Bright Sadness

Fr. Alexander Schmemman calls Lent the “bright sadness,” an expression that attests to the tenor and labor of the season. “As we begin it,” he writes, “as we make the first step into the ‘bright sadness’ of Lent, we see — far, far away — the destination. It is the joy of Easter, it is the entrance into the glory of the Kingdom. And it is this vision, the foretaste of Easter, that makes Lent’s sadness bright and our lenten effort a ‘spiritual spring.’” http://blog.eighthdaybooks.com/?p=433

The night may be dark and long, but all along the way a mysterious and radiant dawn seems to shine on the horizon. “Do not deprive us of our expectation, O Lover of man!”

-Fr. Alexander Schmemann