The Penitential Act comes near the beginning of Mass: after the greeting, the priest invites everyone to acknowledge their sins, so that they may celebrate the sacred mysteries with a clean heart. It is short, but it echoes the publican’s humble prayer, “O God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Below are its three forms, the Kyrie eleison, the rite of sprinkling that may replace it on Sundays, the older form at the foot of the altar, and what the Penitential Act does and does not do.
Where does the Penitential Act come in the Mass?
The Introductory Rites of the Mass are: the Entrance, the Greeting, the Penitential Act, the Kyrie, the Gloria (on Sundays outside Advent and Lent, and on solemnities and feasts) and the Collect. After the greeting, the priest invites the people to repentance, there is a brief pause for silence, and then the whole community makes a general confession, which the priest concludes with a prayer for God’s mercy. See the order of the Mass.
The three forms of the Penitential Act
The Roman Missal offers three forms. The priest chooses one.
Form A: the Confiteor
Everyone prays together the “I confess,” in which we confess to God and to one another that we have sinned in thought and word, in what we have done and in what we have failed to do, strike the breast at the words “through my fault,” and ask Mary, the angels, the saints and one another to pray for us. See the Confiteor.
Form B: the short dialogue
The priest and people exchange two short verses asking for mercy. The second comes from the Psalms:
Shew us, O Lord, thy mercy; and grant us thy salvation.
Form C: the invocations
The priest, deacon or another minister addresses three short invocations to Christ, recalling his mercy (for example, that he came to heal the contrite of heart, or to call sinners), each answered by “Lord, have mercy,” “Christ, have mercy,” “Lord, have mercy.” The invocations may change with the season.
After each form, the priest prays the absolution of the Mass, asking almighty God to have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring us to everlasting life, and the people answer “Amen.”
The Kyrie eleison
After Forms A and B, the Kyrie follows. It is one of the very few Greek prayers in the Latin Mass, and one of the oldest:
Kyrie, eleison. Christe, eleison. Kyrie, eleison.
Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.
It is both a cry for mercy and an acclamation of Christ as Lord. It is sung or said by all, usually as a dialogue with the cantor or priest.
The sprinkling of holy water
On Sundays, especially in the Easter season, the Penitential Act may be replaced by the blessing and sprinkling of water, in memory of Baptism. The priest blesses water and sprinkles the people while a chant is sung; in the older tradition this rite is called the Asperges (and the Vidi aquam in Easter Time).
The traditional form: prayers at the foot of the altar
In the Mass before 1970 (still celebrated as the “extraordinary form”), the priest and servers begin with prayers at the foot of the altar: Psalm 42 (Judica me), and the Confiteor said twice, first by the priest and then by the servers for the people, each followed by prayers for pardon. The traditional English Confiteor reads:
I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary, ever Virgin, to blessed Michael the Archangel, to blessed John the Baptist, to the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and to all the Saints, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word and deed, through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore, I beseech blessed Mary, ever Virgin, blessed Michael the Archangel, blessed John the Baptist, the holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the Saints, to pray to the Lord our God for me.
May the Almighty God have mercy on me, and forgive me my sins, and bring me to everlasting life. Amen.
May the Almighty and merciful Lord grant me pardon, absolution, and remission of all my sins. Amen.
What does the Penitential Act do?
The Penitential Act prepares us to hear God’s Word and celebrate the Eucharist with humble hearts. Venial sins can be forgiven through sincere sorrow, prayer and the Eucharist. But the Church is clear that the Penitential Act “lacks the efficacy of the Sacrament of Penance” (GIRM 51): it does not replace confession, and anyone conscious of a mortal sin should go to confession before receiving Communion. See how to go to confession.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the Penitential Act and the Act of Contrition?
The Penitential Act is a communal prayer at the start of Mass. The Act of Contrition is a personal prayer of sorrow, said especially in confession and at night.
Does the Penitential Act forgive sins?
It is not sacramental absolution. Venial sins can be forgiven through sincere sorrow, prayer and the Eucharist, but mortal sins require the sacrament of confession.
Why do we strike our breast during the Confiteor?
It is an ancient sign of sorrow, like the publican in the Temple who “struck his breast, saying: O God, be merciful to me a sinner” (Luke 18:13).
Is the Kyrie part of the Penitential Act?
It follows the Penitential Act (and is already included in Form C). The General Instruction treats it as a separate chant of the Introductory Rites.
More about the Mass
- The order of the Mass
- The Confiteor
- Act of Contrition
- The Gloria
- The Liturgy of the Word
- Catholic prayer for forgiveness
Texts and sources
- Scripture: Psalm 84:8 (85:7); Luke 18:13, Douay-Rheims Bible (Challoner), public domain.
- Traditional Confiteor: Baltimore Catechism No. 3 (1891), public domain.
- General Instruction of the Roman Missal 46–54.
- Descriptions of the three forms were written for this page; the official texts of the Roman Missal are not reproduced.