Examination of Conscience
1.
I am the Lord your God. You shall not have strange gods
before me.
-Do I give God time every day in prayer?
-Do I seek to love Him with my whole heart?
-Have I been involved with superstitious practices or
have I been involved with the occult?
-Do I seek to surrender myself to God's word as taught
by the Church?
-Have I ever received communion in the state of mortal
sin?
-Have I ever deliberately told a lie in Confession or
have I withheld a mortal sin from the priest in Confession?
-Are there other "gods" in my life? Money, Security,
Power, People, etc.?
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in
vain.
-Have I used God's name in vain: lightly or carelessly?
-Have I been angry with God?
-Have I wished evil upon any other person?
-Have I insulted a sacred person or abused a sacred object?
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.
-Have I deliberately missed Mass on Sundays or Holy Days
of Obligation?
-Have I tried to observe Sunday as a family day and a
day of rest?
-Do I do needless work on Sunday?
4. Honor your father and your mother.
-Do I honor and obey my parents?
-Have I neglected my duties to my spouse and children?
-Have I given my family good religious example?
-Do I try to bring peace into my home life?
-Do I care for my aged and infirm relatives?
5. You shall not kill.
-Have I had an abortion or encouraged or helped anyone
to have an abortion?
-Have I physically harmed anyone?
-Have I abused alcohol or drugs?
-Did I give scandal to anyone, thereby leading him or
her into sin?
-Have I been angry or resentful?
-Have I harbored hatred in my heart?
-Have I mutilated myself through any form of sterilization?
-Have I encouraged or condoned sterilization?
-Have I engaged, in any way, in sins against human life
such as artificial insemination or in vitro fertilization?
-Have I participated in or approved of euthanasia?
6. You shall not commit adultery.
-Have I been faithful to my marriage vows in thought and
action?
-Have I engaged in any sexual activity outside of marriage?
-Have I used any method of contraception or artificial
birth control in my marriage?
-Has each sexual act in my marriage been open to the transmission
of new life?
-Have I been guilty of masturbation?
-Do I seek to control my thoughts and imaginations?
-Have I respected all members of the opposite sex, or
have I thought of other people as mere objects?
-Have I been guilty of any homosexual activity?
-Do I seek to be chaste in my thoughts, words, actions?
-Am I careful to dress modestly?
7. You shall not steal.
-Have I stolen what is not mine?
-Have I returned or made restitution for what I have stolen?
-Do I waste time at work, school, and home?
-Do I gamble excessively, thereby denying my family of
their needs?
-Do I pay my debts promptly?
-Do I seek to share what I have with the poor?
-Have I cheated anyone out of what is justly theirs, for
example creditors, insurance companies, big corporations?
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
-Have I lied? Have I gossiped?
-Do I speak badly of others behind their back?
-Am I sincere in my dealings with others?
-Am I critical, negative or uncharitable in my thoughts
of others?
-Do I keep secret what should be kept confidential?
-Have I injured the reputation of others by slanders?
9. You shall not desire your neighbor's wife.
-Have I consented to impure thoughts?
-Have I caused them by impure reading, movies, television,
conversation or curiosity?
-Do I pray at once to banish impure thoughts and temptations?
-Have I behaved in an inappropriate way with members of
the opposite sex: flirting, being superficial, etc.?
10. You shall not desire your neighbor's goods.
-Am I jealous of what other people have?
-Do I envy the families or possessions of others?
-Am I greedy or selfish?
-Are material possessions the purpose of my life?
A
Guide to Confession
How
to go to Confession
1.
You always have the option to go to confession anonymously,
that is, behind a screen or face to face, if you so
desire.
2. After the priest greets you in the name of Christ,
make the sign of the cross. He may choose to recite
a reading from Scripture, after which you say: "Bless
me Father for I have sinned. It has been (state how
long) since my last confession. These are my sins."
3. Tell your sins simply and honestly to the priest.
You might even want to discuss the circumstances and
the root causes of your sins and asks the priest for
advice or direction.
4. Listen to the advice the priest gives you and accept
the penance from him. Then make an Act of Contrition
for your sins.
5. The priest will then dismiss you with the words of
praise: "Give thanks to the Lord for He is good.
You respond: "For His mercy endures forever."
The priest will then conclude with: "The Lord has
freed you from your sins. Go in peace." And you
respond by saying: "Thanks be to God."
6. Spend some time with Our Lord thanking and praising
Him for the gift of His mercy. Try to perform your penance
as soon as possible.
PRAYER
BEFORE CONFESSION
O most merciful God! Prostrate at your feet, I implore
your forgiveness. I sincerely desire to leave all my
evil ways and to confess my sins with all sincerity
to you and to your priest. I am a sinner, have mercy
on me, O Lord. Give me a lively faith and a firm hope
in the Passion of my Redeemer. Give me, for your mercy's
sake a sorrow for having offended so good a God.
Mary, my mother, refuge of sinners, prays for me that
I may make a good confession. Amen.
An
Act of Contrition
Oh my God,
I am sorry for my sins with all my heart.
In choosing to do wrong
And failing to do good,
I have sinned against you
whom I should love above all things.
I firmly intend, with your help,
to do penance,
to sin no more,
and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
Our Savior Jesus Christ
suffered and died for us.
In His name, my God, have mercy. Amen.
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