Mea culpa

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For other uses, see Mea Culpa (disambiguation).

Mea culpa is a Latin phrase that translates into English as "my fault", or "my own fault". In order to emphasize the message, the adjective "maxima" may be inserted, resulting in "mea maxima culpa," which would translate as "my most [grievous] fault."

1 Devotional practices
2 Popular meaning
3 Trivia
4 Sources and references
5 See also

[edit] Devotional practices

The origin of the expression is in a part of a traditional prayer in the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church known as Confiteor (Latin for "I confess"), in which the individual recognizes his or her flaws before God. The "mea culpa," as the Confiteor has come to be known popularly, is not simply a confession of sins, but rather an admission of one's flawed nature and the willingness to make amends for it.

The text in Latin is:

Confiteor Deo omnipotenti,
beatæ Mariæ semper Virgini,
beato Michæli Archangelo,
beato Ioanni Baptistæ,
sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo,
omnibus Sanctis, et vobis, fratres (et tibi pater),
quia peccavi
nimis cogitatione, verbo et opere:
mea culpa,
mea culpa,
mea maxima culpa.
Ideo precor beatam Mariam
semper Virginem,
beatum Michælem Archangelum,
beatum Ioannem Baptistam,
sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum,
omnes Sanctos, et vos, fratres (et te, pater),
orare pro me ad Dominum Deum nostrum.
Amen.

This translates into English as:

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, brothers (and 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 the blessed Mary,
ever Virgin,
blessed Michael the Archangel,
blessed John the Baptist,
the holy Apostles Peter and Paul,
all the Saints, and you, brothers (and you Father),
to pray to the Lord our God for me.
Amen.

More recently, the Confiteor has been shortened to the following:

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.
I ask Blessed Mary, ever virgin,
And all the angels and saints,
And you, my brothers and sisters,
To pray for me to the Lord our God.
Amen.

As part of the prayer, it is customary for the faithful to strike gently at their own chests (heart) when pronouncing the mea culpa (or "through my fault", in the English version) section of the Confiteor. This is done to emphasize the admission of one's own sinful nature.

Striking the breast as a liturgical act is prescribed in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass during the Confiteor at the phrase "Through my fault" (three times), at the Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus 'and for us sinners' (once), at the Agnus Dei (three times) and at the Domine, Non Sum Dignus 'I'm not worthy' (three times). With bowed head, except at the Nobis Quoque Peccatoribus, moderately and without noise, the celebrant priest strikes his breast with the right hand, the fingers being held closely together and curved or fully extended, as the rubrics are silent on this point; after the consecration, however, with the last three fingers only, since the thumb and index finger, which are joined, must not come in contact with the chasuble. At the Agnus Dei in Requiem Masses the striking of the breast is omitted, to show that the celebrant is thinking of the departed more than of himself. The faithful are accustomed to this practice as well as the priest.

The early Christians were familiar with the practice, as the Church fathers St. Augustine and St. Jerome testify. "No sooner have you heard the word 'Confiteor'", says the former, "than you strike your breast. What does this mean except that you wish to bring to light what is concealed in the breast, and by this act to cleanse your hidden sins?" (Sermo de verbis Domini, 13). This gesture of repentance can even be found in Scripture (Jer. 31:19 "I turn in repentance...I strike my breast"). "We strike our breast", declares St. Jerome, "because the breast is the seat of evil thoughts: we wish to dispel these thoughts, we wish to purify our hearts" (In Ezechiel, c. xviii). A warrant for these statements is also found in the Psalmist: 'A contrite and humbled heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise' (Psalm 1:19). The petitioner at the Throne of Mercy would chasten his heart and offer it as a sacrifice to God who healeth the broken of heart and bindeth up their wounds (Psalm 146:3). The ancient Christians were accustomed to strike the breast when they heard mention made or sensual sins; at the "Forgive us our trespasses" of the Pater Noster.

[edit] Popular meaning

In the popular vernacular, the expression "mea culpa" has acquired a more direct meaning, in which, by doing or performing a "mea culpa", someone admits to having made a mistake by one's own fault (meaning that it could have been avoided if that person had been more diligent). It may be used even in trivial situations: if a football player, for instance, admits that his team lost a match because he missed a penalty kick, this may be called a "mea culpa", meaning that he admitted his mistake, which he could have avoided (at least in theory), and that resulted in a subsequent evil. In today's American vernacular, people often say "my bad".

[edit] Trivia

This prayer makes an appearance in the Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame, where Judge Claude Frollo's character sings the song "Hellfire" while thinking lustful thoughts about Esmeralda. The scene begins with monks chanting/singing this and continue to do so under Frollo's song.

Brian Eno and David Byrne made a song called "Mea Culpa" using samples of a person saying "I made a mistake. I did it before I'm not going to do it again. Mea Culpa." This track can be found on their album My Life In The Bush of Ghosts.

Enigma (musical project) made a song called "Mea Culpa" using samples of Gregorian chant on the album MCMXC A.D..

The 4400 used this phrase as part of a solution to an online puzzle at the4400.com. The complete solution to the anagram puzzle was "Mea culpa Isabelle".

Jimmy Buffett in his song 'Fruitcakes', uses the words "Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Maxima Culpa" in the verse about religion.

In the comic book series and film V for Vendetta, during a scene in which Evey plays a prostitute, Bishop Lilliman says "Mea Culpa" because of his initial doubt of "her loveliness."

The Human Abstract, a metal band from California, has a song called "Mea Culpa" on their debut release Nocturne, out on Hopeless Records.

In Stephen Sondheim's song Johanna, wrtitten for the musical Sweeney Todd (musical), Judge Turpin's first words are, "Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa. Mea Maxima Culpa!" As he is praying for deliverance from his impure love for Johanna.

In November 2002, Keith Olbermann published an essay on Salon.com entitled "Mea Culpa" in which he conceded that his own insecurities and neurotic behavior had led to many of his problems at work. In the essay, it imparted an instance of where his former bosses remarked that he had "too much backbone," which actually hit on a literal truth. He has six lumbar vertebrae instead of the normal five.

In the last episode of the first season of The Sopranos: after Carmela Soprano admonishes Father Intintola for renting a movie (which he already knew she wouldn't like, but used anyway for an implied invitation to dinner), he replies "Mea culpa... I thought you liked movies". In context of the dialog, the expression was used to guilt trip Carmela as well as imply his innocence.