"What the power of spring customarily does to the earth's nature, this grace also does to the soul through purity. The power of springtime causes even the delicate roots that grow in the valleys to sprout, warming the earth as a fire does a cauldron, so that it sends forth the treasures of verdure that God has planted in the earth's nature to gladden creation and for His own glory. In like manner grace causes the manifest blossoming of all the splendor that God has concealed in the soul's nature, and it shows this to her and causes her to rejoice in its beauty." -St. Isaac the Syrian
