The Act of Contrition: the prayer, its meaning, and how to pray it

What is the act of contrition?

An act of contrition is a prayer in which you tell God you are truly sorry for your sins and resolve, with his help, not to sin again. The Catechism defines contrition itself as “sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again” (CCC 1451). The prayer puts that sorrow into words. It is prayed most often in confession, but you can pray it any time you want to turn back to God.

Contrition is the first and most important of the penitent’s acts in the Sacrament of Reconciliation (CCC 1451). Sin is not only breaking a rule; it is turning away from the God who loves us. The act of contrition is the turning back — the heart saying, honestly, “I am sorry, and I want to change.” That is why it belongs at the centre of how to go to confession and of every return to God.

The traditional Act of Contrition, in full

Here is the traditional act of contrition that many Catholics learn by heart. If you are preparing for confession, you can memorize it, or simply bring it on a card — priests expect that and often have a copy ready.

A widely used variant ends differently: “…who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.” Both forms are traditional and equally good; pray whichever you know. Each contains the two essentials — sorrow for sin, and a firm resolution to change — so that the prayer is a true act of contrition and not only words.

Perfect and imperfect contrition: what is the difference?

The Church distinguishes two kinds of contrition by their motive (CCC 1492). Perfect contrition is sorrow that arises from love of God, loved above all else for his own sake. Imperfect contrition (also called attrition) arises from other motives — the ugliness of sin, or the fear of hell and of God’s just punishments (CCC 1453). Both are genuine, and both are a gift of God and a prompting of the Holy Spirit.

The difference matters most outside confession. Perfect contrition, because it is born of charity, already obtains the forgiveness of mortal sins — provided it includes the firm resolution to confess them as soon as possible (CCC 1452). Imperfect contrition cannot by itself forgive grave sin, but it is “also a gift of God” and is enough to receive forgiveness worthily in the Sacrament of Penance (CCC 1453). So if you come to confession sorry even mainly out of fear, that is enough: God meets you there.

When do you pray the act of contrition?

In confession, you pray the act of contrition near the end: after you have confessed your sins and the priest has given you a penance, and just before he pronounces absolution. He will invite you to express your sorrow; that is the moment. Pray it aloud, slowly, whether from memory, from a card, or in your own words.

Outside confession, the act of contrition is a beautiful prayer at the end of the day, during an examination of conscience, or whenever your conscience stirs. Many Catholics include it in a prayer before confession and again afterwards. Praying it often keeps the heart soft and ready, so that sorrow for sin becomes a habit of love rather than a rare and difficult act.

Perfect contrition when you cannot get to confession

If you are in mortal sin and truly cannot reach confession — in danger of death, or when a priest simply is not available — an act of perfect contrition restores you to God’s grace at once. Because it flows from love of God rather than fear, it “obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (CCC 1452). That last condition is essential: perfect contrition does not replace confession; it carries you until you can get there.

To make such an act, tell God you are sorry above all because your sin has offended him, whom you love; ask his forgiveness; and sincerely resolve to confess as soon as you can. You can use the traditional prayer or your own words. Then go to confession at the first real opportunity, and mention there any mortal sins you were forgiven in this way, so the Church’s ordinary path of mercy is completed (CCC 1484).

How to pray the act of contrition from the heart

The words matter less than the heart behind them. Contrition “does not have to be a strong feeling,” as any good confessor will tell you; it is an act of the will — a real turning away from sin and toward God, nourished by hope in his mercy (CCC 1431, 1490). Pray slowly. Mean the two things the prayer says: that you are sorry, and that you intend, with God’s grace, to change.

If feelings of sorrow do not come, pray anyway: ask God for the gift of contrition, and trust that your honest desire is itself the beginning of it (CCC 1432). And do not let a wish for the “perfect” prayer keep you from confession. A plain, heartfelt sorrow is exactly what God asks. Our guide on how to repent walks through turning that sorrow into a changed life.

A short act of contrition in your own words

You do not have to use the traditional words. If you are nervous, or they will not come, a simple prayer from the heart is a true act of contrition, as long as it holds sorrow for sin and a resolve to change. Here is one example you can adapt.

Sources

Cited by paragraph and verse, so you can read them in full. In the end, your priest has the final word.

• –Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1430–1433
• –Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1451–1454
• –Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1484
• –Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1490–1492
• –Luke 18:9–14
• –Psalm 51 (50)
• –Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Appendix (common prayers)

Confession Compass is an independent educational tool, not an official body of the Catholic Church. It never absolves sins: only a priest, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, can absolve.