St. Niphont had the beneficial gift of seeing the spiritual world as clearly and well as we see physical objects. One day he went to church to pray. There the heavens above him opened, the roof of the temple disappeared, and he saw a road which led from the earth to the heavens. On this road angels were carrying the soul of a deceased man, and the demons crowded behind them, calling:
"Why are you taking this soul away from us? Or do you not know that, while living on earth, he was guilty of lewdness, robbery, and avarice? He is guilty of all kinds of sins!"
"We know!" answered the angels. "We know that this soul is very sinful, but we also know that he cried a lot for his sins and, before his death, confessed them. THat is why the merciful and compassionate Lord forgave him all sins."
"But if even this soul has received pardon from God," yelled the demons, "then take to yourselves all sinners. Why are we laboring then?"
"Remember," answered the angels, "that all sinners who confess their sins with a broken heart receive pardon from God. But whoever dies without repenting, him God will condemn to eternal torment with you!"
[From 'The Forgotten Medicine: the Mystery of Repentance' by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev, (c) 1994 (original account found in 'Lives of the Saints' (of St. Dimitry of Rostov)]
Check out the rest of the book 'The Forgotten Medicine: the Mystery of Repentance', by Archimandrite Seraphim Aleksiev!
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