Written by Sister Jan Kilian, this blog will give an understanding of what it’s like to be Franciscan. Living out the spirit of Saint Francis, we see all God’s creation as brother and sister. We, Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, are committed to building relationships and community, ministering wherever there is greatest need, promoting justice and healing Mother Earth’s wounds. My writings will give a glimpse of the compassion, spirituality, interconnectedness and goodness of living Franciscan.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Weathered Wine Skins

by Sister Jan Kilian


“New wine is for fresh skins,” says Jesus in Matthew 2:22. The gospel of the day on January 19th caused my heart to skip a beat.

What do his words mean for an aging Franciscan community?

Can’t our weathered skins still receive
and hold
fermenting juice,
stretching,
waiting?

If our skins are aged, is our wine near readiness to be poured out?

My own life is limited. The time for lifting a glass to me is coming, I know.
Fidelity,
keeping watch,
transformation (in darkness as well as in light)
made good wine of my life.

Who else is in the vineyard for our congregation?
My gut cries for
new skins,
with visible,
tangible hope
for the future
of this winery
before all of the old is served.


P.S. I know Someone who can make wine out of water. . . .




2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jan, Thanks for your poem, I like it.
Carolyn

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful reflection on aging--all aspects of aging. I would describe "Weathered Wine Skins" as deeply soul-moving.

L.D.