12/10/23 Through 12/16/23

 12/10/23 Through 12/16/23

Sunday

How patient is our precious Lord

To bring as many souls on board.

Long He waits, but not forever

Calm amid His long endeavor.

For that day will come as stealthy

Woe be to the proud and wealthy

All will pass away in fire

Cleanse me of my base desire.

Monday

Roof removed to draw us higher

Blessings greater to acquire

Called again to greater love Thee

Called to join the ones above me.

Called to serve the poor and lowly

Comforting one dying slowly

Called to help a friend in need

Called, the Voice of Christ to heed.

Grace is needed for the journey

Trust but God and trust Him firmly

None equips for what you're finding,

But for that he's Christ reminding.

Tuesday

Oh Mother, let your graces flow

That all would see the poor and know

They look upon your Son in each

And so the ways of love they teach.

The life of each a precious gift

But passes by as water swift

And if we fail to sieze the day

Perhaps we fall and lose our way.

Wednesday

To one day be like Him the goal

With vigor strong to feed the soul

To run and not grow weary still

With strength to every task fulfill

The yoke is easy, burden light

For those who join the daily fight

And yoke themselves to Christ the King

To soar aloft on eagle's wing.

Though daunting seems the task at hand

When I obey the Lord's command

His strength is always there to be

The power that's supporting me.

Thursday

The waste becomes the fertile ground

The desert where the water's found.

In poverty and want we see

Our thirst is slaked in only Thee.

The poor and humble ones shall be

The instruments to set men free

To carry out His holy will

And sense of common good instill.

Though maggot-like, the low shall be

Who toss the mountains to the sea

Who cut the wheat and winnow chaff

And at the stormy weather, laugh.

For God, their strength, shall lead them home

No more in desert lands to roam

But in a garden once again

Where truth, and love, and goodness reign.

Friday

Like a river, vindication

Like the waves, prosperity

How to prosper every nation

Is to have them follow Thee

Progeny, like sands on seashore

Names engraved forevermore

In Your light what ere we plea for

Draws us ever unto Thee more

Fools accustomed to their pleasures

Blind themselves to higher ways

Temporal their foolish measures

But eternal are their days.

Saturday

Turn hearts of fathers to their sons

The waiting, watchful, little ones

For there the tender hearts will see 

Just what it means, a man to be.

By good example children learn

On bad example, there they turn

The crucial role that fathers play

Can lead to God, or lead astray.

Don't squander time with those you love

But point their hearts to God above

And teach them in humility

That all that's good has come from He.

The moments all, though small they seem

With opportunities though teem

For little hearts take note of these

And years from now may lessons sieze.

12/3/23 Through 12/9/23

 12/3/23 Through 12/9/23

Sunday

Every moment at the ready

Longing for the break of day

Be a watchman firm and steady

There to meet Him come what may.

Oh, what joy when ere we find Thee

Awesome deeds at Your command

Though we all have undermined Thee,

No repentant soul be damned.

How we long for what You offer

Though impatient, weak, and frail

Bounties from Your endless coffer

For the ones who do not fail.

Give me strength and make me steady

One in trial, standing firm.

Help me be awake and ready

When at last, You Lord, return.

Monday

Oh, would that day we ever see

When nations all would flock to Thee?

When all would seek to know the Lord

And none would seek to raise the sword.

The mountain there before to climb

To meet the Lord of Love sublime

And learn His ways of truth and light

To fear no more the dark of night.

The prophet said so long ago

That someday every man would know,

But still, it seems so far away

That still I must but hope and pray.

So, use me Lord in some small way

To bring about Your triumph day

May I be salt to thirst awake

And help to more disciples make.

Tuesday

How blest are we to see this day

For which our fathers longed

Where Truth and Love have come our way

With justice for the wronged.

The prophets spoke in times of old

Of Jesse's stump to grow

And here today, now we behold

The King of kings we know.

Wednesday

Longing every day for love

And healing from our Lord

We look to Him from up above

To be the One implored

The blind, the deaf, the mute, and lame

All come for healing there.

That evil spirits He would tame

And offer Godly fare.

A gift of finest wheat prepared

And offered every morn.

With hungry souls, the mystery shared

And once again reborn.

Thursday

A nation firm in principal

You keep, oh Lord, in peace,

And make it one invincible

Whose strength will never cease.

That nation well-prepares for woe

By "acting" on Your word.

No matter how the storms will blow,

They follow what they've heard.

We look and see how Godly men

Began this nation strong

Those hoping freedom, won again

Would last, this time, for long.

But freedom's not for selfish ways

Of greed, or lust, and pride.

It's meant to bring on Godly days

When Christ will be our guide.

We must repent and turn to God

Or great the fall shall be

Our ways of making rules are flawed

Lord, help us turn to Thee.

Lord, change our many hearts of stone,

And give us eyes to see

The Truth is found in You alone

And not "a truth for me".

Friday

So we might exist for the praise of His glory

He gave us one pure to begin a new story.

A story of beauty, and patience, and love.

A story of God's only Son from above.

As so through a woman, the Devil came in,

It's so through a woman we're saved from our sin.

The pure and the holy, by giving Her all,

Reversed the effects of that terrible fall.

The falling from grace in the garden before

Would the humblest "Yes" from the Virgin restore.

Through the Son of all Love, who was placed in Her womb

Who showed us so well that love conquers the tomb.

So, we exist now to praise of his glory

And pass it along to continue the story.

That humble obedience fosters our good

And to model our way on the Mother we should.

Saturday

Like sheep without a shepherd

Abandoned and alone

With cares and worries peppered

By angry winds now blown

Amidst the chaos coming

To rescue troubled souls

Disciples now becoming

The ones at the controls

To cure the sick, raise the dead,

And evil drive away.

"This you do." the Master said

And follow in My way.

Random Stuff From My Phone

 Random Stuff From My Phone

These verses have typically been penned in my time of adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.  I don't know if there's a right way and a wrong way to spend your time in adoration, but I just enjoy the quiet and peace of being in His presence.  I rarely go to adoration with an objective in mind, but I just like to thank Him for my many blessings and lift up those sick and suffering in so many ways. 

My thoughts often wander, and sometimes when that happens I feel like the Lord is giving me the inspiration to put those wanderings to verse.  What follows are some of those wanderings.

08.24.23

It's you, my bride He chose for me

The perfect one who holds the key

To many blessings here below

That but for you, I would not know.

You've walked with me to meet the Lord

And found where many gifts are stored.

You daily sacrifices made

And well the word of God obeyed.

A brood of blessings granted me,

A widely spreading family tree.

All tutored with your tender care

That here again, your love declare.

My gratitude in tears will flow 

If you, by chance, before me go

My simple words I hope convey

The love I have for you each day.

09.08.23

Young beauty love, I wish you'd know

That how you dress affects men so.

When you expose what's meant for one

You find an evil chain begun.

The body so objectified

The demons on the man bestride

Bring thoughts of lust and base desire

When scanty is a girl's attire.

He sees her as a pleasure thing

Not one to cherish with a ring,

But one to use and throw away

Then go about his merry way.

The problem's not he sees too much,

But seeing then desires touch.

He fails to see what lies within,

The beauty that's below the skin.

The soul is where true love is found

Not casting all your pearls around

Among the swine that care for naught

Except their base desire sought.

So, guard what God has meant for one

Until your wedding bells have rung

In patient prayer your groom awaits

To seal your love in holy grace.

09.27.23 (Around the Feast of the Guardian Angels)

My Jesus, my Savior, my Lord, and my God

You guard every step on the pathways I trod.

An angel You task with directing my soul

To feed, and to prompt, and to gently cajole.

Looking back I can see many times he was there

To guard and protect from all danger with care

In holding my tongue, or in guiding away

From people or places that lead men astray.

The ways are so many, it boggles the mind

This blessing so fruitful, and thoughtful, and kind.

From earliest youth through the troubling teens

Always leading and guiding through treacherous scenes.

In dark isolation when distant God seemed,

The light of Your angel continually beamed.

He showed me quite clear where the emptiness led

And prompted to seek if my lover would wed.

He's guided me well as our children have grown

And helped to creatively make our God known.

In trial he's strengthened and steadied the knees

A power unseen with the guardian keys.

To protect and defend every hour of the day

To guide me and keep me from going astray.

Oh, help me to listen and quickly obey,

So one day you'll take me to Heaven away.

10.06.23

There's no dancing with delusion

All this rot about confusion.

God made male and female bodies,

They should use the proper potties.

Treat the problem, not the symptom

Look for healing, not for income.

Speak the truth with love and caring

Always with the Gospel sharing.

Hordes of children led in error

Now we reap this tragic terror

Evil runs amuck and cheery

Faithful ones all glum and weary.

One way alone to stem the tide

And end the reign of evil "pride".

Repent and humbly hold what's true

Not just for them, but also you.

Look deep within and see the log 

You may have missed amid the fog

So many splinters everywhere

But of the log we're unaware.

So, change whatever you control

And teach the truth to every soul

Delusion wanes when truth is known

And humble gains when love is shown.

10.10.23

Random thought in adoration

How to change a sinful nation,

Hope to mend the severed ties,

And speak the truth instead of lies?

One thing that I know is central

In this time so reverential

Change must first occur within

By turning from the lure of sin.

10.17.23

No Heaven is this, but I see it from here

With beauty so grand, I know that He's near

His glory is shown in the colorful leaves

A sign of His love for one who believes.

So sad for the pagan who sees nothing more

Than changing of seasons and none to adore.

But the finger of God paints the sky up above,

And each leaf on the tree with the colors of love.

Such beauty is pleasing, inspiring of awe,

Each sight ever more than the last that I saw.

My heart is uplifted, and glory I see

In the colorful leaves of each Autumn tree.

11/26/23 Through 12/2/23

 11/26/23 Through 12/2/23

Sunday

Lord, in Your kingdom, coming soon

No more the need to trim or prune.

for all are like unto Your ways

And love shall reign for endless days.

Your kingdom come on Earth we pray

As all around us every day

We see the horrors sin has brought

And suffering when love's forgot.

Lord, grace me now that I may see

What has to change inside of me.

That I would form unto Your will

And so, a life of love distill.

Your kingdom's not a land of dreams

But far more than, to most, it seems.

The broken beauty here we see

Is just a flash of what will be.

Monday

In God alone is man complete

None other can our longing meet.

And all we have, so little seems

For One who satisfies our dreams.

What little that we think we own

Will one day be so paltry shown

For love alone will carry sway

When e'er we reach that final day.

So, why hold back and wait for then?

Be not the same as sinful men.

Trust all you have to Providence,

And do so with all confidence.

Tuesday

All kingdoms here on Earth shall end

For they, on God, do not depend.

They try to make "their truth" the law

And fail to see what righteous saw.

When man departs from God alone

Then he must reap the seed that's sown.

When self-importance rules the day

The end, for sure, is on the way.

What makes a nation wise and strong

Is willingness to suffer long

To benefit the common good

And love their neighbor as they should.

When selfish passion dominates

A world of trouble it creates

Then kingdoms crash and burn as waste

And disappear as smoke that's chased.

But if we pray, Your Kingdom come,

Then prosperous, we could become.

Where sacrifice and love shall reign

Is where we find eternal gain.

Wednesday

You have been weighed and found wanting,

A terrible thought.

See the writing, so haunting

Your actions begot.

With shaking hips and knocking knees

Before Omnipotence

By then is left no time to please.

Or offer a defense.

Thursday

Bring the soul to One who saves

Be one who every danger braves

To spread the news of mercy now

That saves the sinners all somehow.

We must believe, and then confess

One God of truth and holiness

Whose Son arrived in poverty

To spread Good News, and captives free.

We too, are called to spread that news

In hope that those we meet might choose

The Light and Life we know so well,

And then, in turn, some others tell.

Friday

Glory and eternal praise

The anthem that the soul should raise

Whatever season man is in

To so His fond approval win.

Not empty praise that changes nil

But fervent praise that warms the chill.

When right becomes the soul's desire

And saves us from eternal fire.

Saturday

Now nearer than the day before

That final day we're looking for

When justice comes to evil men

And righteousness shall reign again.

Not one without a cause for fear

For yea, the day is drawing near

And though we think ourselves as good

We know we act not as we should.

When Perfect Truth and Goodness come

Compared to That our lives become

A thing of shame and great disgrace

Unfit for any holy place.

But mercy too, shall come with fire

To satisfy our heart's desire

And purify the hearts who dare

To forfeit all for Heaven's fare.

11/19/23 Through 11/25/23

 11/19/23 Through 11/25/23

Sunday

Now use each gift He's given you

To help another and renew

Your trust that He will multiply

As needed in your low supply.

He's made you not to keep and store

But made each one to offer more

To be a channel of His grace

And help the lost to find their place.

So, bury not your talent now

But learn to multiply somehow

By using what you have for good

To show His message, understood.

Monday

Have pity Lord, I want to see.

Quite well just what you ask of me

I want to follow in Your way

And learn to love You more each day.

No bland complacency for me

But ever deeper let me see.

Into Your Love without an end

And so this temporal world transcend.

What earthly eyes can see is base

The fleeting things of life they chase

But grasp at none but puffs of smoke

And find themselves just flatly broke.

But what You garner offers more

Than all ephemeral earthly store

And such is what I want to see

By drawing closer yet to Thee.

So, take this blindness far from me

And give my eyes such clarity

To turn from pleasure, wealth, and fame

And so, to peace and joy obtain.

Tuesday

Noble death and crown of glory

Culminate the ancient story

Faith unwilling to betray Thee

Then becomes the faith to save thee.

Eleazar, man of valor

Facing well the deathly pallor

shows what's lasting in our choices

Well-defying Godless voices.

Give me grace Lord, so to follow

Let me not the unclean swallow

Make me pure and undefiled

Let me be Your docile child.

Let the young be bolstered by me

In the trials that belie me

Faithful to the bitter end

Let me truth and love defend,

Wednesday

Lord, I pray I'll never know

If I would stay or I would go

If I would turn from You to live

Or freely all I have then give.

I like to think my courage strong

But know I often last not long

When trial comes, I look for ease

And not how suffering might please.

I shun what makes me more like You

And choose what puts myself in view

I like to build my self-esteem

While posing on the Victor's team.

In honesty, I see I'm weak

A common sinner, not unique.

With grace alone can I survive

And then at last with You arrive.

It's only when Your graces flow

And courage on the weak bestow

That one like me could long endure

Remaining holy, good, and pure.

Thursday

So much for which to thank our God

His love for sinners sick and flawed

The beauty that surrounds our lives,

The love of husbands and of wives.

The gift of life in little ones

The joy of daughters and of sons

The gift of faith to bolster hope

The love to with our trials cope.

Our every breath of life we breathe

Our every thought our minds conceive

His way that's always good and right

His light that guides us through the night.

For oceans, mountains, rivers, plains

For all our temporal earthly gains

For gifts all manifest and good

For peace within our neighborhood.

For love within the family

For faith along the family tree

But most of all for You my God

The lover of us sick and flawed.

Friday

Lord, make this temple clean and pure

Give grace to every trial endure

Upset the tables of decay

And drive the evil far away.

Inside is where the evil lies

That You alone, to see have eyes

Let not this temple be profaned

But purity of soul be gained.

Baptismal waters cleanse and bless

Let all my sin, my mouth confess

And thus renew what You have made

From all that selfish sin decayed

Once clean and pure I shall rejoice

And praise with cymbal, string, and voice

For then in song and varied ways

Acceptable, you find my praise.

Saturday

When all is for naught at the end of our days

And vanishing clarity turns into haze

The proud of this world will see in a flash

That all they have worked for is nothing but trash

What lies up ahead through the trial and pain

The servants of God in their hope will attain

But those at the end of their pride and their ease

Wish now they had spent much more time on their knees

As long as there's breath there is time to repent

and change the direction our souls will be sent

Admit all your wrong and have sorrow for sin

And trust that His mercy, at last lets you in.

For proud it may be far too great of a task.

How could I admit such a falsehood, they ask?

Assured of "their truth" they have deigned to obey

They walk into Hell, and from Heaven away.