Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Here are portions of a reflection published in a recent bulletin of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest:
“The eight-point star on her forehead represents the Eastern idea that Mary is the star that leads us to Jesus. The letters above her head proclaim her the Mother of God (in Greek).”Information about how to read ikons in general and this ikon in particular can be found at Fish Eaters here.
“Jesus is not looking at us, or at Mary, or at the angels. Though he clings to his mother, he is looking away, at something we cannot see, something that made him run so fast to his mother that one of his sandals has almost fallen off, something that makes him cling to her for protection and love.”
“The figures that hover on either side of Jesus and Mary, the Greek letters above them identify them as Archangels Gabriel and Michael . . . they bear the instruments of Christ’s Passion.”
“On the left, Michael holds an urn filled with the gall that the soldiers offered to Jesus on the cross, the lance that pierced his side, and the reed with the sponge. To the right, Gabriel carries the cross and four nails. Jesus has seen part of his destiny, the suffering and death he will undergo.”
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