My dearest Mother,
Take my outstretched hand,
And accompany me,
From moment to moment,
For love of God,
To loving Him, evermore purely,
That I may be a heavenly garden,
A place for the Savior’s repose,
In the midst of my everyday,
Until the angels carry me home.
copyright 2015 Joann Nelander
I find you in tears.
I find you in longing.
I find you covered in the news of the day,
Lying in the cold,
Under the blanket of the night,
Under heaven’s gaze.
Who wipes your tears?
Who comforts and consoles?
Who sees you in your many disguises,
Crying in the child,
Laughing with young,
Smiling down from Heaven?
Give me eyes to see through the tears.
Give me a heart to feel hope beyond sorrow.
Give me the shelter of your company.
Here in the Now,
I find You sweet within me
Promising Forever.
©2015 Joann Nelander
Mother Mary,
Witness of the Passion,
Suffering witness,
Living the Passion,
As your Jesus
Hung on the Cross.
Pray, Mary.
Pray, My Mother,
Pray for me,
Who am so scattered,
Distracted and disengaged.
Pray every moment
Of my life here on earth,
That I be prepared for suffering,
That I be prepared for eternity.
That I find my Life
In the dying of Your Son,
My Lord.
Hold my hand, O Mother,
Every moment of everyday.
Pray for my yesterdays,
My today, and tomorrows.
Guide my feet to follow
In His steps.
As forbidden fruit
Appeals in its many disguises,
And occasions of evil spring-up,
Pull me out of harm’s way.
Steer me true, O Mother,
As my heart yearns for eternity
Let my glory be
As that of Jesus,
The Cross, the Crucifixion,
And the Dying.
May I live now,
Dying to Sin.
Witnessing at your side,
As Jesus beholds you.
He pronounces me your child.
I am a child
Of the Cross of Christ,
Which came to be
To ransom men.
I behold you, Mother Mary,
And you meet your Son in me.
© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
Give to me of Yourself
That which pleases You.
Unite my emptiness
With Your fullness,
To satisfy and delight
Our Father in heaven.
Here You are,
In me, my Eucharist,
Given for me,
Exulted, above the world,
And yet, Emmanuel,
“God with Us”.
Give grace to all
Children of the Light.
Bestow to Your own,
The Life that is Yours.
In the Light of Your Presence,
Reveal the wonder of our Communion.
Shining forth from all Your little ones,
Light a world in darkness.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
From a homily by Saint John Chrysostom
Life to me means Christ, and death is gain
The waters have risen and severe storms are upon us, but we do not fear drowning, for we stand firmly upon a rock. Let the sea rage, it cannot break the rock. Let the waves rise, they cannot sink the boat of Jesus. What are we to fear? Death? Life to me means Christ, and death is gain. Exile? The earth and its fullness belong to the Lord. The confiscation of goods? We brought nothing into this world, and we shall surely take nothing from it. I have only contempt for the world’s threats, I find its blessings laughable. I have no fear of poverty, no desire for wealth. I am not afraid of death nor do I long to live, except for your good. I concentrate therefore on the present situation, and I urge you, my friends, to have confidence.
Do you not hear the Lord saying: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in their midst? Will he be absent, then, when so many people united in love are gathered together? I have his promise; I am surely not going to rely on my own strength! I have what he has written; that is my staff, my security, my peaceful harbor. Let the world be in upheaval. I hold to his promise and read his message; that is my protecting wall and garrison. What message? Know that I am with you always, until the end of the world!
If Christ is with me, whom shall I fear? Though the waves and the sea and the anger of princes are roused against me, they are less to me than a spider’s web. Indeed, unless you, my brothers, had detained me, I would have left this very day. For I always say Lord, your will be done; not what this fellow or that would have me do, but what you want me to do. That is my strong tower, my immovable rock, my staff that never gives way. If God wants something, let it be done! If he wants me to stay here, I am grateful. But wherever he wants me to be, I am no less grateful.
Yet where I am, there you are too, and where you are, I am. For we are a single body, and the body cannot be separated from the head nor the head from the body. Distance separates us, but love unites us, and death itself cannot divide us. For though my body die, my soul will live and be mindful of my people.
You are my fellow citizens, my fathers, my brothers, my sons, my limbs, my body. You are my light, sweeter to me than the visible light. For what can the rays of the sun bestow on me that is comparable to your love? The sun’s light is useful in my earthly life, but your love is fashioning a crown for me in the life to come.Via divineoffice.org
PRAYER OF GREAT EFFICACY
O MOST holy Father, now that Thine Only-begotten Son, here truly present upon the Altar, has deigned to become a Sacrifice and propitiation for our sins, I offer Thee His most holy Body and Blood, His Humanity and His Divinity, His virtues and His perfections, His Passion and Death, in union with that love with which He once offered Himself to Thee upon the Cross, and now offers Himself to Thee on the Altar. And in union with these I offer Thee the virtues, merits, and graces of the Blessed Virgin Mary and all the Saints, together with all the good works of all men, and all the whole treasure of Thy holy Church. And I desire especially to add to these whatever of good I and those who are dear to me have ever done, and whatever afflictions we have suffered for Thy glory. And in union with this Sacrifice, and with all those which are offered to Thee all over the world, I offer to Thee this oblation, O Eternal Father, through Thy beloved Son, in the power of the Holy Ghost, to Thy supreme praise and glory, in acknowledgment of Thy supreme Majesty, and dominion, and in thanksgiving for all the benefits and the graces Thou hast ever bestowed on any creature, and in full reparation for every injury or insult ever offered to Thee by any whom Thy hands have made.
I offer it to Thee for the increase of the joy and glory of the sacred Humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in worship and veneration of all the mysteries of His life and death, for the increase of the glory and blessedness of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of all the Saints, especially my holy Patrons, and those whose memory we this day celebrate.
Lastly, I offer it to Thee on behalf of myself, a most miserable sinner, and for all my friends, whether in the order of nature or of grace [especially N.], and for all Christians living and departed [especially N.]; beseeching Thee that Thou wouldst deign to accept it as an adequate and sufficient thanksgiving for all the benefits and graces which Thou hast ever bestowed on our bodies and souls, to impart to us all the grace needful for us, to turn away from us all evil of body and of soul which might hinder our salvation, and to grant us perfect and entire remission of all our sins and negligences. For all these ends, I offer Thee all the love with which Jesus Christ Thy Son our Lord has ever loved Thee, and all the satisfaction He has made to Thee for our sins. Through Him and with Him and in Him be all honour and glory unto Thee, O God, Father Almighty, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.
Here say the Our Father.
via catholictradition.org
Be Holy! 