The following reflection from St. Gregory of Nyssa (fourth century):
Today, the darkness begins to grow shorter and the light to lengthen, as the hours of light become fewer. Nor is it an accident ... that this change occurs on this solemn day when divine life is manifested.... Rather, to those who are attentive, nature manifests through visible things a hidden reality.... I seem to hear her saying: “Realize ... as you observe these phenomena, that the invisible is being manifested in you through the visible. You see, do you not, that night has reached its greatest length, and since it can advance no farther, comes to a halt and withdraws?.... Do you see that the beams of light are more intense and the sun higher than it has been? Realize that the true light is now here and, through the rays of the Gospel, is illuminating the whole earth.
