Sunday, July 31, 2016

7/24/16 Through 7/31/16

7/24/16 Through 7/31/16

Sunday
Our Father find in me the will
To follow You each day
And listen close each morn until
I hear the words You say

Monday
In jars of clay the word abides
The vessel holds no sway
Surpassing power the Lord provides
Afflicted every way.

Perplexed, not driven to despair
Struck down, but not destroyed
Of Christ in us, become aware
And see new life enjoyed

Tuesday
Saints Joahchim and Ann received
Their child, immaculate conceived
The one in all the human race
That we should know as Full of Grace.

This girl who grew so meek and mild
This girl who bore the saving child
The one who counted all as loss
And stood with Him before His cross.

Wednesday
How do I grow within Your call 
But listen and obey,
How do You speak to one so small
What are the words You say?

They come to me in varied ways
At different times throughout the days
So I must be attentive to
The whispers that I hear from You

Not wasting time with petty pleasure
But seeking You, my truest treasure
Burning bush or potter's wheel
A truth they often will reveal

Let me devour all You give
Become my joy, that I may live
Of sinfulness, I now repent
That in Your name I may be sent

Dear mother, take my offering
And make of it a precious thing
Teach me how to reconcile
Remove from me what's base and vile.

Thursday
The old is pointing to the new
The new fulfills the old
Both proclaim the Word to you
And help us to be bold

Friday
Work is but a blessing for
Me to participate
And learn to love the Father more
In what He did create.

Saturday
The Baptist listened and obeyed
The king with wickedness dismayed
Now time has shown the great as small
And truly great who gave their all.

Saturday
If by design or accident
A story's told how time is spent
We leave behind a legacy
For all who follow here to see

A quilt to warm both bed and heart
A written word or work of art
Though colors fade and beauty wanes
But never lost, the love remains

So take some time to make a gift
And so, a loved one's spirits lift
Say not that time is in the way
You haven't time to think that way


Sunday, July 24, 2016

7/17/16 Through 7/23/16

7/17/16 Through 7/23/16

Sunday
Martha worked, but Mary kept
A vigil at His feet
But as she cooked, and cleaned, and swept
She missed the love replete

To work, we must attentive be
To make our daily bread
but more than hospitality
Must let our souls be fed

Monday
All around and every day
Are found, His blessings on the way
But often yet I fail to see
His answer right in front of me.

Tuesday
Much like the flower of the field
So fleeting is the life we yield
And since the time we came to birth
Have we helped beautify the earth?

Wednesday
Say not I am too young
Say not I am too old
I've given you a tongue
To man-up and be bold.

Thursday
Remember how you loved Me so.
With all your heart and soul,
Why did you ever let me go
And never then be whole?

You turned away to play the whore
The Fountain at your back
And traded lavish waters for
A cistern with a crack.

Friday
Forgiven much, the Magdalene
Could not forget what she had seen.
Her blessed Lord they crucified
Stood there before her glorified.

Saturday
Make of me a soil deep
And rich beyond compare
Sow in me Your precious wheat
That choice and luscious fare.

Sunday, July 17, 2016

7/10/16 Through 7/16/16

7/10/16 Through 7/16/16

Sunday
If we just avoid the sin
No change will happen deep within
Avoiding evil's understood
But better yet is doing good

Deliver him a crushing blow
By loving more the ones you know
For this is how the battle's won,
By virtue, sin is overcome.

Monday
Retreating to the desert find
The only truth and peace of mind
In the quiet solitude
Discover this new attitude

Tuesday
Woe to you who've seen such things
The force of condemnation brings
The weight of sin to pull you down
And in your stubbornness to drown.

You've seen His mighty works yet still
The base desire controls your will
For you His precious Son was sent
And now it's time that you repent.

Wednesday
I am weak, but Thou art strong
Save me from a life of wrong
As the childlike, let me see
All the good You've done for me.

Thursday
The yoke of One so strong yet meek
Most precious burden that I seek
To carry Him throughout the day
In all I do and all I say

Friday
Why should I ask to stay on earth
If trust be truly mine,
Why not receive a second birth
And drink of Heaven's wine?

Friday PM
A steadfast heart create in me
Detached, and truly, one set free
From all the trappings of the day
To spend a while with You and pray.

So many things to sway the heart
So many ways to then depart
From recognizing all that is
He gave for us, this Son of His.

Saturday
Purest mother, virgin kind
In you the poor and helpless find
A guiding hand along the way
To lead them to the light of day.

Sunday, July 10, 2016

7/3/16 Through 7/9/16

7/3/16 Through 7/9/16

Sunday
Can people tell by looking here
If faith in Jesus Christ is near;
Can people look, and then discern
A peace and calm they'd like to learn?

Are the marks of love quite clear
To those who worry, fret, and fear;
Can they see that we possess
The love of Christ that we profess?

Monday
Freedom in this blessed land
Was granted by His guiding hand
To shine for all the world to see
The fruitfulness of liberty.

But with this freedom all men should
Be striving for the common good
Or else this land of liberty 
Becomes another poverty.

Tuesday
The unity of God's desire
Communion with His heart afire
Love enough to conquer sin
And foster then, a change within.

Wednesday
This fair young maiden close to Thee
Became a light of purity
Preserving love as clean and fresh
She offered up her mortal flesh

Thursday
Uncanny, how the more we give
Improves in all, the way we live
For when we trust Him to provide
We find He always will abide.

Friday
Repentance turns the wrath away
And lets us see the light of day
The error of our sinful way
That we might learn to love and pray

Friday PM
A little pencil make of me
That Your true servant, I may be
And write with me a little rhyme
Just like Your mother's love sublime.

Saturday
A burning ember cleanses lips
The fire of love refines and strips
Our sinfulness and foolish pride
To clearly see the other side.

The Eucharist, an ember now
To bring about a change somehow
A daily cleansing of the heart
So that His love, we may impart.

Sunday, July 3, 2016

6/26/16 Through 7/2/16

6/26/16 Through 7/2/16

Sunday
How worthless what I left behind
The yoke of sinfulness
For there a soul could never find
True peace and happiness.

Monday
All that's good is from Your gift
The things that make my spirits lift
A barren and a salted waste
The things I often long to taste.

Tuesday
Your prophecy will come to me
At times throughout the day
But cloudy eyes must recognize
Then listen, and obey.

Wednesday
The faith was spread by holy men
Like Peter, and St. Paul
The ones who trusted God and when
Were called, they gave their all.

Thursday
Rise and walk the Master said
Forgiven is your sin
Have courage and pick up your bed
By faith in God you win

No blasphemy within His word
For all authority
Is in the voice the cripple heard
That beckoned, "Come to Me".

Friday
A famine of God's word will be
The payment for our apathy
The Word which is our salt and light
Will vanish into darkest night.

But that is how it needn't be
If we repent and be set free
For if we listen and obey
The Lord will give the light of day

And open up to greater still
New life to those who seek His will
For happiness and peace abound
Where following His will is found.

Saturday
Veiled in our humanity
His fire of love we fail to see
Concupiscence now clouds the view
Of that true love that man once knew.

A dim reflection we now see
Of that extreme reality
But in a marriage find a clue
Of what self-giving love can do.