Rushed Confession

[phoenix3212]

I went to Confession this morning while on vacation, and (much to my surprise, but also my delight) there were a lot of people at the local Parish to confess. One of the Priests was slightly in a hurry, and it looked like he had to get ready for something (A Mass?), but he needed to get through this long line of people waiting to confess (this was the line I was in). I noticed that the line seemed to be moving quite quickly for whatever reason. Anyways, when I got in there, it became very obvious that he was rushing the whole thing. I was so thrown off that I unintentionally forgot to confess the mortal sin I was there for! He skipped the Act of Contrition, I didn’t hear “Christ has reconciled you to himself” or anything. Really, the only thing he said at the end was “I absolve you of your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” That’s it. Oh, and he managed to quickly give me penance too.

So, I have two questions. One, was my confession valid, seeing as I forgot to confess the mortal sin I was there for? And second, was the confession valid altogether, seeing as almost everything was skipped or rushed?

 

[LilyM]

Yes the confession was valid.

In regard to point 1 you did not intentionally omit the mortal sin, so did not invalidate the confession. You have been absolved of all sin, just mention it next time you confess.

In regard to point 2, as long as the words ‘I absolve you’ were said by the priest it doesn’t matter what else he said or didn’t say, or in how rushed a manner the confession took place, it’s valid. I’d imagine a priest giving absolution to someone who is really on the point of death might rush things a bit as well - doesn’t make their absolution any the less valid.

Remember it’s Christ acting through the priest who provides the sacramental graces - and they are always there, assuming the confession is valid. The priest might be rushed or what have you - but Christ never is, and He is well able to use even imperfect means to provide those graces

 

[spirocatania]

i had the same problem about a month and a half ago. he wasnt really looking at me and kept on looking out side the window he had beside him which he was moving the curtain in order to view. he said that i was absolved and that he had to get ready for mass because they where down on staff. at tyhe time i was a bit annoyed but my parents said that i had nothing to be worryed about. SO DONT WORRY AND STRESS because God and his dear son know everything.

 

[JamieMc]

I’ve been to confessions like that—where there is a long line and the priest seems to rush through it. Lily did a good job answering your questions I think.

Fortuantely, it isn’t your regular parish and hopefully the rushing was a rare occurrance (the rushing–not the long lines) I would recommend that at your next confession, you bring it up and tell the priest that you accidently ommited it. It may have been God working if you think about it. You received absolution but didn’t receieve any spiritual direction. Maybe next time the priest will have time and be able to give you that direction.