During the Lenten season, the Catholic Church echoes the call of the Lord Jesus for us to accompany him in the desert. The desert is an uncomfortable place. It strips us of our excesses. It humbles us and shows us who we are. It can be unsettling since it is a place of purgation and purification.

The desert is also an opportunity for us to meet Jesus Christ and soberly evaluate where we are in our relationship with him. There is no hiding place in the emptiness of this spiritual wilderness. The things that hinder us from loving and serving the Lord are in full array before us. 

In the desert, we should never be surprised by what is revealed about us. We are a fallen race with wayward hearts. King David sings in Psalm 51:

“For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are justified in your sentence, and blameless when you pass judgment. Indeed, I was born guilty, a sinner when my mother conceived me.”

The prophet Jeremiah (17:9) further warns us: 

 “The heart is devious above all else; it is perverse — who can understand it?” 

The desert helps us to encounter God by burning away our delusions and scorching our self-deceptions. It is a hostile environment to our pride and a harsh opponent to our ego. It manifests our life of sin, discloses to us the fallenness of our hearts, and calls us to repent and draw closer to Jesus Christ.

It is a place of honesty and transparency. It is a place of decision.

During our time in the spiritual desert of Lent, therefore, we shouldn’t be surprised when the devotional life of the Church encourages us to do serious and concentrated examinations of our conscience.

The Second Vatican Council explains the mystery of our conscience:

“Deep within his conscience man discovers a law which he has not laid upon himself but which he must obey. Its voice, ever calling him to love and to do what is good and to avoid evil, sounds in his heart at the right moment. ... For man has in his heart a law inscribed by God. ... His conscience is man’s most secret core and his sanctuary. There he is alone with God whose voice echoes in his depths” (Gaudium et Spes, 16).

The Catechism of the Catholic Church repeats this explanation (1776) and shows us how the conscience is a call to self-awareness and reform:

“For the man who has committed evil, the verdict of his conscience remains a pledge of conversion and of hope” (1797).

Many of us might think that an examination of conscience is only for when we are preparing to go to confession. While an examination of conscience is an esteemed way for us to prepare for the sacrament, it is also a devotional practice that can be actively used in many other areas of our spiritual life.

Many people might not understand how an examination of conscience can be used in other ways. This oftentimes happens because of the limited content that is used to examine our consciences. 

There are many Christians who still examine their conscience in the exact same way they did when they were in elementary school — for example, using a broad and generic outline of the Ten Commandments. Now, if a soul has not grown in the Lord Jesus and is still spiritually and morally immature, such a practice might be understandable. 

For the most part, however, many souls find themselves stunted in their spiritual development because they have failed to go deeper or use other helps in the Church’s spiritual treasury.

First, when it’s said that we need to go deeper or that other helps can be used for an examination of conscience, we are not saying that there is anything lacking in the Ten Commandments. Quite the opposite. The Ten Commandments are a perennial and foundational help to us in the examination of our conscience. 

The Ten Commandments are like an umbrella, covering several areas of sin. If they are going to continue to help us recognize our faults and name our sins as we grow in the spiritual life, then we need to expand and deepen our understanding of them. 

For example, rather than just confessing that we were gossiping, we can examine whether we were speaking calumny or detraction, or engaging in perjury or rash judgment. 

Second, in addition to the Decalogue, we can also use other portions of the word of God to examine our consciences. In reference to the sacrament of confession, the Catechism teaches:

“The reception of this sacrament ought to be prepared for by an examination of conscience made in the light of the Word of God. The passages best suited to this can be found in the moral catechesis of the Gospels and the apostolic Letters, such as the Sermon on the Mount and the apostolic teachings” (1454). 

It’s interesting that in listing the passages that are best suited for an examination of conscience, the Catechism does not list only the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments). Certainly, it’s understood that they are a resource, and so the Catechism is highlighting other parts of God’s word that can help us. 

In looking at other parts of the sacred Scriptures, we can emphasize the beatitudes, which are taken from the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-12). 

The beatitudes can be particularly helpful in unmasking the seven deadly sins. The Decalogue is focused on the sins of volition, the sins we actively commit. The Ten Commandments do not search for the cause or motivation behind our sins. The beatitudes, however, can help us in this type of internal search. The beatitudes can reveal the sins of our spirit and show us what inclines us to particular acts of sin.

It oftentimes occurs that when a person who has only used the Decalogue for an examination of conscience turns to the beatitudes, he or she is shocked by a new and profound awareness of personal sinfulness and the need for God.

This is also true of the fruits of God’s Spirit. St. Paul lists the fruits in his Letter to the Galatians. The Catechism explains them and also lists them for us:

“The fruits of the Spirit are perfections that the Holy Spirit forms in us as the first fruits of eternal glory. The tradition of the Church lists twelve of them: charity, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, generosity, gentleness, faithfulness, modesty, self-control, chastity” (1832).

An examination of conscience based on the fruits of God’s Spirit can be exceptionally enlightening to the soul that desires to grow in holiness. Like the beatitudes, the fruits of the Spirit also focus on the sinful movements and motivations of our heart. The fruits can manifest everything and leave no stone unturned in the heart that is open and willing to wrestle with them.

Third, with the above recommendation in place, it’s worth highlighting that a daily examination of conscience is recommended by the Church, especially before going to bed. In Compline, the formal Night Prayer of the Church, an examination of conscience is expected. 

In some instances, especially during retreats, multiple examinations might be done in a single day. While there are variations, the key point is that an examination of conscience is not just for preparing for confession, but also a devotional practice that can be used at many other times and in several other ways. 

As we discuss the importance of examining our consciences, we need to keep our focus on what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. An examination of conscience is not an attempt at self-help, nor a practice in self-hatred, but rather a sincere desire to recognize our fallenness and turn to God. 

A good examination of conscience is a confession that we are not perfect, that we have our faults, that we are broken, that we are sinners, and that we are totally and completely works in progress. It is setting the stage for us to change our ways and admit our need for salvation in Jesus Christ.

In this way, an examination of conscience is a great devotional practice for Lent. It is a powerful way for us to welcome the purifying heat of the Lenten desert and to accept the Lord Jesus’ liberating call to repentance and conversion.