Catholic Poetry

Father Edward F. Sorin, C.S.C. (1814-1893)

IN MEMORY OF THE VERY REV. EDWARD SORIN
By Maurice Francis Egan

Let others praise in him the saint—
The champion of our Christ and God;
Let others all his virtues paint
Above the head, beneath the sod.

For me, I love the poet best,
Idealist! Idealist!
Who sees beyond the clouds at rest
The clearer space with sunrise kist.

Swift as the eagle cuts the air,
His glance cut to the heart of things;
Idealist! And he found there
What the true poet sees and sings.

Idealist! And yet our earth
He often touched, to bound again
Still higher, where high deeds have birth
And God talks with the souls of men.

Like Michael moulding Peter’s dome,
A gem against the mighty blue
Of the great roof, he built God’s home—
Did he build better than he knew?

He knew God willed; he knew God’s love;
He knew his strength from day to night;
He saw the golden hope above,
And he would build when there was light.

In all the clouds, he knew the grace
Of Christ incarnate—through Her word;
In grief and gloom he saw the place
Where She the angel’s message heard.

A poet’s eye foresaw the work;
A statesman’s eye o’erlooked the plan;
A soldier’s eye saw dangers lurk.
O poet, soldier, priest, and man!

Ideas live when all earth fails—
Beyond to-day, beyond to-day!
This poet saw beyond the veils,
And cleared the path and led the way.

Not only with the pen and scroll
Are poems made; the poet’s life
Is lived within the poet’s soul;
With all sweet hope alight and rife.

It shines on every heart that gains
A glimpse of faith beneath the dome
This poet built amid the plains,
Reflecting here the light of Rome.

It lives in knowledge, firm and true,
That turns to awe the bigot’s sneer;
Did he build better than he knew?
Who knows? And dare we name him seer?

He was a dreamer of fair dreams;
A doer of great deeds was he,
And hence Our Lady, golden, gleams
Above the oak and maple tree.

And hence she speaks to all the land
That Christ took flesh—this flesh of ours—
And ever stretches forth Her hand
Against the doubt of evil powers.

Poet, whose work can never die
Because his faith was never dim.
His songs he sings near the Most High—
The songs of poets— seraphim.

His song on earth still lives for us
A chant of the Most Holy One;
“Be men, know love,” it singeth thus;
“Mind, climb to God!” Its burdens run.

Saint, hero, founder, leader, priest,
And pioneer, let others praise,
But I, who come among the least,
Must bring a simple wreath of bays.

For I do best the poet love
In him we know, Idealist;
Compound of eagle and of dove,
Whose eyes saw light beyond the mist.

October 31st, 1894

A Brief History of the University of Notre Dame Du Lac, Indiana, From 1842 to 1892, Prepared for the Golden Jubilee, To Be Celebrated June 11, 12, and 13, 1895 (Chicago: The Werner Company, 1895), 242-244.

Maurice Francis Egan (1852-1924)

NOTE

Born in France, Edward F. Sorin was ordained a diocesan priest in 1838. A year later he joined the newly founded Congregation of the Holy Cross (C.S.C.). In 1841, he was sent with a group of Brothers to America. The following year he founded the University of Notre Dame du Lac (better known as the University of Notre Dame). He served as President of the university and as head of the community in America. In 1866 he was elected superior general of the worldwide community, an office he held until his death. He continued to live at Notre Dame until his death on October 31, 1893.

An author, journalist and diplomat, Maurice Francis Egan taught English at Notre Dame. He was born and educated in Philadelphia. He edited several journals, wrote a number of books, and taught English at Catholic University in Washington, D.C. President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Amabassador to Denmark. In 1911, he received Notre Dame’s prestigious Laetare Medal.