μέγα τό μυστήριον.

“Christ, we turn our eyes to Thee,
And this mighty mystery!
Habakkuk exclaimed of old,
In the Holy Spirit bold,
‘Thou shalt come in time appointed.
For the help of Thine anointed!'”

Taste of myrrh He deigned to know,
Who redeemed the source of woe:
Now He bids all sickness cease
Through the honey-comb of peace,
And to this world deigns to give
That sweet fruit by which we live.

Patient Lord! with loving eye
Thou invitest Thomas nigh;
Showing of that Wounded Side:
While the world is certified.
How the third day, from the grave,
Jesus Christ arose to save.

Blest, O Didymus, the tongue
Where that first confession hung:
First the Saviour to proclaim,
First the Lord of Life to name:
Such the graces it supplied, —
That dear touch of Jesu’s side!

-ST. JOHN DAMASCENE.