Icons

Praying With Icons

Once the icon is blessed, it’s ready to be used in prayer. Since we began our introduction to icons with that of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, let’s conclude by preparing to pray before it. Even if you only have a holy-card–sized copy of the icon, you can still use it for your prayer. Perhaps from this time of prayer, our Lady will invite you to obtain a larger copy of her icon and give it a place of honor in your home. 

When praying with a particular icon, it is helpful to know something about the image itself. The original icon of Perpetual Help is written on a walnut panel with a gold leaf background and was probably written in Crete in the fifteenth century. It has been enshrined in the Church of Saint Alphonsus Liguori in Rome since 1499.

In the Orthodox Church, this icon is known as Theotokos (Mother of God) of the Passion. It depicts the Blessed Virgin Mary holding her Son, Jesus Christ. On either side of them the archangels present the instruments of Christ’s passion and death; to the left Michael bears the lance and sponge, and to the right Gabriel carries the cross and nails. The Greek inscriptions read MP-?? (Mother of God); OAM (Archangel Michael); OA? (Archangel Gabriel); and I?-X? (Jesus Christ), respectively.

The Blessed Virgin wears a dress of dark red, representing her humanity, and a blue mantle, signifying that she is clothed in divine grace. A star appears on her mantle at the forehead signifying the indwelling of the Holy Trinity. The child Jesus wears a green tunic representing the life and renewal that he will bring to humankind through his passion and death. His outer garment of gold foreshadows his resurrection while announcing his divinity. One sandal falls from his foot, indicating the fear stirring within him at the sight of the cross and his participation in our humanity. He clings to his mother’s hand for safety and comfort.

While Mary holds her son near to her heart, she looks not at him but outward to those who come before her. She casts her gaze upon us, you and me, and all who come to her. With the hand clasped by her child, she directs our attention to him, and with her other hand, she offers Jesus to us. She invites us to receive God’s great gift of salvation.