Thou art the good Shepherd; seek me, Thy lamb, and neglect not me who have gone astray. [John 10:11-14]
Thou art my sweet Jesus, Thou art my Creator; in Thee, O Savior, I shall be justified.
I confess to Thee, O Savior, I have sinned, I have sinned against Thee, but absolve and forgive me in Thy compassion.
+ The Great Canon of St. Andrew of Crete, Mon 3.5-7
Text of the Canon
“You came into the world to save sinners; therefore You came to save Me also? You came to find and to save him who was lost; therefore You came to seek me too, for I am one of the lost. O Lord, O my God and Creator! I should have come to You as a transgressor of Your law. I should have fallen at Your feet, cast myself down before You, humbly begging forgiveness, pleading with You and craving Your mercy. But You Yourself have come to me, wretched and good-for-nothing servant that I am; my Lord has come to me, His enemy and apostate; my Master has come and has bestowed his love of mankind upon me. Listen my soul: God has come to us.”
— St. Tikhon of Zadonsk, A Treasury of Russian Spirituality
