Refused absolution in confession

[Joannm]

The only reason a convalidation would be costly is if there was a previous marriage. In that case the spouse who was previously married might have to get the previous marriage declared invalid. Best thing to do would be to talk to a priest. If a simple convalitation is needed and nothing else is required besides the paperwork (pre-cana is often waived if the couple has been married for a long time) then the ceremony can be done in 15 minutes either at a parish Mass or in a simple private ceremony at any other time.

 

[Siegfried]

Thanks to you both. I spoke to my parish pastor today at church.I left a message on his office answering machine earlier today and I’m going to call him on Monday.I’ll go up for a blessing instead of communion tomorrow at Mass. I’m really excited about getting my marriage convalidated and blessed in the Church!

 

[baltobetsy]

On the subject of repentance and forgiveness of some sins but not others…

Mortal sin (such as adultery, which is what living as husband and wife in an invalid marriage really is) kills the life of Christ in the soul. There is no sanctifying grace, no indwelling Holy Spirit - nothing.

If there are other mortal sins for which one is sincerely sorry, even if they are forgiven, the soul is still dead because of the unrepented mortal sin. It does no good to seek absolution for some mortal sins and not others. That is why the priest does not absolve any sins if one mortal sin remains unrepented. Even if a person were to go to a priest who did not know the situation, and therefore gave absolution, God would not be deceived, and the sins would not actually be forgiven.

It’s all or nothing. That’s difficult, but I hope I’ve helped you to see that it’s logical.

Betsy

 

[PAboy57]

from the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

1451
Among the penitent’s acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again

1456
Confession to a priest is an essential part of the sacrament of Penance: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret and have been committed against the last two precepts of the Decalogue; for these sins sometimes wound the soul more grievously and are more dangerous than those which are committed openly."54

When Christ’s faithful strive to confess all the sins that they can remember, they undoubtedly place all of them before the divine mercy for pardon. But those who fail to do so and knowingly withhold some, place nothing before the divine goodness for remission through the mediation of the priest, "for if the sick person is too ashamed to show his wound to the doctor, the medicine cannot heal what it does not know."55