"It is remarkable that this grace-given awakening is always accompanied by a startling and by some kind of fright. This startling and fear occur perhaps because of the suddenness of the awakening. This awakening is like grabbing a sinner at the crossroads of life as if he were a criminal, and placing him before the inexorable judgment of God. Or this startling may take place because the new order which is being revealed to his consciousness is so absolutely new for him and so strikingly opposed to his former order. And this new order is not only new, it is also perfect in all its parts and bliss-giving."
- St. Theophan the Recluse, Turning the Heart to God, p.19 (published separately, this is the second part of The Path to Salvation).