386- Crime in the Heart and the Mind

Commenting on the wise Solomon’s words,

“A man burdened with bloodshed will flee into a pit;

Let no one help him”

(Prov. 28.17).

An author wrote that a man who commits an awful crime lives always in fear. A policeman told him that the clues of some crimes could not be found for years. Suddenly, the one who committed a crime would confess it.

Then, I remembered the following incident:

In 1971, a man, who was almost breaking down, called me while I was in Los Angeles. He asked me to go to him immediately. Actually, I hurried to him. He met me alone in the airport and said to me secretly, “I noticed that my wife whom I love much was so depressed. She didn’t sleep for days and I couldn’t know the reason. Once during the night, she woke me up saying, ‘Wake up. I want to confess about something. I tried for years to hide my crime; yet, my conscience tormented me. However, I couldn’t sleep that week. I confess ... My son isn’t yours. Divorce me or kill me. No one would blame you.’”

He lived for days struggling with himself, as he could not live with a wife who betrayed him while he was always faithful with God and her. During that period, he used to call me everyday until he was comforted by her repentance and tears not fearing him but for fearing God. Therefore, their marital peaceful life was restored through her true repentance.

→ English translation of the story here at St-Takla.org: جريمة في الفكر وفي القلب.

Cover me with Your Honorable Blood

+ Lord, grant me to confess my sins before You,

And cover me with Your Honorable Blood.

+ If I hid my sins from people,

They would remain in my heart and mind.

May I confess them before You,

And with humility, I confess them before my father confessor in Your presence.

Your Holy Spirit will then work in me.

Wash me of my sins.

The Young Man and His Girlfriend

Short Stories (Stories for the Youth) Books by Father Tadros Yacoub Malaty

The Wasp and the Sparrow