The Icon Corner of the Koerber Family

 

iconCornerOur corner contains three icons. The first one is that which I purchased back in the early 1990’s as a gift to my dear wife. I had received a small inheritance from my grandmother on my mother’s side, and I used those funds to ascertain this wonderful work. It was written by Ben Kostadinov which he originally brought to my music studio as we both were taking part in the Marian Conference of Baltimore at that time. I had composed an Ave Maria which became the conference hymn and was sung each day at the opening session. This particular icon bears the title, “Virgin Mary Directress”. The Holy Virgin gestures to her Divine Son, directing our attention and adoration to Him. As you can see, she not only directs our attention to him as the child, but also to His destiny on the cross which is placed to the right of Our Lady.

The second icon is that of Saint Ceclia written by Britta Prinzivalli and was a gift to my wife and I from our son Matthew. Of course St. Cecilia is very well known as the patron saint of musicians. Therefore, she holds a very special place in our life since I am dedicated to sacred music in the Latin tradition.

The final icon that holds the center place is a crucifix that we inherited from our good friend and priest who is now deceased, Fr. Blair Paul Raum. Requiescant in pace.

As we move toward the future of praising God together let us take a moment to pray these simple prayers to our intercessors.

Prayer to the Theotokos

To the Theotokos, let us run now most fervently,
As sinners and lowly ones,
Let us fall down in repentance,
Crying from the depths of our soul:
Lady, come and help us,
Have compassion upon us;
Hasten now for we are lost
In the host of our errors;
Do not turn your servants away,
For you alone are a hope to us.

Glory to the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen.

O Theotokos, we shall never be silent.
Of your mighty acts, all we the unworthy;
Had you not stood to intercede for us
Who would have delivered us,
From the numerous perils?
Who would have preserved us all
Until now with our freedom?
O Lady, we shall not depart from you;
For you always save your servants,
From all tribulation.

Prayer to St. Cecilia

O glorious saint, who chose to die instead of denying your King
We pray you please to help us as His fair praise we sing.
We lift our hearts in joyous song to honor Him this way.
And while we sing, remembering, to sing is to doubly pray.

At once in our hearts and in our tongues
We offer double prayer sent heavenward
On winged notes to praise God dwelling there.
While in our hearts and tongues
We try with song to praise God twice
We ask dear saint, to help us be united close to Christ!

Amen.

Prayer to the Crucified Christ

Behold, O kind and most sweet Jesus
I cast myself on my knees in Your sight
And with the most fervent desire of my soul
I pray and beseech You
That You would impress upon my heart
Lively sentiments of faith, hope, and charity
With true repentance for my sins
And a firm desire of amendment
While with deep affection and grief of soul
I ponder within myself and mentally contemplate
Your five most precious Wounds;
Having before my eyes that which David spoke in prophecy:
“They pierced My hands and My feet;
they have numbered all My bones.”