Table of Sins for Examination of Conscience

Sins against the First Commandment.

After come to the use of reason, how long to have neglected to learn and understand the articles of faith, the manner of rightly praying, the ten commandments, or precepts of the church, the sacraments, and their requisites, and the meaning of all such things as all Christians are bound to know; to have been, or had a will to be a Heretic; to disbelieve, stagger, or doubt in any matter of faith; to have delayed to embrace the true faith for human respects, interest, favour, &c.; to defend, or thought to do any thing contrary to faith; to favour heresy; join with wicked men in supporting or approving what they do or say; to keep or read their books, either with pleasure or danger; to hear, or desire to hear, heretic service, sermons, &c.; to dispute rashly against faith, or question the Church's power in instituting fasts, holy days, laws, &c.; to give any exterior sign of approving infidelity, heresy, &c.; not to defend the Catholic cause out of cowardice, tepidity, negligence, &c., when bound in respect of God's honour or neighbour's good; to mock at matters of faith, at the ceremonies of the Church, at processions, or holy things; to use the words of scripture in wicked or profane senses, or to have designed so to do; to omit, or thought to omit, any Christian duty out of shame, fear of some temporal damage, &c. or to conceal your being a Catholic when bound to profess it; to be negligent in resisting all temptations of sins, or in instructing those under your charge in things necessary to salvation; to make use of magic spells, witchcrafts, enchantments, &c.; to consult such persons, to give credit to their sciences, books, sayings, &c., for knowing things past, present, or to come, which are hid from us, or have intended so to do; to receive characters, give charms, powders, potions, &c., or to have intended so to do for evil ends; to use, or desire superstitious prayers, words, figures, ceremonies, against the sense, intention, and law of the Church, for procuring health; to wear, will, or council others to wear, certain papers, or superstitious scrolls about you, for the cure of some disease, wound, sore, &c.; to calculate, or wish your nativity calculated, or seek to know your fortune by superstitious means; to give credit to dreams, fancies, the crossing your way by such or such creatures, by singing or flight of such or such birds; to tempt God by presuming too much on his mercy, taking hence an occasion to sin more freely; to defer your conversion, amendment of life and manners upon this presumption; to willingly consent to some thought of disdain, and murmuring against God for sending afflictions, losses, crosses, &c. for hindering the execution of your passions, for forbidding such pleasures, &c.; in troubles and adversities not to have had trust in God as you ought, but to have put too much trust in creatures, or in favours, helps, &c. of the world; to despair of God's mercy, or have no hope in God for obtaining pardon and amendment of life; to prosecute, injure, scorn, deride, &c. devout or religious persons, and to undervalue their ways and exercises of piety; to have totally neglected all prayers and thoughts of God morning and evening, or occasioned others so to do; to have exposed yourself to danger of mortal sin, or have delighted in sins formerly committed; to have been negligent in endeavouring to get the true love of God, or in thanking him, as it is meet, for all his benefits; to have done your works more for some worldly respect than for God's love; to dissuade any one from a virtuous action; to offend God, or cause another so to do for fear of displeasing men, or being jeered or slighted; not to make your salvation your principal care, but to seek more the pleasures and vanities of this world; not to remove from yourself and others the occasion of sin.

Sins against the Second Commandment.

To swear vainly, unnecessarily, or out of custom; whether true or false? What oaths? If false, whether in jest or earnest? Whether to any one's prejudice? What prejudice? To swear to do what you intend not. Whether you performed your lawful oaths; if not, what prejudice thereby? To be perjured, or swear falsely in judgment, or cause others so to do, or being juridically asked, to answer falsely, or contrary to the question. What damage thereupon? To swear by way of imprecation or cursing, as the devil take him, ye, or me; God damn, confound, rot, &c. him, them, &c. To swear you will commit a sin, whether venial, or mortal, (to do which, for your oath's sake, is a double crime); to break your lawful oaths, or to cause others so to do. What prejudice thence? To delight to hear others swear, curse, blaspheme, or to provoke them thereto; not to reprehend swearers, blasphemers, &c. when you ought, and might. To discover what you swore to conceal. What prejudice thereby? To blaspheme against God or his saints in your heart, or by words or actions, or to be pleased at others so doing; to call the devil to your help; not to perform your vows; how long since made? To omit that into which your vows were changed; to make a vow, and not intend to perform it; to vow to do some evil, or for some evil end, or omit to do some good; to deride religious vows; to dissuade, or hinder others from keeping their lawful vows.

Sins against the Third Commandment.

To do, or cause to be done, some servile work, without urgent necessity; to spend a considerable part of holy days in servile or temporal affairs, as merchants, advocates, solicitors do, &c.; to omit, or cause others to omit, or not to cause those under your care to hear mass; to be at mass without devotion, attention, respect, &c.; to spend Sundays and holy days idly, in drinking, sporting, dancing, &c., or not to cause those under you to spend a considerable part of those days in reading, praying, or some spiritual work.

Sins against the Fourth Commandment.

Not to love, honour, obey, &c. your parents; to hate and despise them in your heart and actions; to wish or contrive their death, or some other misfortune; to forsake them in their necessities; to slight their reprehensions; to resist their corrections; to murmur, deride, mock, or disquiet them, or cause others to vex or put them into passion, or speak ill of them; to be ashamed of them because poor; to neglect to pray for them, assist and comfort them as you can; to marry, or intend to marry, without their consent; not to perform their last will; to be aversed against your brothers, sisters, kinsfolks, &c.; to sow discord among them; not to respect, honour, and obey your spiritual and temporal superiors, to speak ill of them, &c.; to affront, abuse, or censure them; to cheat them, &c. Let parents and all superiors reflect how they perform their duties to their children, servants, subjects, in correcting, instructing, and providing for their spiritual and temporal necessities. Let godfathers and godmothers examine how they have discharged themselves. Let servants examine if they sin by disobeying their masters; by failing in trust, or diligence that is required at their hands; by neglecting their master's just interest; by letting their master suffer in any kind through their neglect, dishonesty, sloth, &c.; by obeying them in unlawful things, or by swearing, stealing, &c. Let husband and wife examine whether they live in mutual love, fidelity, peace, &c., without jealousies, quarrels, abuses, &c.

Sins against the Fifth Commandment.

To hate with desire of revenge; to wish your neighbour's death, damnation, or any damage; to curse him, whether with desire the effect may follow; to kill, or concur to kill any, by what means, whether by witchcraft or otherwise; to strike or hurt any one, how, and what damage; to cause a woman with child to miscarry, or concur to the destruction of the child before or after its birth; to cause duels, or not to hinder them when you can; to refuse common signs of friendship to any out of hatred or aversion; to refuse reconciliation with your enemies, or not to accept or make satisfaction for the injury done; not to give alms to the poor in great necessity, or hinder others; to provoke others to anger by ill language; to flatter others in what is ill; not to correct your children or others when you may thereby prevent their sin; to omit instructing those under your charge in things necessary to salvation; to give ill example to children or others; to command children or others to do what is a mortal sin, or not hinder them when you can; to strike them outrageously, or not correct them discreetly; to be so passionate as to strike yourself, tear your hair, &c.; to rejoice at any evil or misfortune of your neighbour; to be sorry at his prosperity; to sow dissension among others; to desire your own or neighbour's death; to assist, protect, or advise murderers; to strike any in the church; to draw blood there; to curse any, quick or dead.

Sins against the Sixth Commandment.

To willingly hear immodest words, discourses, songs, &c.; to take pleasure therein; not to hinder, or discourage such when you may; to be willing to be among such, &c.; to look on immodest objects as on one's own or others' nakedness, whether on the same or different sex, on dishonest, filthy, or brutish actions, gestures, postures, figures, pictures, &c.; to read, or cause others to read, dishonest books, pamphlets, ballads, or to keep, learn, and not to suppress the same when you may; to speak immodest words, or such as, bearing a double sense, are apt to create in others impure thoughts; to relate wanton stories, or wicked actions of one's self or others; to sing or recite unchaste songs, immodest verses, &c.; to solicit others to any sort of impurity; to touch yourself or others immodestly; to entertain willingly, and with delight, impure thoughts; to desire to commit the sins thought on, or resolve to commit them; to use immodest actions; to cause pollution in yourself or others; to commit the sin of dishonesty, whether effected by soliciting, seducing with promises, or by force, whether it be fornication, adultery, incest, &c.; to use unchaste actions with brutes, or touches, or to delight in seeing such in copulation, &c. Where note, that all unchaste thoughts, desires, looks, touches are to be confessed with reference to the circumstances of the party they tended to or were about, as whether single, married, or akin, &c.

Sins against the Seventh Commandment.

To take another's goods, whether privately, or by force; of what value, how oft, from whom, whether out of a holy place? To steal deer, pigeons, or to fish in places not allowed, &c.; to endamage any; to keep what is another's against his will; to refuse restitution; to deceive in buying, selling, borrowing, &c.; to buy goods you think stolen, or of such as cannot sell; to make unlawful contracts in point of usury; to neglect paying debts, wages, &c.; to rob the king of his taxes, and customs; to begin unjust suits; to put off false or uncurrent money; to use false weights, measures, &c.; to make false, unjust, or deceitful contracts, instruments, writings, &c.; to continue to get things without regard to honesty; to give sentence for favour, gain, &c.; to pursue a cause after you know it unjust; to harbour thieves, or receive stolen goods; not to restore things to known owners; to cheat at play with ignorant people; to lose, or spend extravagantly, above your condition, in playing, diet, taverns, clothes, furniture, &c.; to sell tainted, or mixed goods, for sound. In the hired, to neglect their time, work, care, trust, &c.; to concur any way to another's damage; to incur simony; to wrong in tithes; to desire another's goods, loss, damage, &c.

Sins against the Eighth Commandment.

To witness what is false, or defend a false accusation, as lawyers, solicitors, &c.; or to condemn the innocent, or acquit the guilty, as judges, arbitrators, &c. What prejudice? To hire or procure false witnesses; to detract from another's honour, fame, &c., by charging a falsehood on the person, or by reporting for truth what is only doubtful, or revealing something yet secret and unknown, which is prejudicial, though true; to hearken to detractors, encourage them, or give occasion thereto; to rejoice to hear one ill spoken of; to tell lies, by speaking a thing which we judge to be otherwise than we say. What prejudice? To make libels, satirical songs, defaming letters, or to concur in such; to judge rashly of others, or suspect without grounds; to interpret another's actions, or words, to an ill sense; to disclose secrets. What prejudice? To break your lawful promise; to brag of your sin committed with another; to publish another's private sin; to dissemble, and play the hypocrite, which is lying by actions; to offend any by injurious words.

Sins against the Ninth and Tenth Commandments are,

Unlawful desires of impurity and theft, which are comprehended amongst the sins mentioned in the sixth and seventh Commandments.

They sin against the precepts of the Church, who on Sundays and holy days hear not, when they can, an entire mass: who fast not on days commanded, or draw others to break their fast; who murmur at fasting days, or deride those who observe the same; who omit to confess once a year, or without due dispensations, who perform not their enjoined penance, or seek some ignorant person to confess to; who omit to communicate worthily about Easter; who defraud, or hinder their pastors of their dues, or neglect to assist them in their wants; who solemnize marriage within the times or degrees forbid.

The Seven Deadly Sins.

They sin by pride who publish their good actions out of vanity, or do them for some human praise or self-end; who seek ambitiously men's esteem, honour, dignities, &c., doing to that end what they ought not; who seek, or undertake any charge above their capacity, out of too much presumption and self esteem; who play the hypocrite to gain esteem; who are self-willed, self-conceited, stubborn, refractory, &c.; who scorn or contemn others; who value themselves above desert; will not submit and obey superiors, but blame them, &c.; who will not acknowledge their fault, but allege false excuses and unjust reasons; who vainly boast of what they have not; who for esteem, or speeches of men, do what they should not, or omit what they should do, as the frequenting the sacraments, conversing with some good people, &c.; who stubbornly impugn the truth, or defend some error against their conscience; who, above their condition, seek attendants, apparel, furniture, diet, &c.

The sins of covetousness, luxury, and sloth, may be seen in the first, sixth, and seventh Commandments.

They are guilty of gluttony who eat and drink more than nature, or necessity requires; who eat forbidden meats, or out of time; who seek to pamper their tastes and appetites; who suffer their minds to run inordinately on eating and drinking; who eat and drink so much as prejudices their health, or causes vomiting, or hinders the performance of their office, duties, &c.; who by drinking lose the right use of their senses, reason, memory, &c. for a time. What scandal? Who press drink upon others, or desire to see or make them drunk.

They are guilty of envy who are troubled at the good success of their neighbour; who rejoice at the miseries, crosses, &c. of others; who are pleased to hear others blamed, reprehended, disgraced, &c.; who hinder their spiritual or temporal advancement; who wish evil to them, &c.

They are guilty of anger who will not endure any thing contrary to their inclinations; who follow wrath against those who give them trouble; who quarrel, give injurious language, swear, curse, threaten, &c. for anger; who seek or desire revenge, and punish, or seek to punish the offenders, not according to justice, but out of spleen, malice, &c. above the fault; who strive not to subdue their passions; who refuse to pardon injuries, or be reconciled to such as they have had fallings out with, &c.

They are accessary to another's sin, who do an ill action in the presence of others, and more especially if they do it to draw others to sin; who compel others to evil, command, or counsel the same; who contribute by their purse, or otherwise, to bring others to evil; who harbour or conceal bad people, that they may not be discovered or punished; who partake in the evil, or profit thereof; who hinder not the evil when they can; who approve and praise the evil-doers; who brag of sins they have committed, or of such as they never did; who sow discord among others; who have omitted to instruct, correct, or punish when necessity requires, or neglect to acquaint superiors, masters, &c. who are to do the same.

Every one is to examine the particular transgressions in his state and calling, and accordingly to confess them.

Aggravating circumstances, and such as change the nature of the sin, are to be confessed; as the place, whether sacred or profane; the time, whether Sunday or holy day; the person, whether religious, secular, married, single, relation, virgin, &c.; the condition, whether superior, equal, or inferior; the companions, whether one or more, parents or others; the end, or with what intention you acted, &c.