God gave man a mind so that he can become aware of his fault, repent and ask for forgiveness. Unrepentance is a cruel thing. The unrepentant person is very foolish in not wanting to repent and thus be spared from the small hell he is now living in, and which will lead him to eternal hell. One is also deprived of earthly blessings – which continue in Paradise, near God – together with the greater, eternal joys.

As long as a person is far from God, he is beside himself. Notice what the Gospel tells us about  the prodigal gal son: ‘When he came to himself, he said, … / will arise and go to my father..?’ Only when he came to his senses, when he repented, did he say,’ I will return to my father’. As long as he continued to live in sin, he was beside himself; he was not in his right mind, because sin is outside the bounds of reason.

– ‘Spiritual Struggle’