Examination of conscience on the Ten Commandments: a full guide

This examination of conscience on the Ten Commandments goes through each commandment in the Catholic order: what it asks of you, what it rules out, and questions to help you see where you've kept it and where you haven't. Give it twenty minutes, or take a few commandments a night, and bring what you find to Confession.

What are the Ten Commandments in Catholic order?

1. I am the Lord your God: you shall not have strange gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the Lord's Day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

The full text is in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. Catholics follow St Augustine's numbering, which keeps "no carved images" inside the first commandment and splits coveting into two. Many Protestant lists differ, so see the Ten Commandments, Catholic version.

How do I examine my conscience with the commandments?

Jesus summed up the law in two commands: love God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). The first three commandments are about God, the other seven about your neighbor. Each forbids some things and asks for something good, so ask what you did and what you failed to do. If you tend to worry, take only what clearly stands out.

The first commandment: God first

It asks you to believe God, trust him and love him above everything, and rules out putting anything in his place. Despair of his mercy and presuming on it are both sins against it (CCC 2091-2092).

• Do I pray every day, or only when I need something?
• Has money, work, a person, my image or my comfort taken first place?
• Have I consulted horoscopes, tarot, mediums or anything occult (CCC 2116-2117)?
• Have I received Communion knowing I was in serious sin, or treated holy things with contempt?

The second commandment: reverence for God's name

It asks reverence for God's name and for holy things, and honesty when you call on God as a witness. Blasphemy, speaking against God with hatred or contempt, is grave in itself (CCC 2148). Careless use is usually lighter.

• Have I used God's name or Jesus' name as a curse or a filler word?
• Have I mocked God, Our Lady, the saints or the Church?
• Have I sworn to something I knew was false?
• Have I broken a promise or a vow I made to God?

The third commandment: the Lord's Day

It asks you to give Sunday to God: Mass, rest and time for family. Deliberately missing Sunday Mass without a serious reason is grave matter; illness or caring for an infant excuses you (CCC 2181). A Saturday evening Mass counts (Code of Canon Law, can. 1248). Holy days of obligation vary by country; the United States keeps six, though some are moved or lifted, so check your diocese.

• Have I missed Mass on a Sunday or holy day without a serious reason?
• Have I arrived late or left early without need, or spent Mass on my phone?
• Have I kept the one-hour fast before Communion (Code of Canon Law, can. 919)?

The fourth commandment: family and authority

It asks respect, gratitude and care toward your parents, and duties in the other direction too: parents must raise their children and teach them the faith (CCC 2223, 2226). It extends to every legitimate authority, and to your duties as a citizen, such as paying taxes and voting (CCC 2240).

• Have I treated my parents with respect? If I live under their care, have I obeyed them in what is right?
• Have I helped my parents as they grow older, as far as I'm able (CCC 2218)?
• As a parent, have I given my children time, faith and affection?
• Have I respected lawful authority and paid my taxes honestly?

The fifth commandment: life and health

It protects human life from conception to natural death, your own included. It forbids murder, abortion (CCC 2271) and euthanasia (CCC 2277), and also anger nursed into hatred, leading others into sin (CCC 2284), and abuse of alcohol or drugs (CCC 2290-2291).

• Have I hurt or threatened anyone?
• Have I had, encouraged or helped with an abortion? If so, God's mercy is greater, and a priest will receive you gently.
• Have I nursed anger, wished harm on someone, or refused to forgive?
• Have I gotten drunk, used drugs, or driven recklessly or while texting?

The sixth commandment: chastity in action

It calls everyone to chastity in their state of life: faithfulness in marriage, continence outside it. It rules out adultery, sex outside marriage, pornography and masturbation (CCC 2351-2354, 2380), and in marriage, contraception (CCC 2370). Habit, immaturity and anxiety can lessen responsibility (CCC 2352). If a habit feels compulsive, a counselor or support group can help alongside Confession; see how to quit porn as a Catholic.

• If I'm married, have I been faithful in body, heart and online?
• If I'm not married, have I had sexual relations?
• Have I looked at pornography or masturbated?
• Have I pressured anyone sexually, or used someone for pleasure?

The seventh commandment: justice with things

It asks respect for what belongs to others and generosity to the poor. It forbids theft, fraud and unjust wages, and asks you to give back what you took (CCC 2412).

• Have I taken anything that isn't mine, at work, in a store or online?
• Have I cheated in business, padded my hours, or underpaid someone?
• Have I paid my debts, returned what I borrowed and made up for what I took?
• Have I ignored the poor, or gambled away what my family needed (CCC 2413)?

The eighth commandment: truth

It asks you to live in the truth. It forbids lying, rash judgment, revealing someone's faults without good reason (detraction) and spreading falsehoods about them (calumny) (CCC 2477), and asks you to repair the harm (CCC 2487).

• Have I lied to get out of trouble or to look better?
• Have I gossiped, or shared things about someone that weren't mine to share?
• Have I judged someone harshly without evidence?
• Have I betrayed a confidence, or not set the record straight when I harmed someone's name?

The ninth commandment: purity of heart

The ninth goes inside, to thoughts and desires. Jesus said that looking at a woman with lust is already adultery in the heart (Matthew 5:28). A passing temptation is not a sin. Choosing to dwell on it is.

• Have I deliberately entertained sexual thoughts or fantasies instead of turning away?
• Have I let an attraction to someone else's spouse grow when I should have ended it?
• Have I chosen shows, music or accounts I know feed lust?

The tenth commandment: a free heart

It forbids greed and envy, sadness at someone else's good and the wish to have it for yourself (CCC 2536, 2539). It asks for gratitude and a heart that isn't owned by things.

• Have I envied someone's house, salary, looks or success, or been glad when they failed?
• Has comparison online made me bitter or ungrateful?

Which of these are mortal sins?

A sin is mortal when three things are all true: grave matter, full knowledge and deliberate consent (CCC 1857). Grave matter alone isn't enough; see what is a mortal sin. If you're unsure, confess it and say so.

For a shorter list, our basic examination of conscience fits on one screen. With this one, don't try to finish in a single night. Take the first three commandments tonight, the next ones tomorrow, and go to Confession with what you found.