THE BLACK DRAGON

Pride is a black dragon that tries

To kindle our sinful souls with

The flaming fires of falsehood,

Causing our egos to swell with

The helium of haughtiness;

But thanksgiving is a weapon,

A weapon of heavenly wonder,

Used by the Holy Family when

There was arrogance in the air;

So when we are praised for some

Fine worldly accomplishment,

Then we too should turn to the

Lord God, and, with a little smile,

We should frequently thank Him

For each of His gracious gifts,

And seeing our happy hearts filled

To the brim with gratitude, behold,

The black dragon flees in terror.

THE KING OF TIME

I arrogantly acted

as if I owned Time,

but I did not,

so the Thief

kidnapped Time

and took him away from me,

tempting me and taunting me

with interruptions,

and I got exasperated,

so I madly chased after Time,

like a wild-eyed maniac,

but the Thief just laughed at me,

as if I were a ridiculous fool,

a stupid ridiculous fool.

But when the Light

Showed me The Way,

I surrendered back to Him

His generous gift of time:

Tuus totus ego sum,

I am all yours,

And all the time I have is yours,

O Lord, through Our Lady,

The Queen of All Hearts —

I breathe in His peace,

Oh, so deeply,

And then exhale my impatience,

As I worship

The King of time,

The King of Divine Mercy.

THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL

St. Augustine: “Patience is the companion of wisdom”

When we impetuously 

Want to speed through

The intersections of life

And just do what we want —

Not what God wants —

Then the red Light stops us,

So that we can recognize the danger;

Acting rashly, thoughtlessly,

Charging ahead of the Lord,

All of these cause nothing but trouble,

So the red Light gives us a little more time,

To ponder, to reflect, to pray,

So that when the Light turns green,

we can move and act

In God’s time, in God’s will.

LONGER MEDITATION ON DIVINE MERCY IN THE DARK NIGHT OF UNKNOWING

Inspired by the Saints

Following the guidance of

St. Francis de Sales, I pray:

Dearest Jesus,

King of Divine Mercy,

I place myself in your holy presence,

and I beseech you to inspire me

by the power of the Holy Spirit

for the glory of God the Father.

Vive Jésus!

Our Lady of Love

then comes to me,

encouragingly,

and quoting the words

of St. Paul the Apostle,

she begins to prepare me

for the spiritual battle

and says to me,

Be filled with the Spirit,

singing to the Lord,

and giving thanks always.

Then, Our Lady,

smiling peacefully,

reminds me of the words

of San Padre Pio,

and says to me,

Prega e spera:

non agitarti.

L’agitazione

non giova a nulla.

Iddio è misericordioso,

e ascolterà

la tua preghiera.

(Pray and hope:

don’t be agitated.

Agitation doesn’t help at all.

God is merciful,

and He will hear

your prayer.)

Our Lady then quotes

the words of St. John Paul II,

and joyfully says to me:

Non abbiate paura.

(Don’t be afraid.)

Then, Our Lady gives me

the kiss of peace

on each cheek

and continues,

with greater emphasis:

Non abbiate paura!

(Don’t be afraid!)

Our Lady then embraces me

with tender motherly love

and, echoing the words

of St. John Paul the Great,

she says to me:

I love you! I love you!

I love you! I love you!

Then, Our Lady does

what she does best:

she leads me to Jesus

and humbly says,

Fate quello que vi dirà.

(Do whatever He tells you.)

Our Lord of Love

then stands before me,

in gentleness,

and says to me,

Approach this Sea of Mercy

with great trust.

Then, Our Lady,

at Jesus’ side,

speaks again,

and quoting St. Augustine,

she continues preparing me

for the spiritual battle,

and so, with holy courage,

she kindly says to me,

Patience

is the companion

of wisdom.

Our Lady then reminds me

of the words of

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen,

and calmly says to me,

When Our Blessed Lord

came to this earth,

He had the divine

sense of humor.

Then, Our Lady speaks

in the spirit of

St. Francis of Assisi,

and wisely says to me,

True joy is divine mercy

in the dark night.

After doing all these things,

Our Lady sweetly kneels before Jesus,

and then speaks the words of

St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration,

faithfully saying to Him:

Tuus totus ego sum,

et omnia mea tua sunt.

Then, humbly kneeling

side-by-side with Our Lady,

I continue St. Louis’ prayer,

and I wholeheartedly say,

I am all yours, O my Jesus,

and all that I have is yours,

through Santa Maria,

your most holy mother.

Our Lady then stands,

faces me once again,

and speaks the same

inspiring words to me

that she spoke

to St. Faustina:

Be courageous.

Do not fear

apparent obstacles,

but fix your gaze

on the Passion of my Son,

and in this way

you will be victorious.

At last, I find myself

transported in spirit to

The Sermon on the Mount,

and I hear Jesus,

The Divine Mercy,

speak sincerely

and lovingly to me,

and He says,

Come to me,

all you who are weary

and find life burdensome,

and I will refresh you.

Take my yoke

upon your shoulders

and learn from me,

for I am gentle

and humble of heart.

Your souls shall find rest,

for my yoke is easy,

and my burden light.

Amen.

LOVE CONQUERS ALL FEAR

in fear.

we shudder.

thinking we may offend.

someone.

by speaking.

the wrong words.

because political correctness.

ties a knot.

in our throats.

and makes us mute.

But in Love,

When the opportunity

Presents itself,

My heart smiles,

And my soul soars,

As the Morning Star

Rises in my heart,

And I shout out,

Bursting with joy,

“Merry Christmas!”

FALLING

At the Last Supper,

Judas left you.

He betrayed you.

But don’t we

Betray you too? -- 

When we make excuses,

And skip the prayers,

And skip the masses,

And skip the Eucharist?

For then we are falling,

Down, down, down,

Headlong towards

The open-throated

Abyss of doom

Which vomits forth

The flames of folly.

Instead, let us

Return to Him, 

Our Father of Love,

To make a fresh

New start to our

Broken lives,

Let us fall

To our knees

And surrender to Him,

Let us fall

Into His loving arms

And embrace Him,

Let us fall,

Fall in love with Him,

Down in adoration falling.

A JUGGLER'S LIFE

I’m like a ridiculous painted clown,

Juggling to-do’s, up and down

And back and forth, my life is a frantic

Intertwining of past, present, future,

In a tangled jungle of multitasking,

Weighed down by the heavy stress

Of guilt over my imperfect past and

Of worry over unknown tomorrows;

But life is so much easier when I

Zero in and focus on the great I AM,

Living perpetually in the present,

Juggling one little ball at a time:

Blessed are the single-hearted,

For they shall surely see God.

MY GUARDIANS

Temptation tries to throttle me,

So why should I face him alone?

My guardian angel patiently waits 

Until I confidently cry out to him,

Asking him to protect me

From all danger and all fear,

And joyfully joining him are the

Mighty and powerful archangels,

Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael,

They create a giant bubble,

Formed out of Our Lord’s

Fountain of Living Water,

And it shields me from the

Fiery darts of the evil one.

TO ST. JOAN OF ARC

You obey as a spiritual warrior,

Yet are an innocent loving girl;

Your bravely fight for the Lord,

Yet are very sweet and kind;

You stand up for what is right,

Yet are so gentle and peaceful;

You persevere in the darkness,

Yet are filled with the holy Light;

You face death with courage,

Yet have life and heavenly joy.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES' MEDITATION ON VOCATION

The Words of St. Francis de Sales

“The King of Glory

Does not reward his servants

According to the dignity

Of the offices they hold,

But according to

The love and humility

With which they fulfill

Their offices.”

MEDITATION ON DIVINE MERCY IN THE DARK NIGHT OF UNKNOWING

Inspired by the Saints

Following the guidance of

St. Francis de Sales, I pray:

Dearest Jesus,

King of Divine Mercy,

I place myself in your holy presence,

and I beseech you to inspire me

by the power of the Holy Spirit

for the glory of God the Father.

Vive Jésus!

Our Lady of Love

then comes to me,

encouragingly,

and quoting the words

of St. Paul the Apostle,

she begins to prepare me

for the spiritual battle

and says to me,

Be filled with the Spirit,

singing to the Lord,

and giving thanks always.

Then, Our Lady,

smiling peacefully,

reminds me of the words

of San Padre Pio,

and says to me,

Prega e spera:

non agitarti.

L’agitazione

non giova a nulla.

Iddio è misericordioso,

e ascolterà

la tua preghiera.

(Pray and hope:

don’t be agitated.

Agitation doesn’t help at all.

God is merciful,

and He will hear

your prayer.)

Our Lady then quotes

the words of St. John Paul II,

and joyfully says to me:

Non abbiate paura.

(Don’t be afraid.)

Then, Our Lady gives me

the kiss of peace

on each cheek

and continues,

with greater emphasis:

Non abbiate paura!

(Don’t be afraid!)

Our Lady then embraces me

with tender motherly love

and, echoing the words

of St. John Paul the Great,

she says to me:

I love you! I love you!

I love you! I love you!

Then, Our Lady does

what she does best:

she leads me to Jesus

and humbly says,

Fate quello que vi dirà.

(Do whatever He tells you.)

Our Lord of Love

then stands before me,

in gentleness,

and says to me,

Approach this Sea of Mercy

with great trust.

Then, Our Lady,

now at Jesus’ side,

speaks again,

and quoting St. Augustine,

she continues preparing me

for the spiritual battle

and kindly says to me,

Patience

is the companion

of wisdom.

Our Lady then reminds me

of the words of

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen,

and calmly says to me,

When Our Blessed Lord

came to this earth,

He had the divine

sense of humor.

Then, Our Lady speaks

in the spirit of

St. Francis of Assisi,

and wisely says to me,

True joy is divine mercy

in the dark night.

After doing all these things,

Our Lady kneels before Jesus,

and speaks the words of

St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration,

faithfully saying to Him:

Tuus totus ego sum,

et omnia mea tua sunt.

Then, sweetly kneeling

side-by-side with Our Lady,

I continue St. Louis’ prayer,

and I wholeheartedly say,

I am all yours, O my Jesus,

and all that I have is yours,

through Santa Maria,

your most holy mother.

Our Lady then turns

and speaks to me

the same words

that she spoke

to St. Faustina,

and, inspiring me,

she says,

Be courageous.

Do not fear

apparent obstacles,

but fix your gaze

on the Passion of my Son,

and in this way

you will be victorious.

At last, I find myself

transported in spirit to

The Sermon on the Mount,

and I hear Jesus,

The Divine Mercy,

speak sincerely

and lovingly to me,

and He says,

Come to me,

all you who are weary

and find life burdensome,

and I will refresh you.

Take my yoke

upon your shoulders

and learn from me,

for I am gentle

and humble of heart.

Your souls shall find rest,

for my yoke is easy,

and my burden light.

Amen.

THE SPIRITUAL BATTLE

Guardian Angel, please pray for me,

Because the devil tempts us to obsess,

We must evade the evil of worldly idols,

And not dream of what to possess;

Thirsting for things can thicken anxiety,

Which can seem to never cease,

We struggle and tuggle with all our might,

And banished is all our peace.

The diabolical dragon swoops down,

Determined all good to destroy,

With the flaming fire of enslaving greed,

He seeks to kill all devotion and joy;

But as our trustworthy guide from Heaven,

With love you sing a sweet prayer,

And your petitions rise like a happy dove

Higher and higher up into the air.

When the evil one tries to pour words of

Corrosive poison into our innocent ears,

Teach us to think of the Lord Jesus crucified,

So that banished are all our fears;

When we dance with delight with temptation,

Help us the crucifix recall,

For the cross crushes the devil’s teeth,

And into hellish Styx he will fall.

Meditating on the gore of Golgotha,

Our hearts like tearful candles melt,

Knife-like nails puncture his palms,

And blood trickles to where Our Lady knelt;

Then our foolish obsessions are obliterated,

By the power of His holy love,

And we are magnificently made new,

By His grace flowing from above.

Trying to lure us into obsession,

The devil deceptively dangles his bait,

But seeing you push us out of harm’s way

Only fuels his mad fury and hate;

We escape the avalanche of avarice,

That can smash the soul like snow,

You lead us on a path filled with Light,

So that our life in the Spirit will grow.

MEDITATION ON DIVINE MERCY IN THE DARK NIGHT OF UNKNOWING

Inspired by the Saints

Following the guidance of

St. Francis de Sales, I pray:

Dearest Jesus,

King of Divine Mercy,

I place myself in your holy presence,

and I beseech you to inspire me

by the power of the Holy Spirit

for the glory of God the Father.

Vive Jésus!

Our Lady of Love

then comes to me,

encouragingly,

and quoting the words

of St. Paul the Apostle,

she says to me,

Be filled with the Spirit,

singing to the Lord,

and giving thanks always.

Then, Our Lady reminds me,

peacefully, of the words

of San Padre Pio,

and says to me,

Prega e spera:

non agitarti.

l’agitazione

non giova a nulla.

Iddio è misericordioso,

e ascolterà

la tua preghiera.

(Pray and hope:

don’t be agitated.

agitation doesn’t help at all.

God is merciful,

and He will hear

your prayer.)

Our Lady then quotes

the words of St. John Paul II,

and joyfully says to me:

Non abbiate paura.

(Don’t be afraid.)

Then, Our Lady gives me

the kiss of peace

on both cheeks

and continues,

with greater emphasis:

Non abbiate paura!

(Don’t be afraid!)

Our Lady then embraces me

with tender motherly love

and, echoing the words

of St. John Paul the Great,

she says to me:

I love you! I love you!

I love you! I love you!

Then, Our Lady does

what she does best:

she leads me to Jesus

and humbly says,

Fate quello que vi dirà.

(Do whatever He tells you.)

Our Lord of Love

then appears to me,

in gentleness,

and says to me,

Approach this Sea of Mercy

with great trust.

Then, Our Lady,

standing at Jesus’ side,

speaks again,

and quoting St. Augustine,

she kindly says to me,

Patience

is the companion

of wisdom.

Our Lady then reminds me

of the words of

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen,

and, patiently,

she says to me,

When Our Blessed Lord

came to this earth,

He had the divine

sense of humor.

Next, Our Lady speaks

in the spirit of

St. Francis of Assisi,

and wisely says to me,

True joy is divine mercy

in the dark night.

After doing all these things,

Our Lady kneels before Jesus,

and speaking the words of

St. Louis de Montfort’s consecration,

she faithfully says to Him:

Tuus totus ego sum,

et omnia mea tua sunt.

Then, sweetly kneeling

side-by-side with Our Lady,

I continue St. Louis’ prayer,

and I wholeheartedly say,

I am all yours, O my Jesus,

and all that I have is yours,

through Santa Maria,

your most holy mother.

Our Lady then turns

and speaks to me

for one last time, and,

inspiring me, she says,

Be courageous.

Do not fear

apparent obstacles,

but fix your gaze

on the Passion of my Son,

and in this way

you will be victorious.

Finally, I find myself

transported in spirit to

The Sermon on the Mount,

and I hear Jesus,

The Divine Mercy,

speak sincerely

and lovingly to me,

and He says,

Come to me,

all you who are weary

and find life burdensome,

and I will refresh you.

Take my yoke

upon your shoulders

and learn from me,

for I am gentle

and humble of heart.

Your souls shall find rest,

for my yoke is easy,

and my burden light.

Amen.

THE BUTTERFLY

The Holy Spirit

Is very much like

A sweet beautiful 

Monarch butterfly

That is full of Love:

It glides in peace

Upon the swirling breeze 

Of heavenly happiness,

And delightfully dances

With indescribable joy,

Bobbing up and down,

And to and fro,

Often unpredictably,

For the wind blows

Where it wills.

KEEP FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT

Vince Lombardi: “Never, ever, ever, ever give up!”

Just as 

there is 

no sin 

that 

God 

cannot 

forgive, 

so also 

there is 

no person 

that 

God 

cannot 

make 

a saint.

THE JOURNEY FROM PATIENCE TO DIVINE MERCY

I have a tendency to

overreact to things,

to immediately assume

the worst, out of fear;

but Our Lady is teaching me

that I need to be patient --

since patience, as St. Augustine said,

is the companion of wisdom,

and so, when an accident happens,

I take fear, and I promptly surrender it

to Our Lady, so that she can place

it at the foot of the cross,

until with a calmer mind

I can bring it before the King

in my private audience with Him,

and allow Him to guide me;

in the meantime,

I am resolved to

have the divine sense of humor,

knowing in my heart

that the Divine Mercy

will never let me down:

patience leads to good humor,

and good humor leads to

divine mercy in the dark night.

HOLY FIRE

The Spirit of Love

Awakens in my heart

Like holy fire,

Burning away impurities,

Enlightening my mind,

Sweetening my soul.

THE BUTTERFLY

The Holy Spirit

Is very much like

A sweet beautiful 

Monarch butterfly

That is full of Love:

It glides in peace

Upon the swirling breeze 

Of heavenly happiness,

And delightfully dances

With indescribable joy,

Bobbing up and down,

And to and fro,

Often unpredictably,

For the wind blows

Where it wills.

THE BUTTERFLY

The Holy Spirit

Is very much like

A sweet beautiful 

Monarch butterfly

That is full of Love:

It glides calmly upon the

Swirling breeze of 

Heavenly happiness,

And delightfully dances

With indescribable joy,

Bobbing up and down,

And to and fro,

Often unpredictably,

For the wind blows

Where it wills.

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD

In silence,

I long to hear

God’s Word,

And feel

God’s presence;

So when worry wails,

When anxiety assails,

I remember that God

Smiles upon us,

Compassionately,

And holds the world

Like a precious pearl

In His holy hands.