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An Examination of Conscience

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Preliminary Questions

1. Have I ever failed to confess a serious sin or disguised it?

2. Have I been guilty of irreverence for this sacrament by failing to examine my conscience carefully?

3. Have I failed to perform the penance given me by a priest in confession?

4. Have I neglected the Easter duty of receiving Holy Communion or failed to confess mortal sins within a year?

5. Have I cooperated in the sins of others?

6. Have I received Holy Communion or another sacrament (other than Confession) in the state of mortal sin?

You Shall Have No Other Gods Besides Me

1. Am I ignorant of the teachings of the Church and neglected to learn them?

2. Have I willfully doubted or denied any of the teachings of the Church (heresy)?

3. Am I a member of any anti-Catholic or any secret society (such as Freemasonry)?

4. Have I practiced any superstitions (horoscopes, fortune tellers, etc.)?

You Shall Not Take the Name of the Lord Your God In Vain

1. Have I used God’s name in vain by way of profanity?

2. Have I murmured or complained against God (blasphemy)?

3. Have I maligned priests or others consecrated to God?

4. Have I sworn by God’s name (oath) either falsely or rashly?

5. Have I broken any private vow?

Remember to Keep the Lord’s Day

1. Have I missed Mass on Sundays or holydays through my own fault?

2. Have I been late for Mass through my own negligence?

3. Have I been inattentive at Mass or otherwise failed in reverence for the Most Blessed Sacrament?

4. Have I done unnecessary servile work (physical labor) or shopping on Sunday?

5. Did I knowingly break the Church’s law by eating meat on a Friday in Lent?

Honor Your Father & Mother

1. Have I been disrespectful to my parents or neglected them?

2. Have I failed in obedience or reverence to my boss and others in authority?

3. Have I mistreated my wife or children?

4. Have I been disobedient or disrespectful to my husband?

5. Regarding my children:

-Have I neglected their material needs?
-Have I failed to care for their early Baptism or their proper religious instruction?
-Have I allowed them to neglect their religious duties?
-Have I otherwise failed to discipline them?
-Have I given them bad examples?
-Have I interfered with their freedom to marry or follow a religious vocation?

You Shall Not Kill

1. Have I quarreled with anyone?

2. Have I cursed anyone or otherwise wished evil on them?

3. Have I taken pleasure in anyone’s misfortune?

4. Is there anyone to whom I refuse to speak or be reconciled?

5. Have I had an abortion or supported someone in obtaining one?

6. Have I physically hurt anyone with intention?

7. Have I sinned by gluttony?

8. Have I become intoxicated?

9. Have I used narcotics?

You Shall Not Commit Adultery

1. Have I denied my spouse his or her marriage rights?

2. Have I practiced birth control?

3. Have I abused my marriage rights in any other way?

4. Have I had sexual relations with someone who is not my spouse?

5. Have I touched or embraced another impurely?

6. Have I sinned with others of the same sex?

7. Have I sinned impurely with myself?

8. Have I read indecent literature or looked at indecent pictures?

9. Have I watched suggestive films or programs?

You Shall Not Steal

1. Have I stolen anything?

2. Have I damaged anyone’s property through my own fault?

3. Have I cheated or defrauded another?

4. Did I do an honest day’s work for my employer?

5. Have I refused or neglected to pay any debts?

6. Have I neglected my duties or been slothful in my work?

You Shall Not Bear False Witness Against Your Neighbor

1. Have I lied about anyone (calumny)?

2. Have I rash judged anyone of a serious sin?

3. Have I engaged in gossip (detraction) or spread scandal?

4. Have I lent an ear to scandal about my neighbor?

5. Have I spoken falsely when the truth should have been told?

6. Have I boasted pridefully?

You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Wife

1. Have I harbored lustful desires for anyone?

2. Have I indulged in other impure thoughts?

3. Have I failed to dress modestly?

4. Have I done anything to provoke or occasion impure thoughts in others?

5. Have I used indecent language or told indecent stories?

6. Have I willingly listened to such stories?

7. Have I boasted of my sins?

8. Have I sinned against chastity in any other way?

You Shall Not Covet Your Neighbor’s Goods

• Have I been jealous or envious of anyone?

• Have I refused or neglected to help anyone in urgent necessity?

• Have I been generous with my money, time and talents?

Print Version of An Examination of Conscience

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Top 6
Resource Sites

Catholic Encyclopedia. More than 11,000 articles on Catholic topics.

Summa Theologica. The theological masterpiece of St. Thomas Aquinas.

Church Fathers. Letters, speeches and books from the earliest Christians.

Holy Bible. The Douay-Rheims version, with hyperlinks to the Catholic Encyclopedia.

How to Recite the Holy Rosary. Copy and distribute this sheet.

Catholic Links. A growing directory of good Catholic websites.