Have you every tried to hold a squirming baby? It’s hard isn’t it? Look how the Virgin Mary is clutching Baby Jesus, trying to keep him still. Her eyes look tenderly past her child, as if she’s lost in thought. Time has faded the colors painted on this statue. When it was new, around 1420, both Mary and Jesus had golden hair. Jesus’ gown was green, with a gold pattern. He looks like a realistic, chubby baby, wriggling on Mary’s lap—and trying to kick the book she’s holding. He’s also pointing to a page in the book. What words was Jesus pointing to? Unfortunately, they’re gone now. But look at the right side of the bench that Mary’s sitting on. Here you see words in Latin, painted on a scroll. These words come from a book in the Latin Bible called Ecclesiasticus or The Book of Wisdom. Christians in 1420 would have associated wisdom with the Virgin Mary. That’s why these words from the Book of Wisdom appear on her statue. In English, they say, “From the beginning, and before the world, was I created.”