Joann Nelander
lionessblog.com
Monthly Archives: July 2015
My Five Most Common Bits of Advice in Confession
Peter was not afraid to approach the Lord whom he had denied, leading to his tripartite reconciliation. We can encounter Jesus likewise in the Sacrament of Confession.
Of the seven sacraments, Confession is my second favorite (after the Holy Eucharist.) This holds whether I am the one absolving or the one being absolved. It feels good to have that joy of a fresh beginning, or to know that I have helped another come nearer to the Lord. Having our sins forgiven does us incredible good—exorcists say a good confession is more powerful than an exorcism—but the priest in the confessional usually also offers some advice to help us cooperate with God’s grace, sin no more, and live daily life with peace.
Priests tend to hear certain sins or fears more often than others in confession, and in response to these a priest will tend to give similar advice. At risk of making…
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NOW FOR ETERNITY
All days have led to this day.
Yesterdays march up to the edge in Time,
But cannot enter upon my Now.
As precursors they stand,
Peering onto this Today,
Blind as bats.
Their edges approach
But halt at the Present.
Here I reign with my will.
If all my mistakes
Shout for change,
Am I now the fool
Who fails to learn?
With the sun,
I am begun.
Eternity beckons me,
Where Time cannot go,
Invites, “Come.”
He, Who sails on Eternity’s Wing,
Would be my Mender,
Not in a breaking of the Past,
But a knitting of it,
A seamless cloth,
As His very own.
The morrow begins as a Way I choose;
Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Are gift to my being,
And beginning in this Now,
I am His.
©2015 Joann Nelander
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
LONGINUS, SOLDIER SAINT
Longinus,
You, who beheld Life,
As your Savior
Hung between Heaven and Earth,
Dying on His Cross,
Your heart came alive
At the sight of the Mother’s agony.
The thrust of your spear
Lanced the heart of the Christ
And pierced your own
To let Him enter,
He, who would henceforth,
Possess you in contemplation.
His blood, falling upon weak and worldly eyes,,
Touched in you, the pagan,
Opening eyes blind to the things of God,
With the sight of the Holy.
Your life became a contemplation
Of the Dying and the Rising,
Did you fall into a sleep,
As the angels descended to roll away the stone?
Did premonitions of sacred mystery stir you,
Wakening the soldier witness soul,
To serve not merely an emperor,
But True God?
The Cassius of the Crucifixion
Died, only to open his eyes in faith,
And live, henceforth a new man,
With a story of Blood and Water,
And New Life,
copyright 2014 Joann Nelander
Love for the Lowly
“Still to the lowly soul
He doth Himself impart;
And for His cradle and His throne
Chooseth the pure in heart.”“Blest are the pure in heart” by the Wells Cathedral Choir;Words: Poem by John Keble (1792 – 1866).
Pray with divineoffice.org
Joann Nelanderlionessblog.com
Be Holy! 