We have just had a ‘Day of Recollection’ – 24 hours of silence and retreat in the house, from Friday supper to Solemn Vespers on Saturday evening.
An elderly woman from the Igorot tribe in Banaue, Philippines
Dom Brendan Thomas, the novice master at Belmont Abbey near Hereford, led the retreat, sharing some thoughts about beauty, prayer and love, and showing us some breathtaking images.
He read this beautiful poem by Padraig Daly, which was written on the occasion of a priestly ordination:
SINGLENESS by Padraig Daly
There will be joy too in your singleness
As when gloom lifts while you listen
From some heart fastened to sorrow,
As when children in schoolyards ambush you
And drag you off to riotous play,
As when affection swamps you in a festive
congregation,
As when ailing women you visit in shabby flats
Fall silent
Before the mystery of broken bread,
As when the dying bless you
With their last,
Most precious smiles,
As when, sitting in the silence of automatic prayer,
You know suddenly
You are being visited by God.
The old will shelter in your untidy heart,
The young will know in you
The laughter of Yahweh;
And the wretched see
You have no bride
But them.
I don’t know Padraig Daly. This is from the Dedalus Press site (I presume he is the same poet!):
PĂDRAIG J. DALY was born in Dungarvan, Co. Waterford in 1943 and is now working as an Augustinian priest in Dublin. He has published several collections of poetry, among them The Last Dreamers: New & Selected Poems (1999) and The Other Sea (2003), as well as his translations from the Italian of Edoardo Sanguineti, Libretto (1999) and Paolo Ruffilli, Joy and Mourning (reissued 2007). His latest collection of poems is Clinging to the Myth (2007) in which he reflects on grief and personal bereavement and uses the voices of 18th century Gaelic poetry to respond to the challenges of a post-Christian Ireland.
And the wretched see
You have no bride
But them.
It is a beautiful poem. Except that bitter last line.
That last line is ironically poetically and painfully ambigous.
It is a beautiful poem. I read the last line differently to you Mags. I don’t think it is bitter. I think it captures something of the great gift and challenge of celibate loving
Fr Chris it does, I think you are right.
being a poet, I read into it three ways. :O/
And the wretched see you have no bride but them. (the wretched selfish person)
And the wretched see (where once maybe they were blind)
You have no bride but them. (which is quite beautiful)
And the wretched see (the hierarchy)
You have no bride but them.
The whole poem was so full of grace and God, and the last line I found less beautiful and uncomfortable.
not wretched selfish (bad choice of words) wretched broken!
I agree with Fr Chris. It doesn’t read as bitter, I see it as a referal to a Priests’ freedom to love all Gods’ people unconditionally, especially the poor.
What a beautiful poem, and as well, I think the last line is amazing, gives a lay perspective of the dedication and completeness of the vocation. The word “see” conveys the understanding of the wretched (whom some may think have no understanding) and shows that the circle is complete.
I think it gives the impression that the only benefits of being celibate/single come with ordination…
what a beautiful poem – thankyou.
For me singleness and celibacy when joyfully lived can also be a powerful counterbalance to a culture that is scared to be alone. There is a wonderful song/poem by a Canadian Tanya Davis. I put it on my blog a few weeks back – If I can be so presumptious as to post the link http://sjsa.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/alone-is-okay-really/
Her Poem is about developing the courage to be alone – and then starting to enjoy the fruits of solitude!
I had a quick look at your blog Fr Tim. I signed up. Thankyou for the link.
Thank you for informing me about the poem, I shall now look for the book ‘The Last Dreamers’. I did try to find an e.mail address, but alas unable to locate to say thank you to the kind person who responded to my request, for information about the poem, which I now know is called ‘Singleness’. To me each line says so much about aspectss of life. the times of great hope, solitude and despair, our mortality, the awareness of our saving Lord. The Priest knowing that despite and because of this each day our efforts to be God’s people is ever present. Fr Daly, you have a wonderful awareness of human kind, the determination and the fraility that exists within the form that makes each one of us. Look forward to getting the book, good wishes, Marian McNulty.