DP 121
Many
people think
that simply believing what the church teaches
purifies a person of his evils.
Others believe that doing good is what purifies;
others, that it is knowing, speaking and teaching
such matters as have to do with the church;
others, that it is reading the Word and books of piety;
others, that it is going often to church,
hearing sermons,
and especially partaking of the Holy Supper;
others, that it is renouncing the world
and pursuing a life of piety;
others, that it is confessing oneself guilty of all sins;
and so on.
None of these, however, purifies a
person at all
unless he examines himself,
sees his sins,
acknowledges them,
condemns himself on account of them,
and repents by desisting from them.
Moreover, all of this he must do as though of himself,
and yet with an acknowledgment at heart
that he does so from the Lord.
. . . But when people's evils have been put away,
then the aforementioned undertakings
become ones of their love,
and they appear to angels in heaven
as handsome human beings,
and as the angels' partners and comrades.
DP 122
It should be rightly known, however,
that a person ready to repent
ought to look to the Lord alone.
If he looks only to God the Father,
he cannot be purified.
Nor if he looks to the Father for the sake of the Son.
Nor if he looks to the Son as simply a man.
For there is one God,
and that God is the Lord,
inasmuch as His Divinity and Humanity
constitute one person . . ..
In order that everyone ready to
repent
might look to the Lord alone,
the Lord instituted the
Holy Supper,
which confirms the remission of sins
in people who
repent.
It confirms this,
because in that Supper or Communion
everyone is kept looking to the Lord alone.
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