Contrition

Whether imperfect, as attrition, when the individual is moved by God's justice to turn from sin, or perfect, as true contrition, when he is moved by love of God to turn from sin, contrition is the conversion of a sinner to God. By his nature, man gives his heart to either the true God or to something he has deified. Rejection of the latter for the former is true conversion, with contrition or sorrow for the moral worthlessness both of past deeds and for the attitude which provoked them whether or not the purpose or result was good.