Examination of Conscience on Interior Mortification

1. Openness to grace and defence of the soul
– Do I open my soul to God’s grace by seeking to encounter Him in prayer, reading and the sacraments?
– Do I take care to close my soul to what harms me spiritually?
– Do I allow myself to be voluntarily drawn to images, words or things that defile the heart?

2. Docility to God and mortification of the will
– Do I listen to the voice of my conscience and accept what God allows in my life?
– Do I obey those who guide and correct me, or do I always want to do things my own way?
– Do I persist even when I realise I am wrong?
– In my decisions, do I seek God’s will?
– Am I convinced that without mortification I cannot grow in faith?

3. Mortification of the passions
– Do I restrain my disordered passions — anger, impulse, desire — without immediately giving in to what I like but is not right?
– Do I instead cultivate good passions, such as love for God and neighbour?

4. Purity and custody of the body
– Do I respect my body and the bodies of others with purity?
– Do I avoid occasions of sin and everything that wounds chastity?
– Do I look at, listen to or seek things that defile the heart?
– Do I avoid all occasions of sin?

5. Mortification of the mind and judgement
– Do I seek the truth or only what is convenient for me?
– Do I construct arguments to justify myself or judge without knowledge?
– Do I get lost in useless curiosities and things that are not helpful?
– In conversations and study, do I seek what is necessary?

6. Mortification of the imagination and memory
– Do I control my imagination, avoiding feeding it with vain or dangerous images?
– Do I return in my mind to bad memories, grudges or situations that cause me to fall?
– Do I feed my mind with good things, letting go of the bad?
– Do I let myself be constantly distracted?

7. Mortification of stubbornness and self-love
– Do I recognise when others are right and know how to yield in matters of little importance?
– Do I always want to have the last word or cling to my ideas out of pride?

8. Mortification in decisions and choices
– In my decisions, do I truly seek what is good, without letting myself be guided by passions or fear of others’ judgement?
– Do I always seek the easiest way or act without thinking?

9. Mortification in small daily things
– Do I know how to say small ‘no’ to myself every day?
– Do I always seek comfort? Do I give in to whims and avoid all sacrifice?

10. Mortification of curiosity and superficiality
– Do I control my curiosity? Do I always seek useless novelties?
– Do I spread myself thin over many things without going deeper?
– Do I jump from one interest to another without perseverance?

11. Presence of God in the interior life
– Do I invite God into my thoughts and offer Him my interior life?
– Do I live with a scattered mind?
– Do I know that, to reach holiness, I must acquire interior self-mastery?