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.
The traditional Act of Contrition.
O my God, I am sorry and repent with all my heart for all the wrong I have done and for the good I have failed to do, because by sinning I have offended you, who are all good and worthy to be loved above all things. I firmly resolve, with the help of your grace, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid the occasions of sin. Through the merits of the Passion of our Savior Jesus Christ, Lord, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.
From the Order of Penance, nos. 45 and 92 (USCCB).
The Act of Contrition is a short prayer in which we tell God we are sorry for our sins and resolve, with His grace, to change our lives. In the Sacrament of Penance, after we confess our sins and the priest gives us a penance, he asks us to pray an act of contrition before he gives absolution. If you are getting ready for confession, an examination of conscience is a good place to begin.
The Act of Contrition is also a good prayer to end the day with your other evening prayers, or to pray whenever you have fallen into sin.
“Sin is an offense against God: ‘Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight.’ Sin sets itself against God’s love for us and turns our hearts away from it” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1850).
Those words come from Psalm 51, the psalm of repentance traditionally linked with King David after his sin with Bathsheba. The Church still prays it today.
“Among the penitent’s acts contrition occupies first place. Contrition is ‘sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again.’
“When it arises from a love by which God is loved above all else, contrition is called ‘perfect’ (contrition of charity). Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible.
“The contrition called ‘imperfect’ (or ‘attrition’) is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit. It is born of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation and the other penalties threatening the sinner (contrition of fear). Such a stirring of conscience can initiate an interior process which, under the prompting of grace, will be brought to completion by sacramental absolution. By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1451–1453).
The traditional prayer holds both kinds of sorrow. We are sorry “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.”
Many Catholics learned the traditional wording as children, and it is still widely prayed. The Church’s Order of Penance also gives other forms, including the newer form above. It also gives the short prayer “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner,” which echoes the tax collector in Jesus’ parable (Luke 18:13). Whichever words you use, what matters is real sorrow for sin and the resolve to turn back to God.
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