by Dr. G. A. Anderson

Created on: May 16, 2009   Last Updated: April 11, 2010

One of the most meaningful prayers prayed by Catholics is the Act of Contrition. "Cradle Catholics" (those who were born into Catholicism) know the entire prayer by heart, or at least some form of it. Newer Catholics sometimes use a "cheat sheet" with the prayer printed out. At some churches, the prayer is posted at the confessional for people who have trouble remembering the words, or who are new at the whole process of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession.) There are many small booklets in print that contain the Act of Contrition along with other traditional Catholic prayers.

The Act of Contrition is prayed after the confession of sins, and at the request of the priest. It is a short prayer of about one paragraph that tells God how sorry we are for our sins, asks for forgiveness, promises to avoid sin with God's help, and promises that we will strive to avoid any situations that will lead us to sin in the future. It tells God we love him above all else and that we grieve because we have offended him.

The prayer may be said in its formal structure or it may be shortened. The prayers may only consist of "God, forgive me, a sinner. I love you above all else. I promise to amend my ways and with your help, do better in the future." Whatever comes to mind is generally acceptable if it covers the main points - being remorseful, asking forgiveness, expressing love for God, and promising to do better from that time forward.

For Catholics, this prayer expresses a contrite heart and summarizes the sinner's intentions to live life trying to avoid the pitfalls of sin that are so easy to fall into. Many Catholics find themselves led in directions that go against the teachings of Christ as modern society pulls them one way and then another. For example, we may be pro-life, but defend the death penalty. We may realize the importance of attending Mass, but find easy excuses not to honor our obligation when it's a big game day. We may think we are not going to be tempted to gossip but find ourselves caught up in the latest neighborhood scandal, doing our share of gossiping. We may also find ourselves supporting Catholic politicians who are openly opposed to the teachings of the Church instead of seeking out other leaders who are steadfastly behind Church teachings. We may find ourselves unable to forgive as Jesus instructed us, and judge and condemn others who have hurt or betrayed us.

So when we pray our Act of Contrition, we must really mean that we will defend Christ's teachings to the very best of our imperfect human ability despite outside interference, and remember that we can only succeed in doing this with God's help.

Our sorrow for having committed sins must be heartfelt and sincere. When we pray the Act of Contrition, we cannot be just going through the motions. Our intention must be to accept the penance given us by our priest, and fully desire to avoid the same sins and others from that time forward. Catholics, at the moment we receive absolution (forgiveness for our sins,) have a clean slate, and strive to continue to honor our promises made to God.

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