Before Time,
You chose me to be.
You chose my time.
You chose my place.
You chose my people.
You chose my fore-bearers.
You chose my parents.
You chose my soul
And the gifts,
That make me, uniquely, me.
You made me free,
Yet, tied in space
To time and place,
To a People,
To mother and father,
To one womb,
You bid me grow.
You said seek Me.
You gave me eyes to see.
You gave me ears to hear.
You gave me hands to hold.
You gave me mind,
And will,
And intellect.
You said ask Me.
You said lean on me.
You said choose life.
For freedom, love and life,
Free to choose,
I choose You.
Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
Take my hand , my Jesus.
Here I am, Your child,
Too small to stand on my own,
Yet welcome before Your throne.
It is, You, My Cause,
Who sets me upright,
Through and through,
To be like unto You.
All my life called,
And marked by Love Divine,
Under Your Shadow, sun shining above,
One command only, Love!
Who can love without You?
This, too, You supply.
You spend Your Life’s Blood
To draw me from mire and mud.
All from Adam
In human chain,
Hold hands to be set free,
Man from Sin in loving Thee.
Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander
Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with all its love, all its sufferings and all its merits.
First — To expiate all the sins I have committed this day and during all my life. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.
Second — To purify the good I have done poorly this day and during all my life. Glory Be, etc.
Third — To supply for the good I ought to have done, and that I have neglected this day and all my life. Glory Be, etc.
Still the many veils
Stand between us.
I know they are the weave
Of my concupiscence,
Hanging over my heart,
Weighing the corners
Of my smile,
Hiding me from You
In my shame.
Must I forgive myself
For being other
Than Your Christ?
My imperfection,
And repeated falls
Spoil my high hopes,
But I find them useful as well,
For the crushing of my pride.
The temptation to reign
In the place of God
Is Satan’s prompt,
And plays persistently,
Appealing in its disguise
As progressive,
And Evolution at its finest.
Unveiled before you
In humility
I see my call to be least,
And allow You to reign
Great in me.
Lord, triumph over vain glory,
Accomplish all
The Father desires for me,
That my baptismal garment
Of purest white
May appear
In all the colors
Of Your Glory,
God resplendent
Even in His smallest work
And humblest creature.
Precious Jesus,
Holy Gem,
Beauty, beyond my knowing,
You are God, hidden,
As diamond in the rough,
A Man, yet God, One.
It is for me
To desire You,
To call You,
To allow You,
God willing.
You will be my tumbler,
Life’s crucible.
The Rock, chipping away
At my clay.
My stoniness,
Yielding its course substance,
While I journey.
Rude being honed
To perfection.
You polish,
And reveal
Light through my layers,
The Father, shining in You,
The Sun of His Being,
Resplendent now in me,
Made glorious
In You,
Precious Jesus,
Holy Gem.
©2012 Joann Nelander
Be Holy! 