A frightening truth. After death, unrepentant sinners lose all opportunities
to change for the better, and this means that they will remain unchanged,
committed to eternal torment. How can this be proved? This is manifestly proven
by the real condition of some sinners and the nature of the sin itself —
holding the person in its prison, barring him all avenues of escape. Who does
not know how difficult it is for a sinner to divert himself from his path of
sin that he loves so well, toward the path of righteousness! How deep are the
roots of sin in the heart of a sinner; how it alters the very vision of a
sinner so that he perceives things differently to what they really are, and
recognizes the repulsive as appealing. That is why we see sinners often do not
see their own downfall and do not think of turning to God for redemption:
vanity and pride have blinded them. When they do begin to acknowledge
themselves as sinners, they surrender themselves to despondency, which spreads
a deep gloom in their minds and hardens their hearts. If it weren’t for God’s grace,
what sinner would turn to Him? At the same time, the time and place for God’s
grace to be effective, is definitely in this world only. After death, only the
prayers of the Church can react on that soul which has retained its
receptiveness to spiritual light, due to its former good deeds. Unrepentant
sinners are without a doubt, sons of perdition.
When you have sinned and your sins burn and torment you, run quickly to the
Only Living and Eternal Sacrifice of sins, and place all your sins before It.
You will not find salvation in any other way. Don’t even think of saving
yourself, by yourself.
Why is it that a sinful soul does not receive forgiveness for its sins until
after it has deeply felt all their delinquency and destructiveness? Because,
while sinning it accepted them as being pleasant and admirable, now in
repenting, it has to acknowledge them as being calamitous and deceitful. Just
as the desire to sin is born in the heart, so must the deliverance from it be
accompanied with pain in the heart.
Genuine repentance is aided by conscience, memory, imagination, feeling and
will. As we sin with all the powers of our soul, so should we repent with all
our soul. Repentance in words only, without any intention to reform and without
any feeling of contrition is called hypocritical. Realization of sin is dimmed
from a negligent lifestyle — it needs to be illuminated; feeling becomes dulled
— it needs to be awakened; the will weakens — it needs to be forced. It is
said: "…the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it
by force" (Mat 11:12). Consequently, a confession should be heartfelt,
deep and complete.
Where does fasting and repentance lead to? Why the effort? They lead to the
cleansing of sin, spiritual tranquillity and unification with God. There are
reasons why we should fast and repent from the bottom of the heart. There is an
invaluable reward for a labor of conscience. But do many of us have filial love
toward God? Do many of us invoke with warm feelings our Heavenly Father, with
the words of Our Father? Is it not the opposite, that in our hearts no filial
voice can be heard because earthly cares and attachment to pleasures have
stifled it? Yes, we deserve His righteous punishment in accordance with our
sins; and it is astonishing that He shows such prolonged forbearance and
doesn’t cut us down like barren fig trees. Therefore, let us with all
strictness, examine our polluted hearts and behold how much impurity obstructs
the entry of Divine Grace into them, and hasten to propitiate God with tears of
repentance.
In comparing confession to an operation, it can be said: you will endure a
difficult and painful operation, and because of it you will become healthy.
This means that in a confessional, all your disgraceful deeds (without
concealing any) must be revealed to your spiritual father, even though it will
be painful, and shameful, and demeaning for you. Otherwise, the wound will not
be healed, it will undermine the spiritual health and the infection will spread
into other healthy parts. A priest is a spiritual physician. Show him your
wounds, unashamedly, openly, with childish trust: after all, your father
confessor is your spiritual father. He is entrusted with love for his spiritual
children, and the love of Christ is greater than physical love. He has to
answer for you before God. Why has our life become so unchaste, full of
passions and sinful habits? Because many hide their spiritual ulcers, which
ache and inflame further.
He who gets used to give an account of his actions in a confessional in this
life, will not be frightened to give an account on Christ’s Judgement Day. That
is why this brief tribunal of repentance had been established so that we,
cleansed and reformed, can give an unashamed response at Christ’s judgement
day. Realization of this fact must prompt us to confess our sins at least once
a year. The longer we postpone our repentance, the more we get snarled in our
sinful entanglement, and the more difficult it will be to sort things out in
one’s heart. And conversely: the more sincere the confession, the more
tranquillity for the soul. Sins are furtive snakes, gnawing at a person’s heart
and giving him no peace. Sins are prickly thorns embedded into the soul. Sins
are spiritual darkness. In order to completely rid yourself of ulcerous sin,
produce fruits of repentance.
In order to scourge your pride with an honest acknowledgment and feel
revulsion toward your sins, you need to confess more frequently. Think of the
misery that sin has thrust you into and what the Lord Christ had done for your
salvation. Remember His incarnation, His approach toward people, His teachings
and His miracles: remember the many derisions He tolerated, revilement, being
spat upon and beatings, and how He finally accepted the agonizing crucifixion
on the cross, shameful death and burial, and then in Divine glory, Resurrected
from the dead. All this He did in order to deliver you from eternal torment.
Therefore, commit yourself totally to Him, your Benefactor, live for Him,
fulfilling His commandments. Avoid everything which thrusts you into sin, such
as: desires of the flesh, desires through sight and worldly pride; crucify your
flesh with its desires and lusts; save your soul through patience, love God and
your neighbor as you would yourself.
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