Reflection on Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

The following reflection was written by Sister Joseph Eleanor Ryan (RIP):

O, the joy, the beauty of this place,

The friendliness, and O, the grace!

This Woodland is a glowing tapestry

Where are depicted all the lights and shades

Of God’s dear love, so that

Should we some morning miss the messenger’s

Swift pinions brushing dawn-tipped clouds

Or spilling silver ripples of spring rain,

We still might find their shadows, fugitive, between

White petals sifting gently down

Beneath a dogwood tree; or in the elfin touch

Of the first snowflake on a lingering brown oak leaf.

There is a benediction in the very breeze

That bathes the fleece-flecked sky;

A message in the tawny autumn air,

And in the homing leaves, that lie

Gold-tipped and scarlet-spangled at our feet.

There is a promise in each singing twig

Of every tree; and I shall take

Away with me its whisper, that shall break

Like morning ecstasy on tranquil dreams

Whatever be the distance and the dark surrounding me.

The loveliness of God has touched this place,

And lighted all its paths with grace.