Repentance Must be Joined to Thanksgiving

“Compunction without thanksgiving would be despair, sorrow that was not godly, while repentance without thanksgiving would be a presumptuous illusion”. St. Mark the Ascetic

Translation from Penthos: The Doctrine of Compunction in the Christian East

Let us not forget that our repentance is not simply a deep sorrow. Sorrow without thanksgiving does not open us back up to God Who is the One we seek in repentance. Compunction must be joined to thanksgiving or else we risk falling simply into sorrow. Likewise repentance must itself be joined to thanksgiving or else we are kidding ourselves, not yet having begun the painful (and yet joyous) process of presenting our wounds to the Physician that He might heal them.