Absolution

[citation needed] During the era of Scholasticism, Catholic theologians sought a deeper understanding of the sacrament of Penance and absolution.

[5] In Summa Theologiae III, q.84 ad3, Aquinas indicated the essential form of absolution which was being used as "I absolve you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

However, he seemed to suggest that to the essential words or sacramental form, "I absolve you," a priest, at his discretion, might add "by the power of Christ's Passion," or "by the authority of God" to indicate his ministerial role.

Two subsequent Councils of the Catholic Church reaffirmed the sacramental form of absolution of the Latin Church, namely, the 1439 decree "Pro Armenis" of Pope Eugene IV at the Council of Florence and the fourteenth session of the Council of Trent in 1551 which stated: "The holy synod doth furthermore teach, that the form of the sacrament of penance, wherein its force principally consists, is placed in those words of the minister, I absolve thee, et cetera: to which words indeed certain prayers are, according to the custom of holy Church, laudably joined, which nevertheless by no means regard the essence of that form, neither are they necessary for the administration of the sacrament itself.

The general absolution was licitly given by Honolulu Bishop Clarence Richard Silva to people at a church programme during the 2018 Hawaii false missile alert as it was believed that direct nuclear attack from North Korea was imminent.

The priest then assigns a penance and imparts absolution in the name of the Trinity, on behalf of Jesus Christ, using a fixed sacramental formula.

[citation needed] The formula of absolution used in the Pauline Missal, the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, is as follows: God, the Father of mercies, through the death and 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.

Amen.During a Spring 2021 meeting, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops made some adjustments to the text to make it a more accurate translation of the original Latin.

Another prayer which was prescribed, but could be omitted for a just cause in the pre-1970 Ritual is a short prayer for the spiritual well-being of the penitent which some priests still use when using the absolution approved by Pope Paul VI: "May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the saints and also whatever good you do or evil you endure be cause for the remission of your sins, the increase of grace and the reward of life everlasting.

This prayer shows the concepts of merit and the Communion of Saints in the greater context of grace as understood in Catholic theology.

God, to Whom it is proper is always to have mercy and to spare, we humbly entreat You for the soul of Your servant N., whom You have commanded today to go forth from this world: that You would not deliver him (her) into the hands of the enemy, nor forget him (her) forever, but command him (her) to be taken up by the holy Angels, and to be led to our homeland of paradise, so that since he (she) had believed and hoped in You, he (she) may not undergo the pains of hell, but may possess eternal joys.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.

Absolve, we ask, O Lord, the soul of Your servant N., so that dead to the world he (she) live for You: and whatever through the frailty of the flesh he (she) committed through human interaction, wipe away by the forgiveness of Your most merciful piety.

Each Nocturn of the Office of Matins of the pre-Liturgy of the Hours Roman Breviary contains a short absolution the prescribed psalm.

You are the Resurrection and the Life, and the Repose of Your departed servant (or handmaid), N., O Christ our God, and we give glory to You, together with Your eternal Father and Your all-holy, good, and life-giving Spirit, now and always and forever and ever.

[32] The Russian and other Orthodox whose official liturgical language is Church Slavonic., while holding the same theology as the Greeks, have, since the time of Metropolitan Peter Mogila's Trebnik (Ritual) of 1646, employed the indicative form of absolution after a deprecative prayer.

The Armenian, Coptic, Ethiopian, Malankara, and Syriac Orthodox Churches are in full communion with each other, but have slight variations in their practice and teaching on absolution and penance.

The first part of this prayer is deprecative imploring Christ's forgiveness which was conceded by Him to His Apostles and the priests who have received the apostolic ministry.

Irenee-Henri Dalmais points out that a common practice is to regard the censing at the beginning of the Eucharistic Liturgy as the sacrament of penance.

To absolve a member of the laity, the priest lays his right hand on the head of the penitent and says: To absolve a member of the clergy, the priest says: Luther's earliest writings speak of baptism, eucharist, and absolution as three distinct sacraments and in his later works he wrote of absolution also being an extension of the forgiveness expressed and experienced in the sacrament of baptism.

At minimum, Anglican prayer books contain a formula of absolution in the daily offices, at the Eucharist, and in the visitation of the sick.

The following is the form of absolution for the sick in the Book of Common Prayer: "OUR Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences: And by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

[59] Absolution during Morning Prayer: ALMIGHTY God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness, and live; and hath given power, and commandment, to his Ministers, to declare and pronounce to his people, being penitent, the Absolution and Remission of their sins : He pardoneth and absolveth all them that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe his holy Gospel.

People: AmenAbsolution during Holy Communion: ALMIGHTY God, our heavenly Father, who of his great mercy hath promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty repentance and true faith turn unto him; Have mercy upon you; pardon and deliver you from all your sins; confirm and strengthen you in all goodness; and bring you to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord.People: Amen.Absolution during Visitation of the Sick: OUR Lord Jesus Christ, who hath left power to his Church to absolve all sinners who truly repent and believe in him, of his great mercy forgive thee thine offences: And by his authority committed to me, I absolve thee from all thy sins, In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.Sick: Amen.If no priest be present the person saying the service shall read the Collect for the Twenty-First Sunday after Trinity: GRANT, we beseech thee, merciful Lord, to thy faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve thee with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord.People:Amen.Of Publick Confession and Absolution[60] – William Nicholls: According to this thy Confession, which thou hast here made openly, before the face of God and this his Holy Church, I will in the name of God, and by vertue of my most holy Office, according to the command of Jesus Christ, and his most express and efficacious Words, declare the thee N. N. the remission of this Sin N. whereof thou art convicted, and of all thy other Sins, in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, Amen.Go in the peace of God, and sin no more.Of Confession and Absolution[61] – William Nicholls: For as much as from the bottom of thy heart thou art.

"[65] The Book of Worship of The United Methodist Church contains the rite for private confession and absolution in A Service of Healing II, in which the minister pronounces the words "In the name of Jesus Christ, you are forgiven!

[66] Confession in the Methodist Churches is practiced through penitent bands that meet on Saturdays; from the inception of Methodism, these are designed to provide spiritual direction to people who are backsliding.

[3] The Order of Worship in the Bible Presbyterian Church, for example, enjoins the following:[3] Each Sunday we have a corporate confession of sins with an announcement of assurance of pardon from sin—this is great news for all believers.

We strive to use the form of confession sincerely, to acknowledging our brokenness—in thought, word, and deed—and to receive God's forgiveness through Jesus Christ in thankfulness.

[citation needed] The Second Helvetic Confession (1566) denies the necessity of confession to a priest, but holds that the power granted by Christ to absolve is simply the power to preach to the people the Gospel of Jesus, and as a consequence the remission of sins: "Rite itaque et efficaciter ministri absolvunt dum evangelium Christi et in hoc remissionem peccatorum prædicant."

We teach that the Sacrament of Absolution is a loosening from the bondage of sin, a restoration of the inner harmony that was disturbed by the wrongdoing, so that the person can make a fresh start toward righteousness.