Was my Confirmation valid?

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JSSebastianoP

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At the time when I was confirmed, I believe I was in a state of grave sin. I honestly do not know whether it was mortal sin or not because I do not remember when I found out that what I was doing was grave sin…
Was my confirmation valid (not sure if this is the right term)? If not, is there something I should do about it? :confused:
I appreciate all responses…
Thank you.
 
The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states that in order to receive the sacrament of confirmation one must be in the state of grace.
"1380-To receive Confirmation one must be in a state of grace. One should receive the sacrament of Penance in order to be cleansed for the gift of the Holy Spirit. More intense prayer should prepare one to receive the strength and graces of the Holy Spirit with docility and readiness to act. 128, The Catechism of the Catholic Church"

So in my opinion if you truly believe you were in the state of mortal sin, I highly suggest talking to your parish priest or you local bishop. If it be possible (which most likely it is) you can try receiving the sacrament worthily again)
 
For sin to be a mortal sin three conditions are necessary.


  1. *]The sin must be of grave matter.
    *]The person committing the sin must know it is of grave matter.
    *]The sin must be commited with full consent of the will.

    If any of those conditions is not present then the sin is not a mortal sin.
 
yes
here are past threads that ask the same question, I am sure a search of AAA would turn up some good stuff too
forums.catholic-questions.org/search.php?searchid=6446946

if you did not know whether or not you were in a state of mortal sin, you weren’t because knowledge, free will and intent are all necessary for mortal sin, as well as grave matter

the validity of the sacrament depends on the words and actions of the minister, not the recipient. No, if someone were to receive while in a state of mortal sin the graces of the sacrament would not be available to him. Once he confessed and received absolution, the graces, gifts of the Holy Spirit, all the actions of the sacrament would immediately, automatically occur.
 
callmeChris said:
The Catechism of the Catholic Church clearly states that in order to receive the sacrament of confirmation one must be in the state of grace.
"1380-To receive Confirmation one must be in a state of grace. One should receive the sacrament of Penance in order to be cleansed for the gift of the Holy Spirit. More intense prayer should prepare one to receive the strength and graces of the Holy Spirit with docility and readiness to act. 128, The Catechism of the Catholic Church"

So in my opinion if you truly believe you were in the state of mortal sin, I highly suggest talking to your parish priest or you local bishop. If it be possible (which most likely it is) you can try receiving the sacrament worthily again)
Click to expand...
Thank you for your answer; I probably will have to talk to a priest, then… But um… What is a “state of grace”? (I’m only sixteen raised “cafeteria Catholic” and only started trying harder to be a better Catholic last summer, so I’m still kind of “new” to Catholicsim)…

To others:
Maybe I confused some people. Sorry.
I was in a state of having commitied grave (not mortal) sin, since I din’t know it was grave. At some point, I found out it ws grave, and, still committing the (habitual) sin, it became mortal. Now, I cannot remember when I found out, whether it was before or after my Confirmation…

Thank you all. I learn so much on these forums… 🙂
 
JSSebastianoP said:
Thank you for your answer; I probably will have to talk to a priest, then… But um… What is a “state of grace”? (I’m only sixteen raised “cafeteria Catholic” and only started trying harder to be a better Catholic last summer, so I’m still kind of “new” to Catholicsim)…

To others:
Maybe I confused some people. Sorry.
I was in a state of having commitied grave (not mortal) sin, since I din’t know it was grave. At some point, I found out it ws grave, and, still committing the (habitual) sin, it became mortal. Now, I cannot remember when I found out, whether it was before or after my Confirmation…

Thank you all. I learn so much on these forums… 🙂
Click to expand...
There is no grave sin. There is grave matter, that is one of the three conditions that are the basis of a mortal sin. Sins are either mortal or venial.
 
I usually just observe but since I am taking sacraments and Catholic morals classes I will jump in:
First for a sin to be moral it must be:
A grave matter
Done with full knowledge
Done with free consent

When you make the statements like “I believe I was” and “honestly do not know” you must question whether this sinful action was completed with full knowledge. If this was the case I would say that you were not in a state of grave sin.

Secondly, for argument sake, let say you were in a state of moral sin at the reception of a sacrament does that mean the sacrament was not valid.
NO… absolutely not, you still received the sacrament as long as the form and matter of sacrament was proper and confirmation is not a repeatable sacrament because of the indelible mark it leaves on your soul. However in a state of moral sin what you do not receive is the grace and charisms that accompany that sacrament. The grace and charisms cannot be received by a soul not prepared for it by having grave sin and do not become part of your character as a Catholic.
It is the same as the Eucharist, a person in a state of mortal sin still receives the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ but they do not receive the graces and charisms associated with the sacrament because of sin.

Thirdly, “is there something I should do” Go to confession. By confessing that sin then the soul is again prepared to receive the grace and charisms of the sacrament and will become part of your character

Hope this helps
 
From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
They should also be in the state of grace; for the Holy Ghost is not given for the purpose of taking away sin but of conferring additional grace. This condition, however, refers only to lawful reception; **the sacrament is validly received even by those in mortal sin. **
Click to expand...
 
Reading all this raised issues for myself, and then I the statement from NewEnglandPries from Catholic Encyclopedia which I know to have the* Nihil Obstat. October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, Censor. Imprimatur. +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York*. So it is 100% correct.

Yippee!

Thanks NewEnglandPries for clearing up the issue.
 
JSSebastianoP said:
Thank you for your answer; I probably will have to talk to a priest, then… But um… What is a “state of grace”? (I’m only sixteen raised “cafeteria Catholic” and only started trying harder to be a better Catholic last summer, so I’m still kind of “new” to Catholicsim)…

To others:
Maybe I confused some people. Sorry.
I was in a state of having commitied grave (not mortal) sin, since I din’t know it was grave. At some point, I found out it ws grave, and, still committing the (habitual) sin, it became mortal. Now, I cannot remember when I found out, whether it was before or after my Confirmation…

Thank you all. I learn so much on these forums… 🙂
Click to expand...
If it was habitual then full consent of the will was not present.
 
JSSebastianoP said:
At the time when I was confirmed, I believe I was in a state of grave sin. I honestly do not know whether it was mortal sin or not because I do not remember when I found out that what I was doing was grave sin…
Was my confirmation valid (not sure if this is the right term)? If not, is there something I should do about it? :confused:
I appreciate all responses…
Thank you.
Click to expand...
Should you be reconfirmed?

ABSOLUTELY NOT !!

Being in a state of mortal sin does NOT invalidate confirmation!

AND Confirmation can not be repeated.

All that was needed if one committed mortal sin…was confession…also noting that one received confirmation in that state if it was mortal…if one knew one should not etc…

but it does NOT invalidate confirmation.
 
Cristiano said:
There is no grave sin. There is grave matter, that is one of the three conditions that are the basis of a mortal sin. Sins are either mortal or venial.
Click to expand...
Grave sin, mortal sin and serious sin…all mean the same thing…they are used interchangably by the Church.

They all mean mortal sin.

but yes it is best to talk of grave matter…when talking about what makes a sin mortal…
 
Bookcat said:
Grave sin, mortal sin and serious sin…all mean the same thing…they are used interchangably by the Church.

They all mean mortal sin.

but yes it is best to talk of grave matter…when talking about what makes a sin mortal…
Click to expand...
As well as knowledge that it is grave matter and full consent of the will.

It takes all three to make a sin a mortal sin.
 
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