Anecdotes about the Virgin Mary

"The Virgin of Smolensk before the army, on the eve of Borodino"

Borodino (Russia)

La Mother of God of Smolensk es otro de los grandes iconos marianos de Rusia, cercano también al tipo Hodigitria, «la que muestra el camino». Está unido a la ciudad de Smolenskon the western road to Moscow, and from ancient times it is venerated as protection against invasions. His feast and veneration are well rooted in the calendar and the mercy of the people, who felt it especially his in the hours of danger to the homeland.

En 1812Napoleon invaded Russia with the Great Armée. The 7 September 1812 was released near Moscow the Battle of Borodinoone of the most bloody clashes of the whole time, among the Russian army in command of the marshal Mijail Kutúzov and the French troops. The battle, the command of Kutuzov and the terrible magnitude of that day are historical facts well documented.

Russian tradition recalls that, on the eve of the battle, it took away Smolensk's icon in procession before the armyand that the soldiers fell down asking for the protection of the Mother of God before entering into combat. It is a moving and very widespread scene in devotional and iconographic literature. We must honestly say that the concrete procession with Smolensk icon before Borodino belongs to the religious-patriótic Russian; a primary source that accurately details no consta between the verifiable. What is strongly transmitted is that Marian icons were held by protectors in those campaigns: the same tradition reminds Kutuzov in prayer before the Kazan icon.

Beyond the exact data, there is the image of an entire army kneeling before the Mother before the toughest hour. They did not first seek the strength of the weapons, but the closeness of who it is. Mother of God And our mother. This is what we do when we pray the Rosary on our own difficult days: to kneel, to look at Mary, and to enter into the battle of every day knowing that she is going forward, showing us the way to her Son.