THE GLORIOUS FEAST OF THE EPIPHANY
“And the world is passing
away, and the lust of it; but
he who does the will of God
abides forever.” (1 John
2: 17)
End of year reminds
all of us of the end of
our life on earth. It is a
great opportunity to give
repentance and confess
to have a new start with
a new year to come. It is
time to judge ourselves.
Our beautiful church’s
door is opened in the
New Year’s Eve. We
have the choice either to
get in and repent or to
celebrate it somewhere
else. Repentance means
a changing of the mind,
of thoughts, attitudes,
and feelings to have a better
life in Christ our Lord. We
repent when we recognize
how the sin we commit was
against the Lord directly. This
recognition must be followed
by a willingness to change
our
ways.
Repentance
needs to be accompanied
by a continual will to live in
a state of righteousness.
Repentance followed by
confession is necessary for
the forgiveness of sins.
As sins separate us from
God, repentance returns us
to God. It is reunion with
God. Our Lord forgives us
for our past life when we
repent
and confess our
sins. The end of the year is
a chance for starting a new
page, which God opens in
His relationship with us. It
is a chance for building up
hope.
Repentance leads us to
the love of God and His
kingdom. God does rule our
hearts through repentance.
It makes us desire a pure
43
life. Repentance is the door
that leads to eternal life.
Spiritual fathers described
repentance as the door of
mercy and bridge linking
heaven and earth. The
joy of the repentance of
a sinner is in heaven and
on earth. This is under the
condition that it is true
repentanceGod
gave
all of us the chance for
salvation. God does not
take anyone while in sin,
before giving a chance
to repent. Repentance is
a divine privilege which
God has given to us, to
purify us, to give us the
inner peace, and to return
us to our original nature
before the first sin.
A life of repentance is the
beginning of the spiritual
path. It is a transition from
resisting God, to following
His way. For as sin is
regarded as spiritual death,
repentance is transfer from
death to life. Repentance
is resurrection for the spirit.
May the Lord Almighty grant
all of us a happy new year
through the intersession of
the mother of God (Saint
Mary) and Saint Stephen.