“My God, if you exist, make your existence known to me,”
Never having seen the stars of glory,
‘Til encountering them in You.
A mansion of grace without walls
Sheltered him in desert wastes.
The good in his heart was God.He was a monstrance
His life was Gospel
Preached by a beating heart,
On fire to win man for God.He lived preparing to die.
He expected martyrdom,
And lived in happy anticipation.
Desert priest and brother of all,
Pray for us,
Who still don’t see the stars.By Joann Nelander
Category Archives: Christian
The Call
There is a Call on your life.
Have you heard it?
A harmony of happiness and joy.
Yet, pain in good measure.Joy for the worldly,
The giddiness
Of pleasure,
Like a purse with holes,
Emptiness,without treasure.Deep and abiding joy,
Mark the Call of God.
Like a song played
In the Darkness
To herald the Light.The fearful man,
Unwilling to love,
Afraid of loss,
Gobbles life.
Heedless, peace-less,
Fearing to miss out,
His way becomes a ploy,
Losing the Eternal in the bout.A call embraced,
Won’t shield you from mistakes.
Rather impels us onward,
Love covering a multitude of aches.Perfection left to our Lord,
Prudent, not perfect,
Polished only in your dyings.
Dying and rising, the rhythm of a Call.Rising to the challenge of Christ,
“Be perfect as I am perfect,”
His Call, pruning and repenting,
Perfected only in your Christ.By Joann Nelander
Yad Vashem – What’s in a Name?
Yad Vashem Hall of Names / Wikipedia
As the New Year begins, the Church reminds us of the importance of a name. We celebrate the Octave Day of Christmas, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, and on the Monday after the Epiphany we celebrate the Most Holy Name of Jesus.
Octave means eight. The Gospel for the day relates:
“When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given Him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.”
On this eighth day the infant was circumcised and a name given. The name was so important that it was announced by an angel. So important was the Name to God!
The Old Testament reading from Numbers for this day speaks of another Name:
“The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace! So shall they invoke My Name upon the Israelites, and I will bless them.”
What’s in a name? Mystery! Holy Mystery!
As we begin our year, and as the liturgical year unfolds, celebrating the History of Salvation, let us remember the inhumane of Human History as well. Herod’s holocaust sought to wipe away all hope for humanity, the plan of the Evil One. that might makes right as the world has come to believe.
Yad Vashem, written sometimes as, Yad VaShem, literally “hand and name” means “memorial.”
In the Hall of Names, the victims of the Holocaust of our time are remembered.
“Remember only that I was innocent
and, just like you, mortal on that day,
I, too, had had a face marked by rage, by pity and joy,
quite simply, a human face!”
Benjamin Fondane
Murdered at Auschwitz, 1944
“If we wish to live and to bequeath life to our offspring, if we believe that we are to pave the way to the future, then we must first of all not forget.”
“If we wish to live and to bequeath life to our offspring, if we believe that we are to pave the way to the future, then we must first of all not forget.”
(Prof. Ben Zion Dinur, Yad Vashem, 1956)
(Prof. Ben Zion Dinur, Yad Vashem, 1956)
Feed My Lambs
I am no one,
But see the army
Of saints and angels
Who implore Thee.You say “Feed my lambs,
Feed my sheep,”
And I am tempted
To think, I have nothing,
But, Lord, are You
Not the Whole Loaf,
And are You not
Eternal and ours?I will give
From my Ever Present Lord.
In my poverty,
You are my abundance.What I can not see,
I know is on the way.
You are not far off.
You have come,
And You are coming soon.
Emmanuel.By Joann Nelander
Everything For You
It is hard to be alone, Lord.
I know You are by my side.
In my heart of hearts
I turn to You.
Be Lord of this day.
Here is my hand in Yours;
Lead me!All in Your Name,
Everything for You,
Everyone in my life,
I give to you
In their present need.
Many do not know
To call to You.
Trifles control them,
And they flit away
Their Eternity with You.It may seem preposterous
That I should dare seek
For the whole world,
Forgiveness and conversion.
I am only one poor,
And wretched sinner,
Yet, Lord, see the army
That prays with me.
See the Blood and Water of Your Son
Pleading for the Redeemed.
By Joann Nelander
I’m Spiritual, Not Religious
“I’m spiritual, not religious.”
I’ve heard this so often from the most sincere people. They seem to wear it as a badge for having accomplished some sort of rite of passage.
What is your translation for:
“I’m spiritual, not religious.”
Here’s mine:
“I want the comforts of Christianity, without the challenges.”
Becoming like Jesus Christ – a challenge that lasts a lifetime, it certainly takes committment and direction from something more substantive than one’s gut. Reflecting further: Christ without a Body, why bother with the Cross.
I agree Church is work, and messy at times, just like a family, but Jesus thought we were up to this challenge with a little help from the Others in His Family, the Father and the Holy Spirit. Actually, Christians get two Mothers, Mary and the Church. The Church isn’t optional. It is the Body of Christ.
Be Holy! 