“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding”. After this revelation follows the infinite blessing of the divine promises, which is initiated by the first calling made by Lord: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4,17). Through our repentance the essence and power of life is being revived inside us and the honor and value of our lost humanity is being restored through faith. Our ability to come into contact with and receive the grace of the Holy Spirit and in general of divine enlightenment is being renewed through the lament of repentance. This ability had initially been weakened by our transgressions. At the beginning of practical repentance, no matter how hard one is struggling one cannot achieve, as he imagined, his redemption nor can he be freed from the limitations of the ‘old self’. Initially, he simply tries to control his sinful intentions and stop his practical submission to the passions and the sinful customs. He finally stops borrowing and begins to think about pay off. Sometimes he happily repels his passions and temptations, and at other times this becomes painful. Then he begins comparing to the best of his ability, how far he still is from true spiritual life, especially when his behavior towards others is improper. At this point he is presented with the need to blame himself and this leads him to humility without which there is no social life. Such task needs patience and perseverance, but the complete success only depends on God’s grace and “has nothing to do with us”. The Lord of the entire universe is truly encouraging us.”
– ‘Practical Repentance and its Fruits’