Letters of Spiritual Direction to a Young Soul - Letter Forty-one Part II

Tonight we concluded letter 41 where St. Theophan is discussing with Anastasia the practice of confession. First and foremost she must let go of all childish fear and anxiety and remember that it is God himself who provides the grace of repentance and like the father in the story of the prodigal son, God draws close to her with arms outstretched in order to embrace her. The more her conscience is sensitized and the more frequently she practices Confession the anguish of heart that she will experience will be transformed into compunction - a mourning over love lost and the desire to see it restored.  She will become more cognizant of the ways that she is incorrigible and so will begin to struggle more fully with the sins that often remain hidden. The most important thing that he would have her remember is that she establish a true intention and the decide to be diligent about everything before God. She must not complicate things but rather allow her approach to God be simple and humble.

It is best to confess the evening before communion in order that the next morning should be filled only with the thought of receiving her Lord. And when she prepares herself to receive that day she should come with a simple desire that the Lord provide her through the his grace with the strength that she needs for every kind of good so that her life will be acceptable to him. That is all!

 

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Text of the chat during the group:

00:30:16 Anthony Joyce: similarly we’d never tell our spouses to only say sorry for non-venial sins against us

00:42:17 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: One must remember that the distinction (philosophically speaking) between venial and mortal sins belongs to western spirituality which is not used in the Christian East.  The East is more sensitive to Semitic ways of thinking about sin as "missing the mark" in the way that a marksman would miss the bull's eye of a target.  This is what St Paul means when he says in Romans that all have sinned.  From this flow the idea that our Lord is the New Adam or the perfect Adam because he does not miss the mark of what it means to be human.  Discussions about mortal and venial are superfluous here since it makes no difference whether you miss the mark by a few inches or by many feet.  When we speak of venial and mortal we are talking in the realm of relationship, rather than being human. Here of course one can sin in such a way that the relationship may be disturbed but not destroyed.  to use the spousal example, sometimes "I'm sorry" is enough but other times a card, a box of chocolates, etc.

00:44:11 Sheila Applegate: Great point. I like this way of thinking about sin better.

00:45:46 Eric Williams: I’ve been wondering about this ever since becoming Byzantine. How does the East distinguish sins that *must* be confessed before receiving the Eucharist from those that are not necessary but still helpful to confess?

00:45:49 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: I simply point this out because St Theophan's advice is steeped in Eastern Christian spirituality, so that is how he needs to be read.

00:46:36 carolnypaver: Thank you so much, Fr. Ivan.

00:47:46 Sheila Applegate: Of course. In this context. But it still brings out the point you said of, what does it matter if you miss the mark by an inch or a mile. Interesting.

00:48:13 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: The way you phrase the question is western since it is asking for a system.  In the East, all sins are confessed as soon as they are unmasked... Ephesians 5:8-14

00:50:30 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: so you confess everything even if it mean repeating from the last confession; see also Ephesians 4:13-17

00:52:52 Fr. John (Ivan) Chirovsky: in the East, we prefer to confess attitudes and directions of the soul (feelings-willings, thoughts, desires) which underly any particular breakings of the laws....

01:27:33 Sharon: Thank you, Fr. David