Dearest Mary, Queen of All Hearts,
Star of Love in the dark night,
Have mercy on us,
And on the whole world:
Pray for us!
Precious Jesus, King of the Universe,
Lord of Love and Lord of Light,
Have mercy on us,
And on the whole world:
I trust in You!
A DIVINE MERCY PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING /
Holy God,
Holy Mighty One,
Holy Immortal One,
Please bless me, O Lord,
And save me, and give me the
Gifts I most need from you today:
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of love,
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of joy,
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of peace,
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of patience,
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of kindness,
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of generosity,
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of faithfulness,
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of gentleness,
Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of self-control,
Thank you, Jesus, for your divine wisdom.
Jesus, I trust in You!
THE HOLY KNIGHT /
You are the knight of the Dove,
Who on that Holy Night met Love.
The magi in their wise hands hold
Both sweet frankincense and gold,
But your strong courageous arms
Save Baby Jesus from all harms.
You are the brilliant Star of Light
In Bethlehem’s deep dark night.
Hellishly bloody Herod the Hater
Fears that he’s not the greater,
But you, oh most humble father,
With vainglory don’t even bother.
You are the knight of the Dove,
Who on that Silent Night met Love.
TO ST. JOSEPH /
Your thick, wavy brown hair happily
Blows in the breeze of God’s will;
Your warm brown eyes twinkle with
Contentment, crinkling as you smile.
You protect the holy Babe from Herod’s
Hellish hands, which are dripping with blood;
In obedience, you help the Holy Family
Evade him and elusively escape to Egypt.
As a worker, you handle the wood of
God’s creation with gentle strength;
With industrious ingenuity, you use
God’s good gifts to serve others.
You shatter lustful temptation with your
Carpenter’s mallet of holy purity;
Then, as God’s valiant soldier, you slay
Selfishness with the sword of surrender.
In your loving example, you show little Jesus
how to be a good son to His mother;
With your humble heart, you teach Love
How to love, and the angels are amazed.
OUR LADY OF JOY /
As she serenely stepped out of the upper
room, she rejoiced in a fresh new day,
She looked about her peaceful surroundings,
drinking in the delicious goodness of God;
Clusters of clouds casually wafted by, so low
that they brushed the pinnacle of the temple,
They passed by like eager pilgrims, Eucharistic
white against the bright blue morning sky;
Later that morning, she and the Apostles were
deeply immersed in prayer when, suddenly,
She inhaled the sweet scent of God’s presence,
and joyfully breathed in the Lord’s love;
The balmy breeze of grace swirled around her
and compassionately caressed her,
She reflected on God’s glorious grandeur,
and His magnificence soaked into her soul;
Then, the Word rushed through them all,
as the Holy Spirit swiftly swooped down,
The bold beautiful breeze of heavenly hope
placidly filled the sails of their souls;
The Paraclete, like a powerful, whirling wind,
spectacularly sparked the wicks of their
Souls, and ignited the fire of love, which
rippled through and rhymed in their hearts;
Then, Our Lady’s heart was passionately,
preciously pierced by the sweet sword
Of the Spirit; her soul, suddenly
brimming with God’s majestic mercy,
Soared in a spiraling celestial
crescendo of God’s love for her;
With peaceful confidence, her heart,
like a fiery supernova, exploded with
Feelings of love, joy, and peace,
of patience, kindness, and generosity;
Her smiling eyes then beheld the
flaming fire of Love resting on all, and as
She serenely surrendered all to the Spirit,
like a giddy geyser she gushed
Torrents of light-hearted laughter
and happy, heavenly tears; this golden
Cascade of pure love poured over
her soul like a warm, wonderful
Waterfall of holy honey; deep down
inside, the Spirit was strumming on
The harmonic harp of her heart, and
she was deliciously, delightfully deluged
By this overwhelming ocean of her
Jesus’ magnificent mercy and love;
The Light of the World had scattered
and defeated the dreary dark night.
EASTER AT EMMAUS /
Our heads hung low,
Saddened and perplexed
By the troubling events just
Three days prior in Jerusalem;
My companion and I were
Searching for the missing piece
Of the Messianic puzzle,
Not realizing that it was less
Than a stone’s throw away;
Then, when we turned around,
We found a man who was both
Wise and friendly, and He too
Was on the road to Emmaus;
As He spoke to us over the
Next several miles, the fire of
Heavenly hope began to rekindle
Within our souls once again,
So we invited Him to sup with us
When we arrived in Emmaus;
After the sun set over the hills,
The stars twinkled with delight as
The Son suddenly rose in our hearts,
For when He broke the bread,
He smiled His very gentle smile,
And we felt as if we had been
Born again.
THE RESURRECTION /
I turn around and before me you stand,
one whose robe is dazzlingly white,
As you speak my name and say “Mary,”
you forever shatter my deep dark night;
With great love, you bestow your peace upon me,
through your wonderfully warm brown eyes,
Your merciful smile cheers my heart,
so that my soul can most sweetly arise;
In the joyful breeze of the Holy Spirit,
your flowing hair very gently swirls,
In my heart I totally surrender to you,
and for you this is a treasure of pearls.
THE CRUCIFIXION /
In a shadow of deep darkness, the Light
of the world hangs crooked on the cross,
A jagged crown of razor-thin thorns is
thrust maliciously into His throbbing head;
Bright-red blood and the fickle crowd’s
sour spittle trickle into His stinging eyes,
He licks His cracked lips, and He tastes
the bold bitter flavor of blood.
The Roman soldiers’ wild whips tore
and radically ripped Jesus’ holy flesh,
And now the sticky crusted wounds cling
to the weatherbeaten wood and ooze;
Knife-like nails puncture His hands and feet,
and make them look like cored apples,
His shoulders slump down, crushed under
the weight of every sin in human history.
The soldiers hellishly hammered the nails
into Jesus’ flesh, as if He were an animal,
Indescribable pain blasted through the
bones of His body like dynamite;
He now surrenders His body, mind, soul,
and spirit to the will of His Father,
He lovingly practices what He preached,
and He prays for His persecutors.
Jesus is high up, as if atop an isolated
island, surrounded by a sea of hate,
A cacophonous chorus of insults assails
His ears, and the smell of sin is in the air;
His mother, living in the dark night of
unknowing, silently waits and watches,
She kneels in total surrender, while a
sword of sorrow slashes her heavy heart.
In the afternoon, Golgotha is enveloped
in a mysterious murky darkness,
Then, when Jesus dies, the earth quakes
in violent anger at the murder of its Creator;
Rumbling and roaring, buildings catastrophically
crash and crumble to the ground,
The terrifying temblor forces the sanctuary’s
curtain to explosively burst apart.
That mysterious murky darkness remains
in the hearts of Jesus’ faithful followers,
Their entire worlds are seriously shaken,
and they are stunned and stupefied;
But on the third day, the nebulous fog
of uncertainty will finally dissolve,
On the third day, a heavenly ray of Light
will come, far brighter than the sun.
THE AGONY OF UNREQUITED LOVE /
I love you, I love you
so very much,
more than you
can possibly imagine,
yet you carelessly
turn your back on me
and you ignore me,
living your busy life
as if I never existed;
now I kneel here
in this olive garden,
with my warm hands
clasped tightly together,
so deeply and so greatly
in love with you,
and my heart is breaking
because I want to share
my life with you,
my heart is nearly broken
because I love you,
and I painfully weep
hot tears for you,
and my sweat turns into
drops of blood --
all because of you.
SILENT KNIGHT, HOLY KNIGHT /
St. Joseph the Silent Knight,
Holy man of common sense,
You preached the gospel,
Though often without words,
If you had the knowledge,
You answered your neighbor,
If not, then through divine wisdom
You put your hand over your mouth;
Teach me how to hold my tongue,
To follow the Spirit’s lead,
Instead of getting in trouble
By rashly running ahead of Him;
It’s pleasant to converse,
But it’s far better to be prudent.
SILENT NIGHT: AN ANGEL'S PERSPECTIVE /
Here we find the epicenter of the holy earthquake
that destroys the sin of the centuries.
In jubilation, I swiftly and silently cruise through
the cool, crisp air on this holiest of holy nights,
Up above, high in the heavens, is the star of all stars,
powerfully pulsating with bursts of joy;
Below, in the countryside, the shepherds’ fires
crackle with contentment near Bethlehem,
For the Christ child, the Prince of Peace, has been
born in a lowly little stable in the city of David.
I am flanked by a merry multitude of fellow angels,
as we prepare for our descent into little Bethlehem,
From the cloud tops we cascade downward towards
the manger, like a waterfall of invisible light;
The shuffling shepherds who were so startled to
behold us now adore their newborn king on bent knees,
And the majestic magi marvel at the humility of the
Blessed Babe, the long-awaited holy Messiah.
St. Joseph thoughtfully covers the mild mother Mary,
to help heat her on this very chilly night,
The joyful Virgin warmly welcomes little Jesus,
covering Him with her tender kisses and caresses;
Blissful baby Jesus beams a bright smile, covering all
present with His most peaceful benevolence,
And we angels swirl and dance, and exultantly sing
and rejoice and praise the glory of the good God.
The holy family will live in the dark night of the unseen,
centered in the Light of Limitless Love.
JESUS, THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE /
I turn around and before me you stand,
one whose robe is dazzlingly white,
On your head is a glistening gold crown,
set with gemstones radiant and bright;
With great love, you bestow your peace upon me,
through your wonderfully warm brown eyes,
Your merciful smile cheers my heart,
so that my soul can most sweetly arise;
In the joyful breeze of the Holy Spirit,
your flowing hair so very gently swirls,
In my heart I totally surrender to you,
and for you this is a treasure of pearls.
A CANTICLE OF CHEERFULNESS /
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.
SCRUFFY ON TOP OF EUROPE /
I’m just a little bichon frise on top of the
Jungfrau, and I feel like I’m super special;
I’m now the highest dog in all of Europe,
And my heart is strutting, filled with pride.
But I really can’t take any credit for it at all,
Because my Master carried me up all the way;
I’m like a fluffy little lamb, and the only reason
I’m special is because He makes me feel special.
CHRISTMAS TIME /
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.
FIRST TRIP /
Dedicated to my father
Me and Dad were at
Knott’s Berry Farm and
he couldn’t wait to share
his favorite attractions with me;
the torch of his enthusiasm
burned even hotter
than the fiery ashes
of his cigarettes;
but I was like a wet match,
soaking wet,
and Dad had no chance,
no chance at all --
my whole world was
Disneyland;
hot words of anger
gathered in his mouth
like fierce storm winds,
but then he hesitated,
thought pensively for a moment,
and, finally, swallowed them;
with a smile of selfless surrender,
he took my hand in his own
and, together, we walked
towards the parking lot.
SATURN /
As the stunning jewel of our solar system,
the planet Saturn reigns in regal splendor,
Ringed by its exquisite, elegant crown,
its yellow-gold complexion is unparalleled;
Angels casually coast around the rainbow rings
as Saturn swiftly spins in glee,
Twirling atop God’s invisible index finger, this
planet humbly reflects the beauty of the good God.
NINO THE SALESMAN /
Nino the Donkey squeezes
out every penny in sales,
His smooth, slippery power of
persuasion never ever fails,
He legally pickpockets without
getting thrown into jails.
Nino needs to learn how to
sincerely serve each client,
He should give people a break
and with pricing be more pliant,
He must make others’ lives
easier and not be defiant.
NINO THE FEARMONGER /
Nino is a newscaster who’s
always in hot pursuit of fame,
He aims at human targets
to drop his bombs of blame,
Then he justifies himself saying
it’s just a part of the game.
Vin Scully could certainly
teach him a thing or two,
Nino should stay away
from bombastic gossipy goo,
He should calmly and simply
tell the facts that are true.
NINO THE LUKEWARM DONKEY /
Nino goes to mass perhaps every month or two,
Since he’s so very busy, his prayers are quite few,
But he says he’s a good Catholic if you ask his view.
Nino needs to sincerely seek so that he may find,
He needs more time with the Lord, away from the grind,
Otherwise, the more he runs, the more he’ll fall behind.