24. What Is Examination Of Conscience?

"I will recount to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul." - Isaias 38:15

Examination of conscience is the practice of looking honestly at one's thoughts, words, deeds, omissions, habits, duties, and sins before God. A beginner needs this because the soul easily excuses itself. Without examination, sin hides, habits grow, confession becomes vague, and conversion remains shallow.

The catechism answer is simple: Examination of conscience is a prayerful review of our life before God so that we may know our sins, repent of them, confess them, and amend our life.

Examination is not despair. It is truth before mercy.

The question is not first, "Do I feel guilty?" It is not first, "Did anyone correct me?" It is not first, "Was my day successful?" The question is: "How have I lived before God?"

Feelings are not enough. A person may feel guilty without grave sin, or feel peaceful while sin has dulled the conscience. Public approval is not enough either. Men may praise what God condemns.

The conscience must be brought before God's law.

Examination of conscience should begin in God's presence. The soul should ask the Holy Ghost for light, humility, honesty, sorrow, and hope.

Without God's light, the soul may become proud, evasive, scrupulous, or discouraged. With grace, it can see sin truthfully and still trust mercy.

The purpose is not self-hatred. The purpose is repentance, healing, and amendment.

The Ten Commandments give a clear rule for examination. The beginner can ask:

• Have I worshiped God faithfully?
• Have I used God's name reverently?
• Have I kept Sunday and holy days holy?
• Have I honored parents and lawful authority?
• Have I harmed life, charity, or peace?
• Have I sinned against purity or modesty?
• Have I stolen, cheated, or failed in restitution?
• Have I lied, slandered, or harmed another's reputation?
• Have I consented to impure desire?
• Have I coveted what belongs to another?

This keeps examination concrete. The commandments prevent the soul from speaking only in vague feelings.

A person should also examine duties of state in life. A father has duties as father. A mother has duties as mother. A child has duties as child. A priest has duties as priest. A worker has duties in work. A student has duties in study.

Many sins are omissions. A person may not commit an obvious outward evil, yet still neglect prayer, children, spouse, parents, work, study, correction, worship, or charity.

The soul should ask: What has God entrusted to me, and have I been faithful?

The virtues and vices help the soul examine habits. It should ask whether it is growing in faith, hope, charity, prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance.

It should also ask whether pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, or sloth are becoming familiar.

This helps the soul see patterns. Confession should not only name isolated acts. It should help the soul fight the roots of sin.

A short daily examination is very useful. At night, the soul can ask:

• Did I pray?
• Did I offend God by thought, word, deed, or omission?
• Did I fulfill my duties?
• Did I fall into a repeated fault?
• Did I resist temptation?
• Whom did I harm?
• What grace should I thank God for?
• What should I amend tomorrow?

This need not be long. It should be honest, calm, and followed by an Act of Contrition.

Before confession, the examination should be more careful. The penitent should prepare to confess mortal sins in kind and number as far as he can. He should also note venial sins and patterns that need correction.

Writing down sins may help some beginners, especially before a confession after many years. If notes are used, they should be kept private and destroyed afterward.

The goal is a clear confession, not a perfect psychological analysis.

Some souls become scrupulous. Scrupulosity is a troubled condition in which the soul fears sin where there may be none, repeats confessions anxiously, and cannot rest in reasonable judgment.

Such souls need guidance, simplicity, and obedience to sound counsel. They should not examine endlessly or reopen confessed sins without real reason.

Examination should lead to humility and trust, not constant self-torment.

Other souls are careless. They examine lightly, excuse everything, confess vaguely, and never amend. This is also dangerous.

Carelessness often says, "Everyone does it," "It was not that serious," "I had reasons," or "God understands." God does understand. He understands sin more clearly than the sinner does.

The careless soul needs holy fear, plain speech, and practical amendment.

Examination should lead to contrition. Contrition is sorrow for sin with the will to turn away from it. If examination ends only in self-observation, it is incomplete.

The soul should also make a practical resolution. This may be small: avoid one occasion, apologize, restore what was taken, stop one form of bad speech, pray at a fixed time, remove impure media, or confess promptly.

Amendment begins when truth becomes action.

Examination should also include thanksgiving. The soul should notice graces received: temptations resisted, duties fulfilled, help given, correction accepted, prayers said, sins avoided, and mercies received.

This guards against discouragement. The Christian sees not only his sins, but also God's patience and help.

Gratitude strengthens hope.

A beginner can use this simple practice at night:

1. Place yourself before God.
2. Thank Him for the day.
3. Ask the Holy Ghost for light.
4. Review thoughts, words, deeds, omissions, and duties.
5. Notice one main fault.
6. Make an Act of Contrition.
7. Resolve one concrete amendment for tomorrow.
8. Ask Our Lady to help you die in grace.

This practice forms the soul slowly and steadily.

The soul must learn that examination of conscience is done before God, not before public opinion.

The soul must learn to examine by commandments, duties, virtues, and vices.

The soul must learn the difference between honest examination and scrupulous self-torment.

The soul must learn the difference between trust in mercy and careless excuse-making.

The soul must learn to end examination with contrition, thanksgiving, and amendment.

Examination of conscience is a prayerful review of our life before God so that we may know our sins, repent of them, confess them, and amend our life.

A beginner should ask: Do I examine my conscience daily? Do I prepare well for confession? Do I see patterns in my sins? Do I make concrete resolutions? Do I trust God's mercy while refusing excuses?

The examined soul learns to live awake. It sees danger sooner, repents faster, confesses more honestly, and receives mercy with a clearer heart.

See also Act of Contrition and Prayer Before Confession.