Act of Contrition for Habitual Sinners - Comments Please

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Some sins become habits or addictions, ranging from those involving impurity to gluttony and greed, and everything in between. After writing a few posts here trying to inspire people who felt that sin was winning, I came up with this “Act of Contrition” that can be used in confession. I would like some feedback, and especially on whether it meets the primary components of an act of contrition.

This is copyrighted material, but I’m keeping my name off this post to remain anonymous on this site.

Battle Cry of a Warrior for the Lord

A Habitual Sinner’s Act of Contrition

O My God, it is with deep sadness that I detest my sins. In choosing my desires over your laws, over the doctrines of the Catholic Church, and over what you wrote in the moral code deep within me, I risked heaven for hell. This cannot compare to the deepest sorrows I have for offending you, especially for the half-hearted efforts in fighting the temptations before me.

Help me, O Lord, to find my inner warrior. My soul is my fort and I must defend it. The high ground I will hold, lest the enemy within climb the hill and threaten my dwelling. I promise to defend my foundation and fort with all the strength and endurance of which you have armed me. In times of temptation give me the courage to survive the minute, the hour, or the day. I will offer the pain of my suffering – the suffering of holding my ground for those who have forgotten that relief is nearby.

Please accept the penance I promise to do in response to my sorrow, and to build my strength for the battles yet to come. Should I fall in battle, I promise to not lose hope. I will shun pride for humility and seek the remedy I need to fight yet another day, as a warrior for the Lord.

Amen!

Amat victoria curam

Victory favors those who take pains
 
I’ve made an adjustment to the first paragraph, as I continue to work on the technical aspects of it. What is above is actually a draft.

If anyone has good grammar and punctuation skills, I’d be happy to take pointers. I stink at these things and I still sense some things don’t flow.
 
I guess I have to get more sleep than just 4 hours nightly. Here’s the first paragraph rewritten.

:banghead:

O My God, it is with deep sadness that I detest my sins. In choosing my desires over your laws, and over the doctrines of the Catholic Church, and over the moral code you placed deep within my being, I risked heaven for hell. This cannot compare to the deepest sorrows I have for offending you, especially for the half-hearted efforts in fighting the temptations before me.
 
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Lux_et_veritas:
Some sins become habits or addictions, ranging from those involving impurity to gluttony and greed, and everything in between. After writing a few posts here trying to inspire people who felt that sin was winning, I came up with this “Act of Contrition” that can be used in confession. I would like some feedback, and especially on whether it meets the primary components of an act of contrition.
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It certainly sounds like an act of contrition, but I am not at all authorized to say whether you could use it during a sacramental confession.

I like it a lot and hope you don’t mind my printing it out for my own use.
  • Liberian
 
Not at all. I don’t mind people using it for personal use. I’d just hate to see it in someone’s book where they are collecting money. I don’t even care if someone emails it to someone else. I just don’t like the idea of someone profiting off of my words. As far as I am concerned they belong to God and as a result to anyone who feels they need it.

I know there are many acts of contrition. I’m going to show it to a pastor tomorrow and see what he says.
 
You’ve got three long paragraphs. The Act of Contrition is not supposed to be a long drawn-out thing. It’s supposed to be short and sweet. Especially in the confessional.

Since the Church already has one (or more) of these, I don’t understand your objective.
 
Do you know the difficulty of breaking out of any addiction?
 
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Lux_et_veritas:
Not at all. I don’t mind people using it for personal use. I’d just hate to see it in someone’s book where they are collecting money. I don’t even care if someone emails it to someone else. I just don’t like the idea of someone profiting off of my words. As far as I am concerned they belong to God and as a result to anyone who feels they need it.

I know there are many acts of contrition. I’m going to show it to a pastor tomorrow and see what he says.
Click to expand...
Please keep us informed about what your pastor says.
I see a need for this. Perhaps if someone would not like to use it in the confessional, they might want to use it for strength in trying times.
 
Lux,

An act of contrition is supposed to be just that, a statement of one’s sorrow for sin and the intention to avoid sin in the future. I see the first element in your prayer (although the first sentence is redundant and could be simply “Oh my God, I detest my sins.” Having “sorrow” is far less than “detest[ing]” one’s sins.

It should be a short prayer, and should speak to where you are in your faith journey. The “traditional” act of contrition noted that are to be “heartily sorry” for our sins and why (“because I dred the loss of heaven…and I have offended you”). Your prayer seems to reduce this to an admission that you broke the law.

It’s not about “finding the inner warrior” but about using the graces that God sends us. Finally, I see nothing about avoiding sin but, rather, the statement that if you should fall you will return to the sacrament of reconciliation.

Perhaps you might consider this prayer:

“Oh my God, I detest my sins because they are so offensive to you. I want so much to avoid sin, but I fall so easily. Help me Lord to use the graces you send me that I might avoid (here mention the particular sin that has become a habit) and all other sins.”

This is short, meets all the necessary requirements, and places the burden of succes on you with the Lord’s help.

Deacon Ed
 
Good points you bring up Deacon Ed, I’ll have to ponder it a bit.

It was used in confession and he did not object, but I do see the vailidity of your points and will look at some revisions.

There is also a reason for the length and as I explained to Father I do believe I was in too much of a hurry in the past and this one simply makes up. I’ve been mulling over what were some reckless confession habits (or shall I say, less than virtuous confession habits) that hurt me more than anything and that is what led to this.

Maybe, it is better not being an Act of Contrition, but simply a prayer. I find that it reminds me to be strong and to use those graces God gives, while it may not say that exactly. That was my intent. It does state something to the effect of “using the strength and endurance of which you have armed me”. Those are graces.

Thanks for the feedback people.
 
Sorrow for sin moves us to have a firm amendment not to sin again. We probably will sin again, but we try not to do so. We do not plan on leaving the confessional and committing the same sins again.

We then confess our sins. When we enter the confessional in most Churches, we have the option of remaining anonymous or facing the priest. Whichever option a person chooses, always remember that whatever is said during the confession in held in secret by the priest. Remember also that we confess to the priest for three reasons. First, the priest has the authority of the apostles by virtue of his ordination. On the night of the resurrection, Jesus said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive men’s sins, they are forgiven them; if you hold in bound, they are held bound” (Jn 20:22-23). The priest is the minister of the sacrament acting as the person of Christ.

…plagurized…err, borrowed from CERC… catholiceducation.org/articles/religion/re0180.html

…i really think most try to make it more difficult then it has to be… IMHO
 
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