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by St. Joseph the Hesychast –
\nBelow is a copy of a beautiful letter written by the great 20th century Greek saint and hermit, St Joseph the Hesychast about not despairing, persevering to obtain the grace of God and always having holy hope in one\u2019s heart.<\/i> <\/p>\n
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I received your letter, my child, and I saw your anxiety. But don\u2019t be sad, my child. Don\u2019t worry so much. Even though you have fallen again, get up again. You have been called to a heavenly road. It is not surprising for someone running to stumble. It just takes patience and repentance at every moment.<\/p>\n
Therefore, always do a metanoia when you are wrong and don\u2019t lose time, because the longer you wait to seek forgiveness, the more you allow the evil one to spread his roots within you. Don\u2019t let him make roots to your detriment.<\/p>\n
Therefore, don\u2019t despair when you fall, but get up eagerly and do a metanoia<\/strong> saying, \u201cForgive me, my dear Christ. I am human and weak.\u201d The Lord has not abandoned you. But since you still have a great deal of worldly pride, a great deal of vainglory, our Christ lets you make mistakes and fall, so that you perceive and come to know your weakness every day, so that you become patient with others who make mistakes, and so that you do not judge the brethren when they make mistakes, but rather put up with them.<\/p>\n So every time you fall, get up again and at once seek forgiveness. Don\u2019t hide sorrow in your heart, because sorrow and despondency are the joy of the evil one. They fill one\u2019s soul with bitterness and give birth to many evils. Whereas the frame of mind of someone who repents says, \u201cI have sinned! Forgive me Father!\u201d and he expels the sorrow. He says, \u201cAm I not a weak human? So what do I expect?\u201d Truly, my child this is how it is. So take courage.<\/p>\n Only when the grace of God comes does a person stand on his feet.<\/strong> Otherwise, without grace, he always changes and always falls. So be a man and don\u2019t be afraid at all.<\/p>\n Do you see how that brother you wrote about endured the temptation? You, too, should do likewise. Acquire a brave spirit against the temptations that come. In any case, they will come. Forget about what your despondency and indolence tell you. Don\u2019t be afraid of them. Just as the previous temptations passed by the grace of God, these, too, will pass once they do their job.<\/p>\n Temptations are medicines and healing herbs that heal our visible passions and our invisible wounds. So have patience in order to profit every day, to store up wages, rest, and joy in the heavenly kingdom. For the night of death is coming when no one will be able to work anymore. Therefore, hurry. Time is short.<\/p>\n You should know this too: a victorious life lasting only one day with trophies and crowns is better than a negligent life lasting many years. Because one man\u2019s struggle, with knowledge and spiritual perception that lasts one day, has the same value as another man\u2019s struggle, who struggles negligently without knowledge for fifty years.<\/p>\n Without a struggle and shedding your blood, don\u2019t expect freedom from the passions.<\/strong> Our earth produces thorns and thistles after the Fall. We have been ordered to clean it, but only with much pain, bloody hands, and many sighs are the thorns and thistles uprooted. So weep, shed streams of tears, and soften the earth of your heart. Once the ground is wet, you can easily uproot the thorns.<\/p>\n \u2014 Saint Joseph the Hesychast<\/p>\n