Examination of Conscience for Children

I. Did you say your prayers, morning and night?

II. Did you say bad words or curse—did you curse with God's name?

III. Did you stop away from Mass on Sundays by your own fault?

IV. Did you behave ill to your father or mother?

V. Did you get angry, fight, quarrel, &c.?

VI. and IX. Did you like thinking about bad, immodest things, or do very bad things with yourself or with others?

VII. and X. Did you steal—what did you steal?

VIII. Did you tell lies—speak ill of others?

Did you eat meat on Fridays or Fast-days, by your own fault?

Did you wilfully conceal a mortal sin in confession?

How many times each sin?

AFTER THE EXAMINATION.

Having discovered the different sorts of sins of which you have been guilty, together with their number, enormity, or such aggravating circumstances as may considerably increase their malice or change their nature, your next endeavour should be to excite in your breast a heartfelt sorrow for having committed them, and a sincere detestation of them, by repeating several times the Act of Contrition over them: or you might also say:

THOUGH I have sinned, O Lord, and done evil in Thy sight, yet shall I never say, as Cain did, “my crimes are too great to be forgiven.” Thou didst pardon David, though his sin was most grievous; Magdalen, a sinner by profession; Peter, who denied Thee with oaths; the adulteress convicted in Thy presence; the penitent thief on the cross. All these obtained forgiveness, because they sought it sincerely; nay, more, Thy tenderness was shown even to the traitor Judas, nor were even the cruel Jews excluded from Thy prayers; and shall not I also, O my God, cry out to Thee for mercy? Yes, for relying on Thy wonted goodness, I shall never be confounded. My sins are enormous, it is true, and stand always against me; but the more hideous they are, the more I detest them. Against Thee, O God, have I sinned, and to Thee I cry out for pardon. Oh, that I had never offended Thee, for Thou art infinitely good. Oh, that my sorrow for having offended Thee were great as my offences. Oh, that I might grieve for them even unto death, and feel those bitter pangs with which Thy soul was overwhelmed in the Garden of Olives. Let the inexpressible anguish of mind Thou didst there feel, Thy sighs, Thy tears, Thy fainting, and Thy bloody sweat, O Lord, plead now in my behalf, and supply the defects of my imperfect sorrow. Let them draw down Thy mercies, O heavenly Father, and restore me again to Thy favour.

Alas, I have offended Him by whose blood I was redeemed. I have been the cause of His sufferings. I have renewed His death, and crucified Him again by my sins. Oh, who will give sorrow to my heart and a fountain of tears to my eyes, that I may bewail my iniquities in the bitterness of my soul! Have compassion on me, O most loving Father! I throw myself into the arms of Thy infinite mercy. Clothe me with Thy grace, and admit me to Thy sacrament of reconciliation. Cast out of my heart whatever Thou knowest profanes or defiles Thy temple. Root out of my soul whatever is displeasing unto Thee, and lay in me the foundation of a new life. I renounce and utterly detest all sins for the love of Thee. O God of infinite bounty and goodness, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. I beg and hope for pardon through the merits of Thine only Son, my Saviour Jesus Christ. Accept His Passion and death in satisfaction for my offences, and for His sake have mercy on me, whose only hope is in Thy mercy. Amen.

If, with these sentiments glowing in your breast, you cast yourself at the feet of your Confessor, and reveal to him all the sins you recollect, in a truly penitential spirit, be assured you shall return with joy from the tribunal of confession, and feel realised in yourself the consoling promise of the Holy Spirit, that “They who sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Ps. cxxv.).