Monday, November 17, 2014

The Unrepentant Woman ( matushka constantina )


(Source

There once lived a woman of prayer and fasting. Externally she appeared pious, but [internally] she had great pride and thought herself a saint. She also had remembrance of wrongs; if she argued with someone not only would she not want forgive the other woman, she never even wanted to see her again.

At some point she became sick and she called for a spiritual father to come. But she did not confess thoroughly – this is something some nominal Christians have the habit of doing, they hide their big sins and only reveal the small ones.

In the end when the priest came with Holy Communion for her to commune, she turned her face toward the wall and wasn’t able to even look at the divine communion.

At the same time, with divine concession, she confessed in a loud voice: “Just as I from pride did not forgive those who trespassed against me, and abhorred [and turned away from] them, so now the Lord turns His face from me and refuses to enter my unworthy soul. I will not see Him in the Heavenly Kingdom, but I will burn in the eternal fire.”

And with this her soul departed.

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May God enlighten us all to forgive and love one another just as the Lord forgives and has compassion on us!

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