The spiritual heart 5

      

       The second way towards the heart's purification is repentance, true repentance. This is repentance that begins from inside, from our depth, with self-censure and self accusation, with the search for the good, with hunger and with thirst for all those holy and good things that are missing from us. True repentance, first of all, means Alexandria says "True repentance is capable of purifying man."⁶⁷

change of attitude, change of thoughts, of desires, of decisions, and change of faith and hope. And after this, there is change of action and life. True repentance means to renounce the world, renounce the Devil, and renounce our own self. True repentance means to accept God, His will, thoughts and desires. This repentance has great power over the issue of the heart's purification. Clement of

       Related to repentance is the third way towards the heart's purification. It is the tears of mourning and grief for our sins.

In this bath of tears, the Christian's heart is completely washed and purified. Our Holy Fathers greatly believed in the power of tears for the heart's purification, and they urge us to cry with grief in order to succeed. Saint Isaac the Syrian says that this purification "demands labor and grief, and sorrows with contrition, and tears and weeping of long-duration." Saint Symeon the New Theologian also says that "tears cleanse the heart and make it a temple of the Holy Spirit."

    He himself prays to God beseeching Him by saying:

"With tears whiten me, cleanse me with this my Christ... Nothing can escape from You...not even a tear

rop not even a part of it..." Athanasios the Great writes, "For tears are a great virtue, a big achievement; through tears great sins are forgiven."

Saint John Chrysostom says, "Tears have great power... the martyrs pour out blood, sinners pour tears."

                                                                          

Abbott  Spyridon, The heart