24 November 2022
For to sin, even in the case of those who are most
righteous, is easy, while repentance is not easy for everyone because death is
near; and even before death comes there is despair. It is good, then, not to
fall; or, if we fall, to rise again. And should we fall, we should not despair
and so estrange ourselves from the Lord’s love. For if He so chooses, He can
deal mercifully with our weakness. Only we should not cut ourselves off from
Him or feel oppressed when constrained by His commandments, nor should we lose
heart when we fall short of our goal. Rather, let us learn that a thousand
years in the sight of the Lord are but a single day, and a single day is as a
thousand years (cf. Ps. 90:4). Let us be neither hasty nor tardy, and let us be
always ready to make a new start. If you fall, rise up. If you fall again, rise
up again. Only do not abandon your Physician, lest you be condemned as worse
than a suicide because of your despair. Wait on Him, and He will be merciful,
either reforming you, or sending you trials, or through some other provision of
which you are ignorant.
Saint Peter of Damascus
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