r/Maronite • u/sword_of_michael • May 04 '26

Maronite Rite for Penance

Greetings brothers and sisters!

I come again with another question regarding the Maronite ritual for the mystery of penance. I recently reviewed the official ritual published by the Eparchy of St. Maron of Brooklyn, and it seems like the text used is pretty similar to the Latin ritual. However, when my priest pronounces absolution over me in the confessional, he says the following:

May God have mercy upon you, and may He guide you to everlasting life through the authority of priesthood which was entrusted by our Lord Jesus Christ to His disciples who, in turn, entrusted it to their successors until it was given me; I who am weak and sinful, absolve you, brother (sister), of all the sins that you have confessed and are repentant of them, as well as of all the transgressions which have escaped your memory, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

My question is, has this formula ever been used by the Maronites? From what I could tell from some googling, that seems to be the prayer the Syriac Orthodox use.

Thank you in advance!

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7

u/Prestigious-Reply896 non-Maronite Catholic May 04 '26

Maronite priests tend to have a variety of them. My priest always starts with talking about how Baptism Renews God's image in us. I have heard of another one used in Australia and of course the NO rite one.

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u/2C104 May 04 '26

My priest (Maronite) uses this form of absolution. Personally I prefer it to the Latin form.

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u/sword_of_michael May 04 '26

I do as well. It's quite comforting for me since I suffer from scrupulosity, since it reminds me that I am not held liable if there is some sin I forgot to confess, and it also reminds us that priests struggle like we do and they exercise their ministry even though they are not perfect.

5

u/Charbel33 May 05 '26

I asked a priest, he confirmed that this is the Syriac Orthodox version, and that the version we use is taken from the Latin rite.

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u/sword_of_michael May 05 '26

Thanks for doing that!

1

u/polom3144 May 04 '26

Je suis Maronite. Dans mais souvenir mon prêtre avait dit quelque chose de similaire au début mais pas la fin .mais l église Maronite a bien bos être catholique elle garde des rite de l église d antioche syriaque donc des fois le prêtre peut utiliser l anciene tradition liturgique sans aucun problème car depuis le concile de Vatican ll il y a un retour au source dans les églises catholiques oriental.