From a cleric reader…
QUAERITUR:
I was wondering if I received valid absolution. The priest in confession said the entire formula correctly but at the very end he said “I absolve you of your sins, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit” but didn’t say “in the name of”. It’s a strange nuance. Normally they don’t get absolution and say I forgive you or they make something up entirely but this was basically all there, absolution and trinitarian formula but curious on validity. Thank you
Yet another priest going off on his own. Perhaps this is rash judgment but, if he was of a certain age, I wonder if he doesn’t make the Sign of the Cross with his palm outward.
You were validly absolved. Validly, but not licitly.
The Sacrament of Penance is a liturgical rite of the Church. It has actual RULES to be followed and WORDS to be said!
The essential form is “I absolve you from/of your sins”. The Trinitarian part is not strictly necessary for validity. The words “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.” are not demanded by Christ or because of the juridical aspect of the form. Words before and after the form might be omitted but only for a serious reason. In fact, the manualists say that one could (one shouldn’t except for a burning grave motive) omit the “you” as in “I absolve your sins” or else could say, “I absolve you” because “your sins” is implicit in what is being absolved. This is clearer in Latin, than in English. However, that is highly theoretical and not to be fooled around with.
This is the proper Novus Ordo form, which you can print and give to Fr. Jackass when he stumblebums around with the words of absolution.
God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured out the Holy Spirit for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God grant you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The priest should be urged to say the entire formula, properly, without deviation lest anyone be left in the slightest doubt… as you were… and you have had some training.
It is cruel clericalism to alter forms of sacraments.
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I’ve had two different priests say, “I absolve you in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” He omitted “of your sins”.
I actually mentioned it to one of the priests in the confessional in a respectful way. He assured me I was absolved of my sins. I thought of all those confessions the priest had heard prior! What was the status of their souls?!?
I just deferred to God in his mercy and omniscience for validity in these cases. I did my part. The priest did not.
In the past couple of years I’ve run into priests who seem disinterested in the sacrament from not saying the absolution so I can hear it – to saying “”May God forgive you sins – now go” to omitting “I absolve “ or changing it — it’s only because of this blog that I knew something was wrong and got myself to a priest I could trust to give proper absolution These discussions of proper forms of sacraments do more good than you’ll ever know. Thank you and God Bless.
I have found that if you stick with Priest who say the Tradiotional Latin Mass, you won’t have that problem.
Years ago when I would be traveling and was not near my TLM community, I would go to confession anywhere. More TLM Priest now.
If as a teenager in the 1950s I had noticed such a thing I would have been unsurprised. Because I was quite used to priests when repeating a familiar form of words rattling them off and, while their lips formed the words they continued to mouth them while breathing in as well as out. So their vocal chords were not engaged. It leads to just that kind of dropout of phrases. It was observable to a sever in the way some priests ‘articulated’ the Canon.
Some flute players have a technique of cyclic breathing so that they can continue to blow while breathing in but I don’t think singers or speakers can do that.
Omitting “in the name of” seems more common with priests who are elderly and/or who speak rapidly in a “country” dialect. They might not even realize that those words are not audible.
Coming from a background of military aviation, this sort of thing really aggravates me. If I was late saying a call, I got smacked across the back of my helmet. If I missed or misspoke a single word of a call, I got smacked across the back of my helmet. If I added extra words on top of what was required…you get the idea.
Why did I get smacked around? Because if I missed or messed up a call, I could end up killing my crew. Here though, in the context of the confessional, the stakes are immeasurably higher.
Also, please correct me if I’m wrong, but a priest doesn’t even need to technically memorize the absolution prayer. It would of course be ideal if they did, but can’t a priest simply have a note card or piece of paper with the proper prayer to reference?