Art thou not he that should come? the sons of earth ask the One Born of your Virgin, O my soul.
And the One Born of the Virgin gleams with morning light among the sons of earth, who are dark as extinguished days.
Flaming Seraphim shine in His eyes; most-wise Cherubim sit upon His lips; lordly Thrones uphold His bearing. Seeing Him alone, a leader without an earthly army, every man of understanding believes that this may be the leader of a dread and numberless army of invisible powers.
And behold, surrounded by angelic hosts, your leader, O soul, opens His mouth and answers:
- Verily, I am he whom you await; hope for no other. If you seek the way, I am the Way.
I am your Tomorrow, from today until the end of time. Every good that you await from all the days of tomorrow is in me. Today your tomorrow is fulfilled in me. And not one day, until the last day, will bring you what I bring you. Behold, I am the day without beginning and without end.
I am the treasury of all the future and the way to that treasury. The whole future cannot give you a single grain of good until it borrows from me.
All the prophets pointed the way to me. In me all the prophets' ways end and are lost. From now on I alone am the way, and outside of me is pathlessness. As many streams pour into one river, and in doing so lose their way, so have all the prophets poured into me, and from now on I determine the course of life. Whoever continues still to walk the ways of the prophets will walk ways that do not exist, and will be bruised.
The prophets came to show the way; I have come to be the way.
Whoever would follow me cannot follow me with his feet alone, but with all his soul, and all his heart, and all his mind.
Long is my way, and he who trusts only in his own feet will fall from weariness.
When children wish to walk abreast with giants, they must renounce walking on their own feet, and sit upon the backs of the giants.
Whoever would walk abreast with me must renounce his own feet, and his own soul, and his own heart, and his own mind. Him who renounces all these I will take upon my feet, into my soul, into my heart, into my mind. And he will not be heavy to me, nor I wearisome to him. But he who does not renounce all can neither overtake me on the way nor hold me back.
I am the way, and he who walks my way does not walk alone but with me. The prophets pointed the way — this way, or that way, or yonder — for they themselves were not the way. I cannot point the way — this way, that way, or yonder — nor let any of my own walk without me. Whoever would walk my way, him I will carry upon myself.
Once more I say to you: I am the longed-for tomorrow and the way to tomorrow. Without me you can neither find the way to your longed-for tomorrow, nor live to see it.
O God-bearing Son, have mercy on us and lead us with Thee.