Lent and the Penitential Rite: Acknowledging we are sinners

Lent is a time especially focused on conversion, on turning from sin and turning to God. Conversion, on the other hand, is not limited to one time or season. It is the ongoing work of every Christian because every Christian is called to “be ye perfect as my heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).

Catholics are called to conversion at every Mass. One of the first orders of business in every Mass is “to prepare ourselves to celebrate the sacred mysteries by calling to mind our sins.” The Penitential Act at the beginning of Mass is not a sacramental rite. It does not take the place of sacramental Penance.

What’s its purpose? Just what it says: to recognize the vast difference between God who is all-holy—whom we intend to approach in this Mass–and we who are not. To acknowledge that what separates us from God, what erects barriers between us, is self-made: sin. To admit that we are sinners and need to repent of those sins to celebrate “these sacred mysteries” properly. In that sense, every Mass also reminds us of what Lent focuses on.

The priest has various options to use for the Penitential Rite. Shorter forms usually are constructed around a priestly/diaconal statement and our response, typically involving some form of the next prayer (the Kyrie): “Lord, have mercy!” But the most common option in many churches is the first, a longer prayer: “I confess to almighty God, and to you my brothers and sisters…”

That prayer used to be known as the Confiteor (from its first words in Latin). The version used in the post-1969 Novus Ordo Missae differs from its traditional form in two major respects. First, the post-1969 prayer includes a horizontal (“and you, my brothers and sisters”) as well as vertical (“I confess to Almighty God”) dimension. Second, the post-1969 prayer’s vertical dimension is truncated. The old form used to read: “I confess to Almighty God; to blessed Mary, ever virgin; to blessed Michael, the Archangel; to the holy apostles, Peter and Paul; and to all the saints…”

For the next five weeks of Lent, in a series of columns, we are going to reflect on the old version, especially on the saints named in it, for what they tell us about sin and conversion.

That’s not to dismiss the post-1969 text. Its inclusion of a horizontal dimension (“you, my brothers and sisters”) teaches us some important lessons. For one, it links together the Church in heaven and the Church on earth: I need all the prayers I can get to be converted. The “Church” is bigger than my Sunday morning parish, or even all the parishes now in this world. It reminds us–especially during Lent–that we of the Church are in this together. One of the important aspects of Lent is its corporate dimension: it’s not just me but my family, my friends, my neighbor, my parish, the whole Catholic Church that is focused on getting right with God.

For another, it teaches us the converse: just as prayer should unite us together, so sin divides us. It’s not just “my affair.” As Jesus teaches, the branch that is not cleansed, not pruned, weakens the whole vine (Jn 15:5). The unproductive fig tree is not just individually sterile, it clutters up the ground (Lk 13:7). Life is dynamic: either we are growing or we are declining, but there’s no “standing still” point.

Which is why we’ll examine the name-brand favorites of the old Confiteor—Our Lady, St. Michael, Ss. Peter and Paul, and “all the saints”—to see what they can teach us about sin and conversion.

Some final notes about the Confiteor. In the pre-1969 Mass, it was said twice: first by the priest and then by the people.

And, pre- and post-1969, let’s be clear what the Confiteor is and is not. It is an acknowledgement that we are sinners. (That’s what the priest invites us to do in his introductory remarks in the Penitential Act). But, it is not an Act of Contrition. We don’t say it during Confession, even though we are invited to make an Act of Contrition.

Why? The Confiteor acknowledges we are sinners and seeks both heavenly and earthly intercession to remedy our poor state. But it does neither explicitly express sorrow for sin nor a firm purpose of amendment to “sin no more, to do penance, and to avoid whatever leads me into sin.” Resolving to turn from sin, to do penance, and to avoid the near occasions of sin are essential elements of the sacrament of Penance that are not explicitly articulated in the Confiteor, which is why it is not used in the confessional and why the Penitential Act at the start of Mass is not a sacramental action. Of course, we can obtain forgiveness of venial sin through an act of contrition and a desire to do God’s will, but that doesn’t change the Catholic truth that the sacrament of Penance is the privileged place for forgiveness of sin.

Lent is a time for acknowledging our sins and, through God’s grace and mutual support, to be converted.