Tag Archives: Catholic

Of Myself and of Thee

by

I know so little of myself.
I perceive myself to be
Only because
You think of me.

I spin about like elemental sprites,
Really nothing without You,
Yet dancing as the orbs
Upon the stage
Of Time and Space.

I know so little of my heart,
How it can beat and bow,
And even break.
That I am free to move,
In opposition to Your dreams for me.

You are the spirit and stuff
Of my many moments,
The thought I hold dear,
And the music I hear.

I know so little of myself,
But You speak me and here I be,
Living and dreaming,
Praying and waiting,
To see all You have thought of me.

Copyright 2016 Joann Nelander

I Am

by

 

Your grandeur overwhelms me.
You lavish Your splendor,
Even on the ordinary,
Like grass upon the meadow,
And tears welling from the heart.

Where can I look that You are not?
Even the fallow field,
Awaits another day,
As a virgin in repose,
Seeing, in needful desire,
A time of promise and plenty.

You are written on our hearts.
We perceive You near,
Though hidden.
Terrible and tender,
You are unknowable,
Unless You give the means of knowing.

The universe though draped
In the garb of galactic might and majesty,
Does not know that it is.
Yet, the sentient child
Plays at Your side.

Men, too busy,
Brush by You on the street.
While the nursing babe
Finds You in steady supply.

Too grand!
Too glorious!
Blinded by the refulgence of Your sublimity,
I cover my eyes,
Yet peek with hope
To glimpse You passing.

In the mist of Your Mystery,
You are!
You are!
You are!

I know,
Because I am,
And You whisper and shout
Revealing,
I AM THAT I AM

Guardian Angel Prayer

by

Guardian Angel from heaven bright,

Watching beside me to lead me alright.

Fold thy wings round me and guard me with love

Softly sing songs to me of heaven above. Amen.

Guardian Angel Prayer

by

To the Guardian Angel

Hail, glorious Angel, appointed by God to be my guardian!

Hail, holy Angel, my protector in all dangers!

Hail, holy Angel, my defence in all afflictions!

Hail, holy Angel, my most faithful friend!

Hail, holy Angel, my guide!

Hail, holy Angel, my preceptor!

Hail, holy Angel, witness of all my actions!

Hail, holy Angel, my helper in every difficulty!

Hail, holy Angel, my counsellor in doubt!

Hail, holy Angel, my shield at the hour of death!’

Smiling Eyes

by

Lying in the sunshine of Your love,
Recounting humming bird days,
Flitting as flashes flung to the heavens,
I look to the horizon,
For the rising of yet another sun.

I feel I know You.
It is me I doubt,
But I don’t know why.
I have spent my life
Becoming what I think
You want me to be.
Others, though, have always
Seemed to do it better.

Here I am at eve tide,
Recounting the many waters,
That wash these shores.
Your Beauty plays for me,
Painting the setting sun;
I guess, to reassure my clay
Of The Love You are,
As I still look for me,
Reflected in Your smiling eyes.

copyright 2014 Joann Nelander

“Evangelical Is Not Enough” by Thomas Howard

by

Alex Jones, recently deceased, once a Pentecostal preacher turned convert to the Catholic Church in speaking of the experiences that led him into the Church of the Early Fathers said. “We are what we have been taught. To rise above what we have been taught takes great integrity,”  Truth has a price and he determined that no price was too high. The climb though poses problems that can seem insurmountable. He mentioned the book below that helped his wife, Donna, make that climb.

“Evangelical Is Not Enough” by Thomas Howard