The Forgotten Medicine: The Mystery of Repentance
Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev
Ralitsa Doynova (Translator)
ISBN 9780938635499
ISBN 0938635492
I read this as part of Father Mark Goring’s Saint Mark’s School of Reading. A full time student sent me their copy after they had read it. As this was the first volume Father Mark had done that was not available digitally. But back to this volume. The description of this book states:
“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 that longed-for inner peace and from peace with our neighbors and loved ones. That cure is the Mystery of Repentance. Archimandrite Seraphim in The Forgotten Medicine details the reasons many have 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 before, what to do when we are with the confessor, and what to do afterwards. He then writes of the wondrous changes in the lives of those who enter into the Mystery of Repentance, illustrating with several true accounts.”
It is a deeply moving read. I highlighted numerous passages while reading the book, some of them are:
“Archimandrite Seraphim reposed on January 13/26, 1993. He left us a precious inheritance: his books and his example of a zealous monastic life wholly dedicated to the service of the holy Orthodox Faith.”
“IN READING these words, 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.”
“If such blessed transformation and heavenly consolation come through the Mystery of Repentance, why do we not hasten to partake of it? Archimandrite Seraphim in The Forgotten Medicine details the reasons many have 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 before, what to do when we are with the confessor, and what to do afterwards. He then writes of the wondrous changes in the lives of those who enter into the Mystery of Repentance, illustrating with several true accounts.”
“Dear readers, have you asked yourselves: if our Saviour were to come, He Who is bringing the greatest gift-His heavenly grace with which He makes our souls happy and saves them-and if He were to seek a shelter for Himself in our souls, where could He find a place fit for rest?”
“Jesus Christ, this wondrous heavenly Guest, often comes among us and wishes to enter under the roof of our soul. He appears among us through the unfathomable mystery of Holy Communion. He knocks on every door, longs to come into every home, desires to talk with every heart, wanes to make every believing soul happy and to give it His heavenly gift.”
“We are all more or less unworthy of the Redeemer coming from heaven. Bur here, He is knocking on our doors (cf. Rev. 3:20). He Himself longs to come into us, because we are created for Him and without Him we are infinitely unhappy. He is coming to bring His heavenly gift to everyone.”
“DEAR READERS, we are created for God, and only in Him do we find the paramount bliss for which our heart is constantly yearning. Nothing other than God can make our souls happy!”
“These earthly misfortunes do not separate us from God if we are seeking Him sincerely, but, on the contrary, they bring us closer to Him.”
“But we cannot hide anything from God. His eyes are brighter than the sun and penetrate everywhere. If we could take pictures of, or, with the help of some spiritual x-rays, see the hidden spiritual condition of each of us or of the whole of mankind as God sees it, we would be terrified!”
“We must shed tears of repentance, because there are only two kinds of water which can wash away the filth of sin: the water of baptism and the tears of repentance.”
“THE HOLY SACRAMENT of Confession can rightly be called "The Forgotten Medicine." The whole world is lying in evil. Every one of us is infected with the deadly disease of sin, and one can be cured from this disease! The medicine is provided, and it is miraculous at chat. You are healed the moment you rake ic. But we do not reach for it, to be healed and to lighten our conscience. Why? Because we have forgotten and neglected it.”
“Repentance, this infinitely good gift, is given to you "at any rime of life, and it works with the same power for any sin: it cleanses every sin, saves everyone who turns to God, be it even in the last minutes before death."”
“How does the forgiving of sins occur? - through the Sacrament of Confession. The Christian burdened with sins goes to the priest with deep repentance in his soul and with a sincere desire to change and reveals to him in a detailed, frank, and full confession the secrets of his heart and conscience. The priest, convinced of the sincere repentance of the Christian and after the suitable introductory prayers, reads to him the sacramental prayer: "May our Lord and God Jesus Christ, according to the grace and kindness of His love for man, forgive you, child [name], all your transgressions; and I, the unworthy priest, through the power given to me by Him, forgive you and free you of all your sins, in the name of the Father, and the Son, and
die Holy Spirit. Amen."
In that moment, whatever the priest is forgiving on earth is also being forgiven in heaven! Is there a greater mercy than this? We could not have believed that this is possible, if it had nor been cold us by the One Who never spoke an empty word or a lie (cf I Peter 2:22).”
“But look what a simple salvation God has established for us: Go shew yourselves to the priests (Luke 17: 14). Confess your sins before them. Repent with all your heart, and you will free yourselves from the chains of evil.”
“St. John Chrysostom, pondering on the miraculous results of sincere repentance, says: "Repentance is a medicine which destroys sin. It is a heavenly gift, a marvelous force which through the grace of God conquers the might and strictness of the laws. It accepts all and transforms all. It does not reject the fornicator, does not send away the adulterer, is not disgusted with the drunkard, does not loathe the idolater, does not neglect the slanderer, does not persecute the reviler nor the haughty man: it regenerates everybody because it is a furnace for purification from sin. The wound and the medicine, these are sin and Repentance" [Confession-author's note].”
“A young monk complained to the great ascetic Abba Sisoes: "Abba, what should I do? I fell." The elder answered: "Get up!"
The monk said: "I got up, and I fell again!" The elder replied:
"Get up again!" But the young monk asked: "For how long should I gee up when I fall?" "Until your death," answered Abba Sisoes.”
“No one says: "I will not wash my hands anymore, because I will get them dirty again!" But why is it then that many people say, "I will not go to Confession, because I will sin again tomorrow!" It is clear that the enemy of our salvation is enticing us not to wash our souls, so that he can gain power over them.”
“Besides, Confession before a priest has an enormous instructive meaning. It humbles us. It cures our pride; it makes us blush savingly; it instills in us shame and fear and thus protects us from future sins. When we sin, we sin against the Omnipotent God, but we are not ashamed before Him because we do not see Him. In the same manner, when we confess before God, we do so easily, because we do not see Him, and it is as if we were talking to ourselves. But what shyness comes over us when we confess before the priests!”
“Oh, Christian, I will say, it is not that shameful to disclose your sin in Confession, but it is shameful to remain closed in it, that is, to conceal it from your priest. St. Basil the Great said: "The hidden sin is an incurable sickness of the soul."”
“4) We must consciously hide absolutely nothing before the priest. If we unwittingly forger a sin, we must confess it the next time. To conceal something for which our conscience is clearly bothering us would mean that we have doubled our sin: doubled, because one, we have committed it, and two, we have concealed it.”
“7) During Confession, we must not tell of other people's sins, but only of ours, withholding whenever possible the names of the persons who have caused us to sin or whom we have tempted to sin with us.”
“9) When we confess, we must put the blame not on others, but on ourselves.”
“We see then what the rules are for a saving Confession: first, before we go to the confessor, we must examine well our conscience; second, when we are with the priest, we must confess sincerely, with a broken heart, and without shame and excuses; third, when we leave the priest, we must carry out our penance, put an end to the hostility, give up our impure life, and return that which is not ours.
He who does not correct his behavior through Confession does not confess but talks idly, according to the words of St. Basil the Great.”
“Wondrous are the consequences of true Confession! "The truly repentant man receives forgiveness for his sins, is reconciled with God, the Church, and his own conscience, and thus regains the precious filial striving towards God as his Father, and benefits from all the gifts of His fatherly love and kindness."”
“A soul which confesses regularly is like a house which is constantly swept. Conscience always stands as a watchful guard in front of such a clean house in order not to let in anything which should not be inside.”
I know that is a lot of quotes and I did skip over some of the lengthier ones. But I pray those quotes give you a real feel for the power in the words in this volume. It is an excellent read.
The chapters in the volume are:
About the Author
A Note of Introduction
The Rich Traveller
Sin
The Forgotten Medicine
Objections to Confession
Rules for a Saving Confession
Consequences of True Confession
Closing Questions
Index
This was another fantastic read selected by Father Mark Goring for his Saint Mark’s School of Reading It was wonderful to work through this book and follow along with the weekly videos. I can easily recommend this book, and look to track down the other two by the author. This is a great read!
Note: This book is part of a series of reviews: 2023 Catholic Reading Plan!
For a list of all books that are part of Father Mark Goring's Saint Mark’s School of Reading click here.
Books by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev:
The Meaning Of Suffering
Strife & Reconciliation
…
