Wisdom and the Wise When Wisdom came to us He was but a little Babe, Which startled the studious So clouded in reasoning grave. Three wise-men seeking Wisdom Studied long the celestial map In hope of a foreign Kingdom Revealed by the slightest hap. So answering a starry petition That seemed to be heaven sent, […]
I believe what I believe I believe what I believe That when in life I do achieve And rise in state and sight of men The truth I mask and myself deceive. I believe what I believe Knowing deep wherein thoughts conceive That if a thousand falls I make Even then would pardon relieve. I […]
In His Place VIII Women in your wayward weeping Shed the tears that I am keeping. Let them fall like droplets seeping For my sake and my safekeeping. Women with your balming tears Heal the rift of sin-filled years. Calm the restless, extinguish fears, Mend your lesser fortunate peers. Women let you droplets flow For […]
In His Place VII The weight, the whips, the jagged rocks, I cannot bear it all. The cross, the shouts, the shooting pain; I stagger, stumble, and fall. Look at me, a man like you In all things but sin. Left alone and mocked by all, Forgotten and Forsaken. The sin, the hate, the treachery, […]
In His Place VI Behind each act of generosity There lies a hint of eternity. That is how I leave my trace; My seal of love for all. As when Veronica, filled with grace Slipped through the guards to wipe my face I left my mark within her shawl For every man to behold. And […]
In His Place V Do I err to reminisce, That promise you once gave, While in distant times of joy and bliss, You declared to all with boastful pride Your intention to suffer by my side? O, Thomas, your pledge so brave, Uttered in hasty ignorance, Does me little while I approach my grave. And […]
In His Place IV Nameless faces surrounding me; All but one, that one I see. Mother, must you glimpse me now With mangled flesh and splintered brow? I cannot bear your presence here; Not you, O Woman, my mother dear. But you have come for me, you say; To inspire me in this disarray. “Fear […]
In His Place III Along the path up Calvary I looked for you but couldn’t see You in the crowd that followed me Up the road to Calvary. I stopped my step and looked around At all the faces, but never found You by my side while I was bound To my cross and thorny […]
In His Place II There you stood, stiff and deadly; Long have I awaited this day. O quiet killer and dread of men It’s time to take you away. You splintered beam, So stained with blood Climb up my pierced back. I shall accept your cold embrace And provide the love you lack. O my […]
In His Place I “Ecce Homo!” Pilate pronounced As thunder pealed across the murky sky. While standing still upon the steps I heard the crowd and their chaotic cry Let him die! Let him die! Take him away to crucify! My body was torn by centurions Who flogged my flesh with their violent swing, But […]
First Encounter Mary sat down with utmost care As a burst of joy from her pure heart rose For the Child awoke from his slumbered repose Deep within her womb-kept lair. A tiny kick though a grand affair To the Virgin Mary whom the Father chose As it revealed the presence of her little Rose […]
We Wise-men Three The rarity of that burning star, Object of my study for days, Beckoned my soul to a journey far, Beyond my imagining gaze. Embarking with convoy twenty strong, And the sole star ever in sight, I trespassed lonely deserts long, Still unsure of my flight. Not alone was I in my cosmic […]
Dilating Heart Your grace is overflowing Within my soul and showing A beam of light in tenebrae. My heart I feel is swelling With love, for you’re indwelling, Deep-rooted friend and Domine. Lead onward in this sailing Of white-capped years unveiling To reach the shores of iubilae. And with your strength instilling A tattered heart, […]
When I Confess Amidst unwonted dregs of transgress Where in this fetid pool suppress Both glint and virtuous finesse You stoop, plunge, and convalesce. Fr. Thomas Flynn, LC
Chance I’ve heard some men of a wiser lot Assert the premise that all was naught; That man and woman, bird and beast Were plucked by chance, and by chance deceased. That life is chance, and a chance but one, So live it up before you’re done. But might I chance to question them, Haven’t […]
The Luckiest Tree I am just a simple tree Though prouder you could never be, For near the outskirts of Bethany I hosted the Holy Family. Exhausted from their jaunting journey To Bethlehem town, by Caesar’s decree The woman with Child and husband, three Fleeing the sun sought me, sought me! That day still lurked […]
Shifting Sands I have seen the trees grow tall And wondered how they got so big. I have watched them blush in fall Then strip to bony branch and twig. I have counted every wave That crept across the open sea. I have seen them swell so brave Then clap the shore of eternity. I […]
Climbing Home The trail I seldom trod, Keeps coming back to me. Though turning right or turning left, Its entrance still I see. I tried to take it once, In holy chivalry, Until my Guide was out of sight, Then felt I had to flee. They say it leads to home, That path of misery, […]
Sandbridge Great sentries of the eastern shore Who hold their ground against a savage sea, And defend each vulnerable house on stilts From the rising tide’s fatal entry. Their age is shown by grassy tops That swing and sway in the salty air, While catching white dust-like granules And pulling them into their lofty lair. […]
Wheat and Weeds Wheat and weeds within me grow, Carrying on like friend and foe. Always mixing, always climbing, Rising up wherever I sow. Sturdy stalks and thorny limbs, Clashing in the yearly winds. Always touching, always fighting, Spurring virtues and rebellious sins. Wheat that only God can provide, Weeds that only sprout to divide. […]
Mary’s Fiat The angel held his voice, Awaiting the child’s choice. Hoping to return with a good report. As other cherubim, In haste to hear her hymn, Descended fast from heavenly court. But could that child ever fair, Have know the gravity of this affair? Now Eve sat in suspense, To hear her eloquence. For, […]
Wheat Tallest of the crop, I held my head high. Dancing in the wind, beneath the sun’s piercing eye. Strong as steel, yet ignorant was I, Never knowing that I was predestined to die. The decay of time did its deed. Bone dry I stood- a rattling reed. Re-visiting memories of a burrowing seed, Never […]
It’s true. I do not use Facebook. Now before you jump to any conclusions, I am not Amish and no, I did not grow up in a cave. I do not use Facebook because, quite frankly, I ‘m not sure I should be using it. Like so many things of this world, Facebook is just […]
