Hail Mary, full of grace... The gold light of a Roman evening settles over the Vatican Gardens, hushing the day into a soft, holy quiet. The Holy Father bows his head, fingers resting on the wooden beads, the bells of the city ringing for peace. The Lord is with thee... He speaks of torn spirits and aching hearts, of the weary and the outworn. "The Lord is never far away," he tells us, "He comes in search of us even when we lose our way." He calls us to be instruments

La Pietà: A Villanelle for Good Friday, 2018 By Anne Hendricks, M.Ed. and Edited by John T. Hendricks, Ph.D. (In Style of Dylan Thomas) The marble breathes a mother’s heavy grace, To hold the silent Word upon her knee. The light of Easter hides its morning face. No lines of anguish mar his quiet face, From every debt of soul and flesh set free. The marble breathes a mother’s heavy grace. She keeps her station in this hollow space, A monument to love’s dark decree. The light