Why does not the sinful soul receive forgiveness of sins before it has deeply felt all their folly and perniciousness? Because, as a sinner, she recognized them as pleasant and plausible, so, repenting of them, she must recognize them as pernicious and false. Just as the desire for sin is born in the heart, so the liberation from it must be accompanied by pain in the heart.

True repentance is aided by consciousness, memory, imagination, feeling, and will. As we sin with all the strength of our souls, so we must repent with all our souls. Repentance only in words, without the intention of correction and without a feeling of contrition, is called hypocritical. From a negligent life, the consciousness of sins is eclipsed – it is necessary to clarify it; the feeling is blunted – it must be awakened; The will is weakened – it must be forced. It is said: "The kingdom of heaven is taken by force" (Matt. 11:12). Therefore, confession should be heartfelt, deep and complete.

Comparing confession with surgery, they say: you will endure a difficult and painful operation, but you will become healthy. This means that at confession you must openly reveal all your shameful deeds to your confessor, although it will hurt, shame, and humiliate you. Otherwise, the wound will remain unhealed, it will ache and undermine mental health, and the infection will spread to other healthy members. A priest is a spiritual doctor. Show him your wounds without shame, frankly, with childlike trust: after all, your spiritual father is your spiritual father. He is given to love his spiritual children, and the love of Christ is higher than carnal love.

Moderation, abstinence

We say: no matter how you look, you would not be tempted, no matter how you hear, so your heart would not ache, no matter how you taste, you would not want to... You see how much temptation comes from our eyes, hearing, and taste. How many people suffer from the fact that, being not firm in heart in good intentions, they looked carelessly with unclean eyes, listened with ears unaccustomed to distinguishing between good and evil, tasted greedy taste. The feelings of sin-loving, greedy flesh, unbridled by reason and God's commandments, drew them into various worldly passions, darkened their minds and hearts, deprived them of peace of heart and enslaved them. How carefully we need to look, listen, taste, smell and touch, how we need to guard our hearts, so that through the external senses, as through a window, sin does not creep into us, or, even worse, the perpetrator of the sin himself, the devil, and thereby strike us with his deadly poison.

Humility, meekness

Carefully observe the manifestations of pride: it creeps in unnoticed, especially when you are upset with others for the most unimportant reasons.

Remember the saying of the Holy Scriptures: "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). When you are rude, you are irritated, you breathe contempt and malice, do not repay in kind, but be quiet, gentle and affectionate, respectful and loving to those who behave unworthily before you. If you are embarrassed and begin to object with emotion, to speak rudely and contemptuously, it means that you yourself have been overcome by evil, and you should apply to yourself what was said: "Physician, heal yourself" or: "Why do you look at the mote in your brother's eye, and do not feel the beam in your own eye? First take the beam out of your eye" (Luke 4:23; Matt. 7:3, 5). Do not be surprised, then, if rude attacks against you become more frequent: your ill-wishers, noticing your weakness, will begin to play on it. Thus, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Romans 12:21). Let the one who has offended you understand that he has not offended you, but only himself. Regret that he is so easily overcome by his passions and is mentally ill. The coarser and more irritable he is, the greater the meekness and love for him. In this way you will surely defeat him. Good is always stronger than evil and therefore always victorious. Remember also that we are all weak and are easily overcome by passions. Therefore, be meek and forgiving to those who sin against you. After all, you are sick with the same thing as your brother. Forgive the debts of your debtors, so that the Heavenly Father may also forgive your debts.