The night comes down like iron,
cold on my shoulders,
pressing its verdict into bone.
I walk through the ruins of myself~
rooms gutted by old hungers,
mirrors cracked from staring too long
at my own small griefs.
Every shadow hisses
its familiar gospel of failure.
I almost believe them.
Then~
a thin gold seam
splits the rubble.
Not loud.
Not triumphant.
Just steady.
Christ steps through the fracture,
dust rising around His feet
like surrendered ghosts.
He does not flinch
at the wreckage.
He touches the broken lintel
as if it were a beloved brow.
My darkness folds inward,
ash collapsing into ash~
and still His light
keeps blooming
in the hollows.
I stand there,
ruined and radiant,
a house on fire
with mercy.
Islam.
You are
the last born,
favored by God.
You call Him
Allah.
Some whisper,
that God
in reverse
becomes
Dog.
You are
not merely
a religion.
You are
a way
of life.
In the
seventh century,
you were born.
Christianity
and Judaism
are your
elder brothers.
Not
your enemies.
Christianity
has grown old.
You,
Islam,
are the youth.
May you
reach
the world,
not through
violence,
but through
peace.
Through love.
You are
no longer
a child.
More than
1.9 billion
people
follow you.
Great
is your
responsibility
upon
your shoulders.
When I walk
the streets
of Europe
and America,
many
young men
and women
knock
upon
your door.
Whether
Sunni
or Shia,
you were born
from
the same
womb.
Some
will hate
you.
Others
will love
you.
May your
moral values
be cherished.
May they
be honored.
Islam,
the world
now watches
you.
Lead
with wisdom.
Lead
with mercy.
For in
the mosque,
the faithful
proclaim,
"Allahu Akbar."
God
is the
Greatest.
What is supplication? It is faith on bended knee,
A sacred, living fellowship with God's divinity.
It fills our deepest emptiness with mercy from above,
Bringing peace and holy wisdom, joy and perfect love.
"Be anxious for nothing," God's faithful Word declares;
In everything with thankful hearts, bring to Him your prayers.
From Matthew, Kings, and Samuel, to the Psalms that gently sing,
The Scriptures call us to His throne, our praises there to bring.
Let heaven be our heart's desire, where Christ we'll see one day,
So cast aside the weights of sin that lead our souls astray.
Cast every care upon the Lord, for He is ever near;
He knows our every need and wipes away each fear.
Seek and ask, keep knocking still, with humble hearts that pray;
Walk with Jesus every hour and trust Him day by day.
For more than all earth's treasures, it is Christ our souls pursue—
A life of sweet supplication, faithful, steadfast, pure, and true.
The world is turning furious and fast,
A story told in storms and sighs,
But I have left the shoreline of my past
And all the hollowness of my eyes.
Let others count the letters in the stone
And hug the coldness of a distant sign;
I found the boardwalk where You made Your throne,
And reached across the dark to gather mine.
Now take this weary heart and fold it deep,
Where mercy runs too thick for words to measure,
Past every promise that I couldn't keep,
Into the gold of Your unchanging treasure.
Oh, pull me closer than the breath I breathe,
Enfold the center till the boundaries break—
A multi-layered cocoon of pure relief,
Where love is all that stays alive, awake.
No curb can hold the bruises of the throw,
No winter chills in the nesting of Your wing;
I simply walk the way the wind will blow,
And let the silent heart begin to sing.
Wrapped up in You, with mercy all around,
The storm can roar against the outer sea
But in the middle, on this sacred ground,
There’s only Jesus, and the rest of me.
Painted a picture.
I thought I drew you well.
Mixed moonlight with memory,
called it truth and framed it on the wall.
I gave your silence a laugh,
your absence a pulse,
stitched constellations into empty sleeves
and dressed a ghost in gold.
Every brushstroke was a prayer
for a miracle to stay still.
I shaded your flaws with mercy,
highlighted your virtues with hunger,
until the canvas knew you better
than you had ever known yourself.
Visitors stopped and stared.
"Who is that?" they'd ask.
And I'd smile, because I didn't know.
The eyes belonged to hope.
The mouth belonged to loneliness.
The hands belonged to every goodbye
I was too frightened to release.
Then one morning the paint began to crack.
The colors slid downward like tears,
revealing the white beneath,
the terrible holiness of nothing.
That's when I understood:
I never lost you.
I lost the masterpiece
I made from empty space.
And standing before a blank canvas,
for the first time in years,
I met the artist.
Not the illusion.
Me.
I have faced my past and overcame it’s pain,
through all the heart aches, and the darkness reign.
I faced my lies, and the webs I had weaved,
when I was shown, I had been deceived.
I seen the truth, for the light does shine,
so I faced my past and I made it mine.
Without the truth, in our life you see,
how we truly live, in our own misery.
But with forgiveness, filled with Mercy and Grace,
my sins of the past have been erased.
We desire the truth, so I search it out,
for in the truth, there is never doubt.
Man may never be willing to forgive you see,
but I faced my past, and I have been set free.
Only by Gods forgiveness, His Mercy and Grace,
can we truly, our past, forever erase.
The crow arrived before the sunrise,
black wings dissolving inside the fog,
as if the morning itself
had forgotten how to exist.
The world was silent except for grief.
Even the trees stood still,
holding dead leaves
like old letters never answered.
I walked through the cold field alone,
carrying entire winters inside my chest.
There are sadnesses so deep
they no longer cry —
they simply become part of the weather.
The crow watched me carefully.
Not with fear.
Not with mercy.
But with the recognition
of another wounded creature surviving the dark.
And for one brief moment,
inside that endless gray mist,
I felt less abandoned
by the universe.
— Juliana Hoffmann Liska
391.
The Creation & Fall of Man
Disappointed by the imperfections
Of His fellow spirit companions
God created a less menacing vessel
For those who commit sin & evil
This is the human body
Also meant to be sinless & happy
But the first humans – the man & woman
Were also tempted to sin by Satan
Going against the will of God
Like fallen angels they have been bad
Yet, the Creator this time was struck with mercy
Towards these creature's frail body
Not to hell immediately, just away from Eden
To remind their descendants not to sin again!
-11/05/2015
(Dumarao)
*5th Daily Reflection from Catechism Booklet
283.
Ode to Jesus, King of Virtues
Oh Jesus, King of Faith
Thou are sent by God the Great
Thy Spirit is our greatest soulmate
Oh Jesus, King of Hope
Thou grant us light with no scope
Thy Sacred Heart's fire never says nope
Oh Jesus, King of Charity
Thou are the spring of generosity
Thy heart is overflowing with mercy
Oh Jesus, King of Prudence
Thou guard us against malevolence
Thy rod is our guide to benevolence
Oh Jesus, King of Justice
Thou strike the sinners with right chastise
Thy judgment is free of any malice
Oh Jesus, King of Fortitude
Thou help us form proper attitude
Thy strength endures great magnitude
Oh Jesus, King of Temperance
Thou give to evil no single chance
Thy purity must have resemblance.
-11/23/2014
(Dumarao)
*Christ the King Sunday
Yahweh is good, A strong defense in the day of distress,
And He knows those who take refuge in Him.
Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who proclaims good news,
Who announces peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah;
Pay your vows. For never again will the vile one pass through you;
He is cut off completely.
Nahum 1:7, 15
I can hear.
Yahweh speaks the truth
forcefully
with mercy.
Understanding my distress
His words are perfect.
I can see.
Yahweh breaks darkness
with wisdom
and warnings.
Eternity in clear sight,
He is praiseworthy.
I can feel.
His love engulfs me.
Safekeeping
assures me
I trust Yahweh with my life.
His might perseveres.
I can sense.
He calls me to share
the good news -
Jesus Christ
whose death purchased my pardon,
peace and paradise.
My ghostly wail,
never breathless, echoes spreading across eternity.
Howls of anger, pain, trauma.
Which one is the loudest?
Gifting my enemies with mercy.
In turn they shoot me in the back.
Behind that smile, that hero complex,
there’s something wrong with you.
I don’t want any surprises,
I don’t want any survivors.
I’m done being everyone’s prisoner.
Unleash this pain, bring forth the rupture.
Amp up the volume, don’t let them rest.
Now you too will scream my name.
Deception with a smile will destroy many
Hidden jealousy will drain your life
A smile can become a mask, so
Live lightly and try to be anxious for nothing
This is not easy, but necessary in this modern world
When your smile is gone
He cares; all you have to do is
Dare to call Him even when you 'fall'
He knows your pain,
So retain your joy and live your
Life with God like a little boy
God cares, so share your pain
With Him and He can carry your burden
God is the great surgeon
When your smile is gone
He cares; all you have to do is 'dare'
To call Him even when you 'fall'
God is good
He stood on a 'hill' and declared
His love as He came down like a dove and
Showered us with mercy and grace
He cares when your smile is gone,
He is the great surgeon
Copyright ©2026 Mark Frank
There was a poor bloke once
inflicted with miserable leprosy
his story, the mind it stuns
but such was his jealousy!
One day some angels came to him
with mercy to heal his ailment
They inquired of his wish and whim
but were in for a shocking lament.!
The angels asked him as to whether
he wanted health restored, his disease healed
Replied the leper, 'he wanted neither
What he said hence, his jealousy revealed!
For he said, ''you needn't heal me, but instead
Inflict everyone else with my malady as well
let all of them lie loathed and deplored in bed,
as I've had to all these days like hell''!
The angels left astounded, simply returned to heaven
with neither healing him nor inflicting others
They still wonder from above the heavens seven
at how man envies his fellow brothers.
Ah, envy is a fire that consumes thee most,
Far better for humans if they coveted not
Why want ye, haunt ye another's fortune
like some covetous malevolent ghost?
Therefore why at all covet
You haven't right to it unless
it was your right, or was snatched
A fit of jealousy might make you regret
and to hell you may be dispatched.!
He showed up IN a white gown
thundering with Mercy
AND a smile that
broke the sun.
He showed up nameless
and broken
like a diamond split
in half.
He showed UP
a " Tower Of Babel"
with no decipherable trait
except the
Universal language that He
spoke, ...
which is, LOVE !
Still Waters Run Deep
Still,
Eyes never sleep-
Tranquility hides the calm's breath,
Where peace hums low,wisdom is loud
Watch me.
When the lion sleeps
Dreams hunt-
In quiet grass,
The prey dares to wander,
Forgetting dawn will wake the king-
Too late.
Even the Ant Knows Hunger
Soft feet,
Carry the world,
No rest till the fest starts-
Tiny thinkers teaching the proud
To work.
Mother Tongue
Speak soft,
old river voice.
Words like stone in my mouth-
rolling,remembering,washing
me home.
A Broken Calabash Still Holds Rain
Old pots,
Patched with mercy,
Still pour water like mothers-
not perfect,
but still giving love
that lasts
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