How to do an Examination of Conscience
One
Removing the Destructive Forces of Sin
Three of the most beneficial habits of achieving the happiness that comes from union with God are a daily brief examination of conscience, removing the near occasions of sin, and frequent confession. The purpose of an examination of conscience is to grow in self-knowledge and self-awareness, so that we can remove whatever blocks union with God.
An examination of conscience is the practice of honestly reviewing my thoughts, desires, words, actions, and omissions in the light of God, so I can identify my sins, root vices, and near occasions of sin. You can do this whenever you like. But it is easier to make it a habit if you connect it with a spiritual practice you do every day. One option is to begin your daily meditation with the examination of conscience. This could be done right before you pray the Daily Rosary Meditation.
Ask the Holy Spirit for light to see yourself truthfully. Review your thoughts, words, actions, and omissions for the last 24 hours. Write it down and keep it in a private place to review to see your patterns of vice and to prepare for confession. Then begin your Rosary or another form of meditation.
Two
Examination During Meditation
The second way to do the examination of conscience is during our daily meditation. How do we do that?
Read or listen to the Word of God contained in Scripture, Tradition (the lives and writings of a saint) or the teaching of the Church (the Magisterium). Just like we are doing right now in this Daily Rosary Meditation.
As soon as something strikes you, stop. Stop reading, push pause. Even if you don’t finish this Rosary, that is okay. Because the purpose of meditation is to allow God to change us for the better. Not checking the box that we finished the Rosary task.
Then reflect or think about what struck you. What is the Word of God trying to tell me? Compare your way of thinking, speaking, acting, and desiring to what God is showing you. What sin, fault, or disordered attachment is being revealed?
Then ask: What is the vice, the predominant fault that is at the root of my sin? Pride, vanity, envy, sloth, anger, greed, gluttony, lust. Write down the repeated patterns. Most people have two or three dominant faults or root vices that keep showing up.
Then, determine what good action you need to practice, turning the vice into a virtue. If the root is pride, practice humility. If vanity, magnanimity. If envy, goodwill. If sloth, zeal. If anger, meekness. If greed, generosity. If gluttony, temperance. If lust, chastity. If resentment, forgiveness.
Three
Plucking Out and Cutting Off
We do not fall at random. We fall into patterns. A certain person, place, screen, conversation, mood, fatigue, resentment, or activity usually leads to sin. So, we try to identify the near occasion of sin, the triggers that regularly lead us into sin.
BLAST is a good acronym for our triggers. B – boredom. L – loneliness. A – anger. S – stress. T – tiredness.
What usually happens right before I sin? That is why Jesus says, “If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out,” and “if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off.” He is telling us to remove the triggers of sin. Willpower alone is not enough in temptation. We need a strategy to avoid the situation that leads us to sin, because once the temptation is fully present, we are often too weak to say no. Prudence acts earlier. So ask: What is my vice? And what usually happens right before I fall?
Then make a concrete strategy. Do not keep placing yourself in the same situation and expect a different result. Pluck out the eye. Cut off the hand. Remove or change the situation that leads you to fall.
Four
Resolution
Then form a concrete resolution, a concrete action plan. The resolution should consider three things: first, the root vice. Practice the opposite virtue of your dominant deadly sin. If the root is pride, practice humility. If vanity, magnanimity. If envy, goodwill. If sloth, zeal. If anger, meekness. If greed, generosity. If gluttony, temperance. If lust, chastity. If resentment, forgiveness.
Second, my triggers to sin. I need a game plan to avoid the situations that get into sin.
Third, what is the Holy Spirit inspiring in me in today’s meditation? What is the one concrete thing God is asking me to think, say, do, avoid, or surrender? The key is this: do not stay vague. Choose one concrete thing to practice today. One good action repeated over time becomes a virtue.
Five
Frequent Confession is one of the greatest helps in overcoming sin and growing in holiness.
Our Lady requested once a month. But that will turn into once every two to three months. If you aim for twice a month, then you will go once. If you want to grow in virtue and love (holiness), then you will go to Reconciliation twice a month. By going to Confession every week, you will make the most progress in overcoming sin (which destroys happiness), and you will become happy and a lot more enjoyable to live with.
CCC 1458 teaches us that “regular confession of our venial sins helps us form our conscience, fight against evil tendencies, let ourselves be healed by Christ, and progress in the life of the Spirit. By receiving more frequently through this sacrament the gift of the Father's mercy, we are spurred to be merciful as he is merciful.”
Carl Jung, one of the most influential psychologists of the twentieth century, saw that sin and guilt wound the soul and that Catholic Confession can heal all of this. In Confession, I bring my sin and guilt to Jesus, where he removes both.
Through the priest, Christ does what no psychologist can when he says, “I absolve you from your sins. I set you free from what holds you bound.”
You don’t have to keep carrying the weight, the burden of your sin and guilt. Go to Confession. Let Jesus forgive you, heal you, strengthen you, and give you grace to begin again.