Happy Catholic: Knitting Madonna

I wanted to share another sample and this is a piece that didn't make it into Happy Catholic (the book!) for lack of space. Perhaps it is just as well because the book doesn't include images and it would be a shame to pass by the chance to see this lovely image of Mary knitting for baby Jesus.

Knitting Madonna

Detail from Visit of the Angel, from the right wing of the Buxtehude Altar, 1400-1410

Master Bertram von Minden, (1345-1415) (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

… Mary is knitting a shirt with sleeves on double-pointed needles while her child, stretched out on the flower-bedecked grass, his toys cast aside, looks up from his book and over his left shoulder at two angels. … In the symbolic context of Christ’s whole life, the shirt becomes his coat, described in the Gospel of John (19:23-24) as “without seam, wrought from the top throughout.” Its miraculous manufacture prompted the four soldiers who had crucified Christ to cast lots for it, rather than cut it into four parts, as they had done with his other garments. Although a sleeved shirt can’t be woven without seams, making a shirt with sleeves but no seams is one of the great advantages with circular knitting. Taking liberties with the scripture by having the Virgin knit from bottom to top, which makes the shape of the garment clear, Mister Bertram used an invention of the Arabs to give form to an article of Christian faith.

Interweave Knits

You never can tell where you will find food for thought. From a favorite knitting magazine came information that made me think about the Holy Family’s home life in the small details.

Of course, the Christ Child probably had toys but it never occurred to me to think about it. Mary probably didn’t actually knit as knitting was invented around the 8th or 9th century as far as knitting historians can tell (yes, knitting historians do exist). They like to look at this painting as one of the earliest pieces of evidence that knitting spread to Europe by the 1400s.

I like to look at it as a reminder. In everything I do, whether knitting, cooking, gardening, or sweeping, there is a way that I can relate to the sheer humanity of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. They cooked, washed, worked, played, and laughed in all the ways that my family does now. The difference is that they may have recognized easily that the daily things of life had a dual meaning, such as a seamless garment being more than just a piece of clothing. Master Bertram who painted this masterpiece recognized that fact. We should keep an eye out so we recognize it too.

For another sample, click through on the link above.

Happy Catholic will be available early April from Catholic bookstores like Aquinas and More as well as regular booksellers like Borders and Amazon. AND there will be e-book and Kindle formats! We're super-modern around here, y'all!

I'll be setting up my bookstore on PayPal soon to take orders for autographed copies with an extra favorite quote that didn't make it into the book. (I've got 5 quote journals and am working on #6 ... there are a lot of quotes that just wouldn't fit!)