If there's no act of contrition is the absolution valid?

[ukdal1]

I tried to search for it on the forum, but couldn’t find it anywhere. Anyway I went to Confession yesterday and the priest did not ask for an act of contrition. He did give me absolution though…is it still valid? Also, while I’m thinking about it, when you confess your sins are you supposed to give the number of times for each sin??? I haven’t been doing that and I’m worried that I’ve been doing it wrong. Thanks for the help guys. God bless!

 

[willj1365]

I am glad you asked this question - the same thing happened to me last week! I hope you get an answer!

When I went out to say my penance, I made sure I said an Act of Contrition, but it did feel strange that I wasn’t asked to say it. I actually thought about it while I was in the confessional, but didn’t bring it up -

 

[seekerz]

Is this some new trend? The same thing happened to me last week. I guess the important thing is* having * true contrition.

 

[Phemie]

I am glad you asked this question - the same thing happened to me last week! I hope you get an answer!

When I went out to say my penance, I made sure I said an Act of Contrition,but it did feel strange that I wasn’t asked to say it. I actually thought about it while I was in the confessional, but didn’t bring it up -

If it’s a requirement for a valid confession I haven’t had a valid confession since 1991, because that’s the last time I can remember saying the Act of Contrition at Confession.

 

[Linuse]

Hi,
The act of contrition is not an absolutely required part of the sacrament of reconciliation. A priest can give absolution to an unconscious person and it is valid for the remission of sin. (There maybe a very techical exception to this statement, but for our purposes here It is true.)
Also, the presence of a person presenting him/herself for reconciliation is itself and act of contrition in action. So, even if you did not say the words, your very action is itself and ‘act’ of contrition.
As to the number of times of committing a sin-- For mortal sins, we are asked to give a number as close as we reasonalby can. For Venial sins all that is necessary is something like, " I have a bad, (moderate, small) problem with… An exact number is not required at all. This would also hold true for mortal sins for when we have no way of knowing how often we have sinned in a certain way. What really counts is that we try to be honest in what we confess. Exact accuracy is not required.