Guide for

An Examination of Conscience

for the Confession of Sins

 

6 Steps for a good confession

1. Examine your conscience. What sins have you committed since your last good confession?

2. Be sincerely sorry for your sins.

3. Confess your sins to the priest.

4. Make certain that you confess all your mortal sins and the number of them.

5. After your confession, do the penance the priest gives you.

6. Pray daily for the strength to avoid the near occasion of sin, especially for those sins you were just absolved from.

  

Prayer before Confession

O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, worthy of all my love, I humbly present myself before You. Look upon me with merciful eyes and help me to be reconciled to You by a good confession. But as I can do nothing if You do not help me, I implore You in Your tender mercy to enlighten me, that I may know all my sins and detest them with my whole heart.

O Jesus, ever flowing fountain of compassion, I approach You to cleanse me from all my sins. O Divine Physician heal my soul. O infinite Love, enkindle the flames of Your Love in my soul that I may love You completely. May this Confession bring about in me an entire change in my life so that I may be fully reconciled to You.

Mary, Mother of God, You are so charitable to sinners who desire repentance, assist me to make a good Confession. My Guardian Angel, help me to discover the sins I have committed. My Patron Saint and all you Saints of Heaven, pray for me that I may bring forth worthy fruits of repentance. Amen.

 

Preliminary Considerations
Besides telling the nature of our sins, we must also recollect, as far as possible, the NUMBER of times we have committed them, telling also (and only) those CIRCUMSTANCES which at times may either make a venial sin mortal or a mortal sin notably worse.

1.   Have I ever failed to confess a serious sin or disguised it?

2.   Have I been guilty of irreverence for this sacrament by failing to examine my conscience carefully?

3.   Have I failed to perform the penance given me by the confessor or disobeyed any of his directions?

4.   Have I neglected the Easter duty of receiving Holy Communion or failed to confess my sins within a year?

5.   Have I any HABITS of serious sin to confess first (impurity, drunkenness, etc.)?

 

FIRST COMMANDMENT

 “I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods before Me.” (Ex 20:2,3)

1.   Am I ignorant of my catechism (Act of Contrition, Apostle’s Creed, Ten Commandments, Seven Sacraments, the Our Father)?

2.   Have I willfully doubted or denied any of the teachings of the Church (heresy)?

3.   Am I a member of any anti-Catholic or any secret society?

4.   Have I knowingly read any anti-Catholic literature?

5.   Did I doubt or deny that God exists?

6.   Did I refuse to believe what God has revealed to us?

7.   Did I believe in fortune telling, horoscopes, dreams, the occult, good-luck charms, tarot cards, palmistry, Ouija boards, séances, or reincarnation?

8.   Did I deny that I was Catholic?

9.   Did I leave the Catholic Faith?

10. Did I give time to God each day in prayer?

11. Did I love God with my whole heart?

12. Did I despair of God’s mercy?

13. Did I have false gods in my life that I gave greater attention to than God, like money, sports, drugs, TV, fame, pleasure, material things, etc.?

14. Do I truly love God above all, or do I sometimes give greater importance to things of this world: money, image, looks, clothes, popularity or selfish desires?

15. Do I claim to have good values, but often bend or abandon them in order to fit in and be “part of the group?”

16. Do I turn to God in thankful prayer, or do I pray mostly when I want something?

17. Do I really want to be transformed by the will of God, or do I just use my religion in order to “look” like a good Christian person?

 

SECOND COMMANDMENT

“You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.” (Ex 20:7)

1.   Did I blaspheme or insult God?

2.   Did I take God’s name carelessly or uselessly?

3.   Did I curse, or break an oath or vow?

4.   Did I get angry with God?

5.   Have I used God’s name in vain by way of profanity?

6.   Have I complained against God (blasphemy)?

7.   Have I maligned priests or others consecrated to God?

8.   Have I sworn by God’s name (oath) either falsely or rashly?

9.   Have I broken any private vow?

10. Do I show disrespect for God’s name by misusing it out of frustration or anger or to look “tough” to others?

11. Do I hesitate to mention God’s name in appropriate situations, in conversations with friends and family members?

12. Do I continue to learn about God by paying attention in Church and in Religion Class?

 

THIRD COMMANDMENT

“Remember that you keep holy the Sabbath Day.” (Ex 20:8)

1.   Have I missed Mass on Sundays or holydays through my own fault?

2.   Have I been late for Mass through my own negligence? Have I left Mass early?

3.   Have I been inattentive at Mass or otherwise failed in reverence for the Most Blessed Sacrament?

4.   Have I done unnecessary physical labor or shopping on Sunday?

5.   Have I eaten flesh meat on Fridays during Lent (or on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday)?

6.   Did I set aside Sunday as a day of rest and a family day?

7.   Did I show reverence in the presence of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament?

8.   Do I willingly come to Church to celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays and Holy Days?

9.   Do I attend Mass only when it is convenient or when it will make me “feel good”?

10. Do I participate in the Eucharist by praying and singing, or do I simply sit as a spectator and wait to be entertained?

11. Do I pay close attention to the Word of God and open myself to God’s call to allow His word to take effect in my life?

12. Do I acknowledge the “true presence” of Christ in the Eucharist and receive Holy Communion with respect and reverence?

  

FOURTH COMMANDMENT

“Honor your father and your mother.” (Ex 20:12)

1.   Did I disobey or disrespect my parents or legitimate superiors?

2.   Did I neglect my duties to my parents, brothers, sisters, or fellow classmates?

3.   Did I neglect to give good religious example to my family or classmates?

4.   Did I fail to actively take an interest in my religious education and the religious formation of my brothers, sisters and classmates?

5.   Did I fail to educate myself on the true teachings of the Church?

6.   Did I give scandal by what I said or did, especially to those younger than me?

7.   Did I cause anyone to leave the faith?

8.   Did I cause tension and fights in my family or in school?

9.   Did I care for my aged relatives or those in poor health?

10. If I have a job, did I give a full day’s work for a full day’s pay?

11. Have I failed in obedience or reverence to others in authority such as my teachers?

12. Have I mistreated my brothers, sisters, or classmates?

13. Regarding my brothers and sisters:

·        Have I neglected their material needs?

·        Have I failed to care for their proper religious instruction?

·        Have I allowed them to neglect their religious duties?

·        Have I tolerated their keeping questionable company?

·        Have I given them bad example?

·        Have I interfered with their freedom to marry in the Church or to follow a religious vocation?

14. Do I help bring peace and happiness to my family, or am I disrespectful of others and a source of hurt and division for those who are closest to me?

15. Do I listen to my parents carefully and treat them with respect?

16. As a child, am I loving, respectful and obedient to my parents? Do I appreciate the many sacrifices they make for me? Do I say “Thank you” and “I love you” often enough?

17. Do I do my chores without being asked, or do I wait for my parents to become upset before I move away from what I am doing?

      18. Do I listen to my parents’ reasoning when they say “no” to me?

 

*FIFTH COMMANDMENT

“You shall not kill.” (Ex 20:13)

       1.  Did I kill or physically injure anyone?

       2.  Did I have an abortion, or advise someone else to have an abortion?

      (One who procures an abortion is automatically excommunicated, as is

      anyone who is involved in an abortion, Canon 1398. The

      excommunication will be lifted in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Canon

      1323, however, stipulates that no one can be excommunicated who:

      1) has not turned 17; 2) was without fault or was ignorant of violating the

      law; 3) acted under physical force, or under a chance occurrence that

      could not be foreseen or avoided; 4) acted under compulsion of grave

      fear; 5) lacked the use of reason).

3.   Did I use birth control pills (whether or not realizing that birth control pills do abort the fetus if and when conceived)? Did I ever use condoms?

4.   Did I attempt suicide?

5.   Did I engage in “cutting” my body or encourage others to “cut” themselves?

6.   Did I take part in or approve of “mercy killing” (euthanasia)?

7.   Have I “played” the “choking game” or encouraged others to “play”?

8.   Did I get angry, impatient, envious, unkind, proud, revengeful, jealous, or hateful toward another?

9.   Did I give bad example by drug abuse, drinking alcohol to excess, fighting, or quarreling?

10. Did I abuse my brothers or sisters?

11. Have I injured another person through carelessness or fighting?

12. Have I placed myself or others in danger because of reckless use of alcohol or other drugs? Have I caused difficulties for myself or others because of their use?

13. Have I risked my life or the lives of others by driving or riding with someone under the influence of alcohol or other drugs?

14. Do I strive to forgive those who have hurt me, or do I hold on to resentment and desire for revenge?

15. Do I use my powers of influence well, especially my freedom of speech, in order to take a stand against war, oppression, abortion and injustice, or do I allow those evils to continue by my apathy and my silence?

16. Have I been violent or abusive either in action or in speech? Have I been verbally abusive to my family members?

17. Do I share what I have with those in need? Do I support the life and mission of the Church by responsible stewardship - sharing my time, talent and treasure with those less fortunate?

18. Do I bring my Christianity to every day situations, or do I stand on the sidelines and complain about every flaw I can detect in others?

 

*The fifth commandment is where we deal with life issues. Having an abortion, procuring one, assisting at one, or encouraging another to have one are grave matters. The wisdom of the Church has shown that many find it difficult to forgive themselves in these situations. Fathers of children who have been aborted seem to have as many difficulties as mothers. Most Dioceses provide means (in many places called “Project Rachel”) to help them deal with the complicated issues involved so they can move on with their lives. For more information about Project Rachel in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia:

Ministry: Project Rachel
Address: 222 N 17^th St., Room 822, Philadelphia 19103
Contact: Page
Referral Phone: (215) 587 5640
Business Phone: (215) 587 3703
Fax Number: (215) 587 3561
E-mail Address: prolife@adphila.org 
Homepage: www.archdiocese.phl.org

After-abortion support is available at: 215-587-5640. Know that women who have had abortions are very much in our prayers!  Other grave fifth commandment issues involve supporting or helping someone to procure an abortion, supporting euthanasia, etc. by talk, action, influencing legislation, directly or indirectly. Such things put our souls in grave danger. Those participating should not receive Communion until they’ve had a change of heart, confessed that sin and left it behind.

 

SIXTH COMMANDMENT and NINTH COMMANDMENT

“You shall not commit adultery.” (Ex 20:14) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife.” (Ex 20:17)

Note: In the area of deliberate sexual sins listed below, all are mortal sins if there is sufficient reflection and full consent of the will. “Fornicators, idolaters, or adulterers, sodomites,...will not inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor 6:9-10). “Anyone who looks lustfully at a woman has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Mt 5:28).

1.   Did I willfully entertain impure thoughts or desires?

2.   Did I use impure or suggestive words? Tell impure stories or jokes? Listen to them?

3.   Did I deliberately look at impure TV shows, videos, plays, pictures or movies?

4.   Did I practice artificial birth control (by pills, device, or withdrawal)?

5.   Did I advise anyone to marry outside the Church?

6.   Did I avoid the occasions of impurity?

7.   Did I try to control my thoughts? Have I harbored lustful desires for anyone?

8.   Did I engage in homosexual activity?

9.   Did I respect all members of the opposite sex, or have I thought of other people as objects?

10. Do I respect the dignity of the human body and the holiness of Christian marriage? Do I show that respect in my speech, or are crude language and jokes a part of my conversations?

11. Do I understand and appreciate the gift of my sexuality as a means of expressing my love and God’s love and must be saved for the Sacrament of Marriage?

12. Have I dishonored my body by fornication, adultery, impurity or unworthy conversation or thoughts leading to impure actions?

13. Have I encouraged others to sin by my failure to maintain good moral standards?

14. Have I intimately touched the body of another or embraced another impurely?

15. Have I committed masturbation or otherwise sinned impurely with myself?

16. Have I failed to dress modestly?

17. Have I done anything to provoke impure thoughts in others?

18. Have I read indecent literature or looked at indecent pictures?

19. Have I watched sexually suggestive films or programs?

20. Have I used indecent language or told indecent stories or willingly listened to such stories?

21. Have I boasted of my sins?

22. Have I sinned against chastity in any other way?

23. Do I respect the commitments of others and help them remain faithful to their promises?

24. Do I treat marriage casually in my conversations and attitudes? Have I said or done anything which made a mockery of another’s sacred promises?

 

SEVENTH & TENTH COMMANDMENTS

“You shall not steal.” (Ex 20:15) “You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.” (Ex 20:17)

1.   Did I steal, cheat, help or encourage others to steal or keep stolen goods? Have I made restitution for the stolen goods?

2.   Did I fulfill my contracts and pay my bills or have I given or accepted bribes, rashly gambled or deprived my family of the necessities of life?

3.   Did I waste time at work, school or at home?

4.   Did I envy other people’s families or possessions?

5.   Did I make getting and using material possessions the purpose of my life?

6.   Have I damaged anyone’s property through my own fault?

7.   Have I cheated or defrauded others?

8.   Have I refused or neglected to pay any just debts?

9.   Have I neglected my duties or been slothful in my work at school?

10. Have I refused or neglected to help anyone in urgent need?

11. Do I respect the property of other people? Have I stolen, damaged or vandalized the property of others?

12. Have I cheated at work or in school? Have I encouraged others to sin by pressuring them into helping me cheat?

13. Am I honest and hardworking in school and at work?

14. Am I faithful to my promises? Can I be trusted?

15. Am I satisfied with what God has given me, or am I jealous of those who seem to have more?

16. Do I try to prove I am better than others by bragging or buying more things?

17. Do I appreciate my own good qualities, or do I constantly compare myself with others and become resentful or bitter?

18. Do I cope well with the problems that confront me and maintain my Christian hope in spite of hard times and difficulties?

19. Do I truly “seek first the Kingdom of God” in my life and place my trust in Him?

20. Do I reflect the peace, hope and joy of a people redeemed and made holy by the Blood of Christ?

21. Do I trust that God will care for all of my material and spiritual needs?

  

EIGHTH COMMANDMENT

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” (Ex 20:16).

1.   Did I lie about something because I didn't want to get caught?

2.   Did I wrongfully blame another for what I did or remain silent when someone was blamed for something I did?

3.   Did I deliberately deceive others, or injure others by lies?

4.   Did I commit perjury, that is, lie while under oath in court?

5.   Did I gossip or reveal others’ faults or sins?

6.   Have I lied to stay out of trouble or to avoid a difficult situation?

7.   Have I damaged the reputation of another person by exaggeration or making up stories about them?

8.   Can I be trusted with a secret?

9.   Do I stand up for those unjustly accused, or am I merely a channel through which rumors pass, whether or not they are true?

10. Did I fail to keep secret what should have been kept confidential?

11. Have I quarreled with any one?

12. Have I cursed anyone or otherwise wished evil on him?

13. Have I taken pleasure in anyone’s misfortune?

14. Is there anyone to whom I refuse to speak or be reconciled?

15. Have I lied about anyone (calumny)?

16. Have I rash judged anyone of a serious sin?

17. Have I spread scandal about another?

18. Have I willingly listened to scandal about my classmates or others?

19. Have I been jealous or envious of anyone?

20. Am I critical, negative, or uncharitable in my thoughts of others?

OTHER SINS

1.   Have I knowingly caused others to sin?

2.   Have I cooperated in the sins of others?

3.   Have I sinned by gluttony?

4.   Have I become intoxicated?

5.   Have I used narcotics?

6.   Have I been motivated by greed?

7.   Have I indulged in boasting or vanity?

8.   Have I received Holy Communion or another sacrament in the state of mortal sin?

9.   Did I fail to contribute to the support of the Church?

10. Did I intentionally eat meat on the Fridays of Lent or Ash Wednesday?

11. Did I fail to receive Holy Communion during Eastertime?

12. Did I go to Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin? Without fasting (water and medicine permitted) for one hour from food and drink?

13. Did I make a bad confession?

14. Is there any other sin I need to confess?

Prayer for a Good Confession

O my God, by my serious sins I have re-crucified your divine Son and have deserved your everlasting wrath in the fires of hell. Even more, I have been most ungrateful by my sins against you, my Heavenly Father, who have created me out of your love, redeemed me by your Son, and sanctified me in the sacraments by your Holy Spirit. But you have spared me to make this confession. Receive me back as your prodigal child and grant me the courage to confess myself well, that I may begin over again to love you with my whole heart and soul, from now on keeping your Commandments and suffering patiently whatever earthly punishment for my sins may remain. I hope by your goodness and power to obtain everlasting life in paradise. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

 

 

Our Lady’s Tears

(Too many souls are going to hell)

by Anonymous

For two thousand years the Blessed Virgin has devoted herself with diligence to appear on earth. Indeed, She has appeared in many parts of the world. For what reason? To cooperate in saving souls, which is why Jesus came on earth and gave His life; He gave His life for our salvation.

Therefore, the only thing that interests her is our eternal salvation. All the miracles, healings, favors, etc., are only an enticement for our conversion. Our conversion is her only concern.

What does it mean to be converted?

To be converted means to change my life. If I am an atheist and unable to see that all that surrounds me is from God, then I must open my eyes and my mind and accept, without reservations, all that God asks of me. Careful observance of God’s law in every detail of my own life; this is true conversion, metanoia.

To be converted means that if I am a blasphemer and have used my mouth and intelligence to offend God, from now on I must stop cursing and offending God. I must go to confession and ask for God’s forgiveness since every act of disrespect towards God, if done with full awareness, can bring me to hell.

To be converted means that if up to now I have shown little or no regard for God and His law I must immediately change my ways and put God first in my life above everything else.

To be converted means that if I have treated Sunday as just a regular working day ignoring what belongs to God: Mass, prayer, family time, day of rest, from now on I will observe the third Commandment: Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day. Remembering that the non-observance of this Commandment, besides offending God, can bring me to hell for all eternity.

To be converted means that if up to now I have not treated my parents as the fourth Commandment requires from now on I must have concern for them as I have for my own life. Remembering that one day my children will deal with me likewise and furthermore, remembering that by honoring my parents I can save my soul.

To be converted means that if I held a wrong view of life from now on I must denounce abortion, euthanasia, suicide, wars, and all that depreciates life since only God is the sole owner of all life. Even if governments allow such deviations I am called to oppose them at the risk of being punished, keeping in mind that obedience to God is first and foremost.

To be converted means that if I have used sex as an object for self pleasure from now on I must consider sex as a sacred gift which God has given me for magnificent purposes: the continuation of human life within the binding Sacrament of Marriage. Any tampering with sex not in line with God’s purposes is a sin that can bring me to hell. Masturbation, the birth control pill, infidelity in marriage, all artificial birth control methods, homosexuality, premarital sex, and all sexual perversions are deviations from God’s order which can bring me to hell. Remembering that Christ in the Gospel is quite unsparing on this point: “anyone who looks at a woman to possess her is guilty of committing adultery with her in his heart.”

To be converted means falling in love with truth. To regard truth with awe and devotion because it comes from God and only He is absolute Truth. I am called to denounce all lies and errors since these offend God and neighbor by destroying Truth. They say that the liar loses fifty per cent of her value and goes through life working at fifty per cent of her worth and, therefore, her works are worth half the normal value. So, then, never lie, not even in small ways since small lies give way to big lies.

To be converted means never to steal, not even in small ways. The thief is a liar and his life will be a continual lie. Realize, that at the end of life the thief will have to leave everything behind and may end up in the fires of hell for all that he has stolen.

To be converted means not to desire another’s spouse or another’s goods. This is an easy sin to fall into since our mind wanders into these areas whether we are working or resting, whether we are up or lying in bed, whether we are sitting or standing. Mere consent alone to these thoughts is a sin even though nothing actually materializes.

In short, to be converted means to follow God’s will in our lives, to love God with our whole heart and soul: on this depends our salvation.

Since the world began this is the saddest news ever received: all the floods, wars of all times, earthquakes, famines, genocides, are things that pass in comparison to hell that never passes away.

Conclusion: let us think about the seriousness of these matters. Let us change our way of living and place ourselves in Our Lady’s hands with the hope that she will help us to see the Truth and not to go to hell. Remember that this is the most important thing in our life: heaven or hell.