ГРЕШНИК

To sin is a great disadvantage and madness, for a sinner despises himself and is disgusted by the human community, because the inner tightness of the heart and the worm of the heart make any society difficult for him, which does not correspond to him in space, the breadth of his life. The sinner is cramped in the vast world of God, because peace is the work of the all-holy and righteous God, and a sinner who does not obey the laws of God, the laws of love and peace, is a monster of God’s creation who has no place in the world. This is why he is cramped: he is persecuted by God, his own conscience, and his entire creation (6). Who does not know how difficult it is without the special grace of God to turn a sinner from his beloved path of sin to the path of virtue! How deeply sin takes root in the sinner’s heart and throughout his entire being, how it gives the sinner its vision, which sees things completely differently from what they are in its essence, appearing to him in some kind of charming form. Therefore, we see that sinners very often do not think about their conversion and do not consider themselves great sinners, because self-love and pride blind their eyes; if they consider themselves sinners, then they indulge in hellish despair, which spreads deep darkness in their minds and greatly hardens their hearts. If it were not for the grace of God, which sinner would turn to God, since the property of sin is to darken us, to bind us hand and foot. But the time and place for the action of grace is only here: after death - only the prayers of the Church, and then on repentant sinners, they can act on those who have acceptance in their souls, the light of good deeds, carried away by them from this life, to which the grace of God or the gracious prayers of the Church can be grafted. Unrepentant sinners are sure sons of perdition. What does experience tell me when I am captured by sin? Sometimes I just suffer all day long and cannot turn with all my heart, because sin hardens me, making God’s mercy inaccessible to me: I burn in the fire and voluntarily remain in it, because sin has bound my strength, and I, as if chained inwardly, cannot turn to God until God, seeing my powerlessness and my humility and my tears, has mercy on me and sends me His grace! It is not for nothing that a person given over to sins is called “bound by the captivity of the 23 falls” (6). Foolish sinners extinguished their lamps, given to them by God - reason and conscience, trampled, like dumb ones, all the gifts of nature, all the wealth of God's grace (10). You are a sinner, you constantly fall, learn to rise, take care of gaining this wisdom. This wisdom consists of this: learn by heart the psalm Have mercy on me, O God, according to Thy great mercy (Ps. 50), inspired by the Holy Spirit to the king and prophet David, and read it with sincere faith and hope, with a contrite and humble heart; after your sincere repentance, expressed in the words of King David, forgiveness of sins will immediately shine from the Lord, and you will feel peace of mind. The main thing in life is to be jealous of mutual love and not to judge anyone. Everyone will give an answer to God for themselves, but look within yourself. Beware of malice (12). Captivity (obsolete) – chain, shackles, bonds. You might be interested in: