TO SANT' ANGELA DI FOLIGNO /  by Joe Castorino

Forty years in pursuit of 

Wealth and worldly respect,

Before you realized

It was all totally worthless;

But you made up for lost time

As the Wonder Counselor

Graciously removed the

Dead weight out of your life

So that you would be free,

Free to follow Him forever;

You generously gave away

Almost all you owned,

And Jesus sweetly filled you

With the fruit of the Spirit;

Like Augustine, too late

Did you know Him, but

Thanks to The Divine Mercy,

It’s never, ever too late

To finally find The Good,

To finally find The True,

To finally find The Beautiful:

God is love.

TO ST. BONAVENTURE /  by Joe Castorino

You were the genius blessed by God

Who spoke of the holy marriage of

Faith and reason, and, indeed,

What a fruitful couple they make.

You were the teacher blessed by God

Who showed that everything we do,

No matter how great or how small,

Should point us towards Heaven.

You were the diplomat blessed by God

Who brought Light to the Franciscan order, 

And as the sagacious Seraphic Doctor,

You were an instrument of God’s peace.

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT /  by Joe Castorino

Our fruit is very sweet,

And He is very happy,

When we remain attached

To the one true Vine.


Joy warms us with light,

Peace conquers fear,

Patience stops time,

Kindness multiplies smiles.


Generosity feeds the world,

Faithfulness makes us a Church,

Gentleness purifies the heart,

Self-control shuts out darkness.


But Love, yes Love, wondrously

Binds them all together into

Majestic harmony as our souls

Drink of the Lord’s Divine Mercy.

TO SAN JUAN DIEGO /  by Joe Castorino

Humility was your middle name,

So at Tepeyac to you she came;

You really didn’t know what to say,

Your only thought was to stop and pray;

You became Our Lady’s holy slave,

Always trustworthy, and very brave;

You saw sweet roses out of season,

The Virgin gave them for a reason;

Then you brought them to the bishop’s place,

The people filled with God’s dazzling grace;

As at your tilma everyone gazed,

The most wondrous sign left all amazed.

CHRISTMAS TIME /  by Joe Castorino

Christmas is a time

     with bright little toys,

St. Nick rewards good

     little girls and boys;

A time for Scrooges

     to help those in need,

Baby Jesus came,

     and now we are freed;

It’s a jolly season

     blessed by The Dove,

The manger is filled

     with His Divine Love.

AN ACT OF THANKSGIVING: TO JESUS THROUGH MARY /  by Joe Castorino



All-powerful,

Most holy,

Most high,

And supreme God,

I am so sorry for hurting you:

I impudently spat upon

Your sorrowful face,

I violently scourged

Your most blessed body,

I scornfully crowned

Your holy head with thorns, 

I savagely kicked you

When you fell with the cross,

I cruelly crucified your flesh

With stinging nails;

In short, I have bitterly tortured you

With every single one

Of my sins against you.

I despise and abhor

All my many sins,

Including any in the past

That I’ve withheld from you —

Mortal sins or venial sins —

Or never confessed honestly,

Or forgot about;

And I accuse myself

Of being guilty

Of high treason

Against your Divine Majesty,

Deserving to be executed —

And exiled — 

Because my sins offend you,

Lord God,

Who are all good,

Supremely good,

Totally good,

Who alone are good.

You deserve only

My heartfelt love

And blind obedience

To your holy will.

Therefore, I hereby make

This declaration and resolution:

I am absolutely and utterly determined,

Through your sweet holy graces

And your unfathomable divine mercy,

To be your humble and obedient slave,

Through Our Lady,

The Queen of All Hearts,

And to be your faithful servant

Who with promptitude runs away

From the false enticements of all sin,

And the empty allure

Of all temptation.

Instead, I completely surrender myself

Into your warm embrace,

And with a humble heart,

Bountifully overflowing

With sincere thanksgiving

For your magnificent mercy,

I receive your loving 

Kiss of peace.

Amen.

TO ST. JOHN XXIII /  by Joe Castorino

Some were very surprised you were

Elected by the College of Cardinals,

Still others thought you were not

Dignified enough for the papacy,

Yet Our Heavenly Father chose you.

With your timid smile and mild speech,

Who would have ever thought that

You would have had the courage and

Strength to convene Vatican II,

Yet Jesus Christ knew you.


In your humility you were obedient,

And like the sweetest little lamb you

Trusted Our Good Shepherd

As He held you in His strong arms,

So the Holy Spirit used you.

THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE /  by Joe Castorino

Powerful and impressive and majestic,

The Sun’s luminous rays reach out

Towards the distant outer rim,

Where the darkness is pervasive,

And where evil breeds in the 

Black cloud of never-ending night.


Disappointed and disillusioned,

In the dark night of discontent,

Sad souls long to fill the void

Of the black hole in their hearts,

So they search for truth and beauty

At the center of the universe.


Patient and gentle and merciful,

The Son’s compassionate glance

Seeks souls empty and broken,

And they are attracted by the

Gravitational pull of His joy and

The ecstasy of His eternal love.

FIRST HOLY COMMUNION /  by Joe Castorino

It was a memorable day for me,

The greatest of my young life;

I still remember the class photo,

Me and another boy were the only

Ones dressed in suits of white,

And I loved wearing white

For the first time in my life.


Then inside the old church,

I recall wondering to myself

What Jesus would taste like;

When the time came to go forward,

I stood in line, and when our turn came,

We kneeled at the communion rail,

Waiting for the good God to come.


There He was, my Lord and my God,

And He was dressed in white too;

I meekly opened my small mouth

To welcome the King of Kings,

And then Baby Jesus was gently

Placed by His Holy Mother

On the manger of my tongue.

JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Antonio Castillo Saavedra’s masterpiece

Stripped of his ornamental tunic

By his jealous, impulsive brothers,

Joseph sits cramped inside a dry well,

As if inside a cavernous dungeon,

Bewildered, like a lost lonely sheep; 

Then, he’s startled by a falling rope --

He instinctively grips it and

Suddenly, he’s jerked upwards,

His eyes observing the misty clouds

That seem to be swirling in confusion

Above him in the cold dark sky;

After being yanked out of the well

And thrown roughly to the ground

By one of his very own brothers,

He wearily looks up at an 

Astonished Midianite merchant,

Who carefully looks him over

With a shrewd business-like eye

Before buying him, on the spot, 

For a bargain of twenty shekels;

As Joseph slowly walks alongside

This cheerful good-natured trader,

He wonders what God’s plans will be

For him in the distant land of Egypt.

DAVID AND GOLIATH /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Caravaggio’s masterpiece



David, youthful and ruddy, 

God’s brave little warrior,

Bends over to see the stupefied 

Expression on Goliath’s face;

The beheaded giant attempts to

Utter one last word to the victor,

But the smooth stone piercing

His bloody brain prevents him;

The future king is as calm and

Collected as a sage prophet,

Truly he is God’s holy champion,

The faithful and fearless one.

DIVINE mERCY AT PEYTO LAKE /  by Joe Castorino

As I struggle up the steep path,

My legs now feel much heavier,

And I wonder if the view will really

Be worth the arduous journey;

I see a sage old man approach,

Bearded like one of the prophets,

When I ask if I should continue,

He winks at me and nods yes;

Finally, when I reach the summit,

I behold the Valley of Heaven -- 

I breathe the Holy Spirit into my

Soul, and then exhale a smile;

The snow-capped mountains

Glisten in the warm soothing Light,

As the lovely lake glimmers from 

The Divine Mercy rays of the Son.

DISGUISES IN THE DARK NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

Gentle St. Mother Teresa

Said that Jesus came to her

In the distressing disguise

Of the poorest of the poor,

And, of course, she was right;

However, is it possible that

Jesus also comes to us

in the distressing disguise

Of the inconvenient,

Of the unexpected, 

Of the cross?

A CANTICLE OF CHEERFULNESS /  by Joe Castorino

A Tribute to Three Saints and a Venerable

My spirit rejoices in God, my savior;

He had the divine sense of humor; 

If I did not become upset, there would be joy in this;

I will serve God cheerfully,

Be cheerful, always cheerful,

One needs to have smiling faces around,

Live a happy life, full of joy!

Today you laugh and sing and carry your smile,

Optimism? Yes, always! Break into song with a Gloria,

Happiness is a consequence of self-surrender.


THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Paolo Veronese’s masterpiece

Abraham simply can’t wait any longer:

His heavy heart thunderously thumps

Deep down inside his big broad chest, 

And his body trembles with terror.


He hesitates as if he is hopelessly lost,

As if wandering in a wasteland of worry,

Yet when he closes his weary eyes,

He finds God’s gift of faith in his heart.


Little Isaac gazes upward towards the sky,

Wondering why the clouds are so grey,

He completely trusts his good father,

And knows not his own impending doom.  


Abraham’s hopeful hand grips the knife,

Then very slowly, and ever so silently, 

He raises its bloodless blade in the air,

Preparing for the swift stroke of death. 


But an angel in white stops him and 

Abraham’s body crumbles to the ground,

Like fallen fragments of unleavened bread,

And Divine Mercy warmly smiles upon him.

SUSANNAH AND THE ELDERS /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Pompeo Batoni’s masterpiece



The lecherous elders saw her,

with eyes wanton and wicked

they saw the lovely Susannah

as she innocently bathed in the

warm water of the silent garden,

but when she rejected the lurid

scheme of these unjust judges,

their vicious vile hearts burned

with lust and anger, and so

they perniciously plotted to

melt down her golden reputation

in the fiery furnace of calumny;

but still, she trusted,

Susannah trusted in God --

then, the Spirit of the Lord rushed

upon a youth named Daniel

who, though very humble,

spoke with the authoritative

passion of the prophets of old,

and his wondrous wisdom

amazed the people who listened --

and, lo, in the twinkle of an eye,

Justice struck down the elders

like a holy hammer from Heaven.

THE ISRAELITES DRINKING THE MIRACULOUS WATER /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Jacopo Bassano’s masterpiece

Just a moment ago,

before I struck the rock,

the people used their mouths

to stone me with sarcasm,

to run me through with ridicule,

to crucify me with cruelty --

but if they would see You here,

the Holy One, the great I AM,

they would never do this to You;

yet now, with those same mouths,

they thirstily drink the water,

refreshing their parched throats,

strengthening their tired bodies --

but what they really need,

what they really and truly need,

to refresh and purify their souls,

is Your gracious gift of Living Water,

an endless ocean of Divine Mercy.

MOSES SAVED FROM THE WATERS /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto’s masterpiece



A lonely little baby in a basket

floats freely in the current of

the Nile River, his brown eyes

wandering to and fro, innocently

wondering where his mother is;

the Spirit delicately leads the

young one towards his new home,

and in a short time the babe feels

his journey come to a gentle halt;

when the basket opens, he looks up

and sees a pretty face, but unlike

any that he has seen before, painted,

but with a light, elegant touch;

then the Egyptian woman’s

eyes open wide in wonder,

and her beautiful lips curve

into a warm, sweet smile,

and for the first time in

her life, she is in love.

RANSOMED BY THE DIVINE MERCY /  by Joe Castorino

I really deserve to die,

for all of my sins are more

multitudinous even than the

grains of sand in the Sahara.


On my execution day, I stand

before the cross, terrified,

but then you ransom me and,

amazingly, take my place.


Your holy blood rushes in a river

of Divine Mercy from the cross,

and, behold, you miraculously

make me new, and I’m born again.