"I am sinful." This phrase is sometimes heard from the closest people. And she is said to be especially bitter.
"We ought to go to the temple." Another phrase you can hear. In the temple, for confession, the soul asks.
"How to atone for my sins? There are so many that I can’t mention." And from these words the heart contracts. God is merciful; He forgives our transgressions. Including especially severe.
What is sin?
This is a violation of the commandments that the Lord has left for us. In simpler terms, a violation of spiritual law. Sin moves away from God. But this does not mean that nothing can be fixed. By repenting and revising one’s own life, everything is being corrected.
Is it possible to atone for sins? We will talk about this a little lower.
Why do we sin?
Going down is always easier than going up. And sinning is easier than repenting. Why do people sin? By his weakness. We don’t notice how we sin. Every day, every hour, every minute. It would seem, what can be especially badly sinned for a day? Woke up, ran to work. We worked before dinner, ate, worked again. And there it was time to go home. We prepared dinner at home, lunch for tomorrow. We checked the lessons for the children, they started the washing machine. We talked with my husband. Where are the sins?
And let's, for the sake of interest, analyze this busy day. Woke up and did not pray. We went to work, if by public transport, it is quite possible someone made a comment. They didn’t, they thought so badly of that overweight woman who was arguing loudly with the conductor.
We got to work, we poured tea for ourselves. They gossiped with a colleague. While working, we’ll run into the Internet more than once. At lunch, they chatted again with their colleagues, condemned someone.
Then you should not continue, I guess. They didn’t pray, made bad thoughts, were carried away by idle talk, and didn’t pray before dinner. Here they are our sins. And we do them, it seems, not intentionally. Everyday sins have become a habit, however strange it may sound.
But there are special sins. They cry out to heaven for vengeance. That is, they are followed by heavy punishment. If you do not ask yourself the question, how to atone for sins.
Particularly Serious Sins
How to pray for sins before God? Sincere repentance and correction of your life. That is, no longer return to sin after having repented of it.
What are the sins indicated in the title? How to repent of them? Let's first look at the answer to the first question.
Homicide, including abortion.
Retention pay by a wretched employee.
Harassment of a sick, wretched person, widow or orphan.
Disrespect to parents, up to beating.
These sins need, as we have said, special repentance. And of course, it is unacceptable after repentance to perform them again.
Sin of abortion
How to pray for sin for aborted children? What is sin here at all? This is not a person yet, but just a bunch of cells. So argue women who have an abortion.
But their reasoning is wrong. Man has a soul; it is immortal. And the Lord gives this soul at the moment of conception. Even a one-day embryo, born in the womb, already has a soul. And if so, what right do women have to kill her? That which, in fact, is sent and given by the Lord God. Abortion is a challenge to God. The woman, as it were, says: "Lord, you gave me a child, but I do not need him. I believe that I’m smarter than you, I will figure it out in my life. Therefore, I will kill your gift."
It sounds creepy and implausible. But if you think about it, then the way it is. And how to make up for the sins of abortion?
First of all, to realize that this is a murder. A certain old man made me very aware of this. He was visited by a married couple who already had four children. The wife became pregnant fifth. Standing in front of the old man, she said that the family would not feed another child, so the future mother decided on an abortion.
The elder was silent for a while, and then advised him to kill. But not this, not yet born baby. It’s unfair not to let him see the light. And kill the eldest, fifteen-year-old daughter. She already lived in the world.
The couple was horrified, the mother in fear said she could not do this. To which the elder said that killing a child in the womb is no different from killing an adult child. The couple repented of their intentions, and soon they had a fifth baby.
So awareness is the first path to repentance. Realizing how monstrous abortion is, it is unlikely that he will want to do it again.
And after awareness, the soul is purified. He no longer has the strength to carry this sin within himself; he begins to oppress and gnaw inside the failed mother. Then she goes to the temple to confess.
What to do next, after confession? What prayer to pray for sins or the sin of abortion? The priest will give directions. It is possible that he would impose penance for the sin committed.
A woman, if she feels that penance and prayer is not enough, after consulting with a priest, can do mercy specifically for this sin. For example, to give alms, to bring things to an orphanage, to take care of abandoned old people, to be a volunteer in a hospital. But this must be done only by agreement with the priest.
Sin of treason
Another common sin today. A person intentionally enters in fornication while married. How to pray for the sin of betrayal? By repentance. Sincere and conscious. Confession and deeds of mercy in agreement with the priest.
Does spouse admit adultery? Here you need to consult with the priest. We give an example from life.
The husband suspected his wife of infidelity. The wife swore and swore that she had nothing with anyone. The man did not believe. Then, in despair, the woman led him to the temple and swore in front of the icon that she had not betrayed her husband. She asked if he was cheating on her. The husband admitted to treason. She could not forgive, the marriage broke up.
An elderly priest, after hearing this story from his ex-husband now, only said: "It was necessary to be silent, you fool."
Therefore, in such a difficult situation, only the priest will give sensible advice.
The sin of fornication
How to atone for sins, including fornication? Fornication is an intimate relationship outside of marriage. Modern civil marriage, as people call cohabitation, is nothing but fornication.
As one elderly man said to his grandson, before entering into an intimate relationship, you need to sign. And in relation to the spiritual also get married. But the church also recognizes civil painting.
How to pray for the sin of fornication? To atone for this sin, one must, like all other sins, sincerely repent. And change your life, give up fornication. And it’s not that they came to confession, listed their sins, went outside the gates of the temple, and started all over again. And even if they communed.
What is sincere repentance?
Imagine: they took a dirty vessel, washed it, filled it with a fragrant drink and sealed it. Take the vessel and fall into the muddy puddle. Would you like to pick it up and print it out? Or wash again?
We, after repentance and communion, are pure vessels filled with God's grace. Why fall into the mud again? God is also probably not very pleased to wash us every time, knowing that we will begin to sin again. Everyday sins of unreasonableness can still be understood. But such terrible acts as abortion, betrayal or fornication, which people go on intentionally, are scary and incomprehensible.
How to atone for sins at home? Is it possible? Yes it is possible. Every day we repent of them if we read the evening rule. At the very end there is a special prayer in which we confess our daily sins. After her, you can apologize in your own words. They are usually the most sincere.
Sincere repentance is the recognition of one's sins. Aversion to them and a desire to change their lives. Continue it without particularly grave sins. Even in everyday life, monitor your thoughts, words and actions. Try not to allow too much in thoughts and deeds. But the latter, of course, is an ideal option. Almost monastic, it can hardly be realized in our busy life. Although everything is possible with a great desire.
How to change your life?
How to atone for sins and how to repent, we figured out. But how to change? It does not happen that once and for all - a man has rejected the past. It doesn’t happen, of course. We cannot change our start, that is, the past. But it is in our power to change the finish line, that is, our own future.
It all starts small, when it comes to sins that are not particularly serious. Does a person smoke a pack of cigarettes per day? Let him start dividing this pack for two days, then for three, then for four. And such a divide for a month, for example. So quit smoking.
Or the person likes to lie in front of the TV at the weekend. And you get up and go for groceries, for example. And then wash the dishes. And lie down again. Next weekend, do not do two things, but three. And every weekend during the month add the number of cases. So laziness conquers.
If sin is especially serious, for example, treason or fornication, then they must be abandoned once and for all. It's hard, resisting the temptation will be unbearable at first. But gradually, the desire to commit this act will begin to disappear. And then it will completely disappear.
Is it worth doing alms for your sins?
Very interesting question. In the understanding of modern man, or rather, most modern people, alms must be given in monetary terms. About spiritual, for some reason, is forgotten.
Meanwhile, it is not necessary to give alms with money. Help is spiritual alms. And it is much more valuable than money.
Why not help the old lonely neighbor with groceries? Especially if funds allow. Or not visit a hospice as a volunteer? Or not help a shelter for homeless animals? In this way, we apologize for the laws we have broken by God.
But any alms must be done in agreement with the priest, we do not forget about this. Sometimes a person puts on his shoulders a very heavy burden in terms of alms. He understands that he is not capable of it, but cannot reset it. And the murmur begins. It is better to discuss your actions of this kind with a priest, from whom you constantly confess.
Children sins
How to atone for the sins of children? Before answering this question, one more question should be asked: can this be done?
We pray for children, there are special prayers for this. But it is impossible to repay other people's sins, even if these are the sins of their own children, without the permission of the priest. Only very strong spiritual personalities, such as the murdered Optina New Martyrs, had the boldness to take upon themselves the sins of others. Or father John Krestyankin, for example. Many of us living in the world have reached such spiritual heights? That's it.
Therefore, before undertaking to atone for the sins of their children, first discuss this topic with the priest. Autonomy in this case can lead to disastrous spiritual consequences.
Conclusion
The main purpose of the article is to tell readers how to atone for sins. We single out the main aspect of all that has been said:
- Praying sins is real. With sincere repentance in them, aversion to them and the desire to change their lives. From this minute until the last breath, do not enter into the filth of this or that sin anymore.
Particularly serious sins, betrayal and fornication require special repentance and good deeds in life. It’s worthy to bear the priest’s given penance, not to complain about it, to do alms and not to come into contact with these sins anymore - the best repentance by deed.