Lesson 31: Perfect Contrition (of Love) and Imperfect Contrition (of Fear)
“O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins… because they have offended Thee my God, who art all-good and deserving of all my love.” (Act of Perfect Contrition)
1. What must I o to receive Confession well?
To receive confession well I must:
- Find out my sins
- Be sorry for my sins
- Make up my mind not to sin again.
- Tell my sins to the priest.
- Do the penance the priest gives me.
2. Of all the steps that I take. In making a good confession 1) Find out my sins; 2) Be sorry for my sins; 3) Make up my mind not to sin again; 4) Tell my sins to the priest; 5) Do the penance the priest gives me – which of these is the most important?
The most important are 2) be sorry for my sins; and 3) make up my mind to not sin again. These two are “Contrition.”
Contrition is the most important of all the steps in going to confession because with contrition alone our sins are able to be forgiven., if we have Perfect Contrition and the desire to go to Confession as soon as possible.
Moreover, if contrition is not present, even if we do the other steps, our sins will not be forgiven.
The more we have perfect contrition, the more grace we will receive in the Sacrament of Confession.
3. What is Perfect Contrition?
Perfect Contrition includes three things:
- Making up my mind to not sin again
- Being sorry for all my sins because I love God above all thins, and God was hurt by my sins.
- Desiring to go to Confession as soon as possible.
If these three things exist a person is already forgiven of their mortal sins before he goes to Confession. HE already has Sanctifying Grace again. He still has to go to Confession however before receiving Holy Communion.
4. Is there another name for Perfect Contrition?
Perfect Contrition is also called the Contrition of Love.
It is called the Contrition of Love because a person is sorry for their sins because he loves God above all things, and God was hurt by sin.
5. What is Imperfect Contrition?
Imperfect Contrition includes:
- Making up my mind to not sin again.
- Being sorry for my sins because I am afraid of hell or the loss of heaven.
If someone has only this Imperfect Contrition for his mortal sins, he is not forgiven before going to Confession; but he is forgiven in the Sacrament of Confession.
6. Is there another name for Imperfect Contrition?
Imperfect Contrition is also called the Contrition of Fear.
It is called the Contrition of Fear because a person is sorry for their sins because of his fear of hell or the loss of heaven
7. Are both Imperfect and Perfect Contrition gifts from the Holy Spirit?
Yes, both Imperfect Contrition and Perfect Contrition are gifts from the Holy Spirit. Perfect Contrition however is a greater gift.
Thus the Holy Spirit gives us a fear of hell in Imperfect Contrition, but He does not give us a fear of Confession. The devil gives us a fear of Confession, but he does not give us a fear of hell.
8. What can I do to have Contrition of Love?
a. Since it is a gift of the Holy Spirit I must pray for it. It is especially good to ask Mary for this grace by saying the rosary. Another good prayer is the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Jesus promised that whatever we ask for when praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy we will receive, as long as what w are asking for is conformed to his will. Our Reception of perfect contrition is certainly something that He wants.
b. It is also very good to look at the sufferings of Jesus. My sins caused Jesus to suffer and die on the cross.
Dear Jesus, You suffered because You love me. For love of You,
I am sorry for my sins. In your presence I make up my mind, with your grace to not sin again.
9. When should we try to make an act of Perfect Contrition or Contrition of Love?
We should always try to make an act of Perfect Contrition or Contrition of Love immediately after sinning.
We should make an act of Contrition of Love every night before we go to bed. In this way we will always live in the state of Sanctifying Grace.
10. Is the act of perfect contrition imaged in the Bible?
Yes, perfect contrition is imaged in the healing of the ten lepers in Luke 10:11-19. While the lepers in obedience to Jesus were walking to the Jewish priest they were healed of their leprosy. This is an image of those who make an act of perfect contrition bfore going to confession. Even before reaching the priests in the confessional they aer forgiven of their sins.
11. Can we know for sure that we made an act of perfect contrition?
No, we do not know for sure if we have made an act of perfect contrition. This is why it is always good to come to Confession as soon as possible.
St John Vianney (1786-1859)
Once a woman came to St. John Vianney; she was crying. Her husband had thrown himself off a bridge. He killed himself. This is a mortal sin. She was afraid that he was in hell. St John Vianney told her that he had been saved. The woman said, “How is that possible?” He responded, “remember the flowers.” He had often given his wife flowers so that she could place them before the statue of Mary. Because of his devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Our Lady had prayed for him right before he died. Although he had been in the state of mortal sin, before dying God immediately placed in his sol an act of Perfect Contrition, and he accepted it. Through Mary’s prayers God placed in his soul a sorrow for his sins that was motivated by deep love for God; and the desire to go to Confession. Because of that act of Perfect Contrition Jesus forgave his sins, and h died in the state of Sanctifying Grace. Nonetheless he was in purgatory. His wife prayed for him and offered Masses for him, so that his soul could go to heaven.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32)
Jesus told many parables. Parables are stories that teach us something important about God and about how od wants us to live. One of the most famous parables of Jesus is the parable of the prodigal son. In this parable a man had two sons. One of the sons wanted the money and the good things that would come to him after his Father died. HE did not want to wait till his Father died. He wanted them right away. His Father gave him the riches that he asked for. The son then traveled to a distant land. He spent all of the money that his father gave him. After he had spent everything he was very poor, and started to be hungry. He worked for a pig farmer. He wanted to eat what the pigs were eating, but he was not allowed. He then started to think about the good things in his Father’s house – everyone had enough to eat and a nice room to sleep in. He decided to return home- not because he loved the Father and had hurt his Father, but because he was hungry. His contrition was not a contrition of love. It was an imperfect contrition. He cared not about the Father, but the good things the Father had in his home. He still did not know how much the Father loved him. He thought that he would not be taken back as a son. He had been too bad. He was hoping that he could go home and get a job from his Father. Then he would be paid like one of the workers.
The Father at home was often looking off in the distance hoping his son would return. He deeply loved his son. He loved his son more than all of his nice things. He loved the son with an infinite love. He was very sorry that the son had hurt himself. One day when he was looking off in the distance he saw his son. His heart “was moved with compassion.” (Luke 15:20) The word for “moved with compassion” is the strongest word existing in the Greek language for “compassion”. In the New Testament only Our Lord and people in his parables who are images of God are said to have that deep compassion. The Father in this parable is an image of God the Father.
The Father then “runs.” It is the only tie in the whole of the bible that we ever see God running. He runs to welcome and forgive the sinner who is sorry for his sins. He embraces the son. His son was wearing smelly and torn clothes. The Father said “quickly” get the “finest robe” for him. He wanted to hide the son’s embarrassment The Father then gave him the ring. The ring was s sign that he was not going to be a worker. He would be a son. Being a son, he would receive the money and good things of the Father, after the Father’s death. The Father then had a big celebration because his son had returned.
When the son returned the Father had tears in his eyes. He was so happy that his son had returned. The son also had tears in his eyes. HE never realized the Father loved him so much. He began to be sorry for his sins because he hurt the Father who had loved him so much. His imperfect contrition became a Contrition of Love – Perfect Contrition.
Everyone was happy: “Just so I tell you, there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” (Luke 15:10)
