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Of Walls and Hedges

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith with tags , , , , , , , , on May 15, 2012 by Joann

I am the greatest obstacle
To my salvation,
Yet You leap the walls,
I have raised about me.
You breech them,
You penetrate them.
You shake and crumble them.

Your Holy Spirit
Is that quake
Of Calvary,
The earthquake,
That rattled open prison doors,
Destroyed the chains of those,
Commissioned to speak with Your power,
And in Your Name..

Place a high,
Insurmountable hedge about me.
One I can not leap,
When I hear the voices
Calling on the other side.

I know myself,
And that I shall try to flee.
For, though the boundary,
Be for my own good,
Fool, that I know myself to be,
Fleeing is in me.

All my hope
Is in the Love
You bear for me.
You, my Love,
Scale the walls of my pride,
O, Love, Who sets watch towers
On the heights,
And is enemy
To my enemies,
And the Guardian
Of my soul.

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To Seek Bliss

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Poetry, Prose & Prayer with tags , , , , , , , , on May 8, 2012 by Joann

Seek grace before bliss.
To seek bliss,
Is to seek the gift
May be to shun the Giver.

Who conjures dreams matters.
My pleasure may  spring
From forbidden springs.

Before I entrust
Myself to gods,
Should I not seek
To discern truth
From Truth.

Come, come,
O, kind Spirit of Truth,
Though You contradict my way,
I promise to obey,
Clad in Your grace,
Day by day.

©2012  Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

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You Are God

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , on April 30, 2012 by Joann

You are God
Wholly Other,
Yet Your humanity
Embraces me
By sacrament.

You are the Head,
The Church, Your Mystical Body,
And in it
I wash my robes,
To take on
The Infant Life of Christ,
Wholly dependent,
Yet gifted
With abundant blessing.

You are God,
Wholly Other,
My Father receives me,
Clothed in the living Flesh
Of the beloved Son.

Copyright 2012 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

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The Lord’s Joy

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Religion, Spiritual with tags , , , , , on April 13, 2012 by Joann

The Lord’s joy
Is my strength.
He persuades my heart
By gentleness.
His mercy is a fountain
Of inner mirth,
Springing up in all seasons,
To temper my sorrow,
To pour oil into my wounds,
To salt my friendships
And to delight the Father,
Who sees me
Running after His Son,
And dancing with David’s abandonment.

May I be the dimple
In Your smile,
Appealing as the uplifted arms
Of a child,
And the innocent sleep
Of a baby.

Gladness be my swaddling,
That You may
Impart to me
The power the weak
Have to touch
The Heart of God,
Accepting always
His Loving will.

Copyright Joann Nelander 2012

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The Breaking

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Lent, Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Spirituality, The Cross with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on April 4, 2012 by Joann

The Breaking
And the Giving,
Broken bread,
Given life,
Mystery
And revelation.

The seed of Resurrection,
Hidden in the Pasch.
The mystery of Redemption,
Shrouded
By His suffering,
And dying,
Prefigured,
Broken Bread,
Given Life,
The Breaking
And the Giving,
"Do this in Remembrance of Me"

Copyright 2012 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

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Heart Afire

Posted in Art, Catholic, Christ, Christian, Church, devotion, Holy Spirit, Poetry, Prose & Prayer with tags , , , , , , , , , on April 3, 2012 by Joann

Jesus, Heart Afire,
Furnace blazing,
Fueled by Love,
Burning without consuming,
Radiant heat,
And all pervading.

Soul, drawn to escape
The hell of Darkness,
With an exchange
Of holy vows.
Free to flee,
Though enraptured
By superior desire.

Created One,
Of two natures,
Once at peace,
Fallen, then to warring,
Barred from Eden’s gate.

Blazing Promise
And Redemption,
Offering Sin’s undoing,
Constant in Your wooing.

Creat anew,
As once in Paradise,
Purified and restored
Exceeding recognition.
Raised beyond perfection,
Melted, purged,
Merged, and welded,
Seamless life as Mother’s garment.
To live now
In Thee,
For Thee,
Through Thee.
Knowing All
In knowing Thee.

Two natures,
Now at Peace
Both lost,
And found,
In Loving Thee.

Copyright Joann Nelander 2011

All rights reserved

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P.S.

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on March 27, 2012 by Joann

A Man Clothed in Sin

A man clothed in sin
Walked the long aisle
To stand before the Crucifix.

Long years,
No tears,
He came to say,
“You died for me,
And I don’t give a damn!”

The hardened before the Hallowed,
The clock running down,
Time spent and unreflected,
Deeds done and unrepentant.

Challenged to say the words,
He began,
“You died for me,
And I don’t give…”

Undaunted, he repeated,
“You died for me
And I don’t…..”
Gaze focused
On that bloodied Corpse,
Resolute, again, he began.
“You died for me…”
…….
“You died for me…”
“You died for me!”

Tears, tears,
Rivers of tears,
Years unspent,
And now in flood.

Miracles at the Red Sea,
Yet, none greater
Than the Passover,
One innocent Lamb,
Slain, and yet standing,
Lifted up,
Drawing thee.

© 2012 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

Inspired by another story :

MONDAY, 6 AUGUST 2007

Cardinal Lustiger RIP 1926-2007


I didn’t always agree with the former Archbishop of Paris, Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, who died yesterday, but his tenure of that see brought a great deal more good than harm, I think. On his watch, the Catholic life of the city gained a huge boost; the new movements revitalized many parishes, and vocations to the priesthood soared. I remember that he habitually celebrated Mass in Notre Dame almost every Sunday evening for the young people who came to that Mass; a great example to the other bishops of France, many of whom are facing the priestly extinction of their dioceses.
I heard a story attributed to him—maybe it is one he told rather than a story about himself (since he himself was a Jewish convert). I was given to understand that the story is a true one.
Two boys were, out of mischief, determined to tease their parish priest, so they went to confession and made up outrageous sins, just to see what the priest would say. The priest, listening to the second boy, realizing that he was being ‘had’, and hurt by the mockery of the sacrament, asked the second lad as a ‘penance’ to go to the crucifix over the tabernacle and shout out loud, three times ‘you died for me, and I don’t give a damn’. The lad did as he was asked; by the third time he was in tears. Some years later, he was ordained a priest.
May Jean-Marie Lustiger rest in peace.

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Holy Fetus

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Spiritual, Spirituality with tags , , , , , , , , , , on March 26, 2012 by Joann

O, Holy Fetus,
One cell, two cells,
Cell upon cell,
You took shape,
Within the Virgin’s womb.

O Holy Child,
Born to die,
You were born in Bethlehem
City of Promise,
But conceived in Nazareth,
Crossroad of sinners,
Now graced
By the Holy.

Cell upon cell,
Grace upon grace,
The Virgin’s
“Fiat”
Alleluia!

Copyright Joann Nelander 2012

All rights reserved

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The Visit

Posted in Art, Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Religion, Scripture with tags , , , , , , , , , on March 24, 2012 by Joann

In flight
Into Egypt
Hungry,
Hurried,
Yet at peace.

You pass my way.
Because you are holy
We are worlds apart.
Yet you touch me
By your plight.

You must eat.
You must drink.
Rest a moment
Under my tent.

Holy visitors,
Let me wash your feet.
Your smiles
Enter my heart
As a symphony

Stay the night.
Bring the star
From heaven
To light my adobe.

Dwell forever
Here in Spirit
Though you must hurry
On your way.

Journey on,O, Protector,
O Mother, O Child.
With me,
In your hearts,
Now, I wait
For you forever.

I tucked a little rattle
Under His blanket.
Perhaps, He’ll hear me
In the sounds,
A remembrance,
Like a prayer,
In the rattling of beads.

By Joann Nelander

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Your Saints in Glory

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Poetry, Prose & Prayer with tags , , , , , , , , , on March 11, 2012 by Joann

At the moment
You lift Your saintly friends
From the Earth,
And plant them
In the Heaven of Your Being,
At that precious moment,
And by that fateful act,
You endow
The sons and daughters
Of Your Covenant,
Remaining in this world,
With more,
Not less.

When Your friends
Journey forth,
All the Earth
Is, henceforth, blessed,
And not, otherwise,
Disposed or deprived.

As Your Servants,
Enter Your Realms of Light,
Their charisms become infinite,
In their capacity to bless.

When the smallest of the small
Cries out,
In the name of Your forever Friends,
These other Christs
Answer with Your power to succor.

In the Now of Your Essence,
They share Your Glory.
In Heaven,
There is only one glory,
Which cannot increase.
United to You,
Who, are unchanging,
This new rain falls to
the Earth,
And it’s consenting
creatures, here,
Can and do change,
In the shower
Of Your abundant dew fall.

We are, henceforth,
The beneficiaries of new riches,
Streaming from Your Side,
The Door, by which Your saints
Entered Eternity.

Glory upon glory falls,
As golden droplets,
Upon the land
Of sunrise and sunset.

Your gifts do not cease
With the death
Of those who are Yours.
Heaven is united to earth,
And in the celebration
Of their new birth,
Rejoices.

©2012 Joann Nelander

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The Detained

Posted in Catholic, Christian, Faith, Lent, Spirituality with tags , , , , , , , on March 9, 2012 by Joann

Who has died and gone to the side of Christ,

That does not make intercession,

For all the people

He has failed in life?

 

Who can stand in Purgatory’s flame,

And cease to cry out

For loved ones

Left in Time?

 

God hears the cry of the poor,

And who is poorer

Than the abandoned,

And detained at the threshold of Heaven,

Awaiting the forgiveness of those,

Who are careless of their fate?

 

No one goes to Heaven alone.

The cleansed and the holy,

Grab the tassles

Of your prayer shawl.

 

Lower your eyes.

Beat your breast.

Forget yourself.

Remember the family of God.

 

Together let us

Praise the Living God,

Who waits in Mercy for mercy,

For He calls all

To be His own.

 

©2012 Joann Nelander

 

 

 

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Purgatory

Posted in Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Religion with tags , , , , , on March 9, 2012 by Joann

 

My many sins

Have gone up in flames,

And all that is left,

You deem holy.

 

©2012 Joann Nelander

 

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Bath Waters

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Spirituality with tags , , , , , , , , , on March 8, 2012 by Joann

Heavenly Mother,
It is told,
You allowed a leper babe,
To be washed in your Baby’s bath,
And, immediately, the infant was healed,
His skin, supple and pink,
By an act of God,
A miraculous gift.

Plunge those forgotten in life,
Into that water of refreshment,
In which, to remove the dust of the world,
You bathed your Babe.

It is God, Who hears,
The cry of the poor.
God, Who, is not far off.
He sent His Christ,
To enter that sea,
The Jordan of Man’s Sin.

One day, it’s waters
Would wash the multitudes,
And it’s streams
Flow over the Ages.

God, indeed, hears
The cry of the poor,
As He heard the wail
Of the leper babe.

“This is my beloved Son.”,
He announces in loving unity,
As an open invitation for us to enter in,
And lay our claim in holy hope.

Mother, do for the disabled,
What they cannot
Do for themselves.
Meet us in our leprosy,
And, bathing us, say
With the Father,
“This is my son,
In whom I am well pleased.”

© 2012 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

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Where True Beauty Lies

Posted in Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith, Poetry, Prose & Prayer, Religion with tags , , , , on March 6, 2012 by Joann

Forsaking the Land of Shadows, yet again,
And prostrate before You,
I enter with my candle,
Wick, barely alive,
Smoldering,
Awaiting the gentle breeze,
That will kindle my flame
To blaze forth, anew.

Praise rises in my soul,
As a lifetime of thanks given,
Recall to memory
The reason for my trust.

Can Faith be called blind,
When a thousand thousand yesterdays
Form the foundation of our friendship?

Now, I look upon You,
Upon the Altar of Adoration.
Beauty captures my attention.
The monstrance, a delight to my eye,
All aglow,
As it catches the early rays of morning.
Golden shafts stream from its center,
Whispering "Glory."

The pedestal,
Ornate with pomegranates, grapes and lilies,
Celebrate the gift of Your Creation.
Yet, You, in Your splendid Humility,
Reside in true beauty, Unadorned, and at rest,
Your work accomplished,
Awaiting only my disfigurement.

What will You with me?
Transfigure in longed for alchemy of Spirit.

By heartfelt confession and remorse,
At Your Word,
Spoken in Persona Christi,
I wash my robes clean
In the Blood of the Lamb.
You do not horde Your beauty,
But send it forth,
To renew all creation,
And, forgetting not the least,
Remember me.

Copyright 2012 Joann Nelander

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115 Roman Catholic Bishops Speak Out / HHS Mandate

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , on January 31, 2012 by Joann

H/T Thomas Peters

Here are the bishops who are Speaking Out Against Obama/HHS Mandate:

Items in bold mean the statement was read at all diocesan Masses or included in all parish bulletins on Sunday:

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Cloud Clutter

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , , on January 24, 2012 by Joann

Grey the day with cloud and clutter,
Music’s muted melody obscured,
Discord in search of harmony,
Gives lie to the Promise of His Presence,
If Truth were only that which can be seen.
 

Faith, though,
Believes not vision, but God,
For God’s sake.
All powers of perception,
But a touch of His finger,
A curtain parted for a peek,
Hardly the measure
Of the Almighty’s might.
 

By Faith,
The eyes of the soul see,
And pierce the veil,
Rendering gain,
That gleaned in blindness,
So I  count the clouds joy,
For Faith keeps hope alive.
 

I am all believing,
And with conviction,
Clutched and cradled,
Felt with the fingers of my trust.
I live the Promise of His Presence.
 

© 2012 Joann Nelander

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Wounded Soldier Down

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , , , on January 12, 2012 by Joann

Wounded soldier down!
The very air crackles about him,
The moment is charged with alarm.
Fallen is Babylon.
Fallen, too, the Savior.
Man at war within himself,
His livery undeclared.

Wounded soldier down!
Two armies meet in one field of battle.
Only one shall rise again.
Victory is at hand.
Only one has paid the price.

Wounded soldier down!
Unseen forces join the fray.
The smell of fear draws the demonic.
Hell combats hope and the holy,
Raising doubts by telling lies.

Wounded soldier down!
Dragged by the heels,
Through the mire of memory.
Sin gnashes its teeth.
The enemy assails a child of God.

Wounded soldier down!
Prayer cries out before the throne of God.
There were days in which he’d prayed.
And there was selfless love.
Sprinkled as holy water.
Father forgive him,
Though he knew little of Me.

Wounded soldier down!
A moment of Truth
Before One God,
How will you now?
Choose your livery.
Be you a son to Me?
I won the battle long ago,
Fighting now for you alone.

Wounded soldier down!
Angelic encampments
Muster to the call.
Hell is engaged,
As son you choose to be.

Wounded soldier down!
Life leaves you on that plain.
Bereft of breath.
Like a child,
Lifted heavenward,
On wings of the holy,
To your Sabbath rest.

©2012 Joann Nelander

 



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Forget Not

Posted in Art, Catholic, Christ, Christian, Faith with tags , , , , , , , on December 30, 2011 by Joann

As I walk in Your house,
May I never forget You are Master,
Lord of this domain.

May my thoughts
Spring as fruit upon the vine.
Sustain me, O my Beloved,
With the Bread of angels.

Hallowed Ground of my New Birth,
Give me Your heavenly Water,
That I may never thirst again.
Let it rise within me,
As an eternal spring,
And let it fall from heaven,
Like those “torrents
In the southern desert,”

Sheltered in Your arms,
Covered by the corner of Your mantle,
Fed by the Manna of Your Heavenly Body,
Who could forget to sing You songs of Love?

Copyright 2011 Joann Nelander

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Advent – Prayer in Waiting

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , on December 21, 2011 by Joann

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

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Blossom in the Desert

Posted in My Journal with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on December 21, 2011 by Joann

Sad the plight of Man,
Mourning the lose of Paradise.
Captive to cowardice,
Hiding from his God.
Cast out, betraying,
And accusing one another,
Empty of grace, forlorn.
 

One garden of hope remains.
One paradise,
Ready for the Spring.
One immaculate heaven on earth.
O Virgin, say but the Word,
And your “Fiat”
Will blossom forth in Faith,
Rarity of your virginal ground.
 

Immaculate fecundity,
Queen Mother, Desert Willow,
New Eve, bearer of New Adam,
With new creation, rejoicing.
Voicing all thanksgiving,
A Eucharist for the sons and daughters of God.

 

© 2011 Joann Nelander

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