Daily Examination of Conscience
Daily Examination of Conscience
A daily examination of conscience is key to spiritual growth. It also makes it easier to prepare for the Sacrament of Confession.
How to Make a Daily Examination of Conscience
Based on the writings of St. Ignatius Loyola (Spiritual Exercises, 1522-1524).
Start with a Prayer
Lord, help me to know myself as You know me; by the searching light of Your divine look, show me the state of my soul.
Show me the wounds You want me to heal, the faults You wish me to amend, and the defects I should correct. Help me in the future to improve, reform, or purify my life according to Your will. (from a Catholic prayerbook*)
Awareness & Gratitude
- Be Aware of God’s Presence. Reflect on the events of the day. Ask God to show you where He was at work in each situation.
- Have Gratitude. Think of things to be grateful for.
Examination & Prayer
- Dig a little deeper. Think of things you could have done or didn’t do well and how it made you feel. Think of their effects on your relationship with God and others.
- Ask God for direction and strength. Ask Him to make you aware of areas that need improvement. Think of things that weigh heavily on your heart and pray for strength to improve them. Ask for help with upcoming situations.
Why Daily?
Prayerful reflection on our thoughts, words, and actions is key to spiritual growth. It is a way to be more aware of God’s presence in our day-to-day lives. It also makes it easier to prepare for the Sacrament of Confession.
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CREDITS
The LOGO image of Our Lady of Grace is original artwork by Martin Lariviere in 2009. We have the artist’s permission (my son). It is our exclusive trademark logo image.
A beautifully photographed sky by Donald Tong inspired the website’s colour scheme. Cropped portions of it are the background for the footer Bible verse. He shared it as a free download on pexels.com.
Raphael painted The Sistine Madonna circa (1513-1514). We made circular cut-outs from the original image.
Andreas Lischka shared the photo of a candle on Pexels.
This is the most well-known image of Divine Mercy. It is from the archives of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Mercy. It is by an unknown artist in 1952. Eugene Kazimierowski painted the original image in 1934.
Lukas Rychvalsky from Pexels shared the photo of a silhouette against the morning sky.
The Missionaries of Charity pray an Examination of Conscience prayer. We included part of it here.
Our information is from general knowledge, experience, and shared internet sources. We’d like you to use it as a starting point for your research to verify facts and build a reference list.
IN REVIEW
A daily examination of conscience (prayerful reflection on our thoughts, words, and actions) is key to spiritual growth. It is a way to be more aware of God’s presence in our daily lives. It also makes it easier to prepare for the Sacrament of Confession.
- Start with a prayer: Lord, help me to know myself as You know me; by the…
- Be aware of God’s presence as you reflect on the events of the day.
- Think of things to be grateful for.
- Dig a little deeper. Think of things you could have done or didn’t do well, how they made you feel, and their effects on others.
- Ask God for direction and strength to improve. Then ask Him for help with upcoming situations.