Note about the Preface

I'm including the Preface of the book on the website as an introduction to the book. One part of the message of the book is, of course, the message and revelation each person receives through the art, parayers and poems.

But another important message is that God is alive and well! He speaks to the unexpecting and so we will need to be quiet so that we can hear His Inner Voice.  Remember, it takes quiet to hear a whisper.

And now the book's Preface in total.

Preface

It wouldn’t be very prudent for someone who is presenting a book of poems to admit that she does not know how to write poetry, has never had a course in poetry beyond high school, and only remembers the term alliteration from those early high school classes, but can’t tell you what it means. In the spirit of full disclosure and honesty, that is what I feel compelled to admit.

I tell you that right up front mainly for those of you who know poetry and appreciate it for its form and perfect style. I make no promises in regard to perfect prose. If you expect and desire perfect prose, it would be better for you to stop now rather than be frustrated by possible imperfection and be distracted from the message of the poem.

To say that these poems just came to me brings up all sorts of images, some rather frightening. One friend was off put and accused me of channeling. When I described the process to a priest he asked, to my chagrin, if it was like Harry Potter! The answer to both is a resounding NO!

Let me explain. For several months starting in the spring of 2008, I would wake up in the middle of the night with a jingle or a verse in my head. The first couple of times I was sure that I would remember the rhyme and fell back to sleep, only to regret it the next morning because I had absolutely no memory of the verse except for the feeling of it.

The third time it happened, I finally got the clue that I should write it down. To my amazement, after I wrote the first couple of lines, an entire poem followed. Because of the message and beauty of the content, I knew this was inspiration from the Holy Spirit, not some new age possession. The first poem that came was Thank You, Judas Iscariot on Tuesday of Holy Week. The inspirational poems stopped as abruptly as they started. I thank God for the time that I had the opportunity to experience His poetic enlightenment.

I sent that first poem to a nephew who was in seminary at the time. He presented it in a philosophy class where it led to a lengthy discussion. Thankfully, he did not accuse me of heresy, and said that it brought up interesting theological and philosophical points that had actually been considered by the Church before. I was relieved.

All the prayers and pictures are the result of hundreds of years of art, mysticism and theology and doctrine of the Catholic Church. This is just a very tiny sampling of the true depth of beauty of the Church. The ponderings are just that; something to think about that may not be common thought, but rather common-sense thinking supported by Scripture and Church doctrine.

As a cradle Catholic who spent some time delving into other religions, looking to see what they had to offer, I can honestly say that I am a faithful, practicing Catholic who truly loves the Father, the Holy Spirit, Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the angels and the saints and Holy Mother Church. I say this in a time when the Catholic Church is openly attacked as antiquated, out of touch with the real world, and sinful. That appears to be an advantage to me. It is more secure and comforting to fall back into a world that values the traditions and morality of the past, rather than to jump headlong into a secular society that is lost and searching for any and every feel-good option that comes along. I’d prefer to follow the moral standard than the latest and ever-changing, frantically compulsive, shallow trend and previously tried-and-failed structure. I’m comfortable with a Church that survives continuous attacks after two-thousand years, all the while loving, forgiving, and reviving sinners. I am happy to be Catholic.

My prayer is that in reading and reflecting on the poems, prayers, pictures and ponderings, you will experience some of the mystery, love, comfort and peace that our God and our Holy Mother Church has to offer.