A LAMENT FOR SIN
(abridged)
by Saint Basil the Great
God knows what is in my heart so I must be genuinely sorry for my sins, voluntary and involuntary, conscious and unconscious, great and little, committed by word and deed, in thought and intention, day and night, at every hour and minute of my life.
I am prideful and ambitious.
I am guilty of excessive self-love.
I boast about myself and my accomplishments.
I have fits of anger, irritation, excessive shouting, quarreling and, silently speaking to myself, I curse others.
I indulged in impure thoughts.
I am too often guilty of idle talk.
I mock others.
I overindulge myself with things that do not please God.
I am lazy about work I don't like to do.
I am guilty of negligence.
I am absent-minded, irresponsible and inattentive.
I love sleep.
I lack concentration in prayer and in Church.
I am ashamed over my lack of faith, my doubting, my coldness, my indifference, my weakness in what concerns the Holy Orthodox Faith.
I am cunning and hope to avoid services.
I must always confess completely, I must not hide any sin and I must be truly sorry, repenting for my sins.
I will have nothing to say but only my actions in this life can speak for me as I stand before the King and His fearful seat of judgment.
I pray the angels and my guardian angel be my voice and defend me against the servants of the Devil who will accuse me of my sins in front of God.
How often have I been proud and vainglorious and boasted of good qualities that I attribute to myself instead of God.
How many times have I lied, deceived, been cunning or flattered, or been insincere and deceptive; how often have I been angry, intolerant and mean!
How many times have I ridiculed the sins of others.
How often have I spoke without weighing my words, ignorantly and senselessly.
How often have I entered the House of God without fear and trembling, stood there in prayer, frivolous and absent-minded, and left it in the same spirit and disposition!
In prayer at home I have been just as cold and indifferent, praying little, lazily, and indolently, inattentively and impiously, and even completely omitting the appointed prayers!
How many hours have I spent in frivolous talk and speech, in chatter, gossip and in criticizing others.
I have fits of anger, irritation, excessive shouting, quarreling and, silently speaking to myself, I curse others.
I indulged in impure thoughts.
I am too often guilty of idle talk.
I mock others.
I overindulge myself with things that do not please God.
I am lazy about work I don't like to do.
I am guilty of negligence.
I am absent-minded, irresponsible and inattentive.
I love sleep.
I lack concentration in prayer and in Church.
I am ashamed over my lack of faith, my doubting, my coldness, my indifference, my weakness in what concerns the Holy Orthodox Faith.
I am cunning and hope to avoid services.
I must always confess completely, I must not hide any sin and I must be truly sorry, repenting for my sins.
I will have nothing to say but only my actions in this life can speak for me as I stand before the King and His fearful seat of judgment.
I pray the angels and my guardian angel be my voice and defend me against the servants of the Devil who will accuse me of my sins in front of God.
How often have I been proud and vainglorious and boasted of good qualities that I attribute to myself instead of God.
How many times have I lied, deceived, been cunning or flattered, or been insincere and deceptive; how often have I been angry, intolerant and mean!
How many times have I ridiculed the sins of others.
How often have I spoke without weighing my words, ignorantly and senselessly.
How often have I entered the House of God without fear and trembling, stood there in prayer, frivolous and absent-minded, and left it in the same spirit and disposition!
In prayer at home I have been just as cold and indifferent, praying little, lazily, and indolently, inattentively and impiously, and even completely omitting the appointed prayers!
How many hours have I spent in frivolous talk and speech, in chatter, gossip and in criticizing others.
What shall I answer to the Lord God for every hour and every minute of lost time?
How many times have I lost heart and despaired of my salvation and of God's mercy.
How is it that my eyes are not streaming with constant tears?.. If only my tears flowed from the cradle to the grave, at every hour and every minute of my life! Who will now cool my head with water and fill the well of my tears and help me weep over my sins?
How many times have I lost heart and despaired of my salvation and of God's mercy.
How is it that my eyes are not streaming with constant tears?.. If only my tears flowed from the cradle to the grave, at every hour and every minute of my life! Who will now cool my head with water and fill the well of my tears and help me weep over my sins?
Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
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