I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. (Daniel 9:4-5)

Do you remember the Act of Contrition? If you do, this passage from the prophet Daniel is very much like an act of contrition. In it, the prophet expresses to the Lord his heartfelt sorrow for the sins of the people of Israel. Yet the penitence that Daniel shows is not the entirety of his prayer. He also speaks of his firm confidence in God’s mercy, saying that compassion and forgiveness belong to him. An act of contrition is a traditional Catholic prayer in which the person praying expresses sorrow for their sins to God and his or her intention, with the help of his grace, to avoid sinning in the future. It’s an essential prayer in the sacrament of reconciliation, prayed by penitents after they have confessed their sins. Showing sorrow for one’s sins and a firm intention to keep from sin in the future must be expressed before the priest can absolve a penitent of his or her sins. An act of contrition demonstrates that sorrow and intention to turn away from sin.

But it’s more than a prayer for confession. It is an excellent prayer every night as part of a daily examination of conscience. Before we go to bed, it is good for us to prayerfully consider our actions during the day that has just ended and to express sorrow to God for the sins we committed. If you have a habit of doing it, you should be able to sleep like a baby because your conscience is clear! So during this Lent, I invite you to do 3 things: 1) end your day with an examination of conscience, various form of examination of conscience can be found in this link—https://waterloocatholics.org/examination-of-conscience , 2) asking God for forgiveness by praying the Act of Contrition, and 3) go to confession more frequently. 

My God,

I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.

In choosing to do wrong

and failing to do good,

I have sinned against you

whom I should love above all things.

I firmly intend, with your help,

to do penance,

to sin no more,

and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.

Our Savior Jesus Christ

suffered and died for us.

In his name, my God, have mercy. Amen

Our Lady of Mercy, intercede for us Hail Mary full of grace…

St. Joseph, pray for us.

Please don’t forget! Sacrament of Reconciliation schedule during Lent at St. Clare of Assisi is every Tuesday 7:00-8:15 AM and Thursday 6:00-7:00 PM

Peace in Christ,

Father Vincent Nguyen

St. Clare of Assisi

Elephant hug!

( ˆ √ ˆ )