Hope

 Christmas lights blind me as I walk down the street

Don't feel like Christmas

Not with my toyshop, my little business shut down

Picking up cans of soup and beans and bags of fruit was the task of the day

Now I walk

Craving beer

Afraid once I start I wont stop

Of course I can't afford the stuff no how

So I walk

Walked till my legs bout gave out

Needing rest, I followed a man inside a church

The interior painted my soul, dark

Turns out the man I followed was a priest

"God be with you, my son"

"God ain't with me, lost everything this year. Can't even afford food."

"Yes, hard times are upon us, but Our Lord weeps with us."

He lit a purple candle on the alter

"People rarely come to church, I fear this place may shut down."

Together we shed a tear

His agony and mine weren't too different

"That candle I lit represents hope. People out there are celebrating consumerism, not Christmas. In hear we are awaiting the birth of Christ."

Hope

The Fire Within Me

 I cower in my house

Afraid to acknowledge my faith

I sowed a tiny crucifix and a miraculous medal in the ligning of my coat

The whispering wind tells a tale of an old man  taken to the hospital 

He was beaten nearly half to death for praying the rosary in public

I knelt down and cried 

Is that the extent of my devotion to Christ?

In my shame, I walk the beaten path, rosary in hand asking for Our Lady's intercession

I pray in silence, but I do it in public

Maybe the fire will grow in me and the faithful rise up to  set fire to the world

Prayer Before the Game

 It's 45 degrees out

The coldest morning of early fall

In the far left of the field,

The players kneel along with their coach 

And ask for the blessings of our Lord