MOSES SAVED FROM THE WATERS by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Jacopo Robusti Tintoretto’s masterpiece



A lonely little baby in a basket

floats freely in the current of

the Nile River, his brown eyes

wandering to and fro, innocently

wondering where his mother is;

the Spirit delicately leads the

young one towards his new home,

and in a short time the babe feels

his journey come to a gentle halt;

when the basket opens, he looks up

and sees a pretty face, but unlike

any that he has seen before, painted,

but with a light, elegant touch;

then the Egyptian woman’s

eyes open wide in wonder,

and her beautiful lips curve

into a warm, sweet smile,

and for the first time in

her life, she is in love.

THE CONVERSION OF MARY MAGDALENE by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Paolo Veronese’s masterpiece

Our Lord looks at Mary

With sweetness and gentleness,

And she looks back at him,

Incredulous, that He could

Forgive and pardon

Her many many grave sins;

She gazes into the eyes of Love,

Her heart pierced by the lance of

Sincere heartfelt contrition, and

As He breaks the chains of her sin,

She experiences the Good,

She experiences the True,

She experiences the Beautiful —

And, lo, she is a new creation!

OUR LADY'S LITTLE LANTERN by Joe Castorino

O Mystical Rose,

Surrounded by the

Dazzling and brilliant Light,

You open your little lantern

And fill it to the brim

With the Light of Love,

Then you humbly and gently

Shine it upon the whole world,

Transfiguring it,

With His glorious goodness,

With His transparent truth,

With His benevolent beauty!

JOSEPH SOLD BY HIS BROTHERS by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Antonio Castillo Saavedra’s masterpiece

Stripped of his ornamental tunic

By his jealous, impulsive brothers,

Joseph sits cramped inside a dry well,

As if inside a cavernous dungeon,

Bewildered, like a lost lonely sheep; 

Then, he’s startled by a falling rope --

He instinctively grips it and

Suddenly, he’s jerked upwards,

His eyes observing the misty clouds

That seem to be swirling in confusion

Above him in the cold dark sky;

After being yanked out of the well

And thrown roughly to the ground

By one of his very own brothers,

He wearily looks up at an 

Astonished Midianite merchant,

Who carefully looks him over

With a shrewd business-like eye

Before buying him, on the spot, 

For a bargain of twenty shekels;

As Joseph slowly walks alongside

This cheerful good-natured trader,

He wonders what God’s plans will be

For him in the distant land of Egypt.

THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Paolo Veronese’s masterpiece

Abraham simply can’t wait any longer:

His heavy heart thunderously thumps

Deep down inside his big broad chest, 

And his body trembles with terror.

He hesitates as if he is hopelessly lost,

As if wandering in a wasteland of worry,

Yet when he closes his weary eyes,

He finds God’s gift of faith in his heart.

Little Isaac gazes upward towards the sky,

Wondering why the clouds are so grey,

He completely trusts his good father,

And knows not his own impending doom.  

Abraham’s hopeful hand grips the knife,

Then very slowly, and ever so silently, 

He raises its bloodless blade in the air,

Preparing for the swift stroke of death. 

But an angel in white stops him and 

Abraham’s body crumbles to the ground,

Like fallen fragments of unleavened bread,

And Divine Mercy warmly smiles upon him.

THE TOWER OF BABEL by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Frans Francken II’s masterpiece



The people were far more

advanced in technology than

their predecessors, and they

built a tower soaring to the skies;

their minds were filled with

grand new dreams of progress,

and each of them envisioned

a great new world in which

their creative ingenuity

would supply all of their needs --

they no longer needed God.

The Spirit slowly circled overhead,

saddened that He had been

forgotten by the people,

so He sighed deeply, wishing

His children to know how much

they needed Him, wishing

them to know how greatly and

how passionately He loved them;

so He withdrew and gave them

what they wanted: independence --

and then they babbled like idiots.

Why are dust and ashes proud?

Why is it that we accomplish

great things, and then we

forget the One who gave us

the gifts in the first place?

Even stubborn donkeys

understand that although

they wear a very beautiful

diamond-studded saddle,

it is absolutely nothing that

they earned or deserved.

THE DELUGE by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Francis Danby’s masterpiece

Far, far away,

on the stormy grey sea,

Noah’s grand wooden ark

slowly and gently bobs

up and down, up and down,

in the waves of Divine Mercy,

but as I turn to the right,

my heart stops when I see

dark cascades of rain all around,

pouring madly out of the turbulent

black clouds like cool liquid lava.

I stand atop what was once a tall

mountain, surrounded by the

devastating deluge and flood,

and clusters of screeching

men and women encircle me,

clinging like crabs to the wet rocks,

but many have already fallen

into the swirling sea below and

clutch desperately to the feeble

branches of submerged oak trees,

hoping the tempest will cease.

Only hours later, I’m the only

survivor, but I won’t last much

longer since the water is up to my

waist, and it is more and more

difficult to maintain my hold of the

wet boulder I’ve been sitting on all

day, and as I hopelessly look

around, I only see grey water and

black skies, and the relentless rain

that brings with it God’s justice.

PRAYER OF SAINT BONAVENTURE by Joe Castorino

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus,

My inmost soul with the most joyous

And healthful wound of your love,

And with true, calm, and most holy apostolic charity,

That my soul may ever languish and melt

With entire love and longing for you,

May yearn for you and for your courts,

May long to be dissolved and to be with you.

Grant that my soul may hunger after you,

The Bread of Angels,

The refreshment of holy souls,

Our daily and super substantial bread,

Having all sweetness and savor

And every delightful taste.

May my heart ever hunger after

And feed upon you,

Whom the angels desire to look upon,

And may my inmost soul be filled

With the sweetness of your savor;

May it ever thirst for you,

The fountain of life,

The fountain of wisdom and knowledge,

The fountain of eternal light,

The torrent of pleasure,

The fullness of the house of God;

May it ever surround you,

Seek you, find you,

Run to you, come up to you,

Meditate on you, speak of you,

And do all for the praise and glory of your name,

With humility and discretion,

With love and delight,

With ease and affection,

With perseverance to the end;

And be you alone ever my hope,

My entire confidence, my riches,

My delight, my pleasure, my joy,

My rest and tranquility, my peace,

My sweetness, my food, my refreshment,

My refuge, my help, my wisdom,

My portion, my possession, my treasure;

May my mind be ever fixed on you,

And may my heart be ever firm

And rooted in you immovably.

Amen.

THE ANIMALS ENTERING NOAH'S ARK by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Jacopo Bassano’s masterpiece

Old Noah and his family,

shunned and mocked by

their know-it-all neighbors,

diligently gather the animals

into the cozy confines of

the grand wooden ark;

when all are on board and

they lock up the vessel,

from very high in the sky

a peaceful dove looks down and

the ark looks like a giant oyster,

protecting its treasure from

the swiftly advancing storm.

ADAM AND EVE by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Tiziano Vecellio’s masterpiece



As the serpent seductively

smiles at Adam and Eve,

their teeth tear the flesh

of the juicy fruit -- and, oh!

the intense sweetness

and overwhelming delight!

but very suddenly they

shudder and convulse

in their deadly disobedience,

as their souls are poisoned

by the black sugar of sin.

THE GARDEN OF EDEN by Joe Castorino

Inspired by Thomas Cole’s masterpiece

Adam and Eve gratefully gaze

in awe and wonder at the

beauty of God’s holy creation;

beyond the sublime peace

of the verdant meadow and

the fresh tropical fruit trees

that lovingly embrace it,

a whispering waterfall sparkles

like aquamarine crystal in

the warm welcoming sun

and gracefully pours into

the pristine lake below;

rising majestically behind it

is a towering mountain of rock

that stands in stately grandeur,

piercing the serene blue sky,

joyfully pointing to the realm

of the Heavenly Homeland.

ST. JOHN PAUL II'S PRAYER OF DIVINE MERCY by Joe Castorino

God, merciful Father,

in Your Son, Jesus Christ,

You have revealed Your love

and poured it out upon us

in the Holy Spirit,

the Comforter.

We entrust to You today 

the destiny of the whole world

and of every man and woman.

Bend down to us sinners, 

heal our weakness,

conquer all evil,

and grant that all peoples of the earth

may experience Your mercy.

In You, the Triune God, 

may they ever find the source of hope.

Eternal Father,

for the sake of the sorrowful Passion

and Resurrection of Your Son,

have mercy on us,

and upon the whole world!

Amen.

ST. CHARLES DE FOUCAULD'S PRAYER OF ABANDONMENT by Joe Castorino

Father, I abandon myself 

into your hands.

Do with me what you will.

Whatever you may do, I thank you.

I am ready for all; I accept all.

Let only your will be done in me 

and in all your creatures.

I wish no more than this, O Lord.

Into your hands I commend my soul.

I offer it to you

with all the love of my heart, 

for I love you, Lord, 

and so need to give myself,

to surrender myself into your hands 

without reserve 

and with boundless confidence, 

for you are my father.

Amen.

TRANSFIGURED BY DIVINE MERCY by Joe Castorino

The storm strikes

In the hour of terror,

And the dark one

Ferociously temps me,

Speedily swirling

In the winds around me,

Faster and faster,

Roaring loudly,

Trying to intimidate me

And make me act rashly.

But Our Lord Jesus

Takes His time,

And asks me to surrender,

To focus in a special way

On His sorrowful passion,

To have great trust

In His divine mercy —

And so he transfigures

The hour of terror into

The Hour of Divine Mercy.

DIVINE ARTISTRY by Joe Castorino

The canvas of my life

Is messy and sloppy,

Because I make mistakes,

So very many mistakes,

With my clumsy brushstrokes,

But, indeed, I am blessed,

Because the Divine Artist

Dips His cross-shaped brush

Into His most precious blood,

And paints and colors my life

With His divine mercy,

Patiently, joyfully, lovingly,

And transforms my life into a

Magnificent masterpiece.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES' EVENING PRAYER by Joe Castorino

Based on the writing of St. Francis de Sales

Dearest Heavenly Father,

Through the Holy Spirit

I humbly give you thanks for

The affections and resolutions

You have given me today

In my meditations,

As well as for your great

Goodness and divine mercy.

Eternal Father, I offer to you

The body and blood,

Soul and divinity,

Of your dearly beloved Son,

Our Lord Jesus Christ,

In atonement for our sins,

And those of the whole world.

I wholeheartedly implore you

To share with me the abundant

Graces and virtues

Of your most holy Son,

And to bless my affections and resolutions,

So that I may faithfully fulfill them.

I also thank you for

Having taken care of me today,

And now I will examine

How I have conducted myself

Throughout the course of this day…

For all the good I have done,

I sincerely and wholeheartedly

Thank you for it;

For anything I have done wrong

In thought, word, or deed,

I ask pardon of you,

The Divine Mercy,

And I resolve to confess it

At the first opportunity,

And to make careful

Amendment for it.

In your Divine Providence,

And through the intercession of

Our Lady, the angels,

And the saints,

Please take care of

My body, and my soul,

The Church, and my diocese,

My parish, and my pastor,

My relatives, and my friends,

And everyone else in the world,

That the windows of our souls

Will be closed

Against the shadows of hell.

Thus, with your blessing, dear God,

I go to take the rest

That you have decreed

As necessary for me.

Amen.

(Follow this with an Our Father and a Hail Mary)

THE RESOLUTION PRAYER by Joe Castorino

After Meditation upon Sacred Scripture or the Mysteries of the Holy Rosary

Inspired by St. Francis de Sales

Dearest Jesus,

King of Divine Mercy,

By the power of the Holy Spirit,

I resolve today to ________,

For the glory of God the Father.

O Mystical Rose,

Our Lady of Love,

Please remind me

Of the sweet scent

Of this spiritual bouquet,

And please pray for me,

That I may put this virtue

Into practice today.

Amen.

ST. FRANCIS DE SALES' MORNING PRAYER by Joe Castorino

Based on the writing of St. Francis de Sales

Dearest God,

I adore you profoundly.

I thank you for the grace

Of preserving me

During this past night,

And I implore your pardon

If I have committed any sin

During the course of it.

I realize that the present day

Is given to me in order to gain

The future day of eternity,

And I plan on using this day well.

Looking ahead to what

Awaits me today,

I now make a firm resolution

To sincerely serve you and

Also advance in holy devotion;

Therefore, this is my spiritual plan:

______________________.

Lord, here is this wretched heart

Of mine, which through your

Goodness has conceived

Many good affections;

Alas, it is too weak and

Miserable to do the good

That it desires to do

Unless you impart your

Heavenly blessing.

For this reason

I humbly beg your blessing,

O Merciful Father,

Through the merits

Of the passion of your Son,

In whose honor I consecrate this day,

And all the remaining days of my life.

O Madonnina d’Amore, pray for me,

O Guardian Angel, pray for me,

All you saints and angels, pray for me,

That the windows of my soul

Will be opened

To the Sun of Justice.

Amen.