What does absolution mean? de theol., 167). In the sacrament of penance, the act by which a qualified priest, having the necessary jurisdiction, remits the guilt and penalty due to sin.
“They remit or retain sins when they judge and declare them remitted or retained by God” (P.L., CXCII, 888). After the middle of the fourth century, the universal practice of public penance precludes any denial of a belief in the Church‘s power to pardon the sinner, though the doctrine and the practice of penance were destined to have a still further expansion. In the former the priest intercedes for the sinner, and this intercession changes his attrition into real contrition and secures pardon for sin committed.
The belief of the ancient Greek Church has been set forth above.
One may consult with profit Mashell’s “Enquiry upon the Doctrine of the Anglican Church on Absolution”; Boyd’s “Confession, Absolution and Real Presence”; Father Gallwey’s “Twelve Lectures on Ritualism” (London,). ; Soto, Vasquez, Estius, et al.). To Peter and to all the Apostles is given the power to bind and to loose, and this again implies supreme power both legislative and judicial: power to forgive sins, power to free from sin’s penalties. Theologians had recognized the distinction between contrition and attrition even before William of Paris, but neither Alexander of Hales nor Albert, the master of Aquinas, advanced much beyond the teaching of Peter Lombard. (Leo the Great, P.L., LIV, 1011-1013; Gregory the Great, P.L., LXVI, 1200; Ambrose, P.L., XV, 1639; XVI, 468, 477, etc. (VI) Nestorians. True it is that in writing of the extent of the power conferred, he makes exception for the sins of idolatry and adultery, which he terms irremissible, although Dionysius of Corinth (170) years before held that no sin was excepted from the power of the keys granted by Christ to His Church (Eusebius, Hist.
; Knabenbauer, Commentary on Matthew, II, 66; particularly Maas, St. Matthew, 183, 184.) Denzinger (Ritus Orientalium) has preserved for us a twelfth-century document which gives in full the order of absolution.
FORM.—It is the teaching of the Council of Trent that the form of the Sacrament of Penance, wherein its force principally consists, is placed in these words of the minister, “I absolve thee”; to which words certain prayers are, according to the custom of Holy Church, laudably added etc. The new formula of absolution, since the Second Vatican Council, is: "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." Whose sins ye shall forgive they are forgiven them; and whose sins ye shall retain, they are retained'” (xx, 22, 23). Morinus is followed by Tournely in asserting that only the indicative form is today valid in the Latin Church (Morinus, De poenit., Lib.
Absolution is a traditional theological term for the forgiveness experienced by Christians in the life of the Church. CONDITIONAL ABSOLUTION.—Antiquity makes no mention of conditional absolution. Contrition takes away all stain of guilt, while attrition prepares the way for the real remission of sin in the sacrament. Absolution (Ab = from; solvere = to free), is the remission of sin, or of the punishment due to sin, granted by the Church. The Roman tradition is clear in the “Pastor” of Hermas, where the power to forgive sins committed after baptism is defended (Sim., viii, 6, 5; ibid., ix, 19). iii). He seems to hold that contrition takes away sin and its consequences, and when questioned concerning the power granted to the priest, he seems to recur to the opinion of Anselm that it is declarative. var switchTo5x=true;
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In the light, therefore, of history and of theological opinion it is perfectly safe to conclude that the deprecatory form is certainly not invalid, if it exclude not the idea of judicial pronouncement (Palmieri, Parergon, 127; Hurter, de Poenit. Learn more. Nor is there lacking in divine revelation proof of such power; the classical texts are those found in Matthew, xvi, 19; xviii, 18, and in John, xx, 21-23.
If confession had aught of good it was merely as direction. It is a universal feature of the historic churches of Christendom, although the theology and the practice of absolution vary between denominations.. Peter Lombard (ibid., Dist. Poenit., n. 430), declares that no matter what may be the verdict from the point of view of history, it is of faith since the Council of Trent that the indicative form is essential. It is commonly taught that the penitent must be physically present; consequently, absolution by telegraph has been declared invalid, and when questioned in regard to absolution by the telephone the Sacred Congregation (July 1, 1884) answered Nihil respondendum. Some, not pronouncing judgment on the real merits of the case, think that the Holy See has withdrawn faculties from those who do not use the indicative form, but in the absence of positive ordinance this is by no means certain. At first the sinner is given one opportunity for pardon, and gradually this indulgence is extended; true, some doctors thought certain sins unpardonable, save by God alone, but this was because they considered that the existing discipline marked the limits of the power granted by Christ. The Nestorians have at all times believed in the power to absolve in the Sacrament of Penance. Amen.” In the decree “Pro Armenis”, 1439, Eugene IV teaches that the “form” of the Sacrament is really in those words of the priest: “Ego absolvo te a peccatis tuis in nomine Patris” etc., and theologians teach that absolution would be valid should the priest use, “Absolvo te”, “Absolvo te a peccatis tuis”, or words that are the exact equivalent (Suarez, Disp., XIX, i, n. 2″1; Lugo, Disp., XIII, i, nn. ; Duchesne, loco cit. The Master of the Sentences, Peter Lombard, took issue with Hugo, and asserted in clear terms that charity not only blotted out the stain of sin, but also freed the sinner from punishment due to sin. (4) “May the Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the Saints, what good you have done or what evil you have suffered be to you for the remission of (your) sins, growth in grace and the reward of everlasting life. gtag('config', 'UA-3494905-2'); In the sacrament of penance, the act by which a qualified priest, having the necessary jurisdiction, remits the guilt and penalty due to sin. He even goes so far as to say that attrition is sufficient for pardon if accompanied by absolution (ibid., Dist. 3, he states that the absolution of the priest is the forma sacramenti, and consequently confession, contrition, and satisfaction must constitute “in some way, the matter of the sacrament”.
Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.’ By which action so signal, and words so clear the consent of all the Fathers has ever understood that the power of forgiving and retaining sins was communicated to the Apostles, and to their lawful successors for the reconciling of the faithful who have fallen after baptism.” (Sess.
This was really declarative in meaning, as is clear from the fact that in the whole of tradition the priest who absolved was looked upon as a judge who actually absolved, even though he used the subjunctive mood to express his affirmative judgment. window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || [];
absolvere, to free from; to absolve, acquit.)" xvii, xviii, xix; Summa Theologica III, QQ. (II) Russian Church. The form of absolution is declarative, though it is preceded by a prayer for mercy and for pardon. But there are many others who think the traditional truth concerning the Sacrament of Penance cannot be safeguarded unless it is admitted that, ordinarily speaking, sacramental absolution was given only after the completion of the penance imposed and in the public session of Holy Thursday. Of a consequence, early Christian discipline was loath to grant even once a restoration to grace through the ministry of reconciliation vested in the Church. The Confession styled “Helvetian” contents itself with denying 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 praedicant.”.
TIME.—The ceremonial rite connected with the sacrament of reconciliation has also varied with the changing discipline of the Church. XIV, i). But this is merely a matter of discipline, and such decrees do not give final decision to the theological question, for in matters of administration of the Sacraments those in authority simply follow the safest and most conservative opinions. Excommunication. That the public penance was concluded with some sort of prayer for pardon, is the doctrine of antiquity, particularly as contained in the earliest sacramentaries (Duchesne, Christian Worship, 440, 441). ” Catholics have the right to receive this or any other sacrament when they opportunely ask for it, are properly disposed, and are not prohibited by law from receiving it . }
True, this power seems to Hermas to be strangely limited, while Origen, Tertullian, and the followers of Novatian principles were unwilling to grant that the Church had a right to absolve from such sins as apostasy, murder, and adultery. absolvere, to free from; to absolve, acquit. Zwingli held that God alone pardoned sin, and he saw nothing but idolatry in the practice of hoping for pardon from a mere creature. The great Doctor of the Sacrament, St. Alphonsus (De Sac. Gerson in the fifteenth century, both in “De schismate tollendo” and “De unitate ecclesiae”, stands as sponsor for conditional absolution, although Cajetan, a century later, calls Gerson’s position mere superstition. Sin is the great obstacle to entrance into the kingdom, and over sin Peter is supreme.