How to do an examination of conscience, step by step

To do an examination of conscience, find a quiet place, ask the Holy Spirit for light, and look back over your life since your last Confession using a guide such as the Ten Commandments. Write down what you find, with the kind and rough number of any serious sins, then tell God you're sorry. Most people need ten to fifteen minutes. This page is the method. For the questions themselves, use our examination of conscience.

How do you do an examination of conscience?

1. Find a quiet moment. A pew before Confession, your room the night before, a parked car. Put your phone on silent. You can't look honestly at your life while answering messages.
2. Ask for light. Start with a short prayer to the Holy Spirit, in your own words: "Lord, show me what I need to see, and help me see it the way you do." You're not auditing yourself alone. You're looking at your life with God, who already knows it and loves you.
3. Choose one guide. The Church asks for an examination “in the light of the Word of God,” such as the Sermon on the Mount (CCC 1454). The Ten Commandments are the most common guide. The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) work well when you want to look at the kind of person you're becoming. Guides written for your stage of life can make the questions more concrete: for adults, teens, women and men. Pick one and stick with it.
4. Go back to your last Confession. That's the starting line. You're looking at the time since then, not your whole life again. Sins already confessed and absolved are forgiven. You don't need to dig them up.
5. Read slowly and stop where something catches. Most questions will pass by. A few will make you pause. Those are the ones to stay with. Think about thoughts, words and actions, and also the good you left undone.
6. For serious sins, note the kind and the number. The Church asks you to confess every serious sin you're aware of, by kind and number (Code of Canon Law, can. 988). Kind means what it was: "I lied under oath," not "I wasn't a good person." Number means how often, as best you can tell. "About once a week for three months" is an honest answer when you can't count exactly.
7. Write it down. A few words per sin is enough. "Missed Mass, twice." "Harsh with my kids, most days." A short list stops you going blank in the confessional, and you're allowed to read from it.
8. Be sorry, and decide to change. Contrition means real sorrow for sin and a resolve not to sin again (CCC 1451). You don't have to feel it intensely. Sorrow that comes from fear of the consequences still counts for a good Confession (CCC 1453). Close by telling God you're sorry, in your own words or with an Act of Contrition, and pick one concrete thing to do differently.

How do I know if a sin is mortal?

For a sin to be mortal, three things must all be true: the matter is grave, you knew it was seriously wrong, and you chose it freely anyway (CCC 1857). The Catechism calls these full knowledge and complete consent (CCC 1859). Things like addiction, strong habit, fear or pressure can reduce how responsible you are.

You don't have to settle every case before you go in. If you're unsure whether something was serious, confess it and say you're not sure. Helping you sort that out is part of the priest's job. Everyday venial sins don't have to be confessed, but the Church recommends it, because naming them helps you grow (CCC 1458).

How long should an examination of conscience take?

If you go to Confession every month or so, ten to fifteen minutes is plenty. If it has been years, give yourself more time, maybe spread over two or three evenings. You don't need a perfect inventory of every day. You need an honest one. If that's you, read going back to Confession after years away first.

Longer isn't better. An hour spent circling the same three questions usually means you've moved from examining to worrying. When you've been through your guide once, honestly, you're done.

Should I examine my conscience every night?

It helps a lot. A few minutes at the end of each day keeps the examination before Confession short, because you already know what's there. The nightly version is usually done as the daily examen of St. Ignatius: give thanks, ask for light, review the day, ask forgiveness, and look ahead to tomorrow. It looks for where God was in your day as much as for where you fell short.

You'll also start to notice patterns: the same sin on the same kind of day, after the same kind of stress. That's worth bringing to a priest, and it's often more useful than any single sin on the list.

If you tend to worry too much

Some people find the examination makes them anxious. They go over the same things again and again, never sure they've been thorough enough. If that's you, keep it simple:

• Set a time limit. Ten minutes, then stop.
• Use one short guide. Don't add a second or third list "just in case."
• Confess what you're sure of. Bring any doubt to the priest once, and accept his answer.
• Find a regular confessor. Tell him you struggle with this, and follow his advice even when it feels like too little.

God isn't waiting for a perfect list. He's waiting for you.

What if I forget something?

If you made an honest examination and a sin slipped your mind, it's forgiven along with the rest. If you remember later that it was serious, mention it at your next Confession. And once you've confessed, you can tear up the list. It has done its job.