Regret vs. Repentance

Fr. Mike talks about how to regret things we’ve done without
staying stuck in the past. Have you ever heard the saying “don’t
regret the past, because it’s made you into the person you are
today?” Maybe you’ve heard something similar to that, and while
there’s truth to this saying, there’s also something that we as
Christians should be aware of. Sometimes we make mistakes. We do
things we wished we hadn’t. Sometimes, we hurt those we love in the
process. We never want to live in the past—burdened by the mistakes
we’ve made—but it’s safe to say that all of us have done things
that didn’t make us the people God wants us to be. There’s a
difference between regret and repentance, and it can be best seen
when comparing St. Peter to Judas. Both men sinned gravely against
the Lord: Peter denying him during the time of his Passion and
Judas delivered him to crucifixion. The difference is, where Peter
regretted his sins and repented, Judas let his sin consume him.
It’s okay to regret the things we’ve done in the past that took us
away from the path of God, but we can’t dwell in this regret.
Instead, we have to do something about it. We have to repent.
Repentance is what gives us the strength to forgive ourselves and
continue striving for the kingdom of Heaven. When we repent, we
surrender ourselves and our mistakes to the Lord, and then he can
use those mistakes to glorify our lives. God can use
everything—even our worst sins—for our path towards eternity.
Nothing given to God is ever wasted.