Compare three different versions:
| 
Byzantine
  (Melkite) | 
Roman
  (traditional) | 
Roman
  (modern) | 
| 
Our Lord and God Jesus Christ, Who gave this
  command to His divine and holy disciples and apostles; to loose and to bind
  the sins of people, forgives you from on high, all your sins and offenses. I,
  His unworthy servant, who have received from these Apostles the power to do
  the same, absolve you from all censures, in as much as I can and am able,
  according to your need of it. Moreover, I absolve you from all your sins
  which you have confessed before God and my unworthiness. In the name + of the
  Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. 
After: 
God, through Nathan the prophet, forgave David his
  sins; and Peter shedding bitter tears over his denial; and the adulteress
  weeping at his feet; and the publican and the prodigal son. May this same
  God, through me, a sinner, forgive + you everything in this life and in the
  life to come. And may you stand uncondemned before His awesome judgment-seat,
  for His Name is blessed forever and ever. Amen. | 
May Almighty God have mercy on you, forgive you your
  sin, and bring you to life everlasting. Amen. May Almighty and Merciful God
  grant you forgiveness, absolution, and remission of your sins. Amen. May our
  Lord Jesus Christ absolve you; and by His authority I absolve you from every
  bond of excommunication (suspension) and interdict, so far as my power allows
  and your needs require. + Thereupon, I absolve you from your sins in the name
  of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. 
After: 
May
  the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the blessed Virgin Mary
  and the saints, and all the good you do and the suffering you endure, gain
  for you the remission of your sins, increase of grace, and the reward of
  everlasting life. Amen. | 
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. 
After: 
? | 

 
I thought the Eastern Rites did this in the passive: "You are absolved" ... "You are baptised"
ReplyDeleteI know they do for Baptism, but I suspect that, given there are so many Eastern churches, some variation has appeared over the years. I believe the Ukrainians, and probably the Russian Orthodox, use a passive absolution. I am personally familiar with the Melkite formula, so I posted it.
DeleteAren't there multiple options in the modern Roman Rite? To the point that "the priest can select a suitable formula of absolution....etc, etc? I swear I've heard variants of above modern absolution formula over the years.
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteYes, you have heard variants, as have we all, but none of them are sanctioned.
There's only one formula for the Novus Ordo absolution.
I myself have heard "May Jesus Christ absolve you and by His authority I absolve you...." from two different priests but I do not know whether this is a legal option or a case of common abuse.
ReplyDeletewow...when you read this you then understand what utter nonsense is the pretext "getting closer to the East" that some cite for the liturgical reform...
ReplyDelete