The Transitus

"Ascesi,
too weak a word,"
moaned Dante Alighieri.
"Who speak now
should say Oriente
...the East."
He knew some fire
had risen there
on that hilltop town,
bright and clear as
the Morning Star,
then burnt and bleeding
as the falling sun
at dusk,
that October third,
when the Transitus
was accomplished.
And if I had
that warmth to share,
if the Fire had seared
five shrines
in my side
and hollowed limbs,
I too would be
bound
to uncover that light
to unearth that treasure
and set fires
this very day
in all the souls
I see cold
and aching for God.
And though this light
wavers and is dim
(I confess to Almighty God
to Blessed Mary ever Virgin
to Blessed Michael and the
whole glowing cloud
of witnesses)
I have cause to rejoice
and burn with love,
for mercy mercy mercy
flows from meeting Francis
and his Lord
of reconciliation.

---

• Icons by Fr. William McNichols

• Information on obtaining Icons by Fr. William McNichols

---

This page is managed by Fr. Raymond A. Bucko, S.J. of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Creighton University. E-Mail: bucko@creighton.edu Page Last Updated: December 1, 2001

---