Liturgical Entanglements

In the church year, in prayer, in liturgy we find a comingling of time and eternity. Without leaving our experience of time, we somehow, mystically, enter into God's eternity. And God, without leaving his eternity, has entered into our time. The poems in Liturgical Entanglements seek to engage with these strange realities. Starting with Advent, the sonnets in this collection look to both the human and the divine, everyday occurrences, and the spiritual realities that uphold all of reality. Read these poems as prayers and let them help you see the world around you in a new way.

Praise

“Mosley understands both the human heart and the Christian mysteries. My favorite poems are in the sequence of the ‘Stations of the Cross’—he speaks to Christ, recounts what happened, asks questions, and stands in awe. This is a powerful, wrestling faith.”
—Jon M. Sweeney, coauthor of Meister Eckhart’s Book of the Heart

“The clear, evocative language of Mosley’s poetry invites us and enables us to enter into the liturgical year as a lived experience, far more than just dates on a calendar. Readers will find much to savor in this collection.”
—Holly Ordway, Houston Baptist University

“Liturgical Entanglements is a sacred offering for contemplatives who desire to revere the mystery of kairos. Each poem is like a sacramental exhale or a surrendering genuflection to God’s loving providence. The prayers offered on these pages will both uplift hurting hearts and strengthen joyous celebrations. This book is truly a gift to the people of God!”
—Julia Walsh, Host, Messy Jesus Business (podcast

Selected Poems

  • Stations of the Cross

    This book includes 14 sonnets, written in the corona style, meant to help the reader reflect on the 14 stations of the cross (in the Catholic tradition).

    “Station I”

    “Take up your cross and follow me,” you said.
    We couldn’t know then exactly what you meant,
    But then they placed the thorns upon your head,
    And mocked you for their mirthless merriment.
    Condemned you did not fight their condemnation,
    While they passed you back and forth like a child’s game.
    Condemned for every person, you are Salvation,
    But asking who condemned you, I say my name.
    I stood in the crowd and chanted “Crucify!”
    I said your blood would be upon my hands.
    I drove the nails, I made the Savior cry.
    I left the Savior dying, it was my plan.
    Condemned you started on your dolorous road,
    The cross upon your back your heavy load.

  • The Planets

    In the Middle Ages, it was believed there were 7 planets in the entire cosmos. These planets came with various significances and influences. So I included a series of poems reflecting on the planets from both a modern and medieval mindset.

    “Luna”

    In a muddy pool I see your reflection,
    The silver rays that wander in the night.
    I see you only through refracted light
    And something stirs in the back of my recollection.
    My mind begins to wander in a new direction
    And so I see things with a different sight,
    The Holy Fool has always had it right
    And so we need some lunatic correction.
    Just like the Moon, we wax and wane, we change.
    As the light that she receives is transfigured
    And she transfigures our ever wandering feet
    As our minds her silver light at last invades
    And brings us dreams and images and figures
    While we make the Stone of Destiny our seat.

  • The Mysteries of the Rosary

    For Catholics, the Rosary comes with 5 sets of mysteries, each relating to the life of Christ and his mother. These mysteries are supposed to be held before our imaginations as we pray through the rosary. In my book, I’ve included a set of sonnets for each of the mysteries of the rosary.

    “Resurrection”

    A poor man buried in a rich man’s tomb behind
    A stone so large there are few who could move it.
    Guarded by soldiers as though they feared the Wind
    Might blow the body away and so remove it.
    But on that Sunday morning the angels rolled
    The stone to let the Living Man walk out.
    Death had made an attack that was too bold,
    His forces recoiled like an army in a rout.
    Like snow in the Spring, Death’s power melted away,
    Melted into water that lets the seeds
    Once dead now spring to life and blossom and play.
    They drink the water and on the Sun they feed.
    The Son of Man and Son of God is risen,
    And he has made a palace of our prison.