by Pam Brink

Created on: January 28, 2011   Last Updated: May 01, 2012

In Roman Catholic terminology, an Act of Contrition is a prayer asking for forgiveness for sins, based on having made an examination of conscience. Sorrow for having done something against God’s wishes and promising to make amends to the people who may have been harmed precedes any apology. An Act of Contrition may be said at any time of the day or night, but is usually said before going to bed at night and at the end of the procedure of confessing sins to a priest.

                                               
An Act of Contrition begins: “Oh my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you ….” Sin is an offense against God. If Christians truly believe in and act upon the first commandment, then first thoughts and first actions should be God-centered. Whenever people put themselves first, they put God second. When someone sins against God’s precepts, that person is putting himself first. Sin is a deliberate turning away from or disobedience to God. An Act of Contrition is a reminder that people are not equal to God. People are creatures, and creatures are never on a par with their creator. Adam and Eve made this mistake, believing they could become equals with God. This is a sin of pride.
      
Sorrow for sin is not an empty or frivolous “Sorry, God, wasn’t thinking,” statement. It is a commitment to change one’s life, to make up for any harm done.            

The end of an Act of Contrition expresses intent to avoid sin in the future with God’s help. “I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.” An apology is only as good as the promise to avoid whatever it was, again. People who cannot keep their promises to God cannot be trusted to keep their promises to other people.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), founded as it was on the principles of the Oxford Movement, also believes in confessing one's sins to another person and making a firm purpose of amendment. It is considered a critical step in the process of letting go of alcohol. Steps four through ten in AA deal with contrition for past misbehaviors.

First, a person is expected

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