(taken from The Newsletter of the Society of the Infant Jesus in North America, Advent 2009)
The story of the Miraculous Statue of the Infant of Prague has many chapters. The origin of the Statue is unclear and that chapter has several versions. One is that the statue came from Italy, but this is not a favored theory because the design is typical of Spanish styles of that era. Another version is that the Statue came from the Carmelite Saint Teresa of Avila. Another quite romantic version has the Statue being carved by a monk after visitations by the Child Jesus, who directed the monk's work. Upon completion of the Statue's creation, this tale concludes with the monk being found by his fellow clergy with the Blessed Statue next to his lifeless body.
The journey to what is now the Czech Republic is clearer and better documented. Through marriage between Spanish and Czech nobility, the Statue found its way to Prague where the Carmelite monks received it as a gift from the widowed descendant of the Spanish Princess with the prophetic words: "I hereby give you what I prize most highly in the world. As long as you venerate this image, you shall not want." Indeed, as long as the Carmelites venerated the image, their community prospered both spiritually and temporally.
During the Thirty Years War, the clergy fled the country; the Church was abandoned and eventually sacked by the conquering Protestants. When the Catholic Army finally retook the City of Prague and the Carmelites were allowed to safely return, a young priest, Fr Cyril, found the Miraculous Statue in a trash heap behind the altar where it had lain for 7 years abandoned and collecting dust. His discovery and the renewed devotion by him and the other religious set the stage for the 'chapter' about the Gift of the Hands. This part of the history of the Statue is by far the most important and the most powerful.
For reasons which will become clear, the very beginning and the end of this story will be told in this Advent issue of the Newsletter. Part 2 will appear in the next Newsletter and will tell the middle part of the Gift of the Hands. This may seem a strange way to tell a story. Perhaps, but let's see.
Here is the beginning. One day while praying before the Statue, Fr Cyril distinctly heard these words: "Have pity on me, and I will have pity on you. Give me my hands, and I will give you peace. The more you honor me, the more I will bless you." Fr Cyril was, of course, overwhelmed; but for two reasons. First, he was hearing the Child Jesus instructing him. The second reason was that, due to the long tunic on the Statue, he had never notied that the hands of the Infant Jesus were broken off and lost in the trash heap. He begged the Prior to provide the funds for the repair of the image that had previously brought so any blessings and good fortune to the community. Unfortunately, the Prior thought the community too poor and thus this to be a needless expense. The Statue was to remain without hands.
Here is the end of the story. Despite Fr Cyril's persistence, the Prior continued to deny giving the Statue hands. A new prior was eventually assigned, Fr Dominic of St Nicholas. But his answer was initially the same: 'We are too poor for this extravagance'. Eventually, however, after several attempts by the benefactors (the specifics of which will be the subject of Part 2), Fr Dominic relented and the Statue was repaired... new hands were crafted and the Infant's request of Fr Cyril was fulfilled.
Remember this: The Infant always keeps His promises. The plight of the community was reversed and they began to prosper. Indeed, during the ensuing plague, the Prior, Fr Dominic, was stricken and fell gravely ill. He appealed to the Infant for intervention and soon was restored to health. And so ends the story of the Gift of the Hands... but not the significance of the Infant's request.
At one level, this story is about the Statue, and the blessings bestowed on those who venerate it. But physically, it is merely wood, wax and paint. Is there greater meaning behind the stories of the Statue in general, and that of the Hands in particular? Consider the following.
Christ taught by example, with symbols, with parables, by analogy. And for over 2000 years there has been a never ending series of saints, miracles, and visitations to continue our instruction and assurances. What was God trying to teach us using the Statue and the story of the Gift of the Hands? Considered this way, perhaps there is a great deal more significance to this story than merely replacing hands on a broken statue; even a miraculous broken statue.
If so, then the true significance may lie in the following question and answer:
"What are the hands?"
"We are the hands."
Through the image and story of the Statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague, Christ calls us (as he did with Fr Cyril almost 400 years ago): "Have pity on me, and I will have pity on you. Be my hands here on earth, and I will give you peace. The more you do this, the more I will bless you."