St. Romanos on the Flight to Egypt

Nets and snares were fashioned, then,
For the young fawn of the Virgin and Mother of God,
But the trap was broken and the fawn escaped, tearing the snare.
With His mother, like a blameless deer, He fled
Into Egypt, as Micah once said.
O Thou Who art everywhere and Who rulest over all, where dost Thou flee?
Where dost Thou lead? In what city
Shalt Thou make Thy dwelling?
What house will contain Thee, what place will support Thee?
No part of creation anywhere is invisible to Thy sight,
But all things are laid bare to Thee,
Thou art the Maker of All, O Christ.
Why, then, dost Thou flee, Holy One?
Because of Thee, Herod mourns as he weeps
That his power will soon be destroyed.

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion on the Massacre of the Innocents

A time favorable for me

Lo, the day has dawned which I longed to see,
A time favorable for me.
My God is lodged in the house of Simon,
I shall hasten to him and weep, just as Anna did about her sterility. Simon may consider me drunk,
Just as Elias then considered Anna. I shall keep on praying
And saying, `Lord, I do not ask for a child.
I seek my very own soul which I have lost!
O Emmanuel, born of a Virgin,
just as Thou has removed the stigma of sterility when Samuel was born
Of the childless woman, so deliver me, a harlot
From the slime of my deeds.’

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion on the Sinful Woman

The Word upon the dumb

Lo, our King, meek and gentle, seated upon an ass
With haste hurries to suffer and to cut suffering —
The Word upon the dumb, willing it that rational beings be redeemed.
And it was possible to behold the One on the back of the ass
Who is on the shoulders of the Cherubim,
The One Who once translated Elijah in a fiery chariot,
The One Who is poor of His own will, but rich in His nature,
The One Who is voluntarily weak, yet granting power
To all of those who cry out to Him:
“Thou art the blessed One Who comes to call up Adam.”

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion on the Entry into Jerusalem

St. Romanos on the Annunciation

Joseph was amazed as he saw what was supernatural.
He understood, O Virgin, the rain upon the fleece
In thy conception without seed.
And he understood the bush that burned without fire and was unconsumed,
And Aaron’s rod, which blossomed.
Indeed, thy betrothed and guardian cried out to the priests:
“A virgin gives birth, and after the birth remains a virgin.

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion on the Annunciation II

In considering the tomb

In considering the tomb and those in the tomb, we weep,
But we should not; for we do not know whence they have come,
And where they are now, and who has them.
They have come from temporal life, released from its sorrows;
They are at peace, waiting for the receiving of divine light.
The Lover of Man has them in His charge, and He has divested them of their temporal clothing
In order that He may clothe them with an eternal body.
Why, then, do we weep in vain?
Why do we not trust Christ, as He cries:
“He who believes on me shall not perish,
For even if he knows corruption, after that corruption,
He will be resurrected and he will rise up
Saying, ‘Thou art the Life and the Resurrection'”?

St. Romanos the Melodist, On the Raising of Lazarus I

St. Romanos on the Second Coming

How great and of what kind
is 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 joy
And the sinners in dejection and eternal punishment,
They will cry out and show vain penitence.
Would that in the world we might show the fruit of repentance
And find the grace of mercy and forgiveness, O most just Judge.

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion on the Second Coming

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 have been resurrected with Him.
No longer are you my master; but I rule over you.
My pledge of surety is now on high,
But you are trampled on below by those who cry,
`Where, O Death, is your victory, or where your strength?
God has destroyed your strength
Through the Resurrection.’

St. Romanos the Melodist – Kontakion on the Resurrection III

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 mountain
In order that, when they had their minds and sensibilities on the height,
They might forget all lowly things.
And so, when they were led up to the Mount of Olives,
They formed a circle around the Benefactor,
As Luke, one of the initiates, narrates in full.
The Lord, raising His hands like wings–
Just as the eagle covers the nest of young birds which she warms–
Spoke to the nestlings: “I have sheltered you from all evil
Since I loved you and you loved Me.
I am not separated from you;
I am with you, and no one is against you.

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion 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 the Mother of God
And the nurse of our Life.

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion on the Nativity of the 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 taught to fish with the cross;
Formerly, you used a worm as bait;
now I order you to hunt with My flesh.
I alone know what is in the heart.

St. Romanos the Melodist, Kontakion on the Mission of the Apostles