My Medals

Accumulating medals, 

why do I feel so empty and crass?

Praying before the most Blessed Sacrament...

wearing the brown scapular; I go to daily Mass;

give my confession every other week-

end, weekly as of late 'cause of frailties 

and defects I can't escape or shake the

venial sins that strip grace from my soul

clogging the wings I need to fly with mud;

prayer hours while working...

Collecting my medals,

one too many for just a layman?

The Kingdom of heaven is at hand...

reading every spiritual book I can 

get my hands on; pictures of the saints;

multiple crucifixes; a Monk prayer 

app; even a home holy water fount;

a sacred space in the house, my retreat;

don't eat; pocket bible goes everywhere I do 

'cause the Pope said to...

Some collect guns and bullets,

could I just collect my medals you say?

A Jesus statue in the backyard...

one of His Mother in the front; I pray

a daily family Rosary because I'd never love Him less by loving His mother more; giving

and sharing alms and social media messages; 

six o'clock rises for morning prayer: dear God

make haste to save me from temptations;

acts of humility....

The weight of 

my medals

I fear they 

will pull me 

down to the 

pit of Hades!

It is true, on any given day, I'll be bombarded by an equal number of enticing, sensually captivating, technologically sophisticated, consumer goods; angry coworkers, conniving colleagues, and impertinent churchgoers bent on proving I've got six heads; sumptuous fine foods and wine; real fetal body parts for sale; friendly FaceBook "friends" and trolling troublemaking males making up fake news; scantily dressed females, their own private body parts available on pay-by-the-minute picture screens, picture that! (better yet don't); and screens upon screen of violent moving pictures laced with explosive, explicitly laced expletives, screams of ideology, hate, sex, gender blending and identity politics, just weighing down my spirit like lead metal because, don't you see, it's HERE where I get my medals.

All the rest 

are simply 

little love 

reminders 

present in

moments and 

scattered through-

out the day 

counteract-

ing what world, 

devil and the 

flesh WILL. Try

to smother

me by sin!

Throwing it 

all my way!

Either way 

without love,

Christ to love,

what's the point?

- Gary Edward Geraci