MOODINESS /  by Joe Castorino

It is a passiveness

That brings no peace;

It is an aggressiveness

That silently implodes;

It is blind to the kind,

It destroys all joys,

It chills; for it kills.

THE ANCHOR /  by Joe Castorino

The captain loved the anchor

Of his elegant cruise ship,

He utterly adored that anchor,

It was solid silver and gold and

Was decorated with diamonds,

It sparkled in the moonlight,

But then a sudden storm swept

Over the sleepy sea and

So the anchor was lowered --

He clung to her metallic body,

Blinded by his foolish attachment,

Then as the anchor splashed

Into the thirsty black water,

The sharks’ blade-like teeth cut 

His flesh like a million daggers,

Mangling his wretched body,

And his soul sank deep into

The bottomless abyss of

The Dark Sea of Doom.

THE PURGATORIO: A DIVINE DRAMA /  by Joe Castorino

Based on Dante’s Purgatorio

Let’s now take a tour through the Purgatorio 

By going back to Dante’s Alighieri’s time,

It’s all about poetic justice over there,

So let the punishment fit the crime!

They start at the base of the mountain,

From sea level they gradually ascend,

On an island surrounded by ocean,

Their souls must gradually mend.

The arrogant carry heavy boulders,

Their proud faces hilariously frowned,

For their weight crushes their bones,

Making a mighty crackling sound.

The envious up on the next level

Are stuck in an emotional rut,

They want to pull their hair out,

For their eyelids have been sewn shut.

The wrathful are on the next level,

Blinded by angry black smoke,

They try to breathe in some oxygen,

But hate makes them gag and choke.

The slothful are sleepy-eyed sluggards,

And yawning’s what they do for fun,

But now they scramble like maniacs,

Though exhausted, they run, run, run.

Next we encounter the greedy misers,

Who lie with their faces in the dust,

As scavengers they searched for money,

Wanting wealth like the upper crust.

As we continue, we see the gluttonous,

They stretch but can’t reach the fruit,

It maddens them, making them crazy,

For their hunger indeed is acute.

Ascending higher, we reach the lustful,

Who leap high through the fiery flames,

They do it to win their freedom,

In the Purgatorial Olympic Games.

On Earth, these souls were very selfish,

And their sins, oh yes, they were many,

Sadly, they chose Justice over Mercy,

So they must pay back every last penny.

Yet they journey up towards Paradise,

Cleansed so much better than soap,

For the Purgatorio is a true blessing, 

Since it’s so full of heavenly hope.

ASH WEDNESDAY /  by Joe Castorino

Misty grey flakes of melancholy ash

Fall in my dark, gloomy sky as I

Somberly reflect on the approach of

The dreaded and deadly pestilence;

As I examine my life, I realize that

Truly I’ve crucified the Lord of Glory

Through my solitary selfishness and

Through my treacherous tongue;

But after my discipline in the desert,

The Light of the Divine Mercy

Will shine in dazzling brilliance

And quickly warm my cold heart.

THE DIVINE SENSE OF HUMOR /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

The divine

   sense of humor

      makes us laugh,

Without it,

   life is just

      lived to the half;

We are happy,

   and we smile

      with good cheer,

For the Lord’s

   perfect love

      casts out all fear.

THE BATTLE /  by Joe Castorino

Like an aggressive squadron of

Enemy fighter jets, a flurry of

Problems is rapidly approaching

My sector in attack formation;

In my anxiety I am tempted to take

Them on all at once, but, instead, 

I veer off to the right and one breaks

Off from the pack and follows me;

I take my adversary into the Light

And he is utterly blinded by it, so

I launch the missiles of patience

And love until he is destroyed;

One by one, I do the same with

The other challenges until, finally,

The spiritual airspace is clear, then

I praise the King of the Universe.

THE INCARNATION /  by Joe Castorino

Whispered sweetly, her “yes”

Ripples and reverberates

Through the Halls of Heaven,

And the Spirit speeds through the

Atmosphere in a powerful pulse

Of gleaming, virginal white light

Into the humble House of Gold:

And, behold, The Divine Mercy is

Incarnate.

THE TILMA /  by Joe Castorino

In the old mission church,

We, faithful pilgrims, are 

Packed together tightly

Much like votive candles,

Our weary wicks waiting

To be lit by Our Lady,

With the fire of the Spirit;

It wasn’t the real tilma,

Yet the good God has

No limits whatsoever, so

After mass, I approached,

Not expecting anything —

But when I touched her,

Love’s flame filled me,

And the Divine Mercy

Warmly embraced me.

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.