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February 7th (January 25th, old style) is the day of commemoration of the icon of the Mother of God “Assuage my sorrows.”
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Icon of the Mother of God “Assuage My Sorrows”
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The very name of the icon is a prayer to the Mother of God for deliverance from many illnesses and physical and spiritual sorrows. This wondrous icon was found in Moscow, in the church of St. Nicholas across the Moscow river, where it was brought by the Cossacks in 1640. The miraculous power of the icon was first manifested at the end of the 17th century under the following circumstances.
A certain woman of noble parentage, who lived far from Moscow, suffered for a long time from paralysis of her entire body. Possessing many material advantages in life, she did not have the most important - health. She consulted many physicians, but did not receive help from any of them, so that she already lost all hope of getting well. And at this difficult time she heard a voice in her dreams, saying to her: “Order yourself to be taken to Moscow; there, in the church of St. Nicholas, you will find an icon of the Mother of God with the following insciption: ‘Assuage my sorrows’; pray before this icon and you shall be healed.” At these words the icon itself appeared before her.
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The vision ended. Upon waking up, the sick woman ordered herself to be taken to Moscow, which was done. The church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker was finally found and the paralyzed woman carried inside. However, after examining all the icons, the woman did not see among them the icon which had appeared to her in her dream. Then her vision was described to the local priest. He ordered the altar attendants to bring down from the belltower all the old icons of the Holy Virgin which were kept there. Among them was finally found an icon with the insciption “Assuage my sorrows,” covered with a thick layer of dust. But upon seeing it, the sick woman joyfully cried out: - It is She! It is She! After a moleben was served before this icon, the sick woman stood up on her legs without any help and then, shunning all support, left the church on her own. Finally, by the mercy of the Queen of Heaven and by her ardent faith in Her, the sick woman returned home completely well.
The depiction of the icon “Assuage my sorrows” shows the Mother of God with Her left hand placed under Her slightly tilted head, suggesting that the Queen of Heaven listens to the tears and the prayers of all the faithful who appeal to her with their needs, woes and sorrows. With Her right hand the Holy Virgin holds onto the Divine Infant. The Saviour holds in His hands an open scroll before Him, on which the following words are inscribed: “Judge righteously; each show mercy to one another; do not offend widows and orphans, and do not keep malice in your heart towards your brother.”
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