Kolokotronis "Crushing" is exactly the right word!
And I though I was the only one feeling that in each Divine Liturgy. What is even more devastating is that no matter how much one feels repulsed by his or her own actions and choices whereby we betray Christ daily, we find it difficult not to repeat it. The feeling of weakness of one's faith becomes that much more obvious and "crushing."
"What is even more devastating is that no matter how much one feels repulsed by his or her own actions and choices whereby we betray Christ daily, we find it difficult not to repeat it. The feeling of weakness of one's faith becomes that much more obvious and "crushing.""
We of course do continue to repeat those sins. It's all there in St. Paul, and the whole thing is very tedious, as sin always is. And on the other hand, that crushing experience of the realization of our need to repent is just as often swept away by the sense of joy and lightness when we pray, confess, and commune.
We are crushed for short periods of time by these realizations of the need for repentance, but we are overwhelmed by the experience of God's limitless mercy, which is, of course, the final word on the subject for all of us who turn our face toward Him.