The Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia

Women of yesterday,
I celebrate your echoes in my life,
And sing within my soul
The story and the power that is you . . .
Birthing the world of my
Today.
Breathing into me
Your blood of courage,
Your bone of strength,
Teaching me the secrets
Of your yesterday,
Of an Earth
That still was whole,
You who tilled the land,
Culling life from ancient soils
To nourish with its life
The life you bore,
Sinking roots deep, deep
Within the home of Earth,
Roots
That nurture in the darkness of the Past
The promise of a world to come.
Seeking worlds beyond the stars,
Groping,
Sometimes blind . . .
For dreams that only daring
Can contain,
You who held within your gaze,
The hidden beauty of
Desolate desert sands
And wild and tangled
Jungle growth.
You who knew the clear, unfathomed
Waters of the world
And sang in celebration and in awe
Of the power that they held,
Sculpting from the fertile clay of earth
A people
And a world
In which your beauty
And your hope . . .
Your stillness
And your grace

Mirror forth the image
Of my strong and gentle
Mother God.
Laughing loud
With strong and stalwart hearts
Your wisdom
From the yesterday of
What has been . . .
Your joy
At what your world's today might hold,
Your fearless facing
Of tomorrow's unknown morn.