Prayer at Night

My precious Lord,
As this day comes to a close,
I take this moment to turn to You.
Help me, in this moment of quiet, to examine my day.

(Do a brief examination of conscience or review the examination below)

Lord, I thank You for helping me to see my sin.
Please give to me the grace of humility
So that I can admit all my sin without reserve.

I pray that every sin will be forgiven,
And I open myself to Your grace
So that Your merciful Heart will create me anew.

I also call to mind the way in which You were present to me this day.

(Take a moment to ponder the graces God blessed you with this day)

Lord, I thank You for the blessings of this day.
Please help me to see these blessings as Your divine presence in my life.

May I turn from sin and turn to You.
Your presence in my life brings great joy;
My sin leads to sorrow and despair.

I choose You as my Lord.
I choose You as my guide
And pray for Your abundant blessings tomorrow.

May this night be restful in You.
May it be a night of renewal.

Speak to me, Lord, as I sleep.
Guard me and protect me the whole night through.

My guardian angel, Saint Joseph, my Blessed Mother,
Intercede for me now and always.

Amen.


Individual Examination of Conscience – 10 Commandments
 (Or, for examination using the 7 Deadly Sins, scroll down below)

First Commandment: “I am the Lord your God, you shall not have strange gods before Me.”Have I denied God? Have I been ashamed of or denied my faith in front of others? Have I ridiculed the teachings or practices of the Church? Have I neglected my prayers? Have I used witchcraft, Wicca, or other Occult practices? Have I practiced various forms of superstition such as fortune tellers, mediums, ouija boards, tarot cards?

Second Commandment: “Do not take the name of the Lord in vain.” 
Do I use God’s name carelessly, in anger, or in surprise? Have I called down evil upon anyone or anything?

Third Commandment: “Keep holy the Sabbath Day.”
Have I, through my own fault, failed to come to Mass each Sunday and every Holy Day of Obligation? Do I arrive at Mass late or leave early without good reason? Do I allow myself to be distracted at Mass?

Fourth Commandment: “Honor your father and mother.” 
Have I disobeyed my parents or treated them with disrespect? Am I disrespectful, impolite, or discourteous toward my family? Have I neglected my work or my studies? Have I been helpful in my home? Have I failed to study seriously and with diligence? Have I missed an exam at school because of laziness? Am I disrespectful toward the elderly? Am I disobedient to the civil law or to those in authority such as the police?

Fifth Commandment: “You shall not kill.”
Did I have an abortion or help another to have an abortion? Have I mutilated my body or another’s body? Did I attempt suicide or seriously consider thoughts of suicide? Do I act violently by fighting or hitting others? Have I had thoughts of hatred toward another? Have I taken illegal drugs or abused prescription drugs? Have I sold or distributed illegal drugs? Do I neglect to take proper care of my body? Do I eat too much, or sleep too much? Do I drink beer or other alcoholic beverages in excess? Have I allowed myself to become intoxicated?  Am I too concerned about my health or appearance? Do I deliberately harbor unkind and revengeful thoughts about others? Have I taken revenge? Have I used harsh or abusive language toward another? Do I act rudely, impolitely, or ridicule others? Have I been guilty of the sin of racism? Am I cruel to animals?

Sixth & Ninth Commandments: “Do not commit adultery.  Do not covet your neighbors wife.” 
Have I desired or done impure things? Have I taken pleasure in entertaining impure thoughts or desires? Have I read impure material, listened to music with impure lyrics, or looked at impure images, whether in photos or on television or in movies or on the Internet? Have I aroused sexual desire in myself or another by impure kissing, embracing, or touching? Have I committed impure actions alone, i.e., masturbation? Have I committed homosexual acts or other unnatural acts? Do I use artificial contraception whether surgical, barrier or chemical methods? Have I dressed immodestly or been too concerned with the way I look? Do I use vulgar language or tell or listen to impure jokes or stories?

Seventh and tenth Commandments: “You shall not steal.  Do not covet your neighbor’s goods.” 
Have I taken anything that was not my own? Have I damaged private or public property or defaced it by vandalism? Have I been guilty of shop-lifting? Have I accepted or bought stolen property or helped someone to steal? Have I bribed someone? Do I gamble excessively? Have I borrowed something without the owner’s permission? Have I failed to return something I borrowed? Do I waste money or spend it extravagantly? Have I harbored a greed for money or worldly possessions? Have I made of money, or any possession, a false god? Do I waste goods or food? Have I cheated on tests or schoolwork? Have I cheated in games or sports?

Eighth Commandment: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” 
Have I lied deliberately? Have I sworn to do something sinful or illegal? Have I slandered others by attributing to them sins they did not commit or of which I had no evidence? Do I gossip about others or listen to gossip? Have I told a secret I was asked to keep? Have I betrayed someone’s trust? Have I criticized anyone uncharitably? Do I make rash judgments and harbor false suspicions about others? Have I deliberately misled or deceived anyone? Have I refused to forgive someone or held a grudge against him or her? Have I failed to apologize or make amends to someone I offended?

Other considerations:  Am I greedy or selfish or do I indulge in self-pity? Am I proud or vain or do I show off?  Am I superficial and worldly? Do I desire to be praised by exaggerating my success? Am I touchy and hypersensitive? Do I magnify the least oversight or thoughtlessness into an insult or deliberate slight? Have I been boastful? Have I been arrogant with others? Have I obstinately defended actions which are sinful, either my own or other’s? Am I rebellious? Have I spent useless time planted before the TV when I could be doing more constructive things? Am I envious of someone’s possessions and do I inordinately desire them to be my own? Do I take delight in the misfortunes of others?

(For examination on 7 Deadly Sins, scroll down below)


ACT OF CONTRITION

O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended You, and I detest all my sins because of Your just punishments, but most of all because they offend You, my God, who are all-good and deserving of all my love.  I firmly resolve, with the help of Your grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.  Amen.


Individual Examination of Conscience – 7 Deadly Sins

Pride: “Pride is an untrue opinion of ourselves, an untrue idea of what we are not.” Have I a superior attitude in thinking, or speaking or acting? Am I snobbish?  Have I offensive, haughty ways of acting or carrying myself?  Do I hold myself above others? Do I demand recognition?  Do I desire to be always first? Do I seek advice?  Am I ready to accept advice? Am I in any sense a “bully”?  Am I inclined to be “bossy”? Do I speak ill of others?  Have I lied about others?  Do I make known the faults of others?  Do I seek to place the blame on others, excusing myself?  Is there anyone to whom I refuse to speak? Is there anyone to whom I have not spoken for a long time?  Am I prone to argue?  Am I offensive in my arguments? Have I a superior “know-it-all attitude” in arguments?  Am I self-conscious?  Am I sensitive?  Am I easily wounded?

Envy: “Envy is a sadness which we feel, on account of the good that happens to our neighbor.”  Do I feel sad at the prosperity of others? At their success in games? In athletics?  Do I rejoice at their failures?  Do I envy the riches of others?

Sloth: “Sloth is a kind of cowardice and disgust, which makes us neglect and omit our duties,rather than to discipline ourselves.”  Have I an inordinate love of rest,neglecting my duties?  Do I act lazily?  Am I too fond of rest? Do I take lazy positions in answering prayers? Do I kneel in a lounging way?  Do I delight in idle conversation?  Do I fail to be fervent in the service of God?

Lust: “Lust is the love of the pleasures that are contrary to purity.”  Have I desired or done impure things? Have I taken pleasure in entertaining impure thoughts or desires? Have I read impure material, listened to music with impure lyrics, or looked at impure images, whether in photos or on television or in movies or on the Internet? Have I aroused sexual desire in myself or another by impure kissing, embracing, or touching? Have I committed impure actions alone, i.e.,masturbation? Do I dress immodestly or am I too concerned with the way I look?Do I use vulgar language or tell or listen to impure jokes or stories? Have I given into desires of adultery even in my imagination?

Covetousness: “Covetousness is a disordered love of the goods of this world.”  Do I dispose of my money properly or selfishly?  Do I discharge my duties in justice to my fellow man?  Do I discharge my duties in justice to the Church?

Gluttony:“Gluttony is a disordered love of eating and drinking.”  Do I eat to live or live to eat?  Do I drink to excess?  Do I get drunk?  Do I misuse prescription drugs?  Do I use illegal drugs?  Have I allowed myself to become addicted to alcohol and/or drugs?

Anger: “An emotion of the soul, which leads us violently to repel whatever hurts or displeases us.”  Am I prone to anger?  Does practically any little thing arouse my temper?  Am I what is generally termed “a sore-head”? Do I fail to repress the first signs of anger? Do I fail to get along well with everybody? Do I ponder over slights or injuries and even presume them?  Do I rejoice at the misfortunes of others? Do I think of means of revenge? Of “getting even”?  Am I of an argumentative disposition? Have I a spirit of contradiction?  Am I given to ridicule of persons, places, or things?  Am I hard to get along with?  Do I carry grudges, remain “on the outs” with anyone?  Do I talk about the faults of others?  Do I reveal the faults or defects of others?  Do I reveal the faults of others from the wrong motive?

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