Poetry

A Poet's Voice from the Past

Rediscovering Sister Mary Evelyn Connor: A Poet’s Voice from the Past

Sister Mary Evelyn (Marie Noella), was a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton. Beyond her dedication to education and healthcare, she was also a gifted poet. Her poems offer a glimpse into her spiritual journey and the contemplative life she led.

In a rare archival recording, Sister Mary Evelyn recites two of her poems, providing a personal and intimate connection to her work. This audio, preserved from an oral history interview, allows us to hear her voice and experience her poetry as she intended.

Here, she recites some of her poetry:

Last Times, July 1930

When I sew on a lace for the last time

When the postulate dress I doff

Then I'll wear the habit forever, never to put it off

When Miss Connor I'm called for the last time

When Evelyn I'll hear no more

Then I'll have a new name forever, till I reach the eternal shore

When I leave my class for the last time

When I give up teaching at last

Then I'll rest from my labors forever

Death will become in Christ

When I receive my God for the last time

When he comes midst faced chimes

Then I’ll rest (audio recording ends, but the remainder of the poem is:)

Then I’ll rest in His Bosom forever

And then there’ll be no more last times.

Novitiate ABC, September 1930

A for the Angelus, three times a day

B for the bell, when you hear it, don't stay

C for canonicals, five of us here

D for our duties, to each of us, dear

E for eternity, a model you'll find

F for the furniture, ours, not mine

G for good, which we try to be

H for holy and happy are we

I for “I mustn't!” I sometimes hear

J for St. Joseph, our patron so dear

K for the kitchen, a place to have bees

L for lecture, don't fall asleep, please

M for our Mother in heaven above

N for Novenas, they make many of

O for the orphans, there are quite a few

P for permission and penances too

Q for questions they must not ask

R, recreation, a real pleasant task

S for sewing, we each have some

T for tomorrow, which may never come

U, it's unnecessary, then we turn

To V for the virtues, we all must learn

W, the waiting to the floor we do

X, the unknown which may happen to you

Y, we all yearn for our heavenly home

And Z, is the zenith of glory will come

This audio recording was able to be digitized in part thanks to the Library and Archives Canada’s Documentary Heritage Communities Program.

A Winter Garden

A Winter Garden

A garden that is dormant, is not dormant nor is a soul at rest.

For beneath the surface much is stirring.

The garden grows, and the soul is yearning.

A tiny seed that blew in the fall and settled within the soil,

is just beginning its life in the cold dark earth.

The soul awakens as a stirring in the heart of the one,

 who seeks the wisdom they have not yet found.

As winter gives way to spring,

And the flowers start to bloom.

The spirit in the heart shakes the soul too.

The soul awakens with celebration of new life within,

 just as the seed splits and lets the birth begin.

So let us celebrate this wintertime and all it has to give.

-Sister Donna Smith, CSJ | January 28, 2023

AUTUMN

One by one

the leaves let go

Image: Joey Genovese/Unsplash

falling

to the waiting earth below.


The tree stands

naked

in its bereavement

tall and strong

it weather winter snows

knowing that when spring arrives

her beauty will return

clad in leaves of glorious green

a sheltering for the birds

a shade for summer’s sun.


Until October’s brush

paints her anew

with fiery reds and shimmering golds

and once again she stands

in full magnificence

yet knowing that

as the seasons change

she must again let go

and wait upon the spring.

-Sister Kathleen Lyons, csj