I try to understand How it is That You are So near to me? I want to know why? I want to know how? But why do I want to know? Is it so that I can understand it? Is it so I can explain it to others? You fill me. You surround me. You are above me. You raise me up. You keep me grounded. You use my hands to bless. ...to anoint. ...to absolve. ...to commune. ...to immerse. You use my mouth to taste Your sacrifice. ...my eyes to see Your presence. ...my ears to hear Your heavenly ho

It is getting late and My head hangs low. It is darker now and My tears begin to flow. It is desperate all round so My hands grasp Because they know. The divine language of love, Played on a rope Made of silence. With humility and love, I implore you. Give me shelter, So I may pray through the nights. "O Mistress, Empress and Lady, Defend all who are in danger and misfortune Or weak from many sins, And who stand before your holy Icon Praying with tears, humility, repentance,

With head bowed, Back bent, and tired feet, I crawl to you on hands and knees. With eyes swollen, Parched mouth, and Prayer rope in hand, I whisper the words, One more time. Your enemies are boundless O Christ, Yet, you offer An inexhaustible cup that Never runs dry? Forgive me, a sinner. You gave yourself Mary Most Holy, As the birth giver of God. And now you provide A refuge to me? "Rejoice, for the angelic powers and the human race rejoice because of you! Rejoice, for your

Mary, Most Holy, and Mother of my God. My model, My refuge, and My love. I seek, and With humility, I ask To approach your Life-Giving Spring? With all my heart, I pray... Revive, Restore, and Renew me. "O Lady graced by God, you reward me by letting gush forth, beyond reason, the ever-flowing waters of your grace from your perpetual Spring. I entreat you, who bore the Logos, in a manner beyond comprehension, to refresh me in your grace that I may cry out, 'Hail redemptive wa

Empty and loveless is the world founded by man, Built for his own edification. Angry and hopeless is the world fueled by man, Possessed by his own pride. Bleak and faithless is the world formed by man, Twisted by his own conceit. These dead waters never quench The thirst born deep inside. Only Christ, The Son of the Living God. The water He is, By whom you will never be thirsty. The water He gives, Gushes up toward eternal life. Give me this living water, So that I may never

Seeing darkness, I watch the clouds build on the horizon. Assuming rain, I wait for the clouds to whip up the sea and the sand. What really comes? Not clouds, but a cloud. The cloud. "The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God'" (Luke 1:35). Rejoice in the cloud that Overshadows. Rejoice in the cloud that brings Light. Rejoice in the c

When I gaze upon the still waters, I feel the breeze of your loving insistence. When I gaze upon the still waters, I hear the calm from your enveloping silence. When I gaze upon the still waters, I smell the incense of your everlasting persistence. When I gaze up on the still waters, I taste the love in your embracing sustenance. When I gaze upon the still waters, I see the light of your glistening countenance. How can this be, Through such a life? The Most Holy Trinity, One

I walk along the water’s edge, Aware that I live in liminal spaces. One foot seemingly on solid ground, Relying on what’s familiar. Grasping for something that comforts, Stuck in the here and now. I walk along the water’s edge, Aware that I do not want to live in between. Remembering the familiar waters of Baptism, Relying on what cannot be seen. Reaching out beyond my capacity, Toward the there and then. I walk along the water’s edge, Aware of the rocks piercing my feet. Or

Pandemics, protests, storms, and stress, no matter what you are personally facing right now, please know in your heart that God is with you. He has never left you. You have left Him. Seek Him again. Or, rather, open yourself up to understand who He is and where He is and what He is doing. Unclench your fists. Relax your shoulders. Close your eyes. Sit. Take a deep breath. Breathe again. Breathe ever more deeply the third time. Recite the Jesus Prayer: "Lord, Jesus Christ, Son

"1. Blessed Abba Paul the Simple, the disciple of Abba Anthony, told the Fathers that which follows: "One day he went to a monastery to visit it and to make himself useful to the brethren. After the customary conference, the brothers entered the holy church of God to perform the synaxis there, as usual. Blessed Paul looked fully at each of those who entered the church observing the spiritual disposition with which they went to the synaxis, for he had received the grace from t