A HOMELESS MAN /  by Joe Castorino

I am weary,

my eyes bleary;

I drag around,

without a sound;

I have no home,

so off I roam;

I beg for food,

my shoes are glued;

on the mend,

I seek a friend.

A CONVERSATION WITH ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI /  by Joe Castorino

“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,

Oftentimes He does,

And 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.”

PRAYER + SURRENDER = LOVE + MERCY /  by Joe Castorino

This equation is like a golden key,

That will certainly set our spirits free;

Prayer prepares the soul for God’s holy gifts,

While surrender cleanses and also sifts;

These open the door to true heartfelt love,

Which only comes from the good God above;

When love is tested in the deep dark night,

In the morn it shines as mercy so bright.

LOVE CONQUERS ALL FEAR /  by Joe Castorino

in fear.

we shudder.

thinking we may offend.

someone.

by speaking.

the wrong words.

because political correctness.

ties a knot.

in our throats.

and makes us mute

But in Love,

When the opportunity

Presents itself,

My heart smiles,

And my soul soars,

As the Morning Star

Rises in my heart,

And I shout out,

Bursting with joy,

“Merry Christmas!”

THE LIGHT OF GOD /  by Joe Castorino

The Babe of Divine Mercy

Is born of the Sweet Virgin,

And as He lay in the manger,

The Light, a very bright Light,

Shines most powerfully,

Kindling the fire of love

In the hearts of the magi,

In the souls of the shepherds,

In every nation of the world,

Throughout all generations,

Stirring into a strong flame

The embers of eternity.

PRAYER IS THE FUEL /  by Joe Castorino

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.

SURRENDER /  by Joe Castorino

The more I grasp,

The more the stars

Slip through my fingers;

But the more I surrender,

The more the stars shine,

Reflecting the Light.

TWO HOUSES /  by Joe Castorino

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,

Banging with watery fists,

But all to no avail --

Nothing could harm

This holy house of Love.

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

Fragile fear:

Then, a voracious

Tidal wave of temptation

Hungrily devoured the castle,

And a furious flood

Of thick red blood

Poured out in torrents,

Turning the green one red.

DIVINE MERCY: CHOOSING LIFE /  by Joe Castorino

A Variation of Shakespeare’s Famous Soliloquy

The Child

To be

Or not to be,

That is the question:

Whether ‘tis nobler

For Mommy to surrender

To the slings and arrows

Of sacrificial love,

Or by aborting,

End me.

 

The Mother

To die from guilt while

contemplating abortion:

To sleep, to sleep

No more!

Perchance to have dreams --

Or eternal nightmares --

Of what I am about to do

To my innocent baby;

When I have shuffled off

The mortal coil of his

Umbilical cord and

Allowed him to be

Dis mem ber ed,

I dread something worse

Than death: Hell,

The undiscovered country;

Thus, conscience can make

Heroes of us all --

Soft you now,

It’s never too late,

So my fair baby shall live.

THE CENTER OF THE UNIVERSE /  by Joe Castorino

Powerful and impressive and majestic,

The Sun’s luminous rays reach out

Towards the distant outer rim,

Where the darkness is pervasive,

And where evil breeds in the 

Black cloud of never-ending night.

Disappointed and disillusioned,

In the dark night of discontent,

Sad souls long to fill the void

Of the black hole in their hearts,

So they search for truth and beauty

At the center of the universe.

Patient and gentle and merciful,

The Son’s compassionate glance

Seeks souls empty and broken,

And they are attracted by the

Gravitational pull of His goodness,

And the ecstasy of His eternal love.

STALE COOKIES /  by Joe Castorino

We must avoid the

stale cookies of selfishness,

for they crumble

into complaints;

but with the Eucharistic

bread of thanksgiving,

we can then live like

the holy saints.

TRIFLES /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by the writing of St. Francis de Sales

Why are trifles

So important to us?

What’s really all 

The big fuss?

They can often

Infatuate our hearts,

Slowly infecting us,

Like poison darts.

Our desire subtly

Grows and grows,

As we are gradually

Mastered by our foes.

Trifles can turn into treasures,

And treasures into troubles.

FREEDOM /  by Joe Castorino

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.

TO SAN PASCHAL BAYLON /  by Joe Castorino

You are a simple shepherd,

A poor Franciscan in the

True spirit of Father Francis,

Your respect for the Eucharist

Is profoundly beautiful,

For when the church bell rings —

No matter where you are

At that particular moment —

You cannot help but fall,

Fall to your knees in love,

Oh so madly in love,

With the Good Shepherd.

THE BATTLE /  by Joe Castorino

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.

EXECUTION AND EXILE /  by Joe Castorino

We all deserve execution,

To be nailed on a cross of wood,

We all deserve exile in hell,

For only God is purely good;

He chose to take our place in death,

Bloodily stabbed into the tree,

He paid the price to rescue us,

For only He can set us free.

THE TERROR OF DEMONS /  by Joe Castorino

Pride is a black dragon that tries

To kindle our sinful souls with

The flaming fires of falsehood,

Causing our egos to swell with

The helium of haughtiness;

But thanksgiving is a weapon,

A weapon of heavenly wonder,

Used by the Holy Family when

There was arrogance in the air;

So when we are praised for some

Fine worldly accomplishment,

Then we too should turn to the

Lord God, and, with a little smile,

We should frequently thank Him

For each of His gracious gifts,

And seeing our happy hearts filled

To the brim with gratitude, behold,

The devil dragon flees in terror.

FALLING /  by Joe Castorino

At the Last Supper,

Judas left you.

He betrayed you.

But don’t we

Betray you too? -- 

When we make excuses,

And skip the prayers,

And skip the masses,

And skip the Eucharist?

For then we are falling,

Down, down, down,

Headlong towards

The open-throated

Abyss of doom

Which vomits forth

The flames of folly.

Instead, let us

Return to Him, 

Our Father of Love,

To make a fresh

New start to our

Broken lives,

Let us fall

To our knees

And surrender to Him,

Let us fall

Into His loving arms

And embrace Him,

Let us fall,

Fall in love with Him,

Down in adoration falling.

THE STAR IN THE DARK NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

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,

You scatter my enemies,

Coming to my aid,

Embracing me with love.

 

I rejoice in the source

Of your most powerful light,

Christ the Courageous,

Your only Sun.