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Roman Catholic prayer At Night/Daily Examination
It is very important for every catholic to examine
It is very important for every catholic to examine
Showing posts with label Examination of Conscience. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Examination of Conscience. Show all posts
Tuesday, 19 September 2017
It is very important for every catholic to examine
Sunday, 13 August 2017
GUIDE TO EXAMINE YOUR CONSCIENCE BEFORE CONFESSION FOR FAITHFUL CATHOLICS
Many of us may be tempted to begin our examination of conscience when we get in line at the confessional. There is nothing wrong with this practice if the line looks something like this:
However, you don’t want to get caught in the middle of your examination when it is your turn to go in to the confessional. If you don’t regularly examine your conscience, it may take awhile before you are fully prepared. Next time you go to confession, consider preparing before you go; for one should not simply just go to confession, but rather make the best confession possible.
One of the essential pieces in the Rite of Penance is the examination of conscience. We take an internal self-examination of our spiritual life and bring to light those sins that keep us from a more intimate relationship with Christ. Here, we recall our sins and faults committed since our last confession.
There are several ways to make a good examination of conscience. One of the easiest and most common ways to examine your conscience is by turning to the Ten Commandments for guidance. In this way you will prepare your heart and mind for confession by contemplating on the Word of God.
Each of the Ten Commandments can be broken down into questions. For example, if you ask yourself if you have killed someone – for most of us it is an obvious no. But, we may fail to grasp the entirety of the commandment. We may not have physically killed an individual but have we emotionally, physically, or spiritually hurt ourselves and others? This brings the fifth commandment into a whole new light.
The examination of conscience below is based on the Ten Commandments. Begin by praying. This will put you in the best frame of mind for recalling your sins.
PRAYER BEFORE CONFESSION BY ST. JEROME
“Show me, O Lord, Your mercy, and delight my heart with it. Let me find You whom I so longingly seek. Behold, here is the man whom the robbers seized, manhandled, and left half dead on the road to Jericho. Kind-hearted Samaritan, come to my aid! I am the sheep who wandered into the wilderness. Seek after me and bring me home again to Your fold. Do with me according to Your Will, that I may abide with You all the days of my life, and praise You with all those who are with You in heaven for all eternity. Amen.”
questions to prayerfully consider before going to confession:
Examination of Conscience
“I am the Lord, your God. You shall have no other gods besides me.”
1. Have I doubted or denied God’s existence?
2. Have I been ungrateful to God for His benefits?
3. Am I open to God’s will?
4. Do I rely solely on myself and not on God?
5. Have I abandoned the Catholic Faith?
6. Have I joined a non-Catholic church or anti-Catholic group?
7. Have I refused to believe any truths of the Faith or any teachings of the Church?
8. Did I fail to profess or defend the Faith?
9. Have I failed to go to confession at least once a year?
10. Have I been faithful to my daily prayers?
11. Have I practiced any superstitions?
12. Am I unwilling to turn away from everything that is opposed to God’s work in my soul?
“You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.”
13. Have I taken the Lord’s name in vain, for example, carelessly, in anger, or surprise?
14. Do I speak irreverently of holy persons, places or things?
15. Have I cursed myself or others?
16. Did I use profanity?
17. Have I called down evil upon anyone or anything?
18. Did I get angry with God?
19. Have I angered others so as to make them curse?
20. Have I broken a vow made to God?
21. Have I murmured or complained about God?
“Remember the Sabbath Day, to keep it holy.”
22. Did I miss Mass on a Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation?
23. Did I arrive to Mass late or leave early?
24. Did I receive Holy Communion in a state of mortal sin?
25. Have I been irreverent while receiving the Most Blessed Sacrament?
26. Have I been willfully distracted during Mass?
27. Do I distract others during Mass?
28. Have I done unnecessary work on Sunday?
“Honor your father and your mother.”
29. Have I disobeyed, insulted, or shown disrespect to my parents or legitimate superiors?
30. Did I neglect my duties to my husband, wife, children or parents?
31. Did I neglect to give a good religious example to my family?
32. Am I disrespectful, impolite, or discourteous toward my family?
33. Have I failed to meet my children’s physical, spiritual, emotional, and educational needs?
34. Have I disobeyed the lawful demands of my superiors, teachers, or employer?
35. Did I fail to actively take an interest in the religious education and formation of my children?
36. Did I cause anyone to leave the Catholic Church?
37. Did I cause tension and fights in my family?
38. Did I care for my aged and infirm relatives?
“You shall not kill.”
39. Did I kill or physically injure anyone?
40. Did I have an abortion, or advise someone else to have an abortion?
41. Do I use artificial contraception or birth control?
42. Have I entertained thoughts of suicide, desired to commit suicide, or attempted suicide?
43. Have I participated in euthanasia or assisted suicide?
44. Have I placed others in harms way, by driving or texting inappropriately?
45. Have I failed to help someone in danger or in need?
46. Do I drink or smoke excessively or abuse prescribed drugs?
47. Have I wished evil on anyone?
48. Do I deliberately harbor unkind and revengeful thoughts about others?
49. Have I taken revenge?
50. Have I used harsh or abusive language toward others?
51. Have I spread gloom through my words and actions?
52. Is there anyone with whom I refuse to speak, or against whom I bear a grudge?
53. Have I taken pleasure in anyone’s misfortunes?
54. Have I led others into sin?
“You shall not commit adultery” and “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife”
55. Did I commit impure acts with another – fornication (premarital sex) or adultery (sex with a married person)?
56. Did I commit impure acts by myself (masturbation)?
57. Do I engage in homosexual acts?
58. Have I refused my spouse the marriage right without good reason?
59. Am I dating someone who is civilly divorced but still bound by a valid marriage?
60. Did I marry or advise anyone to marry outside the Catholic Church?
61. Have I willfully entertained impure thoughts or desires?
62. Did I respect all members of the opposite sex, or have I objectified them?
63. Have I read, listened to, viewed, or spoken of impure things?
64. Have I worn revealing or immodest clothing?
65. Have I succumbed occasions of impurity?
“You shall not steal.”
66. Have I stolen money or property?
67. Have I cheated?
68. Have I failed to make restitution for what I stole?
69. Have I intentionally damaged property?
70. Have I accepted or bought stolen property?
71. Have I helped someone steal?
72. Am I dishonest in my business dealings?
73. Have I failed to make restitution for my stealing, cheating and frauds?
74. Do I gamble excessively?
75. Have I borrowed without permission?
76. Have I failed to return things borrowed?
77. Did I waste time at work, school or at home?
78. Have I cheated my employer of an honest day’s work?
79. Have I cheated my employees of their wages?
80. Have I refused or neglected to help anyone in urgent need?
“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.”
81. Have I lied deliberately?
82. Have I deliberately misled or deceived anyone?
83. Did I gossip or reveal others’ faults or sins?
84. Have I failed to keep promises or oaths?
85. Have I signed false documents?
86. Have I failed to prevent the defamation of another’s character?
87. Have I revealed secrets and betrayed trust?
88. Do I make false judgments and harbor false suspicions?
89. Have a failed to forgive someone or held a grudge?
90. Have I failed to apologize or make amends?
91. Did I fail to keep secret what should be confidential?
92. Have I disclosed another’s sins without serious reason?
“You shall not covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
93. Am I greedy or selfish?
94. Am I envious of someone’s possessions, talents, or blessings?
95. Do I indulge in self-pity?
96. Am I proud, vain, or desire to be praised?
97. Have I exaggerated my success?
98. Have I minimized or made excuses for my failures?
99. Have I measured my charity by what others have given, rather than my ability to give?
Going to confession can be overwhelming and uncomfortable. This list of questions is extensive and can be daunting. It can be hard to say out loud the things in our lives that we have done wrong. Rather than looking down upon your failings, let the sorrow for sin help you overcome them. Look upon this sacrament as an opportunity to make full reparation for your sins, and restore your soul’s relationship with God. If you are reluctant to go to confession remember God’s mercy and compassion.
“Though your sins be like scarlet, they shall become white as snow. Though they be red like crimson, they shall become white as wool.” (Isiah 1:18)
Remember, Christ came into the world to save sinners!
Saturday, 12 August 2017
SHOULD CONFESSION BE ENCOURAGED?
What is Sin?
In many ways our society has lost a sense of sin. As a Catholic follower of Christ, I must make an effort to recognize sin in my daily actions, words and omissions.
The Gospels show how important is the forgiveness of our sins. Lives of saints prove that the person who grows in holiness has a stronger sense of sin, sorrow for sins, and a need for the Sacrament of Reconciliation or Confession. Pope Francis has spoken often of how important this Sacrament is for growth in holiness and admits that he goes to confession about twice a month.
The Differences in Sins
As a result of Original Sin, human nature is weakened. Baptism, by imparting the life of Christ's grace, takes away Original Sin, and turns us back toward God. The consequences of this weakness and the inclination to evil persist, and we often commit personal or actual sin.
Actual sin is sin which people commit. There are two kinds of actual sin, mortal and venial.
Mortal sin is a deadly offense against God, so horrible that it destroys the life of grace in the soul. Three simultaneous conditions must be fulfilled for a mortal sin:
the act must be something very serious;
the person must have sufficient understanding of what is being done;
the person must have sufficient freedom of the will.
Remember this…
If you need help–especially if you have been away for some time–simply ask the priest and he will help you by "walking" you through the steps to make a good confession.
Before Confession
Be truly sorry for your sins. The essential act of Penance, on the part of the penitent, is contrition, a clear and decisive rejection of the sin committed, together with a resolution not to commit it again, out of the love one has for God and which is reborn with repentance. The resolution to avoid committing these sins in the future (amendment) is a sure sign that your sorrow is genuine and authentic. This does not mean that a promise never to fall again into sin is necessary. A resolution to try to avoid the near occasions of sin suffices for true repentance. God's grace in cooperation with the intention to rectify your life will give you the strength to resist and overcome temptation in the future.
Examination of Conscience
Before going to Confession you should make a review of mortal and venial sins since your last sacramental confession, and should express sorrow for sins, hatred for sins and a firm resolution not to sin again.
A helpful pattern for examination of conscience is to review the Commandments of God and the Precepts of the Church:
An Examination of Conscience (based on the Ten Commandments)
1. You shall have no other gods besides the Lord your God.
Do I love God above all things? Is He number one in my life or do I put myself before God?
Has money and pleasure become more important to me than the God who created me for Himself?
Do I pray often? Have I neglected my friendship with God by neglecting prayer?
Have I been involved with occult or superstitious practices, i.e., fortune telling?
Have I ever received Holy Communion in the state of mortal sin?
Have I told a lie in confession or deliberately withheld confessing a mortal sin?
2. You shall not take the Lord your God's name in vain.
Have I ever committed perjury, that is, lied under oath in a court of law?
Have I ever lied after "swearing to God" that I am telling the truth?
Have I ever used God's name out of anger, that is, as a curse?
3. Keep the Sabbath day holy.
Have I deliberately missed Holy Mass on the Sabbath (Saturday evening through Sunday)?
Have I ever missed Mass on a Holy Day of Obligation or an important holiday in the liturgical calendar (i.e., Ascension Thursday, Easter Sunday, Christmas, Mary the Mother of God, etc.)?
4. Honor your father and your mother so that you may live long and flourish.
Do I disobey my parents?
Do I fail to respect them?
Do I swear at them?
Am I ashamed of them?
Do I let them know I love them?
Do I take care of them if they are elderly or sick?
Do I lie to them?
Do I steal from them?
Am I obeying and honoring those in place of my parents, such as teachers and principals?
Do I skip class?
Do I lie to my teachers?
Do I swear at them?
5. You shall not kill.
Am I killing myself by taking illegal drugs, such as marijuana?
Abusing alcohol?
Have I had an abortion?
Have I ever counseled anyone to have an abortion?
Do I stand up for the unborn child's right to life, or have I merely accepted society's anti-life mentality?
Have I used abortion-inducing contraceptives or encouraged anyone to do so?
Have I sterilized myself in any way or encouraged anyone to do so?
Did I participate in or approve of euthanasia or "mercy-killing"?
Have I murdered anyone's reputation by deliberately spreading rumors or keeping rumors alive by passing them on?
Do I nurse anger against anyone?
Hold a grudge?
Refuse to forgive another?
Have I cursed anyone?
6. You shall not commit adultery.
Have I ever had sex with anyone?
Have I had sex with myself?
Have I ever watched pornography either on the Internet or through some other media?
Have I ever freely and deliberately entertained impure thoughts?
Have I practiced any form of contraception?
Am I modest in dress?
7. You shall not steal.
Do I steal from my parents?
Do I steal from friends?
Have I ever stolen from a stranger?
Have I stolen any property from a store?
In other words, have I ever taken what rightfully belongs to another?
Do I gamble excessively?
Do I seek to share what I have with the poor and needy?
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Am I a liar?
Am I guilty of detraction, that is, making known the faults of others?
Am I guilty of slander, that is, spreading lies about someone?
Do I gossip about others?
Do I reveal information that should be confidential?
Am I "two-faced", that is, have I been a certain kind of person to some people, but a completely different kind of person to others?
9. & 10. You shall not envy your neighbor’s wife and goods.
Am I envious of others?
Do I wish that others be deprived of the goods or talents that are theirs?
Am I jealous of others?
Do I harbor unforgiveness and grudges against others?
Am I a resentful person?
Do I put down others?
- composed by Deacon Douglas McManaman
Again, remember this…
If you need help–especially if you have been away for some time–simply ask the priest and he will help you by "walking" you through the steps to make a good confession.
Going to Confession
After examining your conscience and telling God of your sorrow, go into the confessional. You may kneel at the screen or sit to talk face-to-face with the priest.
Begin your confession with the sign of the cross, "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. My last confession was _______ weeks (months, years) ago."
Say the sins that you remember. Start with the one(s) that is most difficult to say. (In order to make a good confession the faithful must confess all mortal sins, according to kind and number.) After confessing all the sins you remember since your last good confession, you may conclude by saying, "I am sorry for these and all the sins of my past life."
Listen to the words of the priest. He will assign you some penance. Doing the penance will diminish the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven. When invited, express some prayer of sorrow or Act of Contrition such as:
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended you and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell. But most of all because I have offended you, my God, who are all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of your grace, to confess my sins, to do penance and to amend my life. Amen.
At the End of Confession
Listen to the words of absolution, the sacramental forgiveness of the Church through the ordained priest. As you listen to the words of forgiveness you may make the sign of the cross with the priest.
After Confession
Give thanks to God for forgiving you again. If you recall some serious sin you forgot to tell, rest assured that it has been forgiven with the others, but be sure to confess it in your next Confession.
Perform the assigned Penance with sincerity and gratitude.
Resolve to return to the Sacrament of Reconciliation often. As Catholics we are fortunate to have the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is the ordinary way for us to have our sins forgiven. This sacrament is a powerful help to get rid of our weaknesses, grow in holiness, and lead a balanced and virtuous life!
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