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12/23/13

With Mary Waiting

With Mary waiting,
As the pregnant moments pass,
I share her secret with the world.
The Hour comes at last.

A Child is to be born.
A virginal womb has received
Eternal Life for all
By act of God conceived.

Her "Fiat" brought Him
To this consecrated chamber,
This pure and holy abode.
God's Love called Him forth
To save a sinful world in woe.

In Mary, peace abides.
Outside the world complains,
'They register, number, own us.'
'We'll be taxed yet again.'

Joseph, a Son of David,
Knows he must obey,
So with Mary astride and by his side,
They travel and they pray.

Now, I walk beside them
To Bethlehem's gate,
Where doors are barred
And a full Inn fate.

A cave receives the weary, hallowed guests.
Lowly beasts share their place of rest,
And warm the air against a night
Grown cold as  human hearts.

The Holy Couple, in humble, gracious joy,
Embrace the Father' s Will.
O, Time of Waiting, the Virgin is with Child!
I wait on tip toe with Creation
To see the Babe so mild.

O, Infant, cradled in a womb so pure,
Soon, You will know her arms of love,
And, too soon, know
The chilling thoughts of men.

God speaks but One Word,
And celestial sphere 's
Take up the song
To sing the whole Night long.

Angelic voices summon shepherds
and "Men of Good Will" as well.
The poor of heart receive a Savior
Who’ll ravage the gates of Hell.

Hidden Mystery of Ages,
One day an ass will bear
You, Son of David,
As Jerusalem proclaims Your fame.

For now a donkey
Carries the Salvation
Prophets long proclaimed,
Emmanuel, HaShem, the Name.

©2011 Joann Nelander

12/13/13

What of Tears?

What of tears?
What of feelings of deep emotion?
What of the thoughts that seem to interfere
When one encounters the One to Whom we pray?

Don't let them get in the way.
What is a poor body to do,
But quake before the awesome Presence?
What better use of tears
But to purify the vessel.
Allow the thoughts to bathe therein,
Outside the city
And realms of sin,
In the arms
Of One Who loves you
Through and through.

12/12/13

Advent Prayer in Waiting

Advent is upon my soul.
Divine gift of season,
I listen for the cry of a First Born Son,
Begotten before Time begun,
And enfleshed in the Virgin’s womb.

I come to her,
Who is the Ark,
Your Mercy Seat.
Kneeling beside her,
In these pregnant moments,
I lay my head upon her lap.

Her wonderment, and awe,
In steadfast contemplation,
Inspire angels’ songs.

I hear their reverent voices
In my night.
Their chorus bids me come.
Come to the stable of simplicity.

Leave the noisy city for a deserted place,
The Wilderness, whose hidden way
Leads to the waiting manger,
Now, in expectant readiness,
For the Food, that will feed
The hungry world.

My Advent prayer,
Come, O Holy Infant!
Come to my straw

©2010 Joann Nelander

12/4/13

Advent Prayer–Beginning Today


IS 25:6-10A

On this mountain the LORD of hosts
will provide for all peoples
A feast of rich food and choice wines,
juicy, rich food and pure, choice wines.
On this mountain he will destroy
the veil that veils all peoples,
The web that is woven over all nations;
he will destroy death forever.
The Lord GOD will wipe away
the tears from all faces;
The reproach of his people he will remove
from the whole earth; for the LORD has spoken.
On that day it will be said:
“Behold our God, to whom we looked to save us!
This is the LORD for whom we looked;
let us rejoice and be glad that he has saved us!”
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain.

Beginning today, for I am of today, my now,  I will be this mountain of the the Lord of hosts, for He dwells in me and walks with me. This encounter is in me for the world.

Beginning today, my now, for the past is but a recorded memory,  I will feed the hungry with choice fare, the very best I have, starting with a smile at the breakfast table and an encouraging word to feed the hearts of those gathered in my present.

Beginning today, my now, for the future is but a hope, a promise, a dream…I will part the veil.  I will share my Communion with the world, first by prayer and then by the sharing of faith, truth, wisdom and the work of my hands.

Beginning this day, the only time in which I live, the Lord of this mountain, shall wipe tears from weary faces by my hands and cast a large net to embrace the earth that it may be ever blessed.  I will place my entreaties at the feet of the Lord of hosts that He might once again multiple the loaves and fishes and gather up the left overs to supply for generations yet unborn.

Signed

Joann Nelander

12/2/13

Advent Begins - The Virgin Is With Child

“The time of Advent that we begin again today returns us to the horizon of hope, a hope that does not disappoint because it is founded on the Word of God. A hope that does not disappoint, simply because the Lord never disappoints! He is faithful!” the Pope emphasized.

11/25/13

Higher than the Mountains- Newly published - Available on Amazon

"Higher than the Mountains", a book of poetry and prayer. It is a respite for your quieter moments. It is for those who "are anxious and worried about many things" and who now desire "the better part", the something, or Someone, clothed in the ordinary, hidden in your heart. While drawing from my life experience as wife, mother, nurse, and artist, I also find inspiration all about me, though it is in the stillness that I listen best. Then my own voice fades away, but not until I speak my heart to God. In solitude, the world does seem to stand aside for the whisper or thunder or just the beating of my heart.

11/5/13

Albuquerque - Breaking Bad City Breaking for the Good - Vote

If you live in Albuquerque you know all the fuss over Breaking Bad with all its ramifications and reflection on the reputation of our beloved city.  Did you know our beloved Albuquerque has more than drugs besmirching its image, and the image isn't actually an image but the truth. We are "Albuquerque, NM- Late-Term Abortion Capital: New Mexico Is The Wild, Wild, West As Far As Abortion Is Concerned…No Regulations & Anything Goes!"

Albuquerque, NM- Late-Term Abortion Capital: New Mexico Is The Wild, Wild, West As Far As Abortion Is Concerned…No Regulations & Anything Goes!

Live in ABQ? Vote!

Know anyone who lives in ABQ, urge them to vote "Yes" in their special election. Your voice, email, facetime call, text message can be a witness for Life and save thousands of lives.

Time for a change? Time for a change!!! Vote "YES" now in the special election.

Church Believes in Cures That Don't Sacrifice Life - Catholic Culture

There is a great deal of confusion in our society about stem-cell research. An important distinction must be made about embryonic stem-cell research that kills innocent human life and adult stem-cell research that doesn\'t.

The Catholic Church opposes embryonic stem-cell research but strongly supports adult stem-cell research. Opponents of the Church have branded us as being opposed to science and indifferent to those who suffer from illnesses. But we support ethically responsible scientific research and are very committed to searching for cures, as long as it doesn\'t kill human life.

This is indeed a pro-life issue. We believe that there are strong ethical issues involved here. Even a small embryo is a human being. We all started out as embryonic stem cells. To harvest embryonic stem cells — even to help human life — is wrong because it kills the embryo. It means in effect using tiny human body parts for scientific purposes.

The end does not justify the means.

We know that the genetic package is really complete when conception takes place and sonar pictures of the living infant in the womb clearly show human life as it grows and develops.

Human-life issues are the bedrock of our faith. Respect for life is central to Catholicism, and thus we defend every life where it is threatened — from conception to natural death. We are committed to a consistent ethic of life. Hence, we oppose abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia and capital punishment. As a religious leader I have a serious obligation to share this teaching with others. I am aware that some will not agree.

Some will say that human embryos are in frozen storage and ultimately will be discarded anyway so why is it wrong to try and get some good out of them? Well, in the end we will all die anyway, but that gives no one the right to kill us.

These embryos will not die because they are inherently unable to survive, but rather because others are choosing to hand them over for destructive research instead of letting them implant in their mother\'s womb. The idea of experimenting on human beings because they may die anyway also imposes a grave threat to convicted prisoners, terminally ill patients and others.

We can all support many kinds of exciting and forward-looking avenues of stem-cell research, like umbilical cord and adult stem-cell research, with a clear conscience. These treatments have been a great help to people with Parkinson\'s disease, spinal cord injury, sickle cell anemia, heart damage, corneal damage and dozens of other conditions. There are scholars and experts who would say there is much more hope to develop cures from adult stem-cell research than from embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem-cell research will certainly lead to the creation of cloned human embryos — which also raises serious ethical problems.

via Library : Church Believes in Cures That Don't Sacrifice Life - Catholic Culture.

Church Believes in Cures That Don't Sacrifice Life - Catholic Culture

There is a great deal of confusion in our society about stem-cell research. An important distinction must be made about embryonic stem-cell research that kills innocent human life and adult stem-cell research that doesn\'t.

The Catholic Church opposes embryonic stem-cell research but strongly supports adult stem-cell research. Opponents of the Church have branded us as being opposed to science and indifferent to those who suffer from illnesses. But we support ethically responsible scientific research and are very committed to searching for cures, as long as it doesn\'t kill human life.

This is indeed a pro-life issue. We believe that there are strong ethical issues involved here. Even a small embryo is a human being. We all started out as embryonic stem cells. To harvest embryonic stem cells — even to help human life — is wrong because it kills the embryo. It means in effect using tiny human body parts for scientific purposes.

The end does not justify the means.

We know that the genetic package is really complete when conception takes place and sonar pictures of the living infant in the womb clearly show human life as it grows and develops.

Human-life issues are the bedrock of our faith. Respect for life is central to Catholicism, and thus we defend every life where it is threatened — from conception to natural death. We are committed to a consistent ethic of life. Hence, we oppose abortion, embryonic stem-cell research, euthanasia and capital punishment. As a religious leader I have a serious obligation to share this teaching with others. I am aware that some will not agree.

Some will say that human embryos are in frozen storage and ultimately will be discarded anyway so why is it wrong to try and get some good out of them? Well, in the end we will all die anyway, but that gives no one the right to kill us.

These embryos will not die because they are inherently unable to survive, but rather because others are choosing to hand them over for destructive research instead of letting them implant in their mother\'s womb. The idea of experimenting on human beings because they may die anyway also imposes a grave threat to convicted prisoners, terminally ill patients and others.

We can all support many kinds of exciting and forward-looking avenues of stem-cell research, like umbilical cord and adult stem-cell research, with a clear conscience. These treatments have been a great help to people with Parkinson\'s disease, spinal cord injury, sickle cell anemia, heart damage, corneal damage and dozens of other conditions. There are scholars and experts who would say there is much more hope to develop cures from adult stem-cell research than from embryonic stem cells.

Embryonic stem-cell research will certainly lead to the creation of cloned human embryos — which also raises serious ethical problems.

via Library : Church Believes in Cures That Don't Sacrifice Life - Catholic Culture.

PROTECT ABQ WOMEN & CHILDREN APPLAUDS ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL J. SHEEHAN

PROTECT ABQ WOMEN & CHILDREN APPLAUDS ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL J. SHEEHAN, ARCHDIOCESE OF SANTA FE, FOR COMING OUT IN FULL SUPPORT OF THE PAIN CAPABLE UNBORN CHILD PROTECTION ORDINANCE

09/27/2013

Statement by Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan on Late Term Abortion

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Friday, September 27, 2013-- - IMMEDIATE RELEASE

—Archbishop Michael J. Sheehan has issued the following statement:

The Archdiocese of Santa Fe congratulates the grass root efforts of so many to place a late term abortion ban on the ballot of the City of Albuquerque. This achievement demonstrates the people’s will to defend life.   As Archbishop of Santa Fe, I encourage all the people of Albuquerque to support the proposed ordinance to ban late term abortion after the 20th week. These children are able to feel pain and suffer greatly when aborted.   The campaign to pass this proposal will bear much fruit. First, if the ordinance passes, it will protect children. Second, the energy, time, and resources dedicated to the campaign will educate the public. I daily meet people who are shocked to know that New Mexico permits late term abortion. The public will be educated as to the reality of what is happening in our State.  New Mexico now attracts those seeking late term abortions from around the Country because of the lack of laws. During this campaign many people will learn the immorality of abortion and some children’s’ lives will be saved by the education of their parents.  I hope the State Legislature will pass a Statewide Bill banning late term abortion, given the support in Albuquerque.   Please join me in supporting this effort with energy, time, and resources. Together we can get out the vote on November 19, 2013.   Most Rev. Michael J. Sheehan Archbishop of Santa Fe

via PROTECT ABQ WOMEN & CHILDREN APPLAUDS ARCHBISHOP MICHAEL J. SHEEHAN, ARCHDIOCESE OF SANTA FE, FOR COMING OUT IN FULL SUPPORT OF THE PAIN CAPABLE UNBORN CHILD PROTECTION ORDINANCE - PROTECT ABQ WOMEN & CHILDREN.

11/4/13

Higher than the Mountains - New Book

Amazon book is in the works!  Until then this is a beautiful edition from Blurb.  Their work is top notch and beautiful in its quality.

http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/3918087/66123fce45f54d0ffece33bb6cfcd3a50d111e65?ce=blurb_ew&utm_source=widget

10/27/13

Who really died?

 

Who really died?
I never saw
The light of day.
Black descended,
Of a kind
I knew not,
And then no more....

How did I know you?
All I knew was you.
You flavored my becoming,
Your genes, my genes,
Your feelings,
Emotional rhythms,
Touching me
By blood connection.
All this,
And then no more.....

How did I feel you?
Warmth, gentle rocking
To and fro.
I felt you,
Heart-sounds
Surrounding me,
Pressing me,
Impressing me.
You whooshed at times
And hummed.
And then no more.....

How did I leave you?
I knew anguish
As once I knew you,
Your blood feeding mine,
I knew as parting,
Leaving behind mother
As gift withdrawn,
And bid goodbye.
Too young for endings,
Too soon to die,
And then no more.....

How now and by and by?
Sorrow and black
And then the Light.
New Day, as womb,
Enfolding me.
Life ending
Beginning yet again.
And I behold
The Face of God.
I live,
Knowing Love,
Yet still,
I wait for you.

Eternity has a door,
God knocks from His side,
I listen for you.
Pray but open the latch.
That you might die no more,
And free from sin,
Enter in.

There is yet more.
Who really died that day?

10/19/13

Readings from "Into the Stillness" - Audio Post

[audio http://lionslair.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/audio-post-2013-10-19-15-38-43.mp3|titles=Audio Post]

 

<blockquote><strong>Advent – Prayer in Waiting</strong>

Advent is upon my soul.
Divine gift of season,
I listen for the cry of a First Born Son,
Begotten before Time begun,
And enfleshed in the Virgin’s womb.

I come to her,
Who is the Ark,
Your Mercy Seat.
Kneeling beside her
In these pregnant moments,
I lay my head upon her lap.

Her wonderment and awe
In steadfast contemplation,
Inspire angels' songs.

I hear their reverent voices
In my night.
Their chorus bids me come.
Come to the stable of simplicity.

Leave the noisy city for a deserted place,
The Wilderness whose hidden way
Leads to the waiting manger,
Now, in expectant readiness,
For the Food that will feed
The hungry world.

My Advent prayer,
Come, O Holy Infant!
Come to my straw!
By Joann Nelander


<strong>All You Have Given Me</strong>

I love You, Lord.
You embrace me
In our communion of Eucharist.
I believe in Your love for the sinner.
I am that sinner.

You come to me.
I am empty and poor,
Yet, You make my poverty Your paradise.
Here I bring to You
All You have given me.

Behold Your streaming waters
Tumbling over my rocky ground.
Your light penetrates my depths,
The caverns of my heart

Yield their darkness
To You, O Holy Sun!

Sit here beside me in the silence,
As praise becomes
An un-containable river within me.
Flow from my humble abode
To water Your thirsting world without.

Delight, O Lord,
As the crashing thunder
Of majestic waves
Rise before You
In a crescendo of thanksgiving,
Finally pounding down
Upon the shore of my unworthiness.

They ebb and flow
And gather strength
As I remember Your Mercies.
All You have given me,
I receive now in humble gratitude.

Eagles dance in the air
Above our heads,
Clasping claws holding fast,
Spinning  in wedded bliss; 
Their flight a symbol
Of our holy love.

 

© 2010 Joann Nelander
<h1></h1></blockquote>

A Prayer in Adoration

[audio http://lionslair.files.wordpress.com/2013/10/audio-post-2013-10-19-02-43-00.mp3|titles=Audio Post]

A Prayer in Adoration

Here I am Lord,
Sitting, kneeling,
Prostrate in spirit
Before You, adoring.
Who You are in Your glory
Lies hidden under the appearance
Of this Holy Bread before me.
You have revealed to Your Church
The wonder, and magnificence
Of Your living Presence.
With Mother Church,
I extol Your beauty.
Truths come to mind
And I give assent.
I am married to You,
O Holy Bridegroom.
In the fullness of time,
I will embrace You
With a glorified vision and body,
But, for now, I reach with heart
And mind's eye to catch a glimpse
Of this splendid Truth
Hidden as it is
'Neath Bread and Wine
And broken Body on a Cross.

Favor me with an increase
Of love and desire,
Until my longing tears free
From all that holds me captive still.
I know my blindness,
And have seen my foolishness.
In my poverty and need,
I seek refuge here
Before Your eyes.

Your Truth,
Your splendid Truth, be mine!
These are such glorious Truths,
I can not comprehend them
In their reality and breath.
I can only glimpse them,
And cry out in hope and faith.

My adorable Lord,
Looking upon me now as always,
Gather to Yourself,
The groans and sighs of Spirit born,
Unto Your memories,
As so many Communions
And resurrections of spirit,
As chains of Love in Time,
But always,
Only One Adorable Lord.

©2010 Joann Nelander

A Thousand Little Moments

I fail and I fall.
"Yes, Father, it's me, again."
My prayers and tears reach Your heart with plaintiff sighs.

I reach for Love, as a baby grasps the finger,
Securing You to my heart,
Binding You by trifles.
A thousand little moments, like a knitter's weave,
Trivial triumphs conquering like souls,
For made in Your image, I desire only You.

Of wooing, my begging be a part.
I turn, my God, to You, as a prayer with every care.
Prayer and tears, now, all one,
I nestle to Your breast and am all ear.
I listen as beat upon beat,
Love’s rhythm reassures me of the next ,
And, of Your eternal constancy.
I listen, as for a whisper, and fear not
Whisper every care, and fretful prayer.

I reach for You with every breath,
And sigh when You draw nigh.
You answer with a mother's warmth,
Bending low, picking me up, and pressing me
To Your consoling bosom.

"What is it my child. Am I not here? Haven't I given you all?"
You kiss away my tears
And delight in the exchange.
I have given nothing but complaint,
Yet, You are full of smiles.

A thousand little moments knit our day.
I cry and You comfort.
I beckon and You bend in kind regard.
You draw me into that chamber,
In which I was formed,
That hallowed space,
In which my time began.

Heaven and rest contained
In one all holy Name.
Name me, my God,
And I will come into being,
Called forth from my darkness
Into Your marvelous Day.

All our moments measured by Your mercy,
I cry out for a heart made unto Your own,
That I may grow to give Your Love.
Love begetting love, for love alone.

©2010 Joann Nelander

10/8/13

New - Prayers of My Heart - Now Available

Listening with the heart in quiet prayer inspired  me to writePrayers of My Heart.- conversations with God in poetry. My poetry is prayer.  It's me, talking with God. It is often psalm-like in its rhythms. It flows from a grounded Catholic desire for holiness of life and spiritual growth.  I am always the sinner striving to be saintly to please God, Who would have me "be perfect." These poetic conversations speak to the human condition, and of the love of Father, Son and Holy Spirit for the beloved creation He made in His image.

Mary, Un-doer of Knots

O loving Mother Mary,
Un-doer of Knots,
Look upon the jumble of my life,
And work the wonder
Graced by God to thee

It is said that He Who Is
Writes straight
With crooked lines.
May He Who is the Author of Life,
And Creator
Of my all too brief story,
Allow you to edit these pages.
Untangle the chaos
With your sweet simplicity.

Place Your Child upon my breast;
So may the beating of His heart
Set the rhythm of mine,
That it be in tune
With the eternal chorus,
Singing My God's praises,
All for the glory
Of He of Whom the angels
Serenade in a perpetual,
"Holy, Holy, Holy! "

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

9/19/13

House of Prayer

Make of me a house of prayer,
With doors wide open
To the visitation of Your Saints,
That being, in my small capacity,
Prophet, priest and king,
By virtue of Your sacred anointing,
I may set my table,
And feast upon You
In holy communion,
Listening for Your Presence
On the lips of Your Holy Ones,
To grow and go from glory to glory
As You o Lord intended as
You formed me in the womb
For Your good pleasure
And my eternal benefit.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

7/23/13

Known But by Grace

Only, and far flung God,
Bursting upon the scene of Time
To start the clock
By uncreated might,
And usher forth
Your manifold good will,
In the splendor of creation,
Look on me,
In my becoming.
In this, the only now I know,
This precious fleeting instant,
Reveal Yourself evermore.

You entered Time
That Man might enter Heaven.
You, Who are Eternal Being,
Let me contemplate Thee
Wrapped in swaddling clothes,
Nursing at the Virgin's breast,
Growing as men grow,
Yet knowing the Father Creator
As only Son.

I see Thee arrayed,
Transfigured in the Light,
Even as You are stretched
Between Heaven and Earth
On Your Holy Cross,
Becoming Sin,
And dying in my stead.
Lifted above the earth in Your divinity,
Higher than the mountains,
Yet pervading depth and breathe,
To shake and shape
The cursed land and Man anew,
In elegant Revelation of Mystery,
Rising from the dead,
To live in universal blessedness,
Across all time and space,
Known but by grace.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander

7/18/13

Renew the Face of the Earth

Jesus, henceforth,
Live my life
In blessed union with me,
And accept my every breathe and exertion,
As Your own witness to the Father.

Pour, through me, the graces,
That change the world,
In the power of the Holy Spirit,
So that I be a portal
In Creation's web,
As gateway,
That Heaven may flow,
Entering Matter and Time,
As on Your Altar,
That I may say with Paul,
"I live, no longer I,
But Christ lives in me,"
To the glory of God, the Father,
God, the Son,
And God, the Holy Spirit.

Command angels fly to the aid
Of this fallen land,
As ever fresh Redemption,
Fighting Your battles in the air,
And announcing Truth,
To renew in You,
Those who You have not left orphans.

The lowly exalt You,In the garden of Earth.
As we sing Your praise,
Turn up the volume of Your Word,
That even the deaf may hear.
Issue edicts of Love,
That, at Your command,
We be Holy,
As The Father is Holy,
And You are Holy.
Holy, holy, holy.

You dedicate Yourself, eternally,
To our sanctification,
That by Faith and "Fiat"
All creation blossom forth,
A New Heaven
And New Earth,
And Your rein recognized,
And the Lie undone,
Triumphantly in the Son.

© 2013 Joann Nelander

7/14/13

Everyday

Everyday is good.
Everyday is holy.
All days are present
In Your Light.

With my life lived
Under Your gaze,
I implore of You
A river of love.

Pour the many waters
To wash the dross away,
Then You, Yourself,
Provide pure gold.

Through the heart
And hands of the Virgin,
Purify my gift each day
As I sigh to You.

All my ways,
The moments now arrayed
Gilded by Christ
Shine in holiness.

And, though my acts
Be as the poor trinkets of a child,
Your wearing of them,

In Our Father’s Presence,
Makes Him smile.

Look on me loving You
With every beat of my heart,
Skipping happily,
As a playmate at Your side,
Everyday.

 

©2013 Joann Nelander

7/12/13

Today’s Flowers

Today, as I pick flowers,
From the garden of life,
In which You have
Chosen to plant me,
By the gift,
You have granted me,
From Your Most Holy Cross,
In giving me
Your very own Mother,
I press each blossom,
Fresh and humble,
Into the open
Hand of Mother Mary.

I await,
With great expectation,
The magnificent bouquet,
The Woman is arranging,
As she gathers
In Her Immaculate Heart,
All the prayers,
Works, and sacrifices,
Proffered by the saints,
Poured out in faith,
Through the ages.

May the sweet aroma,
Scent the hope
Of this day,
And please You,
You, Who,
In the Love,
That brought You
To Your Cross,
Receive my heart's desire,
As You accepted
The precious tears
Of the Magdalen,
And the sweet anointing oil,
Lavished upon You,
In repentant sorrow.

You, Who love eternally,
Those who love much,
In return for Your Divine
And undying forgiveness
Press these,
All abloom,
To Your Most Sacred Heart.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelande
All rights reserved

6/25/13

You Looked Down

You looked down
From Your Cross
To behold faithfulness,
Your Mother.

You beheld her look of grief,
As she suffered Your pain.
You wed it
To Your Own,
Presenting all
Before Our Father's holy throne.

© 2013 Joann Nelander

6/20/13

Believe

O Man, believe
That the Virgin did conceive
Her God and mine
And happily thine.

2013 Joann Nelander

6/15/13

Morning Sigh

A sigh of longing
A sigh of love
A sigh bidding to my side
The Lord above.

Breathe in the Spirit.
Breathe in that Holy Ghost.
Breath deeply in the morning
The God of hosts.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander

All rights reserved

6/14/13

Support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act

Michael Taylor
Executive Director :

Please support the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797) and oppose all weakening amendments. This bill represents a common-sense reform of abortion policy.

"It is anticipated that the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 1797) will be considered on the House floor as early as June 18.

Please urge your Representative to oppose all weakening amendments and to support the bill. Please click on the link below to send your message today!

Because there is substantial medical evidence that an unborn child is capable of experiencing pain at least by 20 weeks after fertilization, this measure asserts a compelling governmental interest in protecting unborn children from this stage.

In testimony before Congress, Dr. Maureen Condic, Department of Neurobiology and Anatomy, University of Utah, School of Medicine, concluded: “In light of the scientific facts, the observations of medical professionals, our own experience of pain, and our indirect experience of others’ pain, we must conclude that there is indeed a ‘compelling governmental interest in protecting the lives of unborn children from the stage at which substantial medical evidence indicates that they are capable of feeling pain.’ And this unambiguously requires a 20 week fetus to be protected from pain, as proposed under H.R. 1797.”

Find your president and congressman:


Abortion Non-Discrimination Act (ANDA)


Assisted Suicide


Born-Alive Infants Protection Act


Child Custody Protection Act/CIANA


Conscience Protection


District of Columbia Abortion Funding


Embryo/Fetal Research


Federal Employees' Health Benefits (FEHB)


Fetal Tissue Research


Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE)


Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA)


Health Care Reform


Human Cloning


Human Life Amendment


Hyde Amendment


Medical Training Non-Discrimination (ACGME)


Mexico City Policy


Military Abortion Policy


Morning-After Pill


Parental Involvement


Partial-Birth Abortion


Prison Abortion Funding


RU-486: Chemically Induced Abortion


Stem Cell Research


Terri Schiavo Dies


Umbilical Cord Blood Banks


Unborn Victims of Violence Act


United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

6/6/13

Abortion Battle Kicks Into High Gear in New York | Daily News | NCRegister.com

Church Response

The release of the Women’s Equality Act drew a sharp response from the Church in New York and its pro-life allies. A statement signed by Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and the bishops of the New York Catholic Conference declared Cuomo was expanding access to abortion, easing all restrictions on late-term abortion and leaving women without any legal protection from forced or coerced abortion.

“As the pastors of more than 7.2 million Catholic New Yorkers, we fully oppose this measure and urge all our faithful people to do the same, vigorously and unapologetically,” they stated. “We invite all women and men of good will to join in this effort and defeat this serious attempt to expand abortion availability in our state and to codify the most radical abortion proposals of any state in the nation.”

The Register obtained a copy of an analysis of Cuomo’s bill prepared for the New York Catholic Conference, which indicates the Women’s Equality Act expands abortion even more than the language from the Reproductive Health Act, which many pro-life advocates believed would be reflected in the bill. The Reproductive Health Act is a stand-alone bill that would make abortion a “fundamental right” in New York state law, but it has never achieved enough support on its own in the state Legislature to become law.

“The new language accomplishes the same result with less limitations,” the analysis notes. It explains that the Women’s Equality Act, in adopting Roe’s broad health exception (which Roe’s companion Doe v. Bolton case said includes “all factors — physical, emotional, psychological, familial and the woman’s age — relevant to the well-being of the patient”) would essentially mean abortion on demand up to the moment of birth.

The analysis notes the state Health Department would have the power to qualify non-doctors to perform abortions and even late-term abortions with the removal of the “duly licensed physician” requirement in the state penal law. Moreover, the analysis says that removal of abortion from the penal law would prevent prosecutors from going after domestic abusers who directly cause a pregnant woman to lose her unborn infant.

The analysis adds that the concerns over conscience protections remain, since the bill does not define whether “health-care provider” includes health-care institutions, individuals or both. It says that Catholic schools and charities could still find themselves faced with the choice of referring for abortion or losing state contracts and licenses that keep their doors open.

Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/new-york-kicks-into-high-gear-of-abortion-battle?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NCRegisterDailyBlog+National+Catholic+Register#When:2013-06-5 16:49:01#ixzz2VSPyaFOR

6/5/13

Live Henceforth in My Love

Blessing full and overflowing
Pour over me,
Around me,
And through and through.
It is You,
Who plans for me,
Accomplishes this work,
And I
For my part,
Desire,
And yield,
My whole life,
Loving You.

©2013 Joann Nelander  All rights reserved

6/2/13

Sorrow in the Midst of Joy

In the midst of joy,
I bear many sorrows.

For the perfection
Of the Trinity's All Holy
Work of Love,
I place my longing,
My yearning,
Next to your perfect sorrow.

May my cries
Pierce your Immaculate Heart,
O Holy Mother,
As you behold your Son,
In His Dying.

What good can come of sorrow?
You, Queen Mother,
Who sit enthroned
Beside His throne,
Sharing the sweetness
Of Love's fulfillment,
Know,
And count it all joy.

The One Son,
The One Christ,
Bears Mankind,
As He bore the Cross.
Savor the shed tears
And offer them,
As you did your own.

I await the morning,
The bright dawning
Of Love's true laughter.

©2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

Intimacy of Prayer

Who can fathom the intimacy of prayer?
Your eyes never leave me.
Your Heart is ever open to my sighs.
You wait, watching to catch my eye.
You watch, waiting for a return of love ,
And suffer my distraction.

You listen for my footsteps.
You long to hear my voice,
And Your Heart leaps,
When I whisper Your Name.
Who can penetrate
The devotion of Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
To this poor work of Your Hand,
Waiting, waiting, waiting,
For the final touches of Your Love?

©2013 Joann Nelander

All rights reserved

5/29/13

A Million Miracles Ride the Deep

A million miracles ride the deep,
And play beneath the surface
Of Your fury,
In fall of water,
Rounding o'er the rocks,
In rush and billows,
Froth and foam.

Swift river carry me
And write on my memory.
Though seated on the bank,
I sail in heart,
And hurry,
In your wake
Finding joy as a petal,
Skirting the obscured,
Dancing o'er temptation,
In an act of will,
To follow in Your stride,
O Master of the deep.

The glint of sun
In steady flash
To gild rocky edges
As You do my soul.
The wash of swift current,
Pouring joy as palpable
As bird song,
Swimming the swollen crowns,
Like ribbons of life,
Skimming hidden cliffs,
Caring and carrying me along.
Their path and destiny one,
In faith's repose.

Let not the world
Still or interfere
To make me tarry,
When You bid me come,
Contemplate my end,
And sweet beginning.
One with Providence's
Plan,
I fear not Thy wild ride.

A million miracles cry out to me
From the beauty
Of depth and mystery.
I am lost in Your Presence.
There You are
Smiling back at me.
I simply smile and gaze.
I am nothing and no one,
Yet You whisper,
In You and Yours,
I am more.

You sing to my soul,
And tell me beauty tales.
Of gaining all I leave behind
In Love's pursuit.

Grace creates a place for me.After the mind of God.
I surpass the wonders I behold.

Hold me in this instant,
To capture Paradise
For the journey onward,
Singularly one with everything,
And bound to all,
And none,
Save You.

©2013 Joann Nelander

5/17/13

Your Eyes Are Upon Me

Your eyes are upon
Your lowly servant.
I have a sense
Of being with You
This day in Paradise.
I know you are here
With me,
In the Flesh
For these holy moments,
And, by my Baptism and Confirmation,
By character and grace
In Your Holy Spirit.

Amen to all you choose
To do in me.
I am Yours.
Make me a cleansed vessel
A vessel covered in gold
Fit for Your service,
A chalice full
Of willingness.
I pray, I wait, I obey.

Holy, holy,holy Lord.

©2013 Joann Nelander

5/14/13

At My Death

At my death,
My kind and loving Jesus,
Friend and Savior of my soul ,
See again and always
My Baptism,
By and in which I entered
Into Your Divine Life,
As humble and grateful partaker,
Becoming priest, prophet, and king,
By the Victory and Resurrection
That is Yours,
And I now share.

Here, the Life giving Water
Of Your Father's Plan
And Will for me,
Invited me into Your Death,
That I might live,
Another Christ,
By and in His Only Begotten Son,
By the Will of the Most Holy Trinity.

I will with all my heart,
"Amen"
To all you have done for me
In Your Passion and Death.

May this New Life,
That is Your embrace
Of all my life,
Nailed to the Cross,
That is Your Death
And ransom for my life,
Breathe New Life into my soul eternally.


At my death
Take to Yourself,
Your Own.

©2013 Joann Nelander

All rights reserved

5/13/13

Sweet Presence

You are here.
My soul drinks
Of Your Presence.
Here is sweetness pervading,
Time with no measure,
Eternity kissing the moment,
Stillness, though fleeting.
Your touch stirs the life of me.

I want to dance,
Charged with new vigor.
I should simply gaze on You
But the power of life
Is hard to resist,
And unless You take me captive,
I'm tempted to fly.

I am the beggar,
Who finding his pockets full,
Hurries off to spend his treasure.
Teach me Lord to bask
In the sunshine of Your smile.

© 2013 Joann Nelander

5/10/13

All Glory to You

My dear Jesus,
My merciful Jesus,
I rejoice in Your Presence.
Pour ever fresh graces
Into my soul,
That I may draw life From Your Life,
And that Your living Presence in me
May light my corner of the world
With Your Glory.

©2013 Joann Nelander  All rights reserved

5/7/13

God Creator

God creates,
And then goes forth
Into His creation.

I come to be in Thee,
And in Love,
I make return.

©2013 Joann Nelander

Like the Dew Fall

Like dew You fall upon me,
I am drenched in Your holiness,
And aglow,
Transformed by Your Light.

Your sweetness woos me,
Even as I lower my eyes,
Beholding my own wretchedness.
Fear not say You,
I yield my defenses.

Your desire for me
Inspires my desire for You,
And my being drinks in Your Presence.
Lightly You settle in me,
Warming me through and through.
In time I will look like You.

©2013  Joann Nelander   All rights reserved

5/3/13

A Thought for the Day

It always comforts me that God knows us through and though, and knows all we have suffered, endured and also that which we have never been taught. He also knows how our experiences have shaped us or caused us to be misshapen. In the end He is the perfect judge who knows our hearts inside out. In His unfathomable mercy He still and always wants to adorn us with His attributes. For my part, I want to let Him.

5/2/13

Held Fast to Your Glory

Thank You God,
For this waking in Your arms,
Held fast by You,
Through the night,
Through all darkness,
To see yet another day,
In Your light.
Purified by Your Holiness,
May I love,
And live it in Your Way.

©2013  Joann Nelander  All rights reserved

4/30/13

Shalom Peace

 

I am man,
Creation run amuck.
You have set me to name the animals
And govern as You, Yourself,
With angel hosts to help set the world aright
But only by Your Light.

And what have I done,
And do I do?
Taking hold of the universe
I twist it to my will,
Make laws against Your Laws
And ride wild chariots,
Only to drown in Passover's sea.

Yet there is hope for me.
Return to claim Your own.
Invite all to Your throne.
Purge the night in fiery column.
Dayspring arise to water anew,
And lead by Mystery and cloud
In shalom peace to You.

4/23/13

Holy of Holies

Give me a heart
Desirous of Truth.
You, Who rent
In two the veil,
That hid Your Divinity
In the mystery
Of Flesh and Blood,
Incarnation for my salvation,
Open the Way
For me to enter in,
That loving You,
I may taste
The heavenly Bread,
And walk, henceforth,
A child, at home
In the Holy of Holies.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

4/17/13

Sing Your Song

 

Sing your baptism
You have been given the song
The Wind of the Spirit will fill your lungs
But the notes are yours to form.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander

Riding the Wind

He rides the Wind in power and right,
Born of Eternal Light.
All goodness follow in His train,
Like comet tails, falling stars,
That fire my night.

Here light upon my soul and nest,
As spirit bird, find place of rest,
Spreading feathered wing
As shelter, and friend,
To Godly bless.

Stirring, fan the embers of my love,
To blaze anew in fire from above
Transforming dust and dross,
To forge one who walks
Amongst the flame, O Holy Dove.

©2013 Joann Nelander

4/9/13

A Thousand Trumpets

A thousand trumpets mark Your path.
The lips of angels tremble and anticipate
As hour fast approaches,
For Gabriel's stormy blast ushering the Age's end,
When on the clouds You will descend,
To come again as way You went .

Sun of Justice with Spirit Sword,
Your Word to cut between the marrow and the bone,
All that stands the test of Fire,
You gather home.

Refuse and stubble immolated in furnace heat,
As passing in Your Hallowedness
You devour all That is not meat.

The trumpets' blare give way
To music of celestial harps,
And Miriam song sounded strong.
As the martyrs chime,
Finally coming forth from beneath the Altar,
To sing their tune and time.

Holy chorus, at long last,
To celebrate and sing
Triumphant Alleluias
For Salvation's Mercy King.

© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

Come Now the Hour

Robed in splendor,
Wrapped in might,
Clothed in a mantle of power,
Holy Majesty, now come Your Hour.

Mercy inclining
Embracing spirit poor,
Abundance kissing
With generous grace.

Common ground
Of God's own Holiness,
Love's living bridge
Spanning the breech.

All are called.
Please all come
To live the revelation
Of the Holy Son.

© Joann Nelander 2013
All rights reserved

4/7/13

Song of Salvation

Sing Lord
To make of me a song
Rising on the wind
Spreading throughout the land.

By the movement of Your tune
I proclaim Your Love.
By the rushing of Your Spirit
Borne anew on hallowed wings,
I announce the Year of Favor.

Proclaim
Reclaim. Reclaim.
Reclaim Your own.
Seat sons and daughters
Of Your Love
Upon Your Heart
On Mercy throne.

© 2013  Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

4/3/13

Eyes of My Soul

O eyes of my soul,
Eyes of my spirit,
Eyes of my heart,
See!

See the glory revealed
In all creation.
See the Son
Hidden in the least
To the greatest.

Recognize the Christ,
Lord of all.
Lord over the earth
Lord over the sea
Lord raised above the heavens.

Enthrone Him, King,
King of your soul,
King of your spirit,
King of your heart.

As light illuminates,
See that you are a new creation.
See, in this moment,
As in the breaking of the Bread.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

Eyes of My Soul

O eyes of my soul,
Eyes of my spirit,
Eyes of my heart,
See!

See the glory revealed
In all creation.
See the Son
Hidden in the least
To the greatest.

Recognize the Christ,
Lord of all.
Lord over the earth
Lord over the sea
Lord raised above the heavens.

Enthrone Him, King,
King of your soul,
King of your spirit,
King of you heart.

As light illuminates,
See that you are a new creation.
See, in this moment,
As in the breaking of the Bread.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

3/27/13

All Yours for Time and Eternity

All Yours:
All that is uncreated,
All that is of matter,
All we know,
All that is yet unfathomable,
All we shall never know,
All that is yet to be.

Though my will is free,
Yours are the hours that come to me.
You count out my years,
Allot the days of my life.
You feed me,
And so I am still here,
But one day not.

Why do I count the cost?
Why do I hoard?
Why do I envy?
Why do I paw the ground?
You Who span the Universe
Have paid the price,
And covenanted with me.

When I am dust again,
You will remember me.
Outside of Time,
You will hold me still.
My frame is written in Your being
For I am of the Son,
Who died for my eternity.

©2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

3/26/13

The Sword that Divides

Distilling the homily of Monsignor Raun:

The Sword that Divides

The Passion of the Christ,
The sword that divides.

There are Christians,
And then there is Everybody else.

Everybody else sees
An ignominious,
Shameful,
And a meaningless death.

The Christian sees the eternal Christ,
Saving those He calls,
Kings, prophets and priests.

The sword, the Spirit and the Cross,
At the crossroad
Of Heaven and the World.
The people of God,
The Kingdom of God,
Called while yet sinners.

© Joann Nelander 2013
All rights reserved

The Sword that Divides

Distilling the homily of Monsignor Raun:

The Sword that Divides

The Passion of the Christ,
The sword that divides.

There are Christians,
And then there is Everybody else.

Everybody else sees
An ignominious,
Shameful,
And a meaningless death.

The Christian sees the eternal Christ,
Saving those He calls,
Kings, prophets and priests.

The sword, the Spirit and the Cross,
At the crossroad of heaven and the World.
The people of God,
The Kingdom of God,
Called while yet sinners.

© Joann Nelander 2013
All rights reserved

Setting Sail

Come Wind of the Spirit.
O Holiness, fill my sails
That we may traverse the oceans,
And laugh at the power of the seas.

Set my course
According to the plan of the Father,
Brought to fruition in the Son,
Who purified the many waters.

©2013 Joann Nelander  All rights reserved

3/24/13

Seared into Her Soul

Seared into her soul,
She lived in the reality
Of the Christ.
She loved in the reality
Of the Anointed One,
The appointed One.

Seared into her soul,
She lived in the reality
Of the Crucifixion.
She suffered in the reality
Of the Crucified.

Seared into her soul,
Abandonment,
Alive for her Son,
She lived life now,
In His Dying,
In His Death.

Seared into her soul,
The life born purified
For this moment,
The moment of His glory.

Seared into her soul,
The birthing of His Body,
And from the Cross
Received His Church as Son.

Seared into her soul,
Moments for Eternity,
By His birth, the Father said,
"Into your hands I commit my Son."
The Virgin said, "Fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum"
The Son said, "Mother".

Seared into her soul,
The Mother said,"My Son"
With the Son in the Spirit,
"Into Your Hands I commit my spirit."
We rest in her "Amen."

©2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

Child of the Cross

Mother Mary,
Witness of the Passion,
Suffering witness,
Living the Passion,
As your Jesus
Hung on the Cross.

Pray, Mary.
Pray, My Mother,
Pray for me,
Who am so scattered,
Distracted and disengaged.

Pray every moment
Of my life here on earth,
That I be prepared for suffering,
That I be prepared for eternity.
That I find my Life
In the dying of Your Son,
My Lord.

Hold my hand, O Mother,
Every moment of everyday.
Pray for my yesterdays,
My today, and tomorrows.
Guide my feet to follow
In His steps.

As forbidden fruit
Appeals in its many disguises,
And occasions of evil spring-up,
Pull me out of harm’s way.
Steer me true, O Mother,

As my heart yearns for eternity
Let my glory be
As that of Jesus,
The Cross, the Crucifixion,
And the Dying.

May I live now,
Dying to Sin.
Witnessing at your side,
As Jesus beholds you.
He pronounces me your child.

I am a child
Of the Cross of Christ,
Which came to be
To ransom men.
I behold you, Mother Mary,
And you meet your Son in me.


© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

3/22/13

Reign of God

Jesus, in Whom all came to be,
Be praised and adored.

You Who spoke forth Light and Life,
Command me as Lord.

Holy God, All Mighty,
Answer with efficacious grace.

Speak in the depths of my being,
To bring forth a new creation.

May all men turn to You,
And Your Church give witness

.You Who are all worthy,
May Your reign be honored  in all the earth.

Passion

Bloody sweat,
Pillar and scourge,
Bloody body,
Crown of thorn,
Bloody head,
Bloody face,
Hammer, nails,
Cross,
Bloody hands
Bloody feet,
Pain upon pain,
Thirst and abandonment,
Death and sword,
Broken heart,
Pierced heart,
Blood and Water,
All that Blood,
Washing me.

©2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

3/20/13

Thirsty For You- In Response to Pope Francis' Exhortation

Jesus,
Everyday, everyday, everyday,
Fall upon my tongue
As dew upon the obedient grass,
Which yields to Your Wind,
To be proclaimed anew.

Holy One,
Forever, forever, forever,
Go forth from my mouth,
As spring rains
To water the parched earth,
Thirsty for You.

3/15/13

I Was Irish Once






I was Irish once:

I was Irish for brief moments,
As they danced on makeshift stage.
Three sisters donned in green and white,
With ribbons in curled hair.

I was Irish for brief moments,
As locks bounced to rhythms tapped,
By jigging, flying feet,
Flitting blithely through the air.

I was Irish for brief moments,
Of merriment sublime,
Happy, joyful leaping,
Knees high, and lifted, kicking.

I was Irish for brief moments
Minstrels played their magic tunes,
And young girls moved in rocking fashion
Erin's reveries impassioned.


I was Irish for brief moments.
Sweetly skirted colleens, poised on pointed toes.
Sent our hearts a-skipping,
Lifting happy legs aloft.


I was Irish for brief moments,
As fairies with green ribbons
In coiffed and flaming hair,
Spun a golden space in memory's place.

I was Irish for brief moments,
And see again in dreaming,
Gladsome spinning, hopping, prancing,
Three sisters on stage dancing.

Yes, I was Irish once.

©2013 Joann Nelander
all rights reserved



Your Presence

Your presence is all around me,
And Your glory shines forth
From even the smallest of Your creation.

If I were to feel Your effects all day long
I would live in tears,
Rejoicing with tearful gladness,
And weeping, conscious of my desert.

So I avert my gaze from these flowers of love
That I may carry on
Keeping my feet anchored on earth,
Though my soul would have me take flight
And keep company with the angels.

My spirit strains upward
As over and above all
I reach for You in humility of heart,
Worn out by Your mercies,
Never tiring in Your consolation.

Come Holy Spirit!
Make Your home in me
With customary gentleness.

© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

3/12/13

Light to My Light

Round and round,
Oft' repeated action,
Oft' repeated sin,
I go,
Blinded by the storm within,
To folly's fortune,
And wayward whim.

Hunger and thirst
Assail in just desert,
Assail with a vengeance.
Who will pay the piper?
Who will ransom the captive heart,
Break my fetters,
And smash my chains?

Crying into the night
Black my heart ache
Black my guilt.
Still my tears betray my hope,
As for Love I grope,
Calling, because primal urge
Causes me to shout into the Darkness.

I am the smoldering candle,
That will not go out.
That will not curse the darkness.
You are fan to my flame,
And breath in my nostrils,
You are the oil that fuels my lamp
To show the way out of darkness,
Light to my light.


© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

Forever in Your Love


You are the sun
At the center of the Cross.
I have polluted the waters of my baptism,
And come again
To the foot of Your Cross.

As my prayer rises
From the dust of my fall,
Into the heaven,
Which is with You,
Stretch out Your arms eternally,
To embrace me yet again,

Bring me to Your Heart,
At the crossing
Of heaven and earth
To be transformed
By You,
And in You,
And through You,
Becoming new man,
A holy man.

Silenced for three days on earth,
That heart of Yours,
Beating now eternally,
Lives in me,
Who will live
Forever in Your love.

© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

3/11/13

I'm Doing the Best I Can

I say it so often,
"I am doing the best I can do. "
My heart breaks,
For I desire to do all for You,
Yet, I am full of myself,
And You seem silent.
I am still of the earth
And aspire to heaven.
I am so common,
Yet You call me Beloved,
And child of God

My end draws near,
As it does for all men.
Many count their days endless,
And take no account.
What of my end?
Do I please You,
Who number my days,
And promise endless life?
Abandonment draws me
To Your Heart.
Do everything for me,
And in peace I shall rest in You,
Endless Love of countless days,
Receive me.

©2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

3/10/13

VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS

Holy Praise

Holy hands
Lifted in prayer,
Holy hearts
Wed to the Lord,
Alleluias raised,
As in thankfulness,
We sing Your praise.

©2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

Holy Praise

 

Holy hands

Lifted in prayer,

Holy hearts

Wed to the Lord,

Alleluias raised,

As in thankfulness,

We sing Your praise.

©2013 Joann Nelander

All rights reserved

Hide Me, Lord

Hide me, Lord
On the mountain
Of Your Love.
Place me in the cleft
Of the Rock.
Play for me
The music of silence.
Shelter me
From the storm and noise
Of the world.

©2013  Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

3/2/13

Kiss of Prayer

No one would argue
That I exist
And live this day
On Earth.
Yet, I know
That I am with You.

Here in this place
At this Time,
I breathe Heaven's air
As I pray
"Come Holy Spirit"
And You come,
Bringing Heaven with You
To dwell in the land
You make Your own
And, by grace, call holy.

Here, love and truth meet,
Justice and peace kiss.
Am I not caught
In this embrace?

©2012 Joann Nelander

2/28/13

Speak the Perfect One in Me

You spoke
And matter came to be.
Beauty and wisdom
Reigned over form,
And substance served
Your Thought.

You ruled the spheres and firmament
To create both void and fullness.
Your creation dawned in darkness,
And You let there be light.

First and last and all in between
Found a  place in Time.
You spoke forth Man
And, in my time, me.

You said,
"Be perfect
As I am perfect,"
And set free the human heart,
That it might know,
And love,
And serve Thee.
Yet will resisted service
And loved naught but itself.
"Tortuous and beyond remedy",
We hid from Thee.

In Time, You spoke, the Cure.
Announcing to the Virgin,
And by a Star
And angels herald,
Saving throughout creation,
Twisted hearts.
Jordan's waters, purifying
By the Holy to make men holy,
Love made manifest
By descending Dove
Again You spoke,
"This is my Son."

Now, bowing will,
Longing in Your Christ,
Receive me as  son to Thee,
Anoint with Healing Balm,
Redeeming accursed Fall,
That perfect I, too,
May, please Thee, be.

When You speak
Life comes to be.
Speak now, the Perfect,
That I may perfect be
And, at long last, love Thee.

©2013 Joann Nelander

2/25/13

Jesus of the Cross

 

Jesus of the Cross,
Jesus of the Suffering,
Jesus of the Dying,
Hanging from Your Cross
Before our eyes,
Hanging in Your Suffering,
Bleeding out Your Love,
Hanging in Your Dying
Above the world,
First Born Son
And New Beginning,
Birthing in the hearts
Of the Children of Man,
Children for God.

©2013 Joann Nelander

2/23/13

To Your Silence

Here I am Lord

I have brought the world and my day with me

What a motley crew arrayed before You

But not in vain.

 

We come with a clatter

My noise, our noise,

To the Silence.

The deafening roar

To the hallowed stillness.

 

Whisper in the chamber of our meeting

Where we tent with You,

Hope for the dying,

Faith to the listening,

Love to the willing.

 

2013 Joann Nelander

2/16/13

Lent

Lent is about Love
Recognizing our lack and need.
Lent is about Spring,
Becoming fertile ground for Christ's seed.
Lent is about Life,
Allowing the sprout to be freed.
Lent is about creation,
Imaging Christ in love and deed.

©2013 Joann Nelander

Lent

Lent is about Love
Recognizing our lack and need.
Lent is about Spring,
Becoming fertile ground for Christ's seed.
Lent is about Life,
Allowing the sprout to be freed.
Lent is about creation,
Imaging Christ in love and deed.

©2013 Joann Nelander

Lenten Springtime

Enjoy the spring time of life
And live in wonder.
Enjoy in awe the Love
God lavishes upon the lowly.
Enjoy the ever fresh image of Christ
Imprinted in our souls.

It is Lent
Enjoy your food,
Receive it from the hand of God.
Abhor sin and cease to feed on fodder,
That you might have fullness
And your choice portion
At Heaven's banquet.

©2013 Joann Nelander

2/13/13

Suddenly in Time

Eons marked in time, an ocean drop by drop
Faith tested to the nth, suddenly to be here
Sand through an hour glass, seeds promising the crop
Eons marked in time, an ocean drop by drop
Cathartic rhythms purging like the wild hop
You wanted wine, we gave you beer
Eons marked in time, an ocean drop by drop
Faith tested to the nth, suddenly to be here

©2013 Joann Nelander

2/9/13

A Thousand Little Moments

I fail and I fall.
“Yes, Father, it’s me, again.”
My prayers and tears reach Your heart with plaintiff sighs.

I reach for Love, as a baby grasps the finger,
securing You to my heart,
binding You by trifles.
A thousand little moments, like a knitter’s weave,
trivial triumphs conquering like souls,
for made in Your image, I desire only You.

Of wooing, my begging be a part.
I turn, my God, to You as a prayer with every care.
Prayer and tears, now, all one.
I nestle to Your breast and am all ear.

I listen as beat upon beat,
Love’s rhythm reassures me of the next
and of Your eternal constancy.
I listen, as for a whisper, and fear not
to whisper every care and fretful prayer.

I reach for You with every breath,
and sigh when You draw nigh.
You answer with a mother’s warmth,
bending low, picking me up, pressing me
to Your great and consoling bosom.

“What is it my child. Am I not here? Haven’t I given you all?”
You kiss away my tears
and delight in the exchange.
I have given nothing but complaint,
yet You are full of smiles.

A thousand little moments knit our day.
I cry and You comfort.
I beckon and You bend in kind regard.

You draw me into that chamber,
in which I was formed,
that hallowed space,
in which my time began.

Heaven and rest contained
in one all holy Name.
Name me, my God,
and I will come into being,
called forth from my darkness
into Your marvelous Day.

All our moments measured by Your mercy,
I cry out for a heart made unto Your own,
that I may grow to give Your Love.
Love begetting love, for love alone.

copyright 2010 Joann Nelander

1/30/13

All You Have Given Me

 

I love You, Lord.

You embrace me

In our communion of Eucharist.

 

I believe in Your love for the sinner.

I am that sinner.

You come to me.

I am empty and poor,

Yet, You make my poverty Your paradise.

Here I bring to You

All You have given me.

 

Behold Your streaming waters

Tumbling over my rocky ground.

Your light penetrates my depths,

The caverns of my heart

Yield their darkness

To You, O Holy Sun!

 

Sit here beside me in the silence,

As praise becomes

An uncontainable river within me. 

Flow from my humble abode

To water Your thirsting world without.

 

Delight, O Lord,

As the crashing thunder

Of majestic waves

Rise before You

In a crescendo of thanksgiving,

Finally pounding down

Upon the shore of my unworthiness. 

They ebb and flow

And gather strength

As I remember Your Mercies. 

All You have given me,

I receive now in humble gratitude.

 

By Joann Nelander

1/28/13

“Do Whatever He Tells You.”

"Do whatever He tells you."
As this day comes to me,
Moment by moment,
May I be aware of Your desires.

Seeing, in the meditations
Of my heart,
Your action as a command,
May I take to heart Your desires,
To do all You would do
In my present,
That, like the handmaiden,
Whose eyes are always
Upon the hands of her master,
I may, faithfully, execute
The Will of Our Father
In the power of Your Holy Spirit.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

1/22/13

Who really died?

Who really died?

I never saw
The light of day.
Black descended,
Of a kind
I knew not,
And then no more.

How did I know you?

All I knew was you.
You flavored my becoming,
Your genes, my genes,
Your feelings,
Emotional rhythms,
Touching me
By blood connection.
All this,
And then no more.

How did I feel you?

Warmth, gentle rocking
To and fro.
I felt you,
Heart-sounds surrounding me,
Pressing me,
Impressing me.
You whooshed at times
And hummed.
And then no more.

How did I leave you?

I knew anguish
As once I knew you,
Your blood feeding mine,
I knew as parting,
Leaving behind mother
As gift withdrawn,
And bid goodbye.
Too young for endings,
Too soon to die,
And then no more.

How now and by and by?

Sorrow and black
And then the Light.
New Day, as womb,
Enfolded me.
Life ended
To begin again.
And I behold
The Face of God.
I live,
And still I wait for you,
Knowing in love,
There is yet more.

Who really died?

©2013 Joann Nelander


The light of day.
Black descended,
Of a kind
I knew not,
Then no more.

How did I know you?

All I knew was you.
You flavored my becoming,
Your genes, my genes,
Your feelings,
Emotional rhythms,
Touching me
By blood connection.
All this,
And then no more.

How did I feel you?

Warmth, gentle rocking
To and fro.
I felt you,
Heart-sounds surrounding me,
Pressing me,
Impressing me.
You whooshed at times
And hummed.
And then no more.

How did I leave you?

I knew anguish
As once I knew you,
Your blood feeding mine,
I knew as parting,
Leaving behind mother
As gift withdrawn,
And bid goodbye.
Too young for endings,
Too soon to die,
And then no more.

How now and by and by?

Sorrow and black
And then the Light.
New Day, as womb,
Enfolded me.
Life ended
To begin again.
And I behold
The Face of God.
I live,
And still I wait for you,
Knowing in love,
And there is yet more.

Who really died?

©2013 Joann Nelander

Take My Hand

 

Take my hand , my Jesus.
Here I am, Your child,
Too small to stand on my own,
Yet welcome before Your throne.

It is, You, My Cause,
Who sets me upright,
Through and through,
To be like unto You.

All my life called,
And marked by Love Divine,
Under Your Shadow, sun shining above,
One command only, Love!

Who can love without You?
This, too, You supply.
You spend Your Life's Blood
To draw me from mire and mud.

All from Adam
In human chain,
Hold hands to be set free,
Man from Sin in loving Thee.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander

1/21/13

A Prayer in Adoration


Pope Benedict XVI celebrates the Eucharist, a ...

Here I am Lord,
Sitting, kneeling,
Prostrate in spirit
Before You, adoring.
Who You are in Your glory
Lies hidden under the appearance
Of this Holy Bread before me.

You have revealed to Your Church
The wonder, and magnificence
Of Your living Presence.
With Mother Church,
I extol Your beauty.
Truths come to mind
And I give assent.

I am married to You,
O Holy Bridegroom.
In the fullness of time,
I will embrace You
With a glorified vision and body,
But, for now, I reach with heart
And mind's eye to catch a glimpse
Of this splendid Truth
Hidden as it is
'Neath Bread and Wine
And broken Body on a Cross.

Favor me with an increase
Of love and desire,

Until my longing tears free
From all that holds me captive still.
I know my blindness,
And have seen my foolishness.
In my poverty and need,
I seek refuge here
Before Your eyes.

Your Truth,
Your splendid Truth, be mine!
These are such glorious Truths,
I can not comprehend them
In their reality and breath.
I can only glimpse them,
And cry out in hope and faith.

My adorable Lord,
Looking upon me now as always,
Gather to Yourself,
The groans and sighs of Spirit born,
Unto Your memories,
As so many Communions
And resurrections of spirit,
As chains of Love in Time,
But always,
Only One Adorable Lord.

©2010 Joann Nelander

1/18/13

On Eucharist

 

Reflection on St. Augustine’s, “I seemed to hear your voice from on high: ‘I am the food of the mature: grow, then, and you shall eat me. You will not change me into yourself like bodily food; but you will be changed into me’.”

On Eucharist

O Christ, I receive Thee
That I might become Thee.
I desire to be as You would have me,
To be, Christ, living Your Life,
In the time and place and space
That is me,
Soul and matter one,
And wed to my All Holy Three.

Come, O come to me, My Christ.
My blind eyes see but bread.
Hope lights my darkness.
Faith assures me
Of what I can not now behold.

You are the food,
That transforms my being
To Your Being,
Though the steps and stages
Be but measured.
You respect my frailty,
Adding strength upon strength,
That the common might be wed
To the Magnificent
Without my dissolution..

Only in union can I live
“Thy Will be done,”
As You, the Son.
Grow me, grace me,
That I might become mature.
Sanctify this soul
So unlike Your own,
That free of Sin.
I be as the moon to You, O Sun.

I want to become,
To be of You,
And by You completely transformed.
I pray that Your Holy Spirit
Conform me to the Will of the Father,
That I may answer
As Mother Mary, “Fiat.”.

In Fire’s purifying ardor
Remove my dross.
Make me malleable.
Impress Yourself on me.
Ready me, as melted wax,
That I may receive the image,
That You conceived for me.
That with all my being,
I may spend myself totally
On the Father’s All Holy Will,
Answering with the voice of Christ
One great “Amen.”

As a desert penitent
May I shed my tears for Your cause in me,
And in the world of souls,
For whom You shed Your blood.
May I complete my time on this earth
Running the race with You as my Way.

Although I am all effort,
And that pleases You,
A thousand efforts
Do not make the slightest grace.
So grace me, Beloved,
That the Father will delight
To see His Only Son in me.

More than a Conqueror,
You become my very being.
May I live my life in Your Life.
Come, O Eucharist,
O, Sanctifier of my soul.

By Joann Nelander

1/16/13

Healing in the Heart of Jesus

Praying for my loved ones and remembering friends of youth and later life, I began to see how feelings of love welled up within me.  God’s love drew me close to Himself and bade me come away with Him.  I feared to leave off praying for friend after friend as they came to mind that I leave someone untouched by His Mercy and Grace.  Then He came closer still, and filled me now with peace and knowledge.  His Spirit whispered to my heart, “Fear not!”  He gave me to understand that all these, that I recalled and cherished, all these, I held in my heart and rediscovered with each rising memory, all these were enclosed within my very being, held fast by my love.  As His arms embraced me in my prayer to draw me closer, the prayer of my heart for all of these sounded in His ears.  For love of me, wretched sinner though I be, He enfolded Luke17_16_LeperWhoThankedHimall within His bosom, loving purely and eternally the image of His Son emblazoned upon my soul.  He drew all to Himself, knowing, gracing and blessing.  He knew them as I knew them of old and also as He finds them now, in the flesh or in the spirit.  His grace is fresh and waters the ground of their present.  He opens a loving wound in them that invites His love and healing.

1/15/13

Sweet Cause

The world of men is full of accusers,
Innocent as doves in their own eyes.
Only the sinner finds a place at Your table,
Garbed, no longer in rotting rags,
But in wedding dress and festive best.

The lowly come
And are welcomed.
Choosing a place at Your feet
You invite "Come up higher".
At Your breast the disciple rests.

Hearts make merry,
While the wine of wisdom
Turns sorrow into joy,
Allowing the cross no less,
Sweet cause of happiness.

By Joann Nelander copyright 2013

1/14/13

Sweet Solitude – Newly Published

Serr

Sweet Solitude – Newly Published

 

ebook Apple iBookstore -Sweet Solitude -Available for ipad, iphone,ipod touch

http://www.blurb.com/books/3991140

Sweet Solitude – Newly Published

http://www.blurb.com/books/3991140

Dreams Dreamt Before


Oh, I've waken to new sunshine
Of dawns risen o'er the hills.
I've swum in quivering rivers,
And climbed in flight as gulls.
I've shown bright with each moonlight
And fallen with each star.
I've feathered clouds with soft down
And sprinkled rain afar.
I've snuggled to a blade of grass
And clutched a rose as dew.
I've painted rainbows 'cross the sky,
And lavished them with hue.
I've suckled sweetness from a bloom,
And fluttered, free to soar.
I've slept beneath the Tree of Life
And dreamt these dreams before.
©2012 Joann Nelander