Over the summer I had signed up to Wikipedia to contribute to articles on the Mass and sacraments. Now I have more headaches that I can cope with, but I remebered that I still had a yet unposted article that I meant ot post there. It's not yet complete but I might as well post it here.
The Confiteor
The Confiteor is a Catholic prayer, named after the first word in Latin, Confiteor Deo (I confess to God) in which a confession of sin is made and the intercession of others including the saints, requested. It is usually followed by formulas of absolution, the Misereatur and in many cases the Indulgentiam. These formulae are only sacramentals and intercessory prayers, not to be confused with the absolution in the Catholic Sacrament of Penance.
WORDING:
The wording of the Confiteor familiar to most Catholics was that found in the Roman Missal:
Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, beátæ Maríæ semper Vírgini, beáto Michaéli Archángelo, beáto Joanni Baptístæ, sanctis Apóstolis Petro et Paulo, ómnibus Sanctis, et vobis, fratres (tibi, Pater), quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo et ópere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, beátum Michaélem Archángelum, beátum Joánnem Baptístam, sanctos Apóstolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et vos, fratres (te, Pater), oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum.
Misereatur vestri [tui] [nostri] omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis vestris [tuis] [nostris], perducat vos [te][nos] ad vitam aeternam.
Indulgentiam, absolutionem et remissionem peccatorum nostrorum [vestorum], tribuat [vobis]nobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus.
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, to all the saints, and to you, brethren (to you, Father), 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, all the saints, and you, brethren (you, Father), to pray for me to the Lord our God
May the Almighty God have mercy on you all [you][us], and having forgiven your [your] [our] sins, and bring you [you][us] to eternal life.
The Almighty and merciful Lord grant us [you] pardon, absolution and remission of our [your] sins.
In 1969, the Confiteor was revised in the new Ordo Missae (Order of the Mass) and subsequently appeared in 1970 in the new Roman Missal. The practice of reciting two Confiteors (see below: Usage) was removed as was one of the absolution formulae, the Indulgentiam
Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, et vobis, fratres, quia peccávi nimis cogitatióne, verbo, ópere, et omissióne: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea máxima culpa. Ideo precor beátam Maríam semper Vírginem, omnes angelos et sanctos et vos, fratres, oráre pro me ad Dóminum Deum nostrum.
Misereatur nostri omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis nostris, perducat nos ad vitam aeternam.
Literal translation:
I confess to almighty God, and to you, brothers, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, word, deed, and omission: through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault. Therefore I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, brothers, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May the Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to eternal life.
ICEL (official English) version:
I confess to almighty God, and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have sinned through my own fault, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done, and what I have failed to do. Therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-virgin, all the angels and saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.
May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins and bring to everlasting life.
VARIATIONS
The wording of the Confiteor varied slightly in the liturgies of certain religious orders and dioceses of the Catholic Church. The variations differ in their extent: while some, such as the Benedictine, merely added the name of a patron to the wording of the Roman Missal, others differed in the specification of sin confessed.
The version of the Confiteor used by Benedictines added beato patri nostro Benedicto (our blessed father Benedict) and beatum patrem nostrum Benedictum after the invocation of Ss. Peter and Paul to the Roman confiteor. Likewise, the Franciscans added beato Patri nostro Francisco (our blessed father Francis) and beatum Patrem nostrum Franciscum, the Discalced Carmelites beato Eliae, beatae Teresiae (blessed Elijah, blessed Therese) and beatum Eliam, beatam Teresiam, the Servants of Mary (Servites): Septem beatis patribus nostris (our seven blessed fathers) and the Norbertines sanctis patribus Augustino et Norberto (holy fathers Augustine and Norbert. The Ambrosian liturgy added beatum Ambrosium Confessorem and beato Ambrosio Confessori (blessed Ambrose, Confessor)
Dominican:
Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, et beatae Mariae semper virgine, et beato Dominico patri nostro, et omnibus sanctis, et vobis, fratres, quia peccavi nimis, cogitatione, locutione, opere et omissione, mea culpa; precor vos orare pro me
Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus et dimittat tibi omnia peccata tua: liberet te ab omni malo, salvet et confirmet te in omni opere bono, et perducat te ad vitam aeternam.
Absolutionem et remissionem omnium peccatorum vestrorum, tribuat vobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus.
I confess to Almighty God, and to blessed Mary ever Virgin, and to blessed Dominic, our father, and to all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, speech, deed and ommission, through my fault; I beseech you to pray for me
May the Almighty God have mercy on you, and forgive you all your sins: deliver you from all evil, save and confirm you in all good work, and lead you to life eternal.
The Almighty and merciful Lord grant you absolution and remission of all your sins.
Carmelite:
Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Patri nostro Eliae, omnibus Sanctis, et tibi, fratres, quia peccavi nimis cogitatione, locutione, opere, et omissione: mea culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Patrem nostrum Eliam, omnes Sanctos, et te, fratres, orare pro me ad Dominum Jesum Christum.
Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus et dimittat tibi omnia peccata tua: liberet te ab omni malo, conservet et confirmet te in omni opere bono, et perducat te ad vitam aeternam.
Absolutionem et remissionem omnium peccatorum vestrorum, tribuat vobis omnipotens et misericors Dominus.
I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary ever Virgin, to blessed Elijah, our father, to all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly in thought, speech, deed and ommission, through my fault. Therefore, I beseech blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Elijah our father, all the saints, and you, brethren, to pray for me to the Lord Jesus Christ
May the Almighty God have mercy on you, and forgive you all your sins: deliver you from all evil, conserve and confirm you in all good work, and lead you to life eternal.
The Almighty and merciful Lord grant you absolution and remission of all your sins.
Carthusian: The Carthusian liturgy is notable for not having the second formula of the absolution, the Indulgentiam.
Confíteor Deo omnipoténti, et Beátæ Maríæ et ómnibus Sanctis, et vobis Fratres, quia peccávi nimis mea culpa per supérbiam, cogitatióne, locutióne, ópere et omissióne, precor vos oráte pro me.
Misereatur tui omnipotens Deus per intercession beatae Mariae et omnium Sanctorum et dimittat tibi omnia peccata tua et perducat te ad vitam aeternam.
I confess to Almighty God, to blessed Mary and all the saints, and to you, brethren, that I have sinned exceedingly through my fault in pride, thought, speech, deed and ommission. I beseech you to pray for me
May the Almighty God have mercy on you through the intercession of blessed Mary and all the saints, and forgive you all your sins: and lead you to life eternal.
Revised Carthusian:
In the Carthusian missal of 1981, the Confiteor is revised slightly though the Misereatur remains the same. There is also provided a Confiteor to be used when the priest celebrates Mass alone.
Confíteor Deo et vobis, fratres, quia peccávi nimis, mea culpa, per supérbiam, cogitatióne, locutióne,ópere et omissióne; precor beátam Maríam, omnes sanctos et vos, fratres,oráte pro me.
Confíteor Deo, quia peccávi nimis, mea culpa, per supérbiam, cogitatióne, locutióne, ópere et omissióne; precor te, o piíssima Dei Génetrix, et vos, omnes sancti, oráte pro me.
Misereátur mei omnípotens Deus per intercessiónem tuam, o piíssima Dei Génetrix, et vestram, omnes sancti, et dimíttat mihi ómnia peccáta mea et perdúcat ad vitam ætérnam.
I confess to Almighty God that I have sinned exceedingly through my fault in pride, thought, speech, deed and ommission. I beseech you, O most gracious Mother of God, and you, all the saints, to pray for me.
May the Almighty God have mercy on me through your intercession O most gracious Mother of God, and yours, all you saints, and forgive me all my sins: and lead me to life eternal.
Mozarabic:
The Mozarabic Confiteor was not native to the rite but was introduced into the liturgical books by Cardinal Ximenes who borrowed it from a local version of the Roman liturgy.
Confiteor omnipotenti Deo et beatæ Mariæ Virgini: et Sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo et omnibus Sanctis: et vobis fratres manifesto me graviter peccasse per superbiam: in lege Dei mei: cogitatione: locutione: opere et omissione: mea culpa: mea culpa: gravissima mea culpa. Ideo precor beatissimam Virginem Mariam: et omnes Sanctos et Sanctas: et vos fratres orare pro me.
Misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus: et dimissis omnibus peccatis vestris: perducat vos ad vitam eternam.
Indulgentiam absolutionem et remissionem omnium peccatorum vestrorum cum emendatione morum et vite: per gratiam Sancti Spiritus tribuat vobis misericors Dominus.
I confess to almighty God and blessed Mary the Virgin: and the holy Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints: and to you brethren openly that I have gravely sinned through pride: against the law of my God: by thought: by speech: by deed and omission: my fault: my fault: my most grave fault. Therefore I beseech the most blessed Virgin Mary: and all saints (masc.) and saints (fem.): and you brethren to pray for me.
May the Almighty God have mercy on you, and forgive you all your sins: deliver you from all evil, save and confirm you in all good work, and lead you to life eternal.
The merciful Lord, through the grace of the holy Spirit, grant you pardon, absolution and remission of all your sins, with amendment of your ways and life.
The revised Mozarabic liturgy does not have a Confiteor among the public actions of the Mass.
Publication of indulgences:
In the publication of indulgences, the Confiteor and the Indulgentiam used is the same as the Roman. Missal: however the Misereatur is as follows
Precibus et meritis Beatæ Mariæ semper Virginis, Beati Michaëlis Archangeli, Beati Joannis Baptistæ, Sanctorum Apostolorum Petri et Pauli, et omnium Sanctorum, misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus, et dimissis peccatis vestris, perducat vos ad vitam æternam.
(Through the) prayers and merits of Blessed Mary, ever Virgin, Blessed Michael (the) archangel, Blessed John (the) Baptist, the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul, and all the saints, may the Almighty God have mercy on you, and having forgiven your sins, bring you to eternal life.
A separate version is used in the Urbi et Orbi blessing of the Pope.
First Published in October, 2007
I've just finished reading this whole series of articles backwards. I don't know if that's significant but anyway I'm in awe. There's a massive amount of work and wisdom in this. Thank you so much for the good work you put in to this. I hope that it bears a lot of fruit.
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