AN EXAMINIATION OF CONSCIENCE

AN EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE
in Light of the Ten Commandments

The First Commandment

I the Lord, am you God. You shall not have other gods before Me.

• Have I been slow or reluctant to perform my duties toward God?
• Have I neglected to pray?
• As a Christian, have I neglected to offer my entire self each day in prayer to the Father, Through the Son, in union with the Holy Spirit?
• Have I neglected to seek the frequent help of Our Lady, St.Joseph,and the other saints in order that I may love God more completely?
• Have I prepared myself properly for Holy Communion?
• Have I neglected to confess a mortal sin in a previous confession to a priest, when I was aware of having committed one?
• Have I practiced superstition?
• Have I been engaged in occult practices such as consulting, horoscopes, tarot cards or ouijia boards?
• Have I participated in seances, or in satanic or demonic services and/or prayers?
• Have I refused to accept any teaching(s) of the Church?
• Have I put my soul in danger by reading, viewing, or listening to material that attacks the teachings of the Catholic Church in matters of faith or morals?
• Do I belong to any anti-Catholic organizations?
• Have I attended the meetings or gatherings of any anti-Catholic organizations?
• Have I profaned (desecrated) or spoken sinfully against a sacred person, place or thing?

The Second Commandment

You Shall not take the Name of the Lord, your God, in vain.

• Have I tried hard to keep the promises and resolutions which I have made to God?
• Have I taken the Holy Name of God in vain?
• Have I spoken His Name in anger?
• Have I been a baptismal or confirmation sponsor in a non-Catholic ceremony?
• Have I broken any promises (oaths) in which I invoked God's Name?

The Third Commandment

Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day (Sunday).

• Have I failed to attend Mass on Sundays or holy days of obliga tion without just cause (For example, serious illness or impassible roads or pathways)?
• Have I arrived at Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of obligation after the Liturgy of the Word without just cause?
• Have I deliberately failed to pay attention at Mass?
• Have I worn improper attire to Mass, or have I otherwise distracted others from paying attention at Mass?
• Am I generous in helping the Church in her necessities as much as I can?
• Do I fast and practice abstinence on the days or at times which are appointed by the Church?
• Have I fulfilled my yearly Easter duty of receiving Holy Com munion (and Confession, if necessary)?
• Have I performed (or required others to perform) servile or manual labor on Sundays (not including acts of mercy such as milking cows and feeding livestock)?

The Fourth Commandment

Honor your Father and You Mother

(For Parents)
• Have I set a bad example for my children?
• When I do correct my children's faults, is it done with charity?
• Have I made sure that my children make their First Confession and First Communion at about the age of seven?
• Have I failed to take my children to Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation; or neglected to provide them with an orthodox Catholic education; or neglected to teach them how to pray; or failed to lead them to the sacraments?
• Have I failed to supervise my children with respect to the friends they choose and the entertainment they pursue?
• Do I monitor my children in their choice of reading material, in the shows they watch on television, or in the movies they attend?
• Have I separated from or divorced my spouse civilly without consultation of a priest who follows the mind of the Church?
• Do I seek God's help every day to fulfill my duties as a parent?

(For Children)
• Have I disobeyed my parents, or been discrespectful to them in other ways?
• Have I failed to express my love for my parents?
• Have I failed to help my parents when they were unable to meet their basic needs?
• Do I nurse angry feelings or show resentment when I am corrected by my parents?
• Have I been moody, sour, or bad-tempered towards other people?
• Do I desire to leave my parents' home when I am too young or for other improper reasons?
• Am I financial burden to my parents when I can take care of my own financial needs and am old enough to live away from home?
• Do I faithfully perform, without complaining, the household and outdoor chores my parents give me to do?
• Do I fight and/or quarrel with my brothers and sisters?
• Do I pray every day for the help I need to be a holy child and brother or sister?

The Fifth Commandment

You shall not kill.

• Have I lost my temper or become unjustly angry at others?
• Have I murdered or otherwise unjustly injured (as matter how slight) anyone?
• Have I been reckless driver?
• Have I tempted others to sin by my bad example, immodest dress, or sinful conversation?

• Have I encouraged others to read or watch sinful materials or programs or to otherwise do sinful things?
• Have I tried to make up for, or repair for, any scandal I may have given others?
• Have I been jealous of others? Have I been envious of the possessions of others?
• How many people have I led into sin? What type of sins were they?
• Have I tried to commit suicide?
• Have I failed to take proper care of my health?
• Have I mutilated myself or someone else?
• Have I been drunk or intoxicated as alcohol or other sub stances?
• Have I intentionally overindulged in food or drink (gluttony)?
• Have I participated in gang flights or other illegal gang activities?
• Have I picked fights with others?
• Have I been a bully?
• Have I consented to a sterilization or encouraged others to do so, or actively taken part is someone else's sterilization?
• Have I practiced contraception or couraged others to do so?
• Have I recommended, consented to, advised, or actively taken part in an abortion? Am I aware of the Church's teaching that abortion is a mortal sin.
• Have I harmed anyone by my speech or actions?
• Have I desired to take revenge of anyone who offended me?
• Have I hated or nursed bad feelings toward any person?
• Have I sought pardon of those whom I have offended?
• Have I maliciously teased or insulted others?

The Sixth and Ninth Commandments

You shall not commit adultery/You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

• Have I entertained impure thoughts? Have I deliberately recalled impure thoughts or images?
• Have I had sexual relations with a member of the opposite sex, when neither of us was married (fornication)?
• Have I had sexual relations with any person who is not my spouse (adultery)?
• Although I may never have fully carried them out, have I consented to impure desires?
• Were any circumstances present to make the sin of impurity even more serious, for example, having impure relations with someone who is consecrated to God by vows (sacrilege), or who is married to someone other than myself (adultery), or who is a member of my family (other than my spouse if I am married (incest)?
• Have I engaged in impure conversations? Did I begin them?
• Have I sought to have a good time by engaging in entertainment which placed me in proximate (close) occasions of sin, such as sensual dances; sexually suggestive movies, plays, shows, and reading material; evil company, houses of prostitution; and massage parlors?
• Am I aware of the fact that I might already be sinning by simply placing myself in a proximate occasion of sin? Such circum stances can include sharing of a room with a member of the opposite sex, being alone with a member of the opposite sex, or deliberately taking such a person to a dark place?
• Have I neglected to dress modestly or to otherwise safeguard purity?
• Have I failed to investigate beforehand the sinful potentials of watching a particular show or reading a particular book or magazine?
• Have I willfully looked at immodest pictures?
• Have I displayed immodest looks or glances at myself or others?
• Did I do any of the above things, knowing that they involved gravelly sinful matter?
• Have I led others to commit the sins of immodesty or impurity?
Specifically speaking, what were they?
• Have I committed impure acts by myself (masturbation)?
• Did I do so deliberately and freely, knowing that serious matter was involved? Did I know that masturbation freely and will fully performed is a mortal sin?
• Have I committed impure acts with someone else wither of the opposite or the same sex (homosexual acts)? How many times did I do so?
• Were these any circumstances (such as acts with members of my family other than my spouse, or with person consecrated to God by vows or promises which could have mad the sin especially serious?
• Did I have evil or immoral friendships? Have I taken steps to break these friendships?
• Have I been engaged in immodest conduct or conversation with someone I am seriously thinking of marrying?
• Have I failed to protect this person from sinning?
• Have I tended to use this person as a object for my pleasure, rather than a person created in God's image or likeness whom God has place in my life to respect and reverence?
• Have I been involved in acts which arouse lustful desires (such as necking, petting, French kissing, and prolonged embraces)?
• Have I failed to pray daily for the gift of purity, seeking especially the help of the Blessed Virgin Mary?

(For Married People)
• Have I made improper use of marriage?
• Have I denied my spouse of her/his martial right?
• Have I engaged in adulterous acts of desires?
• Do I practice natural means of conception control without grave reasons for doing so?
• Have I used or consented to the use of artificial contraceptives?
• Have I suggested that others do so? (on sterilization, abortion, etc., refer to the Fifth Commandment.)

The Seventh and Tenth Commandments

You shall not steal/You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.

• Have I stolen anything? What was it worth?
• Have I returned the stolen item, or do I intend to return it?
• Have I damaged or been responsible for the damage of another person's property? What would be the cost of repairing or replacing it?
• Have I caused harm to anyone in business dealing by means of fraud, deception, or coercion?
• Have I been responsible with the money or other means of wealth which God entrusted to me?
• Have I spent beyond my means?
• Have I deprived others of their needs by spending too little?
• Have I supported the Church and charitable organizations according to my means?
• Have I been envious of the wealth or material goods of another person?
• Have I honored my debts?
• Have I taken stolen property or refused to seek the owner of property that I have found?
• Have I seriously entertained temptations to steal?
• Have I been lazy with respect to my employment, household chores, work or studies?
• Have I been greedy?
• Have I placed too high a value on material goods?
• Have I failed to help those whom I know are truly needy?

The Eight Commandment

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

• Have I lied?
• Have I sought to make up for the damage caused by my lies?
• Have I accused others of wrongdoing without sufficient evidence?
• Have I been guilty of detraction (that is, speaking about the faults of others without having a good reason for doing so?
• Have I been guilty of clumny (that is, to falsely accuse someone of sinful conduct?
• Have I gossiped about another person?
• Have I too hastily judged someone of improper conduct?
• Have I been excessively critical, negative, or uncharitable in my speech?
• Have I failed to honor the confidences or secrets entrusted to me by another? Have I revealed them to someone else without permission or without due or serious cause?
• Have I failed to defend the good name or honor of others?

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