A prayer asking forgiveness

Master of the World, I stand before You with something I am ashamed of. I know what I did, and I do not want to dress it up or find excuses for it. While I was doing it, I explained to myself why it was all right, and now, when the quiet has returned, I see things as they are.

Forgive me. Not only for the deed itself, but also for all the times I knew I was on the wrong path and went on anyway. Forgive me for the words I said in anger, and for the silence at the moment I should have spoken.

And if I hurt a person, give me the humility to go to them and ask their forgiveness myself, because that You do not do in my place. Give me simple words, without justifying myself and without blaming them for their part, and give them an open heart to hear me.

And keep me from the other side of regret, the one that tells me there is no repair for me, that this is who I am and I will never be otherwise. I do not want to sink into guilt. I want to change. Let me see the exact point where I fell, and give me strength to stand differently the next time I reach it.

Your mercy is greater than any sin, and no door is closed to one who comes to You with a broken heart and in sincerity. Let me leave this prayer with a lighter heart, without a burden of guilt and with a new will. And let me rejoice that it is always possible to return to You, even after this fall.