On the Feast Day of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul, I wrote the following before the Blessed Sacrament, with deep pain in my soul for Holy Mother Church.
Ode to a Blemished Bride
Inexplicable groaning,
Blemished Bride
Falling.
Failing.
Fainting.
Collapsing into seeming ash-heap.
Swallowed into the ground,
The Dirt.
Humus brushing contact
With wrinkled garment.
Donates gasp of life.
Humility dusting outstretched barren palms.
Grasped.
Accepted.
Covering face.
Beleaguered, but not yet dead.
Grasping for Life-breath,
Sprinkled with the Slain Lamb's Blood.
Soaking in it.
Transfusion.
Resuscitation.
Resurrection.
Revelation.
Veil lifted
Bride restored and glorified.