When I first read Mom’s poem titled “Litany for a Cold Church Made Warm,” I wasn’t sure what to think. It just didn’t seem like the style of poetry she’d written as a teen and young mom.

As time has passed and I’ve dug through more archives, I’ve learned her “Litany” was used in a celebration Mass on Thanksgiving 1977 at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Indianapolis. Sadly, she wasn’t able to attend, as our family had recently moved back to Connecticut from Indiana.

Living in the Midwest had made its mark. Or maybe it was the chaos of the 1970s. Or missing three of her four children, now in college. No matter what the combination of those factors, Mom’s poetry from this era could turn raw. Bold.

If only Mom were still alive, I’d talk to her about this, and tease her.

“You bold thing!” I would proclaim.

Back in grade school, there was a nun who would use that j’accuse! denunciation to condemn the worst of behavior, such as talking back in class or chewing gum in church. Bold thing!

Mom included her “Litany” in a cassette she recorded for a writer friend:

Mom was tickled when she read her “Litany” during a church retreat and heard a child’s voice pipe up, repeating: Cinnamon Bun Baker!

Litany for a Cold Church Made Warm

God the Father
God the Mother
God the Sister
God the Brother
God the Child Abuser
God the Lover
God the Virgin
God the Whore
God the Entertainer
God the Bore
God the Olympic Winner
God the Cripple
God the Honor Student
God the Dropout
God the Soldier
God the Pacifist
God the Cinnamon Bun Baker
God the Diabetic
God the Beauty Queen
God the Fat Lady in the Circus
God the Frigid Woman
God the Casanova
God the Party Giver
God the Wallflower
God the Strip Miner
God the Ecologist
God the Glutton
God the Beggar
God the Sadist
God the Saint
God the Bully
God the Poet
God the Housewife
God the Corporation President
God the Lackey
God the Loner
God the Singer
God the Mute
God the Hero
God the Traitor
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit

God my Brother
God my Sister
God Myself.

~ Joan Vayo January 30, 1976

In the Catholic Mass, a litany is a petition, with each line followed by the congregation asking, “Lord hear our prayer.” That’s exactly how Mom’s poem sounds to me.

In my head and and in my heart.

“Litany for a Cold Church Made Warm” © 1976 Joan Vayo. All rights reserved.

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