Ἀπὸ τὸ βιβλίο: ΤΙ ΘΑ ΜΑΣ ΣΩΣΗ; σελ. 246
ΤΟΥ ΜΗΤΡΟΠΟΛΙΤΟΥ ΦΛΩΡΙΝΗΣ π. ΑΥΓΟΥΣΤΙΝΟΥ ΚΑΝΤΙΩΤΟΥ

Θὰ μοιράσωμε σὲ σᾶς, κάτι μικρὰ φυλλάδια μὲ ἑξήντα ἐρωτήματα(*)

Ὅπως ὁ γιατρὸς ρωτάει· ποῦ πονᾷς; Ἔτσι καὶ ᾿μεῖς κάνουμε ἑξήντα ἐρωτήματα. Διαβάσατέ το, διαφωτισθῆτε καλά, καὶ δῶστε τὸ φυλλάδιον αὐτὸ καὶ σ᾿ ἄλλους ἁμαρτωλοὺς καὶ σ᾿ ἄλλους ἀνθρώπους. Νὰ κυκλοφορήσῃ σὲ ὅλη τὴν πόλι, καὶ ὅλη τὴν ἐβδομάδα ἐδῶ οἱ πνευματικοὶ τῆς πόλεως θὰ ἐξομολογοῦν.
Τρέξτε, παρακινῆστε, σπρῶξτε
Τρέξατε, τρέξατε, τρέξατε ἑως ὅτου ἀκόμη μπορεῖτε. Μικροί, μεγάλοι νὰ κοινωνήσετε τῶν Ἀχράντων Μυστηρίων. Σπρώξετε, παρακινεῖστε ὁ ἕνας τὸν ἄλλο. Ὅπως οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ σπρώχνουν στὴν ἁμαρτία.
Μοῦ λεγε ἕνα νέος· «Ἂχ» λέει, «ἐγὼ καλός ἤμουν, Δέσποτα, ἀλλὰ μιὰ μέρα μὲ παίδευε δυὸ ὧρες ὁ σατανᾶς».
Ποιός σατανᾶς; Ὁ φίλος μου καὶ μὲ πῆγε μέσα στὴν ἁμαρτία.
Ὅπως λοιπὸν οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ σπρώχνουν τοὺς ἄλλους στὴν ἁμαρτία, σπρῶξτε καὶ σεῖς μὲ δύναμιν ἀγγέλων καὶ ἀρχαγγέλων! Σπρώξατε ὁλόκληρο τὴν πόλι στὴ μετάνοια καὶ ἐξομολόγησι. Ἔχετε ὑποχρέωσι, ὄχι μόνο αὐτὰ τὰ ὁποῖα ἀκοῦτε ἐδῶ πέρα νὰ τὰ μεταδώσετε· Κάθε ἕνας ἀπὸ σᾶς, δύο, τρεῖς, τέσσερις, πέντε ἁμαρτωλοὺς νὰ τοὺς φέρετε, ἐδῶ στὸν πνευματικόν, στὸν ἐξομολόγο, νὰ πλυθοῦν, νὰ καθαρισθοῦν.
Νὰ τοὺς σπρώξετε ὅλους στὸν Ἰορδάνη ποταμό, διότι ὅπως εἶπα καὶ ἄλλοτε, ἕνα δάκρυο, ἕνα δάκρυο ποὺ πέφτει ἀπὸ τὸν ἁμαρτωλὸν ἄνθρωπο, εἶνε Ἰορδάνης ποταμός.
Μὴ μοῦ μιλᾶτε γιὰ τὸν Ἰορδάνη. Χίλιες φορὲς νὰ περάσετε ἀπ᾿ τὸν Ἰορδάνη, μιὰ ἁμαρτία δὲν σβήνετε. Ἰορδάνης ποὺ τρέχει ἀκαταπαύστως μὲς τὴν Ἐκκλησία εἶνε ἡ θεία μετάνοια.
Ὅλοι νὰ σπεύσωμε πρὸς τὴ μετάνοια, γιὰ νὰ ἔχωμε τὴν εὐλογία τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς αἰῶνας αἰώνων.

(*) Το φυλλάδιο στα Ἑλληνικα http://www.augoustinos-kantiotis.gr/?p=73662#more-73662

(*) Το φυλλάδιο στα Ἀγγλικα

A MIRROR

We are all sinners. There is not a human being on earth who does not sin. Whoever says that he does not have sins is a big liar. We all have sins and indeed many of them. We sin with all our senses. We sin with our eyes, with our ears, with our tongue, with our hands, with our feet, with our mind, with our heart. Each day we transgress the law of God many times.

Our sins are numerous. And as we think of them, very often we are caught in despair. The devil discourages us. We think that there is no way in which their weight can be removed from us.
But as many as they might be, they do not exceed the love of God. How much God loves us! He forgives all our sins, if only we confess them with sincerity and contrition. For this reason, do not despair. Whatever you might have done, it is forgivable, if only you go to your spiritual father and confess with true repentance, with contrition, and with faith that «the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.»
In order to assist our Christians in the mystery of confession, we printed this leaflet. It mentions the most serious sins that we often commit. Read this leaflet and mark which of these sins you have committed and confess them with sincerity. Consider whether you have done anything else that is not written here.

A – Sins against God:

1. Do you believe in God, the Holy Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the church and her mysteries? Do you believe that there is a heaven and a hell? Do you believe that the mystery of Confession is given for the forgiveness of sins?
2. Perhaps you blasphemed the name of Christ, the Theotocos, the Cross, the Saints?
3. Perhaps you heard others blaspheme and did not protest, but remained indifferent?
4. Perhaps you murmured against God for certain misfortunes which have befallen you and uttered impious words?
5. Perhaps you have spoken impiously concerning religious subjects or ridiculed persons and objects of the Church?
6. Have you taken an oath and especially false oaths, in court or anywhere else?
7. Do you go to church every Sunday morning or are you absent without an important reason?
8. Perhaps you work on Sunday for no important reason, or travel on Sunday morning?
9. Do you read Holy Scripture, which is the word of God, daily?
10. Do you pray in the morning and evening and when you sit to eat at the table, or perhaps you eat and sleep without prayer?
11. Do you fast on the days set down by the church (Wednesdays, Fridays, lents, etc.)?
12. Do you have an icon stand in your home or are you ashamed to hang an icon on the wall or to make the sign of the cross?
13. Perhaps you resorted to mediums, witches, fortune tellers; that is, to those who tell your fortune by cards, coffee stains etc.?
14.Do you try to receive Holy Communion as frequently as possible or are you neglectful of this and receive three or four times a year, and those times without having gone to confession?
15. Perhaps you are burdened with prejudices and superstitions?
16. Do you love God above all? Are you grateful to Him? Do you glorify Him?

B – Sins against your neighbor:

1. Perhaps you curse and speak offensively?
2. Perhaps you slander and accuse others unjustifiably?
3. Perhaps you have quarreled with others and no longer speak to each other?
4. Perhaps you have stolen foreign objects or cheated others and are in court?
5. Have you taken the law into your own hands, hit someone, or committed some other vicious act?
6. Perhaps you have embittered or upset others unjustly?
7. Perhaps you look with an evil (envious) eye?
8. Perhaps you nurse within you hatred, malice and antipathy toward
certain persons?
9. Do you respect your elders, especially your priests?

“Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you”
“The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin”

10. Do you show love and sympathy for the poor and those who suffer? Do you visit the sick and the afflicted?
11. Perhaps you induced others to sin or corrupted them?
12. Do you respect your parents and care for them or have you forsaken them heartlessly?
13. Perhaps you are curious or suspicious?
14. Are you honest and faithful at work?
15. Perhaps you send others to the Devil?
16. Perhaps you show ingratitude to your benefactors?
17. Perhaps you condemn or disregard or disparage others?
18. Do you consider and respect your fellow man as a creature made in the
image of God?
For the married:
19. Do you love your husband (your wife)?
20. Do you take care of your family?
21. Perhaps you do not observe the law of childbearing and do not have children, even though you are capable.
22. Perhaps you have fallen into the sin of fornication or adultery or perhaps you have sinful relations with another person and violated the conjugal trust?

C – Sins committed against yourself:

1. Perhaps you have committed some obscene and immoral act?
2. Perhaps you watch obscene shows at the movies, in the theater or on the television or the net?
3. Perhaps you read obscene or anti-christian books and periodicals?
4. Perhaps you have disguised yourself, worn a mask, or are in the habit of dressing immodestly? If you are a woman, perhaps you have dressed as a man or dressed provocatively, causing others to sin by your appearance. If you are a man, perhaps you look like a hippie [trans. note:– stricty speaking, e.g., long hair for a man is improper according to divine Paul] or have a strange or unusual appearance?
5. Perhaps you play cards or other games of chance?
6. Perhaps you danced indecent and sinful dances at night clubs or parties?
7. Perhaps you sing obscene or indecent songs or like to listen to them on the radio or other audio device?
8. Perhaps you lie?
9. Perhaps you go to sports arenas and watch the football or baseball games with fanaticism and fight over the games?
10. Perhaps you get angry and, when you get angry, you use harsh, foul language or become violent?
11. Perhaps you are involved with bad company?
12. Perhaps you get drunk, you smoke, or ruin your health in some other way (e.g. drugs)?
13. Perhaps you are depressed and despair?

“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”

14. Perhaps you nurse a high opinion of yourself and you have become proud and you brag?
15. Perhaps you are avaricious, greedy and attached to material things?
16. Perhaps you are obstinate and stubborn?
17. Perhaps you are a glutton or lazy?
18. Perhaps you are a hypocrite?
19. Do you examine your senses (what you see, hear, touch, etc.), your imagination, your desires?
20. Do you respect yourself, seeing yourself as a temple of God?

“I am no longer worthy to be called your son”

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness”