Column: Way of the Icon
For the past few weeks you have been looking at the iconic image of Christ in its beauty, and you have considered the words of St. John of Kronstadt which point out Who this is and how He looks at you….
What do you see when you look at Him?
This week, the image …the prayer….will be there, the same as in the previous weeks, but now I ask you:
How do you gaze upon this icon of the Face of Christ?
What do you say about it in your thoughts…?
What does it cause you to realize, or to think about?
What will your response be?
Sit quietly… in silence… and be attentive to the beauty of His face.
As you notice the large, open eyes, the fine nose, and the small mouth, what does it say or mean to you?
I have offered you some insights about the image…But today I invite you to write the mediation about this face, this icon of Christ. What does it say to you…evoke in you…?
How does it speak to your heart and to your soul?!
After awhile, write down your response and keep it in a safe place until Holy Thursday. Perhaps keep it in a personal journal.
Recall the words of St. John of Kronstadt:
You gaze upon the icon of the Saviour and see that he looks at you from it with brightest eyes:
This look is the image of how He actually looks upon you with His eyes, that are brighter than the sun, and sees all your thoughts, hears all your heartfelt distress and sighs.
The image is an image, and represents in lines and signs that which cannot be delineated, cannot be given in signs, and can be comprehended by faith alone.
Believe, then, that Saviour always protects you and sees each one of you—with all your thoughts, sorrows and sighing, in all your circumstances, as upon the palm of the hand…
Therefore pray before the icon of the Saviour as before Himself.
The Lover of man is present in it by His grace, and with the eyes depicted in it really looks at you… while with his ears as represented on the icon, He hears you.
But remember that his eyes are the eyes of God, and his ears are the ears of the omnipresent God.
—St. John of Kronstadt
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Matthia Langone, D. Min., is a Vancouver-based artist and iconographer whose work has been exhibited in Canada, Rome, Portugal, and in private collections. She also serves... MORE »
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