Ministry knits members together

Avid knitters and crocheters have learned that the craft is much more than physical. We have grasped the spirituality inherent in the art, which extends even to the selection and purchase of yarn and knitting needles or crochet hooks.

The yarn speaks to us. The knitting needles or crochet hooks feel at home in our hands. Our imaginations run to places we would not normally visit in any other setting.

From the time I first learned to knit and crochet, when I was only seven, I have sensed the special quiet that envelops me whenever I sat down with a skein of yarn and knitting needles.

Being quiet and shy by nature, this was always a comfortable place for me to be. And, always, I prayed. I never called it meditation or contemplation. It was just something I did, like breathing or walking.

As I got older, I prayed a blessing for the person who would receive what I was creating, even when I was making something for a charity raffle and did not know who the recipient would be. God knew.

A year ago, I learned that there was a ministry involving making prayer shawls and blessing them for people in need of healing. It was as if I had found something I had been searching for so long. The more I learned about it, the more I wanted to become a part of this special ministry.

Being a Mercy Associate of the Sisters of Mercy, I was already surrounded by holy women who lived Spirit-filled lives full of prayer, ministry and joy. Some of them already knew about the prayer shawl ministry and were willing to try it.

A group of us met last October with Sister Mary Lou Delaney, a Sister of St. Joseph of Carondelet, who helped us get started by telling us about "The Carondolet Weavers," who formed more than two years ago and have given away more than 400 prayer shawls.

We were eager to get started, and everyone caught on pretty fast. We enjoyed the ministry and being together. One of the people we prayed for as we made our shawls was a two-year-old boy named Nicholas, who had just been diagnosed with leukemia and was going for his first treatment.

We have an absolutely beautiful group -- cheerful, welcoming, full of stories and laughter, full of compassion, generous, cozy, supportive, loving -- and everything else good that can be said about anyone.

We call ourselves Mother Catherine's Weavers, after Catherine McAuley, the founder of the Sisters of Mercy. Twelve of us meet regularly, a few come when they can, and others make shawls on their own and send them in. We are learning and growing, changing as we listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. We have prayed over and given away 50 prayer shawls so far.

It is a privilege to be a part of this ministry. The sense of peace and fulfillment are beyond comprehension. It is also miraculous and wonderful to witness how God can change our thumbs into fingers and make them dance.

And, by the way, Nicholas is in remission.

(Email the author, a member of St. Teresa of Avila parish in Albany, at [email protected] or phone 438-7115. Prayer shawls can be requested for any reason or gift-giving occasion.)

(5/25/06) [[In-content Ad]]