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Oh Lord, it is as if I did not know that in Thy eyes both every "idle word" and even the
sinful desire in my heart is a sin.
And how many of these words and desires pile up within me in just one day, not to
mention in a whole year!
Thou alone, Lord, knowest them; grant me to see my transgressions, have mercy on me,
and save me.
Further: I acknowledge as my constant sin the lack of almost any struggle with evil.
As soon as any occasion or provocation appears, I plunge headlong into the pit of sin,
and then, just as soon as I have fallen, I ask myself: what have I done?
A fruitless question, because it does not help me to become better.
And if at this point I feel sorrow, it proceeds from my self-esteem having suffered,
and not from the realization that I have offended Thee, Oh Lord.
I neglect struggling not only with gross evil, but even with the most frivolous and
harmful habit.
I do not know how to master myself and I do not even try.
I have sinned; forgive me!
Furthermore, the sin of irritability, which predominates in me, is not withdrawing from
me in the least.
When I hear a sharp word, I do not reply with good-natured silence but behave like a
heathen: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.
And hostility flares up for trifles and lasts for days and weeks.
I do not think of conciliation, but try to get revenge when an opportunity presents itself.
I have sinned without number, Oh Lord.
Have mercy, forgive me, and calm my heart!
Besides these most grievous sins, my whole life is a chain of sins: I do not value the time
that You have given for gaining eternal salvation.