Examination of Conscience and Prayers before Confession

A Prayer before the Examination.

My God, my Creator, my Redeemer, my Judge, give me thy grace that I may worthily prepare for this sacrament. Oh, inspire and enlighten my soul, that I may discern all the sins which I have committed against thee. Remove, I beseech thee, remove all indifference and forgetfulness from my mind. It is my wish to confess my sins to thee and to thy minister; let me not, I pray thee, pass over anything in this examination. Let me see every action of my past life in its true light, as it is now seen by thee, and as I myself shall behold it at the hour of my death. Oh save me from the great misfortune of thinking of myself otherwise than I deserve. Thou knowest, O Lord, what I am: teach me, in thy mercy, to know myself.

Place before me all mine iniquities, and let me know my sins. Thou hast said that the just man falls seven times a day. Oh preserve me, great God! from the presumption of thinking that I myself am without sin. If the just man sins against thee, how must I appear in thine eyes? I have sinned, my God, I know that I have sinned. On thee I call, to show me each separate fault. Oh bring all my offences to my mind such as they truly were, and such as they will ever stand registered against me, unless I repent of them and confess them to thy minister.

Bring them all to my mind, in every circumstance and aggravating detail, that I may weep over the past, and obtain thy protection for the future.

Let such, dear Lord and Saviour, let such, I pray thee, be the fruits of this confession. Let me not displease thee and sin against thy Holy Spirit, by concealing any thing through shame or neglect. Oh preserve me from thus adding guilt to guilt! Give me thy grace and knowledge, that I may completely remember all my sins, and may completely and frankly confess them: and, oh give me those sentiments of gratitude for thy goodness, and that holy love for thee, which may fill my heart with lasting sorrow for having offended thee, my great, my kind, my merciful Creator. Amen.

A second Prayer before the Examination.

Great God, who knowest the impulses of our hearts, and who searchest our most secret thoughts and most hidden desires, I humbly approach thee and beg of thee to make known to me the extent of my misery and guilt. I know, O Lord, that I have had the misfortune to offend thee in a thousand ways: I know it in general, though I may have forgotten each separate sin; and unless thy goodness discover them to me, I shall vainly endeavour to remember them as I ought. Help me then, my God, in this examination of my past life. May thy holy light dissipate the darkness of my mind. May thy grace lead me in all my inquiries, and prompt me to discover the truth. May it show me to myself such as I am; the number, the quality, the enormity of all my prevarications; and may it inspire me with a proper hatred for them. May it thus, O Lord, bring every sin so clearly before my mind that, when I present myself before thy minister, I may be enabled truly to declare them such as they are, without disguise, without change, without increase or diminution; without forgetfulness, and without prevarication. Grant me this grace, O my God, through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Short Aspirations which may be frequently repeated before Confession.

Jesus, reduce into my mind the sins and wickedness, whereby I have offended thee.

Jesus, grant me the spirit of perfect repentance; that by contrition, confession, and satisfaction, I may obtain thy grace and thoroughly cleanse my conscience.

Jesus, have mercy on me whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood.

Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.

Enter not into judgment with thy servant, O Lord; for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

Examine your conscience upon the ten commandments of God, the commandments of the Church, and on the seven deadly sins, and interrogate yourself on your fulfilment of your duties to God, to your neighbour, and to yourself.

On Duties to God.

Have I failed in any part of my last confession, either from carelessness in examining my conscience, or from want of contrition?

Have I wandered or doubted in any article of faith?

Have I endeavoured to correct my faults, or rejected the proper means of doing so?

Have I been voluntarily distracted during my prayers?

Have I failed to hear mass on Sundays and days of obligation when I had the means of doing so?

Have I talked at church, or given scandal by irreverent conduct?

Have I been guilty of any acts of superstition, such as consulting fortune-tellers, believing in dreams, and the like?

Have I allowed others to speak profanely, heretically, or immodestly, without shewing, as much as was in my power, that I did not agree with them?

Have I from sloth and idleness failed in any of my spiritual duties?

Have I endeavoured to reap advantage from the word of God, heard or read?

Have I neglected the divine inspirations which moved me to good deeds? or have I ridiculed the ordinances of religion or its ministers?

Have I sworn or taken any oath without need, truth, or reverence?

Have I neglected to fulfil any vow or promise to God?

Have I failed to offer all my acts and inclinations to the glory of God?

Have I felt consent on seeing any one commit a mortal sin?

Have I felt presumption on the mercy of God, or too much despair?

Have I failed to do good from fear of the ridicule of others?

Have I done good from hypocrisy or vain glory?

Have I feared to sin more from dread than from love of God, without endeavouring to nourish the better feeling?

Have I neglected the service of God on holidays to give up those days to amusements or visits?

Have I murmured against God or his works?

Have I willingly permitted others to offend God or my neighbour?

Have I sought to promote the spiritual good of my servants, children, or household?

Have I neglected the service of God from attachment to the world?

Have I exposed myself to temptation and the evident danger of committing sin?

Have I neglected the counsels of my spiritual directors or superiors?

On Duties to one's Neighbour.

Have I joyed in the distresses, or felt sorrow at the prosperity, of my neighbour?

Have I failed to excuse and pardon the faults committed against me?

Have I kept any animosity or bitterness in my heart?

Have I given bad advice when I could have advised better?

Have I praised any one for anything that he had done wrong?

Have I abused or struck any one in impatience or anger?

Have I turned another aside from any good work on which he was bent?

Have I suspected or judged any one rashly?

Have I detracted or taken away from another's character or reputation? or heard others do so willingly, or without trying to stop them?

Have I ridiculed any one, or reproached him with his infirmities?

Have I given scandal, or been the occasion of sin to others, by conversation, bad example, misbehaviour, or otherwise?

Have I despised or disobeyed my parents in matters of importance, or which they judged to be such?

Have I been the cause that others have sworn or blasphemed, or entertained evil or irreligious thoughts?

Have I felt hatred against any one?

Have I demanded payment that was not due to me, or more than was due, or charged more than the just price?

Have I refused to pay that which I justly owed? or involved myself in debt?

Have I been harsh or provoking to those about me?

Have I been uncharitable to the poor?

(If a husband.) Have I been faithful to my marriage vow, loving and cherishing my wife, bearing patiently with any weakness of mind, or temper, or other infirmity, and being kind and frank to her lest I should estrange her confidence from me?

(If a wife.) Have I been wanting in my duty to my husband, in obedience and gentleness? or have I published his faults? or spent more money than he would afford? Have I given him any cause for jealousy, by lightness of behaviour towards others, or by indifference, or seeming indifference towards him? Have I been indifferent or careless in my carriage towards him; not forecasting to do what I knew, or might know, would oblige and please him?

Have I neglected to find fault with my children when guilty, or chastised them too severely? Have I neglected to have them baptised; to instruct them in their religion; to guard them from improper books, bad company, and from every situation that might lead them into temptation?

Have I used my best endeavours, subject to the pleasure of God, to provide for their comfortable and innocent subsistence in this world?

Have I neglected to maintain harmony and good will in my household, as much as was in my power?

Have I neglected to acquire the knowledge proper to my state of life, or necessary to the work which I had undertaken?

Have I told a falsehood, or been silent, and so deceived, when it was my duty to speak out?

Have I neglected the work or business to which I was hired or obliged by contract? or have I been guilty of any other species of cheating, stealing, or dishonesty?

Have I, in fine, sinned in any of the nine ways in which one may be made the partaker of another's sin:—that is to say, 1. By counselling it: 2. By commanding it: 3. By consenting to it: 4. By provoking him to it: 5. By praising or flattering him for it: 6. By concealing it: 7. By winking at it: 8. By being a partner with him in the fact: 9. By defending the ill done?

On Duties to Oneself.

Have I committed any excess in meat or drink?

Have I willingly given way to any immodest thought or desire, entertained any indelicate feelings, or been guilty of any act of impurity?

Have I failed to keep a strict watch over my exterior senses, my sight and hearing, my feelings and speech?

Have I exposed myself with too much confidence to the danger of sin, or taken any improper or dangerous liberties?

Have I sought to see, or to hear, or to read anything that was immodest, or that I thought was so?

Have I given up too much time to dress, to company, or to trifles?

Have I been proud on account of my prosperity, my personal appearance, my cleverness, or my relations and friends?

Have I despised and neglected those whom it was my duty to respect?

Have I given way to impatience, obstinacy, or anger? moroseness, sulkiness, or captiousness? or have I suffered my temper to be easily ruffled?

Have I neglected my household duties—the superintendence of my family concerns, my servants and children?

Have I wasted my time in idleness, or in chattering, from sloth, or from not endeavouring to get methodical habits?

Have I tried to defend and excuse myself when I knew that I was in fault?

Thus examine into the state of your conscience; recollecting that God will require an account of every idle word and thought; and that whatever temper you have indulged in here which you could not continue to display in heaven, is wrong and ought to be amended.

A Prayer to obtain Contrition.

I have sinned, O my God; I have been led away from thee, and from the strict performance of those duties and charities of life which thou hast appointed me. I have been negligent, and have indulged my evil propensities; and now what has it profited me? What can it profit a man, thou didst say, if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul? But have mercy on me, O God, in thy great mercy, and let not my soul be lost. Free me from the guilt which I have drawn upon myself; by granting me that true sorrow which may enable me to obtain thy pardon.

When I remember all thou hast done for me, and all thou hast suffered for me, my merciful Saviour, can I persist in those ways which are displeasing to thee? Can I reject all thy kind conditions of mercy, and rely for my salvation on myself alone? Oh no, my Saviour, no! To thee, I pray; in thee, I hope. I am sorry for my sins—sorry for having displeased thee, and removed my soul from thy grace. Oh let me not continue in my loneliness; but strengthen the spirit of repentance within me, that thy light may again shine upon my soul. Give me sorrow for the past, and a firm purpose of amendment for the future. Teach me to improve myself in virtue; and enable me to shun hereafter whatever may be likely to draw me astray. Lead me not into temptation, but deliver me from evil.

But of all evils deliver me, at this time, from hardness of heart. Pour forth thy saving grace upon me, and incline my heart to thy loving tenderness. Let me feel that sorrow which may produce a lasting effect, and may cause me to be always recollected in thee for the future. What avails it that I know my sins unless I repent of them, and endeavour to avoid them hereafter? Oh, perfect the work of amendment, and give me a true contrition—a contrition that may keep me from committing the same faults for ever more. I will confess my sins to thee, and thou wilt forgive me. I will call upon thee, and thou wilt answer me. To my hearing thou wilt give joy and gladness, and the bones that have been humbled shall rejoice. I do humble myself before thee, my dear Lord; and I will ever humble myself in acknowledgment of my faults: but oh! make my soul rejoice in thy pardon; make it always rejoice in the feeling that thy grace will protect me in all future trials, and will strengthen my resolution to avoid sin and to amend my evil inclinations. Amen.

An Act of Contrition.

My God, Almighty Father! I am sorry for my sins. I am sorry that I have been ever led astray from my duties, because my faults have been displeasing to thee, my merciful Creator. Oh, pardon me the sins that I am about to confess, and pardon all those which I have committed during my past life, and such also as may now have escaped my memory. I am sorry for them all, and implore thy forgiveness that I have ever had the misfortune to offend thee. Renew thy grace within my soul; wash it from every stain of guilt; and enable me to dedicate it to thee for the future.

Accept of my repentance, and blot out all my sins. Oh, let me never again have the misfortune to offend thee: for, O Lord! thou knowest that I love thee, and that I sincerely desire to obtain thy love and mercy. Have mercy on me, O God, according to thy great mercy; and according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out all my iniquities. To thee I offer myself: in thee I trust. Pardon the imperfections of my contrition, and let thy mercy supply what is wanting on my part. Let thy Holy Spirit again beam upon my soul, and so purify and becalm it that it may again become the abode of thy all-saving grace. Pardon and protect me, my God, I beseech thee, through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who with thee and the Holy Ghost liveth and reigneth one God for ever and ever. Amen.

With humility and sorrow, kneel down in the confessional and make the sign of the cross, saying “In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost,” then add “Pray, father, give me your blessing, for I have sinned.” When the priest has given his blessing, repeat the Confiteor, or “I confess to almighty God,” &c. (as in page 4.) as far as “through my fault, through my fault through my most grievous fault.” Here stop and mention all the sins that you can remember having committed since your last confession, or which you had then omitted or forgotten: and in your manner of doing so be guided by these three essential rules:—

First: Let your confession be entire; keeping back no sin wilfully—for to do so would make your confession of no use in itself, and would be adding the great sin of sacrilege to your former guilt. Tell the quality, and, where you are able, the number of your sins: and whatever aggravating circumstances may belong to each.

Secondly: Let your confession be pure from all deceit and pretence. Say every thing with truth and exactness: what you are sure of, as certain; what you doubt of, as doubtful. Shew yourself such as you believe yourself to be. But let your confession be free from excuses and needless words; avoid all that has nothing to do with the matter in hand; do not tell the faults of others; do not name any one without need; and proceed through the whole as shortly and clearly as possible.

Thirdly: Let your confession be humble. Remember that you are in the presence of God: that it is from Him you ask absolution, by means of His minister. Behave, therefore, reverently; and use such language as may show your sorrow to be sincere and free from affectation.

Then add “Of these and all other sins which I may not have been able to recollect, I am resolved to amend myself, and I humbly beg pardon of God, and penance and absolution. Therefore I beseech the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, blessed Michael,” &c., and so continue and finish the Confiteor. Then listen devoutly and attentively to whatever advice or injunction your confessor may give you; and retire with the firm purpose of fulfilling, without delay, the penance enjoined, and the conditions on which your absolution was given, and of amending your conduct for the time to come.