The Penitential Act is a form of general confession of sinfulness that normally takes place at the beginning of the celebration of Mass in the Roman Rite. The term used in the original text of the Roman Missal is Actus Paenitentialis. In the English translation of the Roman Missal used from 1973 to 2011, it was called the Penitential Rite. A "Brief Order of Confession" sometimes takes place at the start of LutheranDivine Service, and may include an Absolution, giving it sacramental weight.
Roman Rite
In the Order of Mass of the Roman Rite, which is the most widespread liturgical rite in the Catholic Church, the introductory part of Mass normally includes a Penitential Act after the making of the sign of the cross and the priest's greeting. The Roman Missal provides three forms. The priest begins each with an exhortation to acknowledge one's sinfulness as preparation for celebrating the sacred mysteries and he ends it with the prayer, "May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life", a deprecatory absolution, as distinct from the declarative or indicative absolution, "I absolve you from your sins". Between these two interventions by the priest, sinfulness is acknowledged in one of three ways;
A short prayer, beginning with "Have mercy on us, O Lord", recited alternately by priest and people;
A short litany spoken or sung, not necessarily by the priest, to each of whose three variable invocations or tropesthe people respond with the acclamation Kyrie, eleison or Christe, eleison
The Penitential Act is followed by the Kyrie eleison chant and on solemnities and feasts by the Gloria. If certain celebrations are combined with Mass, then the Penitential Act and other parts of the Introductory Rites are omitted or performed in a different way. An example is the Mass of Ash Wednesday, in which the Penitential Act is replaced by the blessing and imposition of ashes after the homily. "On Sundays, especially in the Season of Easter, in place of the customary Penitential Act, from time to time the Blessing and Sprinkling of Water to recall Baptism may take place."
The Tridentine Roman Missal, which does not use the term "Penitential Act", has an equivalent, within the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, in the Confiteor: The priest says: Deacon and subdeacon at a solemn Mass, server at a low Mass, or server and people at a dialogue Mass respond: The Confiteor is then repeated by the others, replacing vobis fratres and vos fratres with tibi pater and te pater. The priest responds with the Misereatur is spoken by the priest replacing tui with vestri, tuis with vestris, and te with vos. The priest responds with two prayers: Misereátur vestri omnípotens Deus, et dimíssis peccátis vestris, perdúcat vos ad vitam ætérnam and Indulgéntiam, absolutiónem, et remissiónem peccatórum nostrórum, tríbuat nobis omnípotens et miséricors Dóminus. In the original Tridentine Roman Missal, the Misereatur prayer added the adjective omnibus to the phrase dimissis peccatis tuis/vestris.
Martin Luthersaw of private confession before receiving the Eucharist as coercive, but instead urged his followers to confess privately when particularly troubled. In lieu of private, individual confession, many forms of Lutheran Divine Service begin with a brief order of confession. The pastor and congregation say a Confiteor and the pastor may make a Declaration of Grace or an Absolution. If an absolution is spoken, the brief order of confession is understood to be sacramental. However, if private, individual confession is a common practice in a congregation, the brief order of confession may always be omitted. As in the Roman Rite, a Thanksgiving for Baptism may replace the brief order of confession.
