ABSTRACT
During the two years (from November 1, 1942 to October 31, 1944) when I was engaged in the translation of the Psalms and the New Testament I wept over the Bible only once. One night, as I was translating Chapter 19 of St. John's Gospel, I came across this: Now the tunic was without seam, woven in one piece from the top. They therefore said to one another, Let us not tear it, but let us cast lots for it, to see whose it shall be. Suddenly I burst out weeping. The whole scene flashed upon my mind like a sudden illumination. This seamless tunic had been woven by the motherly hands of the Blessed Virgin, and had been worn by her grateful Son Who was now hanging on the Cross! And now the soldiers were making merry over such a precious tunic, turning it into an object of lottery, in the very presence of Our Lady! But what made me weep was the lightning-like flash of intuition that whatever Our Lady had woven could not be divided, being without seam from the top! Wherever Our Lady is, there is seamless unity. I thought that it was just a childish fancy on my part. But when I was in San Francisco in 1945 as an adviser to the Chinese Delegation to the United Nations Conference, Father Reilly, who was serving as the secretary of Monsignor Yupin [Yu Bin], lent to me a copy of Lagrange's The Gospel of Jesus Christ, in which I was pleasantly surprised to find a confirmation of my mental vision:
A seamless robe was of some value; the high priest wore one like it. The one worn by Jesus had most probably been woven by the hands of some woman who believed in Jesus, perhaps one of the wealthy Galilaean women who had followed Him; or it may have been made for Him by His Mother. Ever since the time of St. Cyprian it has been regarded by the faithful as the symbol of the Church, which must remain undivided. Woe to those who stir up schism and rend her apart! 1
When I was translating the New Testament, I often prayed to the Blessed Virgin to the following effect:Holy Mother, Spouse of the Holy Ghost, help me to weave the Chinese tunic for your Son, the Divine Word. Make it a seamless robe, beautiful and wearable. Give it an oriental touch; perfume it with frankincense, preserve it with musk, line it with gold, but at the same time make it as light and as comfortable for Hun to wear as possible! Share with me some of those gifts which you received from the Magi, plus the blessing, In one word, Mother, do it for me, for no one knows your Son's measure and taste better than you; I will cooperate with you as an apprentice tailor.
