Snowflake

Snowflake glistening in the sun
Herald that winter has come
Sparkling speck falling from afar
Up close a beautiful, unique star

Brilliant white falling on a world still green
The first each year is unlike any before seen
Each year's first falling snowflake
Fleeting beauty of His make

Snowflake glittering in the moonlight
Frosty beauty of this night
Once this falling star lands aground
The lacy spark is never found

The winter's first snowflake
First this year of God's make
Its wondrous beauty does reflect
The glory of His creative effect

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

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East Gate

Jacob's ladder in human form
A crown of stars, her head adorns
The burning bush prefigured her
She gave her flesh to the Savior
More honorable than the Seraphim
And more glorious beyond compare than the Cherubim,
She is truly Theotokos
We magnify her who magnifies Him

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

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Work in progress

Many can see no good beyond this life
Unable to see beyond their current strife
Politics quickly become their creed
A faith based on worldly deed

To political ideals have many become a slave
Trust not in princes, who have no power to save
Dulce et decorum est pro Deo mori
Worse to live as a slave than to die for His glory

May God bless all who read my ramblings,

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Lover of Mankind

O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament Divine
All praise and thanksgiving be every moment Thine
You proclaimed it as You turned the water into wine
Jesus, the Samaritan with oil and wine healed
With the bandage of baptism revealed
The Bread of Life lay in the cross wood of a manger
Feed offered to save mankind from sin's grave danger
In the guise of bread and wine
Is the Lover of Mankind



May God bless all who read my ramblings,

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Peter's Barque II

Many fisherman had boats on the sea
But only one of these contained He
That the water, wind, and storms obey
That created the world in seven days
Only in Peter's barque was He contained
The Lord our God who had deigned
To condescend to our mortal form
And in this barque grant us sinners shelter from the storm

Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me a sinner!

Peter's Barque I
May God bless all who read my ramblings,

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Poems in Honor of the Nativity of the Theotokos

The All-Consuming Fire within her
Like the burning bush she remained

Mary, Christ Our Lord's mother
Despite Him within her, she is the same

Our Lady, burning with the presence of God
Within her blossomed the Flower of Jesse's Rod
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Jacob's Ladder in human form
A crown of stars her head adorns
The burning bush prefigured her
She gave her flesh to the Savior
More honorable than the Seraphim
And more glorious beyond compare than the Cherubim
She is truly Theotokos, we magnify her


May God bless all who read my ramblings,

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Kudos for the best title in the Comment Box

I was bored at work and wrote this:

I'm celebrating Christmas in Iraq this year
I'm fortunate, for our priest will be here
Off to the chapel at midnight for Mass
A day different from the others at last
We pray for faith, hope, love and for peace
We know He will return and wars will cease
Until His justice reigns, we're here in this land
Defending Iraq and home in these blowing sands
Sixteen months or so they say
But I'm still here this Christmas day
Peace on Earth and goodwill towards men
Until His Second Coming. Amen

St George pray for Soldiers

I set this post to publish after I have left:

Off to that ancient land
From whence came Abraham

Like Saint Joan of Arc before
I am going off to war

Jonah preached in that land
And I shall walk that same sand

Like Father Emil Kapaun before
I am in an Army at war

Cross Granted

H/T to Bill in Moscow


Over and over we take for granted.He came to show us the way.
The ultimate price to show us God's love.
Piercing, Stabbing, Thorns, Nails.
Oh, Lord what have I done to you.
Whipping, Bleeding, Battered, Falling.
I cry to see your shattered body.
To much to see, to much to bear.
Walking, Carrying, Weeping, Mocking.
You keep going.
Going on.
Please Lord, see my face, tears fall.
Hammer blows.
Sadness, Blood, Water, Death.
Mother holds. Accepts.

GK Chesterton- Christmas Poem

I found this on Wittingshire

The Christ-child lay on Mary's lap,
His hair was like a light.
(O weary, weary were the world,
But here is all aright.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's breast
His hair was like a star.
(O stern and cunning are the kings,
But here the true hearts are.)

The Christ-child lay on Mary's heart,
His hair was like a fire.
(O weary, weary is the world,
But here the world's desire.)

The Christ-child stood on Mary's knee,
His hair was like a crown,
And all the flowers looked up at Him,
And all the stars looked down.

--G.K. Chesterton

Haikus just for cause

Today we recall
the Resurrection's glory
our eternal hope

Heavenly Manna
Nourishes body and soul
Precious Body, Blood

Blessed Sacrament
Jesus' Holy Sacrifice
His Blood shed for all

Mary Poem

I had been trying to think of something to post for a couple of days, when for no reason I thought of Edgar Allen Poe's poem, "Hymn":

At morn–at noon–at twilight dim-
Maria! thou hast heard my hymn!
In joy and woe–in good and ill-
Mother of God, be with me still!
When the hours flew brightly by,
And not a cloud obscured the sky,
My soul, lest it should truant be,
Thy grace did guide to thine and thee;
Now, when storms of Fate o'ercast
Darkly my Present and my Past,
Let my Future radiant shine
With sweet hopes of thee and thine!

It inspired me to write my own poem about Mary. Its a prayer. It came to me this morning after I first woke.

Mother of God, Mother of mine
Plead for us to thine Son divine
Your heart was pierced with Seven Sorrows
Joy now forever, with Sharon's Rose
You, Mother, are every Christian's aid
Mother of God, You the Lord's handmaid
Plead for us for mercy from Your Son
Now and when our lives here are done.


And to finish off the post here is a link to Marian poetry by Thomas Merton.