Mistakes
“Once, a very spiritual professor…was asked: “Who was the greatest teacher in your life?” He replied: “My mistakes.” His mistakes were his greatest teacher. We must use our mistakes properly: We learn from them and move on. We don’t learn and then dwell on the past. Instead, we learn and we focus on Christ. The next time a similar situation arises, we know better.” (Bishop Emilianos)
“Saint John the Theologian reminds us that “God is greater than our hearts,” so that at times even our conscience will not tell us the full truth of our inner state….And an awareness of our faults is helpful mostly because it helps us to ignore, with a subtle art, both the faults and the enemy’s attempts to exploit them, so that instead we turn to Christ…‘Through the purity of our hearts, we fulfill God’s Will and receive all the good things of the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s as if we incarnate God’s Will inside us, and receive the Kingdom of Heaven in our hearts.’ When we say purity here, it doesn’t refer to someone who has never made mistakes in their life. It means that we cultivate the Holy Spirit inside us, and this Holy Spirit is the purity of our heart. This cultivation becomes, and gives us, the purity of our hearts.” (Timothy G. Patitsas, Gerondas Aimilianos, Bishop Emilianos)
“…love is always about freedom—it does not go with force. And how can you help a person gain experience and acquire wisdom if you do everything for him without his labors and efforts? We know that wisdom comes from experience, and experience is gained from mistakes. By doing them a person learns and improves: you should never despair, and even after the most serious falls, whether in a monastery or in the world, you must stand up firmly, trusting in Providence, love and mercy of God for everyone.” (Kira Kireyeva)
“The plight of the paralyzed man shows us the common condition of fallen humanity. None of us took the initiative in bringing salvation to the world and this fellow did not ask Christ to help him or even know His name. The Lord graciously reached out to him, nonetheless, asking the seemingly obvious question, “Do you want to be healed?” The Savior’s words should challenge each of us because we often become so comfortable with our weaknesses, desires, and habits that we do not think that we need healing at all. We so easily accept the lie that being “true to ourselves” means defining ourselves in terms of our passions and acting accordingly. To do so, however, is to deny the truth of our Lord’s resurrection, for He has destroyed the enslaving power of sin and death, making us participants in His healing, restoration, and fulfillment of the human person. Instead of embracing personally His great liberation, we too often make the tragic choice of living as though He were still in the tomb.” (Fr. Philip LeMasters)
“…when we fall, when we’re arrogant, conceited, vain, and proud in general, there’s no need to be confused, to ponder and waste time, but rather seek salvation in repentance and in the consciousness of our own infirmity. God allows us to fall so we might better know our weaknesses and thereby learn to despise our passions. True humility is based on knowledge, on the experience of our powerlessness and unreliability.” (St. Seraphim Chichagov)
“There is a prevalence of foolish rationalism nowadays…prevalent are self-justification, excuses for our passions, beautification of sin, and its reinforcement through modern psychological supports. The admission of mistakes is regarded as belittlement, weakness and generally improper. The constant justification of our self, and the meticulous transferal of responsibilities elsewhere have created a human being that is confused, divided, disturbed, worn-out, miserable and self-absorbed, taunted by the devil, and captured in his dark nets…The devil dances for joy whenever there is no forgiveness for human weaknesses and in everyday mistakes.” (Monk Moses of the Holy Mountain)
“The world is only messed up because there’s something wrong with us, with each of us. Since those who love us and those who live alongside us put up with us and help carry the burden of our mistakes, let us do the same for them. When we are willing to repent–cheerfully–for other people’s mistakes, we find ourselves liberated from many of our own temptations.” (Timothy G. Patitsas)
“We are asked to be like the Samaritan woman at the well, who Christ identified as living a very sinful life. The woman at the well, realizing she was standing before the Son of God repented with deep humility. She “opened her heart to God “(Luke 7:44-47) and experienced His mercy. When we genuinely repent we acknowledge our sins, experience a feeling of humility and acceptance of our mistakes. We have a change of heart. When this acknowledgment takes place we can reconnect with God. We have a sense of harmony with our Beloved Father.” (Angie Giallourakis)
“God is giving us an opportunity to own up to our mistakes and failings. He wants us to ask for forgiveness, so that we can then take strength from Him through the prayers of the priest, so as to clean ourselves and strive not to repeat our mistakes. God does not need our confession, but we do. Every confession is a repeat, in the New Eden of the Church, of that opportunity given to Adam and Eve in Eden, to ask God for forgiveness. Unlike human-beings, God always forgives those who sincerely, with repentance, ask Him for forgiveness. However, before we ask forgiveness of God, we first have to ask forgiveness of each other.” (Archpriest Andrew Phillips)
“There is nothing wrong with feeling guilt for the things we do wrong. But once we have identified and confessed our mistake and, if possible, tried to make amends for it, the just and honest thing to do is to let it go. We all make mistakes. Holding on to past wrongs is as foolish as a basketball player perseverating over a missed shot in a previous game. It not only distracts from the current game but increases the chance of repeating the mistake.God can use even our faults and mistakes for His purposes. While we live here on earth, God is never finished with us. We must believe that there are still more opportunities, challenges, and work ahead of us…there is no reverse gear in life. We can only go forward…So instead of looking backward, we should look forward, asking the Lord to reveal His calling for us now in the present.” (Richard Paul Evans, Fr. Basil)
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