Do you want me to tell you also ways of repentance? They are many and varied and different from each other, but they all lead to heaven.
The first way of repentance is the condemnation of our sins “you must confess your sins first, that you may be justified” (Is. 43,26).
That is why the prophet also said “I said, I will condemn myself for
my iniquity to the Lord, and you forgave her impiety
of my heart” (psalm. 31,5).
Condemn your sins too, this is enough for the Lord as an apology because he who has condemned his sins is more difficult to fall into the same sins again.
Move the conscience that you have within you as an accuser, so that you don’t have another accuser there at the Lord’s stand. This is a path of excellent repentance.
There is another that is not inferior to this, not to hold grudges against your enemies, to restrain your anger, to forgive the sins of your fellow human beings because in this way our own sins committed before the Lord will also be forgiven.
So here is a second way of cleansing our sins.
Because he says, “if you forgive your debtors, your heavenly Father will also forgive you” (Mat. 6,14).
Do you want to learn the third way of repentance?
To make a warm and sincere prayer, which comes from the depths of your heart. Didn’t you see that hand that flattered that shameless judge (Luke 18:1-8)?
While you have a gentle and approachable and philanthropic Lord she asked against the enemies, but you do not ask against the enemies, but for your own salvation.
If you want to know the fourth way of repentance, I will tell you charity because this has great and inexpressible power because even to Nebuchadnezzar, when he reached every kind of wickedness and committed every impiety, Daniel said to him: “King, listen to the counsel redeem me from your sins with mercies and from your iniquities redeem me with your mercy for the poor” (Dan. 4,24).
What thing can equal this charity?
After innumerable sins, after so many illegalities, he promises to absolve the offender from all of them, if he appears philanthropic to his servants.
And modesty and humility annihilate the nature of sins no less than the other ways we have mentioned and witnessed by the publican, who certainly had no glorious deeds to report, but instead of all these he offered his humility and was freed from the heavy burden of sins.
Here, then, we have shown five ways of repentance, first the condemnation of our sins, second the forgiving sins of the neighbor, third that which comes from prayer, fourth that which comes from almsgiving and fifth that which comes from humility.
Do not delay, therefore, but walk every day all the roads because they are easy roads and you cannot use poverty as a pretext, but even if you still live poorer than everyone else and anger you will be able to leave aside and humble yourself you will be able and to pray loudly and to condemn your sins and in nothing poverty becomes an obstacle.
And what am I saying here, since neither for that method of repentance, which requires the payment of money (that is, almsgiving), nor does poverty hinder us there. And this was revealed to us by the widow who paid the two cents.
Now that we have been taught the treatment of our wounds, let us place these medicines upon them, so that, after we have regained true health, we may also enjoy
the holy table with pride and great glory to meet the king of glory Christ and to achieve the eternal goods with the grace and blessings and charity of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen.
To those who renounced in favor of the lengthening of the saints, EPE 31,92-96. PG 49,262-264) St. John Chrysostom, Chrysostomikos Ambon VI
