Couple collaborates on book of poetry and photographs
St. Luke the Evangelist parishioners Sandra Marek Behringer and John Behringer of Indianapolis recently published a book of religious poetry titled Only a Passage. She also is the author of a novel, Hawks Crossing, published in 2005, about a family in a fictional southern Indiana town. (Photo by Mary Ann Wyand)
By Mary Ann Wyand
The poetry of daily life fascinates Sandra Marek Behringer.
The talented Catholic poet and novelist often feels compelled to take pen and paper or use computer keystrokes to preserve vivid words and rhythmic phrases that resonate within her life experiences and reflect her deep spirituality.
Her husband, John, a gifted photographer, admits to being captivated by artistic images of split-second moments in time caught with just the right lighting and camera angle.
The longtime St. Luke the Evangelist parishioners are enjoying their retirement years in Indianapolis with their four sons—Matthew, Marc, Paul and Joseph—daughters-in-law and 10 grandchildren as well as occasional trips to interesting places around the world.
Recently, they collaborated on Only a Passage, a book of poetry and photographs published by Prairie Hawk Books which poignantly captures their relationships with God, family members and friends.
Bishop Robert F. Morneau, auxiliary bishop of Green Bay as well as a poet, author and lecturer, reviewed their book and gave it his literary blessing.
“Combining black and white photos with poetic reflections, Only a Passage offers more than a mere passage,” he wrote in a statement for the book’s back cover. “This volume is rich in metaphor, meaning and messages from the heart.”
Bishop Morneau, who also is her writing mentor, described the book as “a good read in all seasons.”
The focus of Behringer’s poetry originates from her love for God and her Polish Catholic upbringing.
Many of her poems are inspirational reminders that God is always with us, especially in times of trial.
“I was exposed to a lot of wonderful stories and music and poetry as a child,” she recalled, “partly through my Polish heritage and partly in my Catholic grade school, where the sisters encouraged us to read and write. I read all the time. We had all kinds of books in our home.”
The late Pope John Paul II is her favorite Polish poet, and she has copies of his books of poetry.
After completing degrees at Mundelein College in Chicago and Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., Behringer worked as a speech and language pathologist for 25 years.
She also served the Church in central and southern Indiana as director of planned giving for the archdiocesan Office of Stewardship and Development until her retirement in 2003.
“When I was driving to parishes or to visit donors in the 39 counties of the archdiocese, I would be traveling through beautiful Indiana countryside and very often would be struck with images that I wanted to remember in words,” Behringer recalled. “I remember pulling off the road at times and taking out a piece of scrap paper to describe a scene.”
Through the years, she has written several hundred poems, most with faith-related themes.
“They spring from meditation,” she said, “and thinking about the Eucharist, the sacraments and family. We decided to publish this book to leave a legacy of poems and images to our grandkids.”
Her insightful poem about Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, “A Beautiful Fire,” was written as a request for The Criterion and later published by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the Respect Life Sunday educational packet distributed to dioceses in the United States and Canada.
Benedictine Father Eric Lies of Saint Meinrad, a talented artist, also rendered that poem in calligraphy with her permission for sale at the Abbey Press Gift Shop in St. Meinrad.
“I got quite a readership from what The Criterion did for me by publishing my poems in the ‘My Journey to God’ column,” Behringer said, “and it occurred to me that I had been writing faith-based poetry—eucharistic, sacramental, Catholic poetry—for years.”
Her religious poetry reflects her strong belief in a loving and merciful God.
“Even when he hides his face, he is always, always there,” Behringer said. “I like to dwell on the meaning of existence, of what it means to be alive. Often, after I have read Scripture, … I’m inspired to put some ideas into poems.”
The title poem is an affirmation of the reality that “though we might be lonely, … we don’t have to be because through Eucharist the God who made us breaks down that wall,” she said, “and then there is no loneliness because he enters into the atoms of our being. Beyond that, [the theme] seems to me to suggest life itself, which is only a passage into eternity. All the poems in the book about marriage, pregnancy, baptism, family and friends are also about passages. We go from one passage to another as we move toward God.”
(Only a Passage can be purchased at Krieg Bros. in Indianapolis and Holy Family Bookstore in Carmel, Ind., or by sending $6.65, which includes tax and postage, to Prairie Hawk Books, 1427 W. 86th St., Suite 518, Indianapolis, IN 46260. To order Hawks Crossing, log on to www.sandramarekbehringer.com.) †
