PRAYING HEAVENLY CHESS

Spiraling through Little Pearls of Prayer

Guided by the Spirit,

I strategically move

The little chess pieces

Across the chessboard

Of my daily prayer life.

I awaken to Our Lady’s advice,

I spiral slowly through the Rosary,

I surrender to sweet Divine Mercy,

I whirl through the holy Word,

I praise God through poetry,

I magnify Him in holy mass,

I delight in delicious devotion,

I confide totally in the Christ,

I listen intently to the Light,

I wonder at the wisdom of the saints,

I honor the Hour of Mercy,

I feast on spiritual communion,

I examine my conscience in humility,

I sleep in my guardian angel’s arms.

The evil one has no moves left,

He fearfully wrings his hands and

Grinds his teeth in eternal despair --

Jesus is the King of the Universe,

He is the Unconquerable One:

Checkmate.

SATURN

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 ecstatic glee,

Twirling atop God’s invisible index finger, this

  planet humbly reflects the beauty of the good God.

TO OUR LADY OF LOURDES

Your merciful and majestic eyes

   are dazzlingly modest,

Sparkling like radiant jewels

   of kindness and compassion;

Your serene smile swiftly

   steals my humble heart,

As you point me towards the

   path that leads to Jesus;

Your majestic mantle and sky-blue

   sash dance joyfully in the breeze,

Reflecting the mildness and the

   gentleness of the good God;

Your ladylike lips whisper    

   words of wisdom

That split the air like

   loving lightning;

Your sweet, saintly actions

   ripple through the universe,

Like warm, welcoming waves

   of heavenly peace.

SILKEN CORDS

Blowing in the Spirit’s breeze,

Millions upon millions of

Beautiful blessings

Dangle from Heaven’s

Clustered clouds on

Silken cords.

A little freckle-faced boy

Raises his innocent prayer to God,

Hoping one day to become

A professional baseball player.

With great agility,

His guardian angel

Does a somersault in the air

And, like an all-star,

Catches the boy’s

Wild pitch.

He faithfully flies up to Heaven

And finds a large, palatial cloud

That is lined with the most

Glimmering gold, and under it

Is a professional baseball contract

Hanging quietly on its

Silken cord.

He gets ready to cut it,

But kneeling on a cloud nearby,

Our Lady ever so sweetly smiles

As she shakes her head at him,

Slowly, knowingly.

Then she playfully runs

Toward another cloud,

A little cloud,

Pointing at a poet’s pen

Filled with the creative ink of

Imagery and alliteration,

And it is dancing in the wind

On its silken cord.

Brimming with joy,

She eagerly looks back

Towards the throne and sees

A twinkle in the eyes of our

Heavenly Father as He happily

Nods yes to her.

So the guardian angel delicately

Snips that silken cord,

Like a cluster of grapes

Taken from The Vine.

TEMPORAL POVERTY

Problems weigh me down,

Much like Jacob Marley’s

Prodigious iron chains;

And being temporally poor,

I am nearly bankrupt of the

Precious gift of time;

So what am I to do?

Is there any hope of escape?

Can I ever really be free?

Yes, but I must fix my gaze on

The Passion — with patience! —

For in this way I will be victorious;

I must surrender my time to Him,

I must lay the gift of my time

At the feet of Baby Jesus, and

Wait -- wait for the resurrection!

For with God all things are possible.

THE DIVINE SENSE OF HUMOR

Inspired by Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

The divine

   sense of humor

      makes us laugh,

Without it,

   life is just

      lived to the half;

We are happy,

   and we smile

      with good cheer,

For the Lord’s

   perfect love

      casts out all fear.

LIFE IS WORTH LIVING

Inspired by the writings of Venerable Fulton J. Sheen

“Is life worth living?”

You wonder out loud;

For much of the time,

You’re lost in a crowd.

Life is worth living,

The bishop was right;

We find our mission,

And walk in the Light.

DISGUISES IN THE DARK NIGHT

Gentle St. Mother Teresa

Said that Jesus came to her

In the distressing disguise

Of the poorest of the poor,

And, of course, she was right;

However, is it possible that

Jesus also comes to us

in the distressing disguise

Of the inconvenient,

Of the unexpected, 

Of the cross?

OLD FAITHFUL

I’m nothing more than

a hole in the ground,

and nobody notices me,

and I’m okay with that.

But when I receive the

Body of Christ, an invisible

spring of living water leaps

up out of my peaceful soul.

These crystal clear waters

of pure love surge upwards,

with unbounded freedom and joy,

praising the King of Heaven.

HUMILITY

humility is

understanding

that i am nothing more

than a bag of bones

who recognizes The Truth.

A HOMELESS MAN

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

“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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.