The sun is setting in your eyes I can see it on your face. Your head is bowed And your back low. The brightness of your Illumination Is lost in the darkness of your Consternation. Were you not there When the waters of life poured From your head To your soul? Do you not remember When the eternal light Scorched your past And lit a path? Feet of clay are expected Not of heart Not of spirit Not from you. Arise My spiritual child Arise!

How can this be? Pouring Your love into my heart? Filling my mind with Your knowledge? How can You want me before you in prayer? Such a wretched soul Crying for my sin. Rending my garments In a wilderness of my own making. Hiding and Avoiding. Repenting and Hoping? There I am. Helplessly Loving you with all my heart Desiring to fulfill Your will. Daring to be close to You now Imagining life with You for all eternity. Seeking Your face Warming by Your light. "What is this spin

Cacophonous and Thunderous, O World of Mine Rending and Reaping with your Screeching and Shrieking, Tending to the Flocks of your Dead souls. Having sacrificed and Saved O God of Mine, By descending and Ascending to tend the Flocks of Your Blessed souls. What are we to do with The newly dying, Lying dormant between Prayerless tombs and Pleas for help? Help us open their ears, Eternal One, To the sound of Your mystical silence, For the final hour comes! Icon of the Apocalypse

Drifting can be floating free, at ease, falling asleep, And dreamy, too. Drifting can be wandering afar, listless, and confused. It can also be stubborn. I pray and I wish to be the former. I fear and I know I am the latter. When I want to be lifted up, I fix my eyes to the heart. When I want to be pulled down, I let my eyes run wild. I hate that. Let not the winds of the world Toss me about like leaves Drifting and blowing Like scattered thoughts and sinful whims. Send the H

You are the Alpha and the Omega. I trust you are behind me I trust you are ahead of me. It's this middle thing We call life That I don't trust so much - At least half of it anyway. To my right I see the angels and the saints Interceding and protecting Praying and encouraging. To my left I see the demons and the detractors Interrupting and attacking Sneering and antagonizing. This path makes me tired. I hurt all over. And why not? It did the same to You. The Via Dolorosa They

Why do I take the man-made paths Twisted and turning With fits and stops along the way? Overgrown with brambles Created by a mind Built by its own importance Fleshed by a heart Stirred by the demons lurking beneath. Intercede for me all you saints! Show me, Most Holy Mother! The way back to the path Your Son spoke into existence Trod by His own feet Washed by His own blood Resurrected by His own Ascension! Illumined by the Holy Spirit! This is the path of deification Born of

No matter how hard we may try, it is impossible to avoid prayer in silence altogether. Aside from the natural silences that come with sleep, sickness, satiation, sadness, or a winter snow, we may also encounter the impromptu silences of everyday life while first sitting up in bed, during a long day's drive, staring up at twilight, or fighting tired eyes getting heavy before bed. With all this silence interrupting our noise, perhaps there's more to it than what meets our ears

With the rising of the sun, You stretch my soul and breathe into my lungs. In the still heat of the noonday, You close my eyes and illumine my soul. In the silence of the late afternoon, You steady my feet and shake the sand from my shoes. With the lengthening shadows of the setting sun, You hold me in your arms and remind me of my last breath. My God and My God and My God, Why do you remain with me As sinful as I am? My God and My God and My God, Why do you save me from myse

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

You fill me With Divine Love You surround me With Divine Fire You sustain me With Divine Waters You lead me With Divine Light I am not worthy of this Yet Here you are Never letting go Always reminding me I am in the world, But not of the world. I love you With every ounce of my being. Save me from myself and Sanctify me. An 18th c. icon of Pentecost from a private collection via Wikimedia Commons.