On repentance
“I will repent before death,” some say. With such repentance one may end up in hell. Let us take care lest the repentance of the sick man be sick too, and that of the dying man dead. If we repent only before death, it may be said that it is not we who leave our sins, but they who leave us. We must leave our desires before they leave us, and leave vanity before it leaves us of itself. St Tikhon of Zadonsk
Do not say “tomorrow”: perhaps for you tomorrow will not come. He Who promised forgiveness of sins to the repentant has not promised those who remain in sin that tomorrow will come. St Gregory the Dialogist
Blessed is he who, even in old age, manages to shed tears of repentance for the passions of his youth. St Ignatius (Brianchaninov)
He who justifies himself cuts himself off from repentance. Abba Isaiah
Repentance is a ladder that leads us up to the place from which we fell. St Ephraim the Syrian
Never say: today I will sin, and tomorrow I will repent! It is better to repent of our sins this very day, for we do not know whether we shall live until tomorrow. St Ephraim the Syrian
The whole Church of Christ is a Church of the repentant. Of those who flee from perdition by the way of repentance. St Ephraim the Syrian
Our repentance must penetrate to the depth of our soul, shake it and change it completely — in its thoughts, feelings and strivings.
How are we to learn the mourning that profits the soul? — Does one who has a dead loved one lying before his eyes need to learn how to weep? Before you lies your own soul, dead through sins, and it is more precious to you than the whole world. Will you not weep for it?
Knowledge of our own nothingness — this we must think on not once a month or once a week, but daily, every minute, until the feeling of repentance fuses with our being, enters into our flesh and blood, becomes an inseparable part of our soul; and when we have acquired this incorruptible treasure, we must guard it as the apple of our eye to the end of our life. Schema-abbot Savva
How much we shall weep and lament that we did not weep and repent in this world. Abba Stratilates
The sight of one's own sins and the repentance born of it is a work that has no end on earth. From the sight of sin is born cleansing repentance; little by little the eye of the mind, being cleansed, begins to see such defects and damage in human nature as it never noticed at all before with its darkened mind. O God! Grant us the sight of our own sins, so that our mind may no longer see the transgressions of our neighbours. Grant us the greatest gift of repentance, the forerunner and parent of the ability to see our own sin; keep us by this grace on the way that leads to Thee, and give us the strength to draw near to Thee... St Ignatius Brianchaninov
The great prophet and Forerunner of the Lord, John the Baptist, began his ministry with a call to repentance. He called the people to repentance, because where there is repentance, there is forgiveness from God, His mercy and grace. During repentance a certain mystical process takes place that cleanses us spiritually. At the same time we must know that we cannot cleanse ourselves by our own strength alone; this too happens by the grace and help of the Lord, but only if we feel that we are sinners and grieve over our sins. That is why we pray to the Holy Spirit: “Come and abide in us, and cleanse us from every stain.” Ilia II, Catholicos-Patriarch of All Georgia
If there were no repentance, there would be no salvation. Abba Isaiah
He who is dissatisfied with himself is on the good path and may hope for the forgiveness of his sins. Blessed Augustine
Let us be Ninevites and not Sodomites; let us heal our sin, lest we perish in sin. St Gregory the Theologian
There are no unforgivable sins except unrepented ones. St Isaac the Syrian
It is not the multitude of his sins that destroys the sinner, but a life without repentance. St Tikhon of Zadonsk
The Lord is not so much angered by the sins we have committed as by our not wishing to change. St John Chrysostom
Do not put off amendment until tomorrow, for tomorrow is unknown to you. What is always known is death, which is ever hovering over you and will surely come — perhaps even now, this very moment. St Ephraim the Syrian
Take care that you do not remember repentance only when time and place are left you for nothing but despair! St Isidore of Pelusium
Sometimes, as I stand in church, a sense of God's nearness takes hold of my soul. Then I find myself surrounded not by icons but by the saints themselves, who have come down for the service and filled the church and are gazing searchingly at me from every side. Why should I turn my eyes from their gaze or hide in a dark corner, when God's chosen ones look not at my face but into my heart? And where can the heart hide? So I stand, helpless and unworthy, before their all-seeing gaze. My evil thoughts, frightened by the look of the saints, hide somewhere and leave off tormenting me. My heart, burning with the sense of its own depravity, is crushed with sorrow; from head to foot I feel my unworthiness and sinfulness. Hieromonk Vasily, new martyr of Optina
Why is it that the very same words which yesterday I did not even notice today astonish me with their depth and wisdom, so that I long to learn them by heart and carry them in my soul all my life? The reason is the inconstancy of my heart. Yesterday it was frozen, and so only elegance and severity delighted it; today it is like snow beginning to melt, and it rejoices in light and warmth. And yet, what is happening in the depths of my heart, where neither my gaze nor my mind can reach? There, as the sun rises and sets in the vault of heaven, repentance is born and dies every day. Hieromonk Vasily, new martyr of Optina
Enter into yourself, into your heart; gather the saving words of the heart and with them try to break your hardened heart... Remember the mercy of God and be ashamed... Remember His justice and tremble... Do not hurl yourself into the abyss of despair... Do not flee from God: for where will you flee from Him? The Lord, Who is ready to punish you, points you to a refuge — repentance... The Flood had one door of salvation — the door of the ark; the flood of sins too has one door — the door of repentance... Look — all have passed through this door: the repentant thief, Zacchaeus, the harlot, Peter who denied Christ, Paul the persecutor of Christians... Come you too and stand beside the publican, crying out with his voice: God be merciful to me a sinner!
Repentance is the moment when we must think afresh, with renewed strength, about life and about ourselves. About life — as the Lord conceived it for us; and about ourselves — what life we have made. Repentance consists precisely in somehow weighing the difference between what the Lord conceived and what we have carried out; between what was given us and how we have used it, between what has been fulfilled and what has not. This must be done, and not just once. Often we leave this task for the last hour of death, for the time of our last illness, for the moment when we suddenly discover that we have an incurable disease or that the danger of death is threatening us. And then, before fear, before the threat of death, we become serious toward ourselves, toward people, toward God; we stop playing at life. Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh
