On Mother’s Day all mothers hold a special place in the heart of God, especially those who have lost their children. I, especially, grieve with mothers who have aborted their babies. Daily I pray that I be permitted to spiritually baptize all the children dying in any form of abortion with the Living Water that gushed from the open side of Jesus. These holy innocents are victims, too young to will, but not too young to suffer and die. Knowing God desires to bring good forth from evil, I widen my prayer to include their mothers and fathers, and all in their lineage, back to Adam and Eve, and to the end of time. I pray that God release from purgatory many of those in the lineage to accompany them to heaven in holy celebration, so that family always surrounds them. One day I hope to rejoice with all these children and those saved by the mystery of their short lives and deaths united to the Will of God.
Archive for Child
On Mother’s Day
Posted in My Journal with tags aborted babies, Child, family, God, mother, mothers day, Parent on May 13, 2012 by JoannFlower Child
Posted in My Journal with tags Child, enhanced photography, flower girl, flowers on March 14, 2012 by Joann
Like this:
Weaned Child
Posted in My Journal with tags Child, children of man, Comfort, cuddle, heartstrings, Lent, time, weaned on February 28, 2012 by JoannI am the weaned child,
Upon Your knee.
Forgetful of time,
I curl Your hair about my fingers,
And tug at Your heartstrings.
My toys, the shiny objects of yesterday,
Lie by the stairs,
By which I began my ascent to You.
Comfort me.
Cuddle me.
Tickle me.
You spend Your universe,
As You had always planned,
Delighting one so small,
The least of the Children of Man.
© 2012 Joann Nelander
The Visitation – Feast or Frustration?
Posted in Culture, Faith, Mother of God with tags Child, Culture, Elizabeth, Faith, Fiat, Jesus, John theBaptist., liife, Mary, Mother of God, pregnant, Visitation on May 31, 2010 by JoannToday is the Feast of the Visitation. The Anchoress’ God is Not Sophisticated Enough and David Mills’ Spirituality Without Spirits got me thinking about of this Feast day in the light of the thinking or befuddled thoroughly modern Woman of our Day.
The Visitation recalls that Mary is inspired by God to visit her older cousin Elizabeth now in her sixth month, carrying John who would one day be called the Baptist and be precursor to Mary’s own Son, now gestating in the paradise that is her womb. What wonders are unfolding in the secret of these holy wombs. Elizabeth prophetically greets the Mother of her Lord. Her child leaps at the Christ’s presence. Mary affirms Elizabeth’s utterance with her Magnificat. Mary exclaims with all humility and awe the saving works of God who at her “Fiat” is now enfleshed within her humble willing being.
Can the women of our age appreciate these moments in time and history? Has the history of our age made it impossible to grasp them beyond quaint story and mere myth. How can a thoroughly modern, maybe “spiritual” woman relate? An untimely pregnancy – Mary’s or Elizabeth’s; how would the average working woman, school girl or college graduated woman proceed? Would wonder and awe best describe our modern attitudes.
The Anchoress writes:
“You can also safely assume that you’ve created a “spirituality” based on your own conscience (or your subconscious self) when it turns out that all God really wants of you is for you to do what makes you happy. Oh, and “love and forgive and stuff.”
David Mills writes:
“We want the spiritual-ish, because God made us to want him yet we do not want to want him, and we do not want him on his terms. If our hearts are restless without God, as St. Augustine argued, they can be tranquillized with substitutes, of which “spirituality” is easier to find and much less costly than the alternatives. Drugs and drink are bad for you, and wealth and sex are hard to get, and achievement takes work.”
Mary and Elizabeth were unabashedly “religious” woman who had the living faith of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They loved God with all their hearts, and souls and beings. Their faith made demands on them, touched the hearts and minds and when “choice” entered their mental framework, it was prefixed with the word’s of Deuteronomy, “Choose life then that you may live.” The “spiritual” Woman of Today is she free or frustrated? Does she know Who is present in the gift of a child?
Solemnity of St. Joseph – Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Posted in Art, Spiritual, St. Joseph with tags Art, Child, father, Jesus, Lent, solemnity, Spiritual, spouse, St. Bernadine, St. Joseph, Timeless Treasures on March 19, 2010 by Joann
Mt. 1:16, 18-21,24a
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary.
Of her was born Jesus who is called the Christ.Now this is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about.
When his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph,
but before they lived together,
she was found with child through the Holy Spirit.
Joseph her husband, since he was a righteous man,
yet unwilling to expose her to shame,
decided to divorce her quietly.
Such was his intention when, behold,
the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said,
“Joseph, son of David,
do not be afraid to take Mary your wife into your home.
For it is through the Holy Spirit
that this child has been conceived in her.
She will bear a son and you are to name him Jesus,
because he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph awoke,
he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him
and took his wife into his home.
From a sermon by Saint Bernadine of Siena, priest
The faithful foster-father and guardian
There is a general rule concerning all special graces granted to any human being. Whenever the divine favor chooses someone to receive a special grace, or to accept a lofty vocation, God adorns the person chosen with all the gifts of the Spirit needed to fulfill the task at hand.
This general rule is especially verified in the case of Saint Joseph, the foster-father of our Lord and the husband of the Queen of our world, enthroned above the angels. He was chosen by the eternal Father as the trustworthy guardian and protector of his greatest treasures, namely, his divine Son and Mary, Josephs wife. He carried out this vocation with complete fidelity until at last God called him, saying: Good and faithful servant enter into the joy of your Lord.
What then is Josephs position in the whole Church of Christ? Is he not a man chosen and set apart? Through him and, yes, under him, Christ was fittingly and honorably introduced into the world. Holy Church in its entirety is indebted to the Virgin Mother because through her it was judged worthy to receive Christ. But after her we undoubtedly owe special gratitude and reverence to Saint Joseph.
In him the Old Testament finds its fitting close. He brought the noble line of patriarchs and prophets to its promised fulfillment. What the divine goodness had offered as a promise to them, he held in his arms.
Obviously, Christ does not now deny to Joseph that intimacy, reverence and very high honor which he gave him on earth, as a son to his father. Rather we must say that in heaven Christ completes and perfects all that he gave at Nazareth.
Now we can see how the last summoning words of the Lord appropriately apply to Saint Joseph: Enter into the joy of your Lord. In fact, although the joy of eternal happiness enters into the soul of a man, the Lord preferred to say to Joseph: Enter into joy. His intention was that the words should have a hidden spiritual meaning for us. They convey not only that this holy man possesses an inward joy, but also that it surrounds him and engulfs him like an infinite abyss.
Remember us, Saint Joseph, and plead for us to your foster-child Ask your most holy bride, the Virgin Mary, to look kindly upon us, since she is the mother of him who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally. Amen.
Faith of a Child
Posted in Culture, Tradition with tags candles, Child, Culture, Timeless Treasures, Tradition on March 4, 2010 by Joann
Dismiss All Other Loves!
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Church, Culture, Lent, Religion, Spiritual, The Cross with tags calvary, Catholic, Child, Christ, Christian, Church, cross, crucifix, crucifixion, Culture, death, Faith, grace, heart, hosanna, Lent, palm, Reflections, Religion, repentance, resurrection, Spiritual, The Cross on April 5, 2009 by JoannRed draped the Crucifix as it proceeded amidst waving palm branches – blood red! Shouts of “Hail and hosanna” would soon change to “Crucify!” It is so brief a time to reign and be acknowledged as the Holy One of God. Our homilist, Fr. Michael De Palma asked what happened? For the Church, not many weeks ago, we were gazing on the face of the Christ Child. Angels sang and Wise Men bowed low. We sang:
“Sacred Infant, all Divine,
What a tender love was Thine;
Thus to come from highest bliss
Down to such a world as this !
Teach, oh, teach us, Holy Child,
By Thy face so meek and mild.
Teach us to resemble Thee,
In Thy sweet humility !
What happened? Have we, too, dismissed Him? He reigns on our calendars, but what about our hearts? What other loves have replaced Him in our day to day? Can we bear to look upon His disfigured Face? Can we “Behold the Man?.”
Father Michael invited us to live this week differently from all others, to banish all other loves and gaze upon one bruised and bloodied Face. Angels trembled at what we had done to the Son of God. They trembled, too, at what He accomplished on that Cross for me and you.
We will soon sing with the Church around the world:
O Sacred Head, surrounded
by crown of piercing thorn!
O bleeding head, so wounded,
reviled and put to scorn!
Our sins have marred the glory
of thy most holy face,
yet angel hosts adore thee
and tremble as they gazeI see thy strength and vigor
all fading in the strife,
and death with cruel rigor,
bereaving thee of life;
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn thy face on me.(Words Henry Williams Baker after Bernard of Clairvaux)
One Holy Week remains of Lent. We are invited to walk these days with our Lord to Calvary. Without the Cross there is no Resurrection, no Easter glory. With Christ we, too, can rise again to new Life
“When He is King we will give Him the Kings’ gifts,
Myrrh for its sweetness, and gold for a crown…When He is King they will clothe Him in grave-sheets,
Myrrh for embalming and wood for a crown..Bethlehem Down – words by Bruce Blunt
Faith Walk – Hope Eternal
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Culture, Defending Life, In a nutshell, Just Thinking Out Loud, Pro-life, Religion, Spiritual, Spiritual Things with tags American, anacephalic, Catholic, Charming and Simple, Child, Christ, Christian, courage, Culture, Defending Life, Faith, grace, hope, In a nutshell, innocents, joy, Just Thinking Out Loud, love, mother, pray, Prayer, Prayer Intentions, Pro-life, Reflections, Religion, Spiritual, Spiritual Things, story on March 29, 2009 by Joann“We walk by faith and not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
No one knows that better than Myah who’s been walking the walk with grace and joy. Now she walks it with Faith, her beautiful babe in arms. Myah writes:
I was told that my baby was only alive because she was attached to me, but that she couldn’t survive on her own. The doctor said that I could continue the pregnancy safely, but that my baby would die shortly after being born. Or I could choose to terminate the pregnancy then, which would mean being induced at 20 weeks and letting my baby die without ever seeing or holding her (I don’t even want to know what they do with babies in this case). Well, to some people this would be a difficult decision, but it wasn’t for me. I knew there was nothing to gain by terminating the pregnancy and I already loved my daughter more than anyone else in the world. Even if she was unconscious like the doctors said and lived for only a few seconds or minutes –even if she was stillborn –it was worth it to me. And so we began our journey…
Pursuing Holiness writes:
Faith has confounded the medical community, helped her mother and other family members rely wholly on God, and she is the recipient of a very great love. And if those things are the extent of her success and achievement in her life, it will have been a life well-lived.
Best to read the whole story. The photos tell a beautiful tale of 32 days of love with more to follow. Keep Faith and Myah at the top of your prayer list.
Glance of Heaven
Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Culture, Lent, Mary, Mother of God, My Journal, Our Lady, Religion, Spiritual, Spiritual Things, Tradition with tags Catholic, Charming and Simple, Child, Christ, Christian, Communion of Saints, Culture, heaven, icon, Jesus, Lent, love, Mary, mother, Mother of God, My Journal, Our Lady, Peace Place, Prayer, Reflections, Religion, Spiritual, Spiritual Things, Thoughts from the Quiet, Tradition, Virgin, Vladimir on March 26, 2009 by Joann
Virgin of Vladimir copyright J.Nelander
We are flesh and blood not angels. We need to see, and touch and feel in-order to experience and learn. The writers of Icons recognize that we need a bit of Heaven in the here and now.
St. James Pray For Me gives some insight and a bit of history and tradition.
