Instructions

1

Learn a version of the Act of Contrition. There are a few different versions that are recognized by the Catholic Church. It is a good idea to learn them all so that you can say the most appropriate one when you need to pray it.
2

Pick a quiet place to pray. You need to be in a place where you can focus on your prayers and God's response to your prayers.
3

Look inward. Examine yourself so that you can confess all of your sins before you say the Act of Contrition. The purpose of the Act of Contrition is to ask God for forgiveness of your sins and to ask Him to help you stay away from sinning as much as possible in the future.
4

Focus on each word and each sentence in the Act of Contrition when you are praying the prayer. Take your time when you pray. Simply reciting the prayer without truly meaning the words you are saying will make your prayer useless.
5

Listen for God's response to the Act of Contrition. God responds to prayers in various ways. When you are listening for God's response, keep in mind that it may come well into the future.