The Confiteor Prayer: A Guide for Catholics

Going to Mass each week is an important part of our faith, but sometimes it can seem like a routine we don’t think about. We go through the same motions, reciting the same prayers and it can be easy to get stuck on autopilot and not think deeply about what we’re doing.  Take, for instance, the Confiteor Prayer.

This powerful prayer is said during the Penitential Act, in the second part of the Introductory Prayers of the Catholic mass. It’s a powerful reminder of our human frailty and our dependence on the mercy of God.

What Are the Words to the Confiteor Prayer

Here is the current translation from the original Latin:

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

What is the Confiteor Prayer

Every time we attend Mass, we spiritually prepare ourselves for a sacred encounter with the Lord by confessing our sins in the Confiteor Prayer.

The word “Confiteor” is Latin and means “I confess”.  You might be familiar with another Latin phrase: “Mea Culpa” which means “through my fault” or “it’s my fault”.

We start by confessing not only “to almighty God” but “to you, my brothers and sisters”.  James directs us to “confess your sins to one another” (James 5:16) because our sins not only affect our relationship with God but it affects our relationships with other people.

The Confiteor then calls us to to consider four areas of sin:

• “In my thoughts”
• “and in my words”
• “In what I have done”
• “and what I have failed to do”

What does this mean exactly?  First, we should keep our thoughts focused on what is good.  We can sin by having anger towards others, having lustful thoughts, judging other people as examples.

Second, our spoken word can be used for blessing and goodness, but it also can be used to curse and do harm.  Gossip, slander, insulting, lying and boasting are just some of the sins of speech to be confessed in the Confiteor.

Third, “in what I have done”, encompasses what we commonly think about when we say we’ve sinned:  those actions that hurt others or hurt our relationship with God.

Fourth, “in what I have failed to do”.  A lot of us don’t think about this at all… it is easier to not do evil.  But to not do the good and right things is sinful too.

Why Do We Strike The Breast During Mass?

During the next part of the prayer we say, “through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault” and strike our breast softly with a closed fist three times.  This phrase is translated from the Latin; “mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa.” “Mea culpa” has even become a familiar part of our secular language, by which one admits having made a mistake.

Both the words and the gesture of striking the breast three times help underscore the seriousness of sin as we fully express our sorrow over our own sin.  

Interestingly enough, prior to the revised translation of the Mass which went into effect in Advent 2011, the Confiteor prayer did not include striking the breast or the repetitive mea culpas at all. The prayer was changed to be a more accurate translation from the Latin.

Why Do We Say the Confiteor Prayer

We say the Confiteor Prayer to express our sorrow for all the ways we sin and to prepare ourselves to come before the Lord during the Eucharistic celebration.

At the end of the prayer we implore our blessed mother Mary, all the angels and saints and our fellow brothers and sisters to lift us up in prayer to our Lord.

So we are confessing our own sins from our deepest part of our beings and praying for the forgiveness of all of our sins as a community so we may all enter more fully into the celebration of mass.

What is the Confiteor Prayer in Latin?

Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Joanni Baptistae, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus Sanctis, et, tibi pater: quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, verbo et opere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelem Archangelum, beatum Joannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et te, pater, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum. Amen.

What is the Old Confiteor Prayer

This is such an interesting question. Pre-Vatican II, the mass was said in Latin and read just like the previous paragraph. Vatican II made changes in the liturgy, approving translation of the liturgy into vernacular languages in order to allow for greater participation in the worship service and to make the sacraments more intelligible to the people.

As someone who grew up in a post Vatican II church, I saw my grandmother and others softly striking their breasts during the Confiteor Prayer in the old tradition, while most of the rest of the congregation said the English version of the prayer which went as follows:

I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do; 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.

The modern Confiteor Prayer is the more accurate translation of the prayer from Latin.

Final Thoughts on the Confiteor Prayer

The Confiteor prayer is a powerful reminder that, as Catholics, we are called to ongoing conversion and growth in holiness. It’s an important part of the mass to help us prepare ourselves for a sacred encounter with the Lord. So, the next time you attend mass, take a moment to reflect on the Confiteor prayer. And remember, you’re not alone, we’re all in this together, so let’s lift each other up in prayer and enter fully into the celebration of mass.