Pray and reflect with Father Joseph Veneroso’s poems and prayers, and inspiring photos from around the world.
By Joseph R. Veneroso, M.M. Let all that was and is and will ever bePraise God from whom all creation eruptsLike a million billion galaxies and hummingbirdsLike swans, planets, centipedes and starsThings visible and invisible likeJellyfish, quasars, magnetic fields and gravityMicrobes, molecules, marigolds and manateesRainbows and rice paddies row on flooded rowPraise God. Let all that grows and dies, eats and playsReproduces and decays, swims and fliesPraise God from whom all motion flowsLike babbling brooks and riversMighty to behold, waters wet and wonderfulGentle breezes, gendered hurricanesEarthquakes and melting glaciersVolcanoes, canyons, deserts and dustFrom whom God created usPraise God. Let everything that borrows breath and timeFrom the eternal, most merciful OnePraise God from whom all life evolves andIn whom we live and move and have our beingGorillas no less than grasshoppersCobras as much as caterpillars modelingDeath transforming into glorious resurrectionWhich alone should inspire all toPraise God. Come join us, all you valleys and empty spacesWho make way for mountains and music notesAnd without whom chaos and cacophonyWould surely triumph over beauty and truthWere it not for holy silence that births withinAll human brains the grace to look in wonderAt all that is and was and, dreaming of whatMay yet be, sees,…
By Joseph R. Veneroso, M.M. On the darkest hour of the darkest dayWhen lust for power corrupted the bestAnd people willingly traded their soulsFor the right to rule and ride roughshodOver the foreigner, the poor, the Other,It is then, always then, that holy WisdomExplodes silently upon an unsuspecting world. The Great Divider, undeterred, sets richAgainst poor, well-fed against hungry,Neighbor against neighbor,And one’s enemy is within one’s home.The Great Deceiver upends the worldDeclaring evil good and good badCalling truth lies and lies worthy of beliefDisplacing, wherever possible, even God. Somewhere in a distant land subduedAnd oppressed by those who kill and Plunder in the name of God,a Child is born in the fullness of time.No number of ornamentsCan disguise injustice, no amount of lightCan dispel despair. Instead,Weapons and wars are reducedTo silence at the sound of aNewborn Babe nursing at the Mother’s breast. Good Christian, take heart! On this nightPeace is born, mercy flows, love abounds!As surely as they did so long agoFor though latter-day Herods continueTo threaten and destroy innocence,God Almighty and Most Merciful comesNot when we are ready but whenWe need God the most.
By Joseph R. Veneroso, M.M. Lord, make me a witness to your truth.Turn my eyes from evil.Close my ears to falsehood.Shield my mind from the temptationTo judge others who sin differently than I.Seal my lips from adding to the noiseOf a world that worships power,Rewards greed and sacrifices humanityOn the high altar of fame and success. O Divine Master, grant that my heartMay beat stronger for love of youIn the poor, abandoned and downtroddenOf the Earth, who cry out to HeavenFor justice tempered with mercy, Love rooted in reality, and the light ofFaith that dares shine in the darkness. With your Gospel as my guide, lead meAlong the ways of joy and righteousness.Give me courage to stand on the side ofAll who suffer injustice or violence,To stand up for those whose dignity isDamaged by indifference andWhose worth is denied by forces of power. As I forgive others may I find forgiveness.As I die to myself may I rise to new lifeIn that kingdom where you live and reignWith all the saints, known and unknown,Now and forever. Amen.
By Joseph R. Veneroso, M.M. With broken hearts, dashed hopes and bowed headsDefeated and deflated we make our mournful wayFar from the pain of shattered dreams that is JerusalemToward some supposed safety known as Emmaus. Ever lengthening shadows and fast descending darknessMagnify the mournful doom and despair in our sorrowful soulsOf once faith-filled disciples now to the four winds scatteredLike sheep without a shepherd or pilgrims without a prayer. Then unexpectedly an unknown travelerJoins our self-imposed exodus with questionsBelying a truth and wisdom not of this world andA heavenly destination on the other side of life. With hearts burning within us we arriveWhere we once sought to stay in peaceWhen the stranger, taking bread, blessed and broke itOpening our eyes of faith to see our risen Lord. Heedless now of doubt or danger, we returnTo announce how in breaking bread we found himAnd see him still among the sick and poor oppressedNo less than in golden tabernacles. In adoration falling, worshipingGod with us still.