Necessity of Correct Words of Absolution

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Hi,

If the priest does not properly state the required words of absolution or misses one or more of them, can this invalidate the sacrament?
 
I think all the priest would have to say is “you are forgiven your sins, try to not sin again,go in peace and say/do your penance”. I really think we get so carried away with the small things that we forget the bigs ones. When you go to confession, you are confessing openly to God through the priest. It is God who forgives, not the priest. The words of absolution are not as necessary as the sincerity of the one confessing. Stop worrying about whether or not the priest is doing his job correctly and just do your part.

Love and peace,
Mom of 5
 
Mom_of_5 said:
I think all the priest would have to say is “you are forgiven your sins, try to not sin again,go in peace and say/do your penance”. I really think we get so carried away with the small things that we forget the bigs ones. When you go to confession, you are confessing openly to God through the priest. It is God who forgives, not the priest. The words of absolution are not as necessary as the sincerity of the one confessing. Stop worrying about whether or not the priest is doing his job correctly and just do your part.

Love and peace,
Mom of 5
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grimace

take cover
 
Mom_of_5 said:
I think all the priest would have to say is “you are forgiven your sins, try to not sin again,go in peace and say/do your penance”. I really think we get so carried away with the small things that we forget the bigs ones. When you go to confession, you are confessing openly to God through the priest. It is God who forgives, not the priest. The words of absolution are not as necessary as the sincerity of the one confessing. Stop worrying about whether or not the priest is doing his job correctly and just do your part.

Love and peace,
Mom of 5
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Incorrect.

The words needed for a Valid absolution are “I absolve you from your Sins in the name of the Father and the Son and The Holy Ghost”. If these are omitted, the Sacrament is invalid.

God forgives our Sins through the sacrament - however it is the Priest who grants the absolution.
 
Thank You.

At my last confession, it sounded like the priest said “…and absolve you…” instead of “…and ***I ***absolve you…”. Perhaps the “I” was simply unclear in the transition to the “a” in "absolve ". However, just because I didn’t clearly hear it, doesn’t necessarily mean he didn’t say it. He was behind the screen (at that confessional booth that was the only method).

What if the priest intended the right phrase but didn’t say it correctly?
 
CatholicNick said:
Incorrect.

The words needed for a Valid absolution are “I absolve you from your Sins in the name of the Father and the Son and The Holy Ghost”. If these are omitted, the Sacrament is invalid.

God forgives our Sins through the sacrament - however it is the Priest who grants the absolution.
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Actually, the approved translation is, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
 
No need to nit-pick.

Yes, replace Ghost with Spirit in my last post. Regardless, what I answered was correct. 🙂
 
Some people are scrupulous and some people suffer from OCD and confession fills them with doubts and anxiety. Some people constantly worry if they completed their confession ’ just right’ in order to receive absolution.

You would not believe the stress, anxiety and worry some people have over the tiniest detail regarding confession and the aftermath of confession.

In my opinion any advice about confession should come from a priest or a valid church document. Just imagine the stress someone would feel if they were given the wrong information regarding confession and the salvation of their souls…that would further their stress…

Coder, you were worrying about whether or not you heard the priest use the word ’ I ', …you are not alone, lots of people worry about things of that nature.

I came across a fantastic resource for people who stress over the details of confession, published by mission.liguori.org/

" All of our products are educational and pastoral in nature. Probably our most well known publication is the Liguorian magazine, one of America 's leading Catholic periodicals."

They publish Scrupulous anonymous and you can find tonnes of questions answered by a priest. Even you aren’t scrupulous, you will find all sorts of information…I highly recommend reading the 10 commandments of the scrupulous, found at the bottom of this post.

The archives are here: mission.liguori.org/newsletters/archives.htm#SA

Here is the ten commandments for the scrupulous:

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupulosity.htm
 
setitstraight said:
Some people are scrupulous and some people suffer from OCD and confession fills them with doubts and anxiety. Some people constantly worry if they completed their confession ’ just right’ in order to receive absolution.

You would not believe the stress, anxiety and worry some people have over the tiniest detail regarding confession and the aftermath of confession.

In my opinion any advice about confession should come from a priest or a valid church document. Just imagine the stress someone would feel if they were given the wrong information regarding confession and the salvation of their souls…that would further their stress…

This is precicsely what I was trying to say. We get so wound up in the tiniest details we forget what we are here for. What I have found is that those who

Coder, you were worrying about whether or not you heard the priest use the word ’ I ', …you are not alone, lots of people worry about things of that nature.

I came across a fantastic resource for people who stress over the details of confession, published by mission.liguori.org/

" All of our products are educational and pastoral in nature. Probably our most well known publication is the Liguorian magazine, one of America 's leading Catholic periodicals."

They publish Scrupulous anonymous and you can find tonnes of questions answered by a priest. Even you aren’t scrupulous, you will find all sorts of information…I highly recommend reading the 10 commandments of the scrupulous, found at the bottom of this post.

The archives are here: mission.liguori.org/newsletters/archives.htm#SA

Here is the ten commandments for the scrupulous:

mission.liguori.org/newsletters/scrupulosity.htm
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I perhaps should not have answered this post, I am not a priest, and have not read all Canon Law. But here again, I think too much ado is made about nothing!!

This what I am trying to say in my post. I have found that some of the most scrupulous people I have known have lost their Catholic faith along the way. My sister worried continually about matters similar to the OP. She no longer goes to any church .What I really should have said is to leave the correct “words” to the priest and God, ask for forgiveness and go on from there. Worrying that what the priest said or didn’t would make a difference as to whether my sins are forgiven by God is nonsense. My opinion and that of a wonderful Deacon who is very Catholic educated and a man of common sense. But then, as I said, I am not an authority. I just have other things to worry about!

Love and peace,
Mom of 5
 
Mom_of_5 said:
Worrying that what the priest said or didn’t would make a difference as to whether my sins are forgiven by God is nonsense. My opinion and that of a wonderful Deacon who is very Catholic educated and a man of common sense.
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double grimace

take cover part deux

😃
 
Coder said:
Hi,

If the priest does not properly state the required words of absolution or misses one or more of them, can this invalidate the sacrament?
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“I absolve you of you sins” are necessary to be in there somewhere. It does not matter what is before or what is after these. However the priest should follow the wording of the Rite of Penance.
 
While I find the new rite of Penance quite superior to the old, this thread, nonetheless, reminds me of some possible virtues of the old rite of Penance:
  • The words of absolution were said in Latin.
  • They were spoken by the priest simultaneously with the act of contrition being recited by the penitent.
  • Neither party could be sure what the other had said.
  • Nobody worried about whether the other one got it right.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
“I absolve you of you sins” are necessary to be in there somewhere. It does not matter what is before or what is after these. However the priest should follow the wording of the Rite of Penance.
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This is from ask an apologist. I have cut and paste Father Serpa’s response. Here is the direct link:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=44959&highlight=absolution

*"The Church is quite flexible with the words of consecration and absolution for the benefit of the faithful so long as the words convey what the Church means in each instance. So “be forgiven” and “I forgive you” instead of “I absolve you” are valid—but definitley illicit.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P."*
 
CatholicNick said:
Incorrect.

The words needed for a Valid absolution are “I absolve you from your Sins in the name of the Father and the Son and The Holy Ghost”. If these are omitted, the Sacrament is invalid.

God forgives our Sins through the sacrament - however it is the Priest who grants the absolution.
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There is some variation that is permitted. For example, the Byzantine Form is “You are absolved of you sins in the Name of the Father…”

Note that it is in the passive form (You are absolved) instead of the active form used by the West (I absolve you)

Both forms are certainly valid.
 
If the priest says “…and absolve you…” but not “…and I absolve you…” is the sacrament valid?
 
Coder said:
If the priest says “…and absolve you…” but not “…and I absolve you…” is the sacrament valid?
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Yes my answer “I absolve you of your sins” should have noted Or something that states clearly the same thing. When we move away from the exact words chosen by the Church we risk confusing the teaching of the Church. There are today many different and some incorrect ideas of how and who forgives sins in the Sacrament.
 
Br.Rich_SFO said:
…or something that states clearly the same thing…
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This post seems to indicate that if the priest does not specifically say "I", then the sacramant is invalid.
forums.catholic-questions.org/showpost.php?p=1555259&postcount=7

Regarding my case, I think the priest said the other words correctly so I think that he may have said the ***“I” ***also. Perhaps the "I" flowed into the "a" in “absolve” or I didn’t hear it clearly (it may have been spoken softly and also I was behind the screen.).
 
The only necessary words are "I absolve you."

If it’s in there, it’s valid - if it isn’t, it isn’t.

To say that a specific form is not required, and only the intention is required, is heresy.
 
Resurrexit said:
The only necessary words are "I absolve you."

If it’s in there, it’s valid - if it isn’t, it isn’t.

To say that a specific form is not required, and only the intention is required, is heresy.
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This is from ask an apologist. I have cut and paste Father Serpa’s response. Here is the direct link:

forums.catholic-questions.org/showthrea…ght=absolution

"The Church is quite flexible with the words of consecration and absolution for the benefit of the faithful so long as the words convey what the Church means in each instance. So “be forgiven” and “I forgive you” instead of “I absolve you” are valid—but definitley illicit.
 
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