Examination of Conscience - Divine Mercy

1 Examination of Conscience If I am between the ages of 18 and 59, did I fast Have I committed masturbation (impurity with on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday? self), using my sexual organs for my own sexual The Ten Commandments: IV. Honor your father and mother. pleasure? If still under the care of my parents, did I obey all Have I engaged in sexual foreplay reserved for I. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have that they reasonably asked of me? marriage? strange gods before me. Have I neglected the needs of my parents in their Have I used artificial means of birth control? Have I denied the existence of God? old age or in their time of need? Have I undergone an operation to render myself Does someone or something other than God Do I live in humble obedience to those who sterile for contraceptive purposes?

2 Influence my choices? legitimately exercise authority over me? Have I willfully entertained impure thoughts? Have I doubted or denied my Faith? Have I provided for the religious education and Have I purchased or used pornography in any Have I rejected the Catholic faith, associating formation of my children for as long as they are form? myself formally with another religion? under my care? Have I watched movies and television that Have I received communion at a non-Catholic Have I broken the law? involves sex and nudity? service? Have I engaged in superstitious or occult V: You shall not kill. Have I listened to music or jokes that are harmful practices? Have I intentionally killed a human being?

3 To purity? II. You shall not take the Name of the Lord our Have I procured, performed, cooperated or Have I set out to seduce someone or allowed God in vain. advised another in the intentional killing of an myself to be seduced? Have I used the name of God in cursing or unborn child through abortion? Have I made uninvited and unwelcome sexual blasphemy? Have I seriously considered or attempted suicide? advances toward another? Have I failed to keep the vows or promises that I Have I unjustly inflicted bodily harm on another Have I purposely dressed immodestly? have made to God? person? Have I afflicted another person with verbal Am I living in a valid and licit marriage according Have I spoken about the Church, the saints, or or emotional abuse?

4 To the laws of the Catholic Church? sacred things with irreverence, hatred or defiance? Have I failed to forgive? Have I given scandal by living with a member of Have I watched television or movies, or listened Have I harbored hatred, anger, or resentment? the opposite sex without the benefit of marriage? to music that treated God, the Church, the saints or Am I prejudiced or have I unjustly discriminated VII. You shall not steal. sacred things irreverently? against others because of their race, color, X. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods. Have I been disrespectful in my behavior in nationality, gender or religion? Did I take something that doesn't belong to me? church?

5 Have I visited others in church? Did I, by my actions, recklessly endanger my life Did I deface, destroy, or lose another's property III. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day. or health, or that of another person? without making restitution? Have I set aside time each day for personal prayer Have I gotten drunk or abused other drugs? Did I cheat on a test, on my taxes, or in business? to God? Do I endanger my health by not eating right, Do I pay employees a living wage, or fail to give a Have I missed Mass on Sunday or other Holy Days exercising? full day's work for a full day's pay? of Obligation? Have I encouraged others to sin by giving Did I take advantage of another's hardship or Did I habitually come late to and/or leave early scandal?

6 Ignorance by charging more for a product than it is from Mass? VI. You shall not commit adultery. worth? Have I waited one hour after eating before IX. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife. Have I squandered money in compulsive receiving Holy Communion? Have I committed adultery, having sexual gambling? Have I received a sacrament while in the state of relations with someone who is married, or with Am I envious of others on account of their mortal sin? someone other than my spouse? possessions? Have I misused natural resources? Did I do unnecessary shopping and business on Have I committed fornication, having sexual Do I contribute my time, talents, and money to Sunday and the other Holy Days of obligation?

7 Relations with someone of the opposite sex when support the poor, my parish, and the work of the Did I do unnecessary labor on Sunday and the neither of us is married? Church? other Holy Days of Obligation? Have I committed sodomy, having sexual VlII. You shall not bear false witness against Do I do penance every Friday, if not abstaining relations with someone of the same sex? your neighbor. from meat then some other form of penance ? Have I raped someone? Have I deceived another by lying? If I am 14 years of age or older, did I abstain from Did I perjure myself under oath? meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of lent ? Am I guilty of passing on gossip? Am I guilty of detraction, destroying a person's reputation by telling others about his faults for no Guide for Making an Individual Confession good reason?

8 Am I guilty of slander or calumny, telling lies Begin by making the sign of the cross and saying: about another person in order to destroy his reputation? Am I guilty of libel, writing lies about another Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been (how long?) since my last confession." Guide to person in order to destroy his reputation? Am I guilty of rash judgment, assuming the worst of another person based on circumstantial The priest may give you a blessing at this time. Continue by confessing your sins, in kind and number, to the best of your ability: Confession for Adults evidence? "These are my sins: .. ". Have I failed to make reparation for a lie I told, or for harm done to a person's reputation?

9 You may conclude by saying: Did I betray another's confidence through speech? "For these and all my sins, I am truly sorry.". Steps for Making a Good Confession If you do not know how to confess, feel uneasy, or 1. Pray that the Holy Spirit will help you to know forget your sins, ask the priest to help you; he will all of your sins. be happy to do so. 2. Examine your Conscience . 3. Express in prayer your sorrow for having The priest may offer some advice and will assign committed these sins, or pray for the help to be truly sorry. you a penance . He will then ask you to pray an Act 4. Resolve not to commit these sins again, and to of Contrition. avoid the situations that lead to sin.

10 5. Confess your sins to the priest. The priest will then grant you absolution: 6. Pray or perform the penance the priest gives God the Father of mercies, through the death and you as soon as possible. resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to Prayer before Confession himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the Come Holy Spirit into my soul. Enlighten my mind forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the that I may know the sins I ought to confess, and Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I. grant me your grace to confess them fully, humbly, absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and with contrite heart. Help me to firmly resolve and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.