...But really, how in the world would I know why icons weep? No one knows except the Theotokos, and she’s not telling.
All I know is what the weeping icons have done for me:
After seeing the icon at Saint Nicholas, Chicago, I saw that in this very traditional, seemingly stodgy old Orthodox Church there are wonderful things happening. I went home and began to talk publicly about Orthodoxy in my Episcopalian parish, which in time caused me to be kicked out of the Episcopal Church, and then there was nothing to do but try to start an Orthodox mission, and so we did, and here we are 31 years later – Saint Nicholas Orthodox Church, Cedarburg, Wisconsin. Only later did I realize that the weeping icon was at Saint NicholasChurch, Chicago – 1 of our many Saint Nicholas connections.
The icon at Saint George, Cicero, affected me like this: She confirmed to me that God is real, that Christ and his Mother are here with us. Now, when I’m tempted to doubt – I don’t know about you, but I am weak; I doubt – then I think back to what I saw with my own eyes and felt for myself, the miraculous fragrant oil that I had to wipe off my hands, this undeniable material miraculous manifestation of the other World into this world. I cannot doubt that. It made me feel, I think, like the disciples on Pascha night, who “disbelieved for joy” – it seemed too good to be true, but it was! And I say to myself, “Yes, I saw the weeping icon. It’s true!” And my doubt goes away.
Please, read all the article here.
See also
The Life of the Holy Theotokos: Whom the Grave Could Not Contain
Theotokos (tag)
The All-Holy Mother of all the world
Mary and the Temple
The Theotokos as the Throne of God
The Mother of God as "Eye" and "Earth"
When the Orthodox Church celebrates pregnancy...
Icons of the Mother of God
Male and Female Created He Them
The Icon of the Theotokos
About the Dormition of the Theotokos, in five languages
The Hawaiian Myrrh-Streaming Icon of the Mother of God - Orthodox Hymn in Hawaiian
The Service of the Small Paraklesis (Intercessory Prayer) to the Most Holy Theotokos
Protestants ask: Why be Orthodox?
During the time that Luther and Calvin were formulating the Reformation...
The ancient Christian Church - About Orthodox Church in the West World
Travelers on the way to light
Orthodox Saints and the Future of America
LOVERS OF TRUTH: THE LIFE OF HIEROMONK SERAPHIM ROSE
SEEKER OF THE TRUTH - IN MEMORY OF HIEROMONK SERAPHIM (ROSE)
Lover of Truth: St John, The Wonderworker of San Francisco
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