Jesus loves me, this I know.
These words embraced in my heart.
This simple children's Hymn,
that really, is perfect in description.

I'm thinking too much.
      Worrying too much.

What will be will be.

This is true of me, and every one.

Jesus hears me when I pray.
This is His promise that He made.
I say my Rosary with Him in mind.
Hope for a miracle, but if not,
      hope it does not hurt
        when I die.

Dying.

Coffin and grave.

Solemn images that trickle
like leaking taps into
      my consciousness.
When the end comes.
When I expire from
      the land of the living,
I hope Jesus will be there.

"Jesus loves me, this I know.
For the Bible tells me so"

These words impress me,
which is as it should be.
One should consider
not only this world,
      but the next.

The coffin lowered in the grave
holds only the shell of what I am.
I'll live on, in what form
      I do not know.

Visit my grave, if that
is what you need to do.
Just know
I'll not be rotting there.

Jesus, I trust in You.

The crucifix on the wall
invites me to my favourite passage
from the Blessed, Sacred Scriptures.
In Saint Matthew our Lord's words
are shared in the Sermon on the Mount.

Reading them brings such peace
to the jumble of emotions I trend.

I wonder why these poignant words
have not penetrated into this world.
Seems odd that such wisdom and truth
is left aside as we pursue other goals.

Graves are dug in the mind, yes they are.
That's where the truth begins and ends.

Ignorance exists with point of view,
and nothing exists without attitude.

We grasp at straws and eat the filth
that permeates from our advanced lies.
Stop in at Mass, only when it suits us
and only when we feel it is necessary.

Hear the Gospel, nod at the sermon.
Check our watches to see the time.
Line up to consume the Body of Christ,
running out after back to our deceits.

In the softness of the mid-day world
I read the words of our Sacred Saviour.

The message compels me to understand
in how many ways I have wasted energy
as I've flickered and formulated over
the insignificance of mundane worrying.

Now that a time limit has been suggested,
it seems time indeed to remember that
if salt loses its flavour, how shall it be
seasoned? This is a thought to consider!

Our Father who art in Heaven, come
into my walk and lead my feet to You.

My Jesus, I trust in You.

This I say with my lips.
Jesus, my fear betrays this.
I am weak,
         weak,
           so very weak.
Tears that trickle
from within my soul
    do not put faith
       in You.

Help me, Saviour.
    Mercy, please
    show me mercy.

I am reminded
of strong devotion;
precious confidence
        felt for You.

Lead me back to this.

      Lord, there is
an illness in my body.
A physical weakness
      that aches in its
        yearning for
          Your truth.

I surrender.
       I submit.
My Jesus, let
     me give this
     sickness to You.

Lay it on Your altar,
    lay it at your feet.
Release it from me,
    remove the doubts.

My Jesus, I trust in You.

Lord, make me a vacant basin,
one that is to be congested with You.
Grateful for each day given me.
Thankful for ever blessing acquired.
For though this body, Lord, is
decaying and terminally corrupted,
it is my essence given by You
that is forever my place of living.
Let me remember the struggles,
along with the triumphs, that
You have given out to me.
For though earthly experts
claim but a certain amount of time,
I know they do not realize that
time exists only in this realm.
Forever Jesus, forever. This is
what You have opened for me.
Let me arrive with a happy heart
into the Kingdom You proclaimed.
I am scared, but not of Heaven.
I fear the pain and the unknown.
Will it be a long slow dying?
This I do not know. With this
in mind, I prepare myself for
whatever it is I must endure.
Knowing that You will be there,
both the in the process and
in the beginning of the new life.
Lord, these are but words I
write to express my thinking.
They attempt to capture the
introspection that seems to
now be the centre of this phase.
I offer them up for Your ears,
knowing they will be understood.
In this malignant community,
of which I have citizenship,
the months are carefully counted.
The day will come, yes it will,
when the last breath will signal
my sudden awakening to You.
Lord, may I be ready.

(A Poem based on Ex.3:1-6)

I looked into the flames and I asked "Who are you?"
"I Am!"
And I cried out "Who is going to save me?"
"I Am!"
And I wept "Who is going to conquer
My slavery to sin and darkness?"
"I Am!"
And I said "Who is faithful
Even though I fail?"
"I Am!"
And then I asked "Who is the father of mercy
Who sends His son to die
That I might live?"
"I Am!"
And the bush did not burn,
and I did not die!

O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,
Come travel with me as I walk
the trauma of living.
You touch me, and my heart rejoices
in Your benediction.
Celebrating the life You
gave up for us.
Wondering how You so readily
made the sacrifice.
Would any of us have done the same?
Would I have done the same?
I'm not certain I would.
The giving up of self
for the sake of strangers.
This concept is so foreign to me.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,
caressing me with Your
affirming answers.
Looking, oh Lord, to see what
symbol You call
me to believe.
I hear you Lord, as loudly as if
you were shouting,
as quietly as if you were not.
So much weakening of resolve
seems to define me.
Make me stronger, make me obedient.
Make me see
that I can not
be free until
I surrender
everything I am
up to You.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,
thank you for loving me even
when I forget
Your Sacred Heart.
Thank you for loving me,
even when I bristle
with
hateful thoughts.
O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God,
be always with me
as I
sprinkle
along
the earthly road.

Lord, have mercy, have mercy on me.
           I have sinned,
           I have fallen,
           I am far from grace.

Alone, deeply toned in repentance
I merge my soul with yours, oh Lord.
Mingling my emptiness with your
           promises,
with your magnificent love.

Lord have mercy, have mercy on me.
           I have destroyed
           the goodness
           you filled in me.

Adrift in the world of human space
I empty my heart of salvation, oh God.
Masking my faith with indifference,
           with anger, with doubts.

Lord have mercy, have mercy on me.
           I have become
           a caricature
           of a man.

Lost in space, in the universe.
My soul yearning for the peace
           I used to find in You.

Seeking You, sweet Lord.
Lord have mercy, have mercy on me.

A grey day -
Sure, a fine soft morning -
wet on the wind with rippling circles
that dimple the overnight puddles.
Misty rain lacquers the fallen leaves
to glow under sodium light
and washes asphalt paths
to tarry blackness.
The waking city stirs.
The early cars rush by,
anxious to head the traffic jams,
before the parking place is filled;
while little dog sniffs among the leaves
and praises God by being.

Sweet ****** Mother watched her Son die.
From the beating in the courtyard
To the walk upon the road, she cried
As they led her Son to His death.
Blessed Mother of thoughts so unknown
By any man who might gaze at her eyes.
Holy Jesus whose very soul was thrown
Upon the wolves of evil that howled death.
Her precious Son, Her magnificent boy
Would suffer such as few others would.
For me, and for everyone; like a broken toy
Would His body be displayed upon a cross.
Sweet ****** Mother His death attending.
As it was foretold she would witness this
Cruel passage of His blessed ending.
His fate sealed at the beginning of time.
To be raised to life, to live so He might die.
Dear Jesus who had wept for all mankind,
Travelled to His death upon a cross of wood.
Crowds mocked Him in jeering, hating waves;
In angry voices their words flew like stones
Until they ushered Him into His Holy Grace.
Mighty Lord, now laid silent and at rest.
Yet a miracle would free Him from the tomb,
For He would rise again in splendour!
Arrive in triumph to those in the upper room,
Our Jesus defeated death and so we live.

Lord, who created heaven and earth,
who made mankind in His image,
and gave us the mustard seed of wisdom.
And we took your message of
deliverance and built a world
opposite to the Word.
We prayed, attended Mass,
and than drifted back to our
guns and our bitterness,
to our vows of revenge and
hatred. Sonic soldiers prancing
in the streetcars of our souls.
We distributed our beliefs
to every savage group we met,
yet we failed to distribute our
beliefs to our society.
Lord, we attend our parishes
and pray with our priests, we
receive your Body and Blood,
and we hear your Scriptures
spoken to our ears. Than we
leave your Church and journey
home, using our foul language
as a definition point. We watch our
films of *** and death, violence
and dis-association. Read our books
of surveys and opinions contrary
to the mustard seed of faith. We
justify our disobedience with talk
of our intelligence, for oh we are
so wonderful! People starve on our
streets of plenty but we blame them
and carry on our lives content behind
our walls of smoked glass.
Lord, we join you in your
Eucharist, but we do not join you in
our hearts. Lord, we ****** babies
and we celebrate our freedom with
dancing in our minds. From trend to
trend we travel, from position to
position do we waver.Strong voices raised
in opposition to censorship for we
will have our freedom, yes we will!
We marry and than fall apart, and leave
our children divided in soul and spirit.
We seek *** from every stranger
and justify devotion to slime with
cries of representation.In our cities of
concrete and steel we live, proud of
our history, proud of our way.Proud
that we are able to define ourselves as
people of God, yet people who will
not let you, Lord, have your say
in our lives. For that is the ticket,
that is the pattern, for one hour we will
mouth pious phrases and 'with your spirit's',
but we will not take that hour home with us.
Lord, you created heaven and earth,
and all the creatures around us. And we thank
you Lord, for this world, but please don't
require us to make a commitment to
your mustard seed of wisdom.

Our hands holding roses,
We hold them for you;

Your grace bringing
us the salvation of your Son;
Holy Lady of Heaven,
Blessed ****** Queen.

Mother of Christ,
Mother most divine;
Hear prayers rising,
rising to you.

Mother of all, Mother dearest;
Caress us with your love,
keep us pure from sin.

Leading us, ever leading
to the arms of Jesus Divine.
O Holy Mother,
Holy Sacred one.

Ave Maria! Hail Mary,
Queen of the Most Holy Rosary!

I'm an Aries ram and Lord I use this
to resist you. Dear Christ I feel so afraid.
I'm scared of opening my heart to you,
for fear that
I'd be giving up myself.
I want to cling to the self-inflicted pain
and let it become my life.
But oh Christ I know this
is wrong of me.
Your touch brushes aside my symbols.
You try to ****** your peace upon me.
But oh Lord, I put up
brick walls to keep you away.
Please Jesus help me break them down.
Let this Aries ram put aside
his horns of doubt.
Let this hurting man
feel the love you promise for me.
I'm a deep dark hole
of unrepentant sin.
Carrying a cross that
does not hold your heart.
Oh sweet Jesus put yourself
into my burdens.
Let me open my eyes
to the glories
of your redemption.
Fresh from sin let me arrive
cleansed and ready to
show Your love.
As an Aries ram I jam
away from your salvation.
Yet I know I need to
submit my will to yours.
Crash away my doubts oh
Holy, blessed Lord.
Comfort me for I feel so alone.
Angry eyes follow me as
I walk though my sinful life.
Inside I feel the dark night
of the soul,
and my touch is
filled with demons not laid to rest.
Lord, stop this Aries ram
from losing his soul.

Munda cor meum ac ***** mea, omnipotens Deus.

For my heart has ached with the pain
of separation from You. My lips have
spoken words that have caused others
to be in turmoil.

Perevangelica dicta deleantur nostra delicta.

For only in the Gospel will my answers be,
through the Christ, the Redeemer, my
redemption from this life of multiple lies.

Credo in unum Deum.

For both Scripture and Tradition tell
me this is how He exists. Our common
Lord who will wash clean the heart.

In spiritu humilitatis et in animo
contrito suscipiamur a te, Domine:
et sic fiat sacrificium nostrum in
conspectu tuo hodie, ut placeat
tibi, Domine Deus.

Let everything within me live up
to the words I pray. May every
promise, to you, Good Lord, be
everything to me.

For only in the Father,
only in the Son,
only in the holy Spirit,
is found the truth I have so
deeply been trying to reclaim.