Introduction
Introduction: An Examen?
Part One
I. Condensed Primer on Sin
Part Two
Part Three
II. Sin in Relation to God
III. Sin in Relation to Our
Neighbors
IV. Sin in Relation to
Ourselves
V. The Ten Commandments
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
VII. The Nine Co-operations
VIII. The Seven Precepts of
the Church
IX. The Works of Mercy
X.
Miscellaneous
Introduction
What is an Examination of Conscience?
-a contemplative exercise based on the Ignatian charism
-a reflection on the events of the day in order to detect God’s presence
and discern His direction for us
Why do an Examination of Conscience?
Fr. John Hardon, S.J.:
- to cultivate a sensitive judgment which is alert to the least offense
against the Divine will
-to protect ourselves against the wiles of the evil spirit
When to do an Examination of Conscience?
- before approaching the Sacrament of Reconciliation
- in taking stock of spiritual failings, and therefore, growth
- when searching for healing from habitual sins that are a detriment to
our salvation
- when correctly forming one’s conscience, attitude, and behavior
JMJ
An examination of
conscience never induces
despair, only hope. Some
psychologists, by the
proper use of their
method, have brought
mental peace to
individuals, but only
because they have found a
safety valve from mental
pressure. They have let off
steam, but the have not
repaired the boiler. That is
the business of the Church.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen,
Peace of Soul
Part One
I. Condensed Primer on the Types of Sin
A. Original Sin
B. Actual Sin
1. Mortal Sin
2. Venial Sin
C. Internal Sin
D. External Sin
E. Unforgivable Sin
I. Types of Sin
A. Original Sin
1. Sin is divided into the sin we inherit called original sin, and
the sin we commit ourselves, called actual sin.
Original Sin is found in both Holy Scripture and Sacred
Tradition.
“Original sin may be taken to mean…a consequence of
[Adam’s] first sin, the hereditary stain with which we are
born on account of our origin or descent from Adam.”
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11312a.htm
Baptism washes away the stain Original Sin on one’s
soul, but not its effects.
See the Baltimore Catechism #3:
Lesson 5: On Our First Parents and the Fall
(http://www.baltimore-catechism.com/lesson5.htm)
I. Types of Sin
B. Actual Sins
Sin
1. Sin is divided into the sin we
inherit called original sin,
and the sin we commit
ourselves, called actual sin.
Original
2. Actual sin is sub-divided into
greater sins, called mortal,
and lesser sins, called venial.
Actual
Mortal
Venial
I. Types of Sin
3. Mortal Sin
Mortal sins destroy the grace of
God in the heart of the sinner.
By its very nature, a mortal sin
cuts our relationship off from
God and turns man away from
his Creator.
Three conditions are necessary:
 Mortal sin is a sin of grave
matter.
Mortal sin is committed with
full knowledge of the sinner.
 Mortal sin is committed with
deliberate consent of the
sinner.
4. Venial Sin
Venial sins will not destroy grace
in the soul, and will not directly
cause a person who dies in the
state of venial sin to lose the
promise of heaven. However,
venial sin weakens a person’s will
to avoid evil and thus may
indirectly lead to mortal sin.
Venial sin is a sin of lesser
matter than grave sin. It can also
be a sin of grave matter in which
the sinner did not fully consent
to the sin or did not have
knowledge that his actions
where sinful.
Sin: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14004b.htm
I. Types of Sin
C. Internal
1. delectatio morosa, i.e. the pleasure taken
in a sinful thought or imagination even
without desiring it
2. gaudium, i.e. dwelling with
complacency on sins already committed
3. desiderium, i.e. the desire for what is
sinful
SIN
I. Types of Sin
C. External
External sins are thoughts which
have been acted upon, at least in
part, and a sincere attempt has been
made to fulfill or consummate sinful
ideas.
Vocalized thoughts encouraging sinful
actions as well as the actions
themselves give rise to scandal,
which is the appearance of condoning
sin. This scandal, in turn, may lead
others to sin.
I. Types of Sin
D. Unforgivable
Catechism of the Catholic Church
§ 982 There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot
forgive. "There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not
confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is
honest. Christ who died for all men desires that in his Church the
gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns
away from sin.
§ 1864 "Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be
forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be
forgiven." There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who
deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects
the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy
Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and
eternal loss.
JMJ
On the effects of sin:
Say I take a pitcher of orange juice
from my mother's refrigerator and
drop it on the floor. I immediately
apologize and my mother forgives
me: but there is still a mess on the
floor.
Certainly, it is not my mother's
responsibility to clean up the mess. It
is my responsibility to clean it up or
to repair the situation--or to make
Father Vincent Serpa, OP
reparation for the situation.
Catholic Answers Live
It remains your responsibility to purge
yourself of the remaining effects of
your blunder, i.e., to clean up the
mess.
Part Two
II. General Questions: Sin in Relation to
God
III. General Questions: Sin in Relation to
Our Neighbors
IV. General Questions: Sin in Relation to
Ourselves
V. The Ten Commandments with
Subsets of Particular Questions
II. Sin In Relation To God
1. Have you omitted morning or evening prayer, or neglected
to make your daily examination of conscience? Have you
prayed negligently, and with willful distraction?
2. Have you spent your time, especially on Sundays and
holidays, not in sluggishly lying abed, or in any sort of idle
entertainment, but in reading, praying, or other pious
exercises; and taken care that those under your charge
have done the like, and not wanted the instructions
necessary for their condition, nor time for prayer, or to
prepare for the sacraments?
3. Have you spoken irreverently of God and holy things?
Have you taken his name in vain, or told untruths?
II. Sin In Relation To God (Con’t)
4. Have you omitted your duty through human respect, interest,
compliance, etc. ?
5. Have you been zealous for God's honor, for justice, virtue and
truth, and reproved such as act otherwise?
6. Have you resigned your will to God in troubles necessities,
sickness, etc. ?
7. Have you faithfully resisted thoughts of infidelity, distrust,
presumption, impurity, etc. ?
III. In Relation To Our Neighbors
1. Have you disobeyed your superiors, murmured against their
commands, or spoken of them contemptuously?
2. Have you been troubled, peevish, or impatient, when told of
your faults, and not corrected them? Have you scorned the
good advice of others, or censured their proceedings?
3. Have you offended any one by injurious threatening words or
actions?
4. Or lessened their reputation by any sort of detractions; or in
any matter of importance?
5. Or spread any report, true or false, that exposed your neighbor
to contempt, or made him undervalued?
6. Have you been carrying stories backward and forward, created
discord and misunderstanding between neighbors?
IV. In Relation To Oneself
1. Have you been obstinate in following your own will, or in
defending your own opinion, in things either indifferent,
dangerous or scandalous?
2. Have you taken pleasure in hearing yourself praised, or
yielded to thoughts of vanity?
3. Have you indulged yourself in overmuch ease, or any ways
yielded to sensuality?
4. Has your conversation been edifying and moderate; or have
you been forward, proud, or troublesome to others?
5. Have you spent overmuch time in play, or useless
employments, and thereby omitted, or put off your devotions
to unseasonable times?
V. The Ten Commandments
1. The First Commandment: I Am the Lord Thy God. Thou
Shalt Have No False Gods Before Me
A. By Sins Against Faith
1. To be ignorant of the principal mysteries of Christianity; of
the Creed, of the Commandments of God and his Church, or
of the Sacraments.
2. To give God's honor to any created being or thing
whatsoever; to pay divine worship, or to ascribe God's
exclusive powers or attributes, to any being except God
himself.
3. Willfully to doubt, or obstinately to err, in any point of faith,
our of human respect, interest, fear etc.
4. To favor heretics or wicked men, in supporting or approving
their opinions or actions.
5. To endanger our faith by reading their books with pleasure.
The Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity
V. The Ten Commandments
1. The First Commandment: I Am the Lord Thy God. Thou
Shalt Have No False Gods Before Me
A. By Sins Against Faith (Con’t)
6. To examine divine mysteries with curiosity, and secrets of
Providence by pure human reason.
7. To contemn or deride holy things.
8. To abuse the words of the holy scripture, by perverting them
to a wicked or profane sense, making them subservient to
jests, or other ill purposes.
9. To desire to know things to come, which belong to God alone,
or things past or present, which are hid from us, and for this
end to employ unlawful means, as fortune tellers, or other
superstitious inventions.
10.To make superstitious observations; to employ prayers or
sacred names to ill uses; to use charms etc.
The Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity
Particular Questions on the First Commandment
• Do I make an honest effort to grow in the virtue of faith by daily mental
prayer on the mysteries of the faith as revealed in the life of Jesus Christ?
• Do I make at least a short act of faith every day?
• Do I pray daily for an increase of faith?
• Do I ever tempt God by relying on my own strength to cope with the trials
in my life?
• Do I unnecessarily read or listen to those who oppose or belittle what I
know are truths of my Catholic faith?
• What have I done today to externally profess my faith? Have I helped
someone overcome a difficulty against the faith?
• Have I allowed human respect to keep me from giving expression to my
faith? Do I make a serious effort to resolve difficulties that may arise about
my faith? Do I ever defend my faith, prudently and charitably, when
someone says something contrary to what I know is to be believed?
From the Particular Examen on the Theological Virtues
by Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
V. The Ten Commandments
1. The First Commandment: I Am the Lord Thy God. Thou
Shalt Have No False Gods Before Me
B. By Sins Against Hope
1. By distrusting the mercies of God, and despairing of the pardon of our
sins.
2. By presuming on God's goodness, without the least concern of
amendment.
3. By deferring our conversion or repentance till the end of life.
4. By exposing ourselves to the danger of offending God either by company,
reading, or otherwise, which is called tempting God.
5. By exposing ourselves, without necessity, to some corporal danger; as
sickness, wounds or death.
6. By neglecting the remedies which God has appointed in these dangers, as
physic for the body, or prayer and the sacraments for the soul.
The Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity
Particular Questions on the First Commandment
• Do I immediately say a short prayer when I find myself getting discouraged?
How often today have I complained, even internally?
• Do I daily say a short act of hope?
• Do I dwell on my worries instead of dismissing them from my mind?
•
• Do I fail in the virtue of hope by my attachment to the things of this world?
• Do I try to see God's providence in everything that "happens" in my life?
• Do I try to see everything from the viewpoint of eternity?
• Am I confident that, with God's grace, I will be saved?
• Do I allow myself to worry about my past life and thus weaken my hope in
God's mercy?
• Do I try to combine every fully deliberate action with at least a momentary
prayer for divine help?
From the Particular Examen on the Theological Virtues
by Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
V. The Ten Commandments
1. The First Commandment: I Am the Lord Thy God. Thou
Shalt Have No False Gods Before Me
C. By Sins Against Charity
1. By not loving God above all things, but rather choosing
willfully to offend him, than suffer any loss of honor, riches,
etc.
2. By preferring the love of man before the love of God; or
offending him through fear of being jeered or slighted.
3. By omitting our duty through shame, or human respect.
4. By thinking seldom of God, or being ashamed to speak of
him; or by not hearkening to his inspirations, by forgetting
his benefits, or neglecting to give him thanks.
The Three Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope, and Charity
Particular Questions on the First Commandment
• Have I capitalized on the difficulties today to tell God that I love Him just because He
allowed me a trial or misunderstanding? Do I see God's love for me in allowing me to
prove my love for Him in the crosses He allowed me today?
• Have I seen God's grace to prove my love for Him in every person whom I met today?
• Have I failed in charity by speaking unkindly about others?
• Have I dwelt on what I considered someone's unkindness toward me today?
• Have I been stubborn in asserting my own will?
• Have I allowed my mood to prevent me from being thoughtful of others?
• Am I given to dwelling on other people's weaknesses or faults?
• Do I control uncharitable thoughts as soon as they arise in my mind?
• Did I pray for others today?
• Have I controlled my emotions when someone irritated me?
• Have I performed any sacrifice today for someone?
From the Particular Examen on the Theological Virtues
by Fr. John Hardon, S.J.
V. The Ten Commandments
1. The First Commandment: I Am the Lord Thy God. Thou
Shalt Have No False Gods Before Me
D. By Sins Against Religion
A. By not adoring God, or praying to him but seldom.
B. By praying without attention, and with willful
distractions.
C. By a want of respect to God in time of prayer; or by
talking or being present in holy places without a
becoming modesty and gravity in our looks, words and
actions.
Particular Questions on the First Commandment
• Have I neglected the knowledge of my faith as taught in the catechism, such
as the Apostles’ Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Seven Sacraments, the
Our Father, etc.?
• Have I deliberately doubted or denied any of the teachings of the Church?
• Have I taken part in any non-Catholic worship?
• Am I a member of any non-Catholic religious organization, secret society or
anti-Catholic group?
• Have I knowingly read any heretical, blasphemous or anti-Catholic literature?
• Have I practiced any superstitions (such as horoscopes, fortune telling, Ouija
board, etc.)?
• Have I omitted religious duties or practices through motives of human
respect?
• Have I recommended myself daily to God?
V. The Ten Commandments
1. The First Commandment: I Am the Lord Thy God. Thou
Shalt Have No False Gods Before Me
E. By Sins Against the Care We Ought to Have of Our
Salvation
A. By a love of idleness.
B. By being too solicitous in temporal concerns, and
neglecting the means of salvation.
C. By deferring amendment of life, or immediately desisting,
after having begun it.
D. By neglecting the means of salvation; as the sacraments,
prayer, good works, or performing them without devotion.
Particular Questions on the First Commandment
• Have I been faithful to my daily prayers?
• Have I abused the Sacraments in any way? Received them irreverently?
• Have I made fun of God, Our Lady, the Saints, the Church, the Sacraments,
other holy things?
• Have I been guilty of great irreverence in church, e.g., conversation,
behavior, or dress?
• Have I been indifferent with regard to my Catholic Faith — believing one can
be saved in any religion, that all religions are equal?
• Have I presumed on God´s mercy at any time?
• Have I despaired of God´s mercy?
• Have I hated God?
• Have I given too much importance to any creature, activity, object or
opinion?
V. The Ten Commandments
2. The Second Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Take the Name
of the Lord Thy God in Vain
A. By taking the name of God in vain.
B. By swearing to what one knows or doubts to be false.
C. By swearing to what is unjust, or prejudicial to others.
D. By swearing without necessity, though the thing itself be true and just.
E. By blaspheming God or holy things.
F. By cursing one's self or others, or taking pleasure in hearing others swear or
curse; or by provoking them to it.
G. By not reprehending them when one could and ought.
H. By making a vow to do what is impossible to fulfill; or to do what is evil and
displeasing to God; or to do what one never intends to perform.
I. By breaking lawful vows, or deferring to fulfill them without just cause.
Particular Questions on the Second Commandment
• Have I sworn by God’s name falsely, rashly or in slight and trivial
matters?
• Have I murmured or complained against God (blasphemy)?
• Have I cursed myself or others, or any creature?
• Have I angered others so as to make them swear or blaspheme
God?
• Have I broken a vow made to God?
V. The Ten Commandments
3. The Third Commandment: Keep Holy the Sabbath
A. By doing servile works on Sunday, or causing others to do
the like without necessity.
B. By employing a considerable part of Sundays or holidays in
temporal affairs, as is often the case with merchants,
advocates, solicitors, etc.
C. By omitting to hear Mass, or not hearing it with due
attention and reverence.
D. By spending Sundays and holidays in idleness, gaming,
dancing, feasting, and other recreations.
E. By not dedicating a considerable part of those days to
reading and praying, and by not taking care that those
under your charge to the like.
Particular Questions on the Third Commandment
• Have I missed Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of obligation?
• Have I been late for Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of
obligation or left early through my own fault?
• Have I made others miss Mass on Sundays or Holy Days of
obligation, leave early or be late for Mass?
• Have I been willfully distracted during Mass?
• Have I done or commanded unnecessary servile work on
Sunday or Holy Days of Obligation?
• Have I bought or sold things not of necessity on Sunday and
Holy Days of obligation?
V. The Ten Commandments
4. The Fourth Commandment: Honor Thy Father and
Mother
A. By Children
1. Not paying due respect to their parents, or by despising them
either in their hearts or actions.
2. By not loving them, but wishing their death, or some
misfortune; or by forsaking them in their necessities.
3. By not cheerfully obeying them; or by obeying them in things
unlawful.
4. By slighting their representations, and resisting their
corrections.
5. By putting them into a passion, and not taking care to pacify
them.
6. By not executing or delaying their last will and testament.
Particular Questions on the Fourth Commandment
• Have I been disobedient or disrespectful to my parents,
or have I neglected or refused to aid them in their wants
or to do their last will?
• Have I shown irreverence to others in positions of
authority?
• Have I maligned or insulted priests or others
consecrated to God?
• Have I failed in due reverence to aged persons?
• Have I mistreated my spouse or my children?
V. The Ten Commandments
4. The Fourth Commandment: Honor Thy Father and
Mother (Con’t)
B. By Parents Not Discharging Their Duty to Their
Children
1. In not loving them, and supplying their corporal necessities.
2. In not being careful of their salvation.
3. In not correcting them when it is necessary; in flattering
their passions, or indulging their evil inclinations.
4. In treating them with too much severity.
5. In not setting them good example.
6. In forcing them in the choice of their state in life.
Particular Questions on the Fourth Commandment
• Have I neglected their material needs?
• Have I failed to care for their early baptism, or have I failed to care for their
proper religious education?
• Have I allowed them to neglect their religious duties?
• Have I allowed them to date/go steady without the prospect of marriage
within the near future?
• Have I failed to supervise the company they keep? Have I failed to discipline
them when they need it? Have I given them a bad example?
• Have I scandalized them by arguing with my spouse in front of my children,
or have I scandalized them by cursing or swearing in front of them?
• Have I guarded modesty in the home? Have I permitted them to wear
immodest clothing?
• Have I denied their freedom to marry or follow a religious vocation?
V. The Ten Commandments
5. The Fifth Commandment : Thou Shalt Not Kill
A. By anger, quarreling, or threatening, or by injurious or
reproachful words, or actions against our neighbors.
B. By revenge, or deliberate thoughts or desires of revenge.
C. By provoking, striking, challenging, wounding, or being the
cause of another's death.
D. By bearing malice, refusing to salute or speak to any
neighbor out of hatred or aversion, or refusing to be
reconciled to him.
Particular Questions on the Fifth Commandment
• Have I advocated, procured, desired, or hastened the death or bodily injury of anyone,
including the pre-born?
• Have I borne hatred, oppressed anyone, or desired revenge?
• Have I caused enmity between others, or have I quarreled or fought with anyone, or
wished evil on anyone?
• Have I intended or attempted to injure or mistreat others, or is there anyone with whom
I refuse to speak, or against whom I bear a grudge?
• Have I taken pleasure in anyone’s misfortunes or have I been jealous or envious of
anyone?
• Have I mutilated my body unnecessarily in any way, or have I entertained thoughts of
suicide, desired to commit suicide or attempted suicide?
• Have I become drunk, used illicit drugs? Have I overeaten or do I neglect to eat
properly, i.e., nutritious foods?
• Have I failed to correct in Charity?
• Have I harmed my own soul by intentionally and without necessity exposing it to
temptations?
JMJ
Our Lord came to make reparation
for the sin of anger, first by
teaching us a prayer: “Forgive us
our trespasses as we forgive those
who trespass against us;” and then
by givibg us a precept: “Love your
enemies, do good to them that
hate you.”
More concretely still, He added:
“Whosoever will force thee one
mile, go with him another two…if a
man take away thy coat, let go thy
cloak also unto him.”
Archbishop Fulton Sheen, For God
and Country
V. The Ten Commandments
6. Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery
A. By the hearing.
1. In willingly giving ear to immodest words, discourses, songs, etc.
B. By the sight.
1. In looking on immodest objects.
2. In reading or keeping immodest books; lending them to others; or
neglecting to suppress them when we may.
C. By the tongue.
1. In speaking immodest words.
2. In relating improper stories or wicked actions of ourselves or others.
D. By the touch.
1. In using indecent actions.
E. By thoughts.
1. By entertaining impure thoughts willfully and with delight.
F. By immodest actions.
1. In committing the sin of impurity; and whether effected by soliciting,
seducing with promises, or forcing; whether it be fornication, or adultery.
2. In sins against nature.
Particular Questions on the Sixth Commandment
• Have I abused or denied my marriage rights?
• Have I practiced birth control (by pills, devices, withdrawal)?
• Have I committed adultery or fornication (premarital sex)?
• Have I sinned impurely by myself (masturbation)?
• Have I entertained or taken pleasure in impure thoughts?
• Have I been an occasion of sin for others by wearing revealing and immodest clothing?
Have I done anything to provoke or occasion impure thoughts or desires in others
deliberately or through carelessness?
• Have I watched suggestive movies/TV, pornography, or pornographic literature or
permitted my children to do so?
• Have I used indecent language or told indecent stories, and have I willingly listened to
such stories?
• Have I neglected to control my imagination, or have I prayed to banish such thoughts
and temptations?
• Have I avoided laziness, gluttony, idleness, and the occasions of impurity?
V. The Ten Commandments
7. The Seventh Commandment: Thou Shall Not Steal
A. By taking another's goods, and to what value.
B. By retaining what we know belongs to another.
C. By denying our debts, or willfully delaying payment, to the prejudice of our
neighbors.
D. By making unjust bargains or contracts, into which every trade or profession
ought to make a strict inquiry.
E. By causing any damage to our neighbors.
F. By putting off false and counterfeit money.
G. By desiring another's property.
H. By not giving alms when necessity requires.
I.
By not paying dues to our pastors, or by not contributing to the decent
support of religious worship.
J. By simony.
Particular Questions on the Seventh Commandment
• Have I stolen anything? What or how much? Have I failed to make
restitution for my stealing, cheating and frauds?
• Have I willfully or negligently damaged anyone’s property?
• Have I been negligent in the stewardship of other people’s money or goods?
• Have I cheated or defrauded others? Have I refused or neglected to pay any
debts?
• Have I gambled excessively or have I acquired anything known to be stolen?
• Have I cheated my employer of an honest day’s work or have I cheated my
employees of their wages?
• Have I refused or neglected to help anyone in urgent need or have I been
stingy?
• Have I been grasping and avaricious, placing too great importance upon
material goods and comforts? Is my heart set on earthly possessions or on
the true treasures of Heaven?
V. The Ten Commandments
8. The Eighth Commandment: Thou Shalt Not Bear False
Witness
A. By witnessing what is false, or defending a false accusation,
as in lawyers and solicitors; or condemning the innocent, or
discharging the guilty, as judges and arbitrators.
B. By detraction, either in laying something false to another's
charge, or reporting for truth what is merely doubtful; or in
revealing something as yet secret and unknown, though
true, to the prejudice of some third person; with a
declaration, whether it be done out of levity and
indiscretion, or out of malice or ill-will; whether in the
presence of many, or in a matter of importance.
C. By lying, or speaking what we judge to be otherwise than
we say; whether out of custom, or to the considerable
prejudice of others.
D. By hypocrisy, which is a lie in action.
Particular Questions on the Eighth Commandment
• Have I lied about anyone (calumny)? Have my lies caused them any
material or spiritual harm?
• Am I, without necessity, critical, negative or ever uncharitable in my talk?
• Have I rashly judged anyone (i.e. believed firmly, without sufficient
evidence, that they are guilty of some moral defect or crime)?
• Have I injured the good name of another by revealing true but hidden faults
(detraction)?
• Have I disclosed another´s sins? Or have I been guilty of tale-bearing, (i.e.
reporting something unfavorable said of someone by another so as to create
enmity between them)?
• Have I lent an ear to or encouraged the spreading of scandal about my
neighbor?
• Have I taken false oaths or signed false documents?
• Have I flattered others?
V. The Ten Commandments
9, 10. The Ninth and Tenth Commandments: Thou Shalt Not
Covet they Neighbor's Wife and Thou Shalt Not Covet Thy
Neighbor's Goods
A. By all unlawful and willful desires of
impurity and theft; which have been already
mentioned in the sixth and seventh
commandments.
In the Catholic version of the Decalogue, the Sixth and Ninth
Commandments are coupled together. They both prescribe the practice
of chastity.
Like the Sixth and Ninth Commandments, the Seventh and Tenth not
only forbid actually taking another person’s property, but even
internally desiring to appropriate it.
Part Three
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
VII. The Nine Co-operations
VIII. The Seven Precepts of the Church
IX. The Works of Mercy
X. Miscellaneous
JMJ
In the examination of
conscience a person
concentrates less on his own
sin than on the mercy of God
– as the wounded
concentrate less on their
wounds than on the power of
the physician who binds and
heals the wounds.
As the empty pantry drives
the housewife to the bakery,
so the empty soul is driven to
the Bread of Life.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen,
Peace of Soul
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
The Seven Deadly Sins and the Opposite Virtues
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Pride..........................................................Humility
Covetousness..............................................Liberality
Lust...........................................................Chastity
Anger.........................................................Meekness
Gluttony.....................................................Temperance
Envy...........................................................Brotherly love
Sloth..........................................................Diligence
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
1-3. The Sins of Covetousness, Luxury, and Sloth
1. The Sin of Covetousness
2. The Sin of Luxury
3. The Sin of Sloth
These sins have been
examined in the first,
sixth, and seventh
commandments.
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
4. The Sin of Pride
A. In entertaining too great and opinion of ourselves, or in
valuing ourselves above our deserts.
B. In publishing what we think good in ourselves, that we may
be esteemed by others.
C. In arrogance, by attributing to ourselves the good we have
not.
D. In presumption and ambition, by confiding too much in our
own strength, conceiving ourselves capable of
accomplishing things above our abilities, and in rashly
attempting them.
E. In contempt of others, on account of the good opinions we
have of ourselves, and when this contempt is manifested by
words or actions or by being severe and exacting on
inferiors.
F. In want of submission to our superiors, by disobeying them,
blaming their conduct, or murmuring against them.
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
4. The Sin of Pride (Con’t)
G. In not acknowledging our faults; or when, in
confessing the facts, we maintain we have done well,
or at least allege false excuses.
H. In contempt of admonitions and corrections.
I. In discord.
J. In hypocrisy.
K. In curiosity, which inclines us to know things
prejudicial to our salvation.
L. By ingratitude for God's benefits.
Five Effects of Pride
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Vainglory (Boasting, Dissimulation / Duplicity)
Ambition
Contempt for others
Anger / Revenge / Resentment
Stubbornness / Obstinacy
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
5. The Sin of Gluttony
A. In eating or drinking to excess, as far as they are
prejudicial, either to our health or our reason, or
any ways scandalous, or of ill example to others.
"Prae-propere, laute, nimis, ardenter, studiose"
or, according to the apt rendering of Fr. Rickably:
“too soon, too expensively, too much, too
eagerly, too daintily.”
Clearly one who uses food or drink in such a way as to injure his
health or impair the mental equipment needed for the discharge
of his duties, is guilty of the sin of gluttony.
Philippians 3:19:
Whose end is destruction: whose God
is their belly: and whose glory is in
their shame: who mind earthly things.
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
6. The Sin of Envy
A. Trouble at the good success of our neighbor, or
when we endeavor to do him an unkindness, or
speak often against him, or create an ill
opinion of him in the mind of another.
B. When we rejoice at our neighbor's harm.
A fable attributed to Aesop: A Wild Ass, who was wandering idly
about, one day came upon a Pack-Ass lying at full length in a
sunny spot and thoroughly enjoying himself. Going up to him, he
said, "What a lucky beast you are! Your sleek coat shows how well
you live: how I envy you!"
Not long after the Wild Ass saw his acquaintance again, but this
time he was carrying a heavy load, and his driver was following
behind and beating him with a thick stick. "Ah, my friend," said the
Wild Ass, "I don't envy you any more: for I see you pay dear for
your comforts."
VI. The Seven Deadly Sins
7. The Sin of Anger
The man is upset at
work, so he goes home
and yells at his wife.
She gets mad and takes
it out on the children, so
they kick the dog,
who bites the cat, who
scratches the furniture,
which makes the man
angry...
A. Not to endure any
thing contrary to our
inclinations.
B. To suffer ourselves to be
hurried away by the emotions
of wrath against those that
give us any trouble.
C. To proceed to quarrels, injurious language,
oaths, curses, threats; to take revenge, or to
desire and wish to be in a capacity of
exercising it.
D. To refuse to pardon injuries, or to be
reconciled to our enemies, or to such of our
neighbors with whom we have had some
misunderstanding, or falling out.
JMJ
It is not enough to tell God that we are
sorry and then forget about it. If we
broke a neighbor’s window, we would not
only apologize but also would go to the
trouble of putting in a new pane. Since
all sin disturbs the equilibrium and
balance of justice and love, there must
be restoration involving toil and effort.
…suppose that every time a person did
wrong he was told to drive a nail into a
wall, and every time he was forgiven to
pull one out. The holes would still remain
after the forgiveness. Thus every
sin…leaves “holes” or “wounds” in our
human nature, and the filling up of these
holes is done by penance; a thief who
steals a watch can be forgiven the theft,
but only if he returns the watch.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Peace of Soul
VII. The Nine Sins of Co-operation
A. Have I knowingly caused others to sin?
B. Have I co-operated in the sins of others?
C. Has my example led others to sin, or to
believe that I condone sin (scandal)?
Nine ways to cooperate in the sin of another:
Encouragement
through active
participation or
tacit support
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
By
Are you
the
“devil” on
someone’s
shoulder?
counsel.
command.
consent.
provocation.
praise or flattery.
concealment.
partaking.
silence.
defense of the ill done.
VIII. The Seven Precepts of the Church
1. To attend Mass on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation, and
resting from servile works.
2. To observe the days of abstinence and fasting.
3. To confess our sins to a priest, at least once a year.
4. To receive Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist at least
once a year during Easter Season.
5. To contribute to the support of the Church.
6. To obey the laws of the Church concerning
Matrimony.
7. To participate in the Church's mission of
Evangelization of Souls.
IX. The Works of Mercy
1. The Corporal Works of Mercy
The corporal works of mercy are oriented toward the body.
These are the seven practices of charity toward our neighbor,
based on Christ’s prophecy of the Last Judgment, that will
determine each person’s final destiny:
A. Feed the hungry
B. Give drink to the thirsty
C. Clothe the naked
D. Shelter the homeless
E. Visit the sick
F. Visit those in prison
G. Bury the dead
IX. The Works of Mercy
2. The Spiritual Works of Mercy
The spiritual works of mercy are oriented toward the soul.
These are based on the teachings of Christ and on
Church practice since apostolic times.
A. Admonish Sinners
B. Instruct the Ignorant
C. Counsel the Doubtful
D. Comfort the Sorrowful
E. Bear Wrongs Patiently
F. Forgive Injuries
G. Pray for the Living and the Dead
XI. Miscellaneous
Sin is not only limited to our dwelling on thoughts and
commission, but includes omission.
“We can fail in the practice of…virtues either by commission,
omission, or by tepidity, in not acting as generously as we might
in responding to the grace we have received from God.” - by Fr.
John Hardon, S.J.
Scandal: Sin is compounded by leading others (directly or
indirectly) to sin.
"Whoever causes one of these
little ones who believe in me to
sin, it would be better for him
to have a great millstone hung
around his neck and to be
drowned in the depths of the
sea.” Matthew 18:6, NAB
JMJ
There is no evidence whatever to
sustain the position…that sin tends to
make a person morbid.
To call someone an escapist because
he asks for forgiveness is like calling a
householder whose home is on fire an
escapist because he sends for the fire
department. If there is anything
morbid in the sinner’s responsible
admission of a violated relationship
with divine love, this is a jovial sanity
compared with the real and terribly
morbidity that comes to those who are
sick and those who refuse to admit
their illness.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen, Peace of
Soul