What is this "right spirit" which the beloved king and psalmist writes of?
Contrition.
Contrition is the very fire which develops over the course of one's own spiritual life. It is the experiential energy which pours forth from the heart in prayer. Contrition is the deep awareness, a conscious observance (notice the action words) of one's own state. It is a balanced awareness of both our fallen state and our connection to God.
As a Christian we are aware of our sinfulness and yet we are participating in the Holiness of God's glory. We, through prayer, come into communion with God our creator and experience His energies working in and through us. Sometimes, as if in glimpses of our coming and future life, we are given the blessing of tears. These tears should not be confused with tears of repentance, but in fact they are a mingling of both these and tears of joy. Our tears are the shedding of our former self (that "Old Man") and an anointing of the Spirit.
"Remembering a sin we have committed does not mean that the sin has not been forgiven. This remembrance of our sins is only a warning to us lest we become proud and sin again. In fact we - not God - are the ones who can not forgive ourselves." - Elder Thaddeus
No comments:
Post a Comment