In order to properly prepare and examine our conscience, it is helpful to have a list of mortal sins to reflect upon. The below list of sins was developed relative to Sacred Scripture and the Ten Commandments of God (Father William J. Cogan, A Brief Catechism For Adults, Tan Books and Publishers, Rockford, IL, 131-152, 163-164). It is well to remember that time and the changing social climate can not change the moral teachings of God. Before we receive Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Holy Eucharist during Mass, we must make sure our soul is as pure as possible. One would need to go to confession beforehand, if we found through our examination of conscience, that we are guilty of one or more of the mortal sins listed below. A mortal sin involves a serious matter, there is sufficient reflection and it is committed with full consent of the will. Let us start with a prayer:
O loving and merciful God, help me to make a good confession. Help me to know my sins, so that I may be able to tell the priest what sins I have committed and how often I have committed them. Grant me a deep sorrow for all my sins, and grant me the help necessary not to sin again.
Now let us reflect upon the following list of mortal sins, some of which you may have committed:
I am the Lord thy God; thou shall not have strange gods
before Me
-Quitting the Catholic Church; joining a non-Catholic church
-Denying existence of God or anything taught by the Catholic Church
-Joining the Masons, Communists or any other forbidden societies
or groups
-Guiding your life by fortune telling, palmistry, phrenology,
crystal gazing, astrology, tarot cards,
horoscopes, dreams, etc.
-Using a ouija board or practicing spiritualism, trying to contact
spirits
-Been to a seance, Black Mass or satanistic ritual
-Listened to music, shows, movies which mocked Jesus, promoted
satan or bad values
-Superstition, guiding your life by lucky charms, etc.
-Hidden a serious sin or told a lie in confession
-Sinned assuming God would forgive you
-Put money, power, sex, ambition, etc., ahead of loving God
Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain
-Blasphemy (expression insulting to God or His religion)
-Vulgar language or cursing out of anger or impatience
-Perjury (breaking an oath or lying under oath)
-Blamed God for your failings
Remember thou keep holy the Sabbath Day
-Missing Mass on Sunday and Holy Days (through own fault w/o sufficient
reason)
-Doing unnecessary physical work and shopping on Sunday
-Parents not seeing that their children attend Mass
-Received Communion knowing you have a mortal sin on your soul
-Knowingly eating meat on a forbidden day; not fasting on a fast
day
-Eaten or drank within one hour of receiving Communion (other
than medical need)
Honor thy father and thy mother
-Being disrespectful and often disobeying one's parents
-Lied to, hating, threatening, cursing, striking or insulting
them
-Being ungrateful or ashamed of them; wishing them evil
-Speaking or acting unkindly toward them
-Not helping them in their old age or when sick and helpless
Thou shall not kill
-Murder (the unjust killing of an innocent person),
-Seriously harming another person
-Abortion, deliberately causing the death of an unborn baby (from
conception to delivery time)
-Helping another to commit a mortal sin (such as advising, helping
to procure, or assisting in an
abortion)
-Suicide, taking your own life (or seriously contemplating it)
-"Mercy killing or assisted suicide", murder relative
to person(s) assisting, suicide relative to victim
-Causing serious injury or death by criminal neglect
-Sterilization, making the sex organs unfruitful
-Using drugs and getting high on them
-Getting drunk (endangering yourself or someone else)
-Serious anger and hatred
-Mean to, quarreled with, or willfully hurt someone
-Unforgiving to others, when mercy or pardon was requested
-Sought revenge or hoped something bad would happen to someone
-Delighted to see someone else get hurt or suffer
Thou shall not commit adultery
Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's wife
-Adultery (Sexual intercourse a married person has with someone
he(she) is not married to)
-Divorced and remarried without annulment (adultery)
-Fornication (Sexual intercourse between an unmarried man and
an unmarried woman)
-Self-abuse (masturbation)
-Birth Control (contraceptive devices, pills, etc.)
-Sodomy(sins against nature), perverted sexual union or intercourse
between persons of the same sex
or a person with an animal
-Immodest dressing
-Impure touches, looks (lust of the eyes), kisses, dancing, talk
-Looking at impure pictures, dances, shows, movies or videos
-Impure thoughts or desires; obscene gestures or jokes
-Reading sexually immoral books and literature
Thou shall not steal
Thou shall not covet (wrongfully desire) thy neighbor's goods
-Stealing, taking anything which does not belong to you without
the owner's permission (must make
restitution)
-Robbery and burglary; accepting stolen goods (knowingly)
-Graft, bribes and embezzlement
-Cheating and fraud; not paying bills, taxes and debts
-Not supporting your family; seriously neglecting your children
-Damaging or destroying the property of another person or company
-Gambling, if it thereby deprives your family of the things they
need
-Very jealous or envious of others
-Led others into mortal sin
Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor
-Lying (harms someone seriously), harmful gossip or insults (hurts
reputation or character)
-Unjust, unkind, disrespectful, or uncharitable toward other people