The Lord receives even repentant sinners
The Lord calls man to repentance until the last minute of his life. Until that last minute the door of God's mercy stands open to all who would enter. Let no one fall into despair! Until the door is shut, the struggle is possible; and the last minutes of a man's life may redeem his whole life.
In Egypt there lived a certain virgin named Thaisia, who, after she had been left an orphan, resolved to make her house a lodging for the monks of the skete (a small monastery). For a good while she received the fathers and gave them rest. At last her substance ran out and she fell into poverty. She came to know ill-meaning people, who led her astray from the path of virtue. Thaisia began to live a dissolute life. When the fathers heard of this they were greatly grieved; they called Father John and said to him: “We have learned that Thaisia has become poor. While she was rich she showed love to us; now let us show love to her and help her. Visit her and help her according to the wisdom given you by God.”
Abba John went to Thaisia and asked the old woman standing at the door to let her mistress know he had come. But she answered: “You monks have eaten up all her substance.” Abba John replied: “Tell her that I shall bring her great profit.” The woman told her. The young mistress answered: “These monks are forever voyaging on the Black Sea and finding pearls and precious stones. Bring him in to me.” Abba John went in, sat down beside her, looked into her face, then bowed his head and wept bitterly. She asked him: “Why are you weeping, Abba?” The elder answered: “I see Satan playing on your face — how shall I not weep? What was it in Jesus that displeased you, that you have taken up deeds contrary to Him?” Hearing this, she began to tremble and asked: “Father, is repentance possible for me?” And when she heard that it was, she begged: “Take me wherever you will,” and she rose and followed him.
John noticed that she gave no orders at all, said nothing even about her house, and he marvelled. When they reached the desert, it was growing dark. The elder made her a pillow of stone, and a little further off he made one like it for himself. He signed her pillow with the Cross and said to her: “Sleep here.” He himself prayed and lay down to rest. At midnight John awoke and saw that on the place where Thaisia lay sleeping a ladder was coming down from heaven, and heavenly angels were bearing her soul up to heaven. Then the elder rose and began to wake her, but she had already died. John fell to the ground and heard a voice: “One hour of her repentance has outweighed the many hours of others who in their repentance could not deny themselves so completely.”
Basil the Great says that for the servants of the Lord, whose souls have gone out of the body and drawn near to God, there is no death, but a passing from sorrow to what is better and sweeter, and the gaining of rest and joy.
