Examination of Conscious for Lent

Yesterday’s blog was a little long. Yes, today is as well. I personally believe it just might prove valuable.

“Although there are many reasons to be discourage, amid many prophets of destructive and condemnation, and so many negative and despairing voices, may you be a positive force, salt and light for this society. Like the engine of a train, may you be the driving force leading all towards their destinations. May you be sowers of hope, builders of bridges and agents of dialogue and harmony. Pope Francis, April 29, 1917: Message during Apostolic Journey

As an adult Catholic I have often taken the time to do an Examination of Conscious about 3-5 days a week. It was how I ended my day.  Unfortunately, it is a practice I have not incorporated into my daily life as often. It is time for me to begin again by including it for at least 5 days a week.

I used the Ignatian Daily Examination of Conscious process.  Below are the steps I used. Note that when I did this process, I would use my journal so that I could reflect in more detail to grow spiritually. It took time. You can, and should, keep it simpler if you are new to this and time is an issue.

1.      Become aware of God’s presence

Breathe deeply a few times and pray.

2.      Review the day with gratitude

As you review your day notice, if you took time to be grateful for a word said to you, an act towards you or a scene that you noticed and possibly made you smile.

3.      Pay attention to your emotions

This step might prove to be revealing. There were times when I looked over my day and realized that I had said or done something which was reactionary and hurt someone. It was usually someone I cared about. Or that I realized I lost an opportunity to show my gratitude or encourage someone. Yes, this step might be very revealing only if we take the time to be honest with ourselves.

4.      Choose one feature from the day and pray from it

Now this one step I changed a bit. I made the decision to choose two features from the day.

Ø  I took one positive action from my day and asked God to show me how I could improve on it.

Ø  I took one negative action/thought from my day and thought about it. I would ask myself why I did or said it; how did I feel at that moment and why I felt that way. Next, I would search for an alternative to that behavior and pray to be aware of that behavior for the next time.

5.      Look forward to tomorrow

I would try to visualize my next day. Not an unrealistic all happy day. It would be a day where I would start with prayer and positive energy. It would include a possible situation that would be a challenge or obstacles, and I would envision myself keeping my composure, responding with calm and thoughtfulness,

As I mentioned above, I chose journaling to do this process.  If you are not familiar with this process, start simple. It will still prove greatly beneficial.

Since 2016 I have become more politically active. I have found, especially in the past 14 months my social media posts have been blunter and more sometime darn right rude and judgmental. I considered it, “in your face” posting.

As I did more research on examining my own conscious for Lent, I came across one for politically active individuals. One of the questions to reflect on made me take note of my behavior. For example, when have I allowed a strong feeling to say or think something unkind about another person?  You can check it out here of you are an activist.

There are many worthwhile resources out there that will provide you with detailed information on doing an examination of your conscious. Many of these can be modified to fit your time limitations, to a specific goal, to do alone or as a family. It’s up to you.

As a Catholic, I mostly use resources from Catholic sites.  Here is a link to the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops that have different version that can be used:

Examinations of Conscience | USCCB

NOTE: We will be offering a free webinar on Friday, March 27, 2026, at 1 p.m. (Mountain Time) on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday. You can get more information here: Three Self-Emptying Days.