A Scattering of TYs at Thanksgiving

       Thanks to the Lord, mankind has thrived this long;
       Humans now number seven billion strong,
       And the seven billionth is a Pinay-
       Named Danica Mae, a healthy Inday!
       Knowledge and skills (not Wisdom) have increased;
       Sadly, wars and cruelty have not ceased.
       God, Thanks for Your Bounty, Your Wondrous Gifts,
       In spite of our frailties and bloody rifts...
      Viruses and contagion at the mall..?
       I might as well make a safe seaside call;
      Now, by the sea, I'm as hale as a whale.
      God, Thank You for Your fresh air I inhale!

      
                                         

Time to Re-focus

   Every human being is like a battleground.  There is a never-ending conflict between the forces of good and evil in each of us. Every individual has the will to choose between these two opposing forces. The babe-in-the-woods, the uneducated may sometimes be excused for their naivete. But we have many knowledgeable, powerful, and wealthy brethren who continue to pursue goals totally self-serving but clearly fraught with harmful, cruel, evil consequences not only to their neighbors but to their own selves and their kin.
Oft their motivations are superficial, morally unjustifiable, i.e.more money, more material possessions, more power, ostentation, all of which have no lasting spiritual value.
      I recall a behest by our Holy Father some months ago. It was not something about the possible collapse of the global economy, which is today's primary topic of the media. Rather, it was about the world's apparent
lack of interest in man's 'unworldly' but more precious possession--his immortal soul. Have we forgotten there is an on-going battle for that 'commodity'?
      Time to re-focus, ladies and gentlemen.

Go Back To God

     Go back, old dog, and do a catalog
     Of your past faults and tragicomedies;
     Best to admit your human maladies
     And pray you won't be stranded in Magog.
     Contrition and a firm resolve should bring
     Kind souls to help you escape from the bog.
     Time, that impatient Bird, is on the wing;
     Only a fool would go on following
     Greed and/or the other deadly pursuits...
     Old dog, avoid the Trickster and his brutes;
     Dare not with the Devil be in cahoots...

TERRORISTS

            Treacherous, traitorous human beings,
            Evil-indoctrinated mad hirelings,
            Rogues filled with hate keep fomenting unrest;
            Rabid beasts crazed by misinterpreters
            Of their Great Prophet's dictated letters
            Rule out any hope for peace with the West...
            I still believe there must be some righteous
            Souls in that part of infiirma terra.
            To them I plead:- Restrain the impious;
            Shalom-Islam...or end like Gomorrah!

A HUMAN ERROR

     A wise man told me, "Prophets lie;
    "Huge untruths never seem to die.
     Undoubtedly, you too will doubt
     Man, on God's sixth day, came about...
     A better story has been found
     Not from parchment but from the ground."
     Eventually Truth will prevail,
     Reason rejects the Bible tale;
     Religion is unreligious,
     Omnibus then must be falsus?
     Remember, God is still in us!

A 5-line Prayer for Fr. Guido

            Give him more Shafts to hurl against the unbelieving mind;
            Uplift the spirits of his grieving friends he left behind.
            It was his fervent wish his writings would put hearts on fire,
            Despite your messenger's exeunt from Planet Earth entire...
            O Lord, grant him his pray'r:--May he continue to inspire!



         (Fr. Guido Arguelles,S.J., Shafts of Light author
             died October 30th, 2011.)

HOODWINKED

        Here is another tale about a clever fox,
        Out south at the border where the drug cartel mocks
        Our law enforcement agents with 'fast and furious'
        Deals that make many honest citizens curious:--
        Why get involved in trading weaponry for drugs?
         Is it not pure folly to be dealing with thugs?
        Now the enemy will with our own arms shoot us!
        Knaves will always try to outwit the incautious...
        Every botched strategem has a lesson to teach:--
        Do not try to outfox a fox. Stay out of reach!