Everyday Rosary Newsletter, Volume 5 Issue #1 - Your Examination Of Conscience Guide
May 1, 2013
Spring greetings!
The monthly Everyday Rosary Newsletter is brought to you from the
How-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com
website. In each edition you will find Rosary inspirations and little motivational and encouraging boosts to keep you on fire and praying the Rosary everyday. It is your continuing dose of Rosary inspiration!
Table of Contents
Please Support The Monks!
Buy Some Coffee Today...
Mystic Monk Coffee
Top
Articles
The Value Of An Examination Of Conscience
"My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit; a contrite and humbled heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." -Psalm 50:19
One of the most valuable things you can incorporate into your interior life is a daily examination of conscience. When you consider your behavior during the day and are truly sorry for your offenses, you will develop a humble and contrite heart.
A daily examination of conscience will help you grow in holiness as God will enable you to see areas where you need to grow spiritually. You will move from human motives for being sorry; namely, dreading the punishment due for sin, into a more perfect sorrow. This perfect sorrow is a truly contrite heart that feels sorrow because of its deep love and adoration for God Whom it has offended and disobeyed.
This contrition you will develop will help you make more worthy confessions. The more worthy the confession, the more graces you will receive. It is very important to have a sense of sorrow for your sins. Sometimes this is hard, as you confess the same venial sins confession after confession. If you spend time each day considering your actions and motives, you are sure to develop an awareness of your faults and the affects your behavior has on those around you. This awareness will deepen your contrition.
You will begin to desire to do penance and suffer mortifications because you have offended so loving a God. Often times it isn’t the great sinners who hurt God the most...
...rather it is the indifferent, tepid and lukewarm souls that cause deep pain to Our Lord. This is not only a Scriptural truth found in the book of the Apocalypse, but Our Lord has made this known many times to such visionaries as St. Margaret Mary Alacoque in the Sacred Heart Message , Sr. Lucia in the Fatima message and to St. Faustina in the Divine Mercy message.
If you have a deeper sorrow for your sins, you will develop a stronger purpose of amendment. A daily examination of conscience, helps you focus on your shortcomings and overcome your faults. You will lapse back into the same old sins less often.
A final benefit that should be mentioned is that a daily examination of conscience teaches an important form of mental prayer. Most people devoted to the Rosary have learned to pray in this way when they meditate on the mysteries of the Rosary.
An excellent exercise in mental prayer is an examination of conscience as it teaches your brain to unite with your soul in examining your faults and igniting a sense of sorrow for these offenses. It teaches to you to talk to Jesus on a personal level everyday.
New Meditation On The Agony In The Garden
Suffering did not come upon Christ unawares. In a very real sense, it had been on God's Mind from all eternity. The Virgin Mary had conceived a Victim. John hailed Him as the meek Lamb of God, destined for slaughter. Jesus Himself spoke often of His death; invited others to do what He was about to do - "take up the Cross"; then deliberately went up to Jerusalem to His earthly doom. But when that long awaited suffering was only a sunrise away , Jesus Christ fell upon His face and bled at the thought of pain, and asked that, if it were possible, the chalice be withheld.
To tremble at pain is Christlike. Suffering is not a good thing that merely appears evil. It is an evil, which human nature shrinks from - and grace can sanctify. Father Peyton's Rosary Prayer Book - p.9.
Our Lord suffered in the Garden of Gethsemani on account of our sins. Each one of our offenses personally, and every single sin. It caused him an excruciating agony. Consider this as you call to mind your sins in a daily examination of conscience and when preparing to receive the sacrament of Penance.
Top
Top Picks
Commandments, Deadly Sins And Contrition
A guide to follow when examining your conscience is composed of a prayer to the Holy Spirit, the Ten Commandments, the seven deadly sins, and an Act of Contrition...
Prayer To The Holy Spirit
Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and kindle in them the fire of Thy love.
V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.
Let us pray
O, God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit, did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
The Ten Commandments
- I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have any false gods before me.
-
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
-
Remember keep holy the sabbath day.
-
Honor thy father and thy mother.
-
Thou shalt not kill.
-
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
-
Thou shalt not steal.
-
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
-
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.
-
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.
The Seven Deadly Sins Or Capital Sins
-
Pride
-
Greed
-
Lust
-
Anger
-
Gluttony
-
Envy
-
Sloth
An Act Of Contrition
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended Thee. I detest all my sins because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend Thee, my God, Who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of Thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance, and amend my life. Amen.
Top
How To Checklist
How To Examine Your Conscience - A Guide
There are two methods that work well when examining your conscience. One is by going through the Ten Commandments. The other is examining the sins you commit that flow from the Seven Deadly Sins.
Just as you must know and understand laws in your country or city in order to be a good citizen, to stay out of trouble, or even to drive around safely, you must know and understand God’s laws in order to be a true follower of Jesus Christ.
God gave the Ten Commandments through Moses to the Israelites. These rules continue to govern good Christians today.
The first three commandments are about how we must deal with God. The next seven are how we are to treat our neighbor. They are listed in order of importance. If you break any of these laws in a serious way, are fully aware of the serious nature, and you fully consent to doing the action, you are committing a mortal sin.
Everyone commits venial sins of a less serious nature that fall under the Ten Commandments from time to time. Examples of this would be neglecting daily prayer as falls under the First Commandment. Or using angry words and hurting physically another person (children do this often and parents “lose it” from time to time). This type of behavior would fall under the Fifth Commandment as a venial sin.
Many find it helpful when examining their conscience to prayerfully reflect on these commandments considering if they have offended God throughout the day.
Another way to examine your conscience is to consider the seven deadly sins...
-
Pride
-
Greed
-
Lust
-
Anger
-
Gluttony
-
Envy
-
Sloth
Prayerfully reflect on the offenses you have made that flow from each of these. Think to yourself, “what sins have I committed that flow from pride...” and on down the list.
Whichever way you choose to examine your conscience, you can follow this guide...
-
Pray to the Holy Spirit that He may enlighten you to know your sins and shortcomings.
-
Review the events during your day, using the Ten Commandments or Seven Deadly Sins, considering ways you may have offended God. Consider your motives and how you could have behaved differently.
-
Talk to Jesus asking for His help and His mercy. Tell Him your troubles and talk to Him as you would a friend.
-
Ignite within a true sorrow and purpose of amending your life. A little time spent meditating on Our Lord’s Passion
 will help with this.
-
Pray An Act of Contrition.
Make a habit of examining your conscience every night before going to bed. This is a sure method of growing in holiness and attaining spiritual perfection. Plus the peace of living in harmony with your family, friends, neighbors and coworkers is priceless.
Top
Resources
Rosary Gift Resources
Books And Spiritual Reading
Top
Thank You!
Thank you for reading! Keep visiting www.how-to-pray-the-rosary-everyday.com and remember we love hearing from you. Please use the "contact us" page to leave any and all suggestions or comments.
Holy Mary, Mother of God. Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death!
To Jesus through Mary,
Kathleen Bowen and The Rosary Team
P.S.
If you like this newsletter and are looking for an easy way to promote the Rosary, please "email it forward" to someone you know who might appreciate it. If a friend did forward this to you and you like what you read, please subscribe now!
As our site and community grows, I hope that you drop me a line and tell me how the Rosary is working in your life! Did a personal transformation take place in your life that was inspired by something on our site? Share it with the rest of us! Often, having a support community really keeps you going.
Feel free to send in tips or questions too! We love mail!
Everyday Rosary Newsletter is our personal Rosary newsletter and may accept advertising and other forms of compensation. Such compensation does not influence the information in this newsletter. We always give our honest opinions, findings, beliefs, or experiences etc... for more on how our site is compensated please visit our advertising and disclosures page.
|
