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He permitted the medical science for men, and made the earth sprout herbs suitable for healing; so also, knowing the soul's proneness to slip, and the wounds of sin, as a remedy for souls, He gave repentance, and in the divine and 60.706 spiritual books He placed the occasions for repentance like herbs, so that each of us, having from there the plaster of healing, might flee the passion, applying it to himself through faith. But let not our repentance stop at words; for it is absurd for repentance to be woven through words, but for the Church of Jesus Christ our Lord not to be built up through deeds. Confess your transgressions, O man, declare your sin, so that you may receive the forgiveness of your sin. By declaring it, you receive the gift of the forgiveness of transgressions. Let David come as a witness, who says: I said, I will confess against myself my iniquity to the Lord, and You forgave the ungodliness of my heart.

Now if you speak your transgression, you find your forgiveness; for the present time is one of loving-kindness; but in the age to come, even if you lament, you will lament in vain, and repenting you will not enjoy forgiveness. For in Hades, who will confess to You? And even if you confess the transgression then, you will profit yourself nothing. For the rich man, seeing Lazarus's poverty changed into abundance, and his own wealth fallen into infinite poverty, groaned, but was not pitied; he lamented and wailed, but he did not enjoy consolation; he sought mercy, but did not receive it, since he himself, when asked, was unwilling to share. He was rich here, but he was poor there; here he was puffed up with wealth, there he uttered pitiful things in poverty; here he had torrents of wine and fountains of myrrh, there he sought even a drop of water and did not receive it, but he was flowing hither and thither, being consumed by the immaterial fire. Let us, therefore, run to repentance; for it is the time of repentance; let us extinguish the flame of sin with the dew of repentance; do not, by attending to the long-suffering of God, acquire an unrepentant heart; let not the goodness of God harden your mind. For the goodness of God collects and leads you to repentance. See, therefore, that according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you do not treasure up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation and righteous judgment of God, who will render to each one according to his works. Have you sinned? Repent; do not through laziness make the passion incurable for yourself. Darkness is changed when light appears; and sin vanishes when repentance is seen. Become a farmer of yourself; pluck out sin as a weed, reap lawlessness as a thorn, cut off sin as a branch of a wild olive, as an untamed and fruitless plant. Demons rejoice seeing sin, angels exult beholding repentance. For the angels of God rejoice, he says, according to the Lord's voice, over one sinner who repents.

Do not strip yourself bare, O man, do not cast away the full armor of the Holy Spirit, so that you may not become easily captured by the enemies; with the shield of repentance receive and shake off the arrows of desire. Fornication is pleasant, but harmful; chastity is harsh, but beneficial. Fornication has the nature of the body cooperating with it; chastity has the grace of the Spirit working with it. Therefore, where there is fornication, there the devil dwells; but where there is chastity, there the Lord Jesus Christ rests. For this reason the blessed Paul says: If anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him; and again he says: Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? May it never be. Let us therefore stop the rush of sin with the anchor of repentance, so that the successive headwind of desires may not prepare us to suffer shipwreck. But sailors suffer shipwreck in the waters, but sinners into the river of fire that flows before the tribunal of

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ἰατρικὴν ἐπιστήμην τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἐπέτρεψε, καὶ πόας πρὸς τὴν ἰατρείαν ἁρμοζούσας τὴν γῆν βλαστάνειν ἐποίησεν· οὕτω καὶ τῆς ψυχῆς εἰδὼς τὸ εὐόλισθον, καὶ τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὰ τραύματα, ὡς ἀλεξητήριον ψυχῶν, τὴν μετάνοιαν ἔδωκε, καὶ ταῖς θείαις καὶ 60.706 πνευματικαῖς βίβλοις τὰς τῆς μετανοίας ἀφορμὰς ὥσπερ βοτάνας ἐνέθηκεν, ἵνα ἕκαστος ἡμῶν ἐντεῦθεν ἔχων τῆς ἰατρείας τὸ ἔμπλαστρον, φύγῃ τὸ πάθος, ἐπιθεὶς ἑαυτῷ διὰ τῆς πίστεως. Ἀλλὰ μὴ μέχρι ῥημάτων στῇ ἡμῶν ἡ μετάνοια· ἄτοπον γὰρ διὰ ῥημάτων μὲν ὑφαίνεσθαι τὴν μετάνοιαν, διὰ πραγμάτων δὲ μὴ οἰκοδομεῖσθαι τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν. Ὁμολόγησόν σου τὰ πλημμελήματα, ἄνθρωπε, ἐξαγόρευσόν σου τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ἵνα λάβῃς σου τὴν ἄφεσιν τῆς ἁμαρτίας. Ἐξαγορεύων, τῆς ἀφέσεως τῶν πλημμελημάτων δέχῃ τὴν δωρεάν. Μάρτυς ἱκέσθω ∆αυῒδ ὁ λέγων· Εἶπα, Ἐξαγορεύσω κατ' ἐμοῦ τὴν ἀνομίαν μου τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ σὺ ἀφῆκας τὴν ἀσέβειαν τῆς καρδίας μου.

Νῦν ἐὰν εἴπῃς σου τὸ πλημμέλημα, εὑρίσκεις σου τὴν συγχώρησιν· φιλανθρωπίας γὰρ ὁ παρὼν καιρός· ἐν δὲ τῷ μέλλοντι αἰῶνι καὶ θρηνῶν ἀνόνητα θρηνήσεις, καὶ μεταμελόμενος οὐκ ἀπολαύσεις τῆς συγχωρήσεως. Ἐν γὰρ τῷ ᾅδῃ τίς ἐξομολογήσεταί σοι; Εἰ δὲ καὶ ἐξομολογήσῃ τὸ πλημμέλημα τότε, ὠφελήσεις σαυτὸν οὐδέν. Καὶ γὰρ ὁ πλούσιος ὁρῶν τοῦ Λαζάρου τὴν ἔνδειαν εἰς εὐθηνίαν μεταβληθεῖσαν, καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ περιουσίαν εἰς ἄπειρον πτωχείαν καταπεσοῦσαν, ἔστενε μὲν, οὐκ ἠλεεῖτο δέ· ἐθρήνει καὶ ὠδύρετο, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἀπήλαυσε παρακλήσεως· ἐζήτει ἔλεον, ἀλλ' οὐκ ἔλαβεν, ἐπειδὴ καὶ αὐτὸς αἰτούμενος, μεταδοῦναι οὐκ ἤθελεν. Ἐπλούτησεν ὧδε, ἀλλ' ἐπτώχευσεν ἐκεῖ· ὧδε μεγάλα ἐφύσα ἐπὶ πλούτῳ, ἐκεῖ ἐλεεινὰ ἐφθέγγετο ἐπὶ πενίᾳ· ὧδε οἴνων εἶχε χειμάῤῥους καὶ μύρων πηγὰς, ἐκεῖ καὶ σταγόνα ὕδατος ζητῶν οὐκ ἐλάμβανεν, ἀλλ' ὧδε κἀκεῖσε περιέῤῥει, ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀΰλου πυρὸς κατατηκόμενος. Προσδράμωμεν οὖν καὶ ἡμεῖς τῇ μετανοίᾳ· μετανοίας γὰρ καιρός· σβέσωμεν τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν φλόγα τῇ δρόσῳ τῆς μετανοίας· μὴ τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ προσχὼν, ἀμεταμέλητον κτήσῃ καρδίαν· μή σου σκληρύνῃ τὴν γνώμην ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ χρηστότης. Τὸ γὰρ χρηστὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰς μετάνοιάν σε ἀγείρει καὶ ἄγει. Ὅρα οὖν μὴ κατὰ τὴν σκληρότητά σου καὶ ἀμεταμέλητον καρδίαν θησαυρίσῃς σεαυτῷ ὀργὴν ἐν ἡμέρᾳ ὀργῆς καὶ ἀποκαλύψεως καὶ δικαιοκρισίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὃς ἀποδώσει ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ. Ἥμαρτες; Μετανόησον· μὴ διὰ τῆς ῥᾳθυμίας ἀνίατον σεαυτῷ τὸ πάθος ποιήσῃς. Σκότος ἀλλοιοῦται, φωτὸς φανέντος· καὶ ἁμαρτία ἀφανίζεται, μετανοίας ὀφθείσης. Γεωργὸς ἑαυτοῦ γένου· ὡς ζιζάνιον ἔκτιλον τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, ὡς ἄκανθαν θέρισον τὴν παρανομίαν, ὡς ἀγριελαίου κλάδον, ὡς ἀνήμερον καὶ ἄκαρπον φυτὸν ἔκκοψον τὴν ἁμαρτίαν. Χαίρουσι δαίμονες ἁμαρτίαν ὁρῶντες, ἀγάλλονται ἄγγελοι μετάνοιαν καθορῶντες. Εὐφραίνονται γὰρ, φησὶν, οἱ ἄγγελοι τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατὰ τὴν κυριακὴν φωνὴν, ἐπὶ ἑνὶ ἁμαρτωλῷ μετανοοῦντι.

Μὴ γυμνώσῃς σαυτὸν, ἄνθρωπε, μὴ ῥίπτῃς τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος τὴν παντευχίαν, ἵνα μὴ εὐάλωτος γένῃ τοῖς πολεμίοις· τῷ τῆς μετανοίας θυρεῷ δέχου καὶ τίνασσε τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τὰ βέλη. Ἡδεῖα ἡ πορνεία, ἀλλ' ἐπιβλαβής· τραχεῖα ἡ σωφροσύνη, ἀλλ' ἐπωφελής. Ἡ πορνεία συμπράττουσαν ἔχει τοῦ σώματος τὴν φύσιν· ἡ σωφροσύνη συνεργοῦσαν ἔχει τοῦ Πνεύματος τὴν χάριν. Ὅπου τοίνυν πορνεία, ἐκεῖ ὁ διάβολος κατοικεῖ ὅπου δὲ σωφροσύνη, ἐκεῖ ὁ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστὸς ἐπαναπαύεται. ∆ιὰ τοῦτο ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος λέγει· Εἴ τις τὸν ναὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ φθείρει, φθείρει τοῦτον ὁ Θεός· καὶ πάλιν φησίν· Ἄρας οὖν τὰ μέλη τοῦ Χριστοῦ ποιήσω πόρνης μέλη; Μὴ γένοιτο. Στήσωμεν οὖν τῆς ἁμαρτίας τὴν ῥύμην τῇ ἀγκύρᾳ τῆς μετανοίας, ἵνα μὴ ἡ ἐπάλληλος τῶν ἐπιθυμιῶν ἀντίπνοια ναυάγιον ἡμᾶς ὑπομεῖναι παρασκευάσῃ. Ἀλλ' οἱ μὲν πλωτῆρες ναυάγιον ἐν ὕδασιν ὑπομένουσιν, οἱ δὲ ἁμαρτωλοὶ εἰς τὸν ποταμὸν τοῦ πυρὸς τὸν ῥέοντα ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ βήματος τοῦ