Examination of Conscience

One spiritual practice that I use regularly use is the examination of conscience. This is a spiritual practice that can be done anywhere and anytime. You can do it while taking a walk, while on the treadmill at the local Y, or while driving to and from work.

The examination of conscience is a way that we stop and reflect on the past events of the day. How are we doing so far? Have we hurt anyone? How can we improve the rest of our day? Sometimes I do the examination at the end of my day before I go to bed and sometimes I do it twice a day, once in the afternoon and then once again at night.

Five basic steps in the examination of conscience:

1. Gratitude: thank God for, work, friends, and family.

2. Review the past events of the day from beginning to end.

3. Sorrow: is there anything that we have done to hurt anyone? Did we not show love when the opportunity presented itself?

4. Forgiveness: ask God for forgiveness

5. Grace: ask God for the grace and help to get through the rest of the day and to try to grow in his love.

The examination of conscience is not long, you only need a few minutes. Try to practice the examination of conscience during the season of Lent.