Dear Lady of Lourdes,
Luminous star of the majestic morning,
You have unending, unwavering
Faith in our Heavenly Father.
In the glorious grandeur of Heaven,
Your aquamarine eyes twinkle
And reflect the dazzling light
Of your holy Sun.
By the excellence of your
Exemplary sanctity, you surpass
All the splendid saints
In the Heavenly Kingdom.
Victorious Virgin, please pray
That we receive the gift of
Prudence, to resist this world's
Empty promises.
Sweet Santa Maria,
Sweetest Queen of All Hearts,
How blessed are we who treasure
Your humble holy heart.
Through you, we can allow
God's grace to sublimely soak into our souls,
So that we can be refreshed as if by
Cool cascades of pure pristine water.
Blessed are you among the peoples
Of the world; by following your
Simple example, fresh fruit will
Richly ripen on our trees.
God's magnificent mercy and
Grace flow through you;
Lovely Madonnina,
Please pray for us.
Their perplexed brows are
knitted into knots
as they impatiently try to
conquer the unconquerable,
and so they slowly slide down,
down the slippery slope
of depression and despair
into the murky darkness
of melancholic misery;
but Our Lady touches their hearts,
and most lovingly leads them
along a path trustworthy and true,
through the White Way of Light,
and up the majestic mountain;
then as they drink the delicious
new wine of Divine Mercy,
their wrinkles of worry dissolve,
their souls serenely smile,
their hearts are made whole,
and, to their utter amazement,
they are absolutely and totally
born again.
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.
San Padre Pio: “Lord, give me my weapon.”
When I squeezed the rosary with my
Tense fingers, my soul was bone dry;
I pitched too fast, in a hurry to get the
Game over with as soon as possible.
I pitched my prayers with fear, and they
Wildly eluded the spiritual strike zone;
I needed you, Madonnina, to teach me how
To more effectively pray the most holy rosary.
You taught me to pray in the Holy Spirit:
Swift sparkling fastballs in holy meditation,
Sweet spiraling curveballs in holy proclamation,
Soft swirling knuckleballs in holy contemplation.
So I’m learning to pitch my prayers with
Sincere love, for all nine innings,
And you, my darling catcher, faithfully
Bring my prayers to The Divine Mercy.
The Virgin moon
shines in splendor
in the dark night,
but in humility she
recognizes that the true
glory really belongs to her
Sun, whose Divine Mercy
rays of red and white
shine in dazzling brilliance
through all eternity.
O Lady of Love,
my holy queen,
Your lively faith
by few is seen;
Point me to the
light of your Son,
He is my king,
the Holy One.
O heavenly Star,
I am living in the dark night
Of unknowing,
Searching for peace in uncertainty.
O Lighthouse in the sky,
I am living in the dark night
Of the unseen,
Trying so hard to die to myself.
With your beacon of light,
Like a laser sword from Heaven,
You strike and slay
All my enemies.
I rejoice in the source
Of your powerful light,
Christ the Courageous,
Your only Sun.
As I awaken in the
Dark Night,
The swirling, twirling
Tempest of menacing fear
Violently threatens to
Throttle me.
But brimming with
The Messiah’s magnificent mercy,
Our Lady appears and
Gazes at me with a
Sweet, serene smile
And sparkling aquamarine eyes;
Then, with her soft, rosy lips,
She wonderfully warms my cheek
With a pure, gentle, loving
Kiss.
Suddenly the surging
Tornado of terror
Silently ceases as
The Holy Spirit
Blows in the breeze
And soars through
My soul.
The depressing rain falls,
As the sky weeps sorrowfully,
And the heavy humidity
Horribly weighs me down,
For I am imprisoned in the
Dark gloom, with seemingly
No way out, and yet,
Sweet Madonnina d’Amore,
You smile upon me and are
Silently with me as I carry
My daily crosses, and so
You patiently remind me,
Over and over and over,
To fix my trusting gaze on
The Passion of your Sun,
For above the clouds
The sky is always blue, and
The weary world is warmed
By the Living Light of Love.
Almost all
Had abandoned
My sweet Son
As He hung on
The cross,
But during His
Sorrowful Passion,
I was with Him,
To the end.
Dearest one,
When you feel
Lost, hanging on
Your little crosses,
Have no fear,
For I am there,
I am always with you,
Always, always,
To the end.
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.
I start the day with you,
Close by my side,
My hand caressing
The pearl-white rosary
Like your soft gentle fingers,
But too soon I walk away
And foolishly forget you,
So you throw the beads of
Your holy lasso around me,
Lovingly, and oh so gently
Draw me back to your side,
To live the holy mysteries
Together, in awe and wonder.
Very few know the Dark Night,
Like St. John of the Cross,
But more of us may experience
An Eclipse of the Son:
For a short period of time
We don’t see Him,
We don’t hear Him,
We don’t feel Him,
But in the dark sky
The dazzling corona of
Pure Light reminds us
That Jesus is silently there,
Wearing His crown of glory,
Yet in a twinkle of time
It is over and He is waiting
To embrace us with the
Sweetness of divine mercy --
I patiently trusted, clinging
To the divine sense of humor,
And my blind eyes were
Soon opened again by the
Brilliant Light of Love.
She gently rocks me,
back and forth,
in her slender arms,
since I’m a little babe
who can’t find Jesus
alone, without her;
she lovingly caresses
and warms me in the
cold dark night,
and her smiling eyes
twinkle in the Light;
her soft rosy lips
sweetly kiss me
as she leads me
faithfully and joyfully
to her merciful Son
in the manger,
the Bread of Life.
Dedicated to my Delightful Daughter
The long, arduous journey
was finally over,
More challenging than going
from London to Dover;
Clarissa Candela opened
her deep, dark eyes,
She got out of bed not
expecting any surprise;
For the last 33 days it’s been
a time for new prayers,
Almost like climbing a beautiful
resort’s elegant stairs;
Going upward towards God
in an imperceptible way,
She didn’t notice any spiritual growth
when she knelt down to pray.
As the beacon of dawn
gradually conquered the night,
The sinful, fearful darkness
was very quickly put to flight;
The angels unfurled the banner
of God’s light across the sky,
As on the freeway Clarissa
calmly drove in the desert so dry;
Her pilgrimage was to the beauteous
chapel of Our Lady of Solitude,
And since she could see the cupola,
her arrival was a certitude;
With holy sunbeams striking a
stained glass window from afar,
The chapel looked like a lighthouse
reflecting Bethlehem’s star.
Clarissa got out of her car, and a
sweet smile danced across her lips,
Her long, dark hair through the comforting
breeze ever so gently whips;
Looking at the chapel, she saw arches
and columns in a style European,
The dappled desert stone, rustically
elegant, made it look Galilean;
The cupola, topped with a simple cross,
was Our Lady’s jeweled crown,
And the t-shaped tau on the gable
declared good St. Francis’ renown;
Clarissa looked up, twirled around,
and saw an immense sky so blue,
She had never seen such beauty clothed
in such peace, ‘tis so very true.
Then she entered the chapel
experiencing a spiritual thirst,
Truly there were not many people
at mass on this January First;
Their few voices were humbly and
quietly raised almost inaudibly aloft,
And the Franciscan priest said mass
in a voice that was very, very soft;
The devout Poor Clare nuns were
all engaged in the deepest prayer,
And, honestly, the mass was so silent
that it was exceedingly rare;
When Clarissa’s 33 days of prayers
of consecration were finally done,
Might she be in danger of ending
as uneventfully as she had begun?
But St. Louis de Montfort’s
Consecration to Jesus through Mary,
Was recommended by her wise old
Irish pastor Monsignor O’Clary;
He had preached quite a fine homily
about this special devotion,
Saying, “It can really change your life,
if you have the notion”;
But now let me share with you
one rather noteworthy fact,
St. Louis’ closing prayer is
really a form of holy contract;
She knelt before Our Lord’s
beautiful crucifix near the altar,
And she dearly hoped that her
heart would not ever falter.
Midway through this closing prayer,
Clarissa’s heart was passionately,
Preciously pierced by the sweet sword
of the Spirit; her soul, suddenly
Brimming with God’s majestic mercy,
soared in a spiraling celestial
Crescendo of God’s love for her;
fearing that her heart, like a fiery
Supernova, might explode with emotion,
she silently slipped out
And sat quietly, alone, on the sofa
located in the pilgrims' parlor;
Here she serenely surrendered all
to the Spirit, like a noble
Knight of Christ, Through Our Lady,
The Queen of All Hearts.
Then like a giddy geyser she gushed
torrents of light-hearted laughter
And happy, heavenly tears; this golden
cascade of pure love poured
Over her soul like a warm, wonderful
waterfall of holy honey; deep down
Inside, the Spirit was strumming on
the harmonic harp of her heart, and
She was deliciously, delightfully deluged
by this overwhelming ocean of God’s love for her.
Afterwards, Clarissa softly strolled
back into the chapel to finish her
Closing prayer; approaching the altar,
with awe, she beheld the crucifix
Where Christ the Courageous heroically
hangs; from the back of the church
She felt his love as a light, blissful,
balmy breeze; but as she
Drew closer to that crucifix, she felt
His love magnificently magnified as it
Ignited into an intense, surging storm
of explosive, electric joy;
Kneeling before that same crucifix,
as a bold, brave warrior, she battled
Through her emotions until
word by word, slowly,
Meaningfully, she finished
her prayer of consecration.
Every year for the rest of her life
this holy devotion she would pray,
She would always return to Our Lady
of Solitude on the very same day;
Just as Our Lady had very few truly
remarkable days in her saintly life,
Clarissa had few days in which intense
joy pierced her soul like a knife;
Although she never again experienced
a cascading heavenly waterfall,
Every so often a raindrop of pure,
holy love her heart would enthrall;
In the twinkling of an eye the sword
of the Spirit would pierce her soul,
As if to remind her that perfect love
in Heaven must always be her goal.
During the deep dark night,
I open the eyes of my soul,
and I see her before me,
glittering in glorious brilliance.
She smiles at me, softly, gently,
and reminds me that she rejoices
greatly when I meditate on the
Holy Passion of her sweet Son.
I listen to the magnificent music
of her most wonderful words,
and Light shines in the darkness,
burning away the folly of fear.
Do whatever He tells you.
Surrender. Yes, surrender.
Totally. Completely.
At this very moment.
And don’t worry --
Don’t worry at all!
If you stumble and fall,
I will be there to pick you up.
If you get hurt and cannot walk,
I will carry you in my arms.
He will always lead you,
In the light of His love.
Remember, He loves you.
And I love you, too.
As I gently finger the beads of the rosary,
I touch your warm soft hands,
I gaze into your merciful, majestic eyes,
And I contemplate your loveliness;
Together our precious prayers mingle,
And rise up like sweet incense,
Its scent perfumes the halls of Heaven,
And delights the Lord of Light.
She is the Star of Bethlehem.
The compassionate Lady of Love,
The powerful Virgin of Victory,
The sweet Mother of the Messiah,
Silent and holy, calm and bright,
Her dazzling beauty shines in
The dark night of unknowing,
And she points the way for the
Wise men and wise women
Of this world who wish to know
The Babe of Divine Mercy.