O Maria
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary after Holy Mass
O MARY, most holy Virgin and Mother, behold, I have received thy most beloved Son, Jesus Christ, whom thou concievedst in thy spotless womb, bore, nursed, and held with thy sweet embraces. Behold Him at whose sight thou willst rejoice and be filled with every delight. With love I humbly return Him and offer Him to thee, to hold once more, to love with all thy heart, and to offer to the Holy Trinity as our supreme act of worship for thy honor and glory and for my good and the good of all the world. Therefore I ask thee, most loving Mother, to ask God for forgiveness of all my sins, abundant graces to help me serve Him more faithfully, and for that final grace that I may praise Him with thee for ever and ever. Amen.
Category Archives: devotion
Purity Beheld By God
“[God] has assigned as a duty to every man the dignity of every woman.”
–Pope John Paul II
“To be pure, to remain pure, can only come at a price, the price of knowing God and loving him enough to do his will. He will always give us the strength we need to keep purity as something as beautiful for him.”
–Blessed Mother Teresa
Constant Refrain
I lift my hands
Stretching my arms heavenward,
In search of my God
I spread my apron
Awaiting Your bounty,
Mysteriously in steady supply.
You are hidden in a cloud
Veiled from my eyes
And yet I hear Your constant strains
Plucking my heart strings,
Playing to my delight,
Reviving my hope,
And refilling my cup
That it might be forever full.
I can almost taste You
As I recall our times of intimacy and joy
I see myself clinging to Your pillar
Singing with the crowds gathered about Your throne.
In Heaven’s anti-chamber,
Knowing and yet not seeing,
Spirit supplying for sight,
Unseen and still perceived,
Your assurances are as rain
Upon my planted fields.
How am I at once empty and full,
Sated by Your Presence,
Yet full of desire.
You are mystery to me,
A sweet mystery,
And yes, a constant refrain.
©2013 Joann Nelander
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary after Holy Mass
O Maria
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary after Holy Mass
O MARY, most holy Virgin and Mother, behold, I have received thy most beloved Son, Jesus Christ, whom thou concievedst in thy spotless womb, bore, nursed, and held with thy sweet embraces. Behold Him at whose sight thou willst rejoice and be filled with every delight. With love I humbly return Him and offer Him to thee, to hold once more, to love with all thy heart, and to offer to the Holy Trinity as our supreme act of worship for thy honor and glory and for my good and the good of all the world. Therefore I ask thee, most loving Mother, to ask God for forgiveness of all my sins, abundant graces to help me serve Him more faithfully, and for that final grace that I may praise Him with thee for ever and ever. Amen.
Truth’s Army, Truth’s Bride
Truth was never far away.
It stood erect,
And with resolve,
Waited for the moment
Of my will’s consent.
It was relentless,
Devoid of error,
Stalwart and persistent.
Truth was the beacon
On the high mountain.
It appealed to me
On the level of the good.
It drew me
As home beckons the lost.
I journeyed closer,
But as the light
Revealed my tatters
I drew back,
Trapped by my choices.
Truth is a wedding garment,
That clothes inwardly,
As well as out.
My espousals never produced
A marriage of Truth and the holy.
In its stead, I’d wed
What I wanted.
Now, I feared our distance,
And what I had become.
Desiring the right,
Even if I was wrong,
I gathered courage to my breast
And risked all in the quest.
I shed my rags
And found a covering of prayer,
A robe of humility,
And came to Love
In holy fear.
Now, I am
Full of resolve,
A stalwart knight
On Truth’s high mountain,
Carrying lighted torch
To the Dark Valley,
Into caverns of deception.
Standing tall before the Foe,
Truth girds my waist,
And undertakes to speak
Light in the darkness.
I am become an army
On the plain,
As Truth marches not alone.
It goes forth,
Drawing with it men of valor,
Choosing the death of Pride,
And living as Truth’s Bride.
©2012 Joann Nelander
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Did You Dance?
Did you laugh?
Did you dance?
You were there
I remember.
The invitation,
Sent from my heart,
Was as personal
As a dream.
Hopes,
Whispered and shared,
Then tucked away
With our days,
The stuff of weavers,
Spinning bright threads
Running their course
Replete with expectations
Not to be denied.
Full of welcome,
An invitation to dance,
With the bride
Loving her groom
In the Mystery of You,
Did you dance,
Did you laugh,
When our love
Blossomed and bloomed,
Bearing children
To delight our hearts,
Gladdening our garden
With sweet enchantment.
Today I pick flowers,
Memories like posies,
In colored bouquets.
Today our hearts are full.
Today we celebrate,
And spread our blanket
On grassy meadows.
Resting and remembering
All happiness,
And passing sorrow,
Shared and savored,
As water turned wine.
Come and laugh.
Come and dance.
Years like water,
Running a course.
Years full and fleeting,
Waltzing and jigging
Spent in embrace.
Our dance goes on,
On to trip through the night,
Marathon run,
Accompanied with music
Floating on Life’s breezes.
Two become one,
Dancing in You.
By Joann Salerno Nelander, Bride
Be Holy! 