01 March 2026

01 March 2026 - Second Sunday of Lent - On the Act of Contrition

Transcript

I want to try something very different for this weekend. I want to take a look at various forms of The Act of Contrition.

This prayer is usually associated with the Sacrament of Confession, but should also be a part of our daily prayer life. Recognizing our sins is an important part of our spiritual growth. Unless we acknowledge our sins and ask for God's forgiveness, we cannot receive the grace that we need to become better Christians. We could call this the summary of the purpose of Lent. Well, I just did.

There are different forms of the Act of Contrition that I want to mention. The following five prayers are some of the most popular versions in use today.

The traditional form of the Act of Contrition, which was common throughout the 19th and the first half of the 20th century we are probably most familiar with:

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 are 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.

In English, there is a line in this particular form that people mix up that makes me grin every time I hear it. I think every place I have been has had some people say, “because I dread the lost of Heaven…” Well, we should dread the lost of Heaven – that is the demons and those humans who choose to go against God. But, then again, Jesus has overcome ALL demonic power. And I do understand how the confusion can happen. When we first memorized the Act of Contrition, this is probably what we heard. But there is a huge difference between saying “the lost of heaven” and “the loss of heaven.” Our prayer of contrition, our Act of Contrition, should not be about focusing on other beings, but on our relationship with God. Thus “loss” is correct, “lost” is not correct even though we should dread the lost of heaven. And especially should dread becoming “one of those lost!”

But even with all of this, and this is why I want to focus on the Act of Contrition, we are supposed to be thinking about how our sins offend God, and to be sorry for them – not because of the risk of hell, but because they upset our love-relationship with God.

The church talks about “imperfect contrition” and “perfect contrition.” To over-simplify, imperfect contrition is because of the fear of hell; while perfect contrition is because of our love for God – not being afraid of God, but loving Him. The Church tells us that God is pleased with either contrition – but the perfect contrition is obviously better.

The Act of Contrition should be showing us – and God – how much we love Him and long to be connected to Him, despite the messiness of sin. Yes, He knows the condition of our heart – but we still need to confirm that love. Do you need to say “I love you” to your children and spouse more than just once? And do you say it for them or for yourself? The answer is probably: both! 

The following form of the Act of Contrition points this out very quickly. It is a simplified form of the Act of Contrition:

O my God, I am sorry for my sins because I have offended you. I know I should love you above all things. Help me to do penance, to do better, and to avoid anything that might lead me to sin. Amen.

Here the focus is on our love for God and the fact that sin offends God and breaks our relationship with Him – to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the type of sin. 

If we love God above all things, we would never sin – never. So the Act of Contrition is a declaration of our love for God. Let me repeat: the Act of Contrition is a declaration of our love for God.

Here is a modern form of the Act of Contrition that is on the back of our missalette:

My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against You Whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with Your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin. Our Saviour Jesus Christ, suffered and died for us. In His name, my God, have mercy. Amen.

This one points out the focus of the heart. (This is the one I typically use.) Yes, we sin – and there is a level of love for sin that still infects our hearts. But we strive to love God “above all things,” even though we fail. This failure is the fault of our broken human nature.

But God is great in His mercies. (He is the Father of mercies, as I say in the prayer of absolution: “God, the Father of Mercies, through the death and resurrection of His Son…”) He enables us to continually repent. He enables that in us by the virtue of His grace. It is His grace, His mercy, His steadfast love [in Hebrew, this is called hesed ] that continues to draw us out of ourselves and into His life.

The fourth form is a very short, but valid Act of Contrition.

Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Yes, believe it or not, that is sufficient. But does it really reach to the heart of what we should be praying?... Yes, it does. Because it recognizes our failure and our need to rely on the mercies of God. But, despite this being sufficient, I do not think it says enough about the disposition of ourhearts before our loving Father.

Here is a Translation of an Act of Contrition from Spanish:

O my Jesus, 
 I repent with all my Heart
 that I have offended you because you are so good,
 you suffered and died for me,
 nailed to the cross
 I love you with all my heart
 and I wish never to sin again. Amen.

This is a good one too. So, let me try a further Explanation of the Act of Contrition.

In the Act of Contrition, we acknowledge our sins, declare our love for God, ask Him for forgiveness, and express our desire to repent. Our sins are an offense against God, Who is perfect goodness and love. We regret our sins not just because, left unconfessed and unrepented, mortal sins can prevent us from entering Heaven, but because we recognize that those sins are our rebellion against God. They are our actions against His love. He not only created us out of perfect love; He sent His only begotten Son into the world to save us from our sins after we rebelled against Him.

Our sorrow for our sins, expressed in the first half of the longer Act of Contrition, is only the beginning, however. True contrition means more than just being sorry for the sins of the past; it means working hard to avoid those and other sins in the future; it means acting in love. In the second half of the Act of Contrition, we express a desire to do just that, and to use the Sacrament of Confession to help us do so. And we acknowledge that we cannot avoid sin on our own—we need God's grace to live as He wishes us to live. This is why we turn continually to Him.

It does not matter if you have memorized one of these Acts of Contrition. But… what constitutes a sufficient act of contrition? There are seven parts:

·      Acknowledgment of sin

·      knowing that sin breaks our relationship with God

·      being sorry that we have broken that relationship

·      choosing to set sin behind us

·      choosing to live for God – for his glory

·      declaring our intention to not sin again, but to love Him

·      and, thanking God for his mercy and love

What words we use for those seven points is not as important as the fact that we use them. The church in her wisdom has given us a number of different options that we can memorize and use. But if you choose to make up your own Act of Contrition… that is perfectly okay.

Just – try to avoid using the line “the lost of heaven!” 

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