How to Examine Your Conscience

This is a brief examination of conscience based on the Ten Commandments, pride, and the seven deadly sins. 

Scripture tells us in 1 John 5:16-17 that some sins kill our relationship with Jesus; they are mortal, and other sins harm but don’t kill the relationship. Those are venial. The Catechism (1857) teaches that for a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: the action is grave matter. It is committed with sufficient knowledge. It was committed freely, or with deliberate consent. 

Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments; therefore, our examination of conscience should begin with the Ten Commandments and then with the roots of all sin: Pride and the Seven Deadly Sins. 

We begin with a prayer to the Holy Spirit, “Holy Spirit, convict me of my sins, not to shame me, but to bring me into the light, lead me to repentance, and set me free.”

The First Commandment: Worship God Alone 

Have I sought my identity, happiness, security, or peace in anything other than God? In other words, where do I give most of my time, attention, energy, and desire? Am I truly seeking God above all things, or have lesser things taken His place? Have I made an idol of success in my work, academics, sports, achievements, reputation, comfort, pleasure, money, politics, technology, control, or even my family? Are my children, my career, my image, my plans, or my need to control more important to me than God? Have I lived as if everything depends on me, instead of receiving my life, my worth, and my peace from Him?

Second Commandment: Honor God’s Name 

Have I misused God’s name? Have I spoken irreverently about God or the Church, or holy things? 

Third Commandment: Keep Sunday Holy 

Have I missed Mass on Sunday or a Holy Day of Obligation without serious reason? Have I received Communion while conscious of grave sin? Have I treated Sunday as merely a day for work, sports, shopping, entertainment, catching up, or self-indulgence?

Fourth Commandment: Honor Your Father and Mother

Fourth Commandment: Have I honored, loved, respected, and cared for my parents and family members? Have I been grateful, obedient in what is good, patient, and forgiving? Have I neglected my parents, grandparents, or relatives in their old age, illness, loneliness, or need? Have I respected rightful authority in my life, including teachers, employers, civil leaders, and pastors? If I am a parent, have I loved, educated, disciplined, and formed my children in virtue and faith, while respecting them as persons and helping them follow God’s will?

Fifth Commandment: You shall not murder

Have I participated in, supported, encouraged, paid for, or pressured someone toward abortion, or voted with the intention of defending or advancing abortion as a woman’s choice? Have I participated in or supported euthanasia, assisted suicide, or the use of medication with the intention of deliberately hastening death to eliminate suffering? Have I harbored hatred and resentment, refused forgiveness, desired revenge, or wished harm on another? Have I let sinful anger control me, leading to harmful thoughts, words, or actions? Have I caused scandal by leading others into grave sin through my example, advice, silence, approval, or encouragement?

The Sixth Commandment: You shall not commit adultery 

The Sixth Commandment governs sexual actions. Have I committed adultery, fornication, masturbation, pornography, contraception, IVF, artificial insemination, homosexual acts, or any sexual act outside God’s design for marriage? Have I sought sexual pleasure apart from the marital act, or used my body or another person rather than giving faithful, life-giving love?

Seventh Commandment: You shall not steal

The Seventh Commandment concerns justice in our outward use of money, work, property, and material goods. It forbids taking what does not belong to us, but it also includes cheating, defrauding, refusing to pay debts, wasting time at work, doing poor work for good pay, underpaying workers, overcharging, damaging property, failing to make restitution, or using what belongs to another without permission. More deeply, it asks whether I take more than I give, give less than I owe, or treat what God has entrusted to me as if it were only for myself rather than for the good of others.

Eighth Commandment: You shall not bear false witness. You must tell the truth

Have I lied, deceived, exaggerated, gossiped, slandered, revealed another’s faults unnecessarily, judged rashly, spread rumors or misinformation, broken confidences, damaged another’s reputation, or been lazy, cowardly, or indifferent toward the truth?

The Ninth Commandment: You shall not desire your neighbor’s wife

The Ninth Commandment calls us to purify sexual desires, thoughts, motives, and interior consent. Have I entertained lustful thoughts, fantasies, looks, desires, or motives that reduce another person to an object for my pleasure or emotional needs? Have I used pornography, sought sexual attention, or used another person sexually to get what I want rather than loving and willing their good?

Tenth Commandment: You shall not desire your neighbor’s goods.

The Tenth Commandment concerns the desires of the heart toward material goods and the blessings of others. It forbids envy, greed, resentment, comparison, and the restless desire to have what belongs to another. I may not steal outwardly, but I can still sin inwardly by being bitter that someone else has more, craving another person’s house, income, success, lifestyle, talents, or security, or failing to thank God for the gifts He has given me. The Seventh Commandment asks whether I have acted unjustly with material goods. The Tenth asks whether I have desired them in a disordered way, instead of receiving my own gifts with gratitude and rejoicing in the gifts God gives to others.

Pride Is the Root

To get rid of sin, we must pull it out by the roots. Those roots are pride and the Seven Deadly Sins. So when we examine our conscience, we should not only ask, “What sinful thing did I do?” or “What good did I fail to do?” We must also ask, “Why did I do it? Pride and the Seven Deadly Sins are the roots. The great spiritual masters teach that most of us are dominated by two or three root vices. So don’t just confess scattered actions. Ask: What is the root?

Pride is every way I put myself in the place of God. It is not just arrogance or vanity. Pride is when I stop receiving my identity, worth, security, peace, and happiness from God and try to get them from my own control, success, reputation, or the approval of others. Pride says, “I know better than God what will make me happy.” “I will decide what is good and evil.” “I will seek life, peace, pleasure, security, or justice apart from God.” “I will do it my way.”

Then pride gives birth to coping mechanisms. Vanity says, “I need others to tell me I’m enough.” So I chase praise, approval, attention, image, and reputation. Envy says, “If you rise, I fall.” So I become sad at another’s good and secretly glad when they fail. Sloth says, “Holiness is too much.” So I avoid daily meditation and the practices that result in holiness. 

The remedy is humility. Humility is not thinking less of myself. It is living in the truth: God is God, and I am not. Humility says, “Lord, You are God. I am not. I receive everything from You. I trust You.”

The Seven Deadly Sins Reveal the Predominant Fault

Anger is good when it gives energy to correct evil, achieve what is difficult, and endure what cannot be changed. But sinful anger tries to force reality or people to bend to my will. It becomes harshness, impatience, revenge, domination, resentment, and rebellion against Providence. The remedy is meekness: strength under control.

Greed is not having money or stuff. Greed is trusting money. It is looking to money for security, identity, and peace. The remedy is simplicity, detachment, and generosity.

Gluttony is not enjoying food and drink. It is being ruled by pleasure or using pleasure to escape stress, boredom, sadness, or pain. The remedy is temperance, especially fasting, so pleasure follows the good rather than replacing it.

Lust is the choice to use another person sexually to get what I want. The remedy is love: “I want your good.” And one of the best ways to overcome lust is to build real friendships, where people pursue something greater than themselves through shared activity and good conversation.

So when you examine your conscience, ask: Which deadly sin is underneath my repeated sins? Is it pride? Vanity? Envy? Sloth? Anger? Greed? Gluttony? Lust?

Don’t carry the weight of guilt any longer. Jesus wants to set you free and heal you in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and healing. 

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