A DIVINE MERCY PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING

Holy God,

Holy Mighty One,

Holy Immortal One,

Please bless me, O Lord,

And save me, and give me the

Gifts I most need from you today:

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of love,

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of joy,

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of peace,

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of patience,

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of kindness,

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of generosity,

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of faithfulness,

Thank you, Jesus, for your gift of gentleness,

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

Thank you, Jesus, for your divine wisdom.

Jesus, I trust in You!

THE HOLY KNIGHT

You are the knight of the Dove,

Who on that Holy Night met Love.

The magi in their wise hands hold

Both sweet frankincense and gold,

But your strong courageous arms

Save Baby Jesus from all harms.

You are the brilliant Star of Light

In Bethlehem’s deep dark night.

Hellishly bloody Herod the Hater

Fears that he’s not the greater,

But you, oh most humble father,

With vainglory don’t even bother.

You are the knight of the Dove,

Who on that Silent Night met Love.

TO ST. JOSEPH

Your thick, wavy brown hair happily

  Blows in the breeze of God’s will;

Your warm brown eyes twinkle with

  Contentment, crinkling as you smile.

You protect the holy Babe from Herod’s

  Hellish hands, which are dripping with blood;

In obedience, you help the Holy Family

  Evade him and elusively escape to Egypt.

As a worker, you handle the wood of

  God’s creation with gentle strength;

With industrious ingenuity, you use

  God’s good gifts to serve others.

You shatter lustful temptation with your

  Carpenter’s mallet of holy purity;

Then, as God’s valiant soldier, you slay

  Selfishness with the sword of surrender.

In your loving example, you show little Jesus

  how to be a good son to His mother;

With your humble heart, you teach Love

  How to love, and the angels are amazed.

OUR LADY OF JOY

As she serenely stepped out of the upper

  room, she rejoiced in a fresh new day,

She looked about her peaceful surroundings,

  drinking in the delicious goodness of God;

Clusters of clouds casually wafted by, so low

  that they brushed the pinnacle of the temple,    

They passed by like eager pilgrims, Eucharistic

  white against the bright blue morning sky;

Later that morning, she and the Apostles were

  deeply immersed in prayer when, suddenly,

She inhaled the sweet scent of God’s presence,

  and joyfully breathed in the Lord’s love;

The balmy breeze of grace swirled around her

  and compassionately caressed her,

She reflected on God’s glorious grandeur,

  and His magnificence soaked into her soul;

Then, the Word rushed through them all,

  as the Holy Spirit swiftly swooped down,

The bold beautiful breeze of heavenly hope

  placidly filled the sails of their souls;

The Paraclete, like a powerful, whirling wind,

  spectacularly sparked the wicks of their

Souls, and ignited the fire of love, which

  rippled through and rhymed in their hearts;

Then, Our Lady’s heart was passionately,

  preciously pierced by the sweet sword

Of the Spirit; her soul, suddenly

  brimming with God’s majestic mercy,

Soared in a spiraling celestial

  crescendo of God’s love for her;

With peaceful confidence, her heart,

  like a fiery supernova, exploded with

Feelings of love, joy, and peace,

  of patience, kindness, and generosity;

Her smiling eyes then beheld the

  flaming fire of Love resting on all, and as                                                           

She serenely surrendered all to the Spirit,

  like a giddy geyser she gushed

Torrents of light-hearted laughter

  and happy, heavenly tears; this golden

Cascade of pure love poured over

  her soul like a warm, wonderful

Waterfall of holy honey; deep down

  inside, the Spirit was strumming on

The harmonic harp of her heart, and

  she was deliciously, delightfully deluged

By this overwhelming ocean of her

  Jesus’ magnificent mercy and love;

The Light of the World had scattered

  and defeated the dreary dark night.

EASTER AT EMMAUS

Our heads hung low,

Saddened and perplexed

By the troubling events just

Three days prior in Jerusalem;

My companion and I were

Searching for the missing piece

Of the Messianic puzzle,

Not realizing that it was less

Than a stone’s throw away;

Then, when we turned around,

We found a man who was both

Wise and friendly, and He too

Was on the road to Emmaus;

As He spoke to us over the

Next several miles, the fire of

Heavenly hope began to rekindle

Within our souls once again,

So we invited Him to sup with us

When we arrived in Emmaus;

After the sun set over the hills,

The stars twinkled with delight as

The Son suddenly rose in our hearts,

For when He broke the bread,

He smiled His very gentle smile, 

And we felt as if we had been

Born again.

THE RESURRECTION

I turn around and before me you stand,

  one whose robe is dazzlingly white,

As you speak my name and say “Mary,”

  you forever shatter my deep dark night;

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 very gently swirls,

In my heart I totally surrender to you,

  and for you this is a treasure of pearls.

THE CRUCIFIXION

In a shadow of deep darkness, the Light

  of the world hangs crooked on the cross,

A jagged crown of razor-thin thorns is

  thrust maliciously into His throbbing head;

Bright-red blood and the fickle crowd’s

  sour spittle trickle into His stinging eyes,

He licks His cracked lips, and He tastes

  the bold bitter flavor of blood.

The Roman soldiers’ wild whips tore

  and radically ripped Jesus’ holy flesh,

And now the sticky crusted wounds cling

  to the weatherbeaten wood and ooze;

Knife-like nails puncture His hands and feet,

  and make them look like cored apples,

His shoulders slump down, crushed under

  the weight of every sin in human history.

The soldiers hellishly hammered the nails

  into Jesus’ flesh, as if He were an animal,

Indescribable pain blasted through the

  bones of His body like dynamite;

He now surrenders His body, mind, soul,

  and spirit to the will of His Father,

He lovingly practices what He preached,

  and He prays for His persecutors.

Jesus is high up, as if atop an isolated

  island, surrounded by a sea of hate,

A cacophonous chorus of insults assails

  His ears, and the smell of sin is in the air;

His mother, living in the dark night of

  unknowing, silently waits and watches,

She kneels in total surrender, while a 

  sword of sorrow slashes her heavy heart.

In the afternoon, Golgotha is enveloped

  in a mysterious murky darkness,

Then, when Jesus dies, the earth quakes

  in violent anger at the murder of its Creator;

Rumbling and roaring, buildings catastrophically

   crash and crumble to the ground,

The terrifying temblor forces the sanctuary’s 

  curtain to explosively burst apart.

That mysterious murky darkness remains

  in the hearts of Jesus’ faithful followers,

Their entire worlds are seriously shaken,

  and they are stunned and stupefied;

But on the third day, the nebulous fog

  of uncertainty will finally dissolve,

On the third day, a heavenly ray of Light

  will come, far brighter than the sun.

THE AGONY OF UNREQUITED LOVE

I love you, I love you

so very much,

more than you

can possibly imagine,

yet you carelessly

turn your back on me

and you ignore me,

living your busy life

as if I never existed;

now I kneel here

in this olive garden,

with my warm hands

clasped tightly together,

so deeply and so greatly

in love with you,

and my heart is breaking

because I want to share

my life with you,

my heart is nearly broken 

because I love you,

and I painfully weep

hot tears for you,

and my sweat turns into

drops of blood --

all because of you.

SILENT KNIGHT, HOLY KNIGHT

St. Joseph the Silent Knight,

Holy man of common sense,

You preached the gospel,

Though often without words,

If you had the knowledge,

You answered your neighbor,

If not, then through divine wisdom

You put your hand over your mouth;

Teach me how to hold my tongue,

To follow the Spirit’s lead,

Instead of getting in trouble

By rashly running ahead of Him;

It’s pleasant to converse,

But it’s far better to be prudent.

SILENT NIGHT: AN ANGEL'S PERSPECTIVE

Here we find the epicenter of the holy earthquake

that destroys the sin of the centuries.

In jubilation, I swiftly and silently cruise through

the cool, crisp air on this holiest of holy nights,

Up above, high in the heavens, is the star of all stars,

powerfully pulsating with bursts of joy;

Below, in the countryside, the shepherds’ fires

crackle with contentment near Bethlehem,

For the Christ child, the Prince of Peace, has been

born in a lowly little stable in the city of David.

I am flanked by a merry multitude of fellow angels,

as we prepare for our descent into little Bethlehem,

From the cloud tops we cascade downward towards

the manger, like a waterfall of invisible light;

The shuffling shepherds who were so startled to

behold us now adore their newborn king on bent knees,

And the majestic magi marvel at the humility of the

Blessed Babe, the long-awaited holy Messiah.

St. Joseph thoughtfully covers the mild mother Mary,

to help heat her on this very chilly night,

The joyful Virgin warmly welcomes little Jesus,

covering Him with her tender kisses and caresses;

Blissful baby Jesus beams a bright smile, covering all

present with His most peaceful benevolence,

And we angels swirl and dance, and exultantly sing

and rejoice and praise the glory of the good God.

The holy family will live in the dark night of the unseen,

centered in the Light of Limitless 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.

A CANTICLE OF CHEERFULNESS

A Tribute to Three Saints and a Venerable

My spirit rejoices in God, my savior;

He had the divine sense of humor; 

If I did not become upset, there would be joy in this;

I will serve God cheerfully,

Be cheerful, always cheerful,

One needs to have smiling faces around,

Live a happy life, full of joy!

Today you laugh and sing and carry your smile,

Optimism? Yes, always! Break into song with a Gloria,

Happiness is a consequence of self-surrender.

SCRUFFY ON TOP OF EUROPE

I’m just a little bichon frise on top of the

Jungfrau, and I feel like I’m super special;

I’m now the highest dog in all of Europe,

And my heart is strutting, filled with pride.

But I really can’t take any credit for it at all,

Because my Master carried me up all the way;

I’m like a fluffy little lamb, and the only reason

I’m special is because He makes me feel special.

CHRISTMAS TIME

Christmas is a time

     with bright little toys,

St. Nick rewards good

     little girls and boys;

A time for Scrooges

     to help those in need,

Baby Jesus came,

     and now we are freed;

It’s a jolly season

     blessed by The Dove,

The manger is filled

     with His Divine Love.

FIRST TRIP

Dedicated to my father

Me and Dad were at

Knott’s Berry Farm and

he couldn’t wait to share

his favorite attractions with me;

the torch of his enthusiasm

burned even hotter

than the fiery ashes

of his cigarettes;

but I was like a wet match,

soaking wet,

and Dad had no chance,

no chance at all --

my whole world was

Disneyland;

hot words of anger

gathered in his mouth

like fierce storm winds,

but then he hesitated,

thought pensively for a moment,

and, finally, swallowed them;

with a smile of selfless surrender,

he took my hand in his own

and, together, we walked

towards the parking lot.

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 glee,

Twirling atop God’s invisible index finger, this

  planet humbly reflects the beauty of the good God.

NINO THE SALESMAN

Nino the Donkey squeezes

   out every penny in sales,

His smooth, slippery power of

   persuasion never ever fails,

He legally pickpockets without

   getting thrown into jails.

Nino needs to learn how to

   sincerely serve each client,

He should give people a break

   and with pricing be more pliant,

He must make others’ lives

   easier and not be defiant.

NINO THE FEARMONGER

Nino is a newscaster who’s

   always in hot pursuit of fame,

He aims at human targets

   to drop his bombs of blame,

Then he justifies himself saying

   it’s just a part of the game.

Vin Scully could certainly

   teach him a thing or two,

Nino should stay away

   from bombastic gossipy goo,

He should calmly and simply

   tell the facts that are true.

NINO THE LUKEWARM DONKEY

Nino goes to mass perhaps every month or two,

Since he’s so very busy, his prayers are quite few,

But he says he’s a good Catholic if you ask his view.

Nino needs to sincerely seek so that he may find,

He needs more time with the Lord, away from the grind,

Otherwise, the more he runs, the more he’ll fall behind.

NINO THE ENVIOUS DONKEY

Nino stews in envy as if he were in a

  cauldron of bubbling black oil,

When someone else gets praised,

  it really makes his blood boil,

If he isn’t recognized as special,

  It makes him radically recoil.

The loving Lord needs to gently pop

  Nino’s egotistical balloon,

Or this donkey will be despised,

  as a proud, puffed-up buffoon,

But when glad at others’ blessings,

  his soul plays a beautiful tune.