I can see clearly now...

There are thoughts that fill my head like the haunting music
In the dark of night that comes from far, far, away.
Sometimes I think that truth and honor are merely dreams.
Wherever I go I am saddened by the lack of understanding.
Everywhere I see nothing but falsehoods and delusion.
I think that the truth must be hidden in the shadows,
But I must not believe that the gloom will last forever.
Beneath the mist that clouds my vision and troubles my soul,
God prepares for me things that I can't even imagine.
Silence is the shadow, God's WORD is the light of His presence.
I was created in the image and likeness of God, that is,
A rational Being of Truth, Goodness, Beauty, and Justice.
I speak out now because there arise in me thoughts divine,
Of hidden realities that are revealed to spiritual minds,
The Word of God, the language of my soul, enlightens me.
When mortal justice is devoid of good solutions,
When the judgement of men can't achieve peace,
Then we must appeal the complaint to a higher court,
For our merciful and just Creator to decide.
Oh Lord, let mercy walk with justice to settle the matter.
If in the end the judgement is severe, then so be it!
Let it serve as a guide to what is prudent and what is not.
May it be good and noble and not wrathful or vengeful.
When some are for and others are against,
Let truth arise have the final say.
Once I was blind, but glory be to the Father of us all,
I can see clearly now, and pray that other eyes will open too!

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Hello up there!

As the autumn heart forgets the promise of springtime,

When the summer green turns to dark red, yellow, and brown,

The falling leaves fly hither and yon before the wind,

Then cover the forest floor like a faded patchwork quilt.

The migrating birds have sung their parting farewell,

Leaving those who remain to hunker down for winter.

High up on a mountain of prayer far from the material world,

Where the shores of Heaven and Earth are closer together,

I cast my eyes upward toward the gates of Heaven, but

I dare not raise my voice and shout "Hello up there!,"

For fear of startling those at home in Paradise.

I offer a silent prayer and linger wistfully one more hour,

Then wave farewell in camaraderie and slowly turn away

To set off down the road for home and a hearty supper.

It's not my time for Heaven yet, but bye and bye,

I will wait just a bit longer until God calls 

And into His hands I will commend my spirit! 

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A Happy Landing

We are living and dying on Covid-19 time,
Waiting for a return to an elusive normal
While searching for a cure to make us happy.
Wake me when they formulate a vaccine for old age,
Or a therapeutic to meet my specific need for vigor,
That will return me to the age of twenty-three
For just one day or even for a little longer,
That in keeping with the movement back in time
Provides me with a chance to begin all over again.
Alas, the story of my life is almost finished.
I pray for both a happy ending and a happy landing
On that other shore to be with Saints forevermore.
Aboard my vessel, shipshape and in good order,
A place for everything and everything in place,
I sail the seven seas of life for the seven ages of man,
One hand on the tiller and the other shading my eyes,
Searching the horizon by day and the stars by night,
Nothing in my way but some dark clouds and storms,
But for the most part, sunny weather, thanks be to God
From whom all blessings flow to those who abide in Him.
Faith is a firm belief that the best is yet to come,

The Blessed Assurance that in the end, all will be well. 

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When will that be?

Some people have asked me with incredulity and scorn;
"Do you really believe that Jesus will come again?"
My answer is, "There is no doubt in my mind!"
They ask "Pray tell, and when will that be?"
I say that perhaps the time has not yet come,
Or perhaps He already goes among us unrecognized,
But He will assuredly appear again as He has promised,
And teach mankind how to live in unity and peace.
The Good Shepherd will gather His sheep At the borderline,
Between belief and unbelief in God the Father Almighty,
And reward all those who believe with eternal life.
He will chastise those who played at being Christian
For the sake of tradition but with empty minds and hearts,
Void of sympathy, empathy, compassion, and action.
Where is His church; in Rome, Jerusalem, or Istanbul?
It is in the hearts of those who love their neighbors, and
Willingly make sacrifices for the sake of others, regardless
Of what language they speak or the color of their skin.
Blessed be those of whom the Lord spoke;
"I know My sheep and My sheep know Me."
They recognize each other and share the same heart,
Brothers and sisters, the children of a Heavenly Father.
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! 

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One more day...

 As I trot along the road of remorse,
To the place where I drifted astray,
I realize from the length of the journey,
That I've come back from far away, and that,
God never did abandon me, even for a day.
When I open my eyes each morning,
I am blessed by the morning light,
Thank you Lord for one more day,
And hopefully one more night.

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Take Heed!

Oh Pilgrim, take heed, and expand your heart
For the Lord cannot live in a narrow space.
Expand your heart so that it can contain Him
Whom the whole universe cannot contain.
Make large your heart so that you may be worthy
To host God as your guest, and not just for a day
But for the rest of your life and forever after.
Prepare your heart as best you can and ask
The Lord to help you according to His will.
The work of His Holy Spirit is in us and with us
And our gain in righteousness will be His glory. 
Every moment is another opportunity to be saved.
So don't lose heart. Though our outer self is
Wasting away, our soul is renewed day by day
As we call upon God to abide in us and we in Him.
(Hugh of St. Victor 1096-1141) 

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Waiting for the Sound of the Trumpet

Glory be to God in the Highest!
Glory be to the Word of God!
Glory be to His Holy Spirit!
I praise You Father Almighty;
I praise Your Holy Name.
I knock upon Your door.
Please bid me enter in the Name of
Your Word, our Lord Jesus Christ.
For I am a weary traveler
Searching for a place to rest,
Where I can take my ease,
And let my worries cease.
Pax et Bonum ad Majorem Dei Gloria.
Peace and Goodness for the Greater Glory of God.
Oh Lord, when my time on Earth expires,
Bring me to Thee on the wings of an angel.
I stand at the foot of the mountain,
And wait for the sound of the trumpet.

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Heaven help me...

 I, Wisdom, am the Word of sound judgement,

And the source of clear thinking.

The Father gave birth to me in the beginning,

Before the first acts of Creation.

I am present from everlasting to everlasting,

From even before the Universe began. 

Those of you who find me, find life,

And earn the favor of God Almighty,

The Father of all things created.

For the Gospel of Truth is a joy

To those who recieve grace from the Father,

That they know Him through His Son.

When someone cries out "Heaven help me,"

In a weary but sincere attempt at faith,

I will be there to show them the way,

And to quell their anxiety and fear, 

By the grace and the comfort of the Holy Spirit.

I am Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Call me!

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"It is what it is!"

God gave us a blank book at birth with snow white pages.
We are the author of our lives and He is the publisher.
The ink with which we write is our blood and sweat.
Our story is littered with the doodles of daydreams.
The pages are smudged with errors and water marked by tears.
Nothing can be erased and our mistakes are left as they are.
There can be no rewrites or do-overs to cover our shame.
At the end of the book no pages can be removed or added.
When your story is finished..."It is what it is!"
This will be your permanent record. Write carefully.
You are in the mist between sleep and waking.
Essence is not nourished with food and sleep.
You try to accomplish things, to reach goals.
If you put the whole world in your stomach of ambition,
It will never, ever, be enough to satisfy you.
Assume that you now have everything you always wanted.
What is the point? At any moment you may drop dead.
Even if your life lasts another ten years or more.
That is nothing compared to an eternity of heavenly bliss.
Wake up to the Way, the Truth, and Life eternal.
The table is already set for you. Ask God for directions.

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Long live camaraderie!

The apostles lived in the spirit of camaraderie,
In such a way that they shared one heart and soul.
Camaraderie is to perform acts of kindness together,
To discuss and solve problems without animosity,
To practice tolerance, humility, and patience,
To teach and learn something from one another,
To care for each other and long for those absent,
To welcome each other with joy upon arrival,
And to part from each other with a blessing.
Let all good people, now join in our song,
Long live camaraderie!
Success to each other, and pass it along,
Long live camaraderie!
¡Viva, viva, viva el amor!
¡Viva, viva, viva el amor!
¡Viva  amor! ¡Viva  amor!
!Viva la camaradería!
Long live love! Long live love!
Long live camaraderie! 

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What comes next?

Watchman, watchman, how goes the night?
Morning comes, and then the light.
So tell me watchman, what comes next?
Night comes again and then the reckoning.
The past meets the future with every heartbeat.
Be thou ready when thy time comes.
Don't be caught without thy lamp.
"Again Jesus spoke to them, saying,
'I am the light of the world.
Who follows me will not walk in darkness,
But will have the light of life.' " (John 8:12)

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I will heal them.

Those of faith who have hearts with "eyes to see and ears to hear,"
Can see and hear the vision of the Creator through intuition.
Others depend on tradition and ritual to ease their conscience.
They are in a constant cognitive struggle between the real truth
And the made-up truth, as they prefer it and pretend it to be.
In times of crisis, reality is unveiled and the world goes berserk.
The present corona virus pandemic is our wake-up call.
It is time that we open our hearts and see the light.
"For the heart of this people has grown dull,
And they barely hear with the ears, and they have closed their eyes,
Lest ever they should see with the eyes, and should hear with the ears,
And they should understand with the heart,
And should turn, and I will heal them." (Matthew 13:15)

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On the Road to Resurrection

In the Year of Our Lord, 2020, on the Road to Resurrection,
We tend to take for granted that which we have always had...life.
Then suddenly we realize with a sigh, that life is very fragile.
We are now paying for our vain illusions of scientific omnipotence.
The virus is a wake-up call to stop fiddling while the fever rages.
Facts, and not someone's opinion, are the tribunal of reason.
We are made righteous by our earnestness in seeking out the truth
And the honesty by which we make decisions after testing all things.
The righteous path is a balance between right brain and left,
Between "religion only" and "only science," scripture versus reason.
The righteous path is a narrow upward climb between the two.
We achieve balance by intuition after meditation, prayer, and logic.
Reason is a form of revelation, after an exodus from self.
Ears to hear and eyes to see are both gifts from the Lord.
Give unto Science the scientific, and unto Politics, the political,
And to God be the Kingdom, the Power, and Glory forever and ever.
The future can be a scary place when you face it all alone.
May the Lord accompany you on your journey to infinity and beyond.


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Just the Necessary Stuff

Birth and death are both journeys.
Birth is the shortest of the two.
It begins in darkness, and ends in light.
Death begins in light and ends in darkness,
Except for the light at the end of the tunnel,
The light of the Divine Presence, where,
We will be judged according to what we did
From birth until death, between the twain.
How then do we pass this stretch of time?
I'm content with just enough in life
To get by until the finish line is crossed.
Just enough food to eat, and time to sleep
Just enough fire to warm my old bones
And just enough of the necessary stuff
To stay on the opposite side of not enough.
Please give me Lord, just enough daily bread
To make my hungry belly fed, and help me
Make the most of what you give me,
without whining for more than my share,
So that those who have less can have more.
Oh Lord, When the bells of heaven ring
And the choirs of angels sweetly sing,
And your righteous ones shout "Victory!"
Please call me home from where'er I roam
And say there's a place for me.

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Take Heed

Oh Pilgrim, take heed, and expand your heart
For the Lord cannot live in a narrow space.
Expand your heart so that it can contain Him
Whom the whole universe cannot contain.
Make large your heart so that you may be worthy
To host God as your guest, and not just for a day
But for the rest of your life and forever after.
Prepare your heart as best you can and ask
The Lord to help you according to His will.
The work of His Holy Spirit is in us and with us
And our gain in righteousness will be His glory.
Every moment is another opportunity to be saved.
So don't lose heart. Though our outer self is
Wasting away, our soul is renewed day by day
As we call upon God to abide in us and we in Him.

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