THE MYSTERY OF HOLY MASS / by Joe Castorino

Inspired by St. Francis de Sales

A Joyful Mystery

As I arrive at the church,

angels with beautiful

trumpet-like voices

announce to us

the coming of the Lord --

here, now, today;

He and Our Lady

will come to visit us,

and our sleepy souls

will be wonderfully reborn;

Joseph and Mary

will present us to Him,

and we will find Him

in the deepest depths

of our hearts.

A Luminous Mystery

Afterwards, the holy Word

is lovingly proclaimed,

and our spirits are sweetly

baptized by Divine Mercy;

we drink deeply of the

new wine of the Spirit,

and our lives are

forever transfigured

by the Light of the Word

and, in a very short time,

by the most Holy Eucharist.

A Sorrowful Mystery

But then, we experience

the beauty of the Last Supper,

but also Jesus’ sorrowful Passion,

and we recognize that it is we,

and not Our Blessed Lord,

who deserves to be executed and exiled;

as the priest slowly raises the Host,

we see Him, hanging cruelly on the cross,

crowned with crooked thorns,

and crushed under the weight

of our sins, and the multitudinous sins

of everyone, everywhere,

in all of human history.

A Glorious Mystery

However, we ultimately experience

Divine Mercy in the dark night:

as we very humbly kneel

and wait at the communion rail,

the good God comes to us! --

we taste the glory of Heaven

on earth, and our spirit

resurrects from the grave

of our pride and selfishness,

as we experience divine union

with the Divine Mercy;

after returning to our places,

we offer sincere prayers that

ascend to the highest Heaven

on the wings of happy angels,

and then the Holy Spirit descends

silently into our souls,

freely and generously giving us

His delicious and delightful fruit:

love and joy and peace;

and so, as we are assumed into

the compassionate calm

of God’s holy presence,

we feel the Queen of Love

sweetly smiling upon us all.