Reflections on the Mass: The Penitential Rite

Every one of us is a sinner. We all disobey God in thought, word, and action, in what we do and in what we fail to do. That is why we all need God's mercy. The Penitential Rite of the Mass guides us in acknowledging and confessing our sins and begging God for His forgiveness.

It is important to bring our sins before God at the beginning of Mass so that we can clear the air, so to speak. Of course, if we are conscious of any mortal sins, we must always go to Confession and receive absolution before receiving the Eucharist (with contrition and with the firm commitment not to sin again and to make satisfaction for our sins). But even so, we all commit venial sins every day, and this part of the Mass gives us the opportunity to seek and find God's forgiveness.

The priest begins by calling us to “acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries.” Then he will pause. We should think of how we have failed God and truly repent, placing our sins before Him in the silence of our hearts.

Then the priest will often lead us in the Confiteor, a prayer of confession. We confess to God and to our fellow Christians that we have sinned, even greatly sinned, for every sin is an offense against God that may have been avoided. We confess that we have sinned in thought, word, and deed and in what we have not done but should have done. We admit that it is completely our fault. We have free will, and when we sin, we choose it freely. Then we ask for prayer from the Blessed Virgin Mary, from the angels and the saints, and from our brothers and sisters beside us in the pews. Indeed, we must pray for each other and with each other, for we are all in this battle against sin and this striving for holiness together. And we should be grateful that Mary, the angels, and the saints are willing to pray for us and support us.

The priest now prays (either in English or Greek), “Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy,” and we repeat the petitions, joining our verses in our plea for God's forgiveness and our recognition that He is more than willing to provide it to people with contrite hearts.

The rite ends with a prayer from the priest: “May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.” We respond with a heartfelt “Amen,” knowing how much we need God's mercy and forgiveness that we may be with Him in Heaven forever.