"Today the blameless Virgin saw You, O Word of God, hanging on the Cross, deeply mourning within herself, and bitterly pierced in the heart, she groaned in agony from the depth of her soul. Exhausted by beating on her great, with hair disheveled, she cried out wailing: 'Woe to me! My Divine Son! Woe to me! Light of the world! Why O Lamb of God, have You faded from my eyes?' Wherefore, the legions of the Heavenly Hosts were seized with trembling, crying out: 'O incomprehensible Lord, glory to You.'"
"Seeing You hanging on the Cross O Christ, the God, and Creator of all, Whom as a Virgin she bore, she cried out bitterly: 'O my Son, where has the beauty of Your form vanished? I cannot bear to see You unjustly crucified; hasten therefore and rise up, that I too may behold Your Resurrection from the dead on the third day.'"
~From The APOSTICHA
"May the cross of shame which you mounted for my sake become a bridge to that peaceful abode; may the crown of thorns with which your head was crowned become for me the helmet of salvation on the heated day of battle; may the spit which your face received prepare me to have an open face before the tribunal at your advent; may your holy body which was exposed on the cross crucify me to this world and its lusts by means of love for you; may your clothing, for which lots were cast, tear asunder before my eyes the garment of darkness with which I am inwardly clothed; may the water and blood which came forth from you become for me a document granting liberty from the ancient state of servitude; may your body and your blood which have been mingled with my body remain within me as a pledge that I will not be deprived of the constant sight of you in that realm which has no end; may the mysteries of the faith which I have preserved uncorrupted in myself preserve for me something to glory about on that day when the world is made ready to receive your advent, and may they replace there the inadequacy of my ascetic practice."
~Saint Isaac of Syria
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