LOVE FOR LOVE /  by Joe Castorino

Dedicated to my Faithful Mother

You used to provide

For all my needs,

Planting in my soul

God’s holy seeds.

Now older, you need

God’s help from above,

Like you, I now sacrifice

And surrender in love.

SUCCESS /  by Joe Castorino

In the style of St. Francis of Assisi

What is success?

It is not having worldly popularity and fame,

It is not being envied by those around us,

It is not powerfully dominating our competitors,

It is not traveling the world in leisure,

It is not amassing luxurious possessions,

It is not dining sumptuously in elegant restaurants,

It is not reveling in carousing and lustful desires.

Success is prayer, cascading in thanksgiving,

Success is life, overflowing with love and joy,

Success is peaceful trust, in Divine Mercy.

THE QUARTERBACK /  by Joe Castorino

The evil one pressured me,

Viciously trying to sack me

For an eternal loss,

And as a young quarterback,

In fear I rashly forced my passes,

Resulting in many interceptions;

But my Coach guided me,

Gently and encouragingly,

And He taught me well,

Advising me to play it cool,

To try and be more flexible,

Especially under pressure;

And so, I gradually matured,

And when Temptation and Fear

Pursued and tried to tackle me,

I calmly and courageously

Took evasive action,

I left my comfort zone —

The comfort of the pocket —

And I became a scrambler,

A fearless, patient scrambler,

Who trusted the offensive line

Of Divine Providence,

And this created opportunities,

Many little opportunities to love,

And so with great persistence,

And with great patience,

And with long consistent drives,

Through the wondrous grace of God,

This resulted in touchdowns,

And the ultimate victory,

In the Super Bowl of Life.

THE LITTLE LITANY OF THE SAINTS /  by Joe Castorino

Abba, Father of Divine Mercy,

I surrender to you!

Jesus, King of Divine Mercy,

I trust in you!

Holy Spirit, Dove of Divine Mercy,

I love you!

O Madonnina d’Amore,

The Mystical Rose,

Pray for us!

St. Joseph,

The Knight of the Holy Family,

Pray for us!

St. John Paul II,

Pray for us!

St. Francis de Sales,

Pray for us!

St. Faustina,

Pray for us!

St. Louis de Montfort,

Pray for us!

St. Josemaría Escrivá,

Pray for us!

St. Peter the Apostle,

Pray for us!

St. Paul the Apostle,

Pray for us!

St. Francis of Assisi,

Pray for us!

St. Clare of Assisi,

Pray for us!

St. Anthony of Padua,

Pray for us!

St. Padre Pio,

Pray for us!

Venerable Fulton J. Sheen,

Pray for us!

Come, Holy Spirit,

Fill the hearts of your faithful,

And enkindle in us,

The fire of your love!

Amen.

FIX YOUR GAZE /  by Joe Castorino

Inspired by the diary of St. Faustina

“Fix your gaze upon

The Passion

Of my Son,

And in this way,

You will be victorious.”

“But why, Sweet Mother?

How is that going to help me?”

“Yes, it will help you,

My little one,

Because in this way

You will realize

How much He suffered for you,

Because He loves you;

Sometimes you are

More attached to other things

Than you are to Him,

Sometimes you have

More affection for other people

Than you have for Him;

This will help you

To surrender

Your sinful habits

To Him,

Allowing them to be

Nailed to the cross,

Then Jesus will set you free.”

PATIENCE IN THE DARK NIGHT OF THE CROSS /  by Joe Castorino

When things go my way,

Exactly according to schedule,

I live in heavenly peace,

Enjoying the Son Light,

Giving God the first fruits,

Spending quality time with Him

And Our Lady, in holy prayer,

But the God of surprises is approaching.

When things don’t go my way,

And my schedule crumbles,

I calmly wait for Divine Mercy

In the midst of the dark night,

Carrying my cross in surrender,

Giving Him the gift of my time,

Resting in the arms of Our Lady,

For patience is the companion of wisdom.

DIVINE MERCY IN THE DARK NIGHT OF THE CROSS /  by Joe Castorino

St. John of the Cross,

And many other saints,

Knew the dark night,

The dark night of the soul,

The spiritual dryness

And desolation,

Not feeling God’s presence,

For long periods of time,

And yet they were patient,

They were persistent,

In reading The Word,

In receiving The Word,

In living The Word.

Most of us

Never experience this

Kind of dark night,

But at times we eat of

The dry crust of the cross,

And live days, or hours,

Or even passing moments,

In the dark night of the cross,

But then, very silently,

Very unexpectedly,

In the twinkling of an eye,

The Son rises in our hearts,

And we can experience the Light:

Divine Mercy in the dark night.

THE JEWELER'S SHOP /  by Joe Castorino

A tribute to St. John Paul II

The dark one whispers fear

Into my restless ear,

In his wicked black cauldron,

He tries to stir up trouble

To totally burst my bubble,

He seduces me with his 

Black lies and accusations,

Again and again and again;

If I choose to listen to him,

Then my heart is paralyzed

By a lightning bolt of terror,

And, like Adam, I begin to

Rashly point my finger,

Blaming, complaining,

Sucked into the tempest 

Of temptation and sin.

But if I follow the Divine Dove,

The Wind of the Spirit blows

Sweetly towards Our Lady of Love,

And there -- ah, yes! -- there,

I hand her my fears, unhesitatingly,

And she prayerfully brings them

To the Divine Jeweler who molds

Them in the Divine Furnace

Of the Most Holy Trinity,

and He transfigures them

Into breathtakingly beautiful

Sparkling diamonds,

Reflecting His magnificent light,

And thus, fear is annihilated,

As Light scatters the darkness,

As Perfect Love drives out fear:

Jesus, I trust in You!

HIS SORROWFUL PASSION /  by Joe Castorino

Act I

The Saint remains silent,

so that The Enemy will not

aggressively grab any

of his unguarded words

and twist them into traps

in order to cruelly cripple him.

Act II

The Invader sends forth

his insidious spies,

trying to pressure The Saint

with the phantom of fear

and treacherously trick him into

thoughtlessly rushing headlong

into the Stygian swamp of sin,

but with the joy of holy laughter

The Saint scatters the darkness of doom

with the luminous light of

the divine sense of humor.

Act III

The Dark One returns yet again,

but he changes his strategy

against his valiant opponent:

this time he brings a

sinister squadron of deadly

black-hearted soldiers

to wickedly wage war

against The Saint,

but crushed under the weight

of this wooden cross,

The Saint gives The Father

a total gift of himself and

freely surrenders all in a

prayer of total abandonment --

at that very instant

he notices that the cross

is now much easier to carry,

but he doesn’t know why.

Act IV

The Malicious One is terrified

when his foul bloodshot eyes see

The Lady, The Queen of All Hearts,

in dazzling and majestic beauty,

standing in stately elegance

very close to The Saint,

and with a smile on her lips

she whispers to The Saint

a heartfelt command

of loving compassion:

“Do whatever He tells you.”

Act V

The Evil One, infuriated,

is seething in hot hatred,

but he falls back into the Black Void

when Jesus, The Lord of Love,

appears next to The Saint saying,

“Come to Me, all you who are weary,

and I will refresh you” --

with this, The Saint’s devout soul

is soothed by The Divine Mercy,

and The Saint realizes that the more

he surrenders to The Savior,

the more He takes onto Himself

the weight of The Cross,

and thus, he is wondrously saved by

The Blood of the The Lamb.

TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK /  by Joe Castorino

I would always fight to win,

For me, it was a matter of pride,

So I stubbornly argued,

Twisting reason and then 

Fracturing the truth,

Like a prisoner on the rack;

But now I’m slowly learning

To follow the way of the cross,

So when I’m confronted and

When I’m fiercely challenged,

In simplicity I speak the truth,

Then when my adversary

Insists and angrily persists,

I calmly turn the other cheek

And embrace the cross,

Experiencing the bitterness

Of ridicule and rejection,

The painful suffering of

Vindictive vehement insults

That bloodily slash and tear

At my heart and sensitive soul;

But the good God is so good,

Truly He is never outdone in

Generosity, for He pours the

Sweet balm of the Spirit

Into my wounds and rescues me

From the snares of the enemy,

I rest in His gentleness and patience,

I experience true joy in Him,

For His courage conquers all,

Driving away apparent obstacles,

And with a smile in my soul,

I approach the Sea of Mercy,

I approach it with great trust!

PRAYER DURING THE NIGHT /  by Joe Castorino

O Mystical Rose,

Be with me; stay with me;

Let every beat of my heart today

Be an act of love for you!

O Divine Mercy,

Be with me; stay with me;

Let every beat of my heart today

Be an act of love for you!

Amen.

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.

THE MAGNIFICENT SEA OF MERCY /  by Joe Castorino

A cross of darkness

Suddenly pulls me down,

And I collapse to my knees,

Crushed under its weight;

How long will it last?

Why can I not see The Light?

Where is the Great Dove?

He is here – I know it;

I struggle to find Him,

But I trust in Him,

Yet these words seem empty

When I am throttled by the

Frigid fingers of Fear;

So I slow down, I slow down,

And breathe in The Spirit,

Who refreshes my soul,

Then, little by little, the words

Start to sink in, they make

Sense, and behold I find that

I trust, I really do trust in Him;

And, steadied by this newfound

Faith, I embrace the cross,

Knowing that as I finally enter

The Magnificent Sea of Mercy,

The cross will melt and dissolve,

In the blood of The Lamb,

And I will rest in the arms of

The Lord of Divine Mercy.

THE DOVE OF DIVINE MERCY /  by Joe Castorino

The passenger jet takes off

In the deep Dark Night,

As the low clouds stealthily

Creep in from the ocean,

The journey soon becomes

Turbulent, and the people

Start to wring their hands

With worry, wondering

What will happen next,

But then out of nowhere

The Dove of Divine Mercy

Appears, with a wingspan

Wider than that of the aircraft,

He nestles under the jet, like

The Mother protecting The Babe,

And as He very gently flaps

His holy wings, He calms

The hearts of everyone, then

He safely takes them

Where they need to go –

Straight into the heart of

The Divine Mercy.

THE GOLDEN KEY /  by Joe Castorino

Fear shackles us

In the dark night

Of unknowing;

But wholehearted trust

In the Divine Mercy

Is the golden key that

Unlocks Heaven’s door;

Then our hearts are

Overflowing with Love,

And with the magnificent

Fruit of the Spirit.

PRAYER IN TIME OF TEMPTATION /  by Joe Castorino

Dearest Jesus,

King of Divine Mercy,

Strengthen me

Against temptation,

Strengthen me

Against delight,

Strengthen me

Against consent;

I humbly ask for this

In Your Most Holy Name;

Jesus, I love You,

Jesus, I trust in You.

Amen.

THE CIRCLE OF GENTLENESS /  by Joe Castorino

“...I am gentle and humble of heart…” — Jesus, The Divine Mercy

Fear is the root of all sin:

Fear leads to arrogance,

Arrogance leads to selfishness,

Selfishness leads to violence;

But, on the other hand, 

Gentleness leads to wonder,

Gentleness leads to gratitude,

Gentleness leads to thanksgiving,

Gentleness leads to surrender,

Gentleness leads to littleness,

Gentleness leads to humility,

Gentleness leads to compassion,

Gentleness leads to kindness,

Gentleness leads to love,

And then, coming full circle, 

Perfect love casts out all fear.

THE CIRCLE OF PATIENCE /  by Joe Castorino

“Patience is the companion of wisdom” – St. Augustine of Hippo



Fear is the root of all sin:

Fear leads to impatience,

Impatience leads to all vice;

But, on the other hand, 

Patience leads to self-control,

Patience leads to gentleness,

Patience leads to faithfulness,

Patience leads to generosity,

Patience leads to kindness,

Patience leads to peace,

Patience leads to joy,

Patience leads to love,

And then, coming full circle,

Perfect love casts out all fear.