Repentance is a precious grace given to mankind. It is a divine miracle that renews us after our fall. Repentance is the outpouring of God’s life upon us, by which we are drawn up to God our Father, to live in the light of His love. In repentance our transformation in Christ is begun; this work of God within us is beyond words in its greatness.
Repentance is bound up with the two commandments of the Lord: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37). We do not yet possess this love, and it is a great struggle to acquire it. The next step, no less demanding, comes from the second commandment: “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). The Lord committed no sin (cf. John 8:46; Luke 23:41) and therefore had no need of repentance. Yet, taking upon Himself the sin of the world (cf. John 1:29), He descended into the abyss of love for every human soul — to the very depths commanded by the second commandment. Few know this abyss, for within us there is still too little love for our neighbour — for every fellow human being, from Adam to the last born of woman. The divine love of Christ burns itself out in service to all humanity. He laid down His life for friends and enemies alike. If we truly grasp the meaning of this second commandment, we shall see that we have scarcely begun to repent. And if it were given to us to live it in the fullest measure possible for us, we would know the one God in Three Persons and our own immortality (cf. Matt. 16:28).
The Gospel — the good news — both begins and culminates in the call to repentance. The teaching of the holy ascetic fathers of the Church is pervaded by the awareness that whenever a person prays to God without recognising his own sinfulness, his prayer does not ascend to the throne of God, because the Son of God came not to call those who regard themselves as righteous (cf. 1 John 1:8) and thus stand outside the truth, but those who know themselves to be sinners (cf. Matt. 9:13).
Repentance is the essential background of all our ascetic life. The venerable Ephraim the Syrian has left us the indispensable prayer, “Grant me to see my transgressions.” To see one’s sin again and again is a spiritual act of immense value for all who seek the face of the living God. More than this: this act itself is the work of God within us, for God Himself is light and, in repentance, His light comes into our hearts.
At the beginning of repentance bitterness predominates; but soon we perceive within us the energy of a new life, effecting a wondrous transformation of the mind. The movement of repentance appears as the discovery of God’s love. Before our spirit is revealed ever more clearly the ineffably majestic image of the first‑begotten Man. The grace of repentance unveils in us the image of the Son of God. The image of the Only‑Begotten, consubstantial with the Father, kindles within us a strong longing to become like Him in all things. We find ourselves in a paradoxical state: we suffer, yet by a suffering hitherto unknown. This suffering inspires rather than destroys us, for in it there is present the uncreated energy of God. We are cast into the boundless realm of God’s life, amazed at the event unfolding within us. We are humbled; we shrink to nothing in the awareness of ourselves, and at the same time God comes to embrace us, like the father in the Gospel (cf. Luke 15:20). Fear and trembling depart from us, giving way to a “wonder before God.” He clothes us in robes of splendour and bestows upon us rich gifts, the greatest of which is all‑embracing love.
