An Act of Contrition
As I kneel before Thee on the Cross,
most loving Saviour of my soul,
my conscience reproaches me
for having nailed Thee to that cross with these hands of
mine,
as often as I have fallen into mortal sin,
wearying Thee with my monstrous ingratitude.
My God, my chief and most perfect good,
worthy of all my love because thou hast ever loaded me
with blessings,
I cannot now undo my misdeeds,
as I would most willingly;
but I will loathe them grieving greatly for having
offended Thee, at Thy feet,
I will try,
at least,
to compassionate Thee,
to give Thee thanks,
to ask of Thee pardon and contrition;
wherefore, with heart and lips, I say:
To The First Wound,
of the Left Foot
Lord Jesus Christ,
I adore the sacred Wound of Thy left foot;
I compassionate Thee
for the most bitter pain which Thou didst suffer.
I thank Thee for the love
whereby Thou wast wearied
in overtaking me on the way to ruin,
and didst bleed amid the thorns
and brambles of my sins.
I offer to the Eternal Father
the pain and love of Thy most holy Humanity,
in atonement for my sins,
all which I detest
with sincere and bitter contrition.
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
Holy Mother,
pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified!
To The Second Wound,
of the Right Foot
O Lord Jesus Christ,
I adore the sacred Wound of Thy right foot;
I compassionate Thee
for the bitter pain which Thou didst suffer.
I thank Thee for that love
which pierced Thee with such torture and shedding of blood,
in order to punish my wanderings
and the guilty pleasures
I have granted to my unbridled passions.
I offer the Eternal Father
all the pains and love of Thy most holy Humanity,
and I pray unto Thee
for grace to weep over my transgressions with burning
tears,
and to enable me to persevere
in the good which I have begun,
without ever swerving again
from my obedience to the commandments of my God.
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
Holy Mother,
pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified!
To The Third Wound,
of the Left Hand
O Lord Jesus Christ,
I adore the sacred Wound of Thy left hand;
I compassionate Thee
for the bitter pain which Thou didst suffer,
I thank Thee for having, in Thy love,
spared me the scourges and eternal damnation
which my sins had merited.
I offer to the Eternal Father
the pain and love of Thy most holy Humanity:
and I pray Thee to teach me
how to turn to good account of my span of life,
and bring forth in it worthy fruits of penance,
and so disarm the justice of God,
which I have provoked.
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
Holy Mother,
pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified!
To The Fourth Wound,
of the Right Hand
O Lord Jesus Christ,
I adore the sacred Wound of Thy right hand;
I compassionate Thee
for the bitter pain which Thou didst suffer.
I thank Thee for Thy graces lavished on me with such love,
in spite of all my most perverse obstinacy.
I offer to the Eternal Father
all the pain and love
of Thy most holy Humanity;
and I pray Thee to change my heart
and its affections,
and make me do all my actions
in accordance with the will of God.
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
Holy Mother,
pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified!
To The Fifth Wound,
of the Sacred Side
O Lord Jesus Christ,
I adore the sacred Wound in Thy side;
I compassionate Thee for the cruel insult Thou didst
suffer.
I thank Thee, my Jesus,
for the love which suffered Thy side
and Heart to be pierced,
so that the last drops of blood and water might issue
forth,
making my redemption to abound.
I offer to the Eternal Father this outrage,
and the love of Thy most holy Humanity,
that my soul may enter once
for all into that most loving Heart,
eager and ready to receive the greatest sinners,
and never more depart.
Our Father…
Hail Mary…
Glory Be…
Holy Mother,
pierce me through,
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Saviour crucified!