Examination of Conscience - Christianity

Christianity

Examination of conscience was commanded by the Apostle St. Paul to be performed by the faithful each time they received Holy Communion: "But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself.... For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." (1 Corinthians 11:28-31, KJV). And, as the early Christians received Holy Communion very frequently, examination of conscience became a familiar exercise of their spiritual lives. In many cases, this became a daily practice of the lives of early members of the clergy and those living a monastic life, such as the hermit St. Anthony, who was said to have examined his conscience every night, while St. Basil of Caesarea, St. Augustine of Hippo and St. Bernard of Clairvaux, and founders of religious orders generally made the examination of conscience a regular daily exercise of their followers. Lay members of congregations were encouraged to take up the practice as well as a salutary measure by their priests and bishops as a means of furthering their religious formation.

St. Bernard taught: "As a searching investigator of the integrity of your own conduct, submit your life to a daily examination. Consider carefully what progress you have made or what ground you have lost. Strive to know yourself. Place all your faults before your eyes. Come face to face with yourself, as though you were another person, and then weep for your faults."

In Catholicism, this should be kept distinct from the Sacrament of Reconciliation, as an examination of conscience only brings to light sins, but does not in and of itself forgive them, as it is dogma that, barring perfect contrition, only the grace of Christ, through his priest in persona Christi, can forgive sins. However, Catholics believe that a full examination of conscience is an effective and necessary step to making a good confession.

As to the daily examination of conscience, two species must be distinguished, the general and the particular. The former aims at the sober identification of all kinds of faults, the latter at the avoidance of some particular fault or the acquisition of some particular virtue.

As to the importance of this practice, St. Pius X taught in Haerent Animo:

The excellence of this practice and its fruitfulness for christian virtue are clearly established by the teaching of the great masters of the spiritual life.