Fr. Maximos then encouraged the audience to ask further questions. A young seminarian raised his hand. “Fr. Maxime,” he said, “can you give to those of us who are not monks a prescription for how to live a more spiritual life in the world?”
Fr. Maximos smiled. “I believe Christ Himself has given us such a prescription. The Gospel is the prescription for our healing, assuming of course that we put it into practice. Remember what Christ taught as the key to salvation, namely the necessity of metanoia or repentance. Metanoia in Greek does not mean just to repent bad things we have done. I don’t know how metanoia is translated into English, but what it means is really a fundamental transformation of how we feel and think. It means a radical change of one’s worldview from its very foundation and not simply remorse for one’s mistakes. This is only a part of metanoia. The sum total of metanoia is the acquisition of a mind like that of Christ. It is to see the world in the same way Christ showed us. This is the prescription for our salvation.”
The next question was from an elderly priest with a white beard who was wearing the traditional black cassock. He spoke impeccable Greek without an accent, which meant that he was probably a first-generation immigrant.
“Fr. Maxime,” he asked, “many people come for confession who are at the turning point of metanoia but who, nevertheless, show no real sorrow or remorse for all the things they are confessing about. What do you do as a confessor under these circumstances?”
“It is a fact, dear Father, that when we go through confession ourselves or when we confess others, we experience all sorts of mixed emotions. This is part of our fallen condition. It happens to us, and it happens to everybody without exception. Sometimes, as a result of a minor incident, we experience deep repentance. Other times, because of a major problem, we may experience nothing. These are phenomena and symptoms, as I said, of our fallen state, of our existential illness, which we carry within ourselves. They are what the Fathers call ‘alterations of the soul.’ Nevertheless, we must not be discouraged. We must continue our participation in the mystery of confession and metanoia if we are to see results.
“Let me give you an example from medicine. Let’s say someone is diabetic. He has no pains anywhere. He is not aware of his problem, and consequently he dies. Another person who also does not feel anything but who knows that he must go to a doctor for regular checkups will eventually come to understand his situation and take appropriate measures that will save his life. Likewise, I would urge people to participate in the mystery of the confessional even if they don’t feel anything. By their doing so, God will gradually clear the way for deeper spiritual experiences. In other words, when people say, ‘I don’t see any point in going for confession because I don’t feel anything,’ even though their thinking seems logical, it is false. If you cease going for confession, you may lose the opportunity for real transformation and spiritual experiences that the confessional can provide. As we say in Greek, your appetite comes only as you begin to eat.
“Let’s say someone is suffering from anorexia,” Fr. Maximos continued. “He can’t even touch the best of dishes. If he forces himself to eat something, then gradually he may get his appetite back. On the other hand, if he gives up eating altogether, he will die. Likewise, I invite people to push themselves to the mystery of confession even if they don’t see any immediate results or feel anything in particular. God is always present to help. At a minimum, the shame they may feel in going to confession is significant for their spiritual development. God will notice their small contribution, and He will eventually offer them His Grace.”
~Adapted from Kyriacos C. Markides, Inner River: A Pilgrimage to the Heart of Christian Spirituality
