Benedict's Daughter

by Philip C. Kolin

Overview

These poems offer a spiritual biography of a remarkable woman of faith, a Benedictine Oblate and spiritual adviser who lived her life according to St. Benedict's Holy Rule (""ora and labora""--pray and work). Juxtaposed with poems on her life, others reflect on Benedictine traditions such as praying the Liturgy of the Hours, taking vows of stability, hospitality, silence, plus engendering respect for the environment and all living things. This collection includes a variety of poetic forms, styles, and voices, even St. Benedict's. ""Philip Kolin's new volume, Benedict's Daughter: Poems, has captured the spirit of one he greatly admired and in whom he saw the saintly qualities we all should seek and aspire to make our own. The context of his poems beautifully echoes the spirit of St. Benedict reflected in the spirituality and liturgical life of monasticism--and in the small dynamo known as Midge. Midge, cultivating the monk within, lived her life of love and service not within the monastic cloister, but in the world of family and those she touched with the humble love of a servant. . . . As always, Kolin's poetic words bespeak an eye that sees beyond the superficial and penetrates to the very essence of all things--God Himself."" --Abbot Cletus Meagher, OSB, St. Bernard Abbey, Cullman, AL ""These are rich and beautiful poems that sing the sacred in ordinary lives of work and prayer, that fill the page with the longings and satisfactions of men and women focused on human need and on God. What could be more holy than that?""  --Jill Baumgaertner, Poetry Editor, Christian Century ""This is a story of extraordinary devotion, told in poems of great feeling and deep conviction which usher us into that sacred precinct of spiritual friendship. It reads as both biography and encomium, as spiritual guide and as a lyric witness . . . Who could resist such poignant allurement, and who, caught by this holy spell, would not gladly follow the hearkening call, come what may of darkness or of light?"" --Mark S. Burrows, Poet; Professor of Religion and Literature, Protestant University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany Philip C. Kolin is the Distinguished Professor of English (Emeritus) at the University of Southern Mississippi where he also edits the Southern Quarterly. He has written or edited 40 books, including seven collections of poetry, the most recent being Emmett Till in Different States: Poems.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532611476
Publisher:	Resource Publications
Publication date:	01/17/2017
Pages:	80
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.17(d)

About the Author

Philip C. Kolin is the Distinguished Professor of English (Emeritus) at the University of Southern Mississippi where he also edits the Southern Quarterly. He has written or edited 40 books, including seven collections of poetry, the most recent being Emmett Till in Different States: Poems.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

Part I Prologue: The Liturgy of the Hours

Lauds: Day Opens 3

Perce: St. Peter on the Eternity of Three 4

Sext: The Hour Christ Died 6

Vespers: The Delta Between Sunset and Dark 7

Compline: The Day is Done 9

Part 2 The Journey

In This Place of Stability 13

The Gulls' Oratory 15

Father Luke, O.S.B. 17

The Bridegroom Comes 19

Lenten Wooing 20

Marriage Vows 22

Mr. Al's Jubilee 23

The Child Within 25

Midge 27

She Taught Her Classes Proverbs 28

God's Favorite Language 30

The Spiritual Son 31

St. Benedict's Homily on the Temptations of the Flesh 33

Oblates 34

The Angels 36

Holy Communion Is 37

Benedict's Cellarer 38

Baking for the Carmelites on Dauphin Street 39

The Backdoor to Prophecy 40

The Prayer Lady's Coffee 42

A Family of Souls 43

The Garden 45

St. Hildegard's Herbs 47

In the Month of Blue Moons 48

Longing 49

Afterlife 50

A Hospice Crucifixion 51

A Holy Woman's Obituary 53

Guardian Dogs 54

A Nurse Called Joseph 56

The Photograph 57

Mr. Al Goes Fishing 59

Parade Ready 61

The House on 33rd Street 63

A Manual for Oblates 65

The Monks at St. Bernard's Cemetery 67

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Philip Kolin's new volume, Benedict's Daughter: Poems, has captured the spirit of one he greatly admired and in whom he saw the saintly qualities we all should seek and aspire to make our own. The context of his poems beautifully echoes the spirit of St. Benedict reflected in the spirituality and liturgical life of monasticism—and in the small dynamo known as Midge. Midge, cultivating the monk within, lived her life of love and service not within the monastic cloister, but in the world of family and those she touched with the humble love of a servant. . . . As always, Kolin's poetic words bespeak an eye that sees beyond the superficial and penetrates to the very essence of all things—God Himself."
—Abbot Cletus Meagher, OSB, St. Bernard Abbey, Cullman, AL

"These are rich and beautiful poems that sing the sacred in ordinary lives of work and prayer, that fill the page with the longings and satisfactions of men and women focused on human need and on God. What could be more holy than that?" 
—Jill Baumgaertner, Poetry Editor, Christian Century

"This is a story of extraordinary devotion, told in poems of great feeling and deep conviction which usher us into that sacred precinct of spiritual friendship. It reads as both biography and encomium, as spiritual guide and as a lyric witness . . . Who could resist such poignant allurement, and who, caught by this holy spell, would not gladly follow the hearkening call, come what may of darkness or of light?"
—Mark S. Burrows, Poet; Professor of Religion and Literature, Protestant University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany

Editorial Reviews

"Philip Kolin's new volume, Benedict's Daughter: Poems, has captured the spirit of one he greatly admired and in whom he saw the saintly qualities we all should seek and aspire to make our own. The context of his poems beautifully echoes the spirit of St. Benedict reflected in the spirituality and liturgical life of monasticism—and in the small dynamo known as Midge. Midge, cultivating the monk within, lived her life of love and service not within the monastic cloister, but in the world of family and those she touched with the humble love of a servant. . . . As always, Kolin's poetic words bespeak an eye that sees beyond the superficial and penetrates to the very essence of all things—God Himself."
—Abbot Cletus Meagher, OSB, St. Bernard Abbey, Cullman, AL

"These are rich and beautiful poems that sing the sacred in ordinary lives of work and prayer, that fill the page with the longings and satisfactions of men and women focused on human need and on God. What could be more holy than that?" 
—Jill Baumgaertner, Poetry Editor, Christian Century

"This is a story of extraordinary devotion, told in poems of great feeling and deep conviction which usher us into that sacred precinct of spiritual friendship. It reads as both biography and encomium, as spiritual guide and as a lyric witness . . . Who could resist such poignant allurement, and who, caught by this holy spell, would not gladly follow the hearkening call, come what may of darkness or of light?"
—Mark S. Burrows, Poet; Professor of Religion and Literature, Protestant University of Applied Sciences, Bochum, Germany

From the Publisher