André de Crète
v. 660-740 7th century Feast day: July 4
Beginning again, when one no longer knows where to start.
Who was André de Crète?
Born in Damascus under Arab rule, mute until he was seven, he became a monk in Jerusalem at the Holy Sepulchre. Sent to Constantinople, he was a deacon of Hagia Sophia and ran an orphanage and a home for the old, before being made archbishop of Gortyna in Crete. He composed the long song of repentance that the Byzantine churches still sing in Lent, where each verse takes up a figure from Scripture. He died on an island, on his way home.
In their own words
Where shall I begin to weep for the deeds of my poor life? What beginning shall I give, O Christ, to this lament?
Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me.
Come, wretched soul, with your flesh, confess to the Creator of all things; leave behind your past folly and offer God tears of repentance.