2/12/23 Through 2/18/23

 2/12/23 Through 2/18/23

Sunday

The daily choices that we make

Determine every path we take

And where it leads, to good or ill

To foster life, or life to kill.

The children must be taught so now

That they would choose the right somehow

And walk the path to light and love

To find eternal home above

Don't make a choice of "Wait and see"

There is no neutral, you will see

You're either headed toward the light

Or to the blackest dark of night.

Monday

The offering to Thee we make

From best of what we have we take

For all is due to Your great love

And all is showered from above

The best is in humility

For all we have has come from Thee

And when we give our very best

We find You multiply the rest

Tuesday

On the waters, fear arose

But trust in God, dear Noah chose

Fulfilling each of His commands

To thus fulfill the Master's plans

To start anew where evil reigned

And break the bond on man it gained

By water, so the earth made clean

And Baptism is there foreseen.

Wednesday

The floods will come, but who can stand

Except who does as God has planned,

Who builds the ark to flood survive

And in the newness there to thrive.

The flood will wash away the sins.

Above the font new life begins

The olive branch of peace and love

Is brought by Whom we see as Dove

So many centuries ago

The details now are hard to know

But this is clear, the faithful win

Forever vic'try over sin.

Thursday

Who do you say that I am,

A lion, a prophet, or Lamb?

If Christ I must be, then followeth Me

To pass your final exam

The cross as My destiny see

So too, it is destined for thee

If the Master is killed as the Father has willed

So too, His servants shall be.

So shoulder it well everyday

For giving of self is the way

To conquer the sin and let the love in

And taste of the banquet I say

Friday

A language far apart from mine,

A way quite high above is Thine.

You choose the low and humble way

Found irksome when I try to pray.

The cross I shun, and lash I fear

But through such discipline draw near.

Give grace to face them every day

In hope at last, I find Your way.

Saturday

As Pharoah said to Moses,

"Go, but go not far."

The devil so proposes

To keep us where we are

But faith is what compels us

To trust and so believe.

The whisper that He tells us

To more and more receive

Transfigured in a moment

A glimpse to that beyond

A heavenly bestowment

Of what in ye has spawned.

Guard the treasure ever true

That none would snatch away.

The gift He has bestowed on you

Forever lights the way.

So leave behind the barren land

For land that's watered well

Live no more on empty sand

But in the bounty dwell.

2/5/23 Through 2/11/23

 2/5/23 Through 2/11/23

Sunday

Light in the darkness, salt of the earth

Giving to God all that you're worth

Shelter the homeless, guard the oppressed

Speak of His love, and surely be blessed.

Gracious in lending, just in your way

Trusting and firm is brightness of day.

Light is the answer to all of your ills

So turn from the wrong, and do as He wills.

Monday

Healing and creation

Both signs of something new

He calls on every nation

To hear what's good and true.

But man does not his blessings know

Nor give Him time of day.

Just focused on the self they grow

Indifferent to the Way.

Don't let the cares of everyday

Distract from what is true

He'd care for man in every way

If man, His will, would do.

Assess today just how you fare

In how you spend your time

As one who listens, well aware

Of hills He calls to climb.

Tuesday

Well-ordered all the plans He made

For mountain pass, or tree, or glade.

In perfect harmony and tune

But evil serpent would impugn.

Thus tricking man to go astray

And make a path of his own way

That wanders aimlessly afar

From where the ordered pathways are.

One way alone to right the ship

And with the tools for life equip

Is listen for the Master's voice

And make His way your only choice.

Wednesday

Sweet was the day when He fashioned the clay

And breathed forth the spirit of man

Free will he received, but the serpent deceived

And downward the spiral began.

The desire for sin that comes from within

Can be overcome if we dare

For grace He bestows, and a holy one knows

It's the Spirit of God that we share.

So ask and receive, don't let evil deceive

For grace in abundance bestowed

The trusting all know just where they must go

To nourish the seed that's been sowed.

Thursday

At last, is the woman intended for me

In eyes of this beauty, what's Godly I see.

No more of the wandering, hopeless, confused

My spirit to this one forever is fused.

Great blessings now flow from this covenant bond

The new little babies of which I'm so fond.

These children enlightened by love to the Lord

The wealth of this world could never afford.

I pray that my progeny down to the last

Would be to the world a mighty contrast.

That all would be loving, and gentle, and kind

And all such a heavenly partner should find.

Friday

In one ear and out the other

Hearing well, but deaf another

Like so many, much ignored

Knowing not what headed toward.

Oh, heal the ears of all in sin

And let them welcome truth within

Let Your word be planted deep

That wayward souls, Your law would keep.

So let me too, a beggar be

And clearly always speak to me

That I may listen and obey.

And follow in Your righteous way.

Saturday

Blessed Lady in the stone

Show me Christ and Christ alone

One of millions, there I saw

The sick and crippled all in awe.

All in awe of graces shed

All to Jesus Christ are led

Ones coming from around the globe

To all the healing mysteries probe.

None can see and be unmoved

By all the healings firmly proved

By all the joy that fills the air

And all the peace encountered there.

The Maniturgium

The Maniturgium 

The cloth kept sacred through the years

Is placed with her amid the tears

Whose womb where first the child lay

Has gone to final rest this day

No greater gift than mothers give

Of self they give, that young may live

Duty bound throughout the day

To lead the child on their way

And now the cloth that she received

Is placed with her by her bereaved

As evidence that one now gone

To heaven's glory has moved on.

1/29/23 Through 2/4/23

 1/29/23 Through 2/4/23

Sunday

Not because of wisdom, 

Not because of strength

But just because He has a love

That knows not any length.

The poor are shown as wealthy,

The fool discovered wise,

The lowly are exalted,

Before the Master's eyes.

Monday

For something better, we endure

For something good, and clean, and pure

For everlasting peace and joy

That moth and worm cannot destroy.

Lord, give us eyes that see beyond

The comforts that of which we're fond

To see the beauty in the cross

And count all earthly gain as loss

We suffer for eternal gain

And not the pleasures here that wane

For those we love, that blinded be

That they would also be set free.

When tempted to at last give in

Remember what a lie is sin

How Satan laughs and mocks each time

We fall from grace into the slime

Consider then if it is true

It matters much the things you do.

Your sacrifice, a soul could save

So be the one that's strong and brave.

Tuesday

Throw off what hinders running free

So there ahead, the prize you see

Your gaze be fixed on Christ alone

For there is your eternal home

Our Christ, for joy that lay ahead

Endured the cross and shame instead

Of bowing to the evil ways

Of those refusing rightful praise.

To one alone the dead will bow

Including all those mighty now

So look beyond the dusty grave

For One alone in love can save.

Like she that fixed her gaze on Him

To touch alone His garment hem

By faith was then restored to health

When Jesus Christ was made her wealth.

Wednesday

He disciplines beloved sons

Along the way that each one runs

A cross for each to bear and learn

To God, must be the way we turn

His promise far outweighs the strife

His disciplines all lead to life

Each test may seem a cause for pain

But one that brings eternal gain

Thursday

His fire lights the way for man

And cleanses sins no other can

For in the light and heat, He brings

The gold is cleansed of lesser things

Draw near and feel the heat He gives

In purest light of truth He lives

Cleansing as the fuller's lye

The sinners whom His mercy try.

The prophecies of long ago

Are now fulfilled and soon will show

How light and love are linked as one

Within God's holy precious Son.

Friday

In chastity is where love grows

In purity, the chaste one glows

Don't follow ways of sinful men

And trip the trap of sin again

Behold the pure and undefiled

The innocence of once a child

And know that this is meant for you

And also for your loved one too.

Protect and guard this holy gift

To God, your soul's desire lift

To learn that love means sacrifice

And none but pain is found in vice.

Saturday

All must come away a while

In silence there to reconcile

With He who made all things to see

How much He loves and cares for thee

In silence there, His voice we hear

Though just a whisper, loud and clear

Him guiding every step we take

That He, of thee, a saint would make.

1/22/23 Through 1/28/23

 1/22/23 Through 1/28/23

Sunday

The people in darkness have seen a great light

How accustomed they'd grown to the shadows of night

But light has dispelled all the darkness around

The Way, The Truth, and The Life have been found.

Monday

A work so vast no mind can know

The way the toes or fingers grow,

Or how the eye, by light can see

Or why the mind in darkness be.

Who gives us rights but God alone

The One whom all our parts has sewn

As one in ways that all can see

But one of still great mystery?

What foolish pride in sinful man

To think that he, the creature can

Make rules for what is right and wrong

When he's the weak, and not the Strong.

Tuesday

Behold, I come to do Your will

Not seeking only after thrill

But seeking that Your kingdom come

With greater depths of love to plumb.

My sacrifice is naught to You 

What carries weight is what I do..

If I but listen and obey

You hear and answer when I pray.

Wednesday

Conversion of Saul was God's mighty deed

With light and with thunder, He planted the seed.

The light shone around him and blinded was he,

The Voice in the thunder was Jesus you see.

Not quite as dramatic, each personal call,

But just as specific He makes to us all.

Examine in honesty now if you dare

How light of the conscience has made you aware

That change is in order to follow His will

So, have you been docile, or one stubborn still?

Though not in a thunder, but clear as a bell

He speaks to us all with a story to tell.

All you have is a gift that was given by Me.

Proper use of your gifts is the happiness key.

If you listen and follow the way that I show,

My peace and My joy you surely will know.

Much hardship, for certain, you'll have to endure

But fire-refining is what makes you pure.

And purity only can enter My rest

I call you to be, My own and your best.

Thursday

Be strong in your faith and share it around

By placing your lamp on a stand it is found.

When dark is expelled, in light it is seen

How wrong the ways of the world have been.

Titus and Timothy, Men of the Lord

Upon whom the grace of the Spirit out-poured

Were light to the nations and signs from above

Whose embers were stirred to a flame out of love.

The task now for you and for me is the same

To preach to the world of His glorious name.

Of Jesus, that men in their hate crucified,

Who rose in much glory after He died.

Each person's a lamp that's created to shine

Whether brightness is dimmer or greater than mine.

What counts is we set it aloft so they see,

The light is but Christ, and nothing is me.

Friday

In comfort, "Endurance," just rolls off the tongue.

Not so, for the ones the poor are among,

Who lose all they have and yet still they remain

Enduring discomfort, annoyance, and pain.

The true are the ones who rewarded will be,

Not those who gave up and retreated from Me.

For only the patient can bear with the cross

Counting all riches and comforts as loss.

Saturday

So who do wind and sea obey,

But He who fashioned from the clay?

No other orders nature round

For we, our God, have truly found.

Who, in the midst of storm at sea

Could rest as One in perfect glee,

Content in slumber, lying down

When others fear that they may drown?

The Master of the earth and sky

Is One alone who stands so high.

With simple words, bestilling there

The mighty sea and tempest air.

Shepherd Me Gently

Shepherd Me Gently 

Jesus my lord my God and my all

Make me a soul that answers your call.

Make me a servant, faithful and true

One wholly devoted, to following you.

 

Make me contagious, that others may see

The peace and the joy of following Thee.

Make of me thirsty, for all that you are

Hide all my sins, in a singular scar.

 

Jar me awake when I faltering be,

Call to me loudly, and beckon to Thee

Guard me from sin, give me strength when I fail,

For weakly I am, and a sinner so frail.

 

You are my strength, the one boast that I own.

Never one better, or holier known.

Come to me daily, and feed me I pray,

Shepherd me gently, that never I stray.

1/15/23 Through 1/21/23

 1/15/23 Through 1/21/23

Sunday

A light to the nations He'll make of you

To spread what is good, and holy, and true.

The Spirit He grants, for a temple you be

That all whom you know, a new person may see.

So that you, like John, may say that it's true

The One who has come, makes all things anew.

Be ready and willing to answer His call

For His greatest of works, are done through the small.

Monday

Make of me a wineskin new

That I may ever grow with You

Always stretching out to reach

The point, to me, You wish to teach.

With humble heart and ears that hear

Keep me always ever near

Teach me at the break of day

Just how to follow in Your way.

Tuesday

The King of kings, the Great High Priest

His care extends to great and least

For One in whom no lie exists

Will be our Hope through turns and twists.

The anchor for the soul of man

Is One who made all things and can

Give hope when all is dark and dim

If we just put our trust in Him.

So don't despair, lift up your chin

The Truth alone, You're trusting in.

No matter what we here endure

His promise know, is quite secure.

The saints can all now testify

When love is always held nearby,

Amid the cold and dark they know

A bright and warming inner glow.

Wednesday

Forever as a priest

Forever healing wrongs

The Greatest and the Least

Would minister to throngs.

Melchizedek foreshadowed

The true forever One

Who paid the debt we had owed

Our King and God's own Son.

The withered and deformed

Knew well His power then

The works that He performed

Would marvel humble men.

Proud instead were maddened

And jealous of His fame

So the King was saddened

For healing's why He came.

Thursday

No soul beyond His saving

No ill beyond His cure

The road his word is paving

Will lead to life for sure

The Great High Priest, The Promised One

Has come to offer now

The sacrifice of God's own Son

To Paradise allow

The crowds from every corner here

Press hard upon our Lord

They strain to see and touch and hear

The One to be adored

I too, am one of those you see

Enamored by His word

But question if I worthy be

Of all that I have heard.

But worthy's not the question now

For none are such as He

He came to make the sinner bow

And save a soul like me.

Friday

The inner circle, chosen few

Were not unlike to me and you

The ones He called to God obey

And show to others clear the way

The way of turning back from sin

Repenting to be welcomed in

His love is always waiting there

For those in darkness and despair

Our wicked ways and sins of shame

We must in true repentance claim

For only when we see our need

Can humble souls be truly freed.

Saturday

The tabernacle is the home

For all that holy be

And when you through the scriptures comb

Will find that one is thee.

So make of thee a dwelling place

That warm and cozy be

Where beauty, truth, and love embrace

The people that we see.

When Christ abides within the soul

No pain can alter thee

He asks for not a part, but whole

So, He your strength can be.