FREEDOM   HEALING   DELIVERANCE   PEACE

If you answer "Yes" to a question in the first section of each Commandment, then that is a sin.  If you answer "Yes" to a question in the second part under "ways Jesus can help you," then that is good, it is not a sin, rather it is a challenge for further reflection on things that will help you change your life for the better.  Be courageous in honestly distinguishing between good and evil.

First, recall when was the last time you went to Confession. Since that time, how have you sinned?  After examining your life, resolve to improve your life with God's help.

Keep in mind if you committed a sin which is gravely sinful, and you did it with full knowledge of what you were doing, and with the full consent of your free will, then that is a mortal sin and needs to be taken to Confession.  When in doubt, confess and ask the priest to help you understand any confusion about the matter.  God will forgive you and He will give you peace.

1. I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.

2. You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.

Did I use God's Name in vain: lightly, carelessly, in mockery, or by blasphemy? Am I guilty of blasphemy by uttering against God, inwardly or outwardly, words of hatred, reproach, or defiance, speaking ill of God, failing to respect Him in my speech, or misused God's Name?  Have I used speech like this against Christ's Church, the Virgin Mary, the saints, or sacred things?  Have I received the Eucharist or other Sacraments other than Baptism or Confession while in a state of mortal sin?  Have I thrown away, taken, or retained the Blessed Sacrament for a sacrilegious purpose?  (This brings one under an automatic excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See - Code of Canon Law #1367).  Have I used God's Name to cover up criminal practices, to reduce people to servitude, to torture or kill people?  Have I misused God's Name to commit a crime which, by my example, caused others to give up their faith?  Do I use profane language, curse, or swear? Have I insulted anyone?  Have I desired others to suffer or taken glee in their hardship?  Eavesdropping, snooping? Have I abused the power of words? Have I failed to keep promises? Have I said inappropriate, rude comments or jokes?  Have I been rude?  Have I made fun of others, hurting a good reputation?  Have I made someone feel inferior so that I would feel superior?

Ways Jesus can help you:  Do I realize the dignity of a name?  Do I realize what it means when I make the sign of the cross in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit?  Do I control my words, or do I cause trouble through a lack of self-control in my speech?

3. Remember to keep the Lord's Day holy.

Have I failed to make holy (that is, to consecrate, set apart as unique) the day the Lord has made for my special fellowship with Him?  Have I missed Mass through my own fault on Sundays or Holy Days of Obligation? Was I late for Mass (arrived after the Gospel was read) or did I just do my duty without care and leave early without a good reason? Do I treat worship as spiritual "fire insurance" only to avoid Hell with no care to participate?  Did I allow my children to miss Mass? Did I neglect my Easter Duty? (to receive the Eucharist in the state of grace at Easter) or neglect to go to Confession at least once a year? Was I easily distracted at Mass, as if I wasn't even there? Did I not do my penance from a previous Confession?  Did I do unnecessary servile work on Sundays? Do I put my own ways and timing before God's Will? Do I insist upon my own plans?  Am I working myself to death because I don't have time for the Prince of Peace?

Ways Jesus can help you:  Did I let myself rest? Do I really trust God? Do I trust God's ways and timing?  Do I seek to know God's Will, and do I trust God's plan?  Do I to come together with the rest of the Church, the Body of Christ of which I am only one part?  Do I understand the importance of growing in my faith, learning about God, participating in the Sacraments, and doing my part to help the whole Church fulfill her mission to the poor and the lost?   Do I want to put to rest my evil ways and awaken virtue in my life? Do I realize that Jesus has done the most important work that I could never do - the work of salvation? Do I rest in the knowledge of peace that comes in the state of grace?

4. Honor your father and your mother.

Did I refuse to honor and obey my parents? Did I neglect to show them love, respect, care, and help? Am I impatient with their failings and weaknesses? Did I disrespect my siblings?  Did I blame my parents for my own faults? Did I disobey others with lawful authority? Have I broken a just law? Have I talked back? Fought with my family?  Failed to help at home? Disobeyed a teacher? Been mean, unkind, or aloof? Disrespected people, even in my mind?  Not followed procedures at work?  Hidden my mistakes instead of correcting them or asking for help?  Failed to support my parents in their old age? Tried to euthanize my own parents or others' parents? Thought only of my inheritance and not seen my parents' dignity? Neglected my children's religious education? Failed to lead them to Mass or to frequent Confession? Failed to nurture my children to hear the voice of God calling them to realize God's Will for them? Failed to discipline my children? Failed to spend time with my family? Separated or divorced civilly without seeking the help of the Church? Remarried without an annulment? 

Ways Jesus can help you:  Do I realize what a sacrifice my parents make to raise me? Do I also realize the joy I bring them, as well as the pain?  Do I value family life? Am I a good example for my children? Do I value the family as God has revealed it in the Bible, or is my family just another thing to have?  Do I truly realize that God created marriage?

5. You shall not kill.

Did I kill anyone? Did I not respect life at any stage from conception to natural death?  Did I entertain the roots from which thoughts of killing come: have I dwelt on anger, hate, grudges, or vindictiveness? Did I hate anyone, through prejudice, racism, sexism, anti-semitism, bigotry, or any judgmental thoughts of superiority for any reason? Did I have fits of rage?  Did I commit abuse of any kind, emotional, mental, spiritual, physical, verbal abuse? Did I abuse my spouse, children, or myself? Did I set myself on the road to committing abuse? Did I use or sell drugs? Been drunk? Fight? Commit violent acts?  Attempt suicide or seriously considered it? Know of a murder or someone planning a murder and not do anything about it? Did I neglect to care for my health? Give bad example or scandal? Did I fail to correct in charity, or accept others' corrections of me?  Did I seek justice, or did I tolerate injustice?  Did I engage in reckless behavior that could have easily killed me: drinking alcohol and driving, driving too fast or in a dangerous manner, or operating machinery in an unsafe way? Did I neglect the care of those entrusted to me?  Endangered life?  Was I cruel to animals?  Did I euthanize someone?  Devalued life?  Tortured someone or enabled another to be tortured?  Had or encouraged an abortion, mutilation or vasectomy to avoid children? Used a form of artificial birth control that operates by preventing implantation (most birth control pills make the womb inhospitable for a new life after conception, resulting in hundreds of thousands of silent chemical abortions every year).  Do I look down on my neighbor and fail to see the dignity of all people as children of God, especially those less fortunate than me?  Denied the sanctity of all human life?  Disrespected animals or any part of God's creation?  Neglected good stewardship of the earth?

Ways Jesus can help you:  Do I realize that all life is sacred? Do I realize what the Bible means when it says humankind is made "in the image of God?" Do I show patience, peace, gentleness, mercy, and friendliness towards others, even those I dislike?

6. You shall not commit adultery.

Did I commit adultery? Did I misuse sex, or not treat sex as one of God's greatest gifts? Betray my spouse or fiancee? Fail to honor commitments and vows? Did I consent to impure glances? Sexually touched someone other than my spouse?  Entertained lustful fantasies or thoughts, committing adultery in my heart?  Anything to purposely arouse sexual desire for someone other than my spouse? Was I immodest in dress or behavior? Cause someone else to sin by my carelessness in dress or behavior? Did I read or look at things that lead me to sin? Pornography? Pornographic stories, magazines, books, TV, videos, movies, sounds, pictures? Did I misuse sex by masturbation (impurity with myself), fornication (pre-marital sex), adultery (sex with a married person), cohabitation (living together outside of marriage), incest, rape, or artificial birth control (by pills, devices, condoms, or withdrawal, etc.), homosexual activity, sodomy, prostitution, sexual harassment, cloning, in vitro fertilization, surrogate motherhood, or artificial insemination? Sex with animals? Polygamy? Orgies? A sex-change operation? Did I encourage sexual activity of homosexuals, or did I contribute to the confusion over gender?  Did I get married outside the Church without permission? Do I fail to avoid laziness, gluttony, idleness, and occasions of impurity?  Did I encourage anyone to do any of these things?

Ways Jesus can help you:  Do I realize that marriage is not only a civil contract, but also a sacred covenant?  Do I realize that God created sex with two purposes: unity and creation; and that sex must always be open to these purposes? Do I realize that sex is holy and therefore only for people consecrated for each other in marriage?  Do I realize that if I divorce sex from the purposes for which God created it, that I make an idol out of flesh, and deny God's reflection in the most loving of human contact? Do I realize that God really is interested in what I do? Do I realize that God created my body to be a temple of the Holy Spirit, and He only dwells in purity? Do I understand chastity?  Do I understand the freedom that chastity gives?

7. You shall not steal.

Did I steal? Did I accept stolen goods? What or how much? Did I return it or make equal restitution? Did I waste time at work, in school, at home? Am I stingy? Do I gamble excessively? Did I neglect to pay debts promptly, or cheated people out of what I owe? Cheat on my taxes? Failed to pay my employees a fair wage? Misuse natural resources? Littering? Made graffiti?  Bought something with the intention of returning it after using it, or after the return date without the store noticing?  Do I place more value on material things than on my spiritual life? Have I not supported my church regularly?  Have I made deceptive advertising, counterfeit money, or charged exorbitant interest? Have I destroyed, defaced, or vandalized the property of other people? Have I pirated materials, or violated copyrights? Gluttony?  Allowed myself to develop an addiction that I could have prevented?  Have I squandered God's gifts?  Have I been ungrateful for what I have?

Ways Jesus can help you:  Am I thankful for all that I do have? Do I really believe that God will provide? Do I let Him?  Do I care about my neighbor's well being?  Do I seek justice?  Have I used my resources and money to help the poor, the homeless, the sick, the hungry, the dying, and those who have given up hope?  Am I hardworking and honest at work?

8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Have I lied? Have I gossiped or spread rumors?  Talked about another behind his or her back? Do I refuse to tell the truth?  Did I commit perjury, rash judgment, detraction, or calumny? Did I deceive or try to deceive anyone?  Am I insincere? Did I reveal secrets or confidential information without good reason? Did I twist others' words? Did I plagiarize? Cheated in school or at work? Condemn anyone without a fair hearing or just cause? Am I critical, negative, or uncharitable in my talk? Passed blame?  Do I have to win every battle?  Did I frame someone or get someone else in trouble that I caused?  Did I destroy someone's reputation?  Did I manipulate anyone?  Was I a silent bystander when I could have spoken out to prevent injustice or stop sin?  Did I run away from problems instead of courageously dealing with them with God's power within me?

Ways Jesus can help you:  Do I realize the power of words?  Do I defend my neighbor's good name?

9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

Have I coveted someone I cannot have? Been selfish?  Do I use people?  Have I consented to impure thoughts? Have I caused them by stares, bad reading, pornography, spying, voyeurism, careless curiosity, participating in or listening to impure conversations? Do I neglect to control my own mind and imagination? Do I refuse to pray for the strength to conquer poisonous thoughts and temptations?  Have I tried to live in a fantasy world and escape my real family, rejected my family, or desiring to distance myself from them?

Ways Jesus can help you:  Do I realize that nearly everyone is going to be someone's husband or wife one day, and even if they don't get married, they are called to chastity and holiness?  Do I realize that I am called to be holy, and that is the greatest calling as a child of God?  Do I act as if I believe everyone is created in the image of God?  Do I love my family?

10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.

Is my heart greedy? Am I jealous of what someone else has? Am I envious of someone  because I don't have something? Do I frequently compare myself with others and become jealous at them or angry at myself?  Am I moody? Gloomy? Bitter? Divisive?  Refused joy?  Withheld goodness?  Not allowed all the fruits of the Spirit to be active in my life?  Have I burned with envy over something I cannot have? Is my heart set on earthly possessions or on the true treasures in Heaven? Do I refuse to love anyone? Have I wished harm or disaster on anyone? Have I delighted in the misery or sufferings of others? Have I failed to practice mercy, virtue, and justice?  Have I squandered my gifts and talents?  Have I failed to develop my gifts and talents?  Have I failed to grow in maturity and independence, preferring to live off of others' work?

Ways Jesus can help you:  Do I love my neighbor?  Do I work, study and keep busy to counter idle thoughts?   Do I seek worldly success because of loneliness or because I feel alienated from the treasures that last for eternity, and if so, will I ask God to come into my life?

QUICKLY, COME TO CONFESSION.

IT IS THE RIGHT PLACE TO BE.

JESUS WILL HEAL YOU.

MORE AND DEEPER SPIRITUALITY

Starting points for a stronger spiritual life

Do I want to be a saint? To grow in holiness?

Do I talk with a trustworthy mentor or spiritual director?

Do I ask my confessor to help me with areas in my life that I struggle with?

Do I try to go to Confession every month, or at the least once a year?

Am I aware of all the duties of my state in life? Do I neglect anything I am called to in my vocation? Am I discerning my vocation and life's mission?  Am I open to whatever vocation God calls me to (marriage, single life, or religious life) and do I believe that I can know what God wants me to do?

Do I examine my conscience daily? Make a resolution to improve the next day?

Am I apostolic? Do I deepen friendships to lead souls closer to God?  Do I pray for opportunities to bring others to Christ?

Do I develop my interior life through prayer, penance, and study of God's Word?  If possible, do I go to Mass an extra day during the week, or visit the Blessed Sacrament?

Do I deny myself daily?

Do I live in the presence of God?

Do I recall that God is my Father?

Do I unite my sufferings with the cross of the Son?

Do I live in the freedom of the Holy Spirit?

Is my life marked by a spirit of worship to the Trinity?

Do I forgive myself for my sins after bringing them to Jesus in Confession?

Do I love myself as God loves me? Do I judge myself with His standard?

Am I at peace with God?

Do I do works of service for other people?

Am I concerned about my community and do I work for justice and the good of all, especially the poor?

Do I trust in the sovereignty of God?

Can I smile more?

 “’You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31)

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (Exodus 20:1-22)

I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before me.

You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.

Remember to keep holy the Lord's day

Honor your father and your mother.

You shall not kill.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not steal.

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.

You shall not covet you neighbor's goods.

THE PRECEPTS OF THE CHURCH

To be at Mass on all Sundays and holy days of obligation.

To fast and abstain on the days appointed.  For Roman Catholics, days of abstinence from meat are Ash Wednesday, Fridays in Lent, and Good Friday.  Days of fasting are Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.

To confess our sins at least once a year in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

To receive Holy Communion during Easter in the state of grace.

To contribute to the support of the Church.

To observe the laws of God concerning marriage.

To participate in the missionary spirit and apostolate of the Church, evangelizing to bring others to salvation in Jesus Christ.

HOLY DAYS OF OBLIGATION - in addition to Mass EVERY Sunday, we have the obligation to be at Mass on a few other days during the year for major events of our Faith.  Just as you would not think of missing a family member's wedding or funeral provided that you could make it, a Christian living in harmony with the Communion of Saints does not miss a holy day of obligation.

January 1 (Mary, Mother of God), 40 days after Easter (Ascension), August 15 (Assumption), November 1 (All Saints), December 8 (Immaculate Conception), December 25 (Christmas)

Missing Mass is only not a mortal sin if you absolutely cannot go after having tried all means to get to Mass, or if you simply cannot go such as if there is no Mass, sometimes the care of infants, or if you are extremely ill (in which case contact your parish and at least ask that an extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion will bring you the Eucharist.)  But a cold, headache, stress, a hangover, or lots of work do not excuse you from Mass.  Plan ahead.  Everyone needs to spend time in prayer every day.  Except when you're busy, then you need to spend twice as much time with the Lord.  The word "Eucharist" comes from the Greek for "thanksgiving." When you miss Mass it is like telling God your Father, Mary your mother, Jesus your brother, and the whole Communion of Saints (your entire family and all your friends) that you don't want to come home for Thanksgiving.  Sunday Mass is the Christian equivalent to America's Thanksgiving in this way, you need to be there and the Church needs you.  Saying "I don't want You, God" is the mindset of mortal sin.

Not going to Confession at least once a year is like saying "I don't sin" which is a lie. But if you believe that you don't sin, then you NEED Confession even more because your heart has become desensitized to sin.  The Bible illustrates the Holy Spirit as a warm, dynamic fire (Acts 2).  Confession is like the match that ignites that fire.  Find a picture of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for further illustration of how His heart "burns with love" for you. The Sacraments will make your heart more loving too.  God's Spirit is in the Sacraments.  Open your heart and let Him work in you.  He is there. He invites. He waits.

WHEN IN DOUBT, CONFESS!  You will be accountable for all your sins... either NOW in the Sacrament of Confession, or LATER on the Day of Judgment.  In Confession, we encounter Christ's mercy and are given another chance with the empowerment of His grace, but Judgment Day is reserved for wrath with no second chance (Revelation 20:11-15, Matthew 16:27).  Judgment Day is the end of time.  At the end of your life, you will meet Jesus either as your Merciful Savior or Just Judge (Matthew 25:31-26).  Every moment, you decide in which state you will meet Jesus.  Take comfort, because the Sacrament is called both Confession and RECONCILIATION.  A saint is just a sinner who got up.

Withholding a mortal sin in Confession is like refusing to show a doctor an infected wound, and is itself another mortal sin that must be confessed with all your sins again.  Try to remember the number of times you committed a certain sin, or try to give an idea of how much a sin had infected your life with an estimate such as, "many times," or "not often."  Especially if you have not been to Confession in a long time, it may be simpler to say the frequency of a sin such as, "two times a week for the last three years."  If you forgot a mortal sin, or did something and didn't know it was a mortal sin, still confess.  Receiving the Eucharist in a state of mortal sin is a mortal sin and must be confessed.  When in doubt, confess by saying in similar words, "I may have sinned by..." or, "I cannot remember the number of times I did it, but I did it a lot, and I do not want to do it any more."

Ask God for everything! He is the Good Father who knows what you, His child, needs.  He wants you to be free and joyful.  The Sacraments are 7 powerful channels for growing in grace and coming closer to God.

MORTAL SIN HAS THREE CONDITIONS:

1. IT IS GRAVELY SINFUL, the matter is serious (example: fornication, drunkenness, adultery, satanic worship, murder, abuse... there are many more)

2. YOU HAD FULL KNOWLEDGE OF WHAT YOU WERE DOING.

3. YOU DID THE SIN WITH FULL CONSENT OF THE WILL.  Addictions mitigate this possibility, but you still need to confess to obtain strength to overcome addiction, and for healing from the negative effects of addiction.  Do not approach this lightly, because being forgiven will determine where you will go when you die.  Do not brush off your responsibilities, and do not underestimate your ability to sin.  There is great power in a well thought out Confession.  Jesus gives the graces to overcome all sin.  Will you accept the freedom He wants to give you when you humbly recognize the condition of your soul and your life?

Not meeting all three conditions makes the sin venial. But do not be content with venial sin.  It is good to confess venial sin, but not mandatory.  When you grow in holiness and come closer to God's light, venial sin will seem uglier as you acquire a more informed understanding about the injustice of all sin.  Continue to grow in holiness and strive to live in the image of God - that is how people were created to live, that is what God wants to help you become! He only waits for your cooperation.

If you remember a mortal sin after Confession, your sin was still forgiven.  There is s difference between withholding a sin in Confession and forgetting a sin.  You should confess this sin the next time you go to Confession, due to respect for the Sacrament and simple love for God.  Do not worry in the meantime because it is forgiven. 

We know that forgotten sins have been forgiven because the Council of Trent teaches, "It is known that in the Church nothing else is required of penitents than that each one, after he has diligently examined himself and searched all the folds and corners of his conscience, confess those sins by which he remembers to have mortally offended his Lord and God; while the other sins of which he has after diligent thought no recollection, are understood to be in a general way included in the same confession; for which sins we confidently say with the Prophet: "From my secret sins cleanse me, O Lord." (Council of Trent, Session 14, Chapter 5. November 25, 1551.  Source:  http://www.ewtn.com/library/COUNCILS/TRENT14.HTM )

WILL YOU TURN AWAY FROM SIN, TURN TO JESUS, AND ACCEPT HIS GRACE?

Believe when you say the Act of Contrition in these or similar words: "Oh my God, I am most heartily sorry for having offended You. I detest all my sins for fear of Your just punishments, but most importantly Lord for having offended You, my God, my All, for you are all good and deserve all my love.  Oh my God, with the help of Your grace and Your Spirit, I resolve to confess my sins, do penance, amend my life, and avoid the near occasion of sin.  Amen."

After going to Confession, quickly do your penance and then be glad!  Expect the Lord to visit you with healing, forgiveness, and peace.

FOR FREEDOM CHRIST SET US FREE! WHERE THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS, THERE IS FREEDOM!  (Galatians 5:1, 2 Corinthians 3:17)

http://www.masstimes.org - find the nearest priest to hear your Confession.  If you're not Catholic, locate a church and ask them how you can enter unity with the Church so you can go to Confession and be nourished by the Sacraments.  Jesus is waiting for you with open arms.

Jesus said, "People do not put new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise the skins burst, the wine spills out, and the skins are ruined. Rather, they pour new wine into fresh wineskins, and both are preserved." - Matthew 9:17