Mental Prayer Meditation Helps
Presence of God
Grace I Ask: God, help me to understand the value of the examination of conscience.
The Idea: The dying man long ago gave up his faith, and now frantically wanted to be saved. "Father, I want to confess my sins, but to examine my conscience scares me terribly. Help me, Father; I don't want to go to hell." The priest explained that God did not want this examination to torture him so. Nor did God want it to block his path to eternal happiness. God has made it easy for sinners. He requires us to confess only the kind and number of mortal sins which we can remember and that is all. Extra details and exact arithmetic are not necessary.
Examining our conscience should not be a barrrier for us in our confessions. Weekly confession makes the work of recalling our sins very easy. It is good for us to confess venial sins; and especially to work on getting rid of one type at a time, for instance, faults against kindness. But only mortal sins must be confessed.
My Personal Application: Do I approach my examinations of conscience intelligently? Am I working to get rid of any habit of mortal sin? Or if I have no mortal sins, am I working systematically toward getting rid of habits of venial sin? Do I try to go to the same confessor so that I can get advice from him regularly?
I Speak to God: God, if sometimes I get confused and worried about examining my conscience, help me to do it calmly and correctly. Give me the grace to understand how valuable this practice is for knowing myself and keeping close to you.
Thought for Today: God, give me athe grace to properly form my conscience!
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Adapted from Mental Prayer, Challenge to the Lay Apostle
by The Queen's Work,(© 1958)
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