Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Examination of Conscience
Examination of Conscience
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You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
[3]
[4]
Has each sexual act in my marriage been open to the transmission of new
life?
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Have I lied?
Have I gossiped?
[9]
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Am I greedy or selfish?
Do I trust that God will care for all of my material and spiritual needs?
Examination of Conscience
Prayer Before Confession
O Lord, grant me light to see myself as Thou dost see me and the grace to be truly
and efficaciously contrite for my sins. O Mary, help me to make a good confession.
Preliminary
Besides telling the NATURE of our sins, we must also recollect, as far as possible, the
NUMBER of times we have committed them, telling also (and only) those CIRCUMSTANCES
which at times may either make a venial sin mortal or a mortal sin notably worse.
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 the confessor or disobeyed
any of his directions?
4. Have I neglected the Easter duty of receiving Holy Communion or failed to
confess my sins within a year?
First Commandment
1. Am I ignorant of my catechism (Act of Contrition, Apostle's Creed, Ten
Commandments, Seven Sacraments, the Our Father)?
2. Have I willfully doubted or denied any of the teachings of the Church
(heresy)?
3. Have I taken active part in any non-Catholic worship?
4. Am I a member of any anti-Catholic or any secret society?
5. Have I knowingly read any anti-Catholic literature?
6. Have I practiced any superstitions (horoscopes, fortune tellers, etc.)?
Second Commandment
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?
Third Commandment
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?
Fourth Commandment
1. Have I been disrespectful to my parents or neglected them?
2. Have I failed in obedience or reverence to 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:
o
Have I failed to care for their early Baptism or their proper religious
instruction?
OTHER SINS
1. Have I knowingly caused others to sin?
2. Have I cooperated in the sins of others?
3. Have I sinned by gluttony?
4. Have I become intoxicated?
5. Have I used narcotics?
6. Have I been motivated by avarice?
7. Have I indulged in boasting or vainglory?
8. Have I received Holy Communion or another sacrament in the state of mortal
sin?
9. Is there any other sin I need to confess?
"I sought for a man among them that should make up the hedge...that I should not destroy..."
(Ez.22:30)
A certain man discovered that his wife was secretly seeing another man. She would meet him on
business trips and spend long hours after work with him. For months she had neglected her home
responsibilities, such as making any meals for her husband.
He learned about the "hedge of thorns" that he could claim in prayer for his wife, and one day he
used it. That evening when he got home from work, his wife was in the kitchen making their first
meal in four months!
A wife learned that her husband was spending time with a younger woman. She learned further
that he was planning to leave her and marry this younger woman. She was told how to pray for a
"hedge of thorns" around her husband. The next evening he received a phone call from the young
woman telling him that she wanted to break off their relationship.
The wife of a young pastor left him and began working in a bar. She was planning to marry the
barkeeper. The grieving husband learned how to pray for a "hedge of thorns" around his wife,
and three days later, his wife called him up and was ready to return home.
These are only a few of the many illustrations which Christians are experiencing as a result of
building a "hedge of thorns" or "hedge of protection" around their loved ones. However, there is
far more to the story than just praying a certain prayer.
The Scriptural basis for the "hedge of thorns" is found in several passages. First of all, God looks
for an intercessor to make up a "hedge" of protection. (Ez.22:30). Job is an example of such a
man in the O.T. (Job 1:5-12)
He prayed for God's protection over his family - including his sons and daughters whom he
feared cursed God in their hearts. The result was that God "made an hedge about him, and about
his house, and about all that He had on every side".
By building a "hedge" around an unfaithful partner, his/her "lovers" lose interest and Satan is no
more able to take your partner captive "at his will". Satan must get clearance from God for
whatever he does, and his actions become God's dealings in love. II Timothy 2:25-26; II
Corinthians 12:7; Job 1:5-10)
A further illustration of the hedge is found in Hosea. God promised to make a hedge of thorns
around Hosea's adulterous wife so that her lovers would lose interest in her. (Hosea 2:6-7)
After God built a hedge of thorns around Hosea's unfaithful wife, and her lovers left her, she
decided to return to her husband. However, if she was to remain under his authority and
protection, there were several things that he had to do. These are listed in Hosea 2:14-16.
The NT counterpart to this truth is illustrated in Christ's interecession for Peter (Lk.22:31-38)
and for his disciples (John 17:12 - the hedge of prayer - none lost but the son of perdition). It is
also illustrated in Paul's prayer for those under his spiritual care.
The basic teaching of Scripture on the hedge is found in II Cor. 10:4-5 "For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds."
This emphasizes the fact that Satan is able to have powerful holds on our mind, will, and
emotions, but that through God we can and must pull them down.
The purpose of "binding Satan" (Matt.12:29) and building a "hedge of protection" around your
partner is so that you can proceed "casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ."
(II Cor.10:5).
There are a number of cases in which a husband or wife build a "hedge of thorns" around an
unfaithful partner through prayer, saw the return of that partner, and then failed to follow up on
the victory. Soon Satan regained a foothold in that partner's life. Thus, the following steps are
very essential.
GOMER
Gomer was the wife of the prophet Hosea.
She was an adulterous wife.
In this account, God gives us a graphic illustration of how the "hedge of thorns" works
Hosea 2:6-16
A "hedge will be ineffective if you have not resolved all past offenses, or if you do not follow
through with Scriptural steps of actions.
2. YOUR REQUEST
When we pray, we must be specific; the more precise we are in our prayer, the more able we are
to judge its Scriptural basis and the more alert we will be in seeing His answer to it. "...Ye have
not, because ye ask not" (James 4:2)