Examination Of Conscience Using The Beatitudes
Adapted from Examination of Conscience found in the Divine Liturgy Anthology produced by the Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky Institute of Eastern Christian Studies. Additions made by Fr. Michael Winn of royaldoors.net.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- Have l truly recognized my complete dependence on God?
- Have I been proud, arrogant and self-righteous?
- Have I been selfish, greedy, possessive and self-seeking?
- Have I sought after status, recognition, power, material possessions and wealth?
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
- Have l endured difficulties and afflictions with faith and patience?
- Do I have compassion for the poor, the hungry, and addicted the sick the lonely and the sinful of the world?
- Have I truly been sorrowful for my sins and faults?
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
- Am I gentle with others, or am I harsh in my behavior?
- Do I seek to dominate others at home, school, work, office, church and elsewhere?
- Have l lost my temper?
- Have I nursed hatred in my heart or the desire for revenge?
- Have I been impatient, resentful, bitter, unforgiving or insulting and abusive to others?
- Have l loved my enemies?
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall he called children of God.
I Am An Elderly Person And I Remember Having To Fulfill The Easter Duty Does That Still Apply
Yes, the Easter duty is still applicable, although with slight adjustments. The Fourth Lateran Council had mandated, Every faithful of either sex who has reached the age of discretion should at least once a year faithfully confess all his sins in secret to his own priest. He should strive as far as possible to fulfill the penance imposed on him, and with reverence receive at least during Easter time the sacrament of the Eucharist. For good reason, this mandate became simply known as the Easter duty.
In 1983, the Code of Canon Law slightly adjusted the stipulations: After having attained the age of discretion, each of the faithful is bound by an obligation faithfully to confess serious sins at least once a year . Moreover, the code also asserted, It is to be recommended to the Christian faithful that venial sins also be confessed .
For this reason, the Catechism of the Catholic Church lists five precepts that are obligatory for the faithful. The second precept ensures preparation for the Eucharist by the reception of the sacrament of reconciliation, which continues b`aptisms work of conversion and forgiveness .
Therefore, one could say, Yes, there is still the Easter duty, while recognizing that ones confession and reception of sacramental absolution for serious sins , and reception of holy Communion may occur any time during the year.
Third Precept Of The Church
You shall humbly receive your Creator in Holy Communion at least during the Easter season.
Have I…
- Fulfilled my Easter duty to receive Holy Communion at least once between the First Sunday of Lent and Trinity Sunday?
- Received Holy Communion while in the state of mortal sin?
- Fasted an hour before receiving Holy Communion?
- Received Holy Communion more than twice in one day?
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Act Of Contrition Illuminative And Unitive
Most Holy and Blessed Trinity, I love You above all else and I am sorry with all my heart for having offended You. I detest all my sins and imperfections because they offend You or hinder my love of You, my God, Who are all good and deserving of all my love. To make up for my sins and shortcomings, I offer my life, all I do and all I suffer. I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance, to amend my life, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin, attachment, and disorder, and to seek with all my heart, by Your grace, to walk and live in the Way of perfection. Amen.
Q: How Much Detail Do I Have To Go Into About My Sins
A: We should not be satisfied with the bare enumeration of our mortal sins, but should mention such circumstances as considerably aggravate or extenuate their malice.
Some circumstances are so serious as of themselves to constitute mortal guilt . . .
Thus . . . if he has had sinful relations with a woman, he must state whether the female was unmarried or married, a relative, or a person consecrated to God by vow. These circumstances change the nature of the sins so that the first kind of unlawful intercourse is called by theologians simple fornication, the second adultery, the third incest, and the fourth sacrilege . . .
Other relevant circumstances include:
- how many times youve committed the sin
- what your vocation in life is
- the state of sin you were in when committing the sin
- the place where you committed the sin
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What Is The Sacrament Of Penance
Those of us whove sinned after the initial soul-cleansing of Baptism must return to the Church through the Sacrament of Penance according to the Council of Trent:
For those who fall into sin after Baptism the Sacrament of Penance is as necessary to salvation as is Baptism for those who have not been already baptised .
Confessing our sins to a successor of the Apostles is the way Jesus ordained for us to receive is overflowing mercy:
He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
But if thy brother shall offend against thee, go, and rebuke him between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou shalt gain thy brother.
And if he will not hear thee, take with thee one or two more: that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may stand. And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.
Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth, shall be loosed also in heaven.
Matthew 18:15-18
You Shall Not Commit Adultery And You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbors Wife
55. Did I commit impure acts with another – fornication or adultery ?
56. Did I commit impure acts by myself ?
57. Do I engage in homosexual acts?
58. Have I refused my spouse the marriage right without good reason?
59. Am I dating someone who is civilly divorced but still bound by a valid marriage?
60. Did I marry or advise anyone to marry outside the Catholic Church?
61. Have I willfully entertained impure thoughts or desires?
62. Did I respect all members of the opposite sex, or have I objectified them?
63. Have I read, listened to, viewed, or spoken of impure things?
64. Have I worn revealing or immodest clothing?
65. Have I succumbed occasions of impurity?
How Does A Valid Confession Go
Theres a simple process to receiving absolution through the Sacrament of Penance:
1. God will put it upon our hearts to return to Him.
True contrition is one of the required parts of penance. To be contritely sorrowful doesnt mean you must be actively weeping or feeling super emotional about your sins. It means you need to be humbly and genuinely sorry for offending Our Lord.A powerful way that I tap into sorrowful contrition is acknowledging the fact that the sins I have committed drove the nails into Jesuss wrists and feet. My actions pained Our Lord and cut me off from Him and eternal life.contrition is an act of the will, and, as St. Augustine observes, grief is not penance but the accompaniment of penance .
2. Find a parish with a faithful priest
and check their website for times when the Sacrament of Penance is offered . Oftentimes, confession is held on Saturday afternoons or even before / after Sunday Mass.
3. Youll want to spend some time thoroughly examining your conscience .
4. The sinner, then, who repents, casts himself humbly and sorrowfully at the feet of the priest . . .
In the priest, who is his legitimate judge, he venerates the person and the power of Christ our Lord for in the administration of the Sacrament of Penance, as in that of the other Sacraments, the priest holds the place of Christ.
5. Next the penitent enumerates his sins, acknowledging, at the same time, that he deserves the greatest and severest chastisements.
Honor Your Father And Your Mother
29. Have I disobeyed, insulted, or shown disrespect to my parents or legitimate superiors?
30. Did I neglect my duties to my husband, wife, children or parents?
31. Did I neglect to give a good religious example to my family?
32. Am I disrespectful, impolite, or discourteous toward my family?
33. Have I failed to meet my children’s physical, spiritual, emotional, and educational needs?
34. Have I disobeyed the lawful demands of my superiors, teachers, or employer?
35. Did I fail to actively take an interest in the religious education and formation of my children?
36. Did I cause anyone to leave the Catholic Church?
37. Did I cause tension and fights in my family?
38. Did I care for my aged and infirm relatives?
Q: What Happens If I Conceal A Sin On Purpose
A: . . .if the penitent confesses only some of his sins and wilfully neglects to accuse himself of others which should be confessed, he not only does not profit by his confession, but involves himself in new guilt.
. . . the penitent must repeat his confession, not omitting to accuse himself of having, under the semblance of confession, profaned the sanctity of the Sacrament.
And heres the Q& A all of my scrupulous homies need to hear:
Examination Of Conscience Based On The Ignatian Examen
“How do things stand between me and God? Where am I coming from, and where is my life in Christ growing?” I can answer such questions satisfactorily only if I take the time to reflect. Here is a way of examining this deep and dynamic personal relationship. This examination can be used on a regular basis, as part of a daily examen, or in preparation for celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The emphasis of the Examen is not so much on “What am I doing wrong?” but on “How am I growing in my relationship to the God who loves and cherishes me?” It tries to identify the underlying attitudes, fears, anxieties which prevent us from living more fully in faith, hope and love.Think about the good things that have come into your life.Think about what your actions, omissions, attitudes, thoughts and desiresTake what you have learned to the Sacrament of ReconciliationFinally, determine to be more grateful, more trusting, more confident
Heres My Examination Of Conscience Process:
Examination Of Conscience For Adults
I believe in a loving Savior Who forgives my sins and Who gives me the grace to become a saint. Jesus Christ, through the ministry of His priests, does both in the Sacrament of Penance.
As the Father hath sent Me, I also send you Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them and whose sinsyou shall retain, they are retained.
If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow.
I am not come to call the just, but sinners.
Men have received from God a power not granted to angels or archangels. Never was it said to the heavenly spirits, Whatsoever you shall bind and unbind on earth shall be bound and unbound in heaven. The princes of this world can only bind and unbind the body. The power of the priest extends further it reaches the soul, and it is exercised not only in baptizing, but still more in pardoning sins. Let us not blush, then, to confess our faults. He who blushes to discover his sins to a man, and who will not confess, shall be covered with shame on the Day of Judgment in the presence of the whole universe.
Prayer before Confession: O Lord, grant me light to see myself as Thou dost see me, and the grace to be truly and effectively sorry for my sins. O Mary, help me to make a good confession.
Necessary conditions for a sin to be mortal:
Preliminary Considerations:
Catholic Examination Of Conscience For Seniors
An Examination of Conscience for Older Kids, Teens, and Parents This examination of conscience is taken from The Catholic Family Book of Prayers . This brief examination of conscience, loosely based on the Ten Commandments, may be used in preparation for receiving the sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation , or as a kind of daily examen.
Why Do Christians Need To Confess To A Priest
The Sacrament of Penance is the way Jesus gave us to quell our uneasiness about our own ability to perfectly, with a truly contrite heart, ask for forgiveness. This paragraph from the Catechism of the Council of Trent is super powerful for anyone suffering from their scrupulous thoughts like me:
. . .our Lord instituted the Sacrament of Penance, by means of which we are assured that our sins are pardoned by the absolution of the priest and also to tranquilize our conscience by means of the trust we rightly repose in the virtue of the Sacraments.
The words of the priest sacramentally and lawfully absolving us from our sins are to be accepted in the same sense as the words of Christ our Lord when He said to the paralytic: Son, be of good heart: thy sins are forgiven thee .
WHOOP! As with all Sacraments, there is matter and a form to confession. Unlike the other Sacraments that have a physical sign as matter , the matter of the Sacrament of Penance are the acts of the penitent, namely, contrition, confession, and satisfaction .
The form of this sacrament is a priest stating I absolve thee.
. . .since the Sacraments signify what they effect, the words, I absolve thee, signify that remission of sin is effected by the administration of this Sacrament.
I Am The Lord Your God You Shall Have No Other Gods Besides Me
1. Have I doubted or denied Gods existence?
2. Have I been ungrateful to God for His benefits?
3. Am I open to Gods will?
4. Do I rely solely on myself and not on God?
5. Have I abandoned the Catholic Faith?
6. Have I joined a non-Catholic church or anti-Catholic group?
7. Have I refused to believe any truths of the Faith or any teachings of the Church?
8. Did I fail to profess or defend the Catholic Faith?
9. Have I failed to go to confession at least once a year?
10. Have I been faithful to my daily prayers?
11. Have I practiced any superstitions?
12. Am I unwilling to turn away from everything that is opposed to God’s work in my soul?
Examine Your Conscience Like A Grown
The good old Baltimore Catechism taught us that the steps to confession are: Find out my sins be sorry for my sins make up my mind not to sin again tell my sins to the priest do the penance the priest gives me.
Thats still the right order, even for adults. But find out my sins means to examine ones conscience. The key here, Ive found, is to habitually examine ones conscience, not just right before confession. Ideally, we should do an examination of conscience every night before bed. Ask for the Holy Spirit to help you as you go back over your day, first reviewing all the ways you said yes to God and thanking him, then reviewing all the ways you said no to God and asking forgiveness. Mother Teresa said it simply:
Ask at night before you go to bed, What did I do to Jesus today? What did I do for Jesus today? What did I do with Jesus today?
Using a cheat sheet on a regular basis can deepen and improve your nightly review as well as your examination immediately before confession. There are so many to choose from! Find what works best for you in your state in life and the issues youre struggling with.
Common suggestions are the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes, and the Precepts of the Church, but you can also use a prayer like the Litany of Humility or the beautiful prayer Fr. Mark-Mary offers in his video, Bringing the Same Sins to Confession? Try This.