The Myrrh-Streaming Icon (II)

Jose Munoz asked whether he could buy this icon, which had so much impressed him, but was told repeatedly that it was the first icon to have been painted at this skete and was not for sale. The Virgin was like the patroness of the studio. That night at divine service, during the singing of the angelic hymn “Axion estin” to the Theotokos, Jose fell to his knees and prayed to the Mother of God. Peace came back to his soul. At dawn, as Jose and his friend were about to depart, the abbot came to them holding the icon. During the night he had received an interior order. He said, “This icon will be a sign in the west.” The icon was not for sale, it was an offering, a grace. However, Jose Munoz felt the urge to go back into the Iveron monastery and ask to touch his icon to the original wonder-working Iveron icon. In this religion of the people, in a carnal world where the magic of love reigns, an icon is venerated by kissing it, posing one’s cheek against it for a moment. So Jose, in this same manner, placed his copy up close to its model as if he were hoping to capture some of its force through simple contact.