no, there's not enough love to go 'round...

                               sympathy...

Now when you climb into your bed tonight
And when you lock and bolt the door
Just think of those out in the cold and dark
'cause there's not enough love to go 'round.

And sympathy is what we need my friend
and sympathy is what we need.
And sympathy is what we need my friend,
'cause there's not enough love to go 'round,
no there's not enough love to go 'round.

Now half the world hates the other half.
And half the world has all the food.
And half the world lies down and quietly starves,
'cause there's not enough love to go 'round.

And sympathy is what we need my friend
and sympathy is what we need.
And sympathy is what we need my friend,
'cause there's not enough love to go 'round,
no there's not enough love to go 'round.

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ИЗБРАНИКЪТ НА БОЖИЯТА МАЙКА.

ДУХОВНИЯТ ЛИК НА БРАТ ЙОСИФ МУНЬОС

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JOSEPH MUNOZ-CORTES

PAY ATTENTION FOR THE SOUL… An interview in English at the Pokrov Bogorodichen [Holy Shroud of the Mother of God] convent in Knyazhevo, Sofia, Bulgaria The following is a transcript of a taped conversation of [then] radio journalist [and neophyte] Vladimir Djambov and brother Joseph, the guardian of the Icon [known for his straying away from TVs and radios…]; I ["Q"] started by asking brother Joseph the following: Q: “Brother Joseph, would you be able to present – in a way – this miracle-working icon of Virgin Mary?” [brother Joseph] A: "Well, that icon started miracle in America. In America – as you know very well – this place is very material. That miracle for the miro started a big impression to the people – you know – as something not only material but spiritual, too. And that helped the people – helped them to share for the faith go up, you know. It’s very difficult to live in a material country, you know. Everything is material, everything is – you believe when you touch! And that miracle, you see, the miro come to the whole icon and that is mystery for many people.” Q: "I believe you make a connection between this miracle-working icon in America and the Russian religious spirit?" A: "For the Russian, too. Many Russians live in America. At that moment Russia is free. Russians lived the time very, very hard, you know – whith the material cut in two. Many people know that miracle in Russia – many, many – thousands people know it, perceived that God – He really lives in that icon. And I’m sure He helps us for the Renaissance in the Church, you know. [Both] In Russia and in America. For in America, too, we need a big Renaissance in our Church." Q: "It sure is not a miracle for the Americans or …– it’s for the Christians – the Orthodox Christians … ", brother Joseph cut in as follows: A: "Ah … for all the Christians in the world. It’s the first time it comes here in Bulgaria – here is an Orthodox country and many, many, many Christians come to venerate the Holy icon, you know. It’s a miracle for the world. It’s an icon for everywhere in the world – for Australia, America, and Syud [South] America – Europe – all Europe!" Q: "For the last 12 or 13 years you’ve been traveling …", Joseph Muñoz cut in again: A: "All the time, all the time! In different countries." Q: "All over the world?" A: "All over the world." Q: "With the exception of Eastern Europe – is that so?" A: "Yes – Europe. Exception is Russia, you know. The first country in the East come here in Bulgaria." Q: "And never in Russia, too?" A: "For the moment – no. For the moment there is a political problem, you know. There’s no clear situation for our Church; what happens in Russia – at the moment – no! I know they are surprised – BUT soon come to Russia and thousands and thousands of Christians expect the Holy IKONA [icon]." Q: "So – that’s not for the…" A: "Well, the Mother’s God is for every people, you know, for every people who believe in the Mother of God. I am very impressed that so many different people come to our Church at Montreal in different Church in America – Protestant, Catholic – they come to pray to the Mother of God – with repentance, and the Mother of God – many, many people helped, healing people, help them – eh, poor people, you know, the more sick people - I try in that way ... - it’s no people for the body sick – spiritually sick, very bad, you know, soul, tired, sick people – for it’s a more big miracle when Mother of God helped those people heal the bad inside, you know. Now – with the hospitals, with the doctors, it’s very easy, you know – to take care for the body, for He take care for the soul. That is more important, you know. And that is the tragedy at that time – that people pay attention for the soul. That people no see soul! And BOZHIYA MATERI [God’s Mother] can – you know – put out that soul." Q: "But healing the body is kind of a proof?" A: “Yeah” Q: “for the presence of a spiritual love that they … A: "Yeah. You know the more important when that people is no sick at their soul. That’s more important. For the Holy Priests say “when the body is sick – the soul takes care; when the soul is sick – nobody takes care, only God!" Q: "And lastly what you – as a server to – not the icon – to God’s Mother, what would you say to all people around the world? Would you dare something like this!" A: "Oh, for me – the more important is that I see my – it’s transparent – everyplace that I go with the Holy icon – many repentance. People come to the Holy communion, people come to confession. And no people is indifferent – not many people come for curiosity, many people come from belief in the Mother of God, you know. The truth is here in Bulgaria it’s very touching – so many people come, you know, with their tears, with their prayers and that is incredulant… For me – to be more impressed in this country from every country that I’ve visited" Q: "Thank you!"

1950 - 1982 - 18/31 October 1997

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Rejoice, o Blessed Keeper of the Portal, who openest the gates of Heaven!

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Ever-Memorable Brother Joseph
15 years — 30 years...

It is hard to imagine that 15 years have now passed since that terrible day when we all learned the shattering piece of news about the brutal murder of our dear, beloved by all, brother Joseph, the most worthy custodian of the wondrous Myrrh-gushing Iveron Icon of the Most Holy Theotokos. Out of the blue, on October 31^st, 1997, a terrible piece of news flashed as a lightning all over the world and no one would – or could – believe it.

Let us recall: the whole Church Abroad had been preparing to celebrate joyfully – three weeks later, on November 24^th, the 15^th anniversary of the wondrous miracle that has orbited the entire Orthodox world, and not only the Orthodox [world], since to this day there is no Catholic church shop that would not have had put up for sale a copy of our Montreal Iveron Icon of the Posrtaitissa.

During those 15 years the Myrrh-running Icon truly became a universal phenomenon and, thanks to Her and to brother Joseph, people from aside started viewing with a keen interest and respect the Church Abroad. Brother Joseph and the Icon are a one and only indivisible phenomenon, which today anyone can see: Brother Joseph disappeared, and the Icon, too, disappeared with him. It disappeared in such a supernatural manner as it appeared one day 30 years ago... But the Icon has not simply disappeared; it also crowned its pious and loving guardian with martyrdom.

Brother Joseph did not like to speak at length about his life, his childhood, his family. He even y forbade speaking or writing about his family. There have been attempts to draw his biography, but checking these he decisively crossed out all too personal, of the family, that was not related to the Icon. However, we know that his aristocratic roots go back deep into Spain’s history, which left a deep imprint on his personality. Having been christened in honor of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed, the keeper of the Most Holy Theotokos’ Virginity, we can say that from birth brother Joseph was marked by Providence. The same as his patron saint he never was in the front row, standing always in the shadows, but persistently by the Virgin Mary; brother Joseph, too, when he was bringing the Icon in a parish, he would – by his innate modesty – immediately pass Her on to any of the clerics, and he disappeared into the crowd of worshipers, and stood in a corner of the church or in the narthex, and prayed, just as any simple parishioner. He who did not know him in person, would never have noticed him, and would have never thought that this humble man with the kindest of face and with a smile – always dressed in a gray coat and a black shirt – could be that world-famous elect of God.

“Neither you nor I have been chosen by Theotokos, but brother Joseph has, and not by chance, She knew well what She was doing” – our ever-memorable Archbishop Anthony of Geneva told us. On his part, brother Joseph valued no less highly Archbishop Anthony and always said that was the only person who catered not only for the Icon, but for his soul, for his spiritual condition. Wherever he came with his Icon, he was always genuinely glad to bring immeasurable joy to people, but sometimes in a frank conversation he would admit how difficult it was for him to carry the Cross entrusted with him, and it was exactly Vladyka Anthony who was one of the few to understood his condition and the patiently born inner struggle.

Seeing brother Joseph always smiling and looking healthy, few people knew that in fact he had severe diabetes, probably inherited from his father, who died from this disease before turning 50. He should have undergone treatment, to always follow a special diet, to have a quiet regular life. His dream was to go to a monastery, but he did not do so, because the Icon appeared in the Diaspora Abroad, in the world, and therefore that was where his ministry had to pass, which, because of the non-stop traveling around the Diaspora abroad and because of the disease would at times turn into a difficult to bear exploit. But that was his Cross, which he carried to his last moment of life, and which has undoubtedly led him to the abodes of Paradise. Spiritually and morally, as early as in his lifetime, prior to his martyric death, he was already a martyr, but few were those who knew and cared about this.

He also loved to talk, to have spiritual conversations with Matushka Hegumenia Magdalene (countess Grabbe); that was why he loved so much coming to the Lesna convent, where he would often stay and have rest for several weeks in a row, which allowed him to leave behind for long the memory of himself by the painted in his own hand iconostasis of the winter church of the convent. On the iconostasis he painted St. Ambrose prior to the church glorification of the Optina elders, which he had asked for and had received a special blessing. His desire to portray that saint exactly became clear when later we learned about his secret monastic vows under the heavenly patronage of Elder Ambrose, whose name he received in monkhood.

The trip to Bulgaria, to our Old Calendar brothers did remain for him the sweetest of memories in life, communion with the true righteous woman Hegimenia Seraphima, nee Her Highness Princess Lieven, with all the Pokrov convent in Sofia, with Bishop Photios and the pious Bulgarian people. For the short stay in Bulgaria more than 60,000 worshipers came to worship the miraculous Icon.

A lot has already been written on the numerous miracles related to the Icon. Let us share one such supernatural phenomenon, told by brother Joseph himself. We were surprised to see how, in a climate of constant traveling, he never had any trouble and complications at border crossings. After all, for all of us the Icon was precious for his myrrh-gushing and miracle-working, but to an outsider customs officer it is but a piece of art, covered with precious stones. With child’s gullibility brother Joseph used to say he was never worried as he always had with him – just in case – a letter signed by Vladyka Metropolitan... Nevertheless, no questions asked, The Icon with Her keeper crossed all kinds of borders, with one exception. Once, exiting Germany, one particularly suspicious customs officer was ready to not let brother Joseph pass because of the absence of an official document on the Icon. In the end, he agreed to let pass on the condition he made a Polaroid camera shot, allowing an instantaneous developing of the photo. He shot once – nothing came out, another time – no better. Then brother Joseph handed him with a smile a color photo-postcard of the Icon: “It seems you wanted a photo...”! For the deeply believing Icon-keeper there was nothing surprising in this: seeing the arrogance and rudeness of the customs officer, the Mother of God simply did not let herself be photographed! A funny story on the looks of it, but telling a lot... One can also talk about the sagacity of brother Joseph himself, in which many a time many had to convince themselves in.

To date it remains – and it will remain – incomprehensible why that wondrous miracle apreaed within the Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and exactly with a person of non-Russian origin? A straight answer to this question is impossible. It has been repeatedly noted that the Icon began gushing myrrh a year after the glorification into the host of saints of the Holy Russian New Martyrs and St. Tsar-Martyr Nicholas. Today, 30 years later, that commonly accepted act seems absolutely natural, but all have now forgotten how daring and risky – humanly speaking – it was back then. From all sides they were predicting the end of the Church Abroad, if it was to take this allegedly political step. However, the smallest – we can say – in its numbers Church feared no one and nothing, but listening to its conscience, it did what no one in the whole Christian world would dared do. On the one hand – the incredible in its audacity challenge to all the modern world, to its apostasy ideology; and on the other – the burning-hot confession of the Christian hope and worship of the true disciples of Christ-God, the zealots who were unafraid to rebel against the servants of the prince of this world, to not yield to Satan’s godless power... Let us note here that to this very day the powerful Catholic Church has not dared glorify the French Revolution victims who were killed for their faith and King Louis XVI who accepted the death sentence with the faith of a righteous man. A year after the death of brother Joseph and the disappearance of the Icon, on the terrible day of November 7^th, a lithographic image of St. Tsar-Martyr, painted in America, began running myrrh in Russia and in the meantime the sanctity of the Royal Martyrs has become an generally accepted fact.

The Mother of God’s elect, being a conscious member of the Church Abroad, was, however, as we all know, not a Russian, but a Spaniard converted to Orthodoxy at the age of 14. In this, too, one can see a lesson: a kind of a reward to the Church Abroad for its extensive missionary work during all these decades amidst heterodox nations. It is understandable that all infidels converted to Orthodoxy especially loved him, but brother Joseph often disagreed with their neophyte zeal, and of course, following close to the firm convictions and with unwavering Orthodox faith showed healthy open-mindedness and tolerance to all people.

We had the Icon and we have gentiles grown accustomed to this universal miracle. One should not get used to a miracle – brother Joseph used to say very wisely. The Icon and Her keeper are no longer among us. Perhaps we failed to understand the meaning of the so abundantly granted to us miracle and did not deserve it. The right key to understanding this miracle was probably given to us by Bishop Gregory /Grabbe/ of blessed memory. To a question posed at the Lesna convent – what have we deserve such a miracle with, the wise Bishop replied: The Icon did not appear to us because of our merits, but for a terrible warning.

To whom more has been given, more is demanded from. And who if not we have been granted a lot. The Icon appeared in times of apostasy and even if many failed to notice this, even back then apostasy already wandered among the Church Abroad, as well. If the Icon’s appearance was an ominous warning, then it has [now] turned into a tragedy for us. Nevertheless, everyone is given time to come to one’s senses.

Archdeacon German Ivanov-Trinadtsaty

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On October 31^st, 2012
THE BROTHER JOSEPH’S MEMORIAL FUND commemorates

  the 15^th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Myrrh-streaming

  Montreal Iberian Mother of God Icon keeper

and offers his life