Nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest

[II Cor. 8:1-5; Luke 8:16-21] Nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Therefore, no matter how much we hide of our bad deeds, a record of them is made in­ dependently of us, which in its time will be presented. What is the parchment on which this record is written? Our conscience. We some­ times force it to be silent — and it is silent. But although it is silent, it does its work, keeps a most precise chronicle of our deeds. What is one to do if many bad things are written there? One must wipe out what is written there. With what? With tears of repentance. These tears will wash away everything and not a single trace will remain of these bad things written. If we do not wash them away, then at the judgement we ourselves will have to read ev­ erything written. But since then the truth will reign in our conscious­ ness, we ourselves will pronounce our judgement, and the Lord will confirm it. Then there will be a deci­ sion which cannot be appealed, be­ cause each person will condemn himself, and will have nothing to do with anyone else. All of this will oc­ cur in the twinkling of an eye: you will look and see what you are. You will immediately hear from the Lord, Who is omnipresent, a confir­ mation of the judgement; and then it will be the end of everything…

Saint Theophan the Recluse