Poetry

May232019

Day by Day

Morning rising, storm clouds approach from the west,
Internal struggles, the sound of perseverance and failures,
Humility, accepting the harmonizing grace of infusion,
Vibration, a song bird sings from where it seems not,
Daily attending, Mass calls through the traditions of centuries,
The storm breaks during the liturgy of the Eucharist,
Within the parish, an elderly grating female voice declares,
The release of attention, surrendering, opening the heart,
Quieting the mind, contrite within the sacrifice, simple,
Thunder crashing, lightening flashing, wind pounding,
Rain showers hard upon colorful stained glass, abstraction,
Our Father, the abrasive voice submits, releasing effort,
Aftermath, the tabernacle key dangles, presence within,
The storm subsides, advancing beyond, toward the east,
A young bearded priest dismisses with a friendly caution.

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May202019

Penetrating

All this healing,
All this ceasing,
All this letting go,
All this violence
Unto myself,
All this quieting,
All these thoughts,
Appetites, dispositions, formations,
Dreams of disappearing,
All this settling,
Adoration,
A lack of aspirations,
Moments clouded,
A tabernacle,
Love arising,
Abundant occurring,
Daily within
The sacrifice of the Mass,
Transformation,
Being,
Within the Church,
Sanctuary, altar, Eucharist
Brothers and sisters,
A priest speaking.

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May102019

As it was in the beginning, it is now, and ever shall be…

All of us are glad to see that you are immersed in ‘The Benedictine Monk’. Such a book, written by a monk, could render great service, if it were to be well launched and could reach the public…

The Benedictine Monk will be timely, against the diabolical hatred that is coming to the surface at the moment. It could be a defiance of the magnificent monastic life, make it understood at last, at a time when Freemasonry is seeking to give the Church a blow on the head by persecuting the religious orders. There are going to be some hard times to get through, for certain. I personally know something about it since ‘En Route’, which marked me out as an enemy in the office. Still, we must hope that the storm will pass, and will not succeed in uprooting any order. But what an age we live in all the same!

I am still immersed in my work, which at least permits me to live in another period, and to abstract myself a little from the chaos that surrounds me. Unfortunately, the citadels of the spirit are fragile, and the enemy destroys them without great difficulty; and the whole of modern life floods in through the breach. That is when one really envies monastic life, the possibility of being recollected, taking on a long-term work in peace. In Paris it is impossible, there are distractions even in the churches. How far removed it all is from the closed and cloistered chapels!

Letter from J.K.Huysmans January 1896 to Dom Besse from the book: ‘The Road From Decadence From Brothel to Cloister Selected Letters of J.K. Huysmans’.

YOUR SONG
Poem by Joseph Mary Plunkett

If I have you then I have everything
In One, and that One nothing of them all
Nor all compounded, and within the wall
Beneath the tower I wait to hear you sing:
Love breathing low above the breast of Spring,
Pressing her heart with baby heart and small
From baby lips love-syllables lets fall
And strokes with gentle hand her quivering wing.

You come rejoicing all the wilderness,
Filling with praise the land to joy unknown,
Fresh from that garden whose perfumes have blown
Down through the valley of the cypresses—
O heart, you know not your own loveliness,
Nor these your songs, for they are yours alone.

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May082019

A poem from Absolute Solitude

My blood is like a river that brings me landscapes both reflected and erased, landscapes from other shores I have never seen.

It is like a long, mysterious river I feel flowing within me and whose name I shall ignore.

It comes from a depth so remote I am afraid to look into it. It goes I know not where, and meanwhile, passes like a river dragging sand, flowers, and remnants of me myself, prisoner of a flow without meaning.

Dulce Maria Loynaz

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May072019

Reason

I tripped and fell, bloodying myself,
Spilling blood, my own,
Consequences and others,
A heart opened, pouring forth a need,
Alone, a penitent removing a multitude of masks,
The love of Our Lord overflowing with mercy,
Within the Church, receiving absolution,
Aftermath, still before the Eucharist,
A life, a brief defining escapade.

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Apr172019

Appropriacy

Intrusion upon inclusion,
That which agrees, I seek not to define,
Abuse, misuse, self-elevation decline,
The Church serves me no good as a weapon,
There is NO point in my being right,
Self-serving disappoints, haunting the mind,
The Church serves me no good in self-glorification,
Rewards flattering, perverting,
Seduction arguing away from sacrifice,
Internally, that which confronts unbinds,
In disagreement, growth stings my pride,
When the words of the Church drop my eyes,
A voice of rebellion whispering “NO”,
Inherently crying, “I can’t”,
There God mercifully waits for my surrender,

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Mar252019

March Early Morning

Lenten growth,
Springtime renewal,
Achieving prideful,
Receiving…
Sprouting within and throughout
A lifetime,
Taming the senses,
Claiming the eternal,
Discipline refining,
Holy Holy Holy
Lord God Almighty
Alone,
An unworthy servant whispers,
My heart thirsts for Thee.

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