An Act of Faith

An Act of Faith

I have seen enough to know, I just don’t know,
But there is One Who does, Giver of Life,
Giver of generations,
Giver of prayer.

One generation to pray
For the next generation.
Mother, and father,
Grandmother, grandfather, A circle of care
To pray it forward.

Faith waits upon the Lord,
A gift beyond measure,
A mystery waiting to happen, Not in our time,
But in our Father’s.
No seed too bad
To wait upon,
Hope for,
Entrust to God,
In His Mercy,
And providential time.

Our own close their ears
To the prophet in their midst, At home or next door,
But no one knows
What God has in store.
“Place them here
With Me in the tabernacle,” Whispers God to the heart.
“I’ll have the last word, My Love to impart.”

One generation to pray For the next generation. “All shall be well,
And all shall be well,
And all manner of thing Shall be well.” (Bl.Julianna of Norwich)
©2012 Joann Nelander

Bathed in the Spirit

Bathed in the Spirit

I bathe my whole life
In the Blood of Christ.

In Spirit, I place my Soul,
In the form of a new born,
In the water that flowed
From the Side of Jesus,
At the piecing
Of His most Sacred Heart.

O Holy Bath, flow over me.
Flow within me,
Permeating even
To the marrow of my bones. Embrace my thoughts.
As a river in flood,
Envelope all in Your path.
Possess all.
Carry the delinquent and wayward, As a torrent,
To the ever peaceful Mind of Christ, Redeeming and reconciling opposites.
May the Christ,
As a priestly chrism,
Penetrate the mundane of me, And divinate my being.
Heal forever my disparity,
Remove all trace
Of Sin’s dominion and damage.
O Holy Love, at Your insistence, I trust in You.
Coming forth from this bath,
Dry me, Your child.
As tears upon Your cheek
to honor all the tears
You shed for want of me.

Be solace to my regret .
Be comfort in my sorrow.
Wrap me, in my infancy,
In the heart of the Mother, Whose Immaculate Heart
Longed with You to birth me anew, And enflesh me as child.

Sweet Peace, O Holy Peace, You are All in All.
I, a child of God, will thank You For all Eternity
In Triune embrace,
A happy word, whispered in Spirit, From the Son to the Father.
By Joann Nelander

A Prayer in Adoration

Here I am Lord,
Sitting, kneeling,
Prostrate in spirit
Before You, adoring.
Who You are in Your glory
Lies hidden under the appearance
Of this Holy Bread before me.

You have revealed to Your Church
The wonder, and magnificence
Of Your living Presence.
With Mother Church,
I extol Your beauty.
Truths come to mind
And I give assent.

I am married to You,
O Holy Bridegroom.
In the fullness of time,
I will embrace You
With a glorified vision and body,
But, for now, I reach with heart
And mind’s eye to catch a glimpse
Of this splendid Truth
Hidden as it is
‘Neath Bread and Wine
And broken Body on a Cross.

Favor me with an increase
Of love and desire,

Until my longing tears free
From all that holds me captive still.
I know my blindness,
And have seen my foolishness.
In my poverty and need,
I seek refuge here
Before Your eyes.

Your Truth,
Your splendid Truth, be mine!
These are such glorious Truths,
I can not comprehend them
In their reality and breath.
I can only glimpse them,
And cry out in hope and faith.

My adorable Lord,
Looking upon me now as always,
Gather to Yourself,
The groans and sighs of Spirit born,
Unto Your memories,
As so many Communions
And resurrections of spirit,
As chains of Love in Time,
But always,
Only One Adorable Lord.

©2010 Joann Nelander