Confession

[D0RK4JP2]

Gday,

In the rite for the sacrament of confession, I have met too many priests who have omitted or changed parts of the ritual.

Is the ritual only to be performed in the way that the ruberics of the rite supply, and, if in modifications being made, when does the sacrament become invalid?

This apologetical question has come up because I went to confession yesterday and the priest did not ask me for an act of contrition, and did not give me any penance. 'ECCLESIA SUPLET' saves the day once more. He also, instead of doing the thingy they do before absolving you that is in the rite, he said something in 'tongues'.

JMJ.

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='D0RK4JP2' date='Nov 21 2004, 04:57 PM']Is the ritual only to be performed in the way that the ruberics of the rite supply, and, if in modifications being made, when does the sacrament become invalid?[/quote]
a sacrament becomes invalid when the proper form, matter, or intent is not present. regarding the sacrament of confession, the proper form is the words of absolution by the priest:[list]
[*]God, the Father of mercies,
through the death and the resurrection of his Son
has reconciled the world to himself
and sent the Holy Spirit among us
for the forgiveness of sins;
through the ministry of the Church
may God give 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.
[/list]the proper matter is the actions of the penitent: contrition, confession, and satisfaction.[list]
[*]The Council of Trent (Sess. XIV, c. 3) declares: "the acts of the penitent, namely contrition, confession, and satisfaction, are the quasi materia of this sacrament". The Roman Catechism used in 1913 (II, v, 13) says: "These actions are called by the Council quasi materia not because they have not the nature of true matter, but because they are not the sort of matter which is employed externally as water in baptism and chrism in confirmation".
[/list]also see the CCC, #[url="http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a4.htm#VII"][b]1450-1460[/b][/url].


[quote]This apologetical question has come up because I went to confession yesterday and the priest did not ask me for an act of contrition, and did not give me any penance.[/quote]
the absense of the prayer does not invalidate the sacrament b/c the necessary contrition is the sorrow that compels you to confess your sins with a contrite heart.........not the prayer. the prayer does indeed work to confirm the contrition of the penitent to the priest, but it is not necessary (as [i]absolute necessity[/i] is understood). as for not receiving your penance, this does not invalid the absolution of sin that you received, but it does prevent you from making right the wrong you have done to the Body of Christ.


[quote] 'ECCLESIA SUPLET' saves the day once more.[/quote]
i am not thoroughly familiar w/ this phrase, but it is my understanding that "ecclesia supplet" ("the Church provides") only applies to matters of jurisdiction (for example, it is this theory that allows for a nurse to give baptism to a baby who is near death). apotheoun may be able to say more on this. at any rate, i don't believe that it applies to this situation.


[quote] He also, instead of doing the thingy they do before absolving you that is in the rite, he said something in 'tongues'.[/quote]
i'm not sure what the "thingy" is that you are referring to. as long as the priest spoke the words of absolution, your sins were forgiven.


i hope this helps.
Pax Christi,
phatcatholic

[D0RK4JP2]

Gday,

the 'thingy' was the 1st part of the absolution. He only said "and i absolve you from all your sins in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit." before that he did the absolution in lala language.

Does this mean my confession was invalid? What do I do now?

[Dave]

In order for an absolution to be valid, the priest must AT LEAST say, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." So it looks like your absolution was valid.

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='Dave' date='Nov 27 2004, 06:11 PM'] In order for an absolution to be valid, the priest must AT LEAST say, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." So it looks like your absolution was valid. [/quote]
i concur

[popestpiusx]

It would also depend what (if any) language the priest was speaking. If he was speaking a real language and said the right words in that language there would be no problem at all. But like the other two said, so long as he used the proper form for the absolution, you should be fine.

[D0RK4JP2]

[quote name='Dave' date='Nov 28 2004, 10:11 AM'] In order for an absolution to be valid, the priest must AT LEAST say, "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." So it looks like your absolution was valid. [/quote]
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS IM SAFE

JMJ

[phatcatholic]

[quote name='D0RK4JP2' date='Nov 28 2004, 12:47 AM'] YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS IM SAFE

JMJ [/quote]
its a shame that ur priest had to make such a mess of the whole thing, but yea, ur absolved. however, you never received a penance. so, when you go to confession again, tell the priest about the absense of a particular penance given to u at ur last confession. he should able to give you one, in which case you will finally be able to make reparation for the particular sin that you confessed.

Edited November 28, 2004 by phatcatholic