Examination of conscience

Examination of conscience is a review of one's past thoughts, words, actions, and omissions for the purpose of ascertaining their conformity with, or deviation from, the moral law. Among Christians, this is generally a private review; secular intellectuals have, on occasion, published autocritiques for public consumption. In the Catholic Church penitents who wish to receive the sacrament of penance are encouraged to examine their conscience using the Ten Commandments as a guide, or the Beatitudes, or the virtues and vices. A similar doctrine is taught in Lutheran churches, where penitents who wish to receive Holy Absolution are also asked to use the Ten Commandments as a guide. The process is very similar to the Islamic practice of Muhasaba, or self-reflection.

"The excellence of this practice and its fruitfulness for Christian virtue," preached Pope St. Pius X, "are clearly established by the teaching of the great masters of the spiritual life." St. Ignatius of Loyola considered the examination of conscience as the single most important spiritual exercise.

St. Ignatius included the Examination in the Spiritual Exercises and already there he presents different forms of it (particular and general examination, see in [24-43] in the book of the Spiritual Exercises, with the customary marginal numbers ). Since then the method became known under various names in spiritual literature and practice: it is sometimes called “Awareness Examen”, sometimes “Daily Examination of Consciousness”.

In general, there is a distinction between the “Particular Examen”, which aims to change one particular feature or defect in ones behavior and the “Daily Examination of Consciousness”, which is a prayerful review of one day and finally the “General Examination of Conscience”. This last method is called examination of “conscience” because it is a review of one’s actions from a moral point of view, reflecting upon one’s responsibility and looking at one’s sins and weaknesses in preparation for repentance in contrast with the examination of “consciousness” which does not focus on morality even if sins will emerge during the review of the day.

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