Examen Particulare et Quotidianum

Examen Particulare et Quotidianum

A particular and daily examination, encompassing three times, is arranged for the disposition of oneself and for a double discussion. The first time is in the morning, when a person should, as soon as they get up from sleep, set a diligent watch over themselves regarding a particular sin or fault they wish to amend. The second time is in the afternoon, when one should ask God for grace so that he can remember how often he has fallen into this particular sin or fault, and take care to avoid it in the future. Then he should review the previous discussion, demanding an account from his soul about the sin or fault just mentioned, and go through each part of the day that has passed, from the hour he got up until the present, noting how many times he has committed that sin, and marking the same number of points in the previous line of the designated figure. After this, he should again resolve to restrain himself more diligently for the remainder of the day. The third time will be in the evening, when, after the hour of supper, a second examination should take place, going through each hour since the first examination up to the present moment, and in the same way recalling and counting the instances in which one has sinned, marking the same number of points in the following line, similar to the figure prepared for this purpose. There are four useful additions for making the removal of any sin or fault easier and quicker. The first is that whenever a person commits a particular sin or offense, they should place their hand on their heart and grieve over their fall; this can also happen in the presence of others, even if they are not aware of it. The second is that, at night, after counting and comparing the points of the lines, where the prior line is assigned to the first examination and the later line to the second, one should pay attention to whether any improvement has occurred from the first examination to the second. The third is to compare the examinations of the second day and the previous one with each other, considering whether any improvement has occurred. Fourth, you should compare the examinations of the two weeks with each other, considering the reasons for any corrections made or omitted in the same manner. It's important to note that among the following figures, the first is designated as longer than the others for the first day, say, Sunday, while the second, for Monday, is a bit shorter, and so on: as it is fitting to reduce the number of errors day by day.