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Research on the Act of Perfect Contrition

" In the general Council of Trent (Session XIV, c. 4) the Church has placed in clear and unmistakable light the most important dogmas of faith which were always taught in the Church. This great Council teaches, `Perfect contrition, contrition from love of God, justifies man and reconciles him to God even before the reception of the Sacrament of Penance.'" From PERFECT CONTRITION, Rev. J. Von Den Driesch, Imp. Archbishop Glennon. p. 18Contrition is defined by the Council of Trent as a sorrow of the soul and a detestation of the sins committed, with the firm determination not to sin again. (Sess. XIV, Cap. 4). Note that contrition is a sorrow of the soul—not of the body. It does not consist in words, or in tears, or in an emotion, or in striking one’s breast, or in mere outward signs. “And many of them that believed came confessing and declaring their deeds. And many of them who had followed curious arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all; and counting the price of them, they found the money to be fifty thousand pieces of silver.” —Acts 19:18-19“Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.” —Matthew 18:18 “He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.” —John 20:21-23The Catholic Faithful have been taught that the Sacrament of Penance is the method given by Christ to the Church by which individual men and women may be freed of sins committed after baptism. This sacrament is known Penance, and is often referred as confession. I have thought and researched the Sacrament of Penance, and the place of Perfect Contrition and Imperfect Contrition. Here, it is necessary to distinguish between these two acts of Contrition. Perfect Contrition rises from a deep and pure love of God, Who has been grievously offended.Imperfect Contrition, arises principally from some other motives, such as loss of heaven, fear of hell, the heinousness of sin, etc. (Council of Trent, Sess. XIV, ch. iv de Contritione). In his book My Catholic Faith(1949). Bishop Louis La Ravoire Morrow provides the following example of Perfect Contrition.

“Perfect contrition implies a fervent love of God. We are sorry for our sins because they offend God, Who is so good. Mary Magdalene had perfect contrition. Her contrition was so perfect that she never sinned again. She followed Our Lord and was at the foot of the cross when He was crucified. Her perfect contrition and love were greatly rewarded, for He appeared to her on Easter morning. We should all try to imitate Mary Magdalene's contrition, arising from sorrow at offending God”. Therefore it should be easy to see that a Perfect Contrition comes out of a deep love for God and sorrow for our sin. Perfect Contrition brings with it resolve to sin no more.A sincere examination of conscience brings a person face to face with the many maladies and deplorable weaknesses of his soul. He has found out the number, kind and gravity of his sins, and this must fill him with confusion and make him exclaim with the publican: “O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” (Luke 18:13). Hence, he will pass from self-examination to contrition. Contrition is the key to God’s mercy and pardon. It is the most essential condition for a worthy reception of the Sacrament of Penance. Sin is a great evil. Even though at times it may affect the body, its chief

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effect is on the soul, for it separates the soul from God, either entirely (in the case of mortal sin), or partially (in the case of venial sin), by loosening the ties of our friendship with God. What is Contrition?Contrition comes from the Latin contritus “to ground to pieces”, i.e. to be overwhelmed and crushed by guilt). Contrition then, is a sincere regret or remorse with a deep sense of guilt for sins one has committed. This remorseful person is said to be contrite. This need to be contrite is the key when we are seeking divine forgiveness through the sacrament of Penance and is the prerequisite to divine forgiveness.We find in Holy Scripture many exhortations to repentance: "I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live" (Ezech., xxxiii, 11); "Except you do penance you shall all likewise perish" (Luke, xiii, 5; cf. Matt., xii, 41). At times this repentance includes exterior acts of contrition (Ps. vi, 7 sqq.); it always implies a recognition of wrong done to God, a detestation of the evil wrought, and a desire to turn from evil and do good. This is clearly expressed in Psalm.1 (5-14): "For I know my iniquity ... To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee ... Turn away thy face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create a clean heart in me …” A very clear example is given to us in the parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke, xviii, 13), and the parable of the prodigal son (Luke, xv, 11-32): "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee: I am not worthy to be called thy son".

What is the nature of contrition?

Theologians have called the desire of deep interior repentance "contrition". It is defined explicitly by the Council of Trent (Sess. XIV, ch. iv de Contritione): "a sorrow of soul and a hatred of sin committed, with a firm purpose of not sinning in the future" or also "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again" (Catechism of the Catholic Church:1451).It is also known as animi cruciatus (affliction of spirit) and compunctio cordis (repentance of heart). The word contrition itself in a moral sense is not of frequent occurrence in Scripture (cf.Psalm.1, 19). The etymology of it implies a breaking of something that has become hardened. St. Thomas Aquinas in his Commentary on the Master of the Sentences thus explains its peculiar use: "Since it is requisite for the remission of sin that a man cast away entirely the liking for sin which implies a sort of continuity and solidity in his mind, the act which obtains forgiveness is termed by a figure of speech 'contrition'" (In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xvii; cf. Supplem. III, Q. i, a. 1).This sorrow of soul is not merely speculative sorrow for wrong done, remorse of conscience, or a resolve to amend; it is a real pain and bitterness of soul together with a hatred and horror for sin committed; and this hatred for sin leads to the resolve to sin no more. The early Christian writers in speaking of the nature of contrition sometimes insist on the feeling of sorrow, sometimes on the detestation of the wrong committed (Augustine in P.L., XXXVII, 1901, 1902; Chrysostom, P.G., XLVII, 409, 410).St. Augustine includes both when writing: "Compunctus corde non solet dici nisi stimulus peccatorum in dolore pœnitendi" (P.L., Vol. VI of Augustine, col. 1440). One must realize that nearly all the medieval theologians hold that contrition is based principally on the detestation of sin. This detestation presupposes knowledge of the heinousness of sin, and this knowledge begets sorrow and pain of soul.

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"A sin is committed by the consent, so it is blotted out by the dissent of the rational will; hence contrition is essentially sorrow. But it should be noted that sorrow has a twofold signification--dissent of the will and the consequent feeling; the former is of the essence of contrition, the latter is its effect" (Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xvi, Pt. I, art. 1).

What are the qualities of contrition?

The qualities of contrition, whether it be perfect or imperfect must be at once

(a) interior, (b) supernatural, (c) universal, (d) sovereign, and (e) Intense

(a) Interior

Our contrition must be real and sincere sorrow of heart, and not merely an external manifestation of repentance. The Old Testament Prophets laid particular stress on the necessity of hearty repentance. The Psalmist says that God despises not the "contrite heart" (Ps. I, 19), and the call to Israel was, "Be converted to me with all your heart . . . and rend your hearts, and not your garments" (Joel, ii, 12 sq). Holy Job did penance in sackcloth and ashes because he reprehended himself in sorrow of soul (Job, xiii, 6). Christ and his Apostles considered the contrition necessary by was no mere formality, but the sincere expression of the sorrowing soul (Luke, xiv, 11-32; Luke, xviii, 13); and the grief of the woman in the house of the Pharisee merited forgiveness because "she loved much". The exhortations to penance found everywhere in the Fathers have no uncertain sound (Cyprian, De Lapsis, P.L., IV; Chrysostom, De compunctione, P.G., XLVII, 393 sqq.), and the Scholastic doctors from Peter Lombard on insist on the same sincerity in repentance (Peter Lombard, Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xvi, no. 1).

(b) Supernatural

The Catholic Church’s teaching regarding contrition is that it ought to be prompted by God's grace and aroused by motives which spring from faith, as opposed to merely natural motives, such as loss of honour, fortune, and the like (Chemnitz, Exam. Concil. Trid., Pt. II, De Poenit.). In the Old Testament it is God who gives a "new heart" and who puts a "new spirit)" into the children of Israel (Ezech., xxxvi, 25-29); and for a clean heart the Psalmist prays in the Miserere (Ps. 1, 11 sqq.). St. Peter told those to whom he preached in the first days after Pentecost that God the Father had raised up Christ "to give repentance to Israel" (Acts, v, 30 sq.). St. Paul in advising Timothy insists on dealing gently and kindly with those who resist the truth, "if peradventure God may give them full repentance" (II Tim., ii, 24-25). St. Augustine insisted on the supernaturalness of contrition in the days of the Pelagian heresy. He wrote, "That we turn away from God is our doing, and this is the bad will; but to turn back to God we are unable unless He arouse and help us, and this is the good will." All the doctors have insisted on the absolute necessity of grace for contrition that disposes to forgiveness (Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xiv, Part I, art. II, Q. iii; also dist. xvii, Part I, art. I, Q. iii; cf. St. Thomas, In Lib. Sent. IV). In keeping with this teaching of the Scriptures and the doctors, the Council of Trent defined; "If anyone say that without the inspiration of the Holy

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Spirit and without His aid a man can repent in the way that is necessary for obtaining the grace of justification, let him be anathema."

(c) Universal

The Council of Trent defined that real contrition includes "a firm purpose of not sinning in the future"; consequently he who repents must resolve to avoid all sin. This doctrine is intimately bound up with the True Church’s teaching concerning grace and repentance. There is no forgiveness without sorrow of soul, and forgiveness is always accompanied by God's grace; grace cannot coexist with sin; and, as a consequence, one sin cannot be forgiven while another remains for which there is no repentance.This is the clear teaching of the Holy Scriptures. The Prophets urged men to turn to God with their whole heart (Joel, ii, 12 sq.), and Christ tells the doctor of the law that we must love God with our whole mind, our whole strength (Luke, x, 27). Ezechiel insists that a man must "turn from his evil ways" if he wish to live.Scholastics have inquired rather subtly into the question when they asked “”Whether or not there must be a special act of contrition for every serious sin, and whether, in order to be forgiven, one must remember at the moment all grievous transgressions? To both these questions they answered absolutely NO, judging that an act of sorrow which implicitly included all his sins would be sufficient.

(d) Sovereign

The Council of Trent insisted that true contrition includes the firm will never to sin again, so that no matter what evil may come, such evil must be preferred to sin. This doctrine is surely Christ's: "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and suffer the loss of his soul?" Theologians have discussed at great length whether or not contrition which must be sovereign appreciative, i.e., in regarding sin as the greatest possible evil, must also be sovereign in degree and in intensity. The decision has generally been that sorrow need not be sovereign "intensively", for intensity makes no change in the substance of an act (Ballerini, Opus Morale: De Contritione; Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xxi, Pt. I, art. II, Q. i).(e) IntenseOften in “the form of contrition, we express this intense determination with the word "detest." I

might ht say that I do not like to eat spinach. However, I say that I "detest" eating rotten crow. In like manner, we do not say that we just do not like sin, but we detest it as we detest eating rotten crow”. Small Catechism of the Catholic Religion by Bishop John Neumann of the Congregation of

the most holy Redeemer, Fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, Imprimatur by the Most Rev. James

Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, given 24 July 1884:

Purpose of Amendment

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“ There is a final element that is not mentioned in the qualities of the act of contrition, and that is the purpose of amendment. In practical speech, we make a division in regard to contrition and the purpose of amendment. However, there is no real distinction between the two except the element of past and future. If one is sorry for his sins, he determines automatically not to sin again. Any time that a person living in adultery is really sorry for his sins, he automatically leaves his sinful way of life. A person who is in bad company is not merely sorry for his sinful life-style, but he determines to give up one and all of his evil companions”. Small Catechism of the Catholic Religion

by Bishop John Neumann of the Congregation of the most holy Redeemer, Fourth Bishop of Philadelphia, Imprimatur by the Most Rev. James Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, given 24 July

1884:

Is contrition really necessary?

It has been said that before the Reformation no theologian ever thought of denying the necessity of contrition for the forgiveness of sin. But with the coming of Luther and his doctrine of justification by faith alone the absolute necessity of contrition was excluded as by a natural consequence. Leo X in the famous Bull "Exsurge" (Denzinger, no. 751 (635)) condemned the following Lutheran position: "By no means believe that you are forgiven on account of your contrition, but because of Christ's words, 'Whatsoever thou shalt loose', etc. On this account I say, that if you receive the priest's absolution, believe firmly that you are absolved, and truly absolved you will be, let the contrition be as it may." Luther could not deny that in every true conversion there was grief of soul.Catholic Church has always taught the necessity of contrition for the forgiveness of sin, and they have insisted that such necessity arises (a) from the very nature of repentance as well as (b) from the positive command of God. (a) the Nature of Repentance 'They point out that the sentence of Christ in Luke, xiii, 5, is final: "Except you do penance", etc., and from the Fathers they cite passages such as the following from Cyprian, "De Lapsis", no. 32: "Do penance in full, give proof of the sorrow that comes from a grieving and lamenting soul . . . they who do away with repentance for sin, close the door to satisfaction." Scholastic doctors laid down the satisfaction' principle, "No one can begin a new life who does not repent him of the old" (Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, dist. xvi, Pt. II, art. 1, Q. ii, also ex professo, ibid., Pt. I, art. I, Q. iii), and when asked the reason why, they point out the absolute incongruity of turning to God and clinging to sin, which is hostile to God's law. The Council of Trent, mindful of the tradition of the ages, defined (Sess. XlV. ch. iv de Contritione) that "contrition has always been necessary for obtaining forgiveness of sin". (b) the positive command of God is also clear in the premises. John the Baptist sounded the note of preparation for the coming of the Messiah: "Make straight his paths"; and, as a consequence "they went out to him and were baptized confessing their sins". The first preaching of Jesus is described in the words: "Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"; and the Apostles, in their first sermons to the people, warn them to "do penance and be baptized for the

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remission of their sins" (Acts, ii, 38). The Fathers followed up with like exhortation (Clement in P.G., I, 341; Hermas iii P.G., II, 894; Tertullian in P.L., II).What makes the Act Contrition Perfect?Our contrition is perfect when we are sorry for our sins because sin offends God, Whom we love above all things for His own sake. "Wherefore I say to thee, her sins, many as they are, shall be forgiven her, because she has loved much. But he to whom little is forgiven, loves little.' And he said to her, 'Thy sins are forgiven.' And they who were at table with hi began to say within themselves, 'Who is this man, who even forgives sins?" But he said to the woman, 'Thy faith has saved thee; go in peace' " (Luke 7: 47-50). 1. This contrition arises from a pure and perfect love of God. If we have a perfect love of God, our contrition for sins will be perfect. It ought not to be difficult for us to have a perfect love of God. We generally love our parents not for the food and clothes they give us, but for themselves, because we see their self-sacrifice, their unselfishness, and other good qualities. Thus we shall be sorry, not only because we fear punishment or dread the loss of His gifts, but because we offend the good God, to Whom nothing is more evil than sin. If we can love our parents spontaneously, not for any reward we expect, or punishment we wish to avoid, why can we not love God, Who is infinitely more lovable than our parents? If we love God spontaneously, because He is lovable in Himself, our love is perfect. 2. It is easy to make an act of perfect contrition if we sincerely love God. We can excite ourselves to it by thinking of the Passion, of how good God is, how many favors He has granted us, and how ungrateful we have been to Him in return for His goodness. It is by thinking of God's gifts, we realize a little the goodness of God and His worthiness to be loved for His own sake. We then feel sorry for having offended our Benefactor by the sins we have committed. 3. If a layperson happens to be assisting at a deathbed, and no priest is available, we should help the dying person make an act of perfect contrition. Bishop Louis La Ravoire Morrow provides the following story: “The father of a family met with an accident and was at the point of death. The youngest child, who had recently made his first communion, saw that his father would die before the priest could arrive. He therefore took a crucifix from the wall, and holding it before his father's eyes repeated aloud an act of contrition. Tears filled the dying man's eyes. He died before the priest arrived, but his act of contrition washed his soul clean of sin”. My Catholic Faith(1949) 4. We should form the habit of making an act of perfect contrition as often as possible. It is only necessary to raise our hearts to God in pure love, and say some such words as: "O my God, I am sorry I ever offended Thee, because Thou art so good, and I love Thee!" What is Imperfect Contrition?Our contrition is imperfect when we are sorry for our sins because they are hateful in themselves or because we fear God's punishment. 1. Imperfect contrition is called attrition. The fear of hell is a common motive of attrition. It is a good motive, but it is imperfect, because it arises from fear of God's punishments, and not from pure love for Him. A mother sent her three young sons to take a big jar of honey to their grandmother. On the way the boys stopped to play. They stumbled over the jar, breaking it and spilling the honey. They all began to seep.

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The first said, "Mother will surely spank us?" The second cried, "She will be so displeased she will give us no cookies!" And the third wept, "Mother will surely be sad!" The first two boys had attrition: one had the fear of punishment, and the second had sorrow at the loss of reward. The third child had perfect contrition, for he thought only of the sadness and offense he caused to one he loved. 2. To receive the sacrament of Penance worthily, imperfect contrition is sufficient. However, an act of attrition cannot obtain forgiveness of mortal sin without the absolution of a priest. Even if we feel only attrition for our sins, we can easily develop it into perfect contrition by remembering what we should be because of God’s Love. We should always try to have perfect contrition in the sacrament of Penance. 3. A purely servile fear of God is not sufficient for imperfect contrition. That is one which makes a person avoid sin only because of punishment: so that, if there were no punishment, he would not be sorry, but ready and resolved to sin, regardless of the laws of God. To receive the sacrament of Penance worthily, purely servile fear would not be sufficient. We call this fear "servile" because it is the fear of slaves, afraid of a hard taskmaster; they would quickly disobey his commands were they not afraid of his whips. Shall we look upon God thus? Servile fear does not make the sinner turn away from his sin. The "fear of God" that produces attrition is called filial fear. It is a fear of God's punishments that makes the sinner turn away from sin and return sincerely to God; it is the fear that a good son who has offended his father seriously feels when he begs forgiveness. What are the considerations to excite Contrition?1. Place before yourself, as distinctly as you can, the sins which have come to your remembrance, and their circumstances. 2. Consider WHO GOD IS, against Whom you have sinned, how great, how good, how gracious to you; that He made you, that He gave His Only Son to die for you, that He made you His child in Baptism, that He has loaded you with blessings and prepared heaven for you. Consider how patient He has been with you -- how longsuffering in calling you and moving you to repent: Say, O most loving God, Infinite Goodness, I repent of having offended Thee; behold me at Thy feet. O my Father, my Creator, my Benefactor, grant me the grace of a true repentance, and the blessing of a pardon, for Thy dear Son's sake. 3. Consider the infinite wickedness of sin, against a Loving God who has cared for you so much that He sent His Son to die for Us. 4. Consider the consequences of one mortal sin: that you might justly be now banished from God's presence for ever for one single unrepented, deadly sin, how many have you not committed!We must remember that we can easily develop contrition into perfect contrition by remembering what we should be because of God’s Love. We should always try to have perfect contrition in the sacrament of Penance. How can we regain Grace? A person in mortal sin can regain the state of grace before receiving the sacrament of Penance, by making an act of perfect contrition, with the sincere purpose of going to confession. 1. An act of perfect contrition takes away sin immediately. Our sins however grievous are forgiven before we confess them, although the obligation to confess as soon as we can remains. Therefore, if one makes an act of perfect contrition after having committed a mortal sin, and then dies before being able to go to confession, he is saved from hell by the act he made. Let us remember the penitent thief: "And he said to Jesus, 'Lord, remember me when thou comest

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into thy kingdom.' And Jesus said to him, 'Amen I say to thee, this day thou shalt be with me in paradise'" (Luke 23: 40-43). 2. If we have the misfortune to commit a mortal sin, we should ask God's pardon and grace at once, make an act of perfect contrition, and go to confession as soon as we can. With the act of perfect contrition must be our intention to go to confession as soon as we can, in times in which we live if we should die without being able to confess to a priest we shall be saved from hell by our act of perfect contrition. We may not receive Holy Communion after committing a mortal sin, if we merely make an act of perfect contrition; one who has sinned grievously must go to confession before receiving Holy Communion.

What about Perfect Contrition without the Sacrament?

Focusing on Perfect Contrition that has for its motive the love of God, the Council of Trent declares: "The Council further teaches that, though contrition may sometimes be made perfect by charity and may reconcile men to God before the actual reception of this sacrament, still the reconciliation is not to be ascribed to the contrition apart from the desire for the sacrament which it includes.Perfect contrition, with the desire of receiving the Sacrament of Penance, restores the sinner to grace at once. This is certainly the teaching of the Scholastic doctors (Peter Lombard in P.L., CXCII, 885; St. Thomas, In Lib. Sent. IV, ibid.; St. Bonaventure, In Lib. Sent. IV, ibid.). This doctrine they derived from Holy Scripture certainly ascribes to charity and the love of God, the power to take away sin: "He that loveth me shall be loved by My Father"; "Many sins are forgiven her because she hath loved much". Since the act of perfect contrition implies necessarily this same love of God, theologians have ascribed to perfect contrition what Scripture teaches belongs to charity. Nor is this strange, for in the Old Covenant there was some way of recovering God' grace once man had sinned. God wills not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live (Ezech., xxxiii, 11). This total turning to God corresponds to our idea of perfect contrition; and if under the Old Law love sufficed for the pardon of the sinner, surely the coming of Christ and the institution of the Sacrament of Penance cannot be supposed to have increased the difficulty of obtaining forgiveness. That the earlier Fathers taught the efficacy of sorrow for the remission of sins is very clear (Clement in P.G., I, 341 sqq.; and Hermas in P.G., II, 894 sqq.; Chrysostom in P.G., XLIX, 285 sqq.) and this is particularly noticeable in all the commentaries on Luke, vii, 47. The Venerable Bede writes (P.L., XCII, 425): "What is love but fire; what is sin but rust? Hence it is said, many sins are forgiven her because she hat loved much, as though to say, she hath burned away entirely the rust of sin, because she is inflamed with the fire of love." Theologians have inquired with much learning as to the kind of love that justifies with the Sacrament of Penance. All are agreed that pure, or disinterested, love (amor benevolentiæ, amor amicitiæ) suffices; when there is question of interested, or selfish, love (amor concupiscentia) theologians hold that purely selfish love is not sufficient. When one furthermore asks what must be the formal motive in perfect love, there seems to be no real unanimity among the doctors. Some say that where there is perfect love God is loved for His great goodness alone; other, basing their contention on Scripture, think that the love of gratitude (amor gratitudinis) is quite sufficient, because God's benevolence and love towards men are intimately united, nay, inseparable from His

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Divine perfections (Hurter, Theol. Dog., Thesis ccxlv, Scholion iii, no 3; Schieler-Heuser, op. cit., pp. 77 sq.).“The motive of perfect contrition is the perfect love of God, i.e. Charity. It consists in this that God is loved for His Own sake above all (amor benevolentiae or amicitiae). Its formal object is God’s goodness in itself (bonitas divina absoluta).” (Father Ludwig Ott in the Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma on page 427) Perfect Contrition is not only a moral virtue, but the Council of Trent defined that it as more, quasi materia,” in the Sacrament of Penance. "The (quasi) matter of this sacrament consists of the acts of the penitent themselves, namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction. These, inasmuch as they are by God's institution required in the penitent for the integrity of the sacrament and for the full and perfect remission of sin, are for this reason called parts of penance. "In consequence of this decree of Trent theologians teach that sorrow for sin must be in some sense sacramental. La Croix went so far as to say that sorrow must be aroused with a view of going to confession, but this seems to be asking too much; most theologians think with Schieler-Heuser (Theory and Practice of Confession, p. 113) that it is sufficient if the sorrow coexist in any way with the confession and is referred to it. Hence the precept of the Roman Ritual, "After the confessor has heard the confession he should try by earnest exhortation to move the penitent to contrition" (Schieler-Heuser, op. cit., p. 111 sqq.).

Our Present Day SituationAt this time, it would appear there are no priests, whose orders have be legalized and regularized by the Holy Pontiff that are available to hear Confessions. Therefore the Catholic Faithful must have a comprehension of how to prepare themselves for heaven when there is no priest available to hear their Confession and grant sacramental absolution. Therefore, it becomes very clear that the Act of Perfect Contr i t ion becomes important to our eternal salvat ion.Even though there are no priests to hear our confessions we must within our hearts have the desire according to Sacrament of Penance to be determine to confession, he must also determine to confess all the mortal sins they have committed since baptism. The Faithful Catholic must be determine to obey all God's commandments, and this includes the commandment to confess all mortal sins committed after baptism to a duly authorized priest. If there is no priest available to hear the confession then God accepts the Act of Perfect Contrition but only if there is no true Priest with Jurisdiction duly authorized by the Holy Father. We recognize that in this situation the act of perfect contrition is accepted by God, and Our Sins are forgiven.

It must be understood that for the act of contrition to be complete, one must fulfill all the obligations that follow from ones sins. We must correct those things which we can correct such as a thief would return what they have stolen. If we have brought injury to another we must apologize and do what we can restore what has been damaged or taken away. It must be understood that we must do all that we can do in regard to the act of perfect contrition, if we do these things we should have moral assurance that we have placed ourselves in the merciful hands of God.

The Faithful Catholic (Christian) making the act of perfect contrition, must pay very close attention to every word in the form. This means that they are to make the acts that are required by the form. It is not the mere formula of the Confession to God that makes it Perfect Contrition, but the act of

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the will (expressed in words) by which one clearly is repentant for past sins, and that sorrow extends also into the future. It requires decision and determination to never commit those sins, in the future.

A General Confession of Sin

I a poor, sinful man, renounce the evil enemy, all his suggestions, works and temptations. I believe in God the Father, in God the Son, and in God the Holy Ghost. I also fully believe everything that the universal Christian Church [1] teaches me to believe. In this faith I confess to God the Almighty, to Mary Christ’s most blessed Mother, and to all the saints, that from the days of my childhood to this very hour, I have sinned often and much in thought, word, and deed, and in the omission of good works, and all this either publicly or secretly, voluntarily or involuntarily, against the Ten Commandments, by the seven deadly sins, the five senses of my body, against God, against my neighbor, against the salvation of my poor soul. For these and all my sins I am sorry from my heart. Therefore I humbly beseech Thee, Eternal Merciful God, to grant me Thy divine grace, to prolong my life until I have confessed and done penance for my sins and obtained Thy divine mercy, receiving after this miserable life eternal joy and happiness. I strike my sinful breast and say with the publican: O Lord, have mercy on me, a poor sinner. Amen.