Examination of conscience according to the duties towards God, towards neighbour, and towards myself
I. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE ACCORDING TO THE DUTIES TOWARDS GOD
“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbour as yourself” (Lk 10:27)
1. Faith and adherence to the Church
The most serious failings concern faith itself – the foundation of the entire Christian journey.
1. Have I based my acceptance of God merely on impressions, hearsay, or superficial reading, without truly and seriously seeking the truth?
2. Have I doubted the fundamental truths: faith in God, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to save us, in the Holy Spirit, and in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity?
3. Have I refused to accept God’s judgement, preferring my own?
4. Have I firmly adhered to all that the Church teaches?
5. Have I been afraid to declare myself a Christian, either in public or in private life?
6. Have I been ashamed to show my faith?
7. Have I avoided programmes, reading materials, or environments that could have endangered my faith?
8. Am I truly concerned with educating myself in the faith, reading the Word of God, and participating in catechesis?
2. Idols in my life
Immediately after faith comes the risk of putting something or someone in God’s place.
9. Have I placed wealth or material goods above God, worrying about them excessively?
10. Have I practised superstition, magic, spiritualism, divination, or other forms of occultism?
11. Have I placed my trust in vain things rather than in God?
12. Are there no “idols” in my life – family, career, health, fame, honour, my future – to which I give more space than to God?
13. Have I opposed divine inspirations?
14. Have I rebelled against God’s plans, demanding that He do my will?
3. Prayer and dialogue with God
Prayer is the breath of the soul: its absence or superficiality weakens everything else.
15. Have I prayed every morning and every evening?
16. Is my prayer a true dialogue with God – with mind and heart – or just a mechanical and empty ritual?
17. In prayer, do I also know how to give thanks, or do I limit myself to asking?
18. Have I offered my daily struggles, joys, and sufferings to God?
19. Do I turn to God in moments of temptation?
20. Have I tried to maintain a climate of inner recollection during the day, frequently remembering God’s presence?
21. Have I pushed away distractions during prayer?
22. Have I made an examination of conscience – both particular and general – every day?
23. Have I prayed the Rosary daily?
24. Have I kept up with good spiritual or formative reading?
4. Holy Mass, sacraments, and precepts of the Church
The sacraments are the ordinary channels of grace: neglecting them is a serious failing.
25. Have I participated in Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation with attention and devotion?
26. Have I fulfilled the precept of annual confession and Easter communion?
27. Do I go to confession regularly, with sincere repentance and the resolution to improve?
28. Do I see real progress from one confession to the next?
29. Do I receive Holy Communion often – even daily, if possible? If I do not, is it out of laziness or human respect?
30. Have I prepared myself well for Holy Communion and thanked Jesus after receiving it?
31. Do I make visits to the Blessed Sacrament?
32. Have I behaved improperly in church?
5. Respect for the name of God and for sacred things
33. Have I blasphemed or taken the name of God in vain?
34. Have I sworn falsely or improperly?
35. Have I used the name of God, Our Lady, or the Saints in an irreverent, ironic, or contemptuous way?
36. Have I shown respect towards Our Lady and the Saints?
6. Daily spiritual life
A solid spiritual journey is built on small daily fidelities.
37. Have I started the day with my thoughts turned to God – with adoration, gratitude, petition, and the offering of myself?
38. Have I offered all the day’s activities to God?
39. Do I remember God during the day, or only when I am in need?
40. Have I made God’s will the rule of my life, trying to avoid even the smallest sins?
41. Have I followed my daily spiritual plan (prayers, Bible reading, meditation)?
42. Have I dedicated time to morning meditation? What resolutions did I make? Have I kept them? Do I keep divine inspirations in my heart?
43. Do I care about the well-being of others and their spiritual growth?
44. Have I prayed for the unity of the Church?
7. Hope, trust in Providence, and conversion
45. Have I lost hope or trust in God’s Providence?
46. Have I sinned by counting on God’s mercy only to then do as I pleased?
47. Have I given in to discouragement or despair, thus making room for evil in my life?
48. Am I truly willing to place my life and my will under God’s guidance?
49. Do I make a concrete effort every day to make God’s will my own?
50. Have I lost sight of the fact that progress in holiness is the true purpose of my Christian life?
8. Love for God
The great commandment – to love God with all your heart – is the culmination and summary of everything.
51. Do I truly love God above all else – more than family, career, health, possessions?
52. Is Jesus Christ truly the Lord of my life, present in my mind and in my heart?
53. Have I shown my love for God not just in words, but with concrete choices every day?
54. Do I accept the sufferings God permits without rebelling, relating them to Jesus?
55. Do I find small daily sacrifices to offer to God out of love, first and foremost those that life offers me?
56. Is my intention in my actions upright, or do I hide motives that should not be admitted?
57. Have I learned to be grateful and to cultivate gratitude, knowing that this is the key to true Christian happiness?
II. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE ACCORDING TO THE DUTIES TOWARDS NEIGHBOUR
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (Jn 15:12)
1. Love for enemies and forgiveness of offences
The most serious failings concern hatred, revenge, and the refusal to forgive.
1. Do I harbour hatred towards anyone, or desires for revenge?
2. If I have suffered an injustice or a wrong, am I willing to reconcile and to forgive for the love of Christ?
3. Have I nurtured grudges, enmities, or prolonged quarrels?
4. Do I love my enemies in a special way; do I pray for them, forgive them, and am I willing to serve them?
5. Have I remained cold, bitter, or hostile towards those who have wronged me, instead of reacting with the meekness of the Lamb?
6. Do I need to make peace with someone and have not yet done so?
2. Respect for life and physical integrity
Any attack on life is one of the most serious failings against one’s neighbour.
7. Have I attacked someone’s life or physical integrity? Have I thought of doing so?
8. Have I advised, procured, or assisted in an abortion?
9. Have I rejected newly conceived life or extinguished the gift of life in any form?
10. Have I caused brawls, violence, or physical assaults?
3. Scandal and incitement to sin
Leading others to sin is a grave responsibility before God.
11. Have I been a cause of sin for someone through my words, actions, or example?
12. Have I advised or incited someone to do evil?
13. Have I helped someone to sin, by making it easier for them or by covering for them?
14. Have I praised or encouraged the sin of others?
15. Have I remained silent about or downplayed the sin of others when I should have intervened?
16. Have I caused scandal through a false silence, with contradictory attitudes, or with behaviour that confuses others about the Christian life?
17. Have I taught things that are wrong or not sufficiently considered, thereby leading others astray?
4. Honesty, justice, and respect for the property of others
Justice towards one’s neighbour concerns material goods, work, and contracts.
18. Have I stolen or damaged someone’s property? Have I thought of doing so?
19. Have I inordinately desired the property of others (envy of goods)?
20. Have I returned what I have taken and repaired the damage I have caused?
21. In my work, have I been just, honest, and diligent, performing my service with dedication?
22. Have I paid employees and collaborators a just wage?
23. Have I respected the contracts I have entered into and kept the promises I have made?
24. Have I fulfilled my civic duties, including paying taxes?
25. Have I unjustly used the work or resources of others for my own benefit?
26. If I hold a position of authority or an office, do I use it for the common good or for my personal gain?
27. Have I unjustly delayed decisions or reports of injustice that it was my duty to make?
28. Have I allowed myself to be corrupted with money or gifts?
5. Honour, reputation, and the use of words
Offences against honour and reputation wound deeply and are difficult to repair.
29. Have I offended someone’s honour or reputation with calumny (false things) or with detraction (true things needlessly disclosed)?
30. Have I judged someone rashly, attributing bad intentions to them without grounds?
31. Have I interpreted the actions or words of others in a bad light when a better explanation was possible?
32. Have I violated secrets that were confided to me?
33. Have I lied to or deceived someone in any way?
34. Have I used violent, offensive, or insulting words towards someone?
35. Have I mocked, scorned, or made inappropriate jokes about someone?
36. Have I fomented disagreements, discord, or grudges between people?
37. Have I spoken ill of those who are absent, without them being able to defend themselves? On the contrary, have I defended them when they were unjustly attacked?
38. Have I exaggerated or omitted important facts, altering the truth?
39. Have I culpably remained silent out of selfishness when I should have testified to someone’s innocence?
40. Have I asked for forgiveness from those I have offended or harmed?
6. Respect for every person
Every person has a dignity that does not depend on their social, economic, or cultural condition.
41. Have I despised someone for their economic, social, racial, cultural, or political condition?
42. Have I treated the poor, the weak, the elderly, the marginalised, or foreigners with condescension or harshness?
43. Have I behaved in an overbearing manner? Have I used insults or violence?
44. Have I fed the “throwaway culture”, ignoring those who are not useful to me?
45. Have I treated others as I would like to be treated myself?
46. Have I had respect and patience in listening to my neighbour?
47. Do I respect people who hold legitimate authority?
48. In my relationship with those who are subordinate to me, have I not been despotic, authoritarian, or touchy?
7. Concrete charity and help for one’s neighbour
Christian love is measured in deeds, not just in words.
49. Do I share my goods with those who have less than me, without stinginess?
50. Do I care for the poor, the sick, the weak, the elderly, and those in difficulty?
51. Am I willing to give my time to those who need it?
52. Am I so absorbed in my own interests that I ignore the problems of others?
53. Am I selfish: do I think of myself first, or am I capable of putting others first?
54. Am I in solidarity with those who suffer, participating at least with a kind word or a prayer?
55. Have I passed by someone in difficulty, ignoring them, like the priest in the parable of the Good Samaritan?
56. Have I kept for myself things that could be of use to others?
57. Have I participated in the works of apostolate, charity, and life of my parish?
58. Do I pray for the needs of the Church, for the unity of Christians, for evangelisation, and for peace in the world?
8. Family life
The family is the first place where charity is practised.
As a son/daughter:
59. Have I been obedient, respectful, and grateful towards my parents?
60. Have I helped them in their spiritual and material needs?
As a parent:
61. Have I been concerned with the Christian education of my children?
62. Have I given them good example with my life?
63. Have I guided them with loving authority, without being either absent or tyrannical?
64. Have I been concerned with providing them with the necessities for life and their development, without, however, forcing them in their important choices?
65. Have I given my children bad example with my words or actions?
66. Would I truly like my children to become as I am?
As a spouse:
67. Have I been faithful to my spouse in my heart and in my behaviour towards others?
68. Have I contributed with patience and true love to the good and serenity of the family?
69. Have I been understanding in difficult times?
70. Have I used offensive or humiliating words towards my spouse?
71. Have I behaved like a dictator in the family, imposing my will?
9. Work, professional responsibilities, and civic life
Work is also a service to society: laziness or dishonesty harms everyone.
72. Have I been lazy or negligent in my work, performing it below my capabilities?
73. Do I work conscientiously even in the most ordinary and mundane tasks?
74. Are there aspects of my work that conflict with morality which I ignore, telling myself “business is business”?
75. Are my relationships with colleagues, clients, and collaborators correct and respectful?
76. Have I harmed my employer or my clients through negligence, omission, or deceit?
77. Have I participated, as far as I am able, in the promotion of justice, morality, and the common good in the society in which I live?
78. Am I truly interested in the well-being of my community (school, parish, neighbourhood) or am I indifferent?
79. Do I consider myself a good citizen only in words, without making a concrete commitment?
80. Have I respected the environment entrusted to me?
10. Inner attitude: how I look at and think of my neighbour
The less serious, but still significant, failings concern the inner heart.
81. In my neighbour, do I see Jesus, or am I essentially indifferent to them?
82. Do I have thoughts of jealousy or envy towards someone, wishing them no good?
83. Have I rejoiced in the misfortune or failure of others?
84. Have I harboured instinctive dislikes towards someone without trying to overcome them?
85. Have I been irritable, abrupt, or cold without reason?
86. Have I tried to excuse the mistakes of others instead of judging them harshly?
87. Am I suspicious or distrustful of my neighbour without a well-founded reason?
88. Do I bear with patience the faults and weaknesses of others?
89. Do I forget myself to seek the good of my neighbour, or am I primarily concerned with the need to be loved and appreciated?
90. Have I set a good example in all circumstances?
91. Do I pray especially for people in greatest difficulty?
III. EXAMINATION OF CONSCIENCE ACCORDING TO MY DUTIES TO MYSELF
“Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48)
1. Fundamental orientation of life
The most radical question: where is my life directed?
1. Am I truly animated by the hope of eternal life, or do I behave as if everything ends at death?
2. Have I seriously reflected on the question: what would I answer God if I were to die tonight?
3. Do I take heart in the face of difficulties, remembering that this life is not the final one?
4. Do I commit to growing every day in the spiritual life through prayer, the sacraments, reading the Word of God, and mortification?
5. Do I truly strive to overcome my vices, my bad inclinations, and my most ingrained sins?
6. Am I ready to start now what I could not do at the hour of death and what I would then wish I had done?
7. Am I aware that charity is the ultimate goal of my life and that I will be judged above all on it?
8. Do I have faith in God’s mercy to the point of never despairing and abandoning myself completely to Him?
2. Purity and chastity
The body is a temple of the Holy Spirit: any impurity gravely offends it.
9. Am I truly convinced that my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and does not belong to me?
10. Have I kept my body pure and chaste according to my state in life?
11. Have I fornicated or committed impure acts?
12. Have I opposed impure thoughts, fantasies, and desires, or have I indulged and consented to them?
13. Have I distracted myself with pornography or with shows, readings, and conversations contrary to morality?
14. Have I consented to the disordered pursuit of sensual pleasure?
15. Have I incited others to sin with my indecent behaviour or through a lack of modesty?
16. Have I respected moral law in the use of marriage?
3. Pride, vanity, and presumption
Pride is the root of many other sins.
17. Am I proud? Do I consider myself better than others and despise them?
18. Am I vain or vainglorious: do I seek admiration and praise and cannot bear criticism or correction?
19. Am I presumptuous before God, as if I had no need of purification?
20. Do I love the first place? Do I not seek dominance and authority to assert myself?
21. Do I rejoice in the inferiority of others instead of valuing them?
22. Have I imposed my will on others, trampling on their freedom and their rights?
23. Do I consider myself righteous while thinking that others are worse than me?
24. Do I know how to forget myself?
4. Sincerity, hypocrisy, and conscience
Acting against one’s conscience is one of the most subtle and serious failings.
25. Am I a hypocrite? Do I feign virtue, devotion, a good sentiment, good qualities, and dispositions to win the sympathy or favours of others, deceiving them?
26. Have I acted against my conscience out of fear or human respect?
27. Am I sincere with God, with my neighbour, and with myself?
28. Have I hardened myself in sin, refusing advice, corrections, and teachings that would bring me back to the right path?
29. Have I been guilty of sins against the Holy Spirit, such as despair of salvation or presumption of God’s mercy?
30. Have I honestly confronted myself, avoiding daydreams, rationalisations, resentments, or vices?
5. Temperance and care of the body
31. Have I sinned by gluttony in food and drink, by exceeding or being immoderate?
32. Have I been intemperate with alcoholic drinks?
33. Have I used drugs?
34. Have I been excessive in smoking or in other bodily vices?
35. Do I worry excessively about physical health or material goods, to the point of neglecting the soul?
36. Am I worldly? A little bit of a believer and a little bit attached to the world, without a clear choice?
37. Have I observed the law of fasting and abstinence at the times established by the Church?
38. Have I been decent in my dress and behaviour?
6. Poverty, simplicity, and use of goods
39. Am I greedy for riches or miserly, attached to material goods in a disordered way?
40. Am I ambitious in the worldly sense: do I seek money, power, or fame as an end in themselves?
41. Have I wasted money on useless things or superfluous luxuries, to the detriment of my family or the poor?
42. Do I abuse the gifts God has given me, do I squander them or consider them my own without acknowledging their origin?
43. Am I faithful to the spirit of poverty and simplicity required by the Gospel, or am I distracted by attachment to my possessions?
44. Is my financial situation in order? Do I contribute to the poor and to the Church according to my means?
7. Use of time, strengths, and received gifts
45. Am I lazy and inert, wasting time instead of using it well?
46. Do I waste time on activities that do not edify (television, internet, social media, etc.) beyond what is necessary?
47. Have I made good use of my time, my strengths, and the talents God has given me to grow in the spiritual life and to serve?
48. Have I been negligent in my daily duties because I did not like them or they were inconvenient?
49. Have I followed the spiritual and life plan I set for myself?
50. Do I get up and gone to bed at the set time, living with order and discipline?
51. Do I keep the places where I live and work tidy and clean?
52. Am I spiritually lazy: do I truly seek to advance or am I content to just get by?
8. Sufferings, trials of life, and mortification
The acceptance of trials is a sign of Christian maturity.
53. Have I rebelled against the sufferings and adversities permitted by God, instead of accepting them with faith?
54. Have I grumbled or blamed others and circumstances, instead of seeing in the trial an opportunity for purification?
55. Have I offered to God the sorrows, hardships, and sufferings of my life?
56. Have I borne daily difficulties with patience and serenity?
57. Have I allowed myself to be overwhelmed by discouragement, sadness, or pessimism in the face of trials?
58. Have I practised mortification of the senses: eyes, ears, taste, touch, tongue?
59. Have I opposed the will of God, complaining or protesting against what He allows?
60. Am I able to say “yes, Father” even when the trial is heavy, following the example of Christ?
9. Envy, jealousy, and mastery of passions
61. Am I a slave to my passions and inclinations, instead of acting with the freedom of the children of God?
62. Am I envious or jealous, feeling in competition with others?
63. Have I let my anger or my bad mood harm myself and others?
64. Do I meditate on revenge or harbour grudges in my heart?
65. Have I tried to master my negative reactions with inner silence and self-control?
66. Have I given in to morbid curiosity that leads to temptations?
67. Am I meek, humble, and a peacemaker, starting with myself?
10. Spiritual progress and direction of life
The Christian life is a journey: to stop is already to go backwards.
68. Do I observe real progress in my spiritual life or have I been at a standstill for years?
69. Do I cling too much to transient things, thus hindering my inner growth?
70. Do I let myself be guided more by my opinions, passions, and whims than by those who can help me spiritually?
71. Do I have a love for truth and for life?
72. Do I know how to identify the sins I commit most often and seek their causes in order to correct myself?
73. Am I a seeker of the peace and Christian joy of the Risen One, or do I constantly moan about my life?
At the end of the examination, recite an act of contrition and resolve to improve.
“To repent is to feel sadness for having offended God who is so good, and for having done what harms ourselves and others.”