Of Charity.
Have you loved any creature as much or more than God?
Have you murmured against the providence of God, resisted his inspirations, refused to submit to his divine will, not prevented evil when you could and ought, committed sins through human respect?
Of Religion.
Have you made a sacrilegious confession or communion?
Have you received the sacraments of confirmation or matrimony in the state of mortal sin?
Have you abused the holy scripture, or profaned holy places or sacred things?
Have you blasphemed God or his saints?
Have you been negligent in the divine worship, seldom or never adoring and praising God, or giving him thanks for his benefits?
Have you prayed but seldom, or with little attention, or omitted to make acts of faith, hope, and charity?
Have you behaved with irreverence in the house of God, or broken any vow or solemn promise made to him?
Have you neglected to hear mass on Sundays and holy-days of obligation? or have you heard it with wilful distractions, or not taken care that your children or servants should hear it?
Have you neglected confession and communion at Easter, or omitted the penance enjoined you, or acquitted yourself of these religious duties carelessly?
Have you sworn falsely, or what you did not certainly know whether it was true or false?
Have you broken your lawful oaths, or sworn to do any thing that was wicked or unlawful?
Have you had a custom of swearing rashly or inconsiderately, by the name of God, by your soul, or by the way of imprecation upon yourself or others?
Have you sworn by the blood or wounds of God, or any other blasphemous oath, or been accessory to others swearing, cursing, or blaspheming?
Have you spent the Sundays or holy-days of obligation in idleness or sin, or been the occasion of others so spending them?
Have you done any servile work without necessity upon those days?
Have you broken the days of abstinence, or eaten more than one meal on fasting days, or been accessory to others so doing? How often, &c.
Sins Against Our Neighbour.
In Thoughts.
Have you been deficient in point of charity towards your neighbour?
Have you judged rashly of him?
Have you willfully entertained thoughts of hatred, aversion, rancour, or a coldness and resentment against him?
Have you, on this account, endeavoured to avoid meeting or speaking to him?
Have you envied him in his merit, reputation, fortune or employments?
Have you conceived desires of revenge against him, and wished that harm might befall him?
Have you been hard-hearted, or without any feeling or compassion for him in his affliction?
Have you felt in yourself a secret pleasure and satisfaction when any disgrace happened to him, and discontent in seeing him thrive and flourish?
[These sins may vary in their malice, according to the length of time we were thus affected, or the relation we stand in to the different persons in question, or according to the greater or less importance of the matter under our consideration.]
In Words.
Have you spoken harshly to your neighbour; given him abusive language; railed at him; miscalled him; mocked and ridiculed him; exposed him to scorn; affronted him; censured his conduct; found fault with every thing he did; put wrong constructions upon his actions; calumniated or detracted him; been pleased to hear others speak ill of him; listened to and encouraged the calumny or detraction when you could prevent such discourses? [N.B.—The motive for speaking thus, the number of persons present, and the subject of this uncharitable language, must be specified, as we are bound to repair the injury to the best of our power.]
We also sin by ill-natured reports or insinuations, malicious expressions, whether true or false; by giving bad advice and bad example; by instilling bad or dangerous principles; by flattering others, or approving of evil; by giving false testimony; by discovering the secrets or the faults of others; by abusive words, reproaches, bad wishes or imprecations, &c.