7. The stairway to heaven
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Mum Sophia’s joy
It is very cold today and Angela is sitting by the
fire to keep warm.
Snowy, the little lamb which was given to her by Mr.
Pantelis the shepherd is near her.
Christina’s mother and sister had just returned from
their visit to the pious priest of the village, Father John. They had gone to
confession and to leave all the mistakes they had made under his priestly
stole.
Angela saw her mum’s and sister’s faces shining with
joy and happiness.
-How happy you look mum!
-Yes, my little girl, I'm so glad and happy, because
today I again purified my soul from every sin and mistake I made as a human.
-When, mum, will I also go to our good priest to
confess my little mistakes?
-Whenever you want and feel that you're ready, my
baby.
-I want to mum, but I don’t know how to confess. Could
you help me to prepare myself properly?
-Of course, my little girl. I
will help you to know this wonderful sacrament of repentance and confession,
which every man no matter how much a sinner he may be; he can be a shining
angel to our beloved God.
Mum Sophia
was glad that her
little girl asked by herself to learn about this great mystery of man’s salvation. She knew very well that the sooner
her little girl would begin to realize the little mistakes she made and purify
her soul from them with confession, the
faster the flowers of virtues would grow in the innocent field of her heart.
Our mistakes are like the various weeds
that grow beside the flowers and the useful
vegetables and sometimes destroy the useful crops. That’s why
the farmers always pull out the weeds in
good time and burn them at the edge of the field, in order not to destroy their crops.
Mum Sophia
wants to teach Angela, as she did to her older
daughter Christina, to take care of the field
of her heart with the fragrant flowers
of virtues and not allow all these harmful weeds of mistakes and sins to grow
in it.
She want her little girl to be an
angel who will spread around the fragrance
of heavenly love
and with the melody
of her virtuous life will make her
heavenly Father and God happy.
So she went near her little girl,
who was enjoying the
warmth of the
fire and after petting Snowy, the little snow-white lamb, she started to explain the great sacrament of repentance to Angela.
How to Care for the
Soul
-Do you remember, my Angela, how
our good God created man?
-First He
made his body and then he put the soul in it.
-That’s right, you remember, my child. First He made our
body from soil, which is material and mortal and visible
to our eyes.
-What does mortal mean mum?
-That it’s
not eternal, since after man's death, our body returns
again to the earth. While our soul, as a spiritual
being, because it came from the
motherly heart of God our Father, is immortal
and indestructible, and never dies, but we cannot see it
with our bodily eyes.
So, as our physical body needs some treatments, such as bathing to keep it clean,
clothes to keep it warm and food to be able to live,
so our immortal soul
needs to be cared for.
-Since, mum, our soul is not mortal,
what kind of care may be needed?
-And yet, my child, our soul
needs more bathing, clothing and feeding,
than our bodies.
-So, mummy, what are the clothes of our soul?
-The precious
clothes of our soul are all those deeds of love that our Lord wants
us to do in order to be His own children. The important virtues of love, compassion, charity,
philanthropy, alms, spiritual politeness, kindness and others, are the beautiful clothes of virtues that adorn a
soul which loves our good God.
-What is the food of the soul, mum?
-It is, my
Angela, the word of God which is written in the Holy Bible.
In this book we learn about our good
God and how to
live, if we want to be with Him one day in the heavenly Kingdom of absolute joy
and happiness. In this we will read what His holy will is in order to implement
it and become His own angels. This book should never be missing
from any home
and any person. If, my child, oxygen and the necessary food were missing, could someone live?
-No, mum.
-Exactly the same thing happens with our soul, my little
angel. Without the word of God,
which is the oxygen and the food of the soul, the soul cannot live each day spiritually. Therefore, it is
necessary for all of us to
read the holy Gospel
each day in order that our soul
becomes stronger in faith.
-What other spiritual food does our soul need mum?
-Our Lord Jesus himself tells us about another very important and necessary
spiritual food, that without it none of us would be glad and happy forever with
Ηim.
-What is it, mum?
-My Angela, it’s Holy Communion, the precious Body and
Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the soul is purified from all sins and
shines like the sun from His blessing. Jesus said: “Unless you eat
the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you cannot have eternal life.” With Holy
Communion our beloved king Jesus Christ doesn’t only forgive us, but burns and
washes away all our sins by the power of the Holy Spirit. My child, our God
forgives us when we apologize to Him for our various mistakes, but He says that
only Holy Communion can burn and wash away all our sins. That’s why He asks all
His children to come regularly to take the sacrament of Holy Communion.
-Wow mummy! I want to receive Holy Communion often, so
that my beloved King will burn my every mistake and sin!
-Yes, my sweet daughter. I will be very happy when I
see you become one with your King through Holy Communion and you will shine
like the stars of the sky in front of His holy throne.
But I want, my Angela, to ask you something. If we
knew that tonight a very important person was coming to see us at our house,
would we welcome him as we are so dirty from doing various jobs or would we
wash ourselves and be clean? Would we wear clean clothes and also clean our house
not to be messy and dirty?
-We would take a bath, my mummy, we would wear our
most beautiful clothes and we would clean our house so it shines in beauty. It
would be unkindness, my mum, to welcome in our house an important person,
without taking care of all these things.
-Yes, my child, it would be really unkind and very
offensive to him. Maybe he would never come back to see us?
-Yes, mum. I understand now how important it is to
clean and purify our soul from every mistake and filth. I would like very much,
my mummy, for you to talk to me about the cleansing of my soul, so that I never
leave any mistake and filth in it.
The precious gift
-Do you remember, my Angela, what the great mistake
was that man had made in Paradise and our good God was forced to send him out?
-I remember, mum. It was, when God told them not to
eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They didn’t hear
the words of God and did what the evil serpent, who was the satanic Lucifer,
told them.
-Right, my little girl. Instead of man trusting His
Creator, he showed confidence in his cunning enemy. Therefore, my child, lack
of trust shows the lack of true love for your parents.
A child, who loves and really respects his parents,
trusts, listens to their advice and takes it. On the contrary, disobedience to
the commands of his beloved parents shows a lack of trust and a little love for
them.
The act of the first created humans showed these three
serious mistakes; that is, the lack of trust, love and obedience for our heavenly
Father which is the basis of any sin that man had made and will make since
then.
-Mum, how can man resist these three evils in order
not to sin?
-He can, my Angela, but the power of evil is so great
which entered into man because of the error of the first created humans. Now he
has to really struggle to resist it.
This original sin, that is, the trust that was given
to Satan at the time of the fall, created in his soul an inclination towards
evil and sin.
Satan managed something unique.
-What did he manage, mummy?
-For man to easily follow his own will and Satan’s
will, despite the will of God our Father. That’s why he slowly began to remove
himself from our good God and do many bad things which made Satan rejoice and
hurt our God.
-And now, mummy, how can our good God help man to
return close to Him?
-My little girl, our God doesn’t want the spiritual
death of any sinner; therefore He gave us a precious gift from His merciful
heart, helping us to return back to His divine embrace.
-What is this precious gift, mum?
-It is the great and beneficial Mystery of Repentance
and Confession. With this Mystery, every sinner, even the worst in the whole
world, when he wants to return back into the heart of God his Father, he can do
it easily and quickly.
-How, mum?
-With one word that comes from his heart with deep
remorse and sincere repentance. The word, my little girl, is "sorry".
It is so small but so miraculous when it is truly meant!
-What can such a small word achieve, my mummy?
-So much that you cannot imagine, my child! It can,
not only save a great sinner, but make him a saint, a great saint and teacher
of our Church!
-Wow, mummy! How I would like you to tell me a story
about these great wonders that this small miraculous word achieves.
-I will tell you my child.
From a thief… to a
Saint!
-Once, my Angela, a rich man was living in Africa and
particularly in Ethiopia. He had many fields and many slaves who were working
in them.
Among the slaves there was one who was very hard, evil
and mean. His name was Moses and everyone was afraid of him. Every day he was
creating problems either to the other workers or at his boss’s home. He was
well built and had tremendous physical strength, that’s why no one wanted to
argue with him. You only had to look at him and were paralyzed by fear. When he
was angry he looked like α black demon that caused great terror by his presence.
He had become so unbearable that his boss was forced to send him away.
Moses took refuge in a bandit gang and after some time
became their leader. From that time onwards the entire region suffered many
evils by Moses’ bandits. Robberies, disasters, murders and many other evil
deeds made his gang famous. He became the fear and terror of all. His name
"black demon" was circulated everywhere spreading fear, terror and
panic.
-Mummy, how can a man do so many evil things and not
realize his mistake?
-When, my child, the grace of God abandons a soul,
then he can do the worst things. And Moses was such a case. Listen to what he
did once, when he failed in one of his illegal night-time raids because of the
wild barking of the shepherd’s dogs guarding a flock of sheep which were
grazing around there. He was so angry that he decided to kill the shepherd. But
he had to get across the vast obstacle of the great river Nile to reach the
shepherd's hut. After tying his clothes in a bundle on his head, not to get
them wet, he rushed into the stormy waves of the river and started to swim. In
his mouth, held with his teeth, he was holding the machete which was spreading
panic everywhere.
-Mummy, was the shepherd saved?
-Yes, my child. When he realized what was happening,
he managed to disappear and save his life. Since robber Moses didn’t find the
shepherd to kill him he was angry and he fell with unprecedented fury upon the
sheep which were grazing without a care and slaughtered them all.
-Wow what terrible cruelty!
-My child, listen to what he did next, so
you can see the strength of this monstrous man. When his eyes had seen enough
blood, he tied the four best rams together by their tails and he carried them
on his shoulders and again swam across the River Nile. Then, he cooked the
rams, ate the best meat and drank twenty liters of wine which he had hidden,
walked fifty miles without stopping and arrived at his hideout.
-Mum, why didn’t the Police catch him?
-They tried many times to arrest him for his many
crimes, but he always managed to escape. Once, when many policemen were chasing
him, he was forced to hide deep in the desert, where many great and famous holy
ascetics were living.
-Did he also kill the holy ascetics, mum?
-No, my Angela. On the contrary, his fellowship with
those holy ascetics and the love and tenderness they showed him slowly calmed
his barbaric instincts. All the ascetics started praying to our good God to
save this wild robber and release the region from his disastrous raids.
-Did God hear their prayers?
-Yes, my little girl. When we pray with tears and pain
for someone, God is hearing our prayers and helping the wounded soul from the
influence of Satan. So, the same
happened with the robber Moses. He heard the prayers of those holy people and
began enlightening his dark mind. He understood the many big crimes he had done
and repented for all of these. He began apologizing to God and crying for his
mistakes.
-Didn’t our good God forgive him, mummy?
-Of course, He forgave him. And not only did He
forgive him but because of his great and true repentance, He began flooding him
with the grace of the Holy Spirit.
-What happened next, mum?
-Moses made such progress in the virtues that he
became a role model for people. He became like a great holy ascetic. He loved
our Lord Jesus Christ so much that he lived only with his remembrance, love and
his holy commandments! His holiness was so great that everyone saw the grace of
God covering him. The reputation of his holy life had spread so much that
people were coming from distant places to listen to and consult with him.
-What did the other robbers do when they learned about
the change in their leader?
-Once some of them came to the desert to rob the holy
ascetics. Four of them, who were old friends of Moses, went to rob his monk's
hut, without imagining whom they would find inside. As they saw him, they
looked literally astonished!
-And what did Moses do, mum?
-He caught them easily, tied them up and led them to
the meeting of the holy ascetics. He asked them there, what they wanted him to
do with them, since he didn’t want to harm humans, nor thieves any more.
-What did they tell him to do?
-They advised him to release them and let them go
unopposed. So he did. However, the robbers didn’t want to leave! They were
stunned by the example of their former leader. They stayed close to him to find
the salvation of their souls and they also became great ascetics.
-It is fantastic, mummy, what happened to this robber!
-It really is fantastic, my child, what our good God
allows every soul who repents for their mistakes and apologizes to our Lord to
become, as the robber Moses did. He became from a great sinner, a great saint,
because Moses is a great saint of the Church, which placed him among the saints
and celebrates his memory on August 28th!
The stairway to
heaven
After mum Sophia’s nice story about the terrible
bandit Moses, who became a great saint by the power of repentance, little
Angela remained very thoughtful for a few minutes. She realized how strong the
word "sorry" is when it is expressed sincerely from a soul. It is so
strong that it makes God himself flood the worst sinner with the grace of His
mercy.
-If repentance, mum, has such a power to turn a very
sinful man into a saint, then everyone has the opportunity to escape from the
power of Satan and become saints!
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-Repentance, my Angela, is the most precious gift
which is given to everyone by our good God after the first created humans’
eviction from Paradise. It is the unique stairway which elevates us from earth
to heaven. Due to this stairway of repentance, all people are now able not only
to save themselves from the traps of Satan but to sanctify themselves as well.
But in order to climb confidently up to heaven with this stairway, you have to
pay attention to two significant things which you have to do faithfully.
-What are these, mum?
-The first is to use the word "sorry".
-If we don’t learn to humbly say sorry every time we
make a mistake, we will never manage to climb the first step of this heavenly
stairway.
-And what is the second one, mum?
-When we apologize, we should never try to make an
excuse for our mistake. An excuse is the base and the power of evil. An
excuse destroys the power of repentance and allows Satan to rule over our soul
again.
-Why is making excuses so bad, mummy?
-Do you remember my Angela, what Adam and Eve did
after their mistake in Paradise? Did they apologize to our good God or begin to
justify themselves?
-Indeed, mum, they didn’t apologize for their sin, but
began to make various excuses. Adam blamed Eve for his mistake and Eve blamed
the serpent.
-Do you know who put all these excuses in their minds
instead of apologizing?
-Satan, mum?
-Exactly, my little girl, Satan not only would not let
them apologize but persuaded them to make silly excuses saying that each one is
innocent and the other is to blame. That’s why our very good God was sad by
their attitude, because their excuses were showing how selfish their soul was.
The excuse of the first created humans was the main
reason that they lost Paradise.
Whoever wants to be close to God, enjoying His sweet
Fatherly love, must learn to apologize humbly for his mistakes and not to
justify them.
-Now I understand why when I make a mistake and I
apologize, you forgive me immediately and embrace me, but when I start to make
excuses and blame our little Joseph for my mistakes you are sad!
-Yes, my baby, I am glad you noticed how sad I am,
when you don’t understand your mistake and you start justifying yourself. Our good God also has the same bad feeling
when He sees us justifying ourselves instead of apologizing immediately for our
mistake. He is sad, because at the time we are justifying ourselves, He sees
Satan tangling us in his satanic nets and we cannot understand that we are
doing his will.
-I didn’t know, my mummy, how wrong making excuses is,
therefore, from now on I will try never to justify myself and not give power to
Satan to make me what he wants.
-Well done, my sweet daughter! That soul who
apologizes for his mistakes in a shameless manner makes everyone love and
respect him; this shows prudence and bravery. The salvation of our soul, my
little girl, passes always through the path of forgiveness, while its destruction
passes always through excuses. Even when it is hard for us to cut out a passion
and a weakness, an excuse for it is dangerous.
-What do you mean, mummy?
-I’ll tell you a story and you will understand.
The boy and the
uncultivated field
Once there was a young boy who was initially living a
bad life with many mistakes and sins. He repented later for all his sins and
asked forgiveness from God. He went to a spiritual father, confessed all his
sins and began living as best as he could according to God’s will. Of course,
despite the spiritual struggle he made, he had many difficulties giving up some
bad habits, which had taken root in him. He was very disappointed and he didn’t
wish any more to continue his spiritual struggle. After justifying to himself,
that it is impossible to continue, he went to his spiritual father to tell him
his decision. Then this wise man said to him:
-What you told me, my child, reminds me of something
that happened to a friend of mine, a farmer. Come and sit here next to me and
I’ll tell you a little story.
The young boy was always listening with interest to
the charming impromptu stories of the wise elder.
-Well, my friend had a field on the edge of the
village which was for years uncultivated and so it was full of thorns and thistles.
After some time he decided to plant it but he had to clear it first. He sent
his older son to do this job.
But, when the boy saw the field full of huge thorns,
he despaired and began making excuses.
-I will never be able to clear this field, he repeated
over and over to himself. How can I uproot so many thorns and thistles?
So, when he had totally convinced himself that it was
impossible to do the job, he lay down under a bush and fell asleep. When he
woke up it was already noon. He looked at the weeds with his sleepy gaze and he
was frustrated. He remained there looking at them until it got dark. The same
thing happened the next day, the third day and all the others. He was yawning,
turning over with laziness and falling asleep, then waking up but he didn’t
decide to work.
-You did nothing for so many days; his father said
angrily when he went and saw that his son hadn’t uprooted at least one thorn.
-I was disappointed, father, when I saw how much work
was waiting for me and I could not make a decision to start, he said.
-If every day, my child, you had cleared as much land
as your height when you lay down, you would have almost finished.
The son, ashamed of his laziness, immediately put into
practice his father’s advice. Soon he found out that it wasn’t impossible to
clear the uncultivated field.
So the wise elder ended his charming lesson and after
giving courage and comfort to the disappointed boy he said:
-Imitate him, my child, and when you come back, tell
me if it is really so difficult to patiently uproot your soul’s passions.
Angela was very excited by her mum’s story and was
determined to cut out all her mistakes and childish weaknesses, with
determination and without excuses.
She realized that the secret of every spiritual
success is the decision of every man to climb the magnificent stairway of
repentance which raises us up to heaven, into the arms of God our Father.
She had also understood very well that if someone
wants to succeed, he must learn in his life to always “apologize” for his
mistakes without excuses.
Mum Sophia was happy for her little daughter and
begged our good God to flood her with the grace of the Holy Spirit and the
infinite love of God’s fatherly heart.