Triduum Poems

hand holding red flower

Sunsong

(Gethsemane prayer, Holy Thursday)

sunlight pours upon the field in early autumn.

wheat grows thin,

nourishing the wind.

soft-spoken daffodils

wait for the tide,

sheltered only by a song.

now shall my song be lifted.

poems of dawn

born on spirit’s breath

tremble in the darkness.

winter-cold night lies deep upon us.

petals torn,

my heart has been rent from me.

yet I will trust

a little longer,

clinging to this song,

that you may have it,

and have it more abundantly.

I am yours

and I am theirs

and I am one

that all may be one

in the Father

who has sent me.

Father, let them know that you have sent me.

Frail; Fragile; Small

frail; fragile; small;

and yet You love us all;

and in each crisis

creep

ever

closer

until our hearts reach

and each embrace the other.

I saw You cry my tears,

live my loss, my fears,

passion-again within for me,

with me, for love of me and mine,

(for they, first, are Thine).

And so, I hoist Your cross,

and stumble step by step,

knowing You have conquered death,

and I can help.

Transform My Pain

transform my pain

into Your own.

hid within the wounds, he was,

and sought and found You even there;

and so I seek that You might make

an offering of suffering not sought

but borne;

make it so Your Kingdom quickly comes;

send it to the parts that have

no prayers for them, and heal;

with Ignatius I will stand

and wait here in the wounds.

Let Me Be a Tiny Whispering Sound

Let me be a tiny whispering sound

echoing, echoing round and round and round

proclaiming, proclaiming

“Christ our God lives!” and loves and

lives in our living,

is known by our loving,

as well as His own,

and known are we as His

when like Him we be,

and free, and filled, by our lives we

proclaim Him here,

and become but His heart,

ready to welcome the world

in His arms, enfolding all.

In the image of His light we are His light;

in the image of His love we are His love;

and so we have become like God,

a tiny whispering sound.

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Mary Ellen Smajo has been savoring and writing responses to sacred moments since early high school, when she first began to notice and reflect on God’s tangible actions in our lives. She is a (“very happy and grateful!”) member of the Ignatian Volunteer Corps and serves as the music minister for IVC Chicago. Prior to joining IVC, she worked in clinical education; before that she worked as a medical physicist in the hospital setting. Her PhD is in medical physics, and she did her undergrad at Loyola University Chicago. “These poems are God’s; may they do the work for which they were sent. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam.”

4 COMMENTS

  1. I love these Mary Ellen. When I read them I was reminded of the balance between fragility and strength that exists in all living creatures.

  2. Hi Pat,
    Thank you so much for your kind words! I’m very happy that the poems have touched your heart!
    I do not have any published collections at present; my not-so-secret hope is that one day that might happen. But I’m over the moon about the way that God’s opened a door for the poems to reach so many people as part of this blog.
    You’ve probably already done this, but if you click on the words “5 articles” next to my name in the author box, you will be able to access my 4 previous posts. I got word a few days ago that dotMagis has accepted poems for April and May, and I will continue to submit my work for future months. I’m incredibly grateful that, through this blog, the poems are going out and doing the work for which they were sent!
    Many blessings!!
    Mary Ellen

  3. Hello Mary Ellon,
    I am Patrick(Pat) Brennan. I live in North East England.
    I love your Easter Triduum poems in today’s Ignatian reflection. Many years ago, I studied English Literature and Language as my “main” before a career as a teacher in my Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, here in England. I particularly love poetry and your poetry is so inspiring. Thank you. Have you published any of your poems I can purchase? After I send you this message, I will re-read again your poetry. If feasible for you, I greatly look forward to hear from you. You will see my email address and personal website link attached.
    God bless you.
    Pat.

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