It’s not possible to say “I’m fasting” when you don’t enjoy fasting.
It’s not possible to say “I love the poor and I give him alms”, since when you give him alms, your heart doesn’t feel any joy.
When you have joy, then anything is true. Thus your connection with God and your estrangement from the world, everything depends on your joy.
Archimandrite Emilianos from Simonopetra
