jesus – PROCLAIMING TRUTH!

Virgin Mother Mary

O Mary, virgin in God’s house,
May we our own vocations fill
As you’re forever Spirit’s spouse
And in God’s plan are virgin still.

Forever Mother of God’s Son,
You as a virgin always share
In birth by Spirit of each one
Who needs your mother’s tender care.

Your virgin’s hands and heart now bear
The life of each by Spirit sired,
For wedding garment you still wear
As mother of each new-born child.

On cross your Son to all us gave,
A virgin to our mother be—
Each one unique by Spirit made,
Like you a once-made specialty.

O Virgin Mary, be our guide
As with your mother’s hands you show
The gifts unique in each abide,
Configured there in shape you know.

May each of us then take the place
That’s made for each of us alone
In house with Mother, full of grace
And always virgin in God’s home.

Our Shepherd’s Voice

Our Shepherd’s voice is strong and clear
And travels down the length of time
As through the Church to us draws near
Through bishop with the bread and wine.

Through hands laid on we hear His voice
With Confirmation’s baptized ears,
And know that Jesus made the choice
To speak in words that we can hear.

His human words through bishop speaks
And through His pastors to our hearts;
We recognize the one who seeks
With Jesus’ truth to us impart.

As sheep we know a pastor false
Whose honeyed words will make no sense;
We separate the wheat and dross
And know the pastors Jesus sent.

We hunger for His truth in words
That live in Body and His Blood,
And we can recognize our Lord
As we ‘neath cross with Mary stood.

The pastors false deny His cross
And never will deny themselves,
So, in the end, they will be lost,
For they refuse His truth to tell.

Cloaked in Humility

We long to be inside that gate
So we can know God’s love
Where Tree of Life for us awaits
And we can look above.

But we too often have looked down—
In pride we’ve taken charge—
And in our sins our hope is drowned
As sinful self enlarged.

Our god becomes our human strength
But find it cannot lift
Ourselves from mire in which we sink
And cry for Spirit’s gift.

And then from where we wish to be
One comes in heaven’s cloak,
A garment of humility,
From inside out it soaks.

For heart of Him within is great
And colors what’s without;
In Him there is no room for hate
Nor is their any doubt.

He for us is God’s Truth and Way—
The Life for which we’ve longed—
God’s Word for us has final say
For to Him we belong.

Humility casts out our sin—
In Him we are sin free—
And gate is opened, we step in
To eat of His Life Tree.

We feast on risen Body, Blood—
At last we truly live—
His key to gate is Holy Rood,
And Paradise He gives.

The Glory of the Lord

The glory of the Lord is seen
In Jesus risen from the dead,
Salvation for what’s always been
His good creation to Him wed.

For spotless was creation made—
A Bride for Father through His Son—
Without our sin to cast a shade
On what Our Father had begun.

But we surrendered to the lie
Of him who had before rebelled,
Then for our sin we all must die
For cast on world was Devil’s spell.

But Devil through us can’t destroy
The goodness in creation made,
And Son comes in us to employ
Our flesh to vanquish sinful shade.

He dies and rises from the grave
In fleshly Body glorified
And with Him all creation raise
As through His death our sin has died.

Now Jesus’ glory will be seen
In all surrender to His will,
And glory’s good that’s always been
Our sin and Devil cannot kill.

God’s Three

A husband and his wife await
The birth of God’s own Son
Who comes to us through heaven’s gate:
Those three are also one.

Our human family now remade
In Holy Family three–
Brings light in dark to Eden’s shade
To make us all sin free.

Of One above their likeness here
Shows three they also are.
By them in Baby they draw near;
We’re guided by a Star.

God’s Three to stable summon us
As two now three become;
Their Baby is the One we trust
To take us safely home.

We join with Angels, Shepherds, Wise
To sing our human praise;
We’ll once again see heaven’s skies
And live in endless days.

With Him in crib again we lie
And rise with Him from tomb;
Our sinful selves will with Him die,
Be born from Mary’s womb.

A new creation of us springs
From Trinity above;
Through Holy Family’s open ring
We’re raised to endless love.

HOLY FAMILY SUNDAY

Advent Wash

In Advent, Satan’s knees will shake
When he’s reminded he has lost
As we prepare to our thirst slake
With Blood to wash away sin’s dross.

When we prepare for Son to come
We walk in steps of Three are Wise,
And wise ourselves we will become–
See world made new through Baby’s eyes.

He’ll with His Blood and Water wash
The darkness of the world with light
That streams first from a living crèche
To bring creation His new life.

Then all the world will rise with Him
Who will in Bethlehem be born:
Our Paradise made free of sin,
No longer are our hearts forlorn.

Our Lady Guadalupe, Heaven’s Rose,
You bear God’s New Creation in your womb–
Birthed in your Son now Risen from His tomb,
Your womb forever opened, never closed
To us, your children, born with Eden’s woes
Yet saved by God from that first garden’s doom.
Through your eternal “yes” He grants His boon,
For from your womb with Jesus all arose.
With Juan Diego at your feet, we stand
In thanks that in your heart you carry us–
By Spirit, water born in this world’s storm.
With him we hold your roses in our hands,
And in your “yes” we place our heart’s sure trust
As this world’s winter thawed by hearts made warm.

Our Lord’s Visitation

Continue, Lord, your story through your Church
This Advent as the dawn of new day breaks,
When you again with your hand our earth touch
To show you never will your world forsake.
In coming, give us your humility
To break our pride that we may you embrace
In Bethlehem, where our hearts long to be
With poor and wise, receive your saving grace.
Bring forth your fruit in plenty for your land—
Too long has starved for Truth in Holy Food.
In us, show forth to all your loving hand
By Spirit who breaks bread on Calvary’s Rood.
In us, continue visitation made
By Father in His Son through Virgin Maid.

A Warrior’s Sword

His Cross becomes a warrior’s sword,
     And with it death was slain;
Both sin and death now know their Lord
     Who one of us became.

His purpose was to cut the chains
     Of sin bound us to death;
To freedom for us all proclaim–
     Restore His Eden’s health.

For sin and death infected earth
     When we in Adam fell,
And all creation needs re-birth
     To save all from death’s knell.

Now Jesus rises from the dead
     In grave Old Eden leaves;
And He is now exalted head—
     New Eden His breath breathes.

His Spirit creates new again
     And Paradise re-born;
A world forever free of sin,–
     No longer we’re forlorn.

Tree of Life

A gnarled old tree in our backyard
Reminds us of our elder years
When we our dying leaves discard,
And we God’s voice can better hear.

We see the world is meant to be
A place where we’re for heaven formed,
And we learn here to bend our knee
To Jesus–saves from Satan’s harm.

And we like tree will someday fall
To disappear into the ground;
Yet we are to our Father called
Where new life grown from old is found–

Then we will rise in garden new
In Paradise where we are saved,
Where Tree of Life grows ever new:
With family, friends we Jesus praise!