But Christ seeing His mother saying, "Grant me this request," At once said to her: "What do you wish, woman, my hour has not come." Certain men made use of this saying as a pretext for impiety; They said that Christ, submitted to necessity, They said that He was a slave to periods of time. … "Now answer, my child," said the all-holy mother of Christ,…

"At the time when I brought forward Heavens and the Earth and all things from a state of nonexistence, I would have been quite able at that time to arrange in order at once all that I had produced; But I introduced a certain well-regulated order. Creation was accomplished in six days— Not that I did not have the power, But in order that the chorus of…

When Christ, as a sign of His power, clearly changed the water into wine All the crowd rejoiced, for they considered the taste marvelous. Now we all partake at the banquet in the church For Christ's blood is changed into wine And we drink it with holy joy, Praising the great bridegroom, For he is the true bridegroom, the Son of Mary, The Word before all…

Like a lion they roared to seize The life of the lamb, Christ. Pilate, fulfilling their plan, Flogged you, the meek One. So he set to work on your back.… The Redeemer endured the whip. The Deliverer was in chains, Stripped and stretched out on a pillar, He who in a pillar of cloud Previously spoke to Moses and Aaron. He who laid the pillars of the earth,…

But when the Merciful One was near the spring, … Then the woman of Samaria, coming from her native village, Sichar, arrived, and she had her urn on her shoulders; And who would not call blessed the arrival and departure of this woman? For she departed in filth; she entered into the figure of the church as blameless; She departed, and she drew out life…

"Crucify!" the murderer heard the impious crying out, And their will he fulfilled, Handing over, without being compelled to, The One whom he planned to have crucified. For having heard that he would be an enemy of Caesar, The coward was frightened. He would rather be the enemy of the Almighty Than the enemy of Caesar, Preferring his life over the Life.…

"In you, Abraham, I foreshadow my plans, For indeed, O righteous one, You are clearly my figure in relief. Do you want to know what is to come after you as a result of your [actions]? For this is why I had you ascend here, to show you. For just as you did not spare Your son on account of me, So also I on account of all Will not spare my son; Instead I…

O Good Shepherd, you who have placed his Spirit among the flocks, Hurry, save your sheep, O Holy One. Forgetful of the fearful waves And transformed by the remark of the maiden, Peter said, "Christ, God, when I was sinking into the depths of the surging wave, I was deservedly frightened. And yet, when asked a simple question, In my denial, I begin to…

Let us all, with longing, run to Bethany to see Christ there, weeping for his friend. For desiring all things to be ordained by law, He accomplishes all things in the duality of his nature. He suffers as son of David. As Son of God, he redeems the whole world From all the evil of the serpent, And on the fourth day, he raises up Lazarus, Taking pity as the…

When they heard these words, the young people Laughed at the great vanity of the king. However, lest he consider himself to be very wise, The wise youths raised their eyes and said: "O Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, We have no need to talk this over with them, For no one answers you if you say foolish things, For thus it is written in the Scripture: 'Do…

The Thunderer stood voiceless The Word, without a word; For if he had raised his voice He would not have been overcome, And, victorious, he would not have been crucified, and Adam would not have been saved: Therefore, in order that he might suffer He who captures the wise Conquered by keeping silent. But when the judge saw that he did not speak out,…

"In spite of myself, then, I revere the God of the Hebrews, And I command all the people in my land to join in praising him. 'Come, then, holy children, come forth from the furnace, For I am convinced that your God is in truth God.' " (Nebuchadnezzar) These things happened in Babylon as the Scriptures says, At a time when those who had provoked God's…