One of the most beautiful characteristics of St. Makarios the Great is that he frequently wept when he spoke to others. I imagine he wept out of a love for God and for neighbor and a recognition in turn of his own brokenness and that of others. His tears moved others to repentance. There is great power in tears, because they are a sign of the genuine, whether they be tears of mourning or of joy. And tears, more than anything, move even the most chilled of hearts, to repentance.

To become fully human, then, we must repent, for this is the clarion call of the Gospel: "repent for the kingdom of the heavens is at hand" (Mt. 3:2; 4:17). And repentance does not come without tears. For tears, as St John Climacus says, and the Church has always taught, are the renewal of our baptism. And baptism is a putting on of Christ (Gal. 3:27). And when we put on Christ we are made anew and made to be more fully human.