THE DOVE OF DIVINE MERCY

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

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

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

“...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

“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.

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 into 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 Jesus’

  magnificent mercy and love;

The Light of the World had scattered

  and defeated the dreary dark night.

THE HOURGLASS

As I begin the day,

My guardian angel

Turns over the hourglass,

So now I have a full hour

To start my day in calm,

With the little grains of sand

Falling down ever so gently;

But then The Enemy

Abruptly turns me upside-down

By unexpectedly flipping the hourglass

Back over, and with the 

Suddenness of a desert storm,

Fear has decapitated Time,

And now the little grains of sand

Rain down — and rain down hard —

Like splattering drops of blood,

As I carry my cross;

Our Lady of Love whispers

In my ear and encouragingly

Reminds me to approach

The Sea of Mercy

With great trust —  

Just then Our Blessed Lord,

With a carpenter’s strong hands,

Gently yet firmly places

The hourglass back into 

An upright position and

Time is resurrected to new life,

And so I continue to meditate upon

The Miracle of Divine Mercy.

THE CHRISTMAS STAR IN THE DARK NIGHT

When our lives turn black

As night, and we are lost

And don’t know where to turn,

We lose our sense of direction

And wonder where our journey

Is taking us, but there is

No need to worry, for all we

Need to do is follow The Star,

The sparkling Christmas Star,

For she is peacefully waiting,

Waiting to sweetly embrace 

And caress each one of us,

From the depths of her heart,

And she is shining with a 

Dazzling brilliance that is

Wonderful to behold,

She quietly and calmly

Leads us to her Son,

For her magnificent Son is

The Most Holy Sun of Love,

The King of the Universe.

DO NOT GO GENTLE INTO THAT DARK NIGHT

Do not go gentle

Into that Dark Night,

Pray, pray, for the coming

Of the Light.

Patiently wait for Him

In the fearful Dark Night,

Pray, pray that you will

Fight the good fight.

He will give you courage

To survive the Dark Night,

Pray, pray, that He will

Make you a holy knight.

SPIRALING THROUGH THE FOUR SEASONS

Spiritual springtime blooms

With God’s sweet consolations,

As the holy breeze of the Spirit

Caresses our vine branches.

Spiritual summertime ripens with

The delicious fruit of the Spirit,

Bringing to our hungry world

God’s immeasurable love.

Spiritual autumn is a time to

Fall, on our knees in humility,

Understanding that death --

And resurrection -- are nearer.

Spiritual winter brings blessings,

Snowflakes both red and white,

Nourishing our needy souls with

Divine Mercy in the dark night.

Then, behold, the resurrection,

As spiritual springtime returns --

Yet sweeter -- and each year we

Spiral higher up towards Heaven.

UNEXPECTED JOURNEYS INTO DIVINE MERCY

To escape -- like a coward --

The stranglehold of stress,

I try my best to sidestep

Inconvenient interruptions

Whose menacing thunder

Frightens me — yet why?

They lead me on a journey

To the God of surprises,

To Heaven’s horizon,

Where the sun’s streaming rays

Of radiant red and white are

Colored by Love’s divine mercy.

DIVINE UNION WITH THE DIVINE MERCY

My soul surrenders to

The Spirit’s tender embrace,

And Love sweetly surges

Through my being with the

Warm wine of holiness;

With indescribable delight

My humbled heart

Bursts with heavenly joy,   

Burning with passion for

The Crucified Christ,

Yearning for union with

The Divine Mercy.

O MOST PRECIOUS SACRED HEART

O most precious Sacred Heart, 

Pierced by Longinus’ Roman dart;

Your blood flows through all the land,

Quenching our thirst in the desert sand;

Divine Mercy’s sweet love conquers all,

No matter how many times we fall;

Your heart can help the blind to see,

Even a sinful soul like me.

FAITH IN THE MIDST OF THE DARK NIGHT

In the deep dark night,

The swirling black sky

Of sadness and despair

Seems never-ending,

And the wild winds 

Of worry and woe

Scream in pain,

But the Morning Star,

A beacon of hope,

Sweetly rises in my soul,

Whispering the truth

With its happy light:

“Have faith, my child. 

The darkness will not last.

The Divine Mercy is near.

So be patient and trust Him,

For the Son always rises!”

TRUE JOY

Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi

True joy

Is Divine Mercy

In the dark night

Of the cross.

Jesus, I wait for You!

Jesus, I watch for You!

Jesus, I trust in You!

AN ECLIPSE OF THE SON

Very few know the Dark Night,

Like St. John of the Cross,

But more of us may experience

An Eclipse of the Son:

For a short period of time

We don’t see Him,

We don’t hear Him,

We don’t feel Him,

But in the dark sky

The dazzling corona of

Pure Light reminds us

That Jesus is silently there,

Wearing His crown of glory,

Yet in a twinkle of time

It is over and He is waiting

To embrace us with the

Sweetness of divine mercy --

I patiently trusted, clinging

To the hope of the Resurrection,

And soon my blind eyes were

Opened once again by the

Brilliant Light of Love.

DIVINE MERCY IN THE DARK NIGHT OF UNKNOWING

It’s early morning and

the crafty enemy

crouches and waits,

like a hungry lion ready

to devour my world,

with worthless worries;

in the neutral zone,

transitioning out of sleep,

I lie in bed with my eyes closed,

and my mind gradually

awakens into the

nebulous fog

of fear.

My day begins

in the dark night of unknowing.

The enemy tries to strangle me

with multitudinous doubts:

about time,

about interruptions,

about irate people,

about conflicts,

about coertion,

about expectations,

about performance,

about success,

about reputation,

about ability,

about sales,

about money,

about choices,

about decisions,

about relationships,

about rejection,

about knowledge,

about honesty,

about truth.

The fog of failure threatens

in the dark night of unknowing.

With my eyes still closed,

still in the neutral zone,

I am in the darkness;

but the Light is there,

though my mind’s eye

cannot yet see it,

so I reach out in faith and

place myself in the presence

of the good God,

then I invoke the Holy Spirit,

and in my mind

I sing a hymn of praise;

suddenly, through the cloudy mist

like a distant diamond

I see the sparkling of the

Morning Star.

The Light twinkles

in the dark night of unknowing.

Our Lady sweetly

and gently

draws near to me,

in a tunnel of dazzling

Son-shine;

she warmly smiles at me

with her angelic aquamarine eyes,

and her soft hair

and her majestic mantle

blow in the balmy breeze

of the Spirit;

and she lovingly clasps

her own warm hands

around mine,

and then tenderly

embraces me,

with the limitless love

of the Lord.

The Light shines

In the dark night of unknowing.

Next she places a radiant

little candle

in my right hand,

and points to her only Sun,

Christ the Courageous;

she sweetly whispers to me,

and then, together,

we humbly kneel down

and offer prayers

of complete surrender

to Our Lord and King --

the flame of my little candle

dances with delight.

The Light bursts forth with

merciful rays of red and white

in the dark night of unknowing.

Then the fog of fear evaporates

and my heart leaps

with confident joy.

The dark night of unknowing

has been triumphantly

transformed into

the bright light where

God’s love is flowing:

Jesus, I trust in You!

THE DIVINE ARTIST

Inspired by Bishop Robert Barron

I thirst for Beauty,

Dazzled by her loveliness,

But when I find her,

I realize that I also hunger,

Hunger for Goodness,

So I try to establish a 

Meaningful relationship

With Beauty, looking for

Goodness in her,

Yet even these two things 

Do not give me fulfillment,

For I also need to find Truth;

But when all three blend

Together in holy harmony,

Then, only then, do I find

The Love, the Joy, and the Peace

That I have been searching for –

In the touch of the Divine Artist.

SACRED ART

Inspired by St. Francis of Assisi & St. John Paul II

Our Heavenly Father is the

Divine Artist, who paints

On the canvas of our souls; 

When we surrender to Him,

He very gently and delicately dips

The brush of the Spirit into 

The palette of the virtues,

And He colors our lives with Love;

But when we smudge our painting

With the charcoal pencils of our sins,

Then He paints over our faults with

The Blood of His Son’s Love,

For God is beauty,

And f we are patient and trust,

He refines us and perfects us,

Making us a masterpiece.

THE IMMACULATE RECEPTION

With murderous

Menacing eyes,

Blitzing linebackers

Aggressively attack

The line of scrimmage

With their worldly temptations,

And threaten to tackle me hard

And intercept my attempts 

To remain in Jesus’ love,

So I quickly step back

Into the crumbling pocket,

And though distracted

By the waving arms

Of the wild intruders,

I am filled with the Spirit,

I joyfully sing to the Lord,

I give thanks to Him always,

I pray, hope, and don’t worry,

I am courageous and not afraid,

I do whatever He tells me,

I come to Him and I am refreshed,

I am filled with patience and wisdom,

I have the divine sense of humor,

I have true joy in the dark night,

I fix my gaze on the Passion,

And I have great trust in Divine Mercy;

So I throw a prayer of love

With all my might

High into the Heavens,

Confident that Our Lady will

Snatch it from all the defenders,

Which she always does;

She leaps ever so high into the air,

Like the most elegant ballerina,

Making the Immaculate Reception,

Then she flies like an angel

Down the sideline and 

Kneels in the end zone,

Bringing my heartfelt prayer

Before our Lord and King.

Touchdown.