Looking At An Old Bedtime Prayer

In this talk I invite you to examine an old Roman Catholic prayer, the Act of Contrition. You are invited to look at the words and see their relevance to our time. The talk concludes with a suggested re-wording that might help present day seekers.

The background music at the end is "Your Soul" by Narek Mirzaei of Music of Wisdom. The prayer is suggested as an end-of-the-day aid to peaceful and restful sleep

Reviews

Thank you, Tony. Although not a Roman Catholic myself, many childhood friends were, so I remember (and find some comfort in) the rituals and prayers that we shared 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Thank you Tony for this thought provoking practice which helped me to understand a difficult situation I face now and led me into much needed deep sleep. Namaste

Funny, when I was raised Roman Catholic the only time I was ever taught to say this prayer was in confession w the priest. I learned the very old version which almost seemed like the fear of punishment was the driver to confessions. Unfortunately I grew up with a God who was eager to punish, a lot of fear was instilled in me at a very young impressionable age. This is why I probably am a failure at growing that ever elusive “relationship” with God. I was brought up with the man in the sky idea too who is constantly watching you and who knows when you are bad. It caused lots of anxiety and paranoia in my life. In my upbringing sermons were focussed on us being “bad people trying to be good” not “good people trying to be better”. My upbringing sure did a number on me.

Thank you for saying your version and for modifying it too.

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of Heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.

Thank you, Tony, for bringing new insight to an old prayer in a respectful manner.

Beautiful explanation of the "Act of Contriction" prayer. Loved your thoughts on the prayer & the way of thinking as it is prayed. Loved the modern prayer that can be a prayer substitute with all the same meaning. Thank you for this renewed approach to a beautiful, meaningful prayer practice. God Bless you, Tony! 🙏😊