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How mercifully the Lord accepts those who repent! A source full of water, continuously flowing and abundantly supplying drink to everyone who comes to it, depicts the abundance and inexhaustibility of Your bounty, Lord! You abundantly nourish the heavenly powers and provide food for every breath on earth. Thy love, desiring our salvation, itself bows to us in order to attract to itself and save those who come to it. As the Omniscient, You see, O Lord, with what readiness someone turns away from sin, and before he comes to the door, you open to him, before he falls, you stretch out your hand to him, before he sheds tears, you cast Your bounties on him, before he confesses his debts, you give him forgiveness. You don’t blame and don’t say: “Where did you squander your property?” You do not remember how much I angered You with my corruption, you do not reproach You for neglecting Your good deeds, but, anticipating humility, crying and heartfelt disposition, You proclaim: “Take out the first robe and clothe it, slaughter the fat calf for peace and joy! Let the Angels gather and rejoice at the discovery of the lost son and the return of the lost heir!” Just as they greet a merchant who has returned home with great wealth, so Your grace welcomes a sinner who comes to You with all his soul. For he loves to see tears, longs to see repentance, rejoices at the diligence of those who try to repent. Glory to Your long-suffering and mercy, Master of Humanity! Instability of will and unsteadiness of determination Terrible and terrible is the day of Your Judgment, our Savior, when sinful secrets will be revealed! Therefore I tremble, Lord, and am filled with horror, for my sins have exceeded the limit. Be merciful to me according to Your bounty, O Good and Compassionate One! I look, Lord, at my sins and lament, seeing their multitude. Alas, how did such a calamity befall me? My tongue speaks beautifully, but my behavior is shameful and despicable. Woe is me on the day when secrets are revealed! My words are very beautiful for others, but my deeds are disgusting. I teach others order in the world, but I myself, unhappy, indulge in passion. All my days passed and disappeared in sins, and not a single day did I serve the truth. As soon as I began to repent with the intention of not sinning again, the evil one came and caught me in his hatred. Woe is me, because I voluntarily fall into his snare! If I go out for a walk, I act as a righteous man and a sage. Whenever I see someone else sinning, I laugh and mock him. Alas, my iniquities will be revealed and I will be put to shame! Oh, I wish I had never been born! Then this transitory world would not have corrupted me without seeing it, I would not have become guilty, I would not have desecrated myself with sins and would not have been afraid of torture, judgment and torment. As soon as I make a vow to repent, I return again and fall into the same sins. An hour spent in sin makes me happy, and I also think that I am doing something praiseworthy. Alas for me! Until now I had not imagined that Gehenna awaited me. An evil will leads me into sin, but when I sin, I lay the blame on Satan. But woe is me! Because I myself am the cause of my sins. The evil one will not force me to sin; I sin of my own free will. Have mercy on me, Merciful on the penitent! Forgive me my transgressions according to the abundance of Your goodness. Accept, Lord, the tears that I bring to You, and cleanse me from sins, as a sinner. I realize, Lord, that I have sinned; have mercy on me according to Your compassions! With tears, go to the doctor - and he will heal Come, let us seek bounty while it is still possible for us to seek it. The place of repentance is in this transitory world, and in that imperishable world, neither prayers nor tears will be accepted. The sinner, with the tears shed, destroyed the handwriting of her sins. And you, sinner, take with you and bring tears as a gift; sighing, cry to the Lord, and he will immediately forgive you your debts. As a gift to Christ the Lord, repentant, bring tears and strike yourself on the chest, like that publican, who, sighing, prayed and said: “Be merciful, Lord, to me, a sinner, who has angered You!” The door is open and awaits your return, sinner. Return to Your Lord, leave the path of lewdness, arise and enter the path to the Kingdom. A sinful ulcer has opened up in you; if you delay, it will completely destroy you. Your doctor is very skilled, show Him your ulcer, cry tearfully at His door, arouse His generosity so that He can heal you. O Good One, who gave Himself up to crucifixion and death for us in order to redeem us, deliver the soul of Your servant from his many sins, so that he may lift up a voice of thanksgiving to You and Your Father and Your Holy Spirit! I am extremely bad, but by Your mercy, let me repent and save me from condemnation! I appeal to You, Lord, do not despise my pitiful petition! I stretch out my defiled hands to You, do not reject me, the repentant one, but look at me philanthropically and accept me with compassionate compassion! I defiled myself with sinful sweetness, dishonored my spiritual beauty, enslaved myself to carnal wisdom, destroyed my former dominion by listening to the enemy-slanderer, eclipsed the lordship of my nature and, having the honor of sonship (to God), became like foolish beasts. Fear, trembling and horror overwhelm me when I imagine the death beating, imperceptibly approaching everyone - and yet I remain unrecoverable. Be merciful to me, Lover of Humanity! In You alone I place all my hope. Grant me to repent and, having corrected myself, bear the fruits of repentance, so that when the end comes, I will not be cut down like a barren tree, or put on fire like the tares, but like wheat, I will be gathered into Your barn. On my knees, I bow my heart, not daring to look at heaven. Accept the prayer of unclean lips, my only Sinless Creator! You, King of all, who have overthrown the rebellious Belial, deliver me from all iniquities! Angels and mortals, seeing my conversion, will form a holiday to Your glory. I have despised Your life-giving commandments, I have been deceived by shameful deeds, but, Good Master, do not disdain to deliver me from the slavery of the evil one. I have completely become a slave to sinful pleasures, I have desecrated my body and soul, crying out every day: “I have sinned!” - and I don’t stop doing bad things. And now I stand before You as if condemned. Grant me, O Good One, remission of my evil deeds as a merciful and humane God. For the sake of tears, cleanse your sins and give strength, so that the enemy may be put to shame! Who will heal my soul if not You, the only Physician of souls, Christ? From whom will I find a cure for mental illnesses, if not from You, the Source of healing? Healing the sick, heal my soul, ruined by sins! May Thy bounties descend upon me and may they help me to overthrow my enemy! Strengthen me, weak with Your arm, and the evil one will be put to shame when he sees that I am ready for battle. Encourage me - and the enemy will be ashamed and turn back in shame, and I will glorify Your name. Accept the tears of my misery and blot out the handwriting of my debts - and again the enemy will be put to shame, seeing that Your mercy has destroyed the fruit of his evil labors and I will not be punished. May Your bounties come to my aid, so that I can safely pass through the land of temptation and then forever remain near You and with You. The sinful soul will glorify You and Your Father and the Holy Spirit, because it cried - and was heard and, washed with tears of repentance, was made a church in which the Divinity who created the worlds dwelt. Complaining about the world and praying for relief from it You do not bring any benefits to your lovers, peace, a home of sorrows. You seduce all your close ones with treasures and all sorts of pleasures, but on the day of death you cast both the beauty of the beautiful and the strength of the strong into the grave. Woe to him who loves you and is loved by you: his joys turn into cries. In the world - this sea of ​​​​sins - all my days passed in vain: my life passed without benefit for me, I even forgot about the day of death, I was spinning and collecting for myself the burden of sins, the handles of tares destined for burning. And so - weeping and sighing await me in this land full of horrors. Since from my youth to my old age I loved you, treacherous world, that time of my life passed unnoticed for me, and now death snatches me away in my sins. Oh, if only I had not entered into you, O world, which deceives everyone who enters! Those who love you do not enjoy joy, and those who hate you do not cry. Blessed is he who has broken your snares: he will inherit the palace of joy! This world with its appearance deceives even the wise, because for a while it seems coveted, it even lends goods and treasures, but on the day of death it takes them back and rewards them with torment incomparably greater than our sins. He allows you to sin for a short time, but as a reward he will give you eternal darkness. You are righteous, O Lord, and Your judgment is righteous, condemning the world and those who love peace! I pray to You that Your right hand, which pulled Simon out of the sea, will also rescue me from the waves and rebellions of the world that is rising against me. I am mired in the mud, the waters of the world drown me, and do not allow me to escape and take a breath. May Your Cross, Lord, be my rod and support on the path that I walk! The fragility of the goods of the world. The urge to alienate him How beautiful the world is, but full of death! He is like a flower that opens in the month of spring: it blooms while dew and rain keep it alive; the heat has arrived and the color fades. Thus death makes cheeks fade and beautifully formed limbs are destroyed in the grave. Grant us, Lord, refuge and protection in the land where the righteous live! The world has become a fool in his children. They sin, are restless, overwhelmed by their own worries. How many of them whirl around, not knowing peace for themselves, but gathering thorns for the fire! Wickedness opens its mouth arrogantly, truth is silent and silent. Lawlessness flourishes, but the truth is hidden. Only death silences all those who enter the world. Blessed is he who has made the journey in it and has not become bogged down! The world is much more stormy than the turbulent waves and is more disturbed by sins than the sea by the wind. There is a time when the waters of the sea are calm, when the winds hide in their treasuries, but in the world the waves of lust are constantly agitated, and the wind of deception blows at the doors of its judges. However, the day is near when it will subside. Blessed is the one who has traveled in it and has not fallen into its snare! The lawlessness committed in the world is agitated and restless; Inflamed lusts are fiercer than the waves in the world; snares and snares entangle those who serve him; sins and iniquities are their evil burdens. But for the virtuous the time is approaching when their ship will rest in the harbour. Pleasant are your times and summers, O world, but they are like smoke. You are like a flying dream, and your days are like a shadow, your evening passes quickly, your morning is short, your hours race to the end... Hurry, sinner, to receive forgiveness while the daylight shines for you! The Judge is righteous, and the court of righteousness is righteous, on it the deeds of each will be weighed and rewarded according to their merits: those who committed iniquity will suffer repentance on that day, and the devotees of virtues in that country will enjoy joy. Prompted by Your mercy, Lord, grant me to free myself from the snares of the world in order to safely enter the harbor of life! Joseph, having irrigated his soul with the remembrance of the Almighty, was not inflamed by the lawless fire and, having defeated temptation, became the king of Egypt. Let us follow the narrow and sorrowful path, so that, having become worthy, we may have God as our guardian. Pearls are always stored in the innermost treasuries, and the unusable, like rubbish, is even thrown out into the street. Cleanse yourself by repentance from shameful deeds - and the reproach of the slanderer will not frighten you. With the help of divine fire we must resist the fire (of passions). So a brick, until it is fired, is not hard and brittle, but when it goes into fire and is burned, then it becomes a barrier to fire and water. Make an effort not to be servile to your own will, but be obedient to those who fear the Lord, and by the grace of God you will crush the head of the serpent. Endure sorrow for the Lord so that joy may overwhelm you. Endure the labor to receive abundant reward. Do not ridicule or condemn someone who has fallen into temptation, but pray often so that you yourself do not fall into temptation. Whose heart is darkened by a storm of thoughts and overcome by passions is not ashamed of man and does not fear God. Pray more often with a humble heart and do not make yourself a den of thieves, indulging in obscene thoughts and desires, so as not to be ashamed on the Day of Judgment, when human secrets will be revealed. Whoever is careless during the harvest will not have an abundant home. And whoever is now careless will remain without the consolation of the righteous during the time of retribution. You might be interested in: