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Preparation for Confession

Return with an
honest heart.

Ask the Holy Spirit for light, then look honestly at your thoughts, words, actions, and the good you left undone. These questions are a starting point; they cannot cover every conscience or circumstance.

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This page can help you prepare for Confession. It cannot forgive sins or give absolution.

Absolution is received by confessing to a Catholic priest who has faculties to absolve. In danger of death or an urgent pastoral need, contact a priest directly.

Commandment 1 of 10

I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.

Consider what has occupied the first place in your heart.

Have I neglected prayer, worship, or trust in God because something else seemed more urgent?

Have I treated power, comfort, approval, money, politics, or superstition as though it could save me?

Have I deliberately rejected what I know the Church teaches without honestly seeking understanding?

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VALTREXA · PRIVATE PREPARATION

Examination of Conscience

This guide can help with preparation, but it cannot forgive sins or give absolution.Absolution is received through Confession to a Catholic priest who has faculties to absolve.

Commandment 1

I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.

Consider what has occupied the first place in your heart.

Have I neglected prayer, worship, or trust in God because something else seemed more urgent?
Have I treated power, comfort, approval, money, politics, or superstition as though it could save me?
Have I deliberately rejected what I know the Church teaches without honestly seeking understanding?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 2

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.

Consider whether your speech has honored what is holy.

Have I used the holy name carelessly, contemptuously, or to manipulate another person?
Have I made promises before God that I did not intend to keep?
Has my conduct caused others to associate faith with hypocrisy or cruelty?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 3

Remember to keep holy the Lord’s Day.

Consider how you have received Sunday and the Church’s worship.

Have I freely missed Mass on Sundays or holy days of obligation without a serious reason?
Have I allowed unnecessary work, consumption, or distraction to erase worship and rest?
Have I ignored the lonely, sick, poor, or members of my own household on the Lord’s Day?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 4

Honor your father and your mother.

Consider the duties entrusted to you within family and legitimate authority.

Have I treated parents, children, dependents, teachers, or lawful authorities with contempt?
Have I neglected someone who reasonably depends upon my care?
Have I used authority selfishly, harshly, or without listening?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 5

You shall not kill.

Consider your reverence for human life, peace, and bodily dignity.

Have I nourished hatred, cruelty, revenge, or indifference toward another person’s suffering?
Have I endangered life through violence, recklessness, substance abuse, or neglect?
Have I failed to defend human life and dignity, especially where someone was vulnerable or unwanted?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 6

You shall not commit adultery.

Consider whether your relationships and imagination have honored the dignity of love.

Have I used another person for gratification in action, speech, media, or fantasy?
Have I been unfaithful to the promises and responsibilities of my state in life?
Have I avoided the boundaries, honesty, and self-command required by chastity?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 7

You shall not steal.

Consider your use of property, labor, and the goods of creation.

Have I taken, damaged, withheld, or misused what belongs to another?
Have I been dishonest in work, wages, contracts, taxes, debts, or the use of another person’s time?
Have I ignored the needs of the poor while wasting resources entrusted to me?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 8

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Consider whether your words have served truth and protected reputation.

Have I lied, misled, concealed necessary truth, or spoken without caring whether a claim was true?
Have I gossiped, revealed another person’s faults without good reason, or damaged a reputation?
Have I refused to correct a falsehood because it benefited me?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 9

You shall not covet your neighbor’s spouse.

Consider the movements of the heart that oppose faithful and self-giving love.

Have I deliberately entertained desires that disregard another person’s marriage or dignity?
Have I encouraged emotional secrecy or intimacy that properly belongs within a marriage?
Have jealousy or comparison prevented me from willing another person’s good?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

Commandment 10

You shall not covet your neighbor’s goods.

Consider whether gratitude or envy has shaped your life.

Have I resented another person’s possessions, opportunities, gifts, or success?
Have I allowed the desire to acquire more to make me anxious, wasteful, or ungenerous?
Have I failed to thank God and others for the good already entrusted to me?

Private reflection________________________________________________________________________________

For further guidance, see the USCCB examinations of conscience ↗ or speak with a Catholic priest.