Sin begins with delectation and ends in tragic downfall. Deliverance from the power of sin over us starts with painful repentance but the end is - joyous victory. More than one have I heard people say, "I am ready to accept religion if it will bring me happiness". But they expect happiness from the very outset of their believing, which is not always possible. Yet the same people will put up with all sorts of difficulties to make a base for themselves for their striving after their daily bread, or for some advantage or other. Artists who would prefect themselves in their chosen field have to struggle even harder. Poets, painters, writers and musicians often willingly throughout their lives undergo every sort of deprivation for the wake of their art. So will the man who has been singled out for contact with the heavenly fire be even more prepared to endure all things.
+St. Sophrony (Sakharov), from We Shall See Him as He Is, The Bliss of Knowing the Way
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