O Christ our God,
Ceaselessly we bow
Before your cross
That gives us life;
And glorify your Resurrection,
Most powerful Lord,
When on that third day
You made anew
The failing nature of mankind,
Showing us revealed
The path to heaven above:
For you alone are good,
The Lover of the Human Race.
St. John Damascene, c. 675 – 749, Syrian monk and priest
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May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
prayer & verse 