A Preface to Communion

by Jeffrey Essmann | May 29, 2024 1:00 am

catholic poetry room[1]
This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by Ada Anne Ohnezeit.

A Preface to Communion

When you pause on the crest of a lofty hill
Just to rest and reflect on the view,
To drink in the beauty the Father creates,
A wondrous thing happens to you.

The sweep and the grandeur of distant blue heights
Gilt-edged by the sun’s brilliant beam;
The crowns of tall trees nurtured deep in the earth;
Far below flows a swift-moving stream.

All worries, all cares at that moment in time
Are banished from heart and from thought,
As every perception is solely in tune
With the wonders the Master has wrought.

And each time we meet at the table of God,
We stand on that hilltop again.
There, casting aside our world’s daily frets
We commune with the Savior of Men.

Thus, losing ourselves in that oneness with Him,
We offer this life we can’t save,
And find, in the emblems that cannot be lost
The glorious Salvation He gave.


Ada Anne Ohnezeit, born in 1925, is a lifelong resident of Western Pennsylvania, and has been reading and writing poetry since her youth. Throughout her life, Ada has written many short, humorous verses for friends and family as well as longer compositions about life, death, family, faith, nature, and holidays. These works have been enjoyed only by loved ones of all ages and her church community, as she has never submitted her work for publication until now in her 99th year. Ada has recently filmed two volumes of her poetry for her church and has been traveling to other local churches to read. She is currently writing and revising work to prepare for a third volume.

Ada’s recorded works can be found in the YouTube playlist “The Poetry of Ada A. Ohnezeit”:
Link to Playlist: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdZmTCg2hUB4v9a6hI1i8vyH9ax9OeHof&si=ARzUBzd43NJYpaT3[2]

Endnotes:
  1. [Image]: https://integratedcatholiclife.org/wp-content/uploads/Art.014-THIN.jpg
  2. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdZmTCg2hUB4v9a6hI1i8vyH9ax9OeHof&si=ARzUBzd43NJYpaT3: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdZmTCg2hUB4v9a6hI1i8vyH9ax9OeHof&si=ARzUBzd43NJYpaT3

Source URL: https://integratedcatholiclife.org/2024/05/a-preface-to-communion/