Let Me

Let me be the Star that guides.
Let me be the Voice crying in the wilderness.
Let me be the Brother that leads a brother.
Let me be the Mother bidding
“Do whatever He tells you.”

Let me be tears upon Your feet,
Let me be anointing oil
Let me be a cloak that hides your nakedness.
Let me be the prayer of the Blind Bartimaeus:
“Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me.”

Let me pray with You in the garden
Let me draw a spiritual sword by Your Side.
Let me help you carry Your Cross.
Let me weep with You for the Fallen and the Lost,
Lamenting, “.. you would not be gathered.”

Let me feel with Mother Mary
Let me cry out like the Magdalen.
Let me, like the Centurion, recognize You in Your Dying.
Let me sit beside the Angel at Your Tomb.
“He has risen, He is not here”

 

By Joann Nelander

Refuge of Sinners

I sit in the sunshine of Your New Day.
Forgiveness has washed over me.
At Your Word,
Mercy has rained upon Your Beloved.

Hear now, You say to me:
You are safe, My little one.
You have chosen to hide yourself
In the Wound of My Sacred Heart.

The world about is cold and unholy,
Yet you are surrounded by angels of Light.
Warm and welcoming is the Living Flesh
That is your constant refuge.

I enfold you,
As you have  made My Body,
Your Food, your Heart,
Your own.

Copyright 2014 Joann Nelander

BRINK OF ETERNITY

Good morning, Jesus.
Here we are again,
At the beginning of a new day.

Can you feel me?
Here I am in Your Great Heart,
Reaching for You with my heart.

I feel Your eyes upon me.
You are perfume to my senses.
You are the touch of sweetness
I taste wafting on the breeze of Spirit.

You sound in my heart
With the beating of Yours.
Ever near, ever dear, everlasting,
Song of my soul.

Good morning, my Jesus.
Hold me here,
On the brink of eternity.

©2014 Joann Nelander

Forever Yours

You behold me precious.
Your eyes and heart follow me,
As a mother, her child.

So here I am,
Sometimes happy,
Oft’ times soiled,
Frequently, lost to distraction.
Yet, I lay claim to Your Love.

How great and blessed is my future,
You designed and destined the waif before You.
You set my course and cause me,
I for myself, rejoice that I am thine,
And rely wholly on Thy beneficence.

Great Love,
Love the child of Your Heart.
Follow me with motherly care,
To correct, commend, cuddle and caress.

© 2016 Joann Nelander

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In Faith

Pillar of Fire,
Pillar of Cloud
Pillar of protection.

You advance,
Always onward,
No retreat.

Faith leads.
Obedient, we follow,
Abandoned to Your Will.

Holy Light,
Though dark the night,
Secure respite.

Heavenward,
Hallowed rest,
Safely home.

© 2016 Joann Nelander

How to answer the phone

Passing along a good thought, worth remembering;

My kind of customer service –

GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, a Christian nation, land of the free and home of the brave.

How may I help you?

Press ‘1’ for English.
Press ‘2’ to disconnect until you learn to speak English

And remember only two defining forces have ever offered to die for you, Jesus Christ

And the American Soldier.

One died for your soul,

The other for your freedom.  

WAKING, A NEW DAY

Good morning ,dear Savior.
Here I Am,
Yours, at the break of a new day.

Joyously, I look to You,
You, Who smiles upon me.

I open my eyes looking for You,
You, Who have guarded Your beloved in her sleep,
And loved me as mother and father.

I have slept, secure in Your great arms,
Nestled beneath Your “Abundant Breast.”
Receive my heart
As I offer it to You, anew.

Kisses, my King.
All for You!

Copyright 2014 Joann Nelander

God bless you, as you read this. May we, who struggle here, laugh together in heaven. Glory to God!

Joann Nelander
lionessblog.com

The Strength of a Man

The strength of a man
Is not in weapons and might,
But in his heart,
Powered by faith in God.

©2014 Joann Nelander

Garden of The Lord

Sweet Mother, come to me.
Visit my ground.
See my wild, unruly state.
Take pity,
Take time,
Take me.

In your holy vision,
Contemplate the Face of your Son,
Recreate His countenance in Me.
Clear me.
Clean me.
Cultivate me.

Come again and again and again,
Work the miracle of grace upon grace.
With hand,
With hoe ,
Sun and rain.

Make me a garden.
Prepare it by your prayer and presence.
For His good pleasure.
Plant seeds.
Envision beauty.
Raise roses.

Then on this plain of your true humility,
Raise me for His pure delight,
Here to welcome heaven,
To sing,
To play,
To dance.

Copyright 2014 Joann Nelander
lionessblog.com

Host upon the Altar

Pristine the whiteness
Engulfed in radiant flame,
Golden the rays,
Set about Your throne upon the altar.
For all the beauty of the monstrance,
You outshine the artist’s creation,
Just as You outshine Creation.

Give me eyes to see the Reality.
My eyes are designed to apprehend matter.
Here, You give us Mystery, Divinity.
I long to look upon Your fleshly Flesh,
To see Your locks curl mildly on Your shoulders,
To see the flash of smile and twinkle of the eye,
Majesty of manner, and goodly gentleness.

I gaze upon the Host,
All the while my heart and mind
Bring visions to the fore.
Power subdued in obedience,
Might bowed to the Father’s Will,
Abandonment, a fulfillment of prophetic word,
Suffering and salvific.

A Babe, a Boy, a Man,
Commending unto You
From womb to tomb,
In ignominy, yet dignity,
A Life and Death
Swallowing up Your wrath.

He bequeathed to us His Mother,
His ark and monstrance,
Forever refuge of the sinner at the altar.
At the altar of His Dying,
He willed to us a Mother,
Pristine Whiteness.

God Can Make It from Nothing

God can make it from nothing.
No Time, no Space, no place!
With a word,
All suns are born in His Light.

Beauty of the Supreme Being,
Arrayed in all that is,
Ethereal, everywhere and near,
Existence, itself.

Living, thinking, Eternal Being,
Unseen, untouchable,
Existing of Yourself,
Limitless, within and without.

Ocean of omnipotence,
Alive in Your Living,
Living in minuscule, and mighty,
Nothing without you.

Existence,
Beyond of all that is.
The world exists without me,
But not without You.

I am called,
As You called Creation into being.
The sticks and stones of creation,
Obey Your every whim and command.

Man, alone, can say “NO”.
Place “YES” in my heart,
That I may not thwart,
But with creation play my part.

All that is,
Is of Thee,
Infinite in all Your Perfections.
My Loving Mystery.

God, You can make it from nothing,
Make of me a Son,
A light after the long Night,
Knowing in loving, eternal delight.

© 2016 Joann Nelander

O Eternal Spring

O Eternal Spring
O sweet refreshment of my soul
Look on me
And draw me ever nearer Thee.

In the furnace of Your Heart
Make me like unto Thee,
That my mortal frame
May melt and meld,
To be of Thee, eternally.

© 2016 Joann Nelander

O Eternal Spring

O Eternal Spring
O sweet refreshment of my soul
Look on me
And draw me ever nearer Thee.

In the furnace of Your Heart
Make me like unto Thee,
That my mortal frame
May melt and meld,
To be of Thee, eternally.

© 2016 Joann Nelander

A Blessing for New Life

All Holy, Almighty, Jesus, Purest Heart,
Look upon the sweet beings, God’s good creations,
Nestled in the sanctity of human wombs.
Encircle the world through these little ones,
With Triune Love.

Bless Mother Eve with the “Fiat” grace of Mother Mary,
To bring forth a generation wed to Your Holy Will,
Peacemakers, pious through obedience,
Loving by Your Spirit,
Who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

May these, as Children of the Light, recognize You,
From their coming forth into a new day,
Giving witness, and preparing Your Way,
As John (blessed in his mother’s womb).

Give dominion to these,
As You did the First Adam,
To reclaim and grace Your Good Earth.

Spiritual Communion

Come, my Lord, to this poor dwelling,
You are Lord of all, and heaven is at hand as You approach.
Come in Spirit to my humble abode.
At your coming, the angels make ready.
They spread their wings over Your Mercy Seat.

Come be enthroned here in my heart.
Allow the splendor of heaven
To scatter flowers along Your Way,
As You incline Your Heart
To one in misery for want of You.

I rejoice for You are here,
And in my embrace.
You are Now.
You are mine,
O my Beloved.

Heaven finds a home in my soul,
As You reign in my heart.
A river of Life pours forth,
As You water this garden,
And provide rich food and fruit,
For all who will partake.

copyright 2014 Joann Nelander

Not Me but Thee

Lord, as I begin this day,
Have it Your way.
I seek not me, but Thee.

When bitter valley threaten,
And I count the cost,
I choose not me, but Thee.

In the dark night.
Trace Your path upon my heart,
That demons, seeking to terrorize and tempt,
Meet not me, but Thee.

When gift and labor
Bring merit and reward,
All glory to, not me, but Thee.

O Lord,
May those I meet upon Your Way,
See, not me, but Thee.

© 2014 Joann Nelander

Prayer for Our Day

Lord of Power and Might,
Harness the Four Winds
To serve Your Plan,
And bless Your inheritance.

Prostrate before You,
The Church raises a mighty cry,
To pierce the heavens,
And touch Your Merciful Heart.

Though our sins poison the many waters,
And our idolatry empower the Enemy,
May the sack clothe and ashes of our repentance,
Be sweet incense.

May our prayer and penance,
Be a shield emblazoned
With Your Name,
O Mercy Divine.

Reign down upon the Fiend,
The punishment our crimes deserve,
Chain Hell’s fury,
As in humility and meekness,
We render You Praise.

Salvation is Your Name,
O, Jesus.
Glad hosannas encircle Your Throne,
And the Glory of God
Shows forth in Love.

Holy, Holy, Holy,
The Seraphim cry in adoration,
As Powers, Thrones and Dominions,
Principalities and Virtues,
Pour down the Blood of Christ,
On Adam’s sin and seed,
To banish the Long Night.

Our God reigns,
His Cross lights up the sky.
Witnesses of Past and Present shout for joy.
Cherubim return to Your Jerusalem of Gold,
Spreading their wings above your Mercy Seat .

Your Temple is Presence,
Welcoming “Men of Good Will”,
As Angels and Archangels
Secure the Children of God.
Amen.

©2014 Joann Nelander