First Commandment I am the Lord your God; you shall not have strange gods before Me.
l. Do I truly love God? What are my relations with Him? Personal? 2. Do I think of him all through the day? Does the thought of him bring me joy? 3. Do I think of earthly things with greater pleasure than of God? 4. Is prayer something I long for? 5. Would it delight me to spend all my time with God alone? 6. Do I find the time of prayer too short – or am I bored, whereas the time I spend with others seems too short? 7. Does it delight me to talk about God and spiritual things? 8. Am I eager to acquire knowledge in other fields and not to come to know God more intimately? 9. Is God the only thing that occupies my heart, or does he just occupy one corner among many? 10. Do I serve him faithfully, i.e. seek to do his will always, ready for hard work? I1. Do I long to do and suffer much for Christ?
Second Commandment You shall not take the Name of the Lord your God in vain.
1. Do I feel REVERENTIAL love of God and his saints? 2. Am I deeply aware of my sinfulness and unworthiness? 3. Do I have the name of God constantly in my heart and on my lips? 4. Do I have such a passionate love for truth that I would take no oaths, keeping my speech simple and straight-forward: Yes, yes; no, no?
Third Commandment Keep holy the Lord’s day.
1. How do I worship God in the Mass and sacraments? 2. Is my heart and body truly a temple of the Spirit? 3. Is there a constant liturgy being performed in the depths of my heart? 4. Do I take the necessary rest for preserving my health and strength? 5. Do I find God’s presence a rest and a real relaxation?
Fourth Commandment Honour your father and mother.
1. Do I relate to my parents and family as Christ related to Mary and Joseph? 2. Is my attitude to my family proper of a disciple of Christ? 3. An attitude of respect. obedience and love towards my Superiors? 4. Of reverence towards my inferiors, aware that I am their slave? 5. Am I at the feet of all as Christ was at the feet of his apostles?
Fifth Commandment You shall not kill.
l. Do I have the deepest respect for the human person in others? 2. Am I violent in my action? 3. Do I give in to even the slightest trace of anger against my brother or sister? 4. Do I say a single word that could hurt or insult? 5. Do I hold a single thought that would judge them – unless it be unavoidably and with the deepest respect? 6. Do I love all those who dislike me? 7. Do I pray for those who harm me? 8. Do I love the good and the bad as my Father in heaven does? 9. Do I readily forgive everyone? Even refusing to believe that anyone has done me an injury? 10. When struck on one cheek, do I offer the other, i.e. do I renounce my right to self defense? 11. Do I overcome evil, not by striking back, but by suffering it with patience and love? 12. Do I give to everyone who asks – and more than he asks, unless the right of another or the clear will of God prevent me from giving? 13. Do I love my brothers and sisters as myself? 14. Do I love my brothers and sistesr as Christ loved me, i.e. am I ready to die for them, to die unjustly at their hands like Christ? 15. Have I ever been neutral before the needs of others? (Scene of Last Judgment) 16. Do I frequently pray for others? 17. Do I have an outgoing love, like that of the Good Samaritan? 18. Do I have a special love for the handicapped, the ‘sinners’, the lonely, the suffering? 19. Do I cause the slightest scandal, e.g., say or do anything that would make anyone love God less or lessen their fervour? 20. Am I genuinely concerned about all those in my charge? 21. Do I feel joy in the good fortune of others, and sorrow in their misfortune? 22. Do I experience Christ in my brothers and sisters? 23. Do I long to share Christ with others? 24. Would this love be so great that I would even wish to be separated from Christ so that my brothers and sisters may have him?
Sixth & Ninth Commandments You shall not commit adultery. You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife.
l. Is there any trace of selfishness in my affection for others? In my thoughts about them? 2. Am I guilty of the sin of adultery: i.e. placing any creature in the centre of my heart which should be reserved for God alone? 3. Is my love for Christ worthy of a love of a virgin, totally dedicated to a jealous lover? 4. Is my love for God and neighbour similar to that of Mary Immaculate?
Seventh & Tenth Commandments You shall not steal. You shall not covet your neighbour’s goods.
I. Everything I keep which I do not need is an act of robbery – from my neighbour if he needs it; from Christ if I am attached to it. 2. “Woe to you who are rich”. Am I “rich”? Am I disappointed that I must possess so many things, looking upon possessions as a burden? Delighted when Christ allows me to give them up? 3. Am I truly a disciple of Christ, i.e., have I renounced ‘all things’ and followed him? 4. Do I love ‘money’ (and its equivalents: power, degrees, comforts…) more than God? Does it bother me more that I lose something or fail in something than that I fail in prayer and in dealing with God? 5. Do I have a great love for poverty? (St. Ignatius: Mother Poverty. St. Francis of Assisi: Lady Poverty). 6. Do I have compassion for the poor and give alms whenever I am able?
Eighth Commandment You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.
1. Am I totally sincere in everything I say and think and do? 2. Do I have a passionate love for truth – so that I would willingly suffer anything rather than tell an untruth? 3. Do I keep secrets well? 4. Do I avoid flattery? Do I encourage others? Do I notice their good points? Do I use every opportunity to speak well of them? 5. Do I have the courage to correct my brothers or sisters for their good? 6. Do I discourage criticism of others in my presence? 7. Do I make a genuine effort to listen to others, to understand them, to develop a genuine interest in them?
THE BEATITUDES Do I rejoice at being poor/ sorrowful/ of a gentle spirit/ merciful hungry and thirsty/ pure of heart/ a peacemaker? Am I uneasy when rich/well-fed/well-spoken of?
Are my eyes the eyes of Christ? My hands the hands of Christ? My tongue the tongue of Christ? My heart the heart of Christ? My ears the ears of Christ? My lips the lips of Christ? My mind the mind of Christ?
