Rosary Lane

Jesuit cemetery, Guelph. Source: commons.wkipedia.org
     Rosary Lane
   
As sun shines and weather warms
   I walk up Rosary Lane
To visit brothers in their graves
   And then walk down again

A day will come with sun or rain
   When I’ll be carried there
To join my brothers in the grave
   And not walk home again

Eric Jensen, SJ, works in the Spiritual Exercises ministry at Loyola House, Guelph, Ontario. He also paints and writes. He is the author of Entering Christ's Prayer (Ave Maria Press, 2007)and Ignatius Loyola and You (Novalis 2018).

Print
12 Comments
  • Peter Bisson
    Posted at 01:20h, 14 May Reply

    Thank you Eric!

  • graeme quinlan
    Posted at 03:18h, 14 May Reply

    THIS LITTLE STORY SHOULD REMIND US ALL, THAT WE ARE ALL DESTINED TO BE TAKEN ON THAT LAST WALK, WE SHOULD NOT BE AFRAID. IF WE TRUST THAT OUR GOD IS THERE TO MEET US.

  • Gabrielle Feuvrier
    Posted at 04:08h, 14 May Reply

    Oh my goodness Eric, this poem strikes a melancholic note ! keep walking my friend, in the warming sun. Greetings and peace from Paris from Gabrielle

  • Vicky Chen
    Posted at 06:14h, 14 May Reply

    Thank you, Eric. Many times I have visited the rows and rows of Jesuits there. Some are mentors and friends. Your lines have evoked profound love and gratitude even though I can no longer be there during this pandemic exile. I thank God for keeping all of us in Communion.

  • Gerry Forest, S.J.
    Posted at 09:09h, 14 May Reply

    Thanks Eric. Many memories are brought back from my days at Guelph and walking the Lane, and stopping and visiting the Brothers. One”s final destination.

  • Frank Obrigewitsch
    Posted at 10:13h, 14 May Reply

    The reality of reaching wizened years, Eric.
    Thanks.

  • Frances Cheung
    Posted at 12:32h, 14 May Reply

    Thinking of you affectionately in Vancouver.

  • Sheila Profit
    Posted at 12:44h, 14 May Reply

    Thanks Eric. It is ironic that today we are burying my sister Jean and I am reading this. My brother James is buried in Rosary Lane. They are now together.

  • Margaret Powell
    Posted at 13:42h, 14 May Reply

    Reading the comments after reading the reflection was like completing a prayer for me. Prayers for and thanks to all for enriching my day.

  • Rosemary McGinn
    Posted at 20:25h, 14 May Reply

    Eric,thanks for your beautiful poem.I treasure deeply the many mentors and spiritual guides, who journeyed with me through the years.Gratefully Rosemary McGinnC.S.J.

  • Dennis Galon
    Posted at 20:51h, 14 May Reply

    Beautiful, Eric!

    A fabulous contemplation for all, especially poignant for us “wizened” ones, and doubly poignant for those of us who walked Rosary Lane as young bucks and gave the path its name.

    The New York Times today published a story about Sister Aletheia (Greek for “Truth”)

    “who since 2017…has made it her mission to revive the practice of memento mori, a Latin phrase meaning “Remember your death.” The concept is to intentionally think about your own death every day, as a means of appreciating the present and focusing on the future.”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/14/us/memento-mori-nun.html

    Suitable supplemental reading for those of us captivated by Eric’s moving poetry.

  • Brian Tansey
    Posted at 15:04h, 17 May Reply

    Thanks Eric

    when you and my friend Eric McLean refer ( referred) to ‘ Rosary Lane ‘ … I am so appreciative of everything that ‘SJ’ has given me over the years ; now a bit wizzened myself … every time I’m at Loyola House I spend hunks of time wandering in that cemetery recalling all you ‘SJ’ guys and the many many good memories I have from knowing them …. starting with the yr. I spent as a ‘boarder’ at Loyola H.S. ( 1958) and served ( even at 5:30a.m. ) Mass for the likes of Fr. Jack McCarthy. Your short poem enriches and brings it all back again .. ie. right up to the present .

Post A Reply to Margaret Powell Cancel Reply

Subscribe to igNation

Subscribe to receive our latest articles delivered right to your inbox!