' is a
Latin phrase that means "my fault" or "my mistake" and is an acknowledgement of having done
wrong. The expression is used also as an admission of having made a mistake that should have been avoided, and may be accompanied by beating the breast as in its use in a religious context.
The phrase comes from a
Western Christian prayer of confession of sinfulness, known as the ''
Confiteor'', used in the
Roman Rite
The Roman Rite ( la, Ritus Romanus) is the primary liturgical rite of the Latin Church, the largest of the ''sui iuris'' particular churches that comprise the Catholic Church. It developed in the Latin language in the city of Rome and, while dist ...
at the beginning of
Mass or when receiving the
sacrament of Penance. Grammatically, ' is in the
ablative case
In grammar, the ablative case (pronounced ; sometimes abbreviated ) is a grammatical case for nouns, pronouns, and adjectives in the grammars of various languages; it is sometimes used to express motion away from something, among other uses. T ...
, with an
instrumental meaning.
Religious use
At the sight of the
crucifixion of Jesus in the
Gospels, "the whole crowd who came together to that sight, seeing what had been done, beat their breasts and returned".''
In the present form of the
Confiteor as used in the celebration of Mass, ''mea culpa'' is said three times, the third time with the addition of the adjective ''maxima'' ("very great", usually translated as "most grievous"), and is accompanied by the gesture of beating the breast.
According to
Adrian Fortescue, the inclusion in the ''Confiteor'' of the phrase ''mea culpa'' can be traced back only to the 16th century.
However, the Latin phrase ''mea culpa'' was used, even in an English context, earlier than that.
Geoffrey Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...
's 14th-century ''
Troilus and Criseyde'' uses it in a way that shows it was already a traditional religious phrase: "Now, ''mea culpa'', lord! I me repente."
Although the ''Confiteor'' was not then part of the Mass, it was used in administering the sacrament of Penance. In some forms it already included the phrase ''mea culpa''. Thus the 9th-century ''Paenitentiale Vallicellanum II'' had a thrice-repeated ''mea culpa'' (without ''maxima'') in its elaborate form of the ''Confiteor''.
In about 1220, the rite of public penance in
Siena for those who had committed murder required the penitent to throw himself on the ground three times, saying: ''Mea culpa; peccavi; Domine miserere mei'' ("Through my fault. I have sinned. Lord, have mercy on me").
See also
*
List of ecclesiastical abbreviations
*
List of Latin phrases
*
Self-criticism
References
External links
Sancta Missa – Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, Latin and English, sanctamissa.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mea Culpa
Latin religious words and phrases