This Icon is of the "Elousa" type, known in English as the Virgin of Tenderness in traditional iconography. If you carefully look at Her gown and the gown worn by Baby Jesus you can see it is covered with copihue flowers. Copihue flowers are sacred to the Mapuche people in the Arauco region in the south of Chile where I come from, and where this Icon is dispalyed at a local parish in the village of Patagual, near Concepcion, Chile. This Icon was painted over a 6 month span in the years 1999 - 2000.
Prayer to the Most Precious Flower
Oh glorious Holy Mother Mary,
Mother of all the people of the earth,
We present you with the flowers of our wounded souls
That may not be the most precious
Neither the most perfect,
But a present of love,
We bring them to your altar
And prostrate them at your feet,
In the hope that because we have given then to you
They will never fade.
We bring them in humility and in trust
With contrite hearts and minds,
Help us to make them grow,
Transform them so they can be like you
The most perfect flower of all.
Oración a la Flor mas Hermosa
Oh Gloriosa y Santa Madre Maria,
Madre de toda la gente de la tierra,
te presentamos las flores de nuestras heridas almas
que quisas no son las mas preciosas,
ni las mas perfectas
pero si un regalo de amor,
Las traemos a tu altar
y las postramos a tus pies
en la esperanza de que porque te las hemos regalado
ellas nunca moririan.
Las tremos en humildad y en confianza
con el corazon y la mente contritos,
ayudanos a hacerlas crecer
transformalas para que puedan ser como Tu,
la flor mas perfecta.
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