Repentance means making real and profound changes in my life, not getting "emotional" about feeling sorry for myself

Repentance should not be confused with remorse, it does not mean feeling very sorry for what went wrong in the past. Repentance is an active, positive attitude that consists of moving in the right direction.

This is expressed very clearly in the parable of the two sons (Matthew 21:28) who receive the command from their father to go and work in his vineyard. One said, “I will go,” but did not go. The other said, “I will not go,” but then he was ashamed and went to work.

This was true repentance, and we should never be deceived into thinking that lamenting the past is an act of repentance. It is part of it, of course, but repentance remains unreal and barren as long as it does not lead us to do the will of the Father. We tend to think that it should give rise to pleasant emotions and often we are satisfied with emotions, instead of real, profound changes.

Metropolitan Anthony of Suroj

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