MERGED: Another "is my confession valid" thread

[addictedkoala]

I’m visiting my mother this weekend and thus had to go out to an unknown parish for confession. We went into the confessional and I told him my mortal sins and their number, then he gave some advice, then my act of contrition, followed by absolution. Now, I know I did my minimum part in confession, but I’m confused on the priests part. Try to follow me here if you can…

I know the bare minimum for absolution is, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” and I’m assuming that a slight variation on this using synonyms that don’t change the meaning at all are ok. Now, what happened was the priest said, “I grant you that forgiveness” and then told me to make my act of contrition. However, afterwards the prayer of absolution was not the standard one. Finally, he did do the “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” accompanied by the sign of the cross with his hand.

I would have asked him about it but it didn’t occur to me before I was driving home. To me, it would seem valid (however illicit) since “I grant you that forgiveness” does not change the “I” and “grant you forgiveness” may as well be the definition of absolve, and the priest invoked the trinity. Now, I may be stretching logic here since the words I am justifying it with are split, and not technically in the right place. Also, psychologically, I really want to be able to receive Christ this week which is why I made this thread so I can get some (name removed by moderator)ut.

*Note, I do think that proper words/form of absolution are needed and I will not presume on God’s mercy when a priest totally changes things up. Here I am using equivalent meaning as a reason, not God doesn’t care how it’s done.

 

[Don9of11]

I believe your sins have been forgiven. If the priest said “I absolve you” then your sins are forgiven. If you are in doubt, just go back to confession when you get back to your own parish and explain to your parish priest what happened, I am sure he will tell you that your sins were forgiven.

 

[addictedkoala]

I believe your sins have been forgiven. If the priest said “I absolve you” then your sins are forgiven.

He did not say, “I absolve you” but he did say “I grant you forgiveness” which I believe is perfectly synonymous, but obviously not the correct statement. I apologize if I wasn’t clear, I’m a poor explainer

 

[puzzleannie]

I’m visiting my mother this weekend and thus had to go out to an unknown parish for confession. We went into the confessional and I told him my mortal sins and their number, then he gave some advice, then my act of contrition, followed by absolution. Now, I know I did my minimum part in confession, but I’m confused on the priests part. Try to follow me here if you can…

.

stop right here
you did your thing
the priest did his thing
your sins are forgiven
don’t second guess the priest in confession, assume unless something egregious occurs that he knows his job and does it
don’t second guess your confession
accept the gift that has been given and move on
there is no spiritual benefit to this kind of agonizing over your confessions.

 

[ethereality]

I went to Confession at Christ Our King and Savior yesterday (on a family trip) and a priest there, himself visiting from Florida, said different things than I normally hear during the Act of Absolution, along the lines of, “May God take you by the hand and lead your always, …] and may God grant you forgiveness.”

I did not hear him say, “And I absolve you of your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” like I normally hear, and I got the strong impression that he said “may God grant you forgiveness” instead of "And I absolve you …"

Hesitating afterward, before leaving, I tried respectfully (of him and the sacrament and God) to ask him about it; awkwardly I said something like, “Priests normally say, ‘And I absolve you of your sins …’” and he said, “Well, that’s what I said.” I thanked him for his clarification and left; I was short on time. So perhaps that’s what he meant, or perhaps I didn’t hear when he said it.

Is that expression a defining aspect of the sacrament (cf. John 20:23)? Through this sacrament, does God forgive us only through the absolution of the priest, or if the priest “messes up”, does God forgive us anyway? (I understand that if one has perfect contrition, then he is forgiven, in any case, but I may not have it, since I am never sure that God exists.)

I am struck by the bitter irony that the sacrament is supposed to be a means of knowing God’s forgiveness by witnessing the absolution of the sin, yet many still question God’s mercy, due temporarily forgotten sins, an awkward penance, etc. What should I do in situations like these? Should I assume God’s forgiven me? I suppose I shall ask at my parish tomorrow morning, but I would like to know your thoughts.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

I voted NO. On the other hand I am usually busy getting the Act of Contrition correct; so don’t pay that much attention to what the priest is saying. I figure that, if I get my part right, God will ensure the priest gets his part right, or will make up for his errors.

As I have commented in other matters, God has to take some responsibility around here. I can’t handle it all.

 

[addictedkoala]

snip for size

I am struck by the bitter irony that the sacrament is supposed to be a means of knowing God’s forgiveness by witnessing the absolution of the sin, yet many still question God’s mercy, due temporarily forgotten sins, an awkward penance, etc. What should I do in situations like these? Should I assume God’s forgiven me? I suppose I shall ask at my parish tomorrow morning, but I would like to know your thoughts.

Looks like we are/were in a similar situation. I am assuming we’re forgiven with these words since the priest had the same intent and meaning as “I absolve you”, but still these issues (though admittedly getting rarer I think) do not help our faith. The issues some people have with forgotten sins, “awkward” penances, etc. have easy answers I think some people are just unaware of sometimes. Forgotten sins are still forgiven, just bring them up next time, and technically a penance isn’t even required for forgiveness, though neglecting an assigned one is a sin. If by awkward you mean impossible to do or very ambiguous, just ask your next confessor (or your priest) about it and they’ll help you out. But the form of the sacrament, the words, are very important to the validity, and as such we become the most scrupulous about them. Someone in another thread brought up one reason Latin is so great, the laity didn’t understand it usually and thus didn’t worry so much about the words

Thanks to whoever added the poll, should be interesting (obviously I voted yes)

 

[ethereality]

I created a separate thread with my post and this poll, since it was a separate issue from the Original Post (OP) here. However, a moderator merged the two, an action I can only justify by assuming many threads of this nature are regularly created.

My concern, as you suggested, koala, is with the very words used, which seem to define the sacrament: “May God grant you forgiveness” seems to me to be a prayer of petition, not an act of absolution, and so I wonder whether I received the sacrament or if we simply shared a prayer meeting.

I will try taking comfort in what Kelley wrote, as I am too busy to do otherwise:

I figure that, if I get my part right, God will ensure the priest gets his part right, or will make up for his errors.

As I have commented in other matters, God has to take some responsibility around here. I can’t handle it all.

 

[ethereality]

I spoke with the priest of my home parish today about the matter, and he asked me whether it was a Roman Catholic church. I told him it was, and he replied confidently that I received absolution, that the Sacrament was valid regardless of the words used, ‘and that’s why it’s okay even if you receive the Sacrament in another language’. He said “the Church always provides”, and said it’s some Latin phrase sounding something like “ecclesia supra”, which I think he said means “the Church always provides”.

 

[MarkThompson]

Glad you got that confirmed. The phrase, by the way, is Ecclesia supplet, “the Church supplies.”

 

[Lycorth]

stop right here
you did your thing
the priest did his thing
your sins are forgiven
don’t second guess the priest in confession, assume unless something egregious occurs that he knows his job and does it
don’t second guess your confession
accept the gift that has been given and move on
there is no spiritual benefit to this kind of agonizing over your confessions.

This