Work on memorizing one if you don’t already know one: the card in the confessional may have been removed for some reason (as was the case last Sunday… chair penitents often forget to return it)… it saves time which other penitents in line appreciate… in an emergency, when you are far from a priest, you can readily say the Act in that moment of peril or danger… in the unhappy event of falling into mortal sin, we should soon say the Act of Contrition, then resolve to go to Reconciliation in order to obtain a penance and absolution from a priest.
For those of us who already know an Act by memory, I commend you… now please ask your child or grandchild if he or she can provide you the definition of the word ‘detest’ or ‘dread’!
The Ostende Blog - Fr Christopher Young 