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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
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 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 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 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.
Nino stews in envy as if he were in a
cauldron of bubbling black oil,
When someone else gets praised,
it really makes his blood boil,
If he isn’t recognized as special,
It makes him radically recoil.
The loving Lord needs to gently pop
Nino’s egotistical balloon,
Or this donkey will be despised,
as a proud, puffed-up buffoon,
But when glad at others’ blessings,
his soul plays a beautiful tune.
When Nino gets angry, he blows his top,
He wants control, but without it he’ll pop,
His selfish attitude must come to a stop.
Patience will help him win in the clutch,
Broadening his boundaries to not need so much,
The Holy Spirit he must reach out to touch.
Nino the Donkey thought
he was much better than all,
His diamond-studded saddle
made him feel rather tall,
His pride did nothing but fill him
with the most bitter gall.
Nino should focus so much
more on his good deeds,
Instead of wearing the most
fashionable fancy tweeds,
He would be better off thinking
about other people’s needs.
Everyone runs here and there calling for Merri,
They all need her help for their work at the dairy,
With so many interruptions, she has no time to tarry.
But Merri’s sincere surrender is gentle and sweet,
She turns her life over to Jesus and doesn’t miss a beat,
Living in the present moment, she washes the Lord’s feet.
“I just don’t get
Why Catholics
Even bother with
Talking to the saints:
I always speak directly
To Jesus when I pray.”
“But, my dear friend,
Although He doesn’t
Need to go through others,
It delights Him to do so:
We saints know better than
Anyone that we are merely
Ambassadors of Christ --
Yes, Jesus is truly the
Great God of Generosity,
But, even more, He is
The Great Lord of Humility.
Not seventy times,
But seventy-seven,
And even though
I blew right by
That number
Many years ago,
You still show me
Your forgiveness,
Over and over, and
Over and over again --
But why? Why are you so
Magnificently merciful?
Because you, Lord God,
Are Divine Mercy itself,
And your holy rays of
Red and white burn
Through the darkness,
Deep into my soul,
Gently caressing it with
Tenderness and Love.