Emptying

(John 2:1-11)

At the Wedding Feast of
Cana I am, traversing there in my
mind, watching, observing
all the joyous people, no longer
limited by space and time,
lingering in the background
at the periphery of all the guests,
not hoping for my stone
water jar to be filled, but rather
the intercession of the
Blessed Mother with her Son,
to have the vessel be
emptied of its useless fear
and despair.

Asking the LORD

May my prayer
appear before You as sweetest
incense, its wisps of hope
curling and cleansing
like perfume scented with
daydreams of desert
streams. May my soul be
wrapped within the refuge of
Your wings, clothed in
the hues of a sage oasis,
content like an infant
from its mother newly
weaned.

The Blue Pearl

(Matthew 13:44-45)

And so, from high above the
Heavens, the LORD
looked down, and in His
infinite vision He saw a
blue pearl, the type of pearl
you would sell all
your possessions to acquire,
but rather than being
buried in a field it was hidden
far away in His Cosmos,
gleaming patiently
since the dawn of Creation,
waiting for the LORD
to tell His chosen people
Israel to end their trek
from galaxy to galaxy, and up’n
the blue pearl to recline.

Tabernacle Sanctuary Lamp

You are alive, you flutter,
your flicker’s dance speaks in a
language of no other.
What moves your flame?
It appears some vesper is alighting
your wick like a dove
from the treetops of heaven.
There is no darkness
which surpasses
your red glow. There is
no dictionary to describe the
incomprehensible
meaning of your hope.

Saving Mercy

O Lord, “create in me
a clean heart” and wash the soiled
memories and reasonings
from the murals to which I cling.^*
“Leadeth me beside the
still waters,” wherefrom Your Love can
bathe my soul in Beauty.^**
O Lord, “create in me
a clean heart,” and I, in surety, can in
Your sheepfold rest in peace,
dipping my gourd into
Your living spring, eternally
slaking what before
could not be relieved.^***