Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Carolyn GrassiJuly 30, 2001

The war blew out your stained glass windows
and tore the infant from your arms. Now the dove’s

 

wide wings beat again above your heart. Reds
brighten the background of your dark blue dress.

Yellow and green trees dance. Palm leaves
breathe by your side. Chagall has given you

an ordinary chair to be your throne. On this,
the eve of the Assumption, the last rays of sunlight

flood the vestibule as Peruvian flute music
mixes with bells echoing across the city.

A blind woman in a simple flowered dress grips
the pew. “Yahweh,” she sings, “you know me

when I lie down, and when I stand.” She whispers
the words that will change bread and wine

into Christ’s body and blood. Slowly
she makes her way toward the sanctuary,

touching the raised edge of each pew. Her face
is radiant as she turns to leave, singing

the final hymn, reminding me of the way
I used to be for the God who would be mine.

Carolyn Grassi 

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, and former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, are seen in a combination of file photographs taken in Chandler, Ariz., Oct. 10, 2024 and Evans, Ga., Oct. 4, 2024. (OSV News photo/Evelyn Hockstein and Octavio Jones, Reuters)
While we are going to continue to advocate for the dignity of the unborn, let’s admit Kamala Harris has Catholic cred on other important issues.
Jeannie GaffiganNovember 01, 2024
Mats Steen was known as Ibelin in the video game World of Warcraft (World of Warcraft and Blizzard Entertainment/Netflix)
“The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” presents the internet as a place where true connection is possible and limitations can be transcended.
John DoughertyNovember 01, 2024
A Homily for the Solemnity of All Souls, by Father Terrance Klein
Terrance KleinNovember 01, 2024
Cardinal McElroy shared his reflections on the synod with America Vatican correspondent Gerard O'Connell in this wide-ranging interview at the North American College in Rome.
Gerard O’ConnellNovember 01, 2024