The Church teaches that the mystery of repentance is the mystery by which man, having decided to renounce the sinful direction of his will, to renounce sin by which he had lived hitherto, asks God to forgive him his past sins, to destroy the sinful ill will within him, and to give him strength to live henceforth according to Christ's law.
In another way, the mystery of repentance is the pain caused by the awareness of decay brought into the world by sin, with the sinner wishing and praying for the remission of his sins committed and praying for liberation, with God's help, from the force of sin within the man.
What is sin? According to the teaching of the Church, sin is man placing his own will above the will of God and above love for fellow men: for man to see himself at the center of the universe, the be-all and end-all. Repentance is the renunciation of this solipsistic egocentrism; it is the desire to annihilate self-seeking, with God's help. The mystery of repentance is at one with Christ's teaching of love and life for others, at one with Christ's glad tidings.
The mystery of repentance--by promising forgiveness in the future--does not encourage anyone to neglect of his salvation in the present. A pious man may sin and tell himself I shall go to the priest, get rid of my sin and sin again. But with what result? This kind of attitude toward a holy mystery is blasphemous. Forgiveness is entirely conditional on the complete transformation of the penitent's life and his resolve to live henceforth according to the law of God. Whoever approaches the confessional without this resolve deprives himself of grace. His sins will not be forgiven.
St. Ephraim of Syria says:There is no repentance for those who bargain with repentance, who hoping for repentance remain in the state of sin. Repentance is of no avail to them. Those who mock are not pleasing to God..
Even if the mystery of repentance could remit sins by the authority of the priest, the penitent is still required to renounce sin. The mystery in no way encourages him to sin further. Confession is not a chat in which the sinner tells his sins and is washed clean through the telling. The repentance is a life-long process. The Church always urges sinners not to put off repentence and not to pave the way to their damnation. Few can truly repent on their deathbed, because the state of mind during the final moments is not at all conducive. The Church sees confession and repentence as no less than the total transformation of a penitent soul.
Archpriest Victor Potapov
March 1986