How to Make an Examination of Conscience

Most people who dread confession are not afraid of the priest. They are afraid of standing there with nothing clear to say, or of forgetting something important. A good examination of conscience solves both problems. It takes ten to twenty minutes, it follows a simple order, and it turns a vague sense of guilt into a short, honest list.

This guide gives you that order: a prayer to begin, five practical steps, questions for each of the Ten Commandments and the precepts of the Church, and what to do once you are finished.

What is an examination of conscience?

An examination of conscience is a prayerful review of your thoughts, words, actions and omissions since your last confession. You ask God to show you where you have sinned, measure your life against his commandments, and prepare to confess those sins honestly in the sacrament of Penance.

The Catechism describes it directly: "The reception of this sacrament ought to be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light of the Word of God" (CCC 1454). It names the best sources for that light as "the moral catechesis of the Gospels and the apostolic Letters, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the apostolic teachings."

It is related to the daily examen, the short nightly prayer of St. Ignatius, but it is not the same thing. The examen reviews one day and looks for God's presence as well as your faults. The examination of conscience looks back over a longer stretch and focuses on the sins you need to bring to confession.

Why does the Church ask for an examination before confession?

Because confession requires you to name your sins, and you cannot name what you have not looked for. The Church asks penitents to confess every mortal sin they are aware of "after a diligent self-examination," which is exactly what the examination provides.

The full sentence in the Catechism reads: "All mortal sins of which penitents after a diligent self-examination are conscious must be recounted by them in confession, even if they are most secret" (CCC 1456). The standard is diligence, not perfection. The Church does not expect a flawless memory. It expects an honest effort.

There is also a human reason. The Catechism notes that confessing sins "frees us and facilitates our reconciliation with others," because a person "looks squarely at the sins he is guilty of, takes responsibility for them" (CCC 1455). The examination is where that looking squarely begins.

How do you make an examination of conscience, step by step?

Find a quiet place and allow ten to twenty minutes. Then work through five steps in order: pray, recall your last confession, review your life against the commandments, note what you need to confess, and finish with sorrow and a resolution.

1. Pray for light. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see your sins clearly and without panic. A single sentence is enough: "Come, Holy Spirit, show me my sins as you see them, and give me true sorrow for them."
2. Recall your last confession. Roughly how long ago was it? Did you complete the penance? Did you deliberately hide a serious sin? If so, that needs to be mentioned now.
3. Review your life. Go through the questions below, commandment by commandment. Read each one slowly and answer honestly, without arguing with yourself.
4. Note what to confess. For any serious sin, note what kind of sin it was and roughly how many times. For lesser sins, a general pattern is enough. A few words on paper or in your phone is fine; destroy the note afterwards.
5. Pray for sorrow. Ask for true contrition and make a firm resolution to avoid these sins and what leads to them.

What questions should you ask for each of the Ten Commandments?

The Ten Commandments are the traditional framework, because the Church teaches that grave matter is specified by them. The questions below are not a complete list of every possible sin. They are prompts to help your memory, arranged by commandment.

The Catechism explains the logic of this order: "The Ten Commandments state what is required in the love of God and love of neighbor. The first three concern love of God, and the other seven love of neighbor" (CCC 2067).

• I. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me. Have I neglected prayer for long periods? Have I doubted or denied a truth of the faith deliberately? Have I trusted horoscopes, fortune-telling or the occult? Have I put money, work, pleasure or status before God?
• II. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. Have I used God's name carelessly or in anger? Have I cursed someone? Have I broken a promise or vow made to God?
• III. Remember to keep holy the Lord's day. Have I missed Sunday Mass or a holy day of obligation through my own fault? Have I arrived late or left early without reason? Have I made Sunday a day of unnecessary work?
• IV. Honour your father and your mother. Have I been disrespectful to my parents or neglected them in their need? As a parent, have I neglected my children's faith or wellbeing? Have I disobeyed legitimate authority?
• V. You shall not kill. Have I harmed anyone physically? Have I held on to hatred or wished harm on someone? Have I been involved in an abortion? Have I abused alcohol or drugs, or put my own life or others' at risk? Have I led someone else into sin?
• VI. You shall not commit adultery. Have I been unfaithful to my spouse? Have I had sexual relations outside marriage? Have I looked at pornography? Have I committed impure acts alone or with others?
• VII. You shall not steal. Have I taken what is not mine or kept what I should return? Have I cheated at work, in business or on taxes? Have I wasted time or money I owed to others? Have I neglected the poor when I could help?
• VIII. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour. Have I lied? Have I damaged someone's reputation by gossip, exaggeration or revealing their faults without need? Have I refused to forgive or to repair harm done by my words?
• IX. You shall not covet your neighbour's wife. Have I deliberately entertained impure thoughts or desires? Have I fed them with what I watch, read or scroll?
• X. You shall not covet your neighbour's goods. Have I been consumed by envy of what others have? Have I let greed or the desire for status shape my decisions?

If a question does not apply, move on. If one stops you, stay with it for a moment. That is usually where the real material for your confession is.

What about the precepts of the Church?

The precepts of the Church are five basic duties every Catholic owes: attending Mass on Sundays and holy days, confessing serious sins at least once a year, receiving Communion at least during the Easter season, observing the days of fasting and abstinence, and helping to provide for the Church's needs.

The Catechism calls them "the indispensable minimum in the spirit of prayer and moral effort" (CCC 2041). Ask yourself plainly whether you have kept each one. The Sunday obligation in particular is serious: the Catechism states that "those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin" (CCC 2181). Our explainer on whether missing Sunday Mass is a mortal sin covers the legitimate reasons for missing and what to do if you have.

How do you tell whether a sin is mortal or venial?

A sin is mortal when three conditions are all present: the matter is grave, you knew it was seriously wrong, and you chose it freely. If any one of the three is missing, the sin is venial. Mortal sins must be confessed by kind and number; venial sins may be.

The Catechism states the rule in one sentence: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent" (CCC 1857). Our full guide to what mortal sin is walks through each condition with examples.

Venial sins are still worth confessing. The Church "strongly recommends" it, because "the 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" (CCC 1458). If you are genuinely unsure whether something was mortal, confess it and let the priest help you judge.

What if you feel anxious or cannot remember everything?

Do your honest best and stop. The Church asks for a diligent examination, not an exhaustive one. Sins you genuinely forget are forgiven along with the rest, and if you remember a serious one later, you simply mention it at your next confession.

Some people find the examination turns into a loop of doubt, re-checking the same thoughts again and again. This is called scrupulosity, and it is common. Two rules help. First, give the examination a fixed time limit and keep to it. Second, do not re-confess sins that have already been absolved. If anxiety persists, tell your confessor. Priests deal with this often and will give you clear, practical guidance.

If it has been many years, the task can feel enormous. It is smaller than it looks. You name the patterns of serious sin as honestly as you can, with an approximate frequency, and the priest helps with the rest. Our guide to going to confession after years away explains exactly what to say.

What should you do after the examination?

Ask God for true sorrow, make a firm resolution to change, and go to confession. Contrition matters more than the length of your list. The Catechism calls it the first of the penitent's acts: "sorrow of the soul and detestation for the sin committed, together with the resolution not to sin again" (CCC 1451).

Sorrow does not need to be emotional. The Church recognises contrition that arises from love of God and also contrition that begins from fear of sin's consequences, which "disposes one to obtain forgiveness in the sacrament of Penance" (CCC 1453). What matters is that you sincerely wish you had not sinned and intend, with God's help, not to sin again.

Many people pray the Act of Contrition at the end of their examination and again in the confessional. Then go. Check your parish's confession times, or those of a nearby cathedral or religious-order church, and take your short list with you. The examination has done its job once you are in line.