The Holy Prophet said, "Let the four fasts of the year be joy and gladness to Israel." Truly, it is a time for re- pentance. But repentance is a joyous experience, a lifting of burd- ens, an illumination of the heart,. and exper- ience of Paradise. If Great Lent is truly a period of repentance, then how could be other than joy and gladness in the midst of extra temp- tations, a foretaste of Pascha, a sense of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, because true repentance brings all these into the heart of the believer.

Archbishop Lazar Puhalo