Ortodokse

Sadness is only useful when we accept it as a motive, either as repentance for sins, or as a strong desire for perfection, or as a contemplation of future happiness. The blessed apostle Paul also speaks of it: For the sorrow that is of God brings repentance to salvation, not to be repented of; but the sorrow of this world brings destruction. There is another kind of sorrow, which is completely useless, which, instead of intending to mend one's life and cleanse oneself of passions, imposes the most devastating despair on the sinful soul. It was this kind of sorrow that did not allow Cain to repent after killing his brother, nor did it allow Judas to find the path to salvation after his betrayal, but led him, through the despair it imposed on him, to hang himself. ...

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John of Cassian