Performing Beauty: Silence and the Word in Poetry

Catechesis is one of the ways through which an individual receives formal Christian education and formation that enables them to learn, receive, contemplate and live out their faith. The importance of contemplation in catechesis is that it provokes questions which in turn motivate one to seek answers that provide clarity which leads to spiritual growth and maturity. There are several pedagogical resources available for use in catechesis such as reading, lectures, art, music and poetry. Of all these resources, poetry is one of the most effective but least used, at least for me. Reading a text, listening to a lecture, gazing upon art and listening to music have always been my primary, “go to” resources. Poetry, if I am honest, has never been included in my list of resources primarily because reading and understanding poetry can be challenging. The rhythm and rhyme do not always flow the way we would like and the language used, especially those written in old English, often becomes a verbal speed bump that requires the reader to slow down and begin again. However, poetry if used and understood properly, provides a significant contribution to catechetical education and formation. In particular, the poems “All Saints” and “All Saints: Martyrs” by Christina Rosetti are very helpful in regard to catechesis because they teach us to see the Word and appreciate the necessary silence in prayer and the Christian life.
In all things, Christians must learn to see the invisible in the visible and this is where poetry becomes an effective resource for catechesis. Since the Word became flesh, every word is the embodiment of the infinite, gracious mystery of the incarnation of God’s own abiding presence. The word of poetry harnesses our power to hear the word and abandon our self in humble readiness so that the Word can penetrate our heart. (Rahner, 362–363) In the words of poetry, our ears are opened to truly listen and our hearts are prepared to receive the Word that is within the words; the invisible within the visible.

ALL SAINTS
As grains of sand, as stars, as drops of dew,
Numbered and treasured by the Almighty Hand,
The Saints triumphant throng that holy land.
Where all things and Jerusalem are new,
We know not half they sing or do,
But this we know, they rest and understand;
While like a conflagration freshly fanned
Their love glows upward, outward, thro’ and thro’
Lo! Like a stream of incense launched on flame.
Fresh Saints stream up from death to life above,
To shine among those others and rejoice:
What matters tribulation whence they came?
All love and only love can find a voice
Where God Makes glad His Saints, for God is Love.
~Christina Rossetti

Rossetti’s poem “All Saints” is an exceptional example of seeing the Word within the words. “As grains of sand, as stars, as drops of dew, Numbered and treasured by the Almighty Hand, The Saints triumphant throng that holy land.” (Rossetti 1–4) With these opening four verses Rossetti enters into conversation with us and as we read, images of sand, stars and dew that are humanly impossible to number rush into our mind. The silence after each verse invites us to contemplate and in our contemplation of the words the Word is revealed. “Numbered and treasured by the Almighty Hand” reveals the immense love that God has for all of humanity and just as He has numbered the hairs on our head He intimately knows and treasures every human person and with a burning desire yearns to share eternal communion with us.
In addition to the proper formation and ability to see the Word within the words, audibly reciting poetry allows us to learn to appreciate the silence within the poetry and subsequently the silence in prayer. When we come before God in vocal and silent reverent prayer there is a silence that is part of our encounter with God. Silence is a mark of respect and adoration that forms a possibility proper to speech that is transforming. (Chretien, 26) In poetry, just as in prayer, the silence is just as important as the words spoken because it is a dialogue. As with any conversation that we participate in, both people cannot talk at the same time; one must speak and the other listen.
When we recite a poem, we are not entering into a monologue but rather a conversation with the poem’s author who speaks to us through their words. We speak their words, and in the silence, which the author has planned, we contemplate their meaning and look for the invisible presence of the Word. Similarly, when we pray, we are not performing a monologue as if to offer sound to the open air or an empty space but we offer prayer to an omniscient God. “The vocative of the invocation is already not just the place of the presence to God of the person praying but that of the presence of God to the person praying.” (Chretien, 29) This teaches each of us that God never leaves us nor forsakes us and even though He knows our needs, wants and desires before we even utter a single word, He still longs to hear our prayers and enter into conversation with us.

ALL SAINTS: MARTYRS
Once slain for Him Who first was slain for them,
Now made alive in Him for evermore,
All luminous and lovely in their gore
With no more buffeting winds or tides to stem
The Martyrs look for New Jerusalem;
And cry “How Long?” remembering all they bore,
“How long?” with heart and eyes sent on before
Toward consummated throne and diadem.
“How Long?” White robes are given to their desire;
“How long?” deep rest that is and is to be;
With a great promise of the oncoming host,
Loves to their love and fires to flank their fire:
So rest they, worshiping incessantly
One God, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost
~Christina Rossetti

Within this poem Rossetti utilizes frequent silences that not only allow for contemplation of the verse but emphasizes the dialogue that prayer is. “The Martyrs look for new Jerusalem; and cry “How long?” remembering all they bore, “How long?” with heart and eyes sent on before toward consummated throne and diadem.” (Rossetti 5–9) As we read, the sense of dialogue with the Word becomes visible in the words. With each question it is as if God provides an answer and responds to love with the pure Love that is the Holy Trinity.
Catechesis is about education and formation aimed at preparing an individual to live a life of faith. To accomplish this requires a life long journey of contemplation. Among all of the pedagogical resources available, poetry is an essential resource that can make significant contributions to an individual’s catechetical development. In a way that only poetry can, it teaches us to see the Word within the words and to appreciate the silence that is proper to poetry and prayer. After all, prayer is not a monologue to an impersonal God. As Christians, we pray to a God who welcomes our prayer, who is present before us, reveals Himself to us and dialogues with us. God is silent while we are talking; poetry teaches us how to be silent so that we can hear God’s response.