Question about the Confiteor

[Spirithound]

The penitential rite is also “not repeated” if the Liturgy of the Hours is celebrated immediately before Mass.

If I am praying the Liturgy of the Hours immediately before Mass in private, should I skip part of it in deference to the communal penitential rite during Mass?

 

[japhy]

If I am praying the Liturgy of the Hours immediately before Mass in private, should I skip part of it in deference to the communal penitential rite during Mass?

I have, on occasion, stopped either before the “Prayer of the Faithful” or the “Our Father” in the Liturgy of the Hours when praying right before Mass, since those two elements happen in the Mass, and the last prayer for the Liturgy of the Hours is the collect from Mass anyway. I don’t know if this is recommended or required, but it just seemed appropriate to me.

 

[FrDavid96]

If I am praying the Liturgy of the Hours immediately before Mass in private, should I skip part of it in deference to the communal penitential rite during Mass?

Not sure. I’ll have to check the General Instruction for the Liturgy of the Hours and get back to you. In rather doubt it will be a matter of “should skip” though. My guess (without looking) is that this question won’t even be answered by the rubrics.

In the meantime, since you’re praying it in private, and you’re not obligated (in the strictest sense) to pray it anyway, you can always “dispense” youself from part of it.

However, I think there’s a certain time element here. Since the Penitential rite in the Hours also prepares us for the rest of the Lit. of the Hours, I think that it would be better to keep the P.R. in the Hours even in private. In reverse, if you pray the Hours after Mass, that might be more of a reason to not-repeat it after Mass.

 

[MarkThompson]

Thank you both for your replies. The specific incidence I’m referring to would then be not permitted. I"ve been to a regular Sunday Mass where no sprinkling of holy water, Baptism or confiteor occurred.

As FrDavid and Japhy both explained to you, “The penitential rite has several options.” If the threefold troped Kyrie (or the “Miserere nostri / Quia peccavimus tibi” dialogue, which is very rare) was used, those would be permissible options. Most likely the troped Kyrie was used and you just didn’t realize it.

 

[Ockham]

As FrDavid and Japhy both explained to you, “The penitential rite has several options.” If the threefold troped Kyrie (or the “Miserere nostri / Quia peccavimus tibi” dialogue, which is very rare) was used, those would be permissible options. Most likely the troped Kyrie was used and you just didn’t realize it.

Really? Please elaborate.

 

[MarkThompson]

Really? Please elaborate.

Go here (as an example), scroll down to “Pentitential Rite,” and look at Option C over there on the right.

This is definitely one of the weaker points of the Ordinary Form of the Mass – I think every Mass should have a Confiteor and a Kyrie, and I (unlike those iconoclasts at Trent ) would be happy to have back all of the glorious tropes for the Kyries. On the plus side, the people actually get to say the Confiteor in the OF when that option is used, which is a step up from the old practice.

 

[Ockham]

Thanks for the link Mark, but alas the priest in question just plain ol’ blew right by any connotation of sin. There are many other examples of his free-wheeling liturgy and homilies but we don’t need to get into them on a public forum.

 

[diggerdomer]

It’s all of the above. Japhy gave a great post.

I think that what’s happening here is not so much a lack of understanding about “what” we think about in the Confiteor, but what the entire penitential rite of the Mass is about.

I think that perhaps you’re looking at this rite as a form of confession in one way or another. In other words, it’s not the conclusion which needs clarification, but the whole premise of what the rite is about. This isn’t necessarily a time for us to remember all the sins we’ve committed since our last confession, or since our last Mass–not in the same sense that we do in the sacrament of Confession (although doing so would not be wrong, by any means). Instead, it is a time for us to reflect upon the fact of our sinfulness, along with everything else that implies, not necessarily the individual/particular sins.

I think this misunderstanding stems from a common misconception that the penitential rite of Mass is a substitute for sacramental confession (at least if we’re talking only about venial sins). Even if one goes to sacramental confession immediately before Mass, we still need the penitential rite; because the rite is not in any way a substitute for Confession.

The purpose of the penitential rite is for us to reflect upon our own sins (not an examimation of conscience as such, but a reflection), to remind us that we have indeed sinned, that we need forgiveness, and that we must “prepare ourselves to celebrate the Sacred Mysteries” It is a preparation for the great miracle of the Eucharist which is about to happen before our very eyes.

Although we may use this time to mentally articulate every individual sin since ‘whenever’ that’s not what the rite itself is about. While we “may” there is no reason that we “must.”

Try thinking about the Confiteor less in terms of the Sacrament of Confession, and more in terms of preparation for the Eucharistic miracle–even though if we delve deeply into this, the two are one-and-the-same; but that similarity has to come later. First understand that it isn’t a form of confession, then take it from there.

My point is, the point of this part of the Rite is not about US (our sinfulness) but about GOD (His mercy). Historically, the point is borne out. This part of the Mass (the now-called Introductory Rites) has been especially open to changes and adaptations throughout the centuries. Most scholars agree that the initiation of this “penitential rite” (or Act of Penitence" according to the most recent GIRM) evolved from the Prayer of the Faithful, which was lamentably dropped from the Mass following Gregory the Great until the reforms following Vatican II. Remember, liturgy is first about God, not us.

 

[japhy]

My point is, the point of this part of the Rite is not about US (our sinfulness) but about GOD (His mercy).

I think it’s about both, since we’re not calling to mind God’s mercy in an abstract way, but specifically His mercy toward us, who are sinners. The GIRM says that in the Act of Penitence, “the entire community carries out through a formula of general confession.” (GIRM 51) The Introductory Rites as a whole “have the character of a beginning, introduction, and preparation,” and their purpose is “to ensure that the faithful who come together as one establish communion and dispose themselves to listen properly to God’s word and to celebrate the Eucharist worthily.” (GIRM 46)

Most scholars agree that the initiation of this “penitential rite” … evolved from the Prayer of the Faithful, which was lamentably dropped from the Mass following Gregory the Great until the reforms following Vatican II.

One explanation for the omission of the Prayer of the Faithful from the Roman Rite (which Fr. Jungmann believes happened between the 4th and 6th centuries, probably before Gregory’s reign) is that their intercessory character was already present in the Roman Canon. This explanation is corroborated by the fact that the one day on which a “Prayer of the Faithful” is prayed in the ancient Roman Rite is Good Friday, the one day on which the Roman Canon is not prayed.

 

[diggerdomer]

I

One explanation for the omission of the Prayer of the Faithful from the Roman Rite (which Fr. Jungmann believes happened between the 4th and 6th centuries, probably before Gregory’s reign) is that their intercessory character was already present in the Roman Canon. This explanation is corroborated by the fact that the one day on which a “Prayer of the Faithful” is prayed in the ancient Roman Rite is Good Friday, the one day on which the Roman Canon is not prayed.

Interesting thought. Most of what I read was that the decision to drop the Prayer of the Faithful was done to shorten/abbreviate the Mass which had been encumbered by so many additions (seemingly, a perennial problem!).

Thanks, as always, for your insights.

 

[StMartinTours]

Here’s my take on it, from the book mentioned in my signature:

The Confiteor is a penitential prayer in two parts. The first part of this prayer is an act of confession of personal sin to God, in the midst of the whole assembly.

I confess to almighty God
and to you, my brothers and sisters,
that I have greatly sinned
in my thoughts and in my words,
in what I have done and in what I have failed to do,

Although it is said by all the congregation together, it is a personal prayer. The Confiteor is one of only three places in the Mass where we pray in the first-personal singular (I) rather than the first-person plural (we). We confess our sins not only to God but to all those present. Talk about accountability! Even though we are not naming our sins to those around us, we are admitting our guilt to them. The Confiteor is inspired by David’s sorrowful plea for mercy in Psalm 51.

We confess that our sins are of thought and word, of omission and commission. Jesus never had an evil thought, never spoke an evil word (not even when He was chastising the Pharisees for their blindness), never did anything wrong, and never failed to do the right thing. It’s a tough act to follow, but with the grace of God – which comes to us especially through frequent sacramental Confession and reception of Holy Communion – we can be built up “to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.” (Eph. 4:13)

The first half of the Confiteor ends with an admission of personal guilt for our sins. As we say these words, we strike our breast three times in a sign of penitence:

through my fault, through my fault,
through my most grievous fault;

The repetition of this admission of guilt adds to its severity. We do not say “The devil made me do it, the devil made me do it, you can bet the devil made me do it,” but accuse only ourselves for our sins. We beat our breast with a closed fist, like the tax collector who prayed from his heart, “God, be merciful to me a sinner!” (Luke 18:13) Concerning the gravity of these words and this gesture, Cardinal Ratzinger wrote:
We point not at someone else but at ourselves as the guilty party, [which] remains a meaningful gesture of prayer. … When we say mea culpa (through my fault), we turn, so to speak, to ourselves, to our own front door, and thus we are able rightly to ask forgiveness of God, the saints, and the people gathered around us, whom we have wronged. (The Spirit of the Liturgy, p. 207)
Rev. Romano Guardini explained that the meaning of this gesture of contrition depends upon it being done properly:
To brush one’s clothes with the tips of one’s fingers is not to strike the breast. We should beat upon our breasts with our closed fists. … It is an honest blow, not an elegant gesture. To strike the breast is to beat against the gates of our inner world in order to shatter them. This is its significance. … “Repent, do penance.” It is the voice of God. Striking the breast is the visible sign that we hear that summons. … Let it wake us up, and make us see, and turn to God. (Sacred Signs)
The Douay Catechism (from 1649), a question-and-answer catechism on the doctrines of the Church, included a chapter expounding the essence and ceremonies of the Mass. It explains that the reason for striking the heart is “to teach the people to return into the heart” because it “signifies that all sin is from the heart, and ought to be discharged from the heart, with hearty sorrow.” (p. 125)

In the second half of the prayer, we invoke the communion of saints as we ask for the prayers of the whole Church:

therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin,
all the Angels and Saints,
and you, my brothers and sisters,
to pray for me to the Lord our God.

In Hebrews 11, we are given a tour of God’s Hall of Fame, a list of men and women who, by their faith in God, “received divine approval.” The list includes Abel, Noah, Abram, Sarah, Joseph, Moses, and Rahab. At the end of the list, we read:
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1-2)
We learn something very encouraging from this passage: the saints in Heaven are witnesses to our lives on earth, witnesses who cheer us on and pray for us, that we might endure the trials of this life and join the saints in Heaven having won “the crown of life which God has promised to those who love him.” (Jas. 1:12) The prayers of the saints and angels in Heaven are of great worth to us, because the saints have been perfected and have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14) and the angels rejoice greatly when a sinner repents. (cf. Luke 15:7)

But we don’t only ask the Church Triumphant (in Heaven) for their prayers, we also ask one another for prayers. The next time you say these words at Mass, take a moment to look at the people around you: you are asking these people, sinners though they are, to pray to God for you, a sinner.

So if it is an admission of personal sins, which sins are we confessing? Sins that we have not had sacramentally absolved? Sins that we have had sacramentally absolved? What if I have not had time to do an examination of conscience before saying the prayer and/or am not aware of having committed any sins since the last Mass? Exactly how specific is this admission of personal sin?

 

[japhy]

So if it is an admission of personal sins, which sins are we confessing? Sins that we have not had sacramentally absolved? Sins that we have had sacramentally absolved? What if I have not had time to do an examination of conscience before saying the prayer and/or am not aware of having committed any sins since the last Mass? Exactly how specific is this admission of personal sin?

It is not sins you have already been absolved of. It is sins you have not confessed. It is not the end of the world if you haven’t thoroughly examined your conscience – this is not Confession, this is merely a recollection of our sin. It is as specific as you make it. Often for me, I recall sins I have (sadly) committed between the time I wake up and the time I get to church.