Poetry as Prayer: Jessica Powers

The poetry of Jessica Powers (Sister Miriam of the Holy Spirit, a Carmelite nun who died in 1988 at the age of 83) is quietly enchanting. The selection in this volume is generous: at least 20 poems, with 10 poems selected for especial scrutiny and delved into by Bishop Robert Morneau, whose love for poetry and whose admiration for Jessica's work, is abundant and evident.The one disappointment in Morneau's critique is his use of Jessica's poem "Leftovers," about the Multiplication of Loaves and Fishes, as an excuse to peddle the rationalistic pabulum of miracle-debunking. The twelve baskets are "merely symbols of God's extravagance and bounty." Or perhaps the miracle is that Jesus encouraged otherwise uncharitable people to turn over a new leaf and start sharing their goodies. Presumably, the Galilean crowd was "hiding fish sandwiches up their sleeves" (in Benedict Groeschel's tart phrase)!But our disappointment in Bishop Morneau for his Jesus-as-Bob-Geldof take on the gospel is momentary; we soon redirect our attention to the charm of Jessica's poetry -- holy without being pietistic, formal without being stiff, lyrical without being sappy. It is fresh and alive. And to be fair to His Excellency the bishop, his love of poetry is contagious, and his comments for the most part apposite.We cannot neglect to mention the splendid artistry in the collages and other pictures of Joseph Karlik, nicely enhancing the poetry of this book without overwhelming it. At times, Karlik's artistry is more inspiring than the bishop's exegesis.