Helping Teens Examine Their Conscience

Everyone could use a little conscience examination periodically, just to keep guilt and negative feelings from building up and to serve as a reminder when an apology could smooth out a relationship. Many Catholics do this on a regular basis before confession. Teens have so many temptations to step outside the moral straight and narrow. A little examination and confession is good for the soul.

  1. The Ten Commandments

    • You can start your teen's conscience examination by turning to the Ten Commandments for guidelines. At each commandment, your teen could consider ways that he might have violated that commandment. He could ask himself, ̶0;Is there anything in my life that has more importance than God̵7;s will?̶1; or ̶0;When I have a decision to make, whose opinion matters more to me -- God̵7;s or my friends'?̶1; The answers to those questions surprise many individuals because they don̵7;t think about what God wants or how friends influence decisions until after the deed is done. Another telling question to ask is ̶0;How do I spend my money -- mostly on me or do I find ways to also bless others with what I have?̶1;.

    The Greatest Commandments

    • In Matthew 22:, Jesus says that all of the commandments can be summed up into two commandments. ̶0;Love God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.̶1; Your teen could ask, ̶0;Does my life demonstrate that I love God with everything that I am and have? Would someone who observes me know from my actions and words that I love God?̶1;. Your teen could also ask, ̶0;Do my actions show that I love and care about others -- even people I don̵7;t know?̶1; or ̶0;Do my actions show that I feel superior to others, put my needs first or indicate that the needs of others never enter my mind?̶1;.

    The Golden Rule

    • When Jesus was preaching the Sermon on the Mount, he gave what we refer to as The Golden Rule -- ̶0;Do to others what you want them to do to you.̶1; This guideline found in Matthew 7:12 won̵7;t look at your teen's relationship with God, but it will examine his conscience for how he treats others. Your teen could ask, ̶0;Have I lied, gossiped or been mean to anyone?̶1; or ̶0;Would I have wanted my parents, siblings or friends to treat me the way I treat them?̶1;.

    Now What?

    • After you have discovered areas where your teen's behavior fell short of what God says it should, take time to ask for forgiveness. Your teen could say, ̶0;God, I̵7;ve wronged you and others. Help me do better and help me make amends for what I̵7;ve done.̶1; Your teen could ask those he has wronged for forgiveness and see if there is a way to reconcile with them. If your family is Catholic, your teen could follow through with confession to a priest and the Act of Contrition as laid out by the Catholic Church.

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