The Act of Contrition
The prayer of sorrow you make in the confessional — the traditional words, the Latin, the shorter forms, and what each line is actually saying.
It is the prayer a Catholic most wants within reach when it matters most: kneeling in the confessional, or at a deathbed, or alone after a fall. The Act of Contrition is the soul telling God it is sorry — and meaning it enough to change. Here is the traditional form, word for word, and what it is really saying.
The traditional English Act of Contrition. Wording varies between editions: EWTN prints it “because I dread the loss of heaven, and the pains of hell … Who are all good and deserving of all my love.” Any approved form is valid.
The approved forms, and where each one comes from
There is no single official text in English, which is why the version on the holy card in your wallet may not match the one posted in the confessional. Several forms are approved, and all of them do the same work. Here are the ones published by the Church’s own sources.
The traditional form — as the Vatican’s Compendium prints it
From the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Appendix A (Common Prayers). The bishops of the United States print the same prayer in modern English on their Act of Contrition page — “offended you … because of your just punishments … to avoid the near occasions of sin.”
The Latin — Actus contritionis
From the Compendium, Appendix A, printed there beside the English above. The accents are the Compendium’s own, marking the stressed syllable for anyone praying it aloud.
The forms the U.S. bishops publish
The bishops of the United States publish three Acts of Contrition. Because these are current liturgical translations we quote only an opening line, with attribution, and send you to the bishops for the rest:
Opening line only — one of three forms at usccb.org/prayers/act-contrition, footnoted there “From the Order of Penance, nos. 45 and 92.” Vatican News prints a longer set, noting that “There are a variety of different Acts of Contrition suggested in the Rite of Penance.”
The one-line form
The shortest of the three the bishops publish (usccb.org). Worth knowing for the moment when nothing longer will come.
When to pray it
Pray it in Confession — after telling your sins, when the priest asks for your act of contrition, before he gives absolution. But it does not belong only to the confessional: pray it each night as part of an examination of conscience, and the moment you are aware of having sinned. To prepare for confession itself, use the free Examination of Conscience.
There is a third moment, and it is the reason to have the words in memory rather than on a phone. In danger of death, an act of contrition made out of love of God — perfect contrition — “also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (Catechism 1452). The Church builds the same instinct into her own rites: even before a general absolution given in danger of death, canon law says “an exhortation that each person take care to make an act of contrition is to precede general absolution… if there is time” (canon 962 §2). Nothing here replaces confession — “individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church” (canon 960) — and the canon adds: “Only physical or moral impossibility excuses from confession of this type; in such a case reconciliation can be obtained by other means.” It is the prayer you make on the way to the priest, not instead of him.
Perfect and imperfect contrition
The prayer names both motives the Church distinguishes. Sorrow that arises chiefly from fear — “I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell” — is imperfect contrition (attrition). The Catechism honours it: it “is also a gift of God, a prompting of the Holy Spirit”, born “of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation”. But it states its limit plainly: “By itself however, imperfect contrition cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance” (§1453). Sorrow that arises from love — “most of all because they offend Thee… deserving of all my love” — is perfect contrition, which “remits venial sins” and “also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (§1452). The decisive line is the last one you say: a real purpose of amendment — “to amend my life.” Without the resolve to change, the words are only words.
How to memorise it — and how to teach it to your children
Learn it in four pieces, because that is how it is built: the sorrow (“I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee”), the lesser motive (“because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell”), the greater motive (“but most of all because they offend Thee”), and the resolve (“to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life”). Say the four pieces in order for a week and the prayer is yours for life. Print this page and keep it in the car until it is.
For your children: one line a night, out loud, at the same hour — after night prayers, before the lights go out. They will learn it the way they learned the Our Father, by hearing you say it first, every night, until the words are theirs. That is the work of the priest of your home: not explaining the prayer, but being heard praying it.
Frequently asked
What is the Act of Contrition?
A Catholic prayer expressing sorrow for sin and the firm resolution to amend one’s life. 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). It is prayed in the Sacrament of Confession before absolution, and is also said at night and whenever one is aware of having sinned.
When do you say the Act of Contrition in Confession?
After you have confessed your sins, when the priest invites you to express your sorrow — just before he pronounces the words of absolution. If you cannot remember the prayer, tell him; he will lead you through it, and your own honest words of sorrow are enough.
What is the difference between perfect and imperfect contrition?
Perfect contrition arises “from a love by which God is loved above all else”; it “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” (CCC 1452). Imperfect contrition, or attrition, is “born of the consideration of sin’s ugliness or the fear of eternal damnation”; by itself it “cannot obtain the forgiveness of grave sins, but it disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance” (CCC 1453). Both are gifts of God.
Is there a short version of the Act of Contrition?
Yes — several. The bishops of the United States publish three forms on their prayer page and note that they come from “the Order of Penance, nos. 45 and 92.” The shortest is a single line: “Lord Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” Vatican News also notes that “there are a variety of different Acts of Contrition suggested in the Rite of Penance.”
What is the Act of Contrition in Latin?
The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church prints it as the Actus contritionis: “Deus meus, ex toto corde pænitet me ómnium meórum peccatórum, éaque detéstor…” The full Latin text, with the Compendium’s own English alongside it, is on this page.
Which version of the Act of Contrition is the right one?
All of the approved forms are right. The wording varies between editions and between the older English prayer books and the current ritual — some say “because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell,” others “because of thy just punishments.” Any form that expresses real sorrow and a real resolution to amend is a valid act of contrition. Learn one and keep it.
Does the Act of Contrition forgive sins without going to confession?
Perfect contrition — sorrow from love of God — “also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession as soon as possible” (CCC 1452). The resolution to confess is part of it, not an alternative to it: “individual and integral confession and absolution constitute the only ordinary means by which a member of the faithful conscious of grave sin is reconciled with God and the Church” (canon 960). The canon adds: “Only physical or moral impossibility excuses from confession of this type; in such a case reconciliation can be obtained by other means.” So pray it, and then go.
How do I teach the Act of Contrition to my children?
One line a night, out loud, at the same time — after the night prayers, before the lights go out. Children learn it the way they learn the Our Father: by hearing an adult say it first, every night, until the words are theirs. Say it yourself where they can hear you, and do not correct their wording; correct nothing until they have the whole prayer.
Sources
- Catechism of the Catholic Church 1451–1453 — the definition of contrition, and perfect versus imperfect contrition, quoted here verbatim.
- Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Appendix A — the English “Act of Contrition” and the Latin “Actus contritionis”.
- USCCB, Act of Contrition — three approved forms, noted as being from “the Order of Penance, nos. 45 and 92.”
- Vatican News, Act of Contrition — on the variety of forms suggested in the Rite of Penance.
- Code of Canon Law, cann. 960, 962 — individual confession as the only ordinary means of reconciliation; the act of contrition before general absolution.
- EWTN, Act of Contrition — a traditional English text of the prayer, quoted in the note at the top of this page.