1. LITTLE FLOWER
A musical response to, and prayer for the end of, the one child policy of China.
(Genesis 1:28-30, 2:7-8; Isaiah 43:1-7; Matthew 18:5)
How can you say
There are too many children?
That is like saying
There are too many flowers
In the garden of God.
He planted man in paradise.
He breathed in us the breath of life.
Be fertile, fruitful, multiply:
The first command of Eden.
He promised to provide for all our needs.
He reigns over all the earth;
His light shines on every seed.
He cares for every soul
So little flower, grow.
God provides.
For Him there is no life too small.
His hand of love has fashioned all.
He hears you weeping when you call.
He knows you each by name.
He promised to provide for all our needs.
He reigns over all the earth;
His light shines on every seed.
He cares for every soul
So little flower, grow.
God provides.
Through your hands, God provides.
Through your heart, God provides
Through the Body of Christ.
How can you say
There are too many children?
That is like saying
There are too many flowers
In the garden of God.
Whoever receives one child
In my name receives me.
2. JUST ONE LIFE
A reflection on the dignity of the human person, and the value of one life.
(Jeremiah 29:11; Luke 1:26-38)
She gave him a child but he said,
“I don’t want you no more.”
He gave her a ride,
Left her right outside the clinic door.
“Baby, it’ll be over so soon;
This is the best thing for you.
You don’t need one more problem,
So let this one die.”
It’s just one life.
Just one life.
Just one life.
He stands on the bridge
Looking down as the world passes by.
Nobody sees the great river
Of tears that he cries.
Desperate to end all this pain
Don’t want to feel it again.
Will anyone care if he lives or he dies?
Just one life.
Just one life.
Just one life.
O and Mary said yes
To one life that God gave.
Through this one life
Then the whole world was saved.
Entrusted with faith
She was able to see
The worth of the life she received.
Truly God has a purpose
And plan for each soul,
With hope for the future
For welfare, not woe.
The world didn’t know Him
They couldn’t conceive
How God in the womb
Became a human being.
O the gift of just one life.
Mary’s yes to just one life.
We were saved by just one life.
Will you receive just one life?
The world could be changed
Through just your life.
Just your life.
3. YOU MATTER
On the irreplaceable, unrepeatable nature of each soul in the course of eternity
A love song from Our Father and Creator
(Genesis 1:1-2:3, John 3:14-17)
When I thought of this world
Without you,
O heaven began to weep
And the oceans were born.
When I thought of my life
Without you,
O the darkness was deep
The earth without form.
Before the first day,
I conceived you in my heart.
At the sound of your name,
I spoke light into the dark.
The moment time began,
The world was waiting
For your life to start.
Never before, never again.
The story of your soul,
Whose life will never end.
An image of God
The world’s never seen.
You matter to all eternity.
When I thought of heaven
Without you,
My heart labored in love,
And the Son of God was born.
We wanted to share our life with you.
Wrapped in the wings of a dove,
Soon the veil was torn.
I desired that
Not even one would be lost,
So I gave my Son
As a gift on the cross,
Granting access
To the tree of life once again,
So you might live forever
In my covenant.
I gaze at your beauty,
My creation complete.
Everything about you
Is so good to me.
I set you apart
To be holy and blessed.
Your soul is the sabbath
Where I’ve chosen to rest.
4. WAITING FOR YOU
On the gift of chastity. A prayer for future spouse.
(Song of Songs 3:1-5; Psalm37:4-5, 63:7-9;1 Thess 4:3-7;
1 Cor 6:19-20; Eph 5:22-33; Matt 6:33; Luke 12:49)
O when will I meet you?
It could be today.
I want to be holy
For you
I will pray.
I’m writing a love song
Each day that I wait
Is a note of the melody
I sing in faith.
O if you only knew
That I’m waiting for you.
My longing for you
Is high as the sky,
As I lie on my bed
Waiting at night.
Far beyond the horizon
Of what I can see,
Your soul is the star
That God’s been preparing for me.
My body’s a gift
That is wrapped ‘neath the tree,
The cross where our Lord Jesus
Died for me.
Only with God
When you lay down your life
Will you unwrap the gift
On our wedding night.
You alone will touch what’s inside
When God shares my heart
With you as His bride.
My heart has been taken;
It’s already claimed.
Do you love me enough
To take second place?
He alone can fulfill
Our deepest desire;
We will set the world ablaze
With love’s pure fire.
Let’s fall in love with Him
On our way to heaven.
My longing for you
Is high as the sky,
As I lie on my bed
Waiting at night.
Far beyond the horizon
Of what I can see,
Your soul is the star
That God’s is preparing for me.
5. MAKE LOVE WITH GOD
On being open to life. Embracing God’s plan for the marital union.
A prayer for the end of contraception.
Genesis 1:27-28; Ps 127:3-5; Malachi 2:14-15; Tobit 8:7;
Hebrews 13:4; Genesis 38:8-10; Luke 23:28-29
We welcome God into
The sanctuary of our room.
Pressed up against your skin,
This is where life begins.
I give you every part of me.
You receive the gift of my fertility.
Let’s make love; let’s make life.
Let’s make love with God.
Let’s make love,
And let’s make life with God.
That we may be truly free,
We are open to conceive.
We embrace responsibility.
And when we know it’s best to wait,
Then we’ll choose to abstain.
We have learned
How our bodies are made.
We will trust in God’s design,
And we’ll welcome the child
He gives us in His time.
To create a new soul,
Our love made visible.
We renew our vows again
On the altar of our bed.
This is true intimacy.
What a beautiful father and mother
We will be.
6. A MOTHER'S COMMUNION
On the Eucharistic & sacrificial nature of motherhood.
Luke 22:19-20; Song of Songs 5:1; Isaiah 55:1; Matthew 8:8; John 15:13
Unexpected invitation,
This new life that I’ve received.
I’m afraid but I am willing;
You have just changed everything.
You are silent, you are hidden,
But look deep within and see:
Body, blood, and soul are present,
Living fully within me.
I am not worthy to receive this life,
But only say the world,
I shall be healed.
This is my body,
Given up for you.
This is my blood,
Flowing from my heart into you.
He gave you life,
O child within my womb.
We receive the gift of new life.
This is my body,
Given up for you.
Love will lead to liberation;
There’s no greater love than this:
To lay down my life,
To pay the real price
For you, little friend.
Laboring in expectation,
Suffering to serve a feast.
My breast is bread,
My milk is wine,
For you to freely come receive.
I am not worthy to receive your life,
But only say the word,
I shall be healed.
This is a mother’s communion.
She’s a chalice for her child.
She’s a living tabernacle
For the presence of God.
Each soul fashioned in His image,
On the cross for all He died,
So that not one little child might perish,
But all be born into eternal life.
We receive your life.
7. JOSEPH'S PRAYER OF ADOPTION
A reflection on the nature of fatherhood, accepting the call to adoption,
and our shared identity as adopted children of God through baptism.
(Matthew 1:18-25; Ephesians 1:3-14; Galatians 4:4-7; Romans 8:14-17)
Would you like to hear a story, child?
Come sit upon my knee.
This is how your life began,
How we became a family.
Within your mother’s womb
Another father gave the seed.
But she couldn’t care for you alone,
And God has chosen me.
O the Father woke me from my dreams,
And in my heart a love conceived.
Will you take this child as your own?
Will you give this child a home?
All the love that he deserves
I want him to receive,
To know the Father’s love
In this family.
So I’ll set down my hammer now
To hold you in my hands.
Do you know how much I love you?
O with time you’ll understand
How to build a house of prayer,
How to serve your family,
And how to thank our God
For giving us the bread we eat.
O the greatest gift I have received,
When God entrusted you to me.
When I took you, child, as my own,
Gave my heart to be your home.
All the love that you deserve
I want you to receive,
To share the Father’s love
In this family.
You have taught me what it means
To become God’s family.
He did not leave us orphans,
He welcomed us
To be His adopted daughters and sons.
When you took us Lord as your own,
To give every child a home.
Heaven’s love so undeserved
You willed us to receive.
To know the Father’s love,
To reveal the Father’s love,
Joining us as one
In this family.
8. CAN YOU HEAR ME?
A song of mourning for all babies who have died through abortion. A prayer of healing for souls suffering from the wound of abortion: “A voice was heard in Ramah, sobbing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; and she would not be consoled, because her children were no more.” (Jeremiah 31:15, & Matthew 2:18).
My child, my child
Now gone from me,
My heart is like an empty sea.
My womb is like an open grave.
The pain is buried deep away.
O I should weep a thousand years.
The sea could not contain
My tears for you.
Mama, can you hear me now?
I’m singing with
The angels dancing ‘round.
Mama, do not be afraid.
My love for you will never change;
I’ve always loved you.
And every tear I’ve seen you weep
Is held by God’s ocean of mercy.
Mother Mary is it true?
My child is there
In heaven with you?
Will you call my child by name?
And give the love I never gave?
O Mary will you hold my child
In your arms?
Mary, will you let me hold my child
In your arms?
Mary, will you hold us both
In your arms to rest,
To rest in peace.
9. PSALM 51
A prayer of repentance for all sins committed against life.
Have mercy, O God,
In your kindness.
In your compassion
Blot out my offense.
O wash me more and more
From my guilt,
And cleanse me from all my sin.
My offenses truly I know them,
For my sin is always before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
And done what is evil in your sight.
Create in me a clean heart,
O God,
And put a new,
And steadfast spirit within me.
Cast me not from your presence,
And take not
Thy Holy Spirit from me.
Indeed you love truth
In the heart,
Then teach me wisdom
In my inmost being,
That you may be blameless
In your judgment.
I was born
A sinner
Was I conceived.
Give me again
The joy and gladness of your help,
That the bones
Which you have crushed may revive.
I’ll teach transgressors your ways,
And sinners will return.
Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall sing your praise.
You take no delight in burnt offerings.
Were I to give one,
You would refuse.
My sacrifice is a broken spirit.
A humbled, contrite heart
You will not spurn.
Portions of the Psalm translations are Copyright © 1963, The Grail, England.
GIA Publications, Inc., exclusive North American agent, 7404 S. Mason Ave,
Chicago, IL 60638. www.giamusic.com 800.442.1358
All rights reserved. Used by permission
10. GLORIOUS WOUNDS
Through receiving the Divine Mercy of the Risen Christ, even the wounds inflicted by sin
in the culture of death can become vessels of grace to build a culture of life.
(John 20:19-29; Romans 8:28; Revelation 12:10-11; Isaiah 53:5, & Traditional Chaplet of Divine Mercy)
He conquered death
When He rose from the grave,
But why do His wounds
From the cross still remain?
The king of glory,
His scars tell the story
Of where He has been.
He passed through the doors
That were locked within me,
Granting forgiveness & offering peace.
Others had told me;
I doubted their story,
But now I believe.
Love made His wounds glorious,
Made His wounds glorious.
I see the nail marks;
I put my hands into His side.
Through His wounds made glorious,
His mercy pours out to us.
He’s not ashamed;
His wounds still remain to testify.
My Lord and my God,
He showed me that when
He was pierced deep within,
His heart remained open
To love and forgiveness.
The holes became holy,
The scars sang of mercy
So that we might live.
If God can bring good
Out of evil and sin,
He’ll use our wounds
If they’re given to Him,
Transforming our story
From glory to glory
As love enters in.
Come make my wounds glorious,
Make my wounds glorious.
Jesus come into the scars of my sin
And fill them with light.
Through my wounds made glorious,
You lead me to holiness.
I’m not ashamed;
My wounds still remain to testify.
The greater the sin,
The brighter the light.
When love enters in,
His mercy will shine.
Will you let Him come in?
Will you let His love come in?
He’ll make your wounds glorious,
Make your wounds glorious.
There is no sin that Christ won’t forgive;
That’s why He died.
He’ll use your brokenness
To lead you to holiness.
Don’t be ashamed;
Your wounds still remain to testify.
He made our wounds glorious,
Made our wounds glorious.
The broken Body of Christ,
We offer our lives to heal the whole world.
Through our wounds made glorious,
His mercy pours out through us.
When we are raised,
Our wounds still remain to testify
How Jesus came into our pain
And changed our lives.
His wounds healed our lives.
For the sake of His sorrowful passion,
Have mercy on us and on the whole world.
11. NOT A BURDEN
On the privilege of loving, serving, and sacrificing for each person made in the image and likeness of God, from conception to natural death.
(John 13:3-16; 2 Cor 12:9-10; Matt 18:2-4; Acts 20:35)
You are not a burden,
You’re a blessing to love.
Not a burden,
A blessing to love.
The gift of your life
Is worth each sacrifice.
Every life is worth each sacrifice.
Will you let me wash your feet,
Serve your deepest needs?
Will you let me
Serve your deepest needs?
You have helped me
Learn to see
That love is strong
When I am weak,
The beautiful humility
Of being willing to receive.
12. SHARING CALVARY
On the meaning and value of redemptive suffering. “I beg you to make use of the cross that has become part of each one of you for salvation. I pray for you to have light and spiritual strength in your suffering, that you may not lose courage but may discover for yourselves the meaning of suffering and may be able to relieve others by prayer and sacrifice... Even pain and suffering have meaning and value when they are experienced in close connection with love given and received.” -Blessed John Paul II
(Luke 9:23, 23:32-43; Colossians 1:24; 1 Peter 4:13)
I am sharing calvary
With you
Hanging on crosses beside me.
I suffered for you;
What will you choose do with your pain?
One of the thieves cried out:
“If you are God,
Then take me down
From this cross,
From this suffering spare us!
Will you just stand by today,
Watching my life waste away?
If you came to set us free,
Why has God abandoned me?”
The other thief, he prayed:
“Jesus, I unite my pain with you now,
The only gift I can offer.
My suffering is a consequence,
But you, O Lord, are innocent.
Jesus please remember me
When you come into your kingdom.”
“My child,
You’ll be with me in paradise.
Here today, you will see the light.
When you cry, I’m here with you.
I make all things new.
Look at me through your tears,
And rainbows will appear.”
As you share your cross with me,
Jesus, I believe this is
How we are redeemed.
I see the beauty borne from our pain.
13. THE SAINT THAT IS JUST ME
On the universal call to holiness, and the hopeful invitation that God has created each one of us to become a saint according to His will.
(Ephesians 1:18-23, 3:14-21; 4:1-16; 6:10-17; Romans 1:7; Phil 3:14; 2 Cor 11:27; Matt 10:8, 25:1-13; John 19:33)
O I thought I’d be
Heroic and inspiring.
I wanted to offer you
The greatest sacrifice.
Like all the saints
Who’d gone before me,
I tried to prove my love for you,
And so to gain the prize.
I thought I’d be
A martyr like Cecilia.
I hoped I’d disappear
Like Saint Therese,
Or wear a hidden crown of thorns
Like Rose of Lima,
To heal the sick and raise the dead.
When you hung upon the cross
Looking at me,
You didn’t die so I would try
To be somebody else.
You died so I could be
The saint that is just me.
I wanted to be poor and free
Like Francis,
To cut off my long hair
Like lovely Clare.
To be faithful
Like Mother Teresa
In the darkness,
Lord, won’t you
Make me just like her?
I tried to kneel for hours
In the chapel corner,
To persevere like Paul
With all my sleepless nights,
To stay awake and trim my lamp
With ten wise virgins,
To really give the devil
A good fight.
When you hung upon the cross
Looking at me,
You didn’t die so I would try
To be somebody else.
You died so I could be
The saint that is just me,
Just me
You died just for me.
You saw that I was
Perfectly imperfect.
O happy fault,
The sin of Adam’s pride.
That’s the reason
That you became man,
And bore the new Eve
From your wounded side.
If it weren’t for my sins
Or wounds or weakness,
Then you wouldn’t have married me
Upon the cross.
Why do I fear
Being seen naked and broken?
That’s why you came;
'Cause I need you that much.
When you hung upon the cross
Looking at me,
You didn’t die so I would try
To be somebody else.
You died so I could be
The saint that is just me.
14. REBORN
On accepting God’s timing for death.
A prayer from the perspective of the faithful departed.
(Psalm 139:16; Romans 8:18-25; John 11:25; Rev 8:3-4; Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)
I couldn’t see the future yet,
How many days until my death,
But you knew.
You knew the end of my story.
You’re the author of my life;
In your book was written
Each moment of time
Till the end of my story.
From my conception,
‘Till you took me home to heaven.
O the world is a womb
Where I was formed.
And groaning in labor pains
Through death I was reborn.
There’s one life in Jesus
On earth and in heaven.
Death was only the beginning
Of life that will never end.
I could only take with me
The love I’d given and received.
You helped me to be ready.
Lord, I’m ready.
One day when my hour had come,
When God had seen
My work on earth was done,
I joined the saints to rest in heaven.
Now I’m praying here for you.
I await the day you’ll join me too.
Death is only the beginning
Of life that will never end.