Divine Mercy Sunday

Today we celebrate the Feast of Divine Mercy and so I thought the following quotations from the Diary of St. Faustina might be helpful:


"Today, in the course of a long conversation, the Lord said to me, How very much I desire the salvation of souls! My dearest secretary, write that I want to pour out My divine life into human souls and sanctify them, if only they were willing to accept My grace. The greatest sinners would achieve great sanctity, if only they would trust in My mercy. The very inner depths of My being are filled to overflowing with mercy, and it is being poured out upon all I have created. My delight is to act in a human soul and to fill it with My mercy and to justify it. My kingdom on earth is My life in the human soul." (Diary, 1784)


"Let the greatest sinners place their trust in My mercy. They have the right before others to trust in the abyss of My mercy. My daughter, write about My mercy towards tormented souls. Souls that make an appeal to My mercy delight Me. To such souls I grant even more graces than they ask. I cannot punish even the greatest sinner if he makes an appeal to My compassion, but on the contrary, I justify him in My unfathomable and inscrutable mercy. Write: before I come as a just Judge, I first open wide the door of My mercy. He who refuses to pass through the door of My mercy must pass through the door of My justice." (Diary, 1146)


"Tell souls where they are to look for solace; that is, in the Tribunal of Mercy [the Sacrament of Reconciliation]. There the greatest miracles take place [and] are incessantly repeated. To avail oneself of this miracle, it is not necessary to go on a great pilgrimage or to carry out some external ceremony; it suffices to come with faith to the feet of My representative and to reveal to him one's misery, and the miracle of Divine Mercy will be fully demonstrated. Were a soul like a decaying corpse so that from a human standpoint, there would be no [hope of] restoration and everything would already be lost, it is not so with God. The miracle of Divine Mercy restores that soul in full. Oh, how miserable are those who do not take advantage of the miracle of God's mercy! You will call out in vain, but it will be too late." (Diary, 1448)

O Blood and Water, which gushed forth from the Heart of Jesus as a fount of Mercy for us, I trust in You.

Examination of Conscience

“The examination of conscience is one of the most decisive moments in a person's life. It places each individual before the truth of his or her own life. Thus, we discover the distance that separates our deeds from the ideal that we had set for ourselves.” Pope John Paul II

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An examination of conscience in the form of a list of ways in which we sin and fail to live up to our obligations can be of great help to us before confession. Going through it can help us to be honest with ourselves and honest with God. This Examination of Conscience may help in preparation for a good confession.

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While it is quite thorough, there may be other things that are not explicitly mentioned in it. Before going through it, you should ask the light of the Holy Spirit to help you to be honest and to draw your attention to what applies to you. Some, if not many, of the things listed might not apply to you; but if something in particular touches your conscience then perhaps the Lord is telling you to bring that to confession.
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In making an examination of conscience we must never lose sight of the fact that God is infinite Mercy and Love. The main reason we remember our sins is so that we can turn to him and receive his forgiveness.

· Has God got the number one place in my life?
· Do I pray often and every day?
· Do I misuse the Holy Name of Jesus?
· Do I really believe that my whole life is under God’s protecting hand?
· Am I thankful for the good that is in my life?
· Am I superstitious?
· Have I dabbled in occult/psychic practices (satanic rituals, witchcraft, seances, ouija board, mediums, fortune-telling etc.)?
· Do I use foul language?
· Do I read the Sacred Scriptures? Ignorance of Scriptures is Ignorance of Christ!
· Do I attend Mass on Sundays?
· Do I attend Mass on Holy Days of Obligation?
· Do I habitually come late to Mass or leave early?
· How do I keep the Lord’s day holy?
· Have I lied or purposely withheld serious sins during a previous confession?
· Do I respect every member of my family?
· Do I hold hatred or resentment in my heart against someone?
· Do I drink too much?
· Do I take drugs?
· Do I show respect for life?
· Am I pro-life?
· Have I had an Abortion?
· Have I encourage or facilitated an Abortion?
· Am I pure of heart?
· Do I allow my eyes to wander in lustfulness?
· Do I have unhealthy/sinful relationships?
· Do I accept and live by the truth that sex is for Marriage?
· Do I guard with care and live chastely the holy gift of my sexuality?
· Do I read or look at immoral materials?
· Do I use pornography?
· Have I masturbated?
· Have I committed impure actions with others?

Have I respected the bodily integrity of others?
· Have I engaged in pre-marital sex?
· Have I engaged in homosexual acts?
· Am I faithful to my commitments and obligations?
· Am I a patient person?
· Am I able to disagree without being disagreeable?
· Do I waste money?
· Am I too materialistic?
· Does my ambition have a negative effect on others?
· Am I wasteful with my talents?
· Do I do a fair day’s work?
· Do I pay a fair wage?
· Have I cheated anyone?
· Have I stolen anything?
· Have I taken the good name of another?
· Have I spread gossip?
· Is there someone I need to forgive?
· Is there someone I need to ask forgiveness from?
· Do I spread rumours?
· Have I broken the confidence of another?
· Have I told lies?
· How have I dealt with my anger?
· Do my words build people up or do they tear people down?
· Do I hold bitterness?
· Have I tried to deepen my understanding of the Catholic faith?
· Have I made efforts to understand the Mass?
· Have I made efforts to understand the sacraments?
· Have I received a sacrament, especially the Eucharist, unworthily while in a state of mortal sin?
· Do I try to fast or practice some form of penance?
· Do I pray with my family?
· Do I pray for my family?
· Do I take my spiritual life seriously?
· Do I give to charity?
· Am I willing to speak about Jesus to others?
· Does my life help others to come to know Christ?
· Have I given bad example to others?
· Am I a helpful neighbour?
· Do I enrich my parish?
· Do I encourage others to live the Christian life?
· Do I make sacrifices for the benefit of others?
· Have I ignored someone who needed my attention?
· Am I a sincere person?
· Am I a violent person?
· Do I take other people for granted?
· Am I a person of prayer?
· Do I care properly for my own body?
· Do I care excessively for my body?
· Am I vain?
· Do I mock anyone?
· Do I bully anyone?
· Have I encouraged others to sin?
· Am I a good friend?
· Am I a law-abiding citizen?
· Have I littered?
· Do I always drive carefully and within the speed limits?
· Have I driven under the influence of alcohol or drugs?


For Spouses and Parents the following questions might be useful:

· Have I always been faithful to my spouse?
· Do I make an effort to always show love and consideration to my spouse?
· Do I take my spouse for granted?
· Do I have unrealistic expectations of my spouse?
· Do I thank God every day for the gift that is my spouse?
· Do I pray for and with my spouse?
· Am I faithful to all my marriage vows?
· Do I use contraception?
· Have I allowed myself to be sterilised?
· Have I ever availed of IVF (In-vitro fertilisation)?
· Am I conscientious in my duties as a Father/Mother towards my children?
· Do I thank God for the gift of children?
· Do I teach my children about God and the Catholic Faith?
· Do I pray for and with my children?
· Do I encourage them to practice their faith?
· Is my home a place of prayer?
· Do I protect my children from bad influences upon them?
· Do I show my children enough love?
· Am I too strict or too lenient with my children?
· Do I take enough interest and make an effort with regard to my children’s education?

"The message that must be transmitted: what counts most is to make people understand that in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, whatever the sin committed, if it is humbly recognized and the person involved turns with trust to the priest-confessor, he or she never fails to experience the soothing joy of God's forgiveness… It is not sin which is at the heart of the sacramental celebration but rather God's mercy, which is infinitely greater than any guilt of ours." Pope Benedict XVI, 2008 Message to Confessors of the Apostolic Penitentiary

Pope John Paul II on the Sacrament of Reconciliation

General Audience, 22nd February 1984

Often, in the experience of the faithful, it is precisely the obligation to present themselves before the minister of mercy which constitutes a particular difficulty for them. Why, they object, reveal to a man like myself my most intimate circumstances and also my most secret faults? Why, they also object, can I not address God or Christ directly instead of going through the mediation of a man in order to receive the forgiveness of sins?

These and similar questions can seem quite plausible because of the effort which the Sacrament of Penance always asks of us… It is true: the man who absolves is a brother who must also confess in his turn, since, despite his obligation to grow in personal holiness, he remains subject to the limitations of human frailty. The man who absolves, however, does not offer the forgiveness of sins in the name of his own holiness… When he raises his hand in blessing and pronounces the words of absolution, he acts ‘in persona Christi’ – in the person of Christ – not simply as Christ’s representative, but also and above all as a human instrument in which the Lord Jesus – God-with-us - is present and acts.


Homily during Mass at the Phoenix Park, Dublin, September 29th, 1979

In the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we are all invited to meet Christ personally and to do so frequently. This encounter with Jesus is so very important that I wrote in my first Encyclical Letter these words: "In faithfully observing the centuries-old practice of the Sacrament of Penance - the practice of individual confession with a personal act of sorrow and the intention to amend and make satisfaction - the Church is therefore defending the human soul's individual right : man's right to a more personal encounter with the crucified forgiving Christ, with Christ saying, through the minister of the sacrament of Reconciliation : 'Your sins are forgiven' ; 'Go, and do not sin again'". Because of Christ's love and mercy, there is no sin that is too great to be forgiven; there is no sinner who will be rejected. Every person who repents will be received by Jesus Christ with forgiveness and immense love.


Homily, 16th March 1980

The confession boxes of the world in which people bring their sins to light do not proclaim the severity of God, but above all they speak of his merciful goodness. And those who approach the confessional, sometimes after many years and with the weight of serious sins, find the longed-for relief when they go from there; they find the joy and serenity of conscience, which they can find nowhere else but in confession. No-one but God has the power to free us from our sins. And the man who receives such a remission of sin, receives the grace of a new life of the Spirit, which God alone can give him from his infinite goodness.