Divine Craftsmanship

In what way can human beings attain that Harmony whereby they become mediators between Heaven and Earth? In the mysterious language of symbols we can rediscover the sense of vocation that reflects Divine Activity. For God is, in reality, the sole Artisan. All the traditional crafts strive to imitate within their limitations the work of God, Who unceasingly creates and maintains the world. And in the end it is this that constitutes the sole foundation of the dignity of work. That is why this book seeks to bring us to an interior knowledge of God as Divine Artisan.

Chapters include: The Divine Scribe—Christ the Physician—The Warrior God— The Divine Potter—God the Weaver—God the Architect and Mason—The ‘Son of the Carpenter’—Pastor et Nauta— God the Fisherman and God the Hunter—The Celestial Gardener—The Master of the Harvest—The Master of the Vineyard—The Spirituality of Work and the Body Social.

“Through his research into hidden or lost meanings, Jean Hani has revealed and restored to our attention the most ‘initiatic’ dimensions of the Christian religion.” Jean Borella, author of The Secret of the Christian Way, and The Crisis of Religious Symbolism (forthcoming from Angelico Press)

Jean Hani (1917–2012), former professor emeritus at the University of Amiens, was the founder of the Centre de Recherche sur l’Antiquité Classique and a frequent contributor to the journal Connaissance des Religions. After writing his PhD thesis on the influence of Egyptian thought upon Plutarch, he produced annotated translations of the latter’s writings for the well-known Collection Budé. Later he became known for his mastery of traditional hermeneutics and exegesis, and his broad knowledge in the field of comparative religion. Hani’s writing is sensitive to the predicament of those moderns who seek a firm foundation in traditional Christian values, while striving also to integrate into that foundation whatever of value can be salvaged from the contemporary world. His findings were presented in four important works now available from Angelico Press in translation: the present volume, along with The Symbolism of the Christian Temple, The Divine Liturgy (Insights into its Mystery), and The Black Virgin (A Marian Mystery).