by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev
Every Christian feels a natural yearning of the heart towards God, a true desire to taste the sweetness of communion, of being with Him as He created us to be; but the impurity of our hearts—full of passions, conflicts and fears—bars the way. Yet there is a cure for the weight of sin which burdens the heart and soul of each one of us and afflicts the conscience, keeping us from inner peace and from peace with our neighbors and loved ones.
The renowned Bulgarian spiritual father Archimandrite Seraphim (†1993) details the reasons many give for not coming to Confession, and for each of these he clearly brings forth the truth of the matter. For those who feel awkward because of not knowing how to approach Confession, he explains in depth how to prepare beforehand and what to do afterwards.
“In the Mystery of Repentance the spiritual afflictions of a man are treated, impurities of the soul are removed, and a Christian, having received forgiveness of sins, becomes innocent and sanctified, just as he came out of the waters of Baptism.”—excerpt from The Forgotten Medicine
“Greater than baptism itself is the fountain of tears after baptism, even though it is somewhat audacious to say so. For baptism is the washing away of evils that were in us before, but sins committed after baptism are washed away by tears.”—St. John Climacus, 7th Century