A regular examination of conscience is essential to growing in our faith and strengthening our relationship with Christ.
St. Paul emphasized the importance of regular daily examination of conscience, especially 1 Corinthians. St. Ignatius Loyola crafted two types of examination of conscience to be said each day: the general examination and the particular examination. When you do a general examination, you review your day and reflect on what went right and what went wrong. In a particular examination, you can focus on one specific fault of that day and brainstorm how to avoid it in the future.
You can make these examinations of consciences in the morning or evening, or both.
Before Confession, we follow an examination of conscience in preparation to confess our recent sins and seek repentance. Before you make your confession, ask the Holy Spirit to help you feel sorry for your sins. You then spend some time reflecting on the sins you have committed since you last went to Confession. A good way to identify your sins is to follow a guide with questions to ask yourself about sins you may have committed, then writing your sins down before you enter the confessional. The Daily Roman Missal provides an in-depth list of questions to ask yourself before confession.
The Ignatian practice of a daily general examination is a great way to strengthen your self-awareness, which will in turn make your examination of conscience before confession easier and more powerful. This Ignatian Examen is done in 5 steps:
1. Ask God for Light
2. Give Thanks
3. Review your Day
4. Reflect on Shortcomings
5. Look Toward the Day to Come
As you grow in your self-awareness and humility through a good Examen practice, you’ll be able to bring every part of your life to Christ. The goal is unite every part of your day to prayer—even your suffering! In How to Make Sense of Suffering, you’ll learn how to avoid the mistakes most of us make when we’re suffering—mistakes that only make our burdens heavier. You’ll come to see that misfortunes are not the blind workings of chance, but are vital elements in God’s loving plan. Order your copy today from The Catholic Company!
