Category: Other Poetry

O Lord, please take away our fear
     Of future and of death
And make the present to us dear
     So we may feel Your breath,

For now is when eternity
     Is present in our time,
The hour when Blessed Trinity
     Speaks to us His own rhyme—

A rhyme about a dream come true
     When Author steps on stage
Through womb of Lady dressed in blue
     Who is His own handmaid.

And in that hour at Nazareth
     The past and future came;
Through Second Eve we all find rest
     From restless, sinful games.

Those games of pride and power played,
     We think we’re in control,
But future always has a way
     Of making our plans droll.

For us the “yes” that Mary said,
     Eternity makes now–
Comes Christ who is our sacred Head;
     To Him on knees we bow.

Our bowing brings our future here
     As past is colored new—
No longer past and future drear
     Through Lady dressed in blue. 

May I become an ark for you
     Where humble You can dwell,
As virtue in me You imbue,
     Our Lord, Emmanuel.

Let me not be consumed by pride
     For by it Satan fell;
It cannot live where You abide
     As You break Satan’s spell.

Humility will single make
     My heart as I serve You;
For dreams I have I will forsake
     As You make me anew.

Those gifts that I have tried to use
     For notoriety,
No longer will I them abuse
     As Your love reigns in me. 

For then I will discover how
Those gifts held in Your hand
Give glory to You when I bow,
     Spread joy throughout Your land. 

To mourning hearts His joy will come
     When we turn toward His Cross
Where sacrifice He has become
     When we thought we were lost.

He takes our sin into His death
     And with Him we arise;
New life we know by Spirit’s breath,
     A life will never die.

Our sorrows cast into the deep
     As joy invades our souls,
And His joy He within us keeps–
     With warmth casts out our cold.

His everlasting praise we sing
     As we to heaven go,
And His yoke He around us rings
     Because He loves us so. 

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐦𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐇𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐜𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝,
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐰;
𝐎𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐡
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐒𝐨𝐧 𝐛𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐨𝐰.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐢𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐇𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐧𝐞𝐰
𝐈𝐧 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐜 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝,
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰
𝐂𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞.

𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩
𝐎𝐟 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭,
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐩
𝐈𝐧 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐦 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐬.

𝐖𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐇𝐢𝐦;
𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭, 𝐜𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞
𝐖𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐡𝐞𝐦
𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐫𝐚𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐯𝐞.

𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲,
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐞,
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲
𝐀𝐬 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 𝐛𝐞.

𝐋𝐨𝐫𝐝, 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭
𝐓𝐡𝐚t 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬:
𝐈𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐈 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐈’𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭–
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞, 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐲.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝, 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐦𝐞
𝐅𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐈 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐛𝐞
𝐀 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐢𝐭𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐕𝐢𝐧𝐞’𝐬 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐥 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐤,
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐧𝐞,
𝐀𝐬 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤,
𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐈 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐞.

𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐈’𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮, 𝐈’𝐦 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐬
𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡
𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐠𝐨 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡
𝐓𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡.

𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐯𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞
𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐨 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐮𝐬
𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞
𝐓𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭.

To Egypt I have called my Son—
His time on earth has not yet come—
For He is there to be the One
Whose human life will full course run. 

He volunteered to come to earth
To live a fully human life–
Said every life is His life worth;
He’ll bring to earth our heaven’s light.

He came to live and then to die
On Cross to make His sacrifice
And then in grave His Body lies—
For brothers, sisters paid the price.

But I will never leave Him there
And breathe Our Spirit to Him raise–
Save human life from dark despair
As human nature with Him saved.

With Him creation has new birth
As all of us sweet fragrance smell,
For He has saved His human earth:
Dispelled forever Satan’s spell. 

FATHER OF CHRISTIAN MONASTICISM

St. Anthony, the desert calls
     For you to come and live
To battle Satan for us all
     As Michael his strength gives,

For Jesus sends His prince to you
     To aid you in your fight,
Help make for us our dreams come true,
     Dispel our sinful night.

Then, go, help Athanasius win
     His fight with Arius,
Defend the truth has always been
     Bequeathed by Christ to us.

The Nicene Creed will spell the truth
     For us and for all time:
God’s Son is not from us aloof;
     He comes in bread and wine.

For Arius can never know
     That Body, Blood, is He;
His Incarnation to us shows
     From sin He sets us free. 

The beauty of creation we ignore–
And focus on what’s red in tooth and claw–
Because its beauties, goodness we deplore,
Despise what’s given in creation’s law.

For male and female are created good
And are the basis of each family here—
By it are all creation understood
As through it wisdom comes to cast out fear.

For Jesus is in Holy Family born—
Renews in us our human trinity
That’s meant by God creation to adorn
With truth who is His Holy Trinity.

Creation and redemption seen as one:
Both old and new come to us through God’s Son.

Your formed us, Lord, from earthly dust—
     In Adam we were formed—
And told us we must put you first:
     In Your love we were born.

And, yet, we chose to You forsake,
     Turned in upon ourselves,
To find this made our own hearts ache,
     Forsook our spirit’s health.

But then You entered Adam’s dust
     To take us back to You,
Again called us to in You trust:
     You will form us anew.

In union with us You became
     A Babe in Mary’s womb,
An Adam New for us you’re named,
     And entered our own tomb.

But death can’t hold Your sinless self,
     On third day You arise,
And give to us New Adam’s health:
     We’re freed from Devil’s lies.

We turn outside ourselves again
     And learn that You are there;
To free us all from death and sin,
     Escape the Devil’s snare.

His human body without sin
Is splashed in Jordan, makes Him wet,
To cleanse all water once again–
By Spirit used to new beget.

When we’re baptized, with Him we’re born
With water now by Him made new
As He from us our sin has shorn–
Creation straightened, once askew.

Now all the water of the earth
Will all creation and us cleanse;
In Him creation knows new birth
As He for all now makes amends.

Each rain reminds us of His gift
Of water to our life sustain,
As life made new which He will lift
With Him to heaven to remain. 

FEAST OF THE BAPTISM OF THE LORD