Patristic Quote for the Day

(Continuing the Anaphora of St. Basil...)

For Thou didst not turn Thyself away forever from Thy creature, whom Thou hast made, O Good One, nor didst Thou forget the work of Thy hands. Through the tender compassion of Thy mercy, Thou didst visit him in various ways; Thou didst send prophets; Thou didst perform mighty works by Thy saints, who in every generation were well-pleasing to Thee; Thou didst speak to us by the mouth of Thy servants the prophets, foretelling to us the salvation which was to come; Thou didst give us the law as a help; thou didst appoint angels as guardians. And when the fullness of time had come, Thou didst speak to us through Thy Son Himself, by whom Thou didst also make the ages; who, being the Radiance of Thy glory and the Image of Thy person, upholding all things by the word of His power, thought it not robbery to be equal to Thee, the God and Father. He was God before the ages, yet He appeared on earth and lived among men, becoming incarnate of a holy Virgin; He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being likened to the body of our lowliness that He might liken us to the image of His glory. For as by man sin entered the world, and by sin death, so it pleased Thine only-begotten Son, who was in the bosom of Thee, the God and Father, who was born of a woman, the holy Theotokos and ever-Virgin Mary, who was born under the law to condemn sin in His flesh, so that those who were dead in Adam might be made alive in Thy Christ Himself.