9/12/21 Through 9/18/21

 9/12/21 Through 9/18/21

Sunday

The question still remains today. 

Who do You say I am?

Don't simply try to get away,

Or bypass this exam.

The answer sets the very tone

For how to live each day.

If He is God, and God alone,

His word we must obey.

Oh happy fault that Christ should come,

Redeeming all from sin.

To show the depth that Christ would plumb

That we might enter in.

But still today, the question plied,

Just who this man could be.

The saints alone on Him relied,

That's good enough for me.

Monday

What kind of faith do I possess,

A faith enough to heal and bless?

Or faith that only shows its face

When needy of some special grace?

A faith at every twist and turn

Will help the steadfast ones discern

He works all for the good He chose,

So pray you may be one of those.

Tuesday

Such love I cannot comprehend

One patient till the bitter end.

Not shrinking from the stripe or thorn

Our Savior did the cross adorn.

That we might lift Him high to see

The love He has for each of thee,

And join our burdens there to His

For sacrifice is what love is.

Wednesday

Heart of Jesus, Heart of Fire,

Listen to my heart's desire.

Come enflame my heart as Thine,

Make my love a love Divine.

Pierce me as Your Mother's heart

Many times Your grace impart

That my station never leave,

But my heart, to Your heart cleave.

Let me welcome with my hands

Every word of Your commands

Press Your Sacred Heart to mine

Making it a heart as Thine.

That beneath the cross I stay

Pondering the Truth, the Way.

Life Divine, love excelling,

Of Your sacrifice all telling.

Thursday

How foolish when I turn away

And choose to follow my own way.

No satisfaction I would find,

But more of darkness for the mind.

And in repentance I have seen

Forgiveness and the gap between

My ways of selfish righteousness

And humble, gentle loveliness.

Let tears of love then flood my eyes

And strip away my false disguise.

Then there in true humility

Forgiveness for my sins I see.

A fragrant love is then outpoured.

The total gift of Christ our Lord.

With none held back, He showed how love

Would lead us to our home above.

Friday

A simple life of simple means,

A life of love with strict routines,

To turn the heart to Him each day

Will lead us safely on our way.

Saturday

Avoid the rocks, avoid the thorns.

Explicitly the Sower warns

How these can hamper goodly seed

Depriving it of basic need.

The need of soil to embrace,

Receive it well, and foster grace.

To blanket and protect the seed

From bird, and rock, and thorny weed.

So, well prepare your place to grow,

That nourishment the seed would know,

And roots extend to firm and deep,

Quite far beyond the surface cheap.

Then firmly rooted, richly fed

Each seed would yield a loaf of bread,

And persevere through all ordeal

With patient love and holy zeal.

9/5/21 Through 9/11/21

 9/5/21 Through 9/11/21

Sunday 

Our faith arrives by what we hear

Through faith, we find our Lord is near,

And that of which we've come to know

Our life will soon begin to show.

Without the ear attuned to hear

The speech is never very clear.

Impeded by our failings when

Instead of God, we follow men.

So listen well to know the way,

Then you will speak as clear as day,

And others find His word in you 

Through all you say, and all you do.

Monday

Each one a labor given thee,

A way of love to come to Me.

Let each complete the work assigned 

And in the Father's presence find

The withered heart and hand restored

With grace abundantly out-poured

A Sabbath rest is good for man,

But Sabbath in the Father's plan

Is not a time for evil deeds,

But understanding well our needs.

To follow as the Lord commands,

And let Him heal our withered hands.

Tuesday

Principalities and Powers

From our God in flesh now cower.

For in His holy body shone

The humble love of God alone.

Obedience has conquered sin,

Faults forgiven, cleansed within.

Nailed upon the awful tree, 

All the evil plaguing me.

Now in turn, I must obey,

Learn to sacrifice and pray,

Seek the love that conquered death,

Praising till my dying breath.

Wednesday

From ancient times this day foretold,

Barren wife at last consoled.

The purest virgin of our race,

Dawn of mercy, dawn of grace.

Thursday

This day a gift from God above

My duty now to add the love.

To find the lowly, poor, and weak,

And give to them the love they seek.

To measure out without reserve,

To be a humble one, to serve,

To lend a hand to those in need,

And by example, sow a seed.

Friday

I see quite well the splinter there,

The speck of dirt, or misplaced hair.

Yet blinded I so often seem,

And fail to see the wooden beam.

You're at my side throughout the day,

Yet frequently I tend to stray

This beam that often blocks my view

Is pride unchecked that quickly grew.

Forgive my many failings Lord,

Be You alone, my great reward.

This beam I wish to quickly shed,

And be a humble man instead.

Saturday

Lord help me act upon Your word,

Your every call that I have heard,

And so a strong foundation build

For house of love, with wisdom filled.

So much to me, You have to say,

But busyness can fill my day.

Distractions draw my eyes from You

Alacrity, I then eschew.

Lord help me see beyond the haze.

Your Spirit set my heart ablaze.

That every word, I act upon,

And light within, be like the dawn.

8/29/21 Through 9/4/21

 8/29/21 Through 9/4/21

The world wants to know what's wrong,

But bothers not to think too long.

They act to change the broad array

Without reforming their own way.

To save the lives, the guns must change,

But then again, it seems quite strange.

The weakest and most needy one

Is cast aside fore life begun.

They look to see another's ill

Without a thought to their own will.

They say they have the right to choose

Without a thought to what they lose.

So, how to fix our world today,

Remains the same as every day.

Those blinded by their pride, you see

Are those that need to change, not me.

Monday

Just how would I have looked upon

This man I once knew well,

Would I have given time to spawn

The words that He would tell.

Or would I rush upon the man

Intending to do harm,

Would faith in Him that just began

Be cause for such alarm?

Today as well we still project

Upon the holy ones

The sins to which we all object,

But teach to all our sons.

Lord let me not a wound inflict,

But simply pass me by,

Then in my heart of hearts convict,

Contrition then supply.

Tuesday

In love, He came not to condemn,

But change the hearts of sinful men.

The Father's love to man reveal,

And sickness of our sin to heal.

I see, and so believe it's true,

But find myself so far from You.

Yet still, You knock and enter in

Each time I turn away from sin.

If I could just describe Your love,

The patience and the kindness of

The One so far, and One so near,

I'd find the end of doubt and fear.

Wednesday

A healing both complete and fast

A memory for years to last,

Of how God loves and cares for me

That often I would fail to see.

How fickled, I at times can be,

Impatient with impiety,

Forgetting all that He has done,

And acting as He's given none.

When none was spared by Him for me

The shroud proclaims His victory

The Gospel in each stripe and thorn

His sacred countenance adorn.

Thursday

Put out into the deep, He said,

And let your ways, by Me be led.

I'll teach you how to fish again,

But this time for the souls of men.

Friday

He brings new wine to all who live,

And teaches them to freely give.

To let their hearts and souls expand

To see what from the start He planned.

But fresh must be the way we live,

And many times we must forgive,

For fresh expands and always grows,

But old will lose the wine it knows.

So make each day, a day anew,

And let His Spirit grow in you.

Abandon that which holds you back,

Let Him provide what ere you lack.

Saturday

Lord of the Sabbath, determine for me,

Where is the right, and what is the key,

How to discern when to rest is to be,

Or when action would far more appropriate be.

Truest devotion, a heart full of love,

God in our flesh, come down from above,

To show to the feeble, the way of the Lord,

And see in all things, how His love is out-poured.

8/22/21 Through 8/28/21

 8/22/21 Through 8/28/21

Sunday

Submission to His holy will,
The way to find our honest fill

Of love and peace and joy sublime,

As to the throne of grace we climb.

So proud of having gone "my way"

The haughty find, at last, someday

That only in His will is found

A love that will the heart astound.

No way of man could ever find

such harmony to still the mind,

And rest in perfect love received

From One our very life conceived.

So cringe not at that word today.

Submission, be your chosen way.

For only when our choice is free

Will perfect love and joy we see.

Monday

Too often still we look for ways

To skirt around His will.

To look at things amid a haze

And not the truth distill.

He makes it clear to every man

The way in life to go.

Yet still, we search for how we can

Unto the Lord say no.

A hypocrite in every sense

Who follows law for show

Devoid of simple common sense,

Refusing Him to know.

Today again the choice remains

To follow good or ill

I pray to have the simple brains

To follow in His will.

Tuesday

How blest we are that know the Lord,

His favor on each one outpoured.

To learn to pray at tender age

And with the holy ones engage.

The poor are those without a guide,

That only know their selfish side.

Who never taste how sweet is love,

And all that comes from God above.

Reach out Oh Lord and touch the soul,

Let every sinner be made whole.

And show to those so far away

That Yours is but the only way.

One far above was then made low

So every soul on earth would know

The love of God for sinful men

And have the chance to start again.

Receive oh Lord, all things I own

My treasure is in You alone.

My privilege is to bear my cross

And count all earthly gain as loss.

So little here on earth, we know

But loving Him will make us grow

And open vistas far and wide

Of wonders on the other side.

Wednesday

Woe because the beauty's gone,

A thin veneer is all that's on

A core that's rotten as can be,

But through the veil, the wise will see.

In truth is where the beauty's found

It comes from in, and not around.

When that within the heart of thee

With God, finds perfect harmony.

So in the fight, both work and pray,

Then always take the humble way.

For pride is what corrupts within

And multiplies our every sin.

But truth reveals a beauty there

With which the pride cannot compare.

A radiance from deep within

That shines when we abandon sin.

Thursday

I pray that I be ready then

Not acting as the sinful men,

But diligent in all I do,

And leading other souls to You.

So much I lack, but You can fill

The failings of my human will

To make me patient, good, and kind,

And help this feeble soul to find,

Your every word my pure delight

That keeps me ready through the night.

Awake to find on Your return

What only faithful servants earn.

Friday

A holiness is my desire

Closer still, and always higher.

The wise are well-prepared for when

The Bridegroom will return again.

With preparation every day

We face the trial, come what may,

Then wait with patience for the time,

And try to cleanse our sinful grime.

Saturday

"Well done, My good and faithful one."

The words we long to hear

Your faith and trust in Me has won

The life that you revere.

It's not your work, and not your wit,

But trust in Me alone.

And willingness that you commit

The all of what you own.

Not burying the talents that

Were given just for you,

But give to see what love begat,

And give to Love His due

8/15/21 Through 8/21/21

 8/15/21 Through 8/21/21

Sunday

So, What does the Assumption mean,

Except that who was dimly seen

Has now been glorified as Queen,

Most perfect one to intervene?

The sinless all throughout her time

To highest height would Virgin climb.

Obedient in all her ways

A faithful one through all her days.

Monday

So many times I fall away

And fail to hear, much less obey.

The Lord above is Lord of all,

And wise men hearken to His call.

But foolish I so often be,

And fail to hear Him calling me.

A rich young man will just grow old

By saving that which should be sold.

But one that follows Jesus finds

A peace and joy of many kinds.

For with the Lord, all loss is gain,

And giving all, we all obtain.

Tuesday

Lord make of me a servant true,

A humble helper close to You.

Attune my ear to hear your voice,

And make Your will my every choice.

So far away I seem from You

The faithful ones seem far too few.

The enemy a frightful hoard,

There's need for peace to be restored.

The soldiers in Your army be

The lowly ones that trust in Thee,

The helpless poor and very weak

Who make Your will the will they seek.

Though far away, I yearn for You,

Yet still I often turn from You

Oh change this sickly heart of mine,

And make my will to Yours incline.

For there, despite the trials here,

My comfort is to know You're near,

And that Your power far outweighs

Whatever comes from sinful ways.

Wednesday

Refuse the call and then you'll see

How poor the leadership can be.

Be selfish in the way you live,

And wonder why no one will give.

The Buckthorn rules for in the day

We sought for one to lead the way,

The olive, fig, and vine we knew

Would not accept the crown from You.

You live within a barren waste

For none would of My cup, partake

They find excuses one and all

For why they cannot heed the call.

The gifts are given each to share,

And always with enough to spare,

But generosity will be

Our only hope or guarantee.

Thursday

Rejected by His chosen ones

He searches for adoptive sons

The search goes out to all who hear

To come and feast with One so dear.

But clothe yourself in love before

You knock upon the banquet door.

For love alone must be our dress,

The Master's son would have no less.

Friday

To love, by far, the great command.

To love, is what the Lord demands.

For love has given all we own,

And love can never be outgrown.

A total gift of self is love

No greater gift than His above.

A perfect Lamb of sacrifice

Who leads us to His paradise.

Saturday

The simple in a way profound,

The wise and learned ones astound

For they can see with clarity

The graces of austerity.

So hard the lures of earth to shed,

The false bravado of the dead,

Who look to only earthly gain,

And cower from a hint of pain.

They know not of what loving means,

And see not how the loving leans

To give of self when ere they can,

To help their needy fellow man.

So listen what they say to you,

But follow not the way they do.

The great among you all must serve,

And all will get what they deserve.