Wise Men From The East

Posted on by Matthew Pope

An epiphany, revelation

On the day of visitation

His Name prospered in the East

A majestic Prince of Peace

Three Kings, Theophany

Magi, prophesier

Unfolding gifts at will

The star delivering them near

A young child with Mary

In her home with care

The wise men in extravagance

Oils, ointment made bear

Prostrate, outstretched

Adorning in posture

For The King was now flesh

For certain not an imposture

Likewise the fake

King Herod in his audacity

Directed the men post-visit

To activate His infanticide fantasy

But in a dream warned they

An angel of the Lord descended

Flee to your nether parts

Herod’s heart demented, tormented

Thus Mary and Joseph fled

The Israeli retreated before

To satisfy the biblical prophecy

A Nazarene, Bethlehemite no more

Holy God,

We pray to reveal Your Lordship to the nations. We pray to bear witness of the Truth as the wise men did as they returned to their provinces. Most Holy God, may our observation of the Christ Child in our hearts be a witness to save the masses in His Blood and Body. For in His infancy Jesus laid the foundations of salvation, the inception of redemption. In this Child was liberty. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Joseph Thou Wast Chosen

Posted on by Matthew Pope

The carpenter stood with quiet concentration

As The Child ran about

With your wife calling unto you

With the comfort of a shout

Your hands indeed they toil much

As you place the boards

In precise positions with measurement

So was your work for the Lord

Oh Joseph thou wast chosen

For the merciful story

Brought to witness the Son of God

By the Father’s benevolent glory

While the sweat poured forth from your brow

Jesus of Nazareth grew to a man

Preaching the Gospel for humanity

You understood He was the great I AM

On the longest days your praise was met

With subtle teachings of deed

The Fatherhood from the Lord to Jesus

Was reflected in your miraculous creed

The Blessed Virgin she came

And nurtured your Precious Son

Proclaiming the grandeur of God

And professing love under the Sun

When the night therefore came

You sought to gain rest

Awaiting the known future

Of the King Most Blessed

Herald of God’s Son,

When Thou didst take Mary to be Thy Lofty Wedded Wife, She birthed for Thee a Divine Sign, Herself signifying The Salvation of The World. How blessed Thou wert and art for evermore to have dwelled under the same roof as Mercy Liveth, and to share in the fatherly duties with The Son of Righteousness. We pray to Thee in earnest to favor us with the manly ways of God and the fatherhood of a Christian, who ourselves shall help to procreate with a Godly woman, altogether fashioning a generation of life and believers unto God Himself. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

Redemption In This Child

Posted on by Matthew Pope

Mary beckoned to Joseph one day

I carry a conceived soul in my womb

With rejoice I accepted and now say

Blessed be the Name of The Lord

And indeed, him just, sought to put her away

For fear he felt in his heart

But an angel arrived to prepare God’s way

Through a dream, instead of psaltery and harp

King of The Jews, Emmanuel

Shall this Newborn be

Eternally faithful for all His Sheep

And raised to set the captives free     

“Behold!” he said, for Gabriel he was

Mary carrieth a Savior for mankind

Wrought to erase sin from the earth

And in human flesh He shall be divine

Joseph arose from the trance in sleep

To immediately fulfill the words of grace

Granted by God’s favor in heap

He relocated Mary to a safer place

Out of Egypt they followed

The leading of the Creator’s call

Therefore settling in tranquil Bethlehem

Where present there lay a stable with straw

Upon the night of His Precious Birth

There came forth the future Risen Son

Mary and Joseph welcomed salvation

Which would be professed with every tongue

Jesus Christ,

This is the day of Your Holy Birth. May Your impartation of the Divine Grace of God be actualized in our hearts. For the salvation of the world, may we chant the hallowed peace of Your infancy. Praise, glory, honor, supremacy, authority, dominion be to the Holy Wise Child. Reveal Thyself in peace. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.

Virgin Annunciation

Posted on by Matthew Pope

Oh Mother most blessed

Humbly rejecting pious pride

For did Gabriel seek you

In the angel did you confide

Forthwith you came

With a faith to be captured

Hail, Thou art highly favored

Your obedience mastered

Blessed among women

Above the remainder

Announced in praise

By a glorious stranger

Song of redemption

Canticle of The Virgin

Magnifcat of The New Testament

Splendorous version

Queen of Peace

Exalted worth

We pray to be as Christ

Through Whom you birthed

Announced One,

Your Mother was pleased to see that holy angel inform Her of a hidden truth. Revealed to her in that hour was the Son of God planted in Her. How blessed was She, and yet how blessed are we to have been made sons and daughters through You, of the Eternal God. We pray to be faithful as Your Mother, to be humbly aware of Your kinship with our souls. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Believe

Posted on by Matthew Pope
Parkside, Wilmington, North Carolina

“And be not faithless, but believing” (John 20:27b)

In the Person of Jesus

Have I come to know

Why God extends mercy

And why He withholds

Individuals who betrayed

My own dignity stained

Friendships diced

Blood turned to ice

When I forsook God

My life became void

Loneliness employed

Holiness nearly destroyed

Although sin rebounded

I lived with a conscience proud

My love sound

But by pleasures was I bound

Jesus Christ sojourned

When the enemy lashed out

Out casted and cast out

From me silence, no shout

His Humble Spirit clung

To my bones, hung

On the tree

Somehow He loved me

Days, months, weeks

More than I could speak

His promise foretold

A renewed world in reach

Dare I mistake

The God Of Glory Who spake

All that is created

Even the One Who is most hated

A recent past

Immersed in glass

Transparent to my senses

My God His gain is limitless

I pardoned my self

Stepped out of my skin

Joined with the Ghost

My King, my Friend

Abruptly withheld

A test of pass/fail

Trust, I, the Lord Of Hosts

Or the lies in Hell

And the signs direct

His words are correct

Occurrences resurrect

Faith and belief do connect

My trust trusted Jesus

A Savior born of Mary

His Spirit never varied

Nor His unchanging nature

Whom Shall I Serve?

Posted on by Matthew Pope

It is a blatant answer

Foreordained in my heart

I will serve Jesus The Christ

To Him my likening impart

But I am trembling fierce

And my darkness in obscurity lingers

My maturity wanes in angst

Tarrying for an impregnated dreamer

Peradventure I am closed off

Shut away into my shaft

Buried in the tunnels of smuggling

Enclosed by the dreading drafts

One peek of light dwindles

The hole peeping with a whimper

Can my candle in my soul

Hold true to the temple?

My metaphors are symbols

Symbols acting as signs

Signs memorializing sacraments

Chanting, incensing, gravitating toward The Divine

The Blood of Jesus, His Blood

The Lamb Who takes away sin

My God, Humble Savior

With Whom there lies an end, but no end

Crawling to the core of earth

Visible yet am I

Losing my life in intention

“Is it not I?”

Who is above the Heavens

Under the earth-

Subdued His creation

In me completing a good work

Thankworthiness To The Father

Posted on by Matthew Pope

That we may walk worthy in Him

Fruitful ever bearing

The sanctified fern

A gracious limb

Partakers of inheritance

Light, sustenance breed

Partitioning to the saints brilliance

A regeneration from Adam’s seed

Delivered from the power

Of darkness, gray with musk

Translated into the Kingdom

Showering rays from dawn to dusk

Dear Son, droplets rained fawn

Blood splattered on the beam

Our bounded King

Our captured pawn

In Whom we are forgiven

Even the placated sins

Blood; violet in fury

Rage of mortal’s whims

In omnipotence,

Creation all created by Him

Through the invisible of visible

Thrones, for Him, by Him

And before all He stands

Consisting of all is by

The Church’s Head

Preeminent; firstborn of the dead

In graciousness to be

I worship in thanks

Reliving pleasing fullness

In the Apostle of the Saints

A day of purification

Cleansing to repentance

Debts paid to the Debtor

In Jesus I claimed forgiveness

Is It Not Him?

Posted on by Matthew Pope
Pine Forest Memorial Gardens, Wake Forest, North Carolina


Is it not Jesus?

The One who made all things

Is it not Christ?

The Priest over all that breathes

Is it not The Messiah?

Who rebuilt the temple in three days

Is it not The King?

Who will return one day

Is it not The Lamb?

Who gave His life on the Cross

Is it not The Lion?

Who can save those who are lost

Is it not The Nazarene?

Who was a figure outside of time

Is it not The Rabbi?

Who was bound in order to die

Is it not The Lord?

Who is with the Father in Heaven

Is it not The Son of Man?

Who gave the bread unleavened

Is it not The Holy One?

Who provided Himself

Is it not The Son of God?

Who broke down the gates of hell

Is it not The Most High?

Who is One of Three

Is it not The Redeemer?

Who set all slaves to sin free

Is it not The Truth?

Who said that “I AM.”

Is it not The Master?

Who sits at the right hand

Is it not The Alpha?

Who is the First and the Last

Is it not The Omega?

Who sees all things pass

Is it not The Son of David?

Who offers life eternal

Is it not The Son of Mary?

Who changes the heart internal

Is it not The Good Shepherd?

Who wrote in the sand

Is it not The King of the Jews?

The fully divine fully human

Is it not The Bishop of Souls?

Who saved us at His death

Is it not The New Adam?

Who paid for our insurmountable debt

Whom Shall I Send?

Posted on by Matthew Pope

“Then said I; Here am I, send me…”

In the womb was I molded

Fearfully and wonderfully made

Created with the likeness of God

Born to wrestle with the sinful wage

And out of adolescents I survived

Battered from failings of my own

But promised a better life

Beyond my imprisoned throne

In confines and spaces

The capsules and chambers

My God predestined language

That would bless my heart with the Savior

And rising from the crypt

As Jesus the Son of Man

I became a new creature

Petitioned to the Great I AM

And though personal sin

Slithers like the serpent it loves

My soul is shielded from death

Certified with the Creator’s love

And does my calling lure me

Well with my soul it is

The hope of fate in God

His will be done; mine and His

And lo, He is with me,

Even unto the end

He summoned my destiny

So that He could send

My lips did proclaim

Here am I, send me

Into all the world, my Jesus

The Light for the blind to see

Into the faraway lands

And to the distant nations

Let me hearken to You

Establish invitations

Gather the dissenting masses

Into the fold flock them close

Bless me with an irrefutable doctrine

Refuse not the Holy Ghost

Send me to the seas

Oceans parting with crests

Upon ships, vessels, and rafts

Be it East or West

In the forested terrains

Groves and tunnels underground

I pray that I minister

To where resistant souls abound

In the alleys and public venues

Of decaying countries find me

Biblically counseling

With apocalyptic speed

The axis of the planet

And even the galactic hosts

I beseech Thee that I may preach

Alone with the cross I boast

And I myself turned

Observing those as friends

My God peered inside

Anticipation over when

The Lord said,

Who may it be?

And I replied,

Here am I, send me

Renewal Of Time

Posted on by Matthew Pope

O Merciful Father,

In the absence of my goodness

I entreated myself to commit sin.

Moments spent in affliction,

I did not regard Your infinite grace.

Rather, I partook of the temptations

weighed upon my soul by the evil one.

My life reflected the regret of my actions

and even in the midst of happiness, I was distressed.

My Eternal God, grant me serenity.

From my most inconceivable thoughts, actions, and failures

to minute transgressions that offend me greatly,

please be with me.                                                        

Heal my trespasses with dignity; return to me righteousness.

Nourish my conscience on its return to steadfastness.

Cleanse my desires and purify my intuitions.

At last, my Heavenly Father

allow me to recover in Your presence.

Forgive me for those moments that I cannot return to

yet let all of my darkness in time be restored to Your glory.

I pray, at this very instant, transform me further

into the fruit of Your Spirit, that all that is done

may be committed in the reverence and glory

of the Most High and Blessed Holy Trinity.

In the name of Jesus my Savior, I pray, amen. 

Heart Unspeakable

Posted on by Matthew Pope

The commonly heard moniker is the trust one should have in the silent witness of God. Therefore, we are urged to persistently make our requests known unto God (Philippians 4:6). Despite the stillness of the Father (albeit Psalm 46:10), our silence personally has arisen. There are pains and torments that paralyze the soul so tremendously, the heart can only cry, the mouth being sealed. Emotionally we are esteemed, pricked in the heart lending the lips to sigh, moan, but never utter speech. The prayers of the Christian are targeted by the Evil One. He mocks the soldier’s wounds, hoping to deceive those who cannot pray out loud, to become no longer interested, rather, fatigued from silence. As nominal as pews in worship degenerate, prayer in the heart is ignorance (Jeremiah 17:9). The Psalmist David wrote, “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11). The secrecy from which he speaks is the testament of a meditating relationship to Holy God. It is the encompassing passage of mysterious celebration to the Godhead.

The Virgin Mary held within her heart the passionate, clandestine Incarnation revealed to the world as God’s Begotten Son, coming down from Heaven (Luke 1:30-31). Luke notes the humble awareness of Mary’s role as the Mother of God. She was blessed, and even exalted, for the absolute, Providential choosing by the Lord of Hosts: “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart” (Luke 2:19). Awe produced silence, for as she observed Heaven parting the veil of glory, the angel choir shouting, and the gathered shepherds kneeling before an infant Jesus, Mary was astounded. Trials create patience, patience begets endurance, endurance births hope, and hope makes us unashamed (Romans 5:3-5). In the instances of Father David or Mother Mary receiving all glories into the heart, reflecting vividly in the body, Jesus mediates the intentions (1 Timothy 2:5). God revealed to Jeremiah, “I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10).

A man’s heart cries aloud to the Omnipotent Lord. If God numbers the hairs of the head and counts the sparrows in flight (Matthew 10:29-30), each petition to Himself is heard. There is no word from the inner chambers of self which the Spirit of God neither sees, nor perceives. St. Paul assured the Romans of the Holy Spirit’s entrance into the heart of man,

Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groaning which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:26-27).

Those vast impulses of word or the grasping for the breath of a faint whimper is felt by God. He understands the human body, for He is our Creator (Genesis 1:1). Notwithstanding, He shall know the rendered desires the heart seeks. Mary’s own heart would be opened to the populace, as Simeon announced: “(Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed” (Luke 2:35). Pour out thine heart to Jesus Christ. Let thy soul be pierced. He awaits thy requests.

But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it(Romans 8:25)

Illustrious Deceiver

Posted on by Matthew Pope
Night sky, Wake Forest, North Carolina


You deceive me kindly

Wretched beast of the fold

But know not what is written?

What is not revealed will unfold

All the treacheries

Vanities you impart

Will be counted for a measure

Upon your frivolous heart

But wherefore you lead

May the line be thin

Walking on a bounty

Of the murderous vengeance and sins

Condemn our faults

Remember our former iniquities

But then suffer the wrath to come

You false prophet of trickery

Your Master still lives

At nought you glorify

He breathed life into you

Yet His preeminence you deny

Raise up your disciple

Your harlot queen

Jesus Christ compels you

To the everlasting fire-bed stream