My Jesus, I wait in humble expectation,
For the fulfillment of Your desires for me.
The Father wills,
That You be all in all in me
What will I look like,
When You fully reign in my heart?
How have I distorted Your Image?
How do I hold You at bay?
The most beautiful monstrance,
Without You at its center, is empty.
Shine out of me.
Be the heart of me.
Be Lord of this manor.
Be heart, hearth and home.
Draw the world to Your Table.
Feed the world with your Holy Bread.
Flesh and Blood, You,
Penetrate the Gift of Life.
With ever new hope in me,
You wait to fulfill all You Promise.
You are my Sweet Salvation
Given as unmerited and undeserved gift.
Believing and bowing low,
I am lifted!
Touching the hem of Your garment
My faith finds Your favor.
Holiness of the forgiven sinner,
Live the fullness of Your Life in me.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
Category Archives: All Things Catholic
Just as I Am / Through a Glass Darkly
Just as I am,
All that I am,
You behold me.
I see so little,
So little of me,
So little of You.
“Through a glass darkly”
Sufficiency suffices,
In Faith, believing.
Mingled here, Your Mercy,
Grandeur, clouded in Mystery,
I rest as a babe.
Just as I am,
A mystery unfolding,
Ever so small.
Cradled in universe expanding,
My stuff born in your stars,
Fit in Time in me.
Just as I am,
Spirit, soul, body,
Free to choose my destiny.
Mingle my “just as I am”
With You,
My Destiny.
Called into being,
Ever renewed,
Moments, all grace!
Made in Your Image,
Knowing my Maker,
I must but trust.
This is my prayer.
These are my moments of grace,
Though “through a glass darkly”.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
Sweet Cause
The world of men is full of accusers,
Innocent as doves in their own eyes.
Only the sinner finds a place at Your table,
Garbed, no longer in rotting rags,
But in wedding dress and festive best.
The lowly come
And are welcomed.
Choosing a place at Your feet
You invite “Come up higher”.
At Your breast the disciple rests.
Hearts make merry,
While the wine of wisdom
Turns sorrow into joy,
Allowing the cross no less,
Sweet cause of happiness.
By Joann Nelander copyright 2013
Seeking and Encounter
Dearest Love,
Shine in my humanity,
Making my soul radiant.
I come to know You in my waiting.
As the world passes,
I witness the parade of fools and follies.
From my window, I surmise
The ways of friend and foe,
And resolve that my lover
Must be a friend
And lover of my soul,
Cherishing it as his own.
My Lover bids me call,
And call I do,
Throughout the bitter night
And in the brightness
Of each new day.
When I call,
He always comes,
I do not doubt His promise or His Presence.
“ and it shall be opened.”
“Behold, I stand at the door and knock;
If anyone hears My voice and opens the door,
I will come in to him…’
I embrace Him, Whom I love,
Even when He comes and hides,
For He takes pleasure of watching me
In my search of faith.
I know He is here.
He is near,
Attuned to my longing,
Knowing that the treasure
Of my possessing Him
Increases as my desire
To see Him grows.
My seeking is both invitation and encounter.
My eyes may be blind,
But my soul is awake to His nearness
And reaches to catch Him
As He plays with me.
My soul ensnares Him
And begs Him do not run away.
Let me breathe Your essence.
Your Presence is my delight.
Though Your Spirit be like the wind,
Then tousle my hair as You rush by.
Let me find evidence of Your visit,
In the changes in my being.
I pledge my ardor
And banish the lukewarm.
I promise my heart
And scorn all negligence.
Vain imaginings
Shall not steal my soul.
Your promise is all I need.
If it seems You are gone,
I shall search You out,
Until I find our hiding place
And lie beside You.
I will ravish You by sighs of love
And hold you fast
By reins of love’s longing,
For You have conquered the world
And won my heart.
You have conquered my depths
By knowing Your beloved.
Your chamber remains within my soul,
Our secret place of meeting.
All is in readiness for You,
Though You come late in the night.
My room is swept clean and I am eager.
Your coming is all sun,
And You waken me by Your Light.
I draw You by spiritual reins,
By my plaintive call.
All the world is witness
To the power of virginal love.
Is it not the Virgin Mother,
Who now instructs my soul?
At Your Feet
At your feet, my Jesus,
I rend my heart,
That the ashes of my life,
May spill upon Your Altar,
Here at the foot of Your Cross.
Send Your Hallowed Spirit,
To stir the dust that I am,
That carried aloft on Your Wind,
I may escape the hold of Earth and flesh,
And the Accuser.
Carry me,
On Your gentle breeze,
Above this world,
Beyond the Lie,
To a safe haven,
The heaven of Your Presence.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
I Am Mud
I am such a mess.
The rain falls on my soil,
And for a while I am mud.
No hint of fertility.
No hint of growth.
No hint of flowers.
Mud is self-forgetful,
A confusion of gift,
A profusion of promise.
The day will seed to my substance,
Serendipity and surprise,
Plantings for the morrow.
I shall lie here,
Loving my mud,
Waiting for the Sun.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
Be Holy! 