10/15/23 Through 10/21/23

 10/15/23 Through 10/21/23

Sunday

Why refuse the banquet table

Well prepared with all delights

More than just a storied fable

Here are slaked all appetites.

Yet invited guests refuse Him

Each with duties pressing more

Thinking trifles well excuse him,

But condemn him evermore.

Come and don the wedding raiment

Leave what's plain and base behind.

Lo, the Groom has made the payment

For His bride to be refined.

Monday

There's something far greater than Solomon here.

So, why do you not carry out what you hear?

Why do you listen and fail to obey?

Why must you always be going astray?

Your chances are many, but not without end.

Don't think there will always be time to amend.

At a time unexpected, Judgment will come.

All our deeds then displayed in the light of the Son.

Repent as in Ninevah ages ago

When all through the city the prophet would go

Giving light in the dark and calling for change

Our ways of the world we must all rearrange.

It's simple enough just to hear and obey

By giving Him time in the morn of the day.

By training to act at the sound of His voice,

Making always His will, the will of our choice.

Tuesday

Philosophers who cannot see,

So stupid they refuse to see

What's plain and simple, clearly seen

That Christ, our saving Love has been.

He shows us all what must be clean

The heart within is what I mean.

Far more than ritual can do

To make a worthy gift of you.

If you persist He'll grant your way

And let you sink in deep decay

Until at last all glory's gone

And all is darkness, never dawn.

Wake up and cleanse what's deep within.

Remove the stain of graft and sin

Repent and find His healing rays

Which light our everlasting days.

Wednesday (Feast of St. Luke)

Luke's Gospel of love and mercy so kind

The place where a Prodigal Son we can find.

Zacchaeus the traitor was taxing the Jew

But Jesus took time to create him anew.

A Samaritan neighbor with generous heart

Exalted as one who was doing his part.

A thief on a cross who surrenders his soul

Becoming the first to in Heaven enroll.

A Gospel for sinners, for lost and astray

A Gospel that all can use on their way.

For mercy he shows as our Lord's greatest gift

To rescue the sinner and downtrodden lift.

Thursday

The saints we honor here today

Gave witness to God's love each day

Their testimony rang so true

That many towards the Father drew.

Within their lives, they did not see

Much fruit upon their planted tree

But as they watered it with blood

The barren tree began to bud.

For faithful to the call were they

We honor on this special day.

In time, their perseverance showed

The many graces God bestowed.

And still we honor them today

For how they'd listen and obey.

The total gift of self they made,

A bounty for the Church has paid.

Friday

No more secrets, all be known

Let the truth for all be shown

None are righteous, all have sinned

Priest and penitent chagrined.

From the housetops there proclaimed

Every mortal now ashamed

Deepest secrets known to all

Evidence that all men fall.

Those the body only kill 

Let no doubt or fear instill

Fear a just and Holy One

Fear the Father's only Son.

Saturday

A loving father try to be

Who always seeks what's good for thee

Who always shows the righteous way

And teaches others how to pray.

Lead not by force or way of whim

But draw the others close to Him

Then honor God in every case

And every cross from Him embrace.

Turn not away when challenged here

And face accusers without fear

For you that honor Him on earth

Will find in Heaven joy and mirth.

Remembered will each witness be

Who on the Earth spoke well of He

For there in Heaven on that day

Will hear our Jesus proudly say,

This one bore witness down below

So here in Heaven I would know

So welcome him with open arms

Where nevermore the evil harms.

10/8/23 Through 10/14/23

 10/8/23 Through 10/14/23

Sunday

The vine is trained within a frame

To maximize its fruit

For like a child, if left run wild

In vain is the pursuit

With careful pruning, watered well

A harvest comes our way.

Untended though, but leaves will grow

And sour fruit our pay.

The Master gives the all we need

To fruitful branches grow.

It's up to us to then succeed

Or to the sluggard, woe.

Monday

Mother Mary, lead and guide me

Christ my Savior, feed and chide me

All my ways so crooked, bent

Lead far away from where I'm sent.

I rather seek for calm and still,

For comfort and my pleasure fill,

But just like Jonah find instead

That to the monster I am fed.

Tuesday

Come and spend some time with Me

All your daily cares let be

Just sit and listen, let Me speak,

There you'll find the peace you seek.

Worries all will melt away

If you listen and obey

My word will calm your greatest fear

If you'd be quieted to hear.

Wednesday

A merciful and gracious Lord

His depth of love quite unexplored.

We rarely understand His ways

For retribution fills our days.

He calls for man to be like Him

Not be the one so sad and grim.

Rejoice when blinded see the light

Give welcome then instead of spite.

For each of us has fallen too

And walked on Evil's Avenue.

Our debt could never be repaid

But Mercy has our debt allayed

Thursday

Lord, give me eyes to see beyond

The boundaries of time.

For deep within the heart has spawned

A mountain there to climb.

To see You answer every prayer

In ways beyond us known.

That show how much for each You care,

And none are left alone.

The thorns I pray to be removed

You say are thorns of love.

And many times before you've proved

Your ways so high above.

But still I beg for strength to bear

My little crosses well

To always make me well aware,

In weakness, You excel.

Friday

Lord, drive the demons far away

Then teach my soul to weep and pray

Repentance be my soul's desire

Then fill my soul with holy fire.

Swept clean of evil, filled with love

And modeling the best thereof

Oh, keep me safe forevermore

That evil be my path no more.

Your finger on me ever be

That evil, far away would flee

And place your Spirit deep within

To keep me ever far from sin.

Saturday

How blest are those who just obey

The ones whom Love has shown the Way

How pure and simple life becomes

When to His will, our will succumbs.

Love, who made our very being

One all-knowing, One all-seeing

 Knows quite well just how to fill us

What will bless, and what will kill us.

All He seeks for man is good

So, obey Him each man should

There all blessings shall be shown

There true purpose shall be known.

Sinful seek for only one

But the Father's only Son

Showed how love will conquer all 

If we but heed His daily call.

10/1/23 Through 10/7/23

 10/1/23 Through 10/7/23

Sunday

The irony, not lost on me

That learned are such fools.

For pride is blinding what they see

And what they learned in schools.

The Lord of all we see and know

Has clearly shown the way

To where on earth that we should go

To never go astray

The Church He gave to be our guide

And with us on our way

Forgiving when we fall to pride

And teaching us to pray.

Her Sacrament, a refuge for

A sinner such as me

Who wants to love and wants to soar

Yet turns from being free.

Monday

Oh, angel present all my days

Give light in darkness, lift the haze.

Protect and guard each step I take

Receptive to His will, mine make.

In ways I should have recognized

You prompted soul, and will advised

From many snares, you saved my soul

Fulfilling well your given role.

But often too, I've turned away

When all too hard I found the way.

Then you would lead me to return

And always something more I'd learn.

So good He is who made us all

His "Come to Me." that blessed call.

And you my precious holy guide

He charges, "Bring him to My side."

I pray to follow well your lead

And all your subtle promptings heed.

That nevermore, astray I'd go

And only truth and goodness know.

Tuesday

In resolute determination

Jesus works to save each nation

All are precious in His seeing

Every single human being.

If we too, adopt His thinking

Not from pain or trial shrinking

Men will recognize the sweetness

And in Him find their completeness.

Lost will beg, "Let me come with you."

Foreigners as well will wish to

When they see that God is guiding

And your every need providing.

Even when in desolation

Steadfast for the whole duration

Love's incredible assurance

Always there to grant endurance.

Wednesday

The charge, "Rebuild." is made to man

To what was there when time began

A unity profound and deep

Between the Shepherd and His sheep.

But sin destroyed the temple there

For men were walking unaware

That every little turn from Him

Made prospects ever grow more dim.

Until they looked around to see

Such ruin for their destiny

And try to turn before too late

To change their dark and awful fate.

Thursday

To reach the soul that's sick with sin

And bring a healing deep within

Among the wolves, you send the sheep

And many with afflictions steep.

Then somehow weak are made the strong

And winners, those who suffer long

For when we trust in You alone

Our finest seeds of love are sown.

The fruit may not be ready seen

But in their minds the many glean

A morsel there to ponder well,

An maybe later, one to tell.

Friday

So many times we've turned away

So many times we've gone astray

So much You've given all mankind

And yet so little love can find.

Released from Egypt's fetters bound

Unfaithful in the desert found

With plenty blessed in Promised Land

But disobeying Your command.

Your Son not spared to save our race

Yet still our sin brings great disgrace

Your patience far beyond our own

A love like Yours was never known.

So once again Lord, please forgive 

With You, your servant wants to live

I wish to leave my sin behind

And so, Your peace and wisdom find.

Purgation may I undergo

Then only pure and holy know

With spot and wrinkle gone from me

To spend with You, eternity.

Saturday

Turn ten times more to seek Him

Let every heart remain

No need to sing a bleak hymn

Arisen, Lamb once slain.

As captives gone, in joy returned

Remembered by our God

Those smitten so, but never spurned

The cold, by love are thawed.

9/24/23 Through 9/30/23

 9/24/23 Through 9/30/23

Sunday

So high above the ways of man

Who knows not how his life began

Who sees not as His Maker sees

And knows not how himself to please.

To know the Master and His love

A greater gift than all above

A wage no laborer deserves

Regardless of how long he serves

So whether working long or short

I know the wage, and now report

It far exceeds what man deserves

No matter of how long he serves

The privileged are the ones who see

That serving is a gift from Thee.

The truly blest, the ones are those

Who early on, to serve Him chose.

Monday

Yes, all that's hidden shall be known

The light of truth is clearly shown

That day will come when all our sin

No longer shelters deep within

For truth illumines all that lies.

Excuses gone with alibis

That day of fear approaches nigh

No longer can we sin deny

Defenseless, naked, all exposed

To Perfect Truth now juxtaposed

But washed away are sins confessed

With robes of white, the humble blessed.

Not so for prideful locked in sin

The terrors now will just begin

Eternity with lust and greed

No way to truly hunger feed.

Tuesday

To join the family of our Lord

We act upon His holy word

Attentive to the words of He

Who gave His life and died for me

The offerings of bull and sheep

Which priest and people then would keep

Were just foreshadowing the Lamb

Our King of kings, the Great I AM

No greater gift of love to find

Nor greater way with man to bind

Than offering unblemished Lamb

Our King of kings, the Great I AM

Wednesday

In spite of wickedness and shame

The Lord protects His sacred name

Commanding that His house be raised

And then His Holy Name be praised

Enslaved, He brings a little joy

To turn the hearts, and then employ

The enemy to help restore

The Temple lost by sins before.

By placing all our trust in Him

We see things turn to light from dim

He wants the all we have to give

So we might then, in freedom live.

Thursday

A drink that never quenches thirst,

A food that never satisfies,

A life within the self immersed,

Shall never find the wanted prize.

In ruin lies the Lord's abode

In comfort there, His people dwell

Not thinking of the debt that's owed

Or how they pave a path to hell.

A place for God must be restored

The purse with holes be mended well

No longer here the Lord ignored

But let His praise from mortals swell

For there alone, true food is found,

The drink to never thirst again.

Through sacrifice, our King was crowned

The First, The Last, The Great Amen.

Friday

Graces and mercy, compassion and love

All shine through the angels stationed above

Reflections each one of the glory of God

A small little facet, by which we are awed.

A message, or healing, or guidance they give

To show men on earth just how they should live.

One placed over each as a guardian guide

To shield and defend, and help us decide

To serve the Creator, our Master, and Lord

His love without end, ever deeper explored.

Such honor in service, the goal of each man

Fulfilling in detail the work of His plan.

The ones that have chosen the easier way

Have traded their gold for a bundle of hay.

But fire is coming and woe to the dry

The gold in the fire, will just purify.

Saturday

Afraid to question Him again

Were all the good, but coward men.

His words betrayed a bitter end

To far beyond their thought transcend.

So high above our ways, the King

Who came, to man, salvation bring.

So lost in sin, we fail to see

The cost of our eternity.

But circled round within a blaze

His sacrifice will lift the haze

So, clear at last will love be seen

And wide the gap to sin between.

The path to where Messiah leads

Is narrow yes, but free of weeds

His sacrifice has made it clear,

In Him we have no need of fear.

9/17/23 Through 9/23/23

 9/17/23 Through 9/23/23

Sunday

Holding tight to wrath and fury

Hugging that which brings us pain

They become the judge and jury

Of the fact your sins remain

If you harbor deep resentment

Peace and joy cannot survive

Never shall you find contentment

Nor a sense of peace derive

Mercy and forgiveness only

Can a peaceful heart provide

Otherwise, be sad and lonely

Firmly to your anger tied

See the Cross and know forgiveness

Sinless who became our sin.

Making love the only business

That by which the sinners win.

Monday

Authority we all must know

for in authority, we grow

And One who far exceeds His slave

Is One our every gift that gave.

There's nothing of our own to claim

Not even body, mind, or name

For all has come from God above

And all is given by His love.

The gift of will, His precious grant

To in the souls of mortals plant

The image that was meant to grow

In likeness to the King we know.

Humility comes first of all 

For those who choose to hear His call

They recognize the truth and light

And humbly come to join the fight.

Subjecting all to God above

Whose motive is but purest love

Then healing comes if we but ask

His will in every daily task.

Tuesday

The mouths of wild beasts were closed

When death by mauling was proposed

The sword must sever frame from head

To thus insure this saint was dead.

But those who ordered such are gone

And centuries have rolled along

Still praised is one with severed head

While long ago the others dead.

The faithful are rewarded so

For they, to heaven's glory go

But wicked fade in milky haze

As they descend to Satan's blaze

Wednesday

Within our fickle world today

Some think the truth is what they say.

They think repeating makes it so

But prove how little Truth they know.

The Truth is in His holy word

But far too few on earth have heard.

They stop their ears, should truth assault,

And back to chanting lies default.

Thursday

Thank God He came for sinners' sake

And not the righteous horde.

The trouble is, we must awake

To sin to find reward.

Sobriety in all we do

Must be the path we choose.

For that is what is best for you

For not your soul to lose.

So, thank you Lord, for seeking me

Until it's You I found.

I pray to always seeking see

Your love which has no bound.

Friday

The crown should be the ornament

A delicate apportionment

To add the beauty, form, and grace

To give the piece a higher place.

But how confusing it can be

For simpletons akin to me.

We cut it once, and then again,

Or five or six, or nine or ten.

But revelation comes at last

To put confusion in the past

It's like the ways of worldly fame,

Turn upside down to win the game.

You have to cut it upside down

For in the worldly ways are found

Confusion and befuddlement,

Bewilderment and puzzlement.

But if you turn them upside down,

Some clarity will then be found

For there your measure's firm and true,

And now mistakes are far and few.

Saturday

The brier too, finds fertile ground

But fruit in there is rarely found

For cares and worries of the day

Have choked the chance of fruit away.

So, trim the brier's wild frond

To find the open earth beyond

There's always more to cut away

To keep us moving on our way.

Keep trimming in your life's pursuit

Until at last, you reach the root.

With branches burned and root removed,

Your harvest shall be much improved.