The Risk of Making an Examination of Conscience

There is a beautiful sequence in Psalm 51 if someone were to describe King David’s sin of adultery as anything but beautiful, where he finally faces his sin of adultery and murder. He begins the journey of repentance, begging for the Lord’s mercy, vowing to purge himself clean because of his sins, and seeking joy. Psalm 51, also known as the prayer for cleansing and pardon, says the following,

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall show forth your praise.[1]

The context of this Psalm is quite revealing as it describes David’s regret for committing the sin of adultery with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah, and even worse, having Uriah killed in battle to hide his sexual indiscretion. David asks for God’s mercy, disclosing the nature of his sin, and positioning himself as a willful penitent. He then proceeds to further acknowledge his evil, sinful act, and begs to be purged or held accountable for his sinful evil acts both against his fellow human beings and God himself. David begs God to open his lips so that he will only proclaim his praise.

An important aspect of this Psalm is the process David took to examine his own conscience and come to grips with what he had done. The progression of David’s spiritual rehabilitation is what St. Paul would describe as being dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

We know that our former man was crucified with him so that the sinful body might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For he who has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him. For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.[2]

The Catechism reminds us that we are called to beatitude as was David, but we have been wounded by sin, meaning, the inclination to seek any desire that is contrary to the law of God, which means contrary to the law of the Ten Commandments and the beatitudes. Hence, man stands in need of salvation from God[3] which God provides to David after his sincere examination of conscience and contrite heart.

The Church teaches that sin creates a proclivity to sin[4] and thus we are faced with a daily battle between the forces of good and evil. We either choose the good to avoid the evil, or choose the evil and ignore the good. In one sense, if I choose good, I desire to be in love with Jesus Christ and be in constant spiritual engagement with him through the Church and the sacramental life. If I choose evil, I desire to have my personal carnal and humanistic desires satisfied at all costs. This tug of moral war places great emphasis on the free act of the will each one of us possesses to act in union with Christ or not.

The risk of addressing your sins through the daily exercise of an examination of conscience revolves around your honest desire to sin no more and not fall prey to the habitual reality of the sinful act you are struggling with. It means that you are ready to seek healing from the spiritual intoxication of your sins and go through a spiritual withdrawal to squelch the desire for these destructive sins. Jesus calls us to conversion.[5] This is part of the risk of making a daily examination of conscience: the willingness to remove yourself from the destructive nature of sin and suffer through the withdrawal of these unholy desires.

The Catechism provides us with a sound structure of how to engage in a daily examination of conscience,

Conversion is accomplished in daily life by gestures of reconciliation, concern for the poor, the exercise and defense of justice and right, by the admission of faults to one’s brethren, fraternal correction, revision of life, examination of conscience, spiritual direction, acceptance of suffering, endurance of persecution for the sake of righteousness. Taking up one’s cross each day and following Jesus is the surest way of penance.

Daily conversion and penance find their source and nourishment in the Eucharist, for in it is made present the sacrifice of Christ which has reconciled us with God. Through the Eucharist, those who live from the life of Christ are fed and strengthened. It is a remedy to free us from our daily faults and to preserve us from mortal sins.^[6]

Here is a practical example of a daily examination of conscience;

Lord Jesus, I come before you, just as I am, I am sorry for my sins, I repent of my sins, please forgive me.

In your Name, I forgive all others for what they have done against me.

I renounce Satan, the evil spirits, and all their works. I give you my entire self, Lord Jesus, now and forever.

I invite you into my life, Jesus. I accept you as my Lord, God, and Savior.

Heal me, change me, strengthen me in body, soul, and spirit.

Come, Lord Jesus, cover me with your Precious Blood, and fill me with your Holy Spirit.

I love you, Lord Jesus. I praise you, Jesus.

I thank you, Jesus.

I shall follow you every day of my life.

Amen.