An Act of
Contrition
A NOTE TO HE WHO CONSIDERS HIMSELF CATHOLIC:
This prayer has been used by the Roman Catholic Church for a very
long time and carries an indulgence of three years. Simple & short, it confesses
one’s sins generally without doing so specifically. A Catholic should use it
to express sorrow for his sins overall, or to pour forth remorse after a
particularly grievous sin has been committed. It is not intended to replace
confession to a priest in the Sacrament of Penance but to augment the
confessional by inspiring in us that which moves us toward contrition. Indeed, without
accusing ourselves of our particular sins, we cannot expect God to forgive them.
It is cowardly, irresponsible & absurd to think we can sin without owning
up to what we have done, making amends for it. It’s like an earthly father saying a very wicked
child doesn’t have to do what he can to make up for his horrible
disobedience. Normally this is done under the gaze of a lawful priest, who is
authorized by God to do this on His Behalf and who thus acts as a Catholic’s
spiritual father. In times
of emergency when no priest is lawfully available --- such as now, during the
Great Apostasy --- we are permitted instead to confess our sins alone before Heaven
in prayer. The catch is, we must do so with a perfectly contrite will and with
the sincere intention to confess again to a priest all of these mortal sins,
that we have accumulated in the meantime, when, and if, such a man becomes lawfully
available to us before death on earth & judgment hereafter. Please see
A Thorough Contritional Prayer for further instruction in this matter.
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O my God, I am
heartily sorry
for having offended
Thee, and I detest all my sins
because I dread the
loss of heaven and the pains of hell,
but most of all
because they offend Thee, My God,
who art all good
and deserving of all my love.
I firmly
resolve,
with the help of Thy
grace,
to confess my
sins,
to do penance,
and to amend
my life.
Amen.
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Pilate’s
query met:
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© 2009 by
Paul Doughton.
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reserved.