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But the radiance of your divine glory is seen by us as a simple light, a sweet light is perceived, a light is revealed, a light is wholly united, as I think, with all of us your servants, a light spiritually seen from afar, (189) a light suddenly found within us, a light gushing like water, and like a fire burning the heart, which it will surely touch; from which I knew, my Savior, that my wretched and humble soul had been seized, and was burning and being consumed. For how would fire, having taken hold of a substance like dry twigs, not burn it, how would it not consume it, how would it not create inescapable pains? Nevertheless, having been kindled—grant that I may say it, Savior—it shows an ineffable form of most beautiful loveliness and delights me and produces an uncontainable flame of longing; and how shall I bear it, how shall I endure it, how at all shall I carry it, or how shall I speak of this great wonder, which is happening in me, the prodigal? For I cannot bear to be silent, my God, and to cover in the depths of oblivion the works that you have done and do each day with those who ever fervently seek you and flee to you in repentance, so that I too, like the wicked servant who hid the talent, may not be justly condemned, but revealing these things I speak to all and commit to writing the things concerning you and your compassion and narrate them to the generations to come, O my God, so that learning of your great mercy, which you showed and continue to show to me, who was formerly a prodigal, uniquely unclean, who sinned more than all, (190) no one may hesitate, but rather desire it; may not be timid, but approach rejoicing; may not be afraid, but rather take courage, seeing the sea of your love for mankind, and may run to it and fall down and weep, and will receive release from his failings, saying within himself truly, my God: If the creator had mercy on this all-evil and all-wicked and all-prodigal one, who sinned beyond all men, how will he not have greater mercy on me, who have sinned in some way sparingly and have not transgressed all the commandments?

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Ἡ δέ ἀπαυγή τῆς δόξης σου τῆς θείας φῶς ἁπλοῦν ἡμῖν, φῶς γλυκύ καθορᾶται, φῶς ἀποκαλύπτεται, φῶς συνενοῦται ὅλον, ὡς οἶμαι, ὅλοις ἡμῖν σοῖς δούλοις, φῶς πνευματικῶς βλεπόμενον μακρόθεν, (189) φῶς ἐντός ἡμῶν εὑρισκόμενον αἴφνης, φῶς ὡσεί ὕδωρ βρύον, ὡς πῦρ τε φλέγον τῆς, ἧσπερ πάντως καθάψεται, καρδίας˙ ἐξ οὗπερ ἔγνων προληφθεῖσαν, Σωτήρ μου, τήν ταλαίπωρον καί ταπεινήν ψυχήν μου καί φλεγομένην καί κατακαιομένην. Πῦρ προσλαβόν γάρ φρυγανώδους οὐσίας πῶς οὐ φλέξειε, πῶς ἄν οὐ καταναλώσῃ, πῶς οὐκ ἐμποιήσειεν ἀφύκτους πόνους; Ὅμως ἀνάψαν, δός μοι τοῦ λέγειν, Σῶτερ, ἄφραστον εἶδος κάλλους ὡραιοτάτου δείκνυσι καί τέρπει με καί πόθου φλόγα ἄστεκτον ἐργάζεται˙ καί πῶς ὑποίσω, πῶς ὑπενέγκω, πῶς ὅλως δέ βαστάσω, ἤ πῶς ἐξείπω τό μέγα θαῦμα τοῦτο, τό γινόμενον ἐν ἐμοί τῷ ἀσώτῳ; Οὐ γάρ σιωπᾶν ὑποφέρω, Θεέ μου, καί λήθης βυθοῖς συγκαλύπτειν τά ἔργα ἅ ἐποίησας καί ποιεῖς καθ᾿ ἑκάστην μετά τῶν θερμῶς ἀεί σε ἐκζητούντων καί μετανοίᾳ πρός σέ καταφευγόντων, ἵνα μή κἀγώ, ὡς τό τάλαντον κρύψας δοῦλος πονηρός, κατακριθῶ δικαίως, ἀλλ᾿ ἐκκαλύπτων ταῦτα τοῖς πᾶσι λέγω καί τά περί σοῦ καί τῆς σῆς εὐσπλαγχνίας γραφῇ παραδίδωμι καί διηγοῦμαι ταῖς μετέπειτα γενεαῖς, ὦ Θεέ μου, ὅπως μαθόντες τό πολύ ἔλεός σου, ὅ ἐνεδείξω εἰς ἐμέ καί δεικνύεις, τόν πρίν ἄσωτον, τόν ἀκάθαρτον μόνον, τόν ὑπέρ πάντας πλέον ἐξαμαρτάνοντα, (190) μηδείς διστάσῃ, ἀλλά μᾶλλον ποθήσῃ, μή δειλιάσῃ, ἀλλά χαίρων προσέλθῃ, μηδέ φοβηθῇ, ἀλλά μᾶλλον θαρρήσῃ πέλαγος ὁρῶν τῆς σῆς φιλανθρωπίας καί προσδράμῃ τε καί προσπέσῃ καί κλαύσῃ, καί τῶν πταισμάτων ἀπολήψεται λύσιν λέγων ἐν αὐτῷ ὡς ἀληθῶς, Θεέ μου˙ Εἰ τόν πάγκακον καί παμπόνηρον τοῦτον καί πανάσωτον ἠλέησεν ὁ κτίστης, ὑπέρ ἅπαντας ἀνθρώπους ἁμαρτόντα, πῶς οὐκ ἄν ἐμέ μειζόνως ἐλεήσῃ, τόν φειδομένως ποςῶς ἐξαμαρτόντα καί τάς ἐντολάς οὐ πάσας παραβάντα;