Sunday, September 25, 2016

9/18/16 Through 9/24/16

9/18/16 Through 9/24/16

Sunday
Every man will serve a master
Some of wealth or power and fame
All will lead them to disaster
Except the One with Jesus' name

Monday
Come into my life oh Lord
Another day I can't afford
Light a lamp to show the way
And lead me to the light of day

Be there beside me every hour
To conquer sin with holy power
To chase the darkness of the night
With true and everlasting light

Tuesday
Like water in your hands oh Lord
I pray that I may be
Always ready to be poured
Wherever You may please

Not willing just to read Your word
But listen and obey
Then act upon what I have heard
And find You new each day

Wednesday
The heavens declare His glory
The stars in concert sing
Each day retells the story
Of blessings that He brings

The order of creation
Each night that turns to day
Proclaims a loud ovation
And beckons us to pray

Thursday
All is here that ever was
Nothing new in what man does
Work to get ahead then find
Alas, the effort all but blind

The sun arises every day
From east to west it knows the way
A new or different interest piques
But ne'er provides man what he seeks

Friday
I fear my love a paltry thing
When on the cross, I see the King
I want a love of purity
But flesh impedes maturity

Instead of seeking heaven's gain
I flee from every hint of pain
And search for Simon on the way
To help me through each passing day

Much better to, a Simon be
And always learn to walk with Thee
Then shoulder well my daily cross
And count all other gains as loss.

Saturday
If we but understood the Word
And acted on the things we heard
Like Mother Mary, we would be
A humble soul that's been set free.


Sunday, September 18, 2016

9/11/16 Through 9/17/16

9/11/16 Through 9/17/16

Sunday
Turn around and find again
The paradise we lost back then
When Love would walk there by our side
But we, instead, had chosen pride

And yet we see today like then
A choice for pride or love again
To be like him and bear the pain
That we might walk with Him again

Monday
So full of grace, that simple name
The one whom through the savior came
Within her blessed virgin womb
The son of God began to bloom

Her nursling at abundant breast
Emmanuel, in arms at rest
Love to never wane or tarry
With the name of Virgin Mary.

Tuesday
The widow and the orphan know
That sorrows come, and sorrows go
And in this world that moves so fast
Most manage just to look right past

But Jesus manages to hear
The voices of the poor quite clear
And comfort in the sorrows brings
Through love in many little things

Tuesday PM
Both poetry and prophecy
Can open eyes and make them see
But only to a ripened heart
Can knowledge of the Word impart.

Wednesday
The ugliness of sin revealed
In Christ upon the tree
The sentence for our sin repealed
The captives all set free

No serpent on a pole can heal
The pride or greed of man
The Son of God through His ordeal
And humble graces can.

Lift high the sign of righteousness
That all might see above
The ransom for our sinfulness
The costly price of love

Thursday
In quiet reticence abides
The virgin mother there provides
A model for the holy ones
And through the ages still it runs

A sword would pierce her sinless heart
To all her children grace impart
The sorrows of that final test
Have made our Mother highly blessed

Friday
The fate of all our earthly pangs
Upon the resurrection hangs
The author of this life has said
There is a rising from the dead

Saturday
The trials of each day reveal
The soil which is found ideal
For there alone seed flourishes
Producing much that nourishes.

Sunday, September 11, 2016

9/4/16 Through 9/10/16

9/4/16 Through 9/10/16

Sunday
I often sit and there opine
How short this memory of mine
Your written and Your spoken word
Forgotten as if never heard

So quickly lost in earthly care
That springs from almost anywhere
I flit and flutter through the day
Forgetting all the words You say

But Mercy comes anew each morn
And once again new hope is born
You whisper once again to me
And briefly open eyes to see

Someday it will be different when
The Word is fully present then
And sharing in the life divine
The knowledge of the Word is mine.

Monday
I'd rather have a withered hand
And faithful trust in Him
Than find my house was built on sand
When come the rain and wind

Tuesday
We claim it's justice that we seek
But not the justice of the meek
Instead of suffering some pain
We go to court for earth;y gain

Before the procurator stood
The source of all that is that's good
In justice He should be adored
Yet by the judges was abhorred

Wednesday
I've found that in the ways of Christ
The path of life is highly priced
When poverty I freely choose
So many things I also lose

Greed and gluttony, avarice
The things I lose are much like this
The Spirit works inside of me
Replacing pride, humility

A paradox it seems to be
That life requires death in me
But yet this feeds and makes me whole
And lust indulged just starves the soul.

Thursday
The child resembles mom and dad
With features those before him had
That curly hair or dimpled chin
By many ways they're known as kin

But Mary like no other one
Is found resembling her Son
In perfect love, and highly priced
We see in her the gift of Christ

A giving of herself to all
In answer to her holy call
A willingness to suffer shame
In honor of His precious name

I pray that I may one day be
A child in whom the world can see
Resemblance to the One above
Resemblance in the ways of love

Friday
With filth and squalor all around
A single ray of light is found
St.  Peter Claver pray for me
And help me set the captive free

But first I need to lose this chain
That makes me seek for earthly gain
Repent of many sins I own
And then be fit to make Him known.

Saturday
Have I been attentive Lord
And listened to Your word
Or have I been just like the hoard
And those that never heard?

Does it make a difference
Because I hear Your voice
Does it give me confidence
When life demands a choice?



Sunday, September 4, 2016

8/28/16 Through 9/3/16

8/28/16 Through 9/3/16

Sunday
Your word, it comes in varied ways
To meet the challenge of the days
Attentive ear and watchful eye
Will recognize and prophesy

But pride will blind the way we see
Through simple, plain, humility
And arrogance will close the ear
To what alone, the lowly hear.

Lord, crucify this mortal flesh
And with a patient love refresh
With eyes that see and ears that hear
Let me always find You near.

Monday
Bewildered in his prison cell
The Baptist asked the Lord to tell
If He was the promised One,
Messiah, and God's only son?

The lame can walk, the blind can see,
Those captive in their sin set free
No longer think your earthly way
But pay great heed to what I say.

Tuesday
With great authority He speaks
And wonders at His hand He piques
The interest of the average man
And starts the Pharisees to plan.

Wednesday
What can the young and weak be fed?
For men of flesh are nearly dead
A solid meal they can't digest
But bread and milk, I would suggest.

Thursday
His sovereignty extends to all
The things that we can see
And far beyond our earthly ball
To all eternity

For to the Lord, belongs the earth
And all with which it's filled
So love Him now for all you're worth
And so His kingdom build.

Friday
Lord grant the wisdom that I seek
Replace the anger, make me meek.
Replace my greed and avarice
With ready love that's generous

Turn envy to contentedness
And gluttony, to wanting less
Instead of flesh that's filled with lust
Give me a heart of love and trust.

Procrastinating, lazy ways
Replace with fertile, fruitful days
Destroy in me, that evil pride
And keep me humbly at Your side

Saturday
What wonder in the skies above
That all up there was made for love
The worlds within the stars that shine,
the smallness of this life of mine.

Yet somehow in this vast expanse
Amid this fine and ordered dance
The One who made this speckled sea
Has come to save and die for me

For love beyond the breadth of skies
To every man this love applies
If I could learn to love like this
My life would be eternal bliss