Mea culpa
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."
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:
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.
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 Slovenian, the phrase "Moja Kolpa" is often used, sounding almost the same, but literally meaning "My Kolpa" (Kolpa is a river in Slovenia).
New Age/spiritualist meaning
In more recent teachings of modern/new age spiritualism, such as in the book called School for Gods, Mea maxima culpa refers to the admitance of everything that happens around one's self, that they are only and solely result of their own creations, due to having life and everything created by one's thoughts, and not to give in to the illusion of a living world outside one's mind.
This meaning of mea culpa only comes together with the belief and knowledge of 'the God within', in other words having the life created only by our own ideas and thoughts and accepting the fact that nothing comes from outside of our own creations and state of mind.
Sources and references
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This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) Link
