Perfect act of contrition

[crystal_waters]

What are the words to make a perfect act of contrition?

 

[Tantum_ergo]

What are the words to make a perfect act of contrition?

It’s not the words so much but the attitude.

It’s kind of hard to do (try to imagine doing ANYTHING perfectly. . .really, really perfectly, without a mistake at all)

And try to imagine doing it without one single SCRAP of thought about anything other than pure love of God, and nothing else.

Not one nanosecond of inattention.

A perfect act of contrition is often said to be the requirement for forgiveness of a mortal sin outside of sacramental confession.

But that’s not really true. It is not a SUBSTITUTE for sacramental confession.

In the very very rare need for perfect contrition, we have a situation where, for example, a person has committed mortal sin. However, he or she serves in the Armed Forces and has IMMEDIATELY been sent on a dangerous mission where it is very possible he or she may be killed. There is no priest available.

In such a case the person may STRIVE to say a perfect Act of contrition but --here is the IMPORTANT PART–should the person survive, he or she is to seek out AND GO TO SACRAMENTAL CONFESSION to confess that mortal sin.

Now let’s suppose a person has committed a mortal sin and it is Sunday, and he or she doesn’t want to bother calling the priest and asking to come in for confession. So he or she says a ‘perfect act of contrition’, and then DOES NOT BOTHER GOING TO CONFESSION because "I made a perfect act of contrition and I’m forgiven. I don’t NEED to go to confession’.

The next time he or she sins mortally, he or she does the same thing. . .‘perfect’ Act of contrition, no confession because they don’t think they need it.

But. . .they do.

Now everybody is different. A young person who depends on transportation may not be able to get to Saturday confession without asking the parents, and the parents might start to snoop (why do you NEED to go to confession? What have you DONE. . .etc.) and the young person might have some terrible experiences because maybe a parent is an alcoholic and literally beats the he// out of them if they have ‘sinned’.

The safest thing to do if you believe you are in a state of mortal sin is to contact your priest. While he cannot absolve you ‘over the phone’, he can let you know if you NEED to come to confession and, if you cannot get to Saturday confession, he can make arrangements to come by or have you come up say right before Sunday mass (asking you perhaps to read one of the readings and then hearing your confession privately as well).

 

[AlanFromWichita]

Is it a perfect act of contrition, or an act of perfect contrition?

 

[Deo_Gratias42]

It’s referred to as making an act of perfect contrition, and is something very rare and difficult. It requires special graces from God. There’s this notion that Perfect Contrition grows on trees, but it doesn’t. I know that’s probably what no one wants to hear, but it is the truth.

 

[thistle]

Is it a perfect act of contrition, or an act of perfect contrition?

Its an act of perfect contrition and something I would like to achieve but would not bet my immortal soul on having done so the answer is to get to Confession as soon as possible.