FREEDOM

When liberty

is divorced from responsibility,

it dreadfully descends

in a dizzying death spiral of

selfishness.

But when liberty

is married to responsibility,

it courageously spirals upward

in a heroic flight of

freedom.

STALE COOKIES

We must avoid the

stale cookies of selfishness,

for they always crumble

into complaints;

but with the Eucharistic

bread of thanksgiving,

we can then live like

the holy saints.

A HOUSE BUILT ON SAND

A castle of carousing was built

On a lazy beach in

The City of Cool,

In the Province of Popular,

On the slippery sand of

Foolish fragile fear:

Then, a voracious tidal wave,

With a savage swarm of

Paranoid piranha,

Chewed apart the castle,

And a furious flood

Of thick red blood

Poured out in torrents,

Turning the green one red.

A HOUSE BUILT ON ROCK

A humble home was built

On a foundation of faith,

In the Town of Trust,

In the Province of Prudence,

On the rugged rock of

Divine Mercy:

The wild waves awoke

Like ferocious beasts

And beat against the

Formidable fortress,

Wailing with watery fists,

But all to no avail --

Nothing could harm

This holy house of Love.

THE TEMPEST

The wild tempest is unleashed

   and approaches us all at night,

Like a fierce, hungry cannibal,

   it swallows the moon in a bite;

Awake, awake my dearest souls:

   the near occasion of sin beware!

Away, away, while there’s still time,

   before you are caught in a snare!

TO ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE

The Christ was cruelly crucified in

  that tumultuous Passover season,

So your life was shattered and shaken,

  and you surrendered to the god of Reason;

You started to sound like a practical pagan,

  and not like a Christian apostle,

For you to believe Jesus rose from the dead,

  it would take a miracle very colossal.

The other apostles saw Jesus alive,

  and that’s why their faces turned pale,

But to you this sounded like a stupid story,

  like a fantastical fairy tale;

With stony sarcasm you scoffed at them,

  and you told them you needed proof,

Without some truly indisputable facts,

  it seemed like an apostolic goof.

But a week later you were with them

  as He walked right through the wall,

Your dark eyes now twinkled in the Light,

  and tears of faith began to fall;

Then you looked closer at Jesus’ flesh,

  and it was ripped by a Roman lance,

So you crumbled to your knees in humility,

  and you melted in His merciful glance.

Your soul had dried up in the desert of reason,

  with troubling doubts all around,

But now in this flash flood of Living Water,

  they very, very quickly drowned;

You then became the apostle of India,

  as your journeys led to the East,

Helping many people find their way,

  to the Heavenly wedding feast.

THE DIVINE SENSE OF HUMOR

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.

TO ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Your jolly, joyful eyes dreamily dance

  to the sublime, saintly symphony

Of the unimaginably beautiful creations

  of the Most High Lord God;

Your pious, prayerful persistence

  and earnest embrace transform the

Leprous lechery of our lives into

  the radiant Son-shine of lasting love;

Your voice, like a melodious and

  musical church bell, resonates and

Reverberates throughout the ages

  with the clarity and purity of truth;

Your simple, kindly actions speak

  louder than the sonic boom of the

Ghastly gossip and eloquently

  empty chatter of the world.

TO ST. PETER THE APOSTLE

Your fishing boat bobs up

   and down in uncertainty,

As you reflect upon the

   meaning of your life;

With a sterile stare you

   gaze at the wobbly waves,

While the wonderful wind of

   the Spirit is silently approaching;

A merciful Son of Man is

   standing on the sandy seashore,

He is looking for his Rock,

   to make him a fisher of men;

The breeze blows through

   your stubborn dark hair,

As the Son of Man asks if He

   can come aboard your boat.

As Jesus ascends, He disappears

   into nebulous misty clouds,

You feel like a floundering

   fisherman without his nets;

Without the Good Shepherd,

   your heart seems hollow,

You now appear more like

   a pebble than a rock;

But later, a deafening wind

   whirls through the room,

And fantastical flaming

   fireballs crown all present;

In divers tongues, all mystically

   praise the good God,

And you proclaim the Word

   with holy courage.

As you are cruelly crucified

   upside-down on Vatican Hill,

Your life is brimming with

   meaning and significance;

Your blood falls to the earth

   like a myriad of mustard seeds,

Where the Church will

   take root and grow strong;

You are the first link in

   the precious papal chain,

An unbreakable chain dripping

   with martyrs’ blood;

This chain will withstand

   the hammering of heretics,

It will be like a fruitful vine

   bringing Love to the world.

THE ECLIPSE

Inspired by the writing of St. Teresa of Avila

Mortal sin

is a full moon

that moves stealthily

through the dazed,

slothful

daytime sky,

and no one

seems to notice,

but gradually,

its foul black disc

completely eclipses

the Son.

THE BATTLE

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.

TO ST. THOMAS MORE

You were the Lord High Chancellor

  Under the infamous Henry the Eight,

At first you tasted the king’s friendship,

  But later on the sovereign’s hate;

You were a right honorable gentleman,

  With an intellectually sharp mind,

With courage you stood against the crown,

  For, sadly, it was spiritually blind;

So you were put in the Tower of London,

  A place that vile criminals dreaded,

You faithfully served the good God first,

  Thus, the monarch had you beheaded;

In this world, you bravely battled for truth,

  The people, you’d never mislead ‘em,

Now from Heaven you pray for us all,

  As the patron of religious freedom.

DIVINE MERCY: ENLIGHTENED BY THE HOLY EUCHARIST

I stagger and stumble        

and struggle through life,    

my brain twisted into knots    

by perplexing problems,         

by a delirium of doubts,    

by a flurry of fickle fears;    

so Our Lady of Love            

takes me by the hand        

and gently leads me to        

The Divine Mercy,        

where He is enthroned in His        

regal monstrance of gold,    

and I pour out my heart    

before His Holy Majesty;    

from His Most Precious Body    

two beams of bright light,    

both red and white,        

burn through the darkness,    

illuminating my mind,        

and the Truth has set me free.

TO SANT' ANTONIO DI PADOVA

They knew you as a Franciscan friar,

And your wise words lit in them a fire;

You preached to the fish when men wouldn’t hear,

They leaped from the water, filled with good cheer;

Then some envious men poisoned your cup,

They stared, aghast, when you drank it all up;

Before you heretics always cower,

Since through you God shows His mighty power;

When we really feel we have lost our mind,

Your passionate prayers help us Jesus find.

TO ST. CATHERINE OF SIENA

Inspired by the writing of this great saint

You stand atop a holy bridge,

A bridge that has several levels,

Like the historic Ponte Vecchio,

And the waves of the worldly waters

Are swarming with sea demons who

Obsessively seek souls to rip open

With their blade-like bloody teeth,

And their cold cadaverous claws,

To torture them in The Endless Death;

But some souls, through God’s grace, 

Cling to the edge of the first level

Of the bridge, dripping wet and

Shivering, terrified of going to hell,

So they clutch tightly to the bridge,

Fearing that they will fall back into

The turbulent black river of doom;

Other souls, through God’s strength, 

Climb up higher to the second level

Where they are safe from the evil

Threat below, in a place of serene

Consolation, where happiness can

Finally reign in their grateful hearts;

However, there are still others who,

Through your passionate prayers -- 

And surrender to the Holy Cross --

Climb to the top of the bridge, and

There -- yes, there! -- they are

Pierced by the overwhelming beauty

Of the magnificent heavenly realm,

Where Jesus’ peace surrounds them, 

Where Jesus’ joy enthralls them, 

Where Jesus’ love embraces them.

THE PARADISO: A DIVINE ROMANCE

Based on Dante’s Paradiso

As we look up into the warm face

Of the glorious, majestic Sun,

We are free from the weight of sin,

And so we gently soar upwards

At the sizzling speed of Light,

Into the marvelous Marian blue sky.

As we approach the Heavenly Realm,

We peacefully pass through the leaping

Flames of the bright Ring of Fire

Which orbits our little blue planet;

Then our ears are serenaded by

The lovely Music of the Spheres,

Each sphere slicing into space like

The melodious bow of a violin.

We begin by visiting the First Sphere,

An ever-changing inconstant orb,

And there we find those happy souls

Who, though unintentionally, broke

Their vows, and so, are in the lowest

Tier of Heaven, glad but not nearly

As happy as many other souls,

And yet they are content and they

Feel no envy whatsoever towards

Those more greatly blessed.

On the Second Sphere we see the

Virtuous seekers of holy honor;

Their happiness is clearly greater

Than the souls of the previous sphere

As they sing the praises of God

And dance with quiet contentment

In a place where fear does not exist.

On the Third Sphere are the amorous,

Who sinned with hearts full of lust,

But, by God’s holy grace, they learned

To love the most holy Son of Love;

Thus, these fortunate souls dance with

Overflowing joy, for they are saved!

On the Fourth Sphere are twelve 

Saintly doctors of the Holy Church,

They form a bright human garland 

In the air that is even more dazzling

Than the stars that shine behind;

Their hymn of praise resounds

Through all of the Heavenly Realm,

And their generous love is all in all.

On the Fifth Sphere are the valiant

Warriors of God who are arrayed in 

The formation of a large cross and

Their radiance is of a still greater

Intensity as they taste peace and joy

Unlike anything ever known on Earth,

They are like shooting stars darting

Across the sky in their holy ecstasy. 

On the Sixth Sphere, the souls are even

More beautiful, even more dazzling;

Here are the courageous, where the

Just and temperate rulers dwell in 

God’s peace, and above we can see the

Heavenly luminaries arranged to form

An eagle, surrounded by glowing lilies,

High up in the sparkling clear sky.

On the Seventh Sphere the holy 

Contemplatives live in a perpetual

State of sweet harmony, happiness

Following upon happiness, as they

Reflect with deep satisfaction on the

Inexhaustible Mysteries of Love;

They are surrounded by a globe

Of heavenly crystalline,

And atop of it is a Golden Ladder

Upon which saints soar

To the lofty summit of God’s glory.

As we ascend still higher, we arrive at

Our next destination, the Eighth Sphere,

Where the intense and ineffable ecstasy of 

Love deliciously fills all of these good souls

So completely and so eternally;

They smile with incomprehensible contentment

As they look back through the universe

And see the Earth, minuscule and 

Insignificant, and yet greatly loved

By the Lord, the King of the Universe;

Then through the theological virtues of

Faith, Hope, and Love, we are ready to 

Pierce deeper into the Heart of Love.

We arrive at the Primum Mobile and

Through the magnificent Mystical Rose

We can finally see the Empyrean itself,

Where God, who is Light from Light,

Is surrounded by choirs of angels:

Seraphim and cherubim, thrones and

Dominations, virtues and powers, 

Principalities and archangels -- all in

Ceaseless praise and holy jubilation.

This is where all words fall short,

For nothing can ever describe just

How good is the source of goodness,

How beautiful is the source of beauty,

How true is the source of all truth -- 

How can we even begin to describe

Spiritual union with The Divine Mercy?

The sublime serenity of eternal peace!

The dreamy delight of everlasting joy!

The sweet sensations of endless love!

TO ST. PHILIP NERI

Your happy heart desired to go abroad,

  On a mission to the exotic Far East;

Where you might convert lots of souls,

  And become a holy Jesuit priest.

But as a merry man with natural goodness,

  You were drawn by God to Rome;

You had no money and you had no plan,

  Yet the Eternal City became your home.

With Socratic discussions on street corners,

  You most pleasantly evangelized;

Yet you did it in such a fun-loving way,

  That the people never felt chastised.

One Pentecost something special happened --

  You felt the peace of The Dove;

When a globe of fire entered your mouth,

  You almost died of ecstatic love.

You inspired many in the confessional,

  So that the truth they understood,

And the people always heard you saying,

  “When shall we begin to do good?”

JUBILEE 2000: BEFORE MASS

As I serenely sit in front of St. Peter’s

  Basilica, I soak in the beauty of the piazza,

I look about my peaceful surroundings,

  Drinking in the delicious glory of God;

Clusters of clouds casually waft by, so low

  That they almost brush the top of the dome,

They pass by like eager pilgrims, Eucharistic

  White against the bright blue sky.

Fresh flowers flow down on the white steps in front

  Of the altar, like a colorful cascading waterfall,

I inhale the perfume of their sweet scent,

  And I breathe in the Lord’s love;

The elegant church bells powerfully and

  Rhythmically ring out God’s grandeur,

While the balmy breeze swirls around me

  And compassionately caresses me.

JUBILEE 2000: ST. PETER'S BASILICA

Reflecting on God’s grandeur, I marvel

  At the beauty that surrounds me,

The statue of the Pietà vibrantly reflects

  The sweet sublimity of God’s mercyà

The nave floats in the swirling, variegated,

  Multi-colored waves of a marble ocean,

And massive pillars of magnificent marble

  Stand at attention like the Swiss Guards.

As the doors silently open, the Holy Father’s

  Vehicle slowly rolls down the aisle,

And in rushes a breeze of heavenly hope

  That placidly fills the sails of our souls;

I stand on my chair and see the saint whose

  Faith defeated the dreary dark night,

As he kisses a babe, love ripples through

  The crowd and rhymes in our hearts.

LECTIO DIVINA: TO JESUS THROUGH MARY

My guardian angel takes me by the

Hand and leads me up into the

Celestial blue sky of my imagination…

I hear the dulcet voice of Our Lady

Reading me the Scriptures of the day,

And the Word comes alive for me

As the magnificence and beauty 

Of Divine Wisdom refreshes my 

Soul -- then my sweet Mother takes me

By the hand, and we spiral upwards,

Listening to the very same Word -- 

But now from a Trinitarian perspective:

I hear the gentle thunder of the 

Heavenly Father’s voice give me

Renewed strength and courage,

I hear the Divine Dove’s voice which

Breathes new life into my spirit and

Gives me holy zeal for the mission,

I hear the Good Shepherd’s humble

Soothing voice, and the Son Light

Shines in mystical brilliance in my 

Happy heart as He teaches me how

To find the Way to the Truth in the Life.