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Actus Contritionis

The Act of Contrition

An act of sorrow for sin with the firm purpose of amendment, made in the Sacrament of Penance and in daily prayer.

Deus meus, ex toto corde poenitet me omnium meorum peccatorum,
eaque detestor,
quia peccando, non solum poenas a Te iuste statutas promeritus sum,
sed praesertim quia offendi Te, summum bonum,
ac dignum qui super omnia diligaris.
Ideo firmiter propono, adiuvante gratia Tua,
de cetero me non peccaturum,
peccandique occasiones proximas fugiturum.
Amen.

O my God, I am heartily sorry from my whole heart for all my sins,
and I detest them,
because in sinning I have not only deserved the punishments justly appointed by Thee,
but most of all because I have offended Thee, the supreme Good,
and worthy to be loved above all things.
Therefore I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy grace,
to sin no more,
and to flee the near occasions of sin.
Amen.

Translation source: fisheaters.com/prayers.html

About this prayer

An Act of Contrition is a prayer by which the soul, grieving for its sins, turns back to God with the firm resolve to offend Him no more. The Church distinguishes two kinds of sorrow: imperfect contrition, or attrition, which dreads the loss of heaven and the pains of hell; and perfect contrition, which grieves above all because sin has offended God, the supreme Good, who is worthy to be loved above all things. This received Latin form, "Deus meus, ex toto corde poenitet me," rises from the first to the second, naming the just punishments due to sin yet resting its sorrow chiefly upon the love of God offended.

Contrition, together with the firm purpose of amendment and the resolve to avoid the near occasions of sin, is required for the forgiveness of mortal sin. The penitent makes this act in the confessional after telling his sins, while receiving absolution, and the faithful are counselled to make it each night in the examination of conscience, and above all in danger of death, when perfect contrition, joined to the desire of the Sacrament, reconciles the soul to God.