"To stand in front of the Weeping Icon is like nothing on earth. There are no words with which I can describe what happens when people encounter the Mother of God in this intimate situation. I cannot even describe my own feelings as I am so touched; and yet, nothing can describe what it is to be caught up into the Heavenly Realm."

*Anonymous Pilgrim to New Sarov

Many lives have been touched and transformed through the Myrrh-Weeping Icon of New Sarov.

Thousands of miracles have been reported and a book of accounts has been written about these and other contemporary miracles entitled, Miracles in the Last Days.

Each person has their own personal experience upon venerating and first "meeting" her. Many people have been changed by her tender plea.

On May 7, 1985, an Icon of the Mother of God was discovered weeping Myrrh by one of the Monks in a small Chapel at Christ of the Hills Monastery. The Monks' first step was to discern if the manifestation was authentic and to immediately notify their ecclesiastical superiors of the event. All attested to the miracle's authenticity.

Next, they began a time of self-examination to discern the message for themselves. Accompanied by prayer and fasting, the individual examination culminated in the general Confession of his life by each Monk to his Spiritual Father. The Monks do not believe that the Mother of God is weeping because she is happy. Rather, they see her tears as a sign of distress over how far we have all gone from Christ. Certainly, the current world situation, and the sad absence of the kind of life Christ calls Christians to lead in His Holy Gospels, are enough to cause our Holy Mother to weep.

They see her call as a call to repentance, prayer, fasting, and change of life -- from a worldly way of living and thinking to a Divine one. Indeed, Christ is continually calling souls to Himself. Our God is thirsty for our love and our worship.

At the same time, great miracles have come as a result of anointing with the Tears of this Icon: cures of cancer, leukemia, blindness, mental illness, and the most precious gift on earth -- the gift of peace of mind -- given to many, many souls.

The Icon wept continuously from May until October, 1985 and continues to weep intermittently even to this day. Often she seems to weep when a soul comes into her presence who particularly needs her healing love. Many have been converted to Christ through her intercession.

Hundreds of thousands of Pilgrims flock to Christ of the Hills Monastery, nestled on a mountain top six miles southwest of Blanco, Texas, and overlooking the Blanco River Valley. There, they find a Monastery of Monks and a Monastery of Nuns next door, where the Monks and Nuns lead a traditional Eastern Orthodox monastic life, never eating meat, often fasting, repenting for their sins, praying over seven hours a day and, many believe, helping keep the world intact by their prayers. These Monastics do a full round of Orthodox Services each day, and the public is welcome to attend the Services. Pilgrims are all received as Christ, and taken to the Churches of the Monastery and to the Chapel of the Myrrh-Weeping Icon. All are anointed with the tears of the Mother of God and are invited to stay for the next Service. The hospitality of the Monks, who lead a very simple, God-centered life, is given to all visitors. All who have experienced it are touched.

Although the Monks follow the ancient Russian Typicon and are part of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, the Divine Services are done entirely in English and the love of the Monks and their humble customs are a refreshing blessing in a time of worldly chaos and uncertain future with economic, social, and political instability all around us.

The Monks keep bees and sell honey and candles, mount icons, and publish religious works which are for sale in the Monastery's bookstore/giftshop.

The Weeping Icon of Our Lady of New Sarov was "written" (painted) in 1983 by a Monk at an Orthodox Monastery in California. It had been commissioned by the Monks at Blanco and was at the Monastery for two years before it began to weep on May 7, 1985. In Orthodox iconography, there are many types and styles of Icons of the Mother of God. The Icon of Our Lady of New Sarov, which has gained so much renown, is the image known as "The Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God."

The original of the Vladimir Icon was, according to tradition, written by Saint Luke the Evangelist. He wrote the Icon on a board from the table in the house of the Holy Family (where Our Lord, His Mother, and the Righteous Joseph had taken their meals). In the year 450, the sacred Icon was taken from Jerusalem to Constantinople and then early in the 12th Century it was taken to the city of Kiev in Ukraine. In the year 1160, Prince Andrei Bogolubsky received a miraculous vision of the Mother of God, in which she commanded him to transfer her Icon from Kiev to the city of Vladimir, from which the Icon gets its name. Many miracles throughout the ages have been attributed to the Vladimir Icon of the Mother of God and the holy image has been reproduced many, many times.

The "Theotokos", as the Mother of God and Ever-Virgin Mary is referred to by the Orthodox, has been a source of pilgrimage not only for Orthodox Christians, but also for Pilgrims from all walks of life, of all ages, and of all faiths, who have made a point of visiting and re-visiting the humble Christ of the Hills Monastery in Blanco, Texas to view this miraculous sign.

Pilgrims come for a variety of reasons. Some come out of curiosity. Others come looking for "miracles" in their own lives. Still others come merely to pray before the Icon of the Mother of God. Groups from all over North America and throughout the world have come to share in the wonders of this miraculous sign. At times, the crowds are overwhelming, and yet the Monks and Nuns continue to receive all who come with the love of Christ.

In the words of the founder of Christ of the Hills Monastery, "We know we are not worthy to have the spiritual treasure which has been entrusted to our care. However, we are profoundly aware of our deep responsibility to share it with all who come in faith. The Mother of God calls all people to her Son. The Mother of God calls all to repentance, fasting, prayer, and an other-worldly way of living. Like Saint John the Baptist, her cry is 'Make straight the way of the Lord, Christ is coming again.'"

Feast: 24th of April, Julian (7th May N.S.)

TROPARION......................................................................TONE 1

From thy Holy heavenly scented Myrrh Weeping Icon, O Most Pure Virgin Mother of God / repentance and succor pour forth abundantly / upon all who approach thee with faith and love, / likewise visit also mine unworthiness / have mercy on my soul, O Good One / and deliver me from all danger by thy grace, O thou Most Pure.
Glory ... both now ...

KONTAKION.....................................................................TONE 1

Rejoice Mary, Ever-Virgin Mother of God, full of grace, holier than the Saints. / Rejoice, more glorious than the Cherubim, honoured above the Seraphim. / Rejoice, most lovely garden of Christ our God, / breathing for him the sweet scent of the lily / and streaming forth the golden myrrh, / for the healing of our bodies and souls.

From the holy Myrrh Weeping Icon, O Most pure Virgin / healing and succor pour forth abundantly, upon all who approach thee with faith and love. / Therefore, by thy prayer to Christ thy son and our God, / deliver those who extoll thee from every danger and anguish of spirit. / Reveal thyself as solace to pilgrims and to those without home or protection, / stretch forth thy hand to guide the helm of the Church, / clothe priest with righteousness and the joy of a pure and true faith, / that with exultation we may cry out: Rejoice, full of grace, the Lord is with thee!