Sleep Well Yes, he shot himself in the chest At the age of 37 Success, to peer inside the world Above which hangs the yellow sun by day The other, smaller stars at night Great flowers plant their shadows She saw him at her father’s shop Thought him rude and ugly That red-haired Dutchman, that […]
Sunflower How can you be standing after a storm when others have been trampled, wounded and torn But there you are so bold and bright Still reaching for the sun Sunflower beautiful and bold loyal and trusting a treasure untold So much power is there in your heart Facing the rain without falling apart You’ve […]
Clouds in Heaven I was just a young thing Couldn’t been more than three When I asked Grandma questions As I perched upon her knee. Are there clouds in heaven? Do angels play in the rain? Do they splash in puddles Playing angel games? “You’ve got imagination!” She said as she squeezed me tight. “Yes, […]
Pied Beauty Glory be to God for dappled things— For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow; For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim; Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings; Landscape plotted and pieced—fold, fallow, and plough; And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim. All things counter, original, spare, strange; Whatever is fickle, […]
Anna’s Song Amy Lemoine Stout “Anna! Stay with your mother! Stay with your mother!” The panicked shrill of a woman’s voice outside her window awoke Ms. Anna Braun of 37 Pine Street as if God himself had spoken into her ear. Heart beating wildly, she leaned up against the window. At the corner Anna could see […]
In Company with Angels Hope in a small bee The immortal leaves of the holly The abdomen, gold and black Tapered and oval Shine in the April sun And the deep green unchanging leaves Stiffened, smooth Unfold and spread to the stream of light Everywhere around and in Death and immortality Dread in us and […]
My two-year-old was beyond ready to get down from her high chair. As she was kicking her legs in protest of her confinement, she noticed one foot pop momentarily into view above her tray. Her yelling stopped. Slowly, she lifted her foot into view once more and said, “I seeeee youuuu!” View the original post […]
The Master’s Hands Tiny fingers reached out to them, The baby cooing when they smiled. The three of them soon joined By shepherds drawn to this Child. Eager young hands created things Guided by His carpenter father. Reverent hands folded in prayers Led by his Blessed Mother. A wave, an inviting gesture Was all the […]
The Three Oddest Words When I pronounce the word Future, the first syllable already belongs to the past. When I pronounce the word Silence, I destroy it. When I pronounce the word Nothing, I make something no non-being can hold. Wislawa Szymborska
Transfiguration They came upon You And really saw you for once! Your full radiance unmasked Like a late afternoon sun Glaring through a windshield. Your light dazzled and confounded them The apostles fell to the ground You filled the deep craters of their hearts Saturating their emptiness There on that mountain In the full face […]
April Weather The dogwood spreads an April skirt White as would be dyed by fullers, Transfiguration was the word Attended then by Simon Peter But Good Friday was not lucky Heaven’s voice that day was stilled, The belly of Gethsemane The dark of night the Father willed In brightness death, in death a brightness Difficult […]
Remorse Inspired by Mt 26:14-16, Mt 27:3-5 The words of betrayal Were scarcely spoken. The look on their faces Like a knife in the heart. No turning back. Words, Like silver coins Clanging together. Cold. Hard.. Later Alone Head hanging In shame, Judas wept. Brenda Kay Farber
Adoration to spend time in your calming presence and feel the abiding love that wraps around me and rocks me to that quiet place of contentment where everything is as it was meant… to be at peace. Maria Morera Johnson
The Consecration of the Eucharist When the priest says, “This is my body. This is my blood.” My eyes see nothing more than bread. Jesus is not whom I hear, but the priest. And when my tongue is fed, with God, My taste is filled with grain without yeast. I smell nothing more than that […]
I am a cradle Catholic, but my family was not very good about going to confession regularly. It is possible that because my parish priest growing up was beyond liberal, my parents wanted me nowhere near him. Or maybe my liberal parish didn’t offer confession regularly. (The attached school made us say, “In the name […]
Another Still On the hillside, tall and green, From a heart no longer clean I rotted softly toward the stream Softly rotted as I bent, Measuring my slow descent, Many seasons came and went Sheltered from the north and west Hungry beetles were my guests Who ate the heartwood from my chest Till my fibers […]
The Chosen (inspired by Acts 1:21-26) Eleven men gathered Where twelve once had met With their teacher, their friend From Heaven He’d been sent. Eleven men prayed Their hearts full of His Word, Eager to spread the Message Of salvation they had heard. Eleven men chose one more They cast lots and added another – […]
This is an excerpt from an upcoming work of fiction about the life of St. Paul by Father Tucker Cordani. **** That night Ananias showed up at Judas’s house on Via Recta. This was where they had brought me after the vision. Ananias found me in my room in the back on my bed reading […]
Prayer for a Prodigal Daughter (I composed this poem to the melody of “My Bonny Lies Over the Ocean.”) Hu-man-i-ty ne’r had an era, When kids all acquired moral aims. But this age has scorched like Sahara, With passion that sears and inflames. In childhood our daughter was lovely, In soul she was strong for […]
When I am Dead, my Dearest When I am dead, my dearest, Sing no sad songs for me; Plant thou no roses at my head, Nor shady cypress tree: Be the green grass above me With showers and dewdrops wet; And if thou wilt, remember, And if thou wilt, forget. I shall not see the […]
When Christ came in the Hidden Room… When Christ came in the hidden room He still had wounds to show, This world’s wounds are slow to heal As we the living know Even Christ who conquered death But had not yet ascended Showed the wounds in limbs and side, On Earth they had not mended […]
The Prisoner in His Cell The Spirit sighed When you were born And loved you even then It watched you as A little child Playing with your toys And wasn’t blind To your surprise When you received those blows Then the Spirit Wailed like you When you found they didn’t care And through the years […]
When I was a kid, I got in trouble almost daily. I often was sent home from school with notes from the teacher, informing my parents about my latest crimes. One day, I had to deliver a note to my parents from my fifth grade teacher that stated I was constantly disrupting her class and […]
Best Friends Inspired by John 11:1-44 The cave held him in a damp embrace. Again, he heard his name called. Louder, more insistent. He knew it was time – Time to leave the dark cave. Slowly he stepped out Into the bright sunshine Squinting in the warmth and light of the sun. A crowd had […]
