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Contrition
An old Latin term, from the 14th Century, speaking of a penitent spirit, is “contrition.” Contrition derives from the Middle English contrit, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin contritus, from Latin, past participle of conterere, to grind, bruise. Conterere is from com, with, together, throughly and terere to rub. Contrition means “feeling or showing sorrow and remorse for a sin or shortcoming” (Merriam-Webster Unabridged Collegiate Dictionary, 2005). Literally, contrition is a sensation inwardly of rubbing together, an inner bruise, or grinding; this can refer, then, to the sensation of unease that we associate with guilt, or guilt feelings. A culture inebriated with the idea that to be emotionally healthy negates such unease will, thereby, disdain and fail to appreciate the value of contrition to mental wellness and spiritual vitality, as well as to social order. However, the Psalmist, in Psalm 51, sings of the healthiness and appropriateness of contrition:
17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (ESV)
A Story
March 18, 1937, a spark ignited a cloud of natural gas that had accrued in the basement of a London, Texas, school. The blast killed 293 persons, mostly children. The explosion occurred because the school board wanted to decrease heating costs. Natural gas was siphoned from a neighboring oil company pipeline to fuel the school furnace without cost. The one positive result of the blast was government regulation requiring companies add an odorant to natural gas. This aroma is so familiar that we can forget natural gas is odorless. Indeed, most of us likely do not realize that natural gas is odorless.
Guilt, An Odorant
In a culture that disdains guilt feelings, we would do well to ask the question, “What is the purpose of guilt feelings?” Some persons think that guilt feelings are not healthy. I disagree with that as a conclusive statement. Guilt feelings can be a sign of an excessive self-occupation. Likewise, guilt feelings can be based on familial or cultural shaping that is not healthy for us. So, guilt feelings do not necessarily indicate that we have done something wrong. Yet, guilt feelings can indicate that we have violated true values and need to seek forgiveness, or release, and cleansing. In the latter cases, guilt is like a natural odorant, indicating we need to seek forgiveness and, when right, confess to another person or persons whom our action might have caused injury to.
Scripture: Psalm 51.2-4 (NLV)
2Wash me inside and out from my wrong-doing and make me clean from my sin. 3For I know my wrong-doing, and my sin is always in front of me. 4I have sinned against You, and You only. I have done what is sinful in Your eyes. You are always right when You speak, and fair when You judge.
Spiritual Exercise
1. Do you struggle with guilt? Is it a personality trait toward self-judgment? A manifestation of true contrition for violating a true value?
2. Have you ever confessed wrong to another person to find the inner rub of guilt to dissolve, immediately?
3. What priority do you place on confession?
4. How might attention to confession be a manifestation of self-criticism? The “inner voices” of parents or other authority figures from the past? The sometimes morbid preoccupation with sin in religion?
5. How might attention to confession be a sign of health?
Prayer
May any sensations of contrition within me arise only from Love. Heal me from any false guilt. When I ask for forgiveness, grant me the grace to accept it and receive cleansing that I might, once more, rejoice in your Presence, My Beloved.
OneLife Ministries is a pastoral outreach and nurture ministry of the First United Methodist Church, Fort Meade, FL. For Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, spirtual formation workshops, Christian meditation retreats, or more information about OneLife, write Rev. Dr. Brian K. Wilcox at briankwilcox@comcast.net . Brian's book of mystical love poetry, An Ache for Union, can be ordered through major bookdealers.
Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors
The People of the
United Methodist Church
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