THE LADY OF FATIMA

O Lighthouse of Love, you shine as a beacon

  Of God’s mercy to deliver us from darkness;

In your sublime sweetness, teach us

  To share this mercy with the world.

Our meddlesome enemy muddles our

  Daily lives with intoxicating idols;

May the Lord’s renewing rain rinse us

  Clean of corrosive, inordinate desires.

From His youth, and through the years,

  Jesus offered Himself to you in obedience;

May we too listen to the merry melody

  Of your delicate, dulcet voice.

Reach out and rescue us who are in need

  Of the refreshment of God’s love;

Pray that as overwhelmed outcasts we may find

  Favor and holy hope in the triumphant Trinity.

THE LADY OF LOURDES

Dear Lady of Lourdes,

   Luminous star of the majestic morning,

You have unending, unwavering

   Faith in our Heavenly Father.

In the glorious grandeur of Heaven,

   Your aquamarine eyes twinkle

And reflect the dazzling light

   Of your holy Sun.

By the excellence of your

   Exemplary sanctity, you surpass

All the splendid saints

   In the Heavenly Kingdom. 

Victorious Virgin, please pray

   That we receive the gift of

Prudence, to resist this world's

   Empty promises.

TOTUS TUUS

Sweet Santa Maria,

   Sweetest Queen of All Hearts,

How blessed are we who treasure

   Your humble holy heart.

Through you, we can allow

   God's grace to sublimely soak into our souls,

So that we can be refreshed as if by

   Cool cascades of pure pristine water.

Blessed are you among the peoples

   Of the world; by following your

Simple example, fresh fruit will

   Richly ripen on our trees.

God's magnificent mercy and

   Grace flow through you;

Lovely Madonnina, 

   Please pray for us.

MY HOLY QUEEN

O Lady of Love,

   my holy queen,

Your lively faith

   by all is seen;

Point me to the

   light of your Son,

He is my king,

   the Holy One.

MY DAILY BREAD

“Better a dry crust in peace…”

-- Proverbs 17:1

I thank you, Jesus,

For my daily bread,

And I especially thank you

For my daily sweetbread,

But help me, O Lord,

That I may learn to 

Surrender and accept –

Not whine and complain –

When you give me my 

Daily dry crust instead.

PRAYER AFTER READING SACRED SCRIPTURE

“Be doers of the word and not hearers only…” (James 1:22)

Dearest Jesus,

By the power of the Holy Spirit,

I resolve today to ___________,

For the glory of God the Father.

Amen.

OUR LADY, UNTIER OF KNOTS

Their perplexed brows are

knitted into knots

as they impatiently try to

conquer the unconquerable,

and so they slowly slide down,

down the slippery slope

of depression and despair

into the murky darkness

of melancholic misery;

but Our Lady touches their hearts,

and most lovingly leads them

along a path trustworthy and true,

through the White Way of Light,

and up the majestic mountain;

then as they drink the delicious

new wine of Divine Mercy,

their wrinkles of worry dissolve,

their souls serenely smile,

their hearts are made whole,

and, to their utter amazement,

they are absolutely and totally

born again.

THE VIRGIN MOON

The Virgin moon    

shines in splendor    

in the dark night,    

but in humility she    

recognizes that the true    

glory really belongs to her

Sun, whose Divine Mercy

rays of red and white

shine in dazzling brilliance        

through all eternity.

TO ST. JOHN PAUL I

You were the smiling pope,

And I remember that I liked that,

I was just starting college,

Making a fresh new start

To my young immature life,

You gave me hope,

Hope that my faith could be

More alive, more meaningful,

But after only 33 days,

You suddenly departed

For our Heavenly Homeland,

Yet your papacy was significant,

Like the ornate prologue to

A magnificent epic poem,

Your papacy prepared us

For the saintly Polish pope

Who would follow you

In your warm welcoming ways.

THE KISS IN THE DARK NIGHT

As I awaken in the

Dark Night,

The swirling, twirling

Tempest of menacing fear

Violently threatens to

Throttle me.

But brimming with

The Messiah’s magnificent mercy,

Our Lady appears and

Gazes at me with a

Sweet, serene smile

And sparkling aquamarine eyes;

Then, with her soft, rosy lips,

She wonderfully warms my cheek

With a pure, gentle, loving

Kiss.

Suddenly the surging

Tornado of terror

Silently ceases as

The Holy Spirit

Blows in the breeze

And soars through

My soul.

ABOVE THE CLOUDS

The depressing rain falls,

As the sky weeps sorrowfully,

And the heavy humidity

Horribly weighs me down,

For I am imprisoned in the

Dark gloom, with seemingly

No way out, and yet,

Sweet Madonnina d’Amore,

You smile upon me and are

Silently with me as I carry

My daily crosses, and so

You patiently remind me,

Over and over and over,

To fix my trusting gaze on

The Passion of your Sun,

For above the clouds

The sky is always blue, and

The weary world is warmed

By the Living Light of Love.

I AM ALWAYS WITH YOU

Almost all

Had abandoned

My sweet Son

As He hung on 

The cross,

But during His 

Sorrowful Passion,

I was with Him,

To the end.

Dearest one,

When you feel

Lost, hanging on

Your little crosses,

Have no fear,

For I am there,

I am always with you,

Always, always, 

To the end.

OUR LADY'S LASSO

I start the day with you,

Close by my side,

My hand caressing 

The pearl-white rosary

Like your soft gentle fingers,

But too soon I walk away

And foolishly forget you,

So you throw the beads of

Your holy lasso around me,

Lovingly, and oh so gently

Draw me back to your side,

To live the holy mysteries

Together, in awe and wonder.

THE TILMA

In the old mission church,

We, faithful pilgrims, are 

Packed together tightly

Much like votive candles,

Our weary wicks waiting

To be lit by Our Lady,

With the fire of the Spirit;

It wasn’t the real tilma,

Yet the good God has

No limits whatsoever, so

After mass, I approached,

Not expecting anything —

But when I touched her,

Love’s flame filled me,

And the Divine Mercy

Warmly embraced me.

AVE MARIA

She gently rocks me,    

back and forth,     

in her slender arms,    

since I’m a little babe    

who can’t find Jesus    

alone, without her;    

she lovingly caresses    

and warms me in the

cold dark night,     

and her smiling eyes    

twinkle in the Light;    

her soft rosy lips        

sweetly kiss me    

as she leads me    

faithfully and joyfully

to her merciful Son

in the manger,    

the Bread of Life.

LA MADONNINA D'AMORE

During the deep dark night,

I open the eyes of my soul,

and I see her before me,

glittering in glorious brilliance.

She smiles at me, softly, gently,

and reminds me that she rejoices

greatly when I meditate on the

Holy Passion of her sweet Son.

I listen to the magnificent music

of her most wonderful words,

and Light shines in the darkness,

burning away the folly of fear.

THE TRAFFIC SIGNAL

St. Augustine: “Patience is the companion of wisdom”

When we impetuously 

Want to speed through

The intersections of life

And just do what we want —

Not what God wants —

Then the red Light stops us,

So that we can recognize the danger;

Acting rashly, thoughtlessly,

Charging ahead of the Lord,

All of these cause nothing but trouble,

So the red Light gives us a little more time,

To ponder, to reflect, to pray,

So that when the Light turns green,

we can move and act

In God’s time, in God’s will.

OUR LADY'S ADVICE

Do whatever He tells you.

Surrender. Yes, surrender.

Totally. Completely. 

At this very moment.

And don’t worry --

Don’t worry at all!

If you stumble and fall,

I will be there to pick you up.

If you get hurt and cannot walk,

I will carry you in my arms.

He will always lead you,

In the light of His love.

Remember, He loves you.

And I love you, too.

O DEAREST LADY OF LOURDES

As I gently finger the beads of the rosary,

  I touch your warm soft hands,

I gaze into your merciful, majestic eyes,

  And I contemplate your loveliness;

Together our precious prayers mingle,

  And rise up like sweet incense,

Its scent perfumes the halls of Heaven,

  And delights the Lord of Light.

THE STAR OF BETHLEHEM

She is the Star of Bethlehem.

The compassionate Lady of Love,

The powerful Virgin of Victory,

The sweet Mother of the Messiah,

Silent and holy, calm and bright,

Her dazzling beauty shines 

In the dark night of unknowing,

And she points the way for the

Wise men and wise women

Of this world who wish to know

The Babe of Divine Mercy.