Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
“We need repentance. You see,
repentance is not only going to a priest and confessing. We must free
ourselves from the obsession of thoughts. We fall many times during our
life, and it is absolutely necessary to reveal everything [in
Confession] before a priest who is a witness to our repentance. Repentance is the renewal of life. This means we must free ourselves of all our negative traits and turn toward absolute good. No sin is unforgivable except the sin of unrepentance.”
Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives: the Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica, St. Herman of Alaska Brotherhood. 2011
Elder Sophrony(Sakharov) of Essex
Christian faith is the result of the presence within us of the Holy Spirit, and the soul knows Him. The Holy Spirit convinces the soul that she will not die; that death will not possess her. But the body, as the material instrument of the soul, is subject to decay.
Only sin can stifle the Divine breath within us.
God Who is Holy does not blend with the darkness of sin. When we seek
to justify a sinful action we ipso facto sever our alliance with God.
God does not constrain us but neither can He be coerced. He retires,
leaving us bereft of His luminous presence. Of course, man cannot
altogether avoid sinning; but he can avoid the consequences of sin-
separation from God- through repentance. With
repentance and the consequent increase of grace within us, the reality
of the Divine World preponderates over the visible cosmos. We contemplate the FIRST REALITY.
O Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Spirit;
Most High God, King and Creator of all eternity,
Who hast honoured us with Thy Divine image,
and didst describe in the visible form of our nature
the likeness of Thine invisible Being:
Enable us to find mercy and grace in Thy sight
that we may glorify Thee in the undying day of Thy kingdom,
with all Thy Saints throughout the ages.
Archimandrite Sophrony Sakharov (2001)
(2nd ed.) His Life is Mine. Chapter 5: Contemplation. New York: St
Vladimir’s Seminary Press.
https://iconandlight.wordpress.com/2015/01/21/no-sin-is-unforgivable-except-the-sin-of-unrepentance-elder-thaddeus-of-vitovnica/
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου