Once a man comes to repentance from his previous sinful life, he forces himself to stay within the divine Law.
And due to his passionate habits, he undergoes great struggles and suffers sharp pains. Then divine grace secretly gives him comfort and joy, mourning, delight, and sweetness from the divine
words he reads, as well as stregnth and boldness in his spiritual struggle. This is called purifying grace which mystically helps the struggling penitent to be purified from his sins and to remain in the state according to nature.
Elder Joseph the Hesychast
