friday in bright week: the life-giving spring

one of the many wonderful things about living in eureka springs is, of course, the springs.  so i am particularly pleased that on friday in bright week the icon of the theotokos as the "life-giving spring" is celebrated.
my more or less "official" icon of the mother of god, as a monk, more or less, in the british tradition, more or less, is our lady of glastonbury, surrounded by celtic saints:

that icon has its own little shrine, where i also commemorate the seasons and feasts.

but the icon of the life-giving spring is in my beautiful corner.  here is the story of this icon, as described by st. isaac of syria skete.
"it shows how god is merciful and compassionate towards all men.  once a soldier named leo assisted a blind man who had lost his way.  while looking for water for him, he heard a voice from an unseen person say, 'emperor leo, take water and give it to the thirsty man; then dake some of the slime by it and put it in his eyes.'  to the soldier leo's surprise, a nearby spring gushed out before him.  when he did as the voice commanded him, the blind man received his sight.  this soldier later became the christian east roman or byzantine emperor leo i (457-473).

"when leo became the emperor, he erected a church in honor of the mother of god as this life-giving spring near the 'golden gates' in constantinople, where the spring had come up.  later the church was destroyed by the turks, but in 1835 a new church was built at the same site and consecratd by the ecumenical patriarch constantine.  this spring still flows for the salvation and healing of all who come there to visit mary's son."

the troparion for the feast (third tone):  "as a life-giving fount, thou didst conceive the dew that is transcendent in essence, o virgin maid.  and thou didst pour forth for us the immortal nectar.  and as  ever-flowing streams from thy fountain, thou broughtest forth the water that springeth up unto life everlasting; wherein, taking delight, we all cry out:  rejoice, o life-bearing fount."

and the kontkion (eighth tone):  "from thine un failing fount, o maiden full of grace, thou dost reward me by pouring forth of the unending streams of thy grace that passeth human understanding.  and sinc thou didst bear the word incomprehensibly, i entreat thee to refresh me with thy grace divine, that i may cry to thee:  rejoice, o water of salvation."

and here is a link to a greek hymn for the feast.