“Why have you forsaken Me, O man?
Why have you turned away from the One who loved you?
Why have you joined yourself once more to My enemy?
Remember how I descended from Heaven for your sake.
Remember how for your sake I became flesh.
Remember how for your sake I was born of a Virgin.
Remember how for your sake I became an Infant.
Remember how for your sake I humbled Myself.
Remember how for your sake I became poor.
Remember how for your sake I lived upon the earth.
Remember how for your sake I endured persecution.
Remember how for your sake I accepted slander, insults,
humiliation, wounds, spitting, blows,
mockery, and condemnation.
Remember how for your sake I was numbered
among the lawless.
Remember how for your sake I accepted a dishonorable death.
Remember how for your sake I was buried.
I came down from Heaven in order to raise you up to Heaven.
I humbled Myself in order to exalt you.
I was dishonored in order to glorify you.
I was wounded in order to give you life.
You committed the sin, yet I took that sin upon Myself.
You are the guilty one, yet I was condemned.
You are the debtor, yet I paid the debt.
You were sentenced to death, yet I died for your sake.”
— Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk