The Parable of the ten virgins, who await the coming of the bridegroom and have gone out to meet him, is found in the Evangelist Matthew. However, certain details have parallels also in the Apostle Luke (St. Luke 13:25).

Behold the Bridegroom cometh in the midst of the night, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching; and again unworthy is he whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore, O my soul, lest thou be borne down with sleep, lest thou be given up to death, and lest thou be shut out from the Kingdom. Wherefore rouse thyself and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, our God, through the procession of the Heavenly Hosts save us.

Behold the Bridegroom cometh in the midst of the night, and blessed is the servant whom He shall find watching; and again unworthy is he whom He shall find heedless. Beware, therefore O my soul, lest thou be borne down with sleep, lest thou be given up to death, and lest thou be shut out from the Kingdom. Wherefore rouse thyself and cry: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou, our God, Through the protection of the Heavenly Hosts save us.

A word must be said about "general" confession, as distinct from a face-to-face confession between penitent and priest. General confession, in certain circumstances, could be a living model of repentance as a communal act, involving the whole body of the Church and as such manifesting the very essence of confession, involving intimate self-examination on the part of the penitent and possible guidance on the part of the confessor. Altogether, the function of the priest should not be ignored or minimized. "All who have experienced the blessing of having as their confessor one imbued with the grace of true spiritual fatherhood," writes His Eminence Kallistos Ware, "will testify to the importance of the priest's role. Nor is his function simply to give advice.

Great and Holy Week is practically here. It is a unique opportunity for every Orthodox Christian family to strengthen and renew its spiritual commitment to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. There is no better time to experience and share the suffering, pain, sacrifice on the Cross, the entombment, and the glorious Resurrection of the God-man, Christ.

A Christian, at any rate an Orthodox Christian, views repentance as a dynamic act of responsibility to God, but also to other men. It is not pining away in narcissistic self-reflection, even while implying self-knowledge and self-examination. Sin itself is a relational act--a break in the "I-Thou" relationship. It concerns my relationship with another person. When the prodigal son "came to himself" in the Gospel Parable (St. Luke 15), he did so in relation to his father. "I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven and before you'" (v. 18).