JUBILEE 2000: BEFORE MASS /  by Joe Castorino

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 /  by Joe Castorino

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 mercy;

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.

JUBILEE 2000: THE PIETÀ /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Michelangelo’s masterpiece

As I look up at the statue, I see Santa Maria,

  as white as virgin milk, holding her Jesus;

She is the elegant embodiment of humble

  Obedience and selfless compassion.

 

The Savior lay in the stately surrender of

  Sacrificial love, in His mother’s majestic arms;

He is crushed, the weight of the world’s

  Woes heavy upon His wounded body.

 

On the surrounding walls, the magnificent

  Marble is a multicolored whirlwind;

The Holy Spirit beautifully swirls and

  Soars through it in grace-ful agape.

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.

HIS SORROWFUL PASSION /  by Joe Castorino

Act I

The Saint remains silent,

so that The Enemy will not

aggressively grab any

of his unguarded words

and twist them

into steel-jaw traps

in order to cruelly

cripple him.

Act II

The Invader sends forth

his insidious spies,

trying to pressure The Saint

with the phantom of fear

and treacherously trick him into

thoughtlessly rushing headlong

into the Stygian swamp of sin,

but with the joy of holy laughter

The Saint scatters the darkness of doom

with the luminous light of

the divine sense of humor.

Act III

The Dark One returns yet again,

but he changes his strategy

against his valiant opponent:

this time he brings a

sinister squadron of deadly

black-hearted soldiers

to wickedly wage war

against The Saint,

but crushed under the weight

of this wooden cross,

The Saint gives The Father

a total gift of himself and

freely surrenders all in a

prayer of total abandonment --

at that very instant

he notices that the cross

is now much easier to carry,

but he doesn’t know why.

Act IV

The Malicious One is terrified

when his foul bloodshot eyes see

The Lady, The Queen of All Hearts,

in dazzling and majestic beauty,

standing in stately elegance

very close to The Saint,

and with a smile on her lips

she whispers to The Saint

a heartfelt command

of loving compassion:

“Do whatever He tells you.”

Act V

The Evil One, infuriated,

is seething in hot hatred,

but he falls back into the Black Void

when Jesus, The Lord of Love,

appears next to The Saint saying,

“Come to Me, all you who are weary,

and I will refresh you” --

with this, The Saint’s devout soul

is soothed by The Divine Mercy,

and The Saint realizes that the more

he surrenders to The Savior,

the more He takes onto Himself

the weight of The Cross,

and thus, he is wondrously saved by

The Blood of the The Lamb.

PRAYER FOR THE NEW YEAR /  by Joe Castorino

O Victorious Virgin,

In the dawn of this

Glorious new year,

Take my hand, gently,

And sweetly lead me

On the path to Truth;

Then joyfully unlock

The Gate of Heaven

Which opens wide

To the Prince of Peace,

To the King of Kindness,

To the Lord of Love;

As your Son rises

Deep in my heart,

May Divine Mercy rays

Of red and white

Shine through me

And warm the world!

A DIVINE MERCY PRAYER AFTER HOLY COMMUNION /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by St. Faustina & St. John Paul II

Holy God,

Holy Mighty One,

Holy Immortal One,

Please bless us, O Lord,

And save us, and give us the

Gifts we most need from you today:

I pray for myself, and I pray for my family,

I pray for my faith community, and I pray for the world.

Jesus, I trust in You!

PRAYER IN THE DARK NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

Jesus, Lord of Divine Mercy,

I pray for the fruit of the Spirit —

Love, joy, peace,

Patience, kindness, generosity,

Faithfulness, gentleness, self-control —

For myself, for my family,

For my community, for the world.

Madonnina d’Amore, pray for us.

St. Joseph the Worker, pray for us.

St. Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Holy Guardian Angels, pray for us.

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us.

St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us.

St. Bernadette of Lourdes, pray for us.

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen, pray for us.

St. Mother Teresa, pray for us.

St. John Paul II, pray for us.

Jesus, Lord of Love,

Thank you for these precious gifts.

In the deep dark night,

Let my little candle shine bright

In your magnificent Light.

Amen.

TO ST. JAMES THE JUST /  by Joe Castorino

You were the first bishop of Jerusalem,

  And were known as James the Just,

As Jesus’ cousin and St. Jude’s brother,

  People knew that you they could trust;

Your knees thickened like a camel’s,

  From all your time kneeling in prayer,

You had a long beard and lots of hair,

  And you always treated people fair.

 

The Jewish leaders failed with St. Paul,

  So they turned their ire towards you,

Their raging revenge was out of control,

  And their delirious desire grew;

They wanted to crush the New Way,

  So they pursued you like angry apes,

Christians were sprouting up everywhere,

  Like vineyards full of plenteous grapes.

 

You bravely refused to reject the Christ,

  So they threw you from the temple’s pinnacle,

Their grotesque expressions were ghastly,

  As they chose to be stubbornly cynical;

Then they hurled jagged stones at you,

  And with a mallet broke your bones,

But you uttered prayers for your attackers,

  In between your painful groans.

FAITH IN THE DARK NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

In the deep dark night,

The swirling black sky

Of sadness and despair

Seems never ending,

And the wild winds 

Of worry and woe

Scream in pain,

But the Morning Star,

A beacon of hope,

Sweetly rises in my soul,

Whispering the truth

With its happy light:

“Have faith, my child. 

The darkness will not last.

The Divine Mercy is near.

So be patient and trust Him,

For the Son always rises!”

HEALED BY DIVINE MERCY /  by Joe Castorino

My intellect puffs with pride,

but as I kneel before Jesus

hanging on the cross,

I am cut by contrition

as if by a crown of thorns;

then, the blood of Divine Mercy

cleanses my corrupt soul,

and I am born again.

 

My hot veins boil with anger,

but as I kneel before Jesus

hanging on the cross,

I am punctured by penitence

as if by knife-like nails;

then, the water of Divine Mercy

purifies my putrid soul,

and I am born again.

 

My heart throbs with envy,

but as I kneel before Jesus

hanging on the cross,

I am stabbed by sorrow

as if by the soldier’s lance;

then, the light of Divine Mercy

floods my foul soul,

and I am born again.

A POEM TO COMMEMORATE THE JUBILEE YEAR OF MERCY /  by Joe Castorino

Pre-judging is a vice that we don’t like at all,

Yet doing this can become a habit into which we fall,

Let’s not be like the merciless Pharisee known as Saul.

 

Instead, pre-loving is what we should do the most,

Assuming the best of others should be our boast,

So we need God's grace from the Eucharistic host.

UNEXPECTED JOURNEYS INTO DIVINE MERCY /  by Joe Castorino

To escape -- like a coward --

The stranglehold of stress,

I try my best to sidestep

Inconvenient interruptions

Whose menacing thunder

Frightens me — yet why?

They lead me on a journey

To the God of surprises,

To Heaven’s horizon,

Where the sun’s streaming rays

Of radiant red and white are

Colored by Love’s divine mercy.

THE PINCH HITTER IN THE DARK NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

I always wanted to be a starter

and have all the glory, but,

instead, the Divine Manager is

wisely asking me to be a

good and faithful pinch hitter

in the dark night;

Our Lady explains to me

that as a pinch hitter

my priority should be

to wait for the interruptions —

to look forward to the interruptions —

because that’s one way that

I can make God first in my life;

she reminds me that

through the powerful

Prince of Patience

I will have the time

for whatever God wills --

then, when my time

finally comes, I’ll be ready:

as the opposing pitcher

fires a fastball right down

the middle of the plate,

I will steadily stride forward

with holy strength,

and with a swing that is

smooth and confident,

yet filled with humility,

I will line a single to center field;

I will look at Our Lady,

who will be cheering me on

from the dugout and

as I stand on first base,

I will cheerfully smile at her,

and my heart will be rhyming

to the rhythm of the Spirit.

THE CLOSER IN THE DARK NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

My Merciful Manager

hands me the ball,

and I take the mound     

in the ninth inning   

since our team is    

ahead by one run.    

 

I go to confession and then        

devoutly pray Lectio Divina,        

reflecting upon Sacred Scripture        

for at least thirty minutes,        

and I pitch a supersonic fastball

that crisply crackles in my

All-Star catcher’s glove --     

the first hitter strikes out,

with an aggressive         

swing and a miss.

 

Next, I receive Holy Communion,        

and I swiftly snap off a    

knee-buckling curveball --    

the second hitter in the lineup        

strikes out, frozen    

like a cement gargoyle        

as he watches the baseball        

bend over the strike zone.    

Finally, free from attachment

to every inclination to sin,

I pray an Our Father,        

followed by a Hail Mary,

for the Holy Father’s intentions,    

and I release a knuckleball        

that dives through the air    

like the Dove of Divine Mercy --         

the third hitter in the lineup        

strikes out, waving his bat            

helplessly, hopelessly,            

missing it by a foot.

 

Suddenly a bright star        

speeds across the dark sky,        

streaming red and white    

in unimaginable exhilaration,                

escaping the pains of Purgatory        

and finding the pleasures of Paradise;        

then my All-Star catcher,

the sweet Lady of Love,        

leaps into my waiting arms,        

joyfully embracing me  

with the kiss of peace,     

to celebrate yet another

heavenly save in the

Kingdom of Divine Mercy.

THE STADIUM IN THE DARK NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

I quietly and invisibly

live my faith,

and accept life’s

incessant curveballs;

I am obedient to my

Manager’s wish for

bunt singles 

instead of home runs.

 

The people of the world

are sitting in the box seats,

busied with food

and entertainment;

living in another world,

they have no idea

what I’m doing

in the batter’s box.

 

But Our Lord, Our Lady,

and the heavenly court

happily cheer me on

from the upper deck;

I live my life in the

shadow of the cross,

living in the dark night

of the unseen.

THE LEADOFF HITTER IN THE DARK NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

My heart is ready, O God:

   Tuus totus ego sum;

I take batting practice,

   and the crisp crackle of

my maple-wood bat echoes

   throughout the stadium.

 

Later, I hear a soft sweet voice say,

   “Do whatever He tells you”;

therefore, when I see the Spirit signal,

   I gently lay down a regal bunt that

humbly dies to itself in the grass as I run

   to first base like a strong driving wind.

 

As I stand on first base, with a

   smile on my face from ear to ear,

my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

   for in my surrender I start to love;

however, The Beast, seething in hot

   anger, already plans his revenge.

 

When I return to home plate,

   The Beast strikes me out

over and over and over again

   with the flaming fastballs of fear,

and I fall, carrying a heavy cross,

   dizzy with discouragement.

 

My Manager benches me in the chapel,

   but lovingly teaches me to fast from fear

and leave my worries in His loving hands,

   so for three days I return to the chapel, 

for ten minutes daily, to ask for His guidance,

   and receive the Spirit's gift of Divine Mercy.

    

When I'm back in the lineup, The Beast

   scornfully glares at me from the mound

with his mean menacing black eyes;

   But I hear a voice encourage me:

“Non abbiate paura,” and again,

   louder, “Non abbiate paura!”

 

By God's grace, I stand again in the

   batter’s box, and I hit a shooting star

whose sparkling trail is red and white,

   quickly shattering the dark night,

and the line drive swiftly sizzles over  

   the shortstop and into left field.

     

Then, in my next at-bat, filled with

   the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit,

I swing and barrel a flaming missile,

   that brightly lights up the dark night,

and as the ball soars high over the wall,

   the angels playfully dance around it.

DIVINE MERCY IN THE DARK NIGHT OF THE DESERT /  by Joe Castorino

I am wilfully wandering

in the woeful desert,

my blistering mind scorched

by the sizzling sun of sin;

I am oh so very lost,

eerily encircled by the

towering black sand dunes

of temptation — but then,

as the dark night falls fast,

I finally find Him, a Star,

sparkling like a diamond,

like a brilliant beacon,

and the Light of Divine Mercy

streams into the hollow center

of my humbled heart.