How great and of what kindis the mourning of the condemned in the hour of judgment(And indeed I have been set down as chief of the condemned).When they see the Judge seated, fearful and exalted on His throne,And when they behold the lines of the righteous and the saints shining in joyAnd the sinners inContinue reading “St. Romanos on the Second Coming”
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He has lifted me to the heavens
He has lifted me to the Heavens; you He has put to flight;For the rest of time I share the throne, I am no longer subject to you.He took my body that He might make it new;He will make it immortal and cause it to share His throne.I shall reign with Him, for I haveContinue reading “He has lifted me to the heavens”
St. Romanos on the Ascension
He Who descended to earth, as He alone knew how,Rising up from it (again as He knew how),He took the ones whom He loved, and gathering them together,He led them to a high mountainIn order that, when they had their minds and sensibilities on the height,They might forget all lowly things.And so, when they wereContinue reading “St. Romanos on the Ascension”
St. Romanos on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Did not the faithful Sarah, long ago,before her son Isaac was born,desire to give birth, even though she was sterile?She received the Lord in human form, along with two archangels;And His word to her on this occasion was:“You, Sarah, will have a child,”Now, rejoicing, she cries to the world:The barren woman gives birth to theContinue reading “St. Romanos on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary”
St. Romanos on St. Andrew
Be strong in Me;and you, too, Andrew;just as you were the first to find Me, you were found by me;so find the one who has wandered;Do not forget your first skill;from it I shall educate you for this new art.Formerly, naked into the deep sea, now naked into life;Formerly, hunting with a fishing-rod, now taughtContinue reading “St. Romanos on St. Andrew”
Let us now gaze on Christ crucified
That we may be healed from sin, let us now gaze on Christ crucified; for as Moses, says He, lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believes in Him may not perish, but have everlasting life. Just as they who looked on that serpent perished not by the serpent’s bites, so they who lookContinue reading “Let us now gaze on Christ crucified”
The Tree of my eternal salvation
This cross is the tree of my eternal salvation, nourishing and delighting me. I take root in its roots, I am extended in its branches, I am delighted by its dews, I am fertilized by its spirit as by a delightful breeze. In my tent I am shaded by its shade, and fleeing the excessiveContinue reading “The Tree of my eternal salvation”
A Holy Trunk
The Devil speaks:Now then, Hades, mourn and I join in unison with you in wailing.Let us lament as we see the tree which we plantedChanged into a holy trunk.Robbers, murderers, tax gatherers, harlots,Rest beneath it, and make nestsIn its branches in order that they might gatherThe fruit of sweetness from theContinue reading “A Holy Trunk”
A child at the Easter Vigil
When I was a child, the Easter Vigil was a profound event for me. I didn’t know what was going on, but I did know they were doing everything I liked. They were playing with fire. They were playing with water. They were singing things I didn’t understand. He was blowing on the water! HeContinue reading “A child at the Easter Vigil”
Three Days
For three days Esther fasted and Judith kept vigil, the exiles came home to Jerusalem and the Hebrews marched to the waters of Marah. For three days darkness afflicted the Egyptians, Hezekiah lay mortally ill, Jonah was entombed in the belly of a fish, and Paul waited in blindness. On the third day Abraham offeredContinue reading “Three Days”
Locus Communis 