Mea culpa

For other uses, see Mea Culpa (disambiguation).

Mea culpa is a Latin phrase that translates into English as "my fault", or "my own fault". 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 traditional text in Latin is:

Confiteor Deo omnipotenti, beatae Mariae semper Virgini, beato Michaeli Archangelo, beato Joanni Baptistae, sanctis Apostolis Petro et Paulo, omnibus Sanctis, et tibi pater: quia peccavi nimis cogitatione verbo, et opere: mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa. Ideo precor beatam Mariam semper Virginem, beatum Michaelem Archangelum, beatum Joannem Baptistam, sanctos Apostolos Petrum et Paulum, omnes Sanctos, et te Pater, orare pro me ad Dominum Deum Nostrum.

I confess to Omnipotent 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 angels and Saints, 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, Father, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

The traditional translation of the phrase, which appeared in many Catholic missals prior to 1970, was "through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault." This same translation appears in missals used today in Masses of the Extraordinary Form, the Traditional Latin Mass.

Anglican Missals of the Episcopal Church in the USA and in the Church of England that included this prayer used the same translation, though sometimes the last part was translated "my own most grievous fault."

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 many web forums, mea culpa is an aggravating factor to a breach of the rules. If for example one says "I will probably be banned for this but [something offensive and rude]", will be considered a mea culpa offense in addition to the offensive remark.

In some countries, phonetic 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 closer to "My problem"

See also

• List of Latin phrases