis on 04-13-2001:

Dear LR, The priest recited only part of the formula. Enough to be valid however. Happy Easter. Fr. Bob Levis

COPYRIGHT 2002
And this…
Code: 
The words "Ego te absolvo..." are absolutely essential to the validity of the sacrament. The priest must say, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father��.

In this case God would certainly restore a sincere penitent to the state of grace in spite of the priest's omission. But this would not remove the obligation of confessing a mortal sin again and receiving absolution. It would not be necessary in the case of venial sin.

I would suggest that you go to confession at your earliest convenience and tell the priest what has happened. He will guide you.
But i’m not sure? I think this same Priest did the same thing to me last year (I go to this church only for confession), and that was my first confession in 15 years… do I need to confess ALL my sins again over the last year to another priest…

I AM SO Confused…

I can only hope that my confessions were valid. I felt so relieved after confessing my sins last year, have I been living a lie and taking the host every Sunday without being in a state of Grace?

Any insight is welcomed!
 
“I absolve you from your sins” is generally considered the necessary part of the form of absolution (in the Latin Church) to be validly absolved. Though the Council of Trent (and St Thomas Aquinas) seem to suggest that “I absolve you” is all that is actually necessary for correct form:

“The holy synod doth furthermore teach, that the form of the sacrament of penance, wherein its force principally consists, is placed in those words of the minister, I absolve thee, &c: to which words indeed certain prayers are, according to the custom of holy Church, laudably joined, which nevertheless by no means regard the essence of that form, neither are they necessary for the administration of the sacrament itself.” - The Council of Trent, Session XIV, Ch 3
Source: thecounciloftrent.com/ch14.htm

“Pastors should not neglect to explain the form of the Sacrament of Penance. A knowledge of it will excite the faithful to receive the grace of this Sacrament with the greatest possible devotion. Now the form is: I absolve thee, as may be inferred not only from the words, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth shall be bound also in heaven, but also from the teaching of Christ our Lord, handed down to us by the Apostles.” Catechism of the Council of Trent, The Sacrament of Penance
Source: cin.org/users/james/ebooks/master/trent/tsacr-p.htm
 
So then my confession is in no way valid? I’m not sure even exactly what he said, he said it so fast, and I tried my best to listen…
 
The sacrament may not be valid, but your sin was forgiven before you even entered the confessional.

peace and all good!
 
Do I need to re-confess the exact same list of sins to be free of them then? I go to confession regularily, but I try to corect my actions, so I may not sin in that way again. I am confused, and upset by this…?
 
Hi, Pete!

You mention that there were extenuating circumstances – the priest had an accent that you didn’t understand. It’s possible that he did say “I absolve you”, but you didn’t hear it.

In fact, the current ritual of the Sacrament of Reconciliation has the formula of absolution as follows:
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.
Click to expand...
(See the Catechism, paragraph 1449).

It would seem that, even if the priest didn’t say these words, it was his intent to do so. You are forgiven. If it makes you feel better, then the next time that you go to Confession, tell the priest that you didn’t hear the words of absolution last time, and want to make sure you don’t miss them this time.

Blessings,

G.
 
Gorgias said:
Hi, Pete!

You mention that there were extenuating circumstances – the priest had an accent that you didn’t understand. It’s possible that he did say “I absolve you”, but you didn’t hear it.

In fact, the current ritual of the Sacrament of Reconciliation has the formula of absolution as follows:

(See the Catechism, paragraph 1449).

It would seem that, even if the priest didn’t say these words, it was his intent to do so. You are forgiven. If it makes you feel better, then the next time that you go to Confession, tell the priest that you didn’t hear the words of absolution last time, and want to make sure you don’t miss them this time.

Blessings,

G.
Click to expand...
Yes, those are the words he said, except I did not hear the “I absolve you part”… I tried to listen for it.

I feel terrible about it. Going to confession is not easy for me, but I try to go as often as I can.
 
The Greek/Arabic Byzantine Churches use this deprecatory form of absolution:

“God it was who forgave David through Nathan the Prophet, when he confessed his sins, and Peter weeping bitterly for his denial, and the sinful woman in tears at his feet, and the Publican, and the Prodigal Son: May that same God forgive thee all things, through me a sinner, both in this present world, and in that which is to come, and set thee uncondemned before his dread Judgement Seat. And now, having no further care for the sins which thou hast declared, depart in peace.”

In the Oriental churches the present forms are deprecatory, though they by no means exclude the idea of a judicial pronouncement on the part of the minister. Such are the forms of absolution among

Greeks,
Russians,
Syrians,
Armenians,
Copts.

…]

In the light, therefore, of history and of theological opinion it is perfectly safe to conclude that the deprecatory form is certainly not invalid, if it exclude not the idea of judicial pronouncement (Palmieri, Parergon, 127; Hurter, de Pœnit.; Duchesne, loc. cit.; Soto, Vasquez, Estius, et al.). Theologians, however, have questioned whether or not the deprecatory form would be valid today in the Latin Church, and they point out that Clement VIII and Benedict XIV have prescribed that Greek priests should use the indicative form whensoever they absolve penitents belonging to the Latin Rite. But this is merely a matter of discipline, and such decrees do not give final decision to the theological question, for in matters of administration of the Sacraments those in authority simply follow the safest and most conservative opinions.
Source: newadvent.org/cathen/01061a.htm
 
Zekariya said:
The Greek/Arabic Byzantine Churches use this form of absolution:

“God it was who forgave David through Nathan the Prophet, when he confessed his sins, and Peter weeping bitterly for his denial, and the sinful woman in tears at his feet, and the Publican, and the Prodigal Son: May that same God forgive thee all things, through me a sinner, both in this present world, and in that which is to come, and set thee uncondemned before his dread Judgement Seat. And now, having no further care for the sins which thou hast declared, depart in peace.”

In the Oriental churches the present forms are deprecatory, though they by no means exclude the idea of a judicial pronouncement on the part of the minister. Such are the forms of absolution among

Greeks,
Russians,
Syrians,
Armenians,
Copts.

…]

In the light, therefore, of history and of theological opinion it is perfectly safe to conclude that the deprecatory form is certainly not invalid, if it exclude not the idea of judicial pronouncement (Palmieri, Parergon, 127; Hurter, de Pœnit.; Duchesne, loc. cit.; Soto, Vasquez, Estius, et al.). Theologians, however, have questioned whether or not the deprecatory form would be valid today in the Latin Church, and they point out that Clement VIII and Benedict XIV have prescribed that Greek priests should use the indicative form whensoever they absolve penitents belonging to the Latin Rite. But this is merely a matter of discipline, and such decrees do not give final decision to the theological question, for in matters of administration of the Sacraments those in authority simply follow the safest and most conservative opinions.
Source: newadvent.org/cathen/01061a.htm
Click to expand...
Please forgive my ignorance, but I do not understand your answer. So my Catholic confession was valid, even if he did not say “I absolve you”?
 
FishyPete said:
Please forgive my ignorance, but I do not understand your answer. So my Catholic confession was valid, even if he did not say “I absolve you”?
Click to expand...
Zekariya is pointing out to you that, in the Eastern Catholic churches, absolution doesn’t take the form of a declaration (“I absolve you”) but instead, takes the form of a request of God (“may God forgive you”). Therefore, this kind of prayer (formally called a ‘deprecative’ prayer) is valid in the Eastern Catholic Church.
 
Zekariya said:
From the limited information that you gave, it would be better to be safe assume that it is invalid.
Click to expand...
Ok. So my sins were not forgiven going back a full year then, since this Priest did my confession then as well, and did the same thing?

My was my information limited?

He said this:

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,
… in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

But I did not hear the I absolve you part. 😦
 
FishyPete said:
Ok. So my sins were not forgiven going back a full year then, since this Priest did my confession then as well, and did the same thing?

My was my information limited?

He said this:

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,
… in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

But I did not hear the I absolve you part. 😦
Click to expand...
I think that you should talk to your priest about this. 🙂
 
Zekariya said:
From the limited information that you gave, it would be seem to be invalid.
Click to expand...
:banghead:

If that’s all you’re saying, then at least be fair in your conclusion, and don’t over-reach. All you’re saying is “from the limited information that you gave, I cannot say that it was valid”; saying “it would seem to be invalid” is a whole 'nother conclusion, for which you have no proof.

Pete – if you’re worried, go back to the priest and tell him about your concern. Let him tell you that he absolved you of your sins, and then go in peace and don’t worry about this any further.
 
Gorgias said:
:banghead:

If that’s all you’re saying, then at least be fair in your conclusion, and don’t over-reach. All you’re saying is “from the limited information that you gave, I cannot say that it was valid”; saying “it would seem to be invalid” is a whole 'nother conclusion, for which you have no proof.

Pete – if you’re worried, go back to the priest and tell him about your concern. Let him tell you that he absolved you of your sins, and then go in peace and don’t worry about this any further.
Click to expand...
Thanks, I think I will do this.
 
Gorgias said:
:banghead:

If that’s all you’re saying, then at least be fair in your conclusion, and don’t over-reach. All you’re saying is “from the limited information that you gave, I cannot say that it was valid”; saying “it would seem to be invalid” is a whole 'nother conclusion, for which you have no proof.

Pete – if you’re worried, go back to the priest and tell him about your concern. Let him tell you that he absolved you of your sins, and then go in peace and don’t worry about this any further.
Click to expand...
I did not hear the priest absolve. Maybe he spoke more quietly the “I absolve you” part. It is invalid if the priest did not say “I absolve you”. One cannot make a conclusion with certainty. One should err on the side of safety.
 
Zekariya said:
I did not hear the priest absolve. Maybe he spoke more quietly the “I absolve you” part. It is invalid if the priest did not say “I absolve you”. One cannot make a conclusion with certainty.
Click to expand...
Exactly, he may have done what you have said, which is why im confused. I think I did not hear it…

My regular parish Priest says “I absolve you” very loudly and proudly. But I don’t always go to my parish for confession.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top