The Heart of a Catholic Poet: From the Pen of ‘Clementine of the Rosary’

BOOK PICK: The Shades of Twilight: A Book of Poetry

The Shades of Twilight

A Book of Poetry

By Clementina Theresa Sclafani

Our Sunday Visitor, 2016

68 pages, $11

To order: ewtnrc.com

                                              

History is replete with prominent examples of Catholics who used the arts to convey truths about human existence and our relationship with God.

Love of God informs the work of such people and gives it a transcendental quality that outlasts the trends of any given era. Probably the most notable Catholic artist is Pope John Paul II, who was an actor and a playwright before he answered a call to the priesthood and eventually his ultimate vocation as pope. To this day, Catholic artists continue to make their voices heard.

The Shades of Twilight: A Book of Poetry contains a collection of poems by Clementina Theresa Sclafani, whose cause for sainthood has been promoted by a dedicated sodality since 2013.

The Brooklyn, New York, poet had a great devotion to the Rosary during her lifetime and prayed to the Blessed Mother daily. She was known by many friends as “Clementine of the Rosary.” Since her death in 2009, many holy events, healings and conversions have been attributed to her intercession.

According to the foreword written by Bishop emeritus Paul Loverde of Arlington, Virginia, her poetry “aids in the mission to restore beauty within the fabric of modernity.” Her writing speaks primarily of the sublime connection between heaven and earth, reminiscent of the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins, who also used imagery from nature and a wistful combination of sounds to convey the greatness of God and the longing of all creation for eternity.

The poems are arranged in chronological order, and the evolution of her style and prowess with the pen is evident as one reads.

Word of her life and her poetry has spread even to the heart of the Church in Rome. In 2015, a copy of Lady Paradise was presented to Pope Francis by representatives of her canonization cause.

Reminiscent of the Song of Songs, with its intricate detail and evocations of nature, the poem paints a picture of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Sclafani’s use of sound is especially skillful in a poem entitled, The Horsemen, in which the progression of words emulates the sound of hooves: “I hear the hooves of the Horsemen/ Down the pathways of endless time/ Quickly dashing-Quickly passing/ The byways- And riding on./ And the quick of their click/ On the marginal brick/ Beats a rhythmic tick as they climb.”

This is an excellent little book for anyone who desires to see God in creation. Because of the obvious Catholic imagery and references throughout, a reader without a faith background would probably find it more difficult to read with enjoyment, but anyone wishing to read the work of someone being considered for canonization would be pleased by the poems it contains. The entire collection as a unified whole contains a rhythm of wonder and awe for God and his created things.

It is reassuring to know that the Catholic Church continues to be a Church of artists.

Hannah Kubiak writes from Westmont, Illinois.