Jesus, enter the waters of our lives.
As at the Jordan,
You made holy
The water of Baptism,
Renew, in all men of good will,
Life, that flows from the God of Heaven,
Your Father, our Father, my Father.
May Your Holiness
Infuse the elements,
That compose all created things.
By the Water,
Cascading from the Temple,
Your pierced, open, and hallowed Side,
Prepare here a place for all men to abide.
Amen
Copyright 2014 Joann Nelander
I am man,
Creation run a muck.
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.
Day-spring arise to water anew,
And lead by Mystery and cloud..
In shalom peace to You.
© 2013 Joann Nelander
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.
Truth was never far away.
It stood erect,
And with resolve,
Waited for the moment
Of my will’s consent.
It was relentless,
Devoid of error,
Stalwart and persistent.
Truth was the beacon
On the high mountain.
It appealed to me
On the level of the good.
It drew me
As home beckons the lost.
I journeyed closer,
But as the light
Revealed my tatters
I drew back,
Trapped by my choices.
Truth is a wedding garment,
That clothes inwardly,
As well as out.
My espousals never produced
A marriage of Truth and the holy.
In its stead, I’d wed
What I wanted.
Now, I feared our distance,
And what I had become.
Desiring the right,
Even if I was wrong,
I gathered courage to my breast
And risked all in the quest.
I shed my rags
And found a covering of prayer,
A robe of humility,
And came to Love
In holy fear.
Now, I am
Full of resolve,
A stalwart knight
On Truth’s high mountain,
Carrying lighted torch
To the Dark Valley,
Into caverns of deception.
Standing tall before the Foe,
Truth girds my waist,
And undertakes to speak
Light in the darkness.
I am become an army
On the plain,
As Truth marches not alone.
It goes forth,
Drawing with it men of valor,
Choosing the death of Pride,
And living as Truth’s Bride.
©2012 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
My Shalom, My Shalom,
Reigning over the waters,
Conquering the watery depths,
Making clear,
Revealing by discernment
Benefactor or maleficence.
Quieted soul,
Ever vigil heart,
Desirous of My Holy Body,
Gazing through the fiery flame
Serene against the tumult,
Drinking from the Chalice of My Blood,
Covenanted through my Sacred Cross,
Lifted high above the world,
Rest in Me,
As I, Myself, pass as flaming brazier,
Between the broken pieces of your life.
My Shalom, My Shalom,
I call you
By My All Holy Name,
To dwell secure in Love.
Cost counted, chosen,
And placed in the balance.
Infinity pays the price
And tips the scale of Life to
Favor a son of God.
©2012. Joann Nelander
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.
I am man,
Creation run a muck.
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.
Day-spring arise to water anew,
And lead by Mystery and cloud..
In shalom peace to You.
© 2013 Joann Nelander
“As Jesus drew near Jerusalem, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace– but now it is hidden from your eyes. For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
“If this day you only knew what makes for peace. ” Is this not our problem today? So many tortured ways of seeking “peace”, and so many variant images of “peace”.
When “Mir”, “Peace”, is proclaimed by the Communists, it lacks a God Who can bring it. It means the imposition of might over the many who have been forced into submission and now can only dream of “peace”.
When the Buddha chants for peace, its coming dissolves the entities of its devotees into a universal soup of nothingness, doing nothing, loving nothing distinct or individual.
When the progressive secular relativist of our day speaks of “peace”, it is an end brought about by the silencing of conscience and even science to impose the law of those that lack a way recognizing integrity, morality, and Truth.
Maranatha! Come Lord, Jesus!
I am man,
Creation run a muck.
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.
Day-spring arise to water anew,
And lead by Mystery and cloud..
In shalom peace to You.
Joann Nelander
I am man,
Creation run a muck.
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.
Day-spring arise to water anew,
And lead by Mystery and cloud..
In shalom peace to You.
Joann Nelander
Brother Rasheed provides excellent summary of the true nature of Islam in this video. Please ignore the Hebrew subtexts.
*Please remember that you cannot prove the peaceful intentions of Islam by pointing to the millions of people who chose through decency to ignore its tenets that preach violence. That simply proves they recognize and reject intrinsic evil.
Message to Obama from a Former Muslim
Here is a poem written by my mother:
Soul in Flight in Search of Peace
Father, dear, in search of Thee,
My soul has wandered over land and sea,
And when I could not find You there,
I climbed the stars and celestial spheres.
Hither and yonder, I looked about,
But the angels told me that You were out.
So, back again, to earth I went,
My soul, so utterly discontent.
I searched the attics and the eves.
I looked for You among the trees.
In valleys, low, and mountains, high,
I climbed the rainbows in the sky.
Lost and lonely, I wandered home.
And it was there, I found You enthroned.
Why did I search for You far and wide,
While here You sat by my fireside?
By Jean Salerno
“To kill in the name of God is sacrilege. To discriminate in the name of God is inhuman.” – Pope in Albania Sept. 21
Pope Francis said: “There is much that we can do to benefit the poor, the needy and those who suffer, and to favor justice, promote reconciliation and build peace. But before all else we need to keep alive in our world the thirst for the absolute, and to counter the dominance of a one-dimensional vision of the human person, a vision which reduces human beings to what they produce and to what they consume: this is one of the most insidious temptations of our time.”
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.
I’m Doing the Best I Can Do
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.
Truth was never far away.
It stood erect,
And with resolve,
Waited for the moment
Of my will’s consent.
It was relentless,
Devoid of error,
Stalwart and persistent.
Truth was the beacon
On the high mountain.
It appealed to me
On the level of the good.
It drew me
As home beckons the lost.
I journeyed closer,
But as the light
Revealed my tatters
I drew back,
Trapped by my choices.
Truth is a wedding garment,
That clothes inwardly,
As well as out.
My espousals never produced
A marriage of Truth and the holy.
In its stead, I’d wed
What I wanted.
Now, I feared our distance,
And what I had become.
Desiring the right,
Even if I was wrong,
I gathered courage to my breast
And risked all in the quest.
I shed my rags
And found a covering of prayer,
A robe of humility,
And came to Love
In holy fear.
Now, I am
Full of resolve,
A stalwart knight
On Truth’s high mountain,
Carrying lighted torch
To the Dark Valley,
Into caverns of deception.
Standing tall before the Foe,
Truth girds my waist,
And undertakes to speak
Light in the darkness.
I am become an army
On the plain,
As Truth marches not alone.
It goes forth,
Drawing with it men of valor,
Choosing the death of Pride,
And living as Truth’s Bride.
©2012 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
O dear Jesus, I humbly implore You to grant Your special graces to our family. May our home be the shrine of peace, purity, love, labor and faith. I beg You, dear Jesus, to protect and bless all of us, absent and present, living and dead.
O Mary, loving Mother of Jesus, and our Mother, pray to Jesus for our family, for all the families of the world, to guard the cradle of the newborn, the schools of the young and their vocations.
Blessed Saint Joseph, holy guardian of Jesus and Mary, assist us by your prayers in all the necessities of life. Ask of Jesus that special grace which He granted to you, to watch over our home at the pillow of the sick and the dying, so that with Mary and with you, heaven may find our family unbroken in the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Amen.
My Shalom, My Shalom,
Reigning over the waters,
Conquering the watery depths,
Making clear,
Revealing by discernment
Benefactor or maleficence.
Quieted soul,
Ever vigilant heart,
Desirous of My Holy Booty,
Gazing through the fiery flame
Serene against the tumult,
Drinking from the Chalice of My Blood,
Covenanted through my Sacred Cross,
Lifted high above the world
As I, Myself, pass as flaming brazier,
Between the broken pieces of your life.
My Shalom, My Shalom,
I call you
By My All Holy Name,
To dwell secure in Love.
Cost counted, chosen,
And placed in the balance.
Infinity pays the price
And tips the scale of Life to
Favor a son of God Most High.
Copyright 2012. Joann Nelander
When the Twain Shall Meet
There is a delicacy of old
With which men speak to one another.
Though, approaching from the farthest ends,
Never meeting in the middle,
Yet, do they honor one another,
In their humanity.They offer the gift of presence,
Gifting to the other
An open ear
That wills to hear.To do the Good
For the sake of Right,
To forge the best of thought
For presentation at the gate
Is the beginning of a holy end.Though all men be wrong
In varying degrees,
There is something right
In putting down one’s arms
To meet as warring friends,
In hope and trust
That they serve a higher call,
When men do speak of peace.Who is honored by this respect,
If not the Maker of all Men,
Who alone can change
Hearts of stone to flesh,
Making them like unto His own.By Joann Nelander
Visit One Stop Poetry- Where Poets, Writers and Artists Meet. to lift your spirits, to brighten your mood or just to get away from the ho-hum humdrum.
From My Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis:
I WILL hear what the Lord God will speak in me. “Blessed is the soul who hears the Lord speaking within her, who receives the word of consolation from His lips. Blessed are the ears that catch the accents of divine whispering, and pay no heed to the murmurings of this world. Blessed indeed are the ears that listen, not to the voice which sounds without, but to the truth which teaches within. Blessed are the eyes which are closed to exterior things and are fixed upon those which are interior. Blessed are they who penetrate inwardly, who try daily to prepare themselves more and more to understand mysteries. Blessed are they who long to give their time to God, and who cut themselves off from the hindrances of the world. Consider these things, my soul, and close the door of your senses, so that you can hear what the Lord your God speaks within you. “I am your salvation,” says your Beloved. “I am your peace and your life. Remain with Me and you will find peace. Dismiss all passing things and seek the eternal. What are all temporal things but snares? And what help will all creatures be able to give you if you are deserted by the Creator?” Leave all these things, therefore, and make yourself pleasing and faithful to your Creator so that you may attain to true happiness.”
From My Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis:
Goodness and Peace in Man
First keep peace with yourself; then you will be able to bring peace to others. A peaceful man does more good than a learned man. Whereas a passionate man turns even good to evil and is quick to believe evil, the peaceful man, being good himself, turns all things to good. The man who is at perfect ease is never suspicious, but the disturbed and discontented spirit is upset by many a suspicion. He neither rests himself nor permits others to do so. He often says what ought not to be said and leaves undone what ought to be done. He is concerned with the duties of others but neglects his own. Direct your zeal, therefore, first upon yourself; then you may with justice exercise it upon those about you. You are well versed in coloring your own actions with excuses which you will not accept from others, though it would be more just to accuse yourself and excuse your brother. If you wish men to bear with you, you must bear with them. Behold, how far you are from true charity and humility which does not know how to be angry with anyone, or to be indignant save only against self! It is no great thing to associate with the good and gentle, for such association is naturally pleasing. Everyone enjoys a peaceful life and prefers persons of congenial habits. But to be able to live at peace with harsh and perverse men, or with the undisciplined and those who irritate us, is a great grace, a praiseworthy and manly thing. Some people live at peace with themselves and with their fellow men, but others are never at peace with themselves nor do they bring it to anyone else. These latter are a burden to everyone, but they are more of a burden to themselves. A few, finally, live at peace with themselves and try to restore it to others. Now, all our peace in this miserable life is found in humbly enduring suffering rather than in being free from it. He who knows best how to suffer will enjoy the greater peace, because he is the conqueror of himself, the master of the world, a friend of Christ, and an heir of heaven.
Into Stillness 