JUBILEE 2000: THE PIETÀ

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.

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 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.

DIVINE MERCY AT PEYTO LAKE

As I struggle up the steep path,

My legs now feel much heavier,

And I wonder if the view will really

Be worth the arduous journey;

I see a sage old man approach,

Bearded like one of the prophets,

When I ask if I should continue,

He winks at me and nods yes;

Finally, when I reach the summit,

I behold the Valley of Heaven -- 

I breathe the Holy Spirit into my

Soul, and then exhale a smile;

The snow-capped mountains

Glisten in the warm soothing Light,

As the lovely lake glimmers from 

The Divine Mercy rays of the Son.

DIVINE MERCY AT MORAINE LAKE

It is a bright beautiful morning in the

  crisp clean air of the Canadian Rockies,

We ascend as I drive up a wonderfully

  windy road past babbling brooks,

The two of us are together, in the car that

we affectionately refer to as the “Tin Can”;

After reaching the sunny summit,

  we gently roll into the Valley of the Ten Peaks;

We finally arrive at the large lake and 

  look up at the regal ring of mountains,

Yet I feel slightly saddened because

  somehow it’s less than I expected;

A lodge that looks like a big log cabin

  stands silently like a sentinel near the water,

We decide to dine there and enjoy a 

  delightful bit of roast beef for lunch;

The savory flavor of my sandwich lingers

  in my mouth, as I think about my morning,

I try to cunningly convince myself that 

  I’m not disappointed, but I know that I am. 

Departing for our next destination,

  I wistfully walk towards our little car,

But as I look to the right, I see a

  tar-black hill with a winding trail upon it;

The people look like pilgrims as they

  make their way up the mysterious mound,

Curiosity gradually grows within me as I 

  ponder, puzzled, where the path leads;

So I investigate and struggle up the steep

  trail, tripping occasionally on rock and rubble,

But when I get to the top, I am frozen

  with fascination as I behold the view;

Above me is a diadem of snow-tipped peaks,

  gleaming with the glory of God,

Below me is the pristine lake, and it is

  shimmering and sparkling like a gemstone;

It appears as if millions of sapphires

  and emeralds have melted into liquid,

And the blue-green color of the 

  lovely lake is luminous in the sunshine.

My senses are suddenly soaked in Your

  Holy Spirit’s lasting love, and I feel Your beauty,

At this moment, nothing else matters,

  and I only long to be close to You;

At this moment, I am oblivious to my past,

  and I am oblivious to my future,

I am living in the eternal and

  mystical present of the great I AM;

You are Holy Humility, You are

  Magnificent Mercy, You are Limitless Love,

And with Your divine sense of humor,

  You really are the God of surprises.

PRAYER IS THE FUEL

Prayer is the fuel

That lights the world on fire

With faith.

Prayer is the fuel

That lights the world on fire

With hope.

Prayer is the fuel

That lights the world on fire

With love.

Prayer is the fuel

That lights the world on fire

In the New Evangelization.

A MISSION OF DIVINE MERCY

As I gradually look up,

  I see luminous rose petals

Fall gently and delicately

  From the sky like snow,

Eucharistic-white

  In the deep dark night.

My mission is prayer

  In the dark night of the unseen,

My mission is surrender

  In the dark night of unknowing,

My mission is love

  In the dark night of the cross.

The path before me is

  Strewn with radiant roses that

Glow like glorious lamps,

  So I faithfully travel it and find

The Eucharistic Light

  That transfigures the dark night.

MARIAN PRAYER OF OFFERING FOR A PLENARY INDULGENCE

O Lord of Love,

Through your holy grace,

I am free from all attachment to sin,

And free from all affection for sin,

And so, with a sincere heart,

I offer you this Our Father

And also this Hail Mary,

For the Holy Father’s intentions…

And along with these prayers,

Please accept my recent confession,

And this morning’s indulgenced work, 

And reception of Holy Communion.

In short, I humbly request that 

Through the sweet hands of

Our Lady of Love,

You accept the little gift of

This plenary indulgence,

Offered for the benefit of _____.

Amen.

THE DOVE OF DIVINE MERCY

The Holy Spirit,

The Light of the Universe,

Travels at the speed of eternity,

And when He passes through

The Sacred Heart of Jesus,

The Dove of Divine Mercy is

Transfigured into dazzling rays

Of red and white that pierce

My soul and energize it with

The Holy Lightning of Love.

THE OCEAN OF DIVINE MERCY

I hesitantly open the door

of the confessional and

to my utter surprise

I see a beach before me:

as I approach the waters

of gentle aquamarine,

my hot feet, crusty

and blackened with

guilt, are cleansed by

Jesus’ holy hands;

He leads me into the ocean,

whose welcoming waves

of delightful divine mercy

kiss and caress my soul,

cooling and refreshing me,

and peace and joy

rush through me, and

as love ripples and rhymes,

sweetening my soul,

I am born again.

THE CHALICE OF DIVINE MERCY

When I scourge you with my sins

But then ask you for forgiveness,

Your most treasured blood

Trickles like tears into my heart;

When my thorny sins crown you,

But then I tell you that I’m sorry,

Drops of your royal red blood

Sink soothingly into my spirit;

I fail you again and again and again,

Yet when I sincerely surrender

My whole heart and soul to you,

My lance of repentance pierces you,

And your beautiful blood spills

In terrific torrents into your

Chalice of Divine Mercy,

And my thirsty soul drinks in the

Sweet new wine of the Spirit.

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.

PRAYER IN THE DARK NIGHT OF TEMPTATION

A Reflection on Saintly Wisdom

Come to me, for I am gentle and humble of heart;

Patience is the companion of wisdom;

When Our Blessed Lord came to this earth,

He had the divine sense of humor;

True joy is Divine Mercy in the dark night;

Be courageous, and do not fear apparent obstacles,

But fix your gaze on The Passion;

Approach this Sea of Mercy with great trust:

Jesus, I trust in You!

SURRENDERING TO DIVINE MERCY

When I wave the white flag

in the serene surrender of prayer,

I allow the water of my soul

to be poured freely into

His chalice of gold;

there I am baptized by Love

and born again,

transformed by the Transfigured,

changed forever by the sweet

new wine of the Spirit.

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

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.

THE SACRED HEART

As the Sacred Heart

Beats with thrills of joy,

The new wine of Divine Love

Sweetly surges through the

Thirsty Body of Christ,

Bringing the refreshment

Of the Holy Spirit,

And the gentle mercy

Of our Heavenly Father;

With compassion, Jesus says,

“Let every beat of my heart today

Be an act of love for you.”

THE HOLY SPIRIT

You, the holy fire

That purifies my soul,

The Holy Dove of

Divine Mercy,

Spiral downwards

And inflame my

Innermost being,

Burning away 

All affection for sin,

Freeing the wings

Of my heart so that

I can spiral upwards

With you to Heaven,

And find union with

Divine Love.

JESUS, THE KING OF THE UNIVERSE

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.

OUR FATHER

Our Father’s eyes are upon us,

And we are gently caressed

By His compassionate gaze;

He speaks with a voice sublime,

Words of hope and encouragement,

Urging us to remain in Divine Mercy;

He knows everything about us,

The good, the bad, the ugly,

And yet, remarkably, He still loves us;

Then, we humbly approach Him,

Like the repentant prodigal son,

Wearing the tattered rags of sin:

He joyfully embraces and kisses us,

And, to our amazement, we are

Forgiven, and we are born again.

PRAYER BEFORE MASS

A Marian Prayer of Divine Mercy

Tuus totus ego sum,

Et omni mea tua sunt,

I am all yours, O my Jesus,

And all that I have is yours,

Through Santa Maria,

Your most holy mother;

Holy God,

Holy Mighty One,

Holy Immortal One,

Have mercy on us,

And on the whole world:

Jesus, I trust in You!

DIVINE MERCY PRAYER AFTER HOLY COMMUNION

Thanksgiving for the Fruit of the Spirit

Dearest Jesus,

King of Divine Mercy,

I pray for myself, for my family,

For my faith community, for the world;

Holy God, Holy Mighty One, Holy Immortal One,

Have mercy on us, and on the whole world;

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your love,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your joy,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your peace,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your patience,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your kindness,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your generosity,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your faithfulness,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your gentleness,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your self-control,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your divine wisdom,

Thank you Jesus, for the gift of your divine mercy;

Jesus, I trust in You!