There was an Irish monk in the later 9th-early 10th century called Tuotilo. He was an imposing figure of a man, apparently a pretty good boxer. He was one of those people who God gave gifts and almost every area – he spoke Latin and German, excelled as a mathematician and an architect. He sang, composed music, played instruments…and he sculpted. One day, he was working on a sculpture of the Virgin Mary when two pilgrims approached him and asked for alms. He gave them money with a swift gesture – perhaps so smooth that anyone else in the room would never see. The two pilgrims left the room and found a cleric. They said “God bless that man who has been so merciful to us today. But was that his sister?” They had seen a lady of awesome beauty standing beside him, handing him chisels and teaching him how to use them.
The cleric was startled because he hadn’t noticed any lady with Tuotilo when he had last seen him. The cleric came in and just for a split second, he saw the miraculous sight the pilgrims had told him about. All three excitedly told Tuotilo what they saw, but he didn’t have a clue what they were talking about. He kept on carving the statue, but he did it in another city. Once it was finished, people said that this sculpture of Mary was so detailed, so beautiful that it seemed like Mary was alive. Unbeknownst to Tuotilo, on a surface near the statue’s halo, these letters appeared: “This holy object was carved by Holy Mary herself.”
Tuotilo could have used his considerable talents to be pretty much anything in the world. But he chose to be a monk, to preach, to teach others, to create music and art that would touch people’s hearts. He didn’t want fame or attention or luxury. He wanted the work of his hands to please God and lighten the hearts of those around him. He couldn’t see the Holy Spirit guiding his hands as he cared out a straight path. He couldn’t see it, but the Spirit was there – revealing what was hidden, making a space so we could show one another what is true.
References:
–https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112063017971&seq=265&q1=maria
–https://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/h104_Tuotilo.htm
