Perfect Contrition?

[ajpirc]

I’ve heard many people lately talking about making perfect contritions to forgive one’s sins. What is a perfect contrition and how is it made? Does a perfect contrition take away the need for Confession?

I am very confused about this topic.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

I’ve heard many people lately talking about making perfect contritions to forgive one’s sins. What is a perfect contrition and how is it made? Does a perfect contrition take away the need for Confession?

I am very confused about this topic.

A perfect contrition is when you ask God directly to forgive your sins (not to priest). It’s made when you are sorry for your sins - not just sorry for losing salvation, but for offending God. I have no idea if it takes away the need for confession, but I’d go to confession just in case.

This is what I’ve observed from CAF and those perfect contrition discussions.

Hope it helps.

 

[ajpirc]

A perfect contrition is when you ask God directly to forgive your sins (not to priest). It’s made when you are sorry for your sins - not just sorry for losing salvation, but for offending God. I have no idea if it takes away the need for confession, but I’d go to confession just in case.

This is what I’ve observed from CAF and those perfect contrition discussions.

Hope it helps.

It helps a little, but what you’re saying almost sounds like a “confess your sins directly to God and they’ll be forgiven” kind of thing.

 

[OraLabora]

It helps a little, but what you’re saying almost sounds like a “confess your sins directly to God and they’ll be forgiven” kind of thing.

An act of perfect contrition is being sorry for your sin not from fear of hell, but from love of God.

In human terms it’s like being sorry for upsetting your spouse because you’re sorry you hurt his/her feelings and you love him/her, not because you fear getting whacked over the head with a rolling pin!

There is a statement that we recite when we want to make an act of perfect contrition. I’m sorry I only know it in French by heart, and I’m too tired to look it up in English.

It will absolve you from a mortal sin if you are unable to get to sacramental confession in time. It does not remove the need for sacramental confession. You are still required to make a sacramental confession for the sin as soon as possible. But God won’t punish you if you happen to die before you can get to sacramental confession, if you’ve expressed perfect contrition to Him.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

It helps a little, but what you’re saying almost sounds like a “confess your sins directly to God and they’ll be forgiven” kind of thing.

sorry, didn’t mean that. What I mean is that a perfect contrition is sort of like some one crying on the floor for forgiveness, while a not-so-perfect one is casually just like “God forgive me for …”

I’m not too knowledgable with perfect contritions, but that’s my understanding.

 

[Swiss_Guy]

There is a statement that we recite when we want to make an act of perfect contrition.

Is it:

 

[ajpirc]

An act of perfect contrition is being sorry for your sin not from fear of hell, but from love of God.

There is a statement that we recite when we want to make an act of perfect contrition.

O my God, I’m 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 art 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 ammend my life. Amen

???

 

[runningdude]

It confusing, because the aforementioned prayer is titled “An Act of Contrition”, however one need not recite this particular prayer to make an act expressing contrition. One need only be remorseful for of love of God, and resolute to confess all sins eventually, and resolute to sin no more to make an act of perfect contrition.

The prayer titled “An Act of Contrition” summarizes all the necessary steps of perfect contrition, but merely reciting these words does not replace the words of absolution recited by the priest during confession. One may also become guilty of presumption if they receive the Eucharist, before following through by confessing the sins they resolved to confess.

 

[Jim_Roberts]

You were washed, you were sanctified,you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. One must appreciate the magnitude of the gift God has given us in the sacraments of Christian initiation in order to grasp the degree to which sin is excluded for him who has “put on Christ.”
But the apostle John said:“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not is us.” And the Lord himself taught us to pray:"Forgive us our trespasses, linking our forgiveness of one another’s offenses to the forgiveness of our sins that God will grant us.

So, in essence,when it arises from a love by which God is love above all else,contrition is called PERFECT contrition of charity.] Such contrition remits venial sins; it also obtains forgiveness of mortal sins if it is includes the firm resolution to have recourse to sacramental confession in person] as soon as possible.

Taken from The Catechism of the Catholic CHurch and the Acts of the Penitent.

 

[Waiting]

Just saying an Act of Contrition does not qualify as perfect contrition. There must also be a sincere sorrow for offending God. If you are sick at heart for hurting, in any way, the One who loves you enough to give His life for you, then you can be sure you have made a perfect Act of Contrition. You will truly resolve not to commit that sin again.

 

[Joannm]

Just the idea of saying I need to make a perfect act of contrition with the idea that if I die before confession I am going to hell makes it imperfect contrition. Any thoughts of punishment make it imperfect. I would say all of us make imperfect contrition and that is all that is needed in confession to be absolved from our sins.

Perfect contrition is difficult to achieve. With it is NO thought of punishment, only of the offense against God. Also a person making a perfect act of contrition will WANT TO get to confession as soon as possible and make every effort to do so.

So say you commit a mortal sin on Tuesday. Confessions are on Saturday. You say, I can wait until Saturday, but what if I get hit by a bus. So you tell God you are truly sorry (which you are), but the idea that you are afraid to die and go to hell, that makes it imperfect.

Same situation, but you are in angst because you have offended God and you can’t bear to have done that. You have no thought of punishment. So you make a perfect act of contrition and call the rectory and make an appointment for asap. In the mean time you do penance on your own out of love for God. If you have to wait for Saturday because you can’t get an appointment, so be it, but you don’t wait a few weeks for confession.

As I said, I believe perfect contrition is difficult to achieve because always in the back of our minds is “what if I die with this sin on my soul?”

 

[ajpirc]

Just the idea of saying I need to make a perfect act of contrition with the idea that if I die before confession I am going to hell makes it imperfect contrition. Any thoughts of punishment make it imperfect. I would say all of us make imperfect contrition and that is all that is needed in confession to be absolved from our sins.

Perfect contrition is difficult to achieve. With it is NO thought of punishment, only of the offense against God. Also a person making a perfect act of contrition will WANT TO get to confession as soon as possible and make every effort to do so.

So say you commit a mortal sin on Tuesday. Confessions are on Saturday. You say, I can wait until Saturday, but what if I get hit by a bus. So you tell God you are truly sorry (which you are), but the idea that you are afraid to die and go to hell, that makes it imperfect.

Same situation, but you are in angst because you have offended God and you can’t bear to have done that. You have no thought of punishment. So you make a perfect act of contrition and call the rectory and make an appointment for asap. In the mean time you do penance on your own out of love for God. If you have to wait for Saturday because you can’t get an appointment, so be it, but you don’t wait a few weeks for confession.

As I said, I believe perfect contrition is difficult to achieve because always in the back of our minds is “what if I die with this sin on my soul?”

Are your sins forgiven when you make a perfect act of contrition?

 

[Joannm]

Are your sins forgiven when you make a perfect act of contrition?

I assume they are since the Church allows this. But as I stated I believe that “perfect contrition” is rare. Also if one does not get to a priest asap for confession (or as soon as reasonably possible) then one’s confession probably was not really perfect since they do not intend to confess to a priest asap.

I would say an act of perfect contrition is really only necessary in emergency situations but even then, the idea that one is contrite because they fear dying with mortal sin and going to hell or even purgatory, then it is not perfect contrition.

 

[thistle]

Are your sins forgiven when you make a perfect act of contrition?

An act of perfect contrition is conditional upon a firm intent to get to Confession as soon as possible. The act of perfect contrition is not completed without that intent.
If it is completed then should a person die before getting to Confession their sins would be forgiven.

 

[ajpirc]

An act of perfect contrition is conditional upon a firm intent to get to Confession as soon as possible. The act of perfect contrition is not completed without that intent.
If it is completed then should a person die before getting to Confession their sins would be forgiven.

So the sins are only forgiven if you die before Confession. If you get to Confession before you die, then it’s the Confession that absolves your sins.