 |
| Pope Francis hearing confessions, Esteban Munilla |
The examination of conscience is a little exercise in the spiritual life, yet one which plays a crucial part. Since it is so small, my suspicion is that a lot of the time it is taken for granted that everyone knows how to do it. In the current climate in the Church, though, such things really shouldn't be assumed.
At its most basic level, an examination of conscience simply means taking some time to consider when and where I may have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Usually, this means considering a specific period of time, for example the time since my last confession, or, perhaps, the day that has just gone by. Indeed, these are the two most important periods to consider for reasons which I will explain. However, it is good to point out here the obvious point that unless I have worked out where I have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, my use of the Sacrament of Confession will be fairly stunted. This sacrament applies Grace liberally to the areas of our lives which we open to Him for healing. If we don't know where those places are, though, then we cannot open them to Him, which means the fruits of the sacrament are, to a great extent, missed. The sins will be forgiven - but the deeper fruits of conversion will probably not appear.
Making a good examination of conscience is a skill. Like most skills, it is one we get better at if we practise it regularly and it is one which becomes easier with regular practice. Again, like other skills, it may take us quite a lot of time when we begin, but as we become used to it, it takes less time. This is why the two periods mentioned above are important. At an earlier stage it is important to give a lot of effort to the examination of conscience before Confession, but as time goes by, the heavy lifting can be done by a short examination of conscience at the end of the day.
Before Confession
When it is time to make a sacramental Confession again, a person should allocate some time in the 24 hours beforehand to do a good examination of conscience. If this is something you have never done before (or for a long time) I would strongly (really strongly) urge you to consult a written examination, which consists of a series of questions about the moral life [see below for some examples]. Spend some time going through these questions, considering whether you have fallen into any of the things asked about.
TOP TIP: In a safe place make some written notes. It makes it MUCH easier in the confessional.Most important is to identify whether you have committed any serious sins. That is to say, if you have committed any sins which are:
- Concrete acts or omissions against the 10 Commandments (in the widest sense);
- Which you knew that you were doing;
- And which you freely chose to do.
If you find you have committed any of these, then you need to go to Confession before receiving Holy Communion again. Once in the confessional, you confess these sins, telling the priest what the sin was and how many times you did it - to the best of your memory. If you find you have committed a serious sin, don't panic! God's Mercy delights in forgiving you your sins, and if you respond properly in bringing it to the sacrament of mercy, then Grace can really enter in and transform this/these falls into real occasions of renewal in your life.
Others sins which are not so serious, should also be examined in your preparation for confession. These will likely be very numerous, and impossible for you to name by kind and number. Here it suffices to explain more generally how you have sinned. This is still important and worth doing, because it helps to to make progress on the spiritual journey.
Progress in the Spiritual Life
Roughly speaking, the spiritual journey towards holiness will pass through the stages of overcoming:
- First, Serious or Mortal Sin: sin which is a fully conscious, free rejection of God's Will.
- Second, Venial Sin: sin which is a less conscious or less than fully free rejection of God's Will.
- Third, Imperfections: the more deep seated wounds to our nature, which are not strictly sinful, because we don't will them, but which can lead us back into sin.
An early convert will likely have to spend some years fighting against serious sins. However, if he or she stays close to the means of Grace (prayer & the sacraments), then eventually Grace will triumph and the person will move past his or her particular serious sins; but, then his or her attention will be instinctively drawn more towards overcoming the areas of venial sin. The soul will have come closer to God, and so standing in the light of His truth, will be more aware - and sensitive - to the smaller sins.
Moving further up and further in to the spiritual life the Christian will then begin to win more victories over even venial sin in his or her life; but this, in turn, leads to a greater awareness (having come even closer to God's radiant glory) of the deeper levels of imperfection in his or her soul. Being aware of this, the Christian can then begin to expose even this to Grace, such that healing can be experienced at a quite deep level.
Therefore, it is normal over the course of a lifetime for our use of the Sacrament of Confession to change and become deeper as we grow in self-knowledge of our sinful state. Here, can perhaps be seen the reason why we need to keep at the process of regular examination of conscience and going to Confession.
Nightly Examination of Conscience
Every Christian should spend a few minutes at the end of each day examining his or her conscience. I often recommend to people to spend 3-5 minutes finding three things to thank God for in the day and three things for which to apologise. Again, my top tip is to make some notes in a secure place, especially of the latter.
As a Christian becomes adept at making an examination of conscience, it will no longer be necessary to go through a long written list of questions in preparing for Confession. Having done it many times before, he or she will be aware of the difference sins there are - and particularly aware of the kinds of sins he or she tends to commit. It will remain good practice to revisit a formal examination once or twice a year, but once a person has moved beyond committing serious sins, and is consistently only finding venial sins to confess, then greater weight can be put on the briefer nightly examination.
I would contend that if this is done consistently, and helpful notes have been made, then when the time comes for confession, the penitent will have at his or her disposal a very good picture written down from which to make a thorough, honest and sincere confession.
Failure to prepare is preparation to fail. Of course, in a sacrament properly celebrated, Grace always succeeds to some extent. However, the sacraments are exponentially more powerful, where we have prepared for God's Grace. If your preparation for Confession has been a little lacklustre in the past, I urge you to revisit this: I promise, in a year's time you will be amazed what Grace has done!!
Examinations of Conscience
One based on the 10 Commandments and the Catechism
One based on the Seven Deadly Sins
No comments:
Post a Comment