Mea culpa

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Mea Culpa (disambiguation).
Look up mea culpa in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

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."

Contents

[edit] Origin

The origin of the expression is from 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 text in Latin is:

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.
1973 ICEL translation
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 in what I have failed to do;
and 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.

[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 an American football player, for instance, admits that his team lost a game because he missed a field goal, 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."

In some countries, phonetical versions of the phrase are used with the same meaning. For instance, in Slovene, the phrase "Moja Kolpa" is often used, sounding almost the same, but literally meaning "My Kolpa" (Kolpa is a river in Slovenia).

[edit] In Literature

"... mea culpa, mea culpa, Blessed Virgin forgive me." - is used on the first page of the 5th chapter called "November Saints AD 1064" in the novel The Voice of The Fire by Alan Moore.

Mea culpa - mea culpa - mea maxima culpa is mentioned in Ayn Rand's novel, the Fountainhead (on p693 of the hardcover edition).

[edit] In Media

"Mea culpa" is a catchphrase Lisa Simpson (from the highly popular Fox television program "The Simpsons") uses occasionally in the video game "Simpsons: Hit and Run"

[edit] Sources and references

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

[edit] See also